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A real stormer! This was one of the few albums ever cut as a leader by the great hardbop drummer Art Taylor – and it's one of the best from the Blue Note catalog at the time! The band is a heavily smoking one – with Dave Burns on trumpet, Stan Turrentine on tenor, and Wynton Kelly on... read more

The Billy Taylor touch is mighty nice here – on a blend of tracks that were partially recorded during Billy's earliest years as a leader, and partially recorded during his big rise to fame in the late 50s! Taylor's handling of the piano is beautiful throughout – already quite soulful,... read more

That's five flies in the title – each of them warranted, given the incredible energy of Cecil Taylor on the keys of the piano! This obscure solo set is a gem all the way through – an unusual session recorded for MPS – with Taylor playing beautiful tones on a Bosendorfer Grand... read more

A very moody performance from Cecil Taylor – one long reading of the piece "Calling It The 8th", originally presented as 2LP set, but finally getting its due here as a single CD that presents the whole thing from start to finish with no interruption! Although as free as some of... read more

A pair of very unusual albums – back to back on a single CD! The set's a bit out of order – and actually starts with Panic, the sequel to Creed Taylor's previous album for ABC, and like that one, a very weird mix of jazzy backings, odd sound effects, and cool production techniques! ... read more

A pair of very different albums from John Tchicai – both hard to find, and brought together here on a nicely priced package! Strange Brothers is overlooked brilliance from reedman John Tchicai – a late 70s session recorded for the FMP label, and easily one of the most soulful sets on... read more

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We've always loved the music of Jimi Tenor – but recently, he seems to get better and better with each new record – hitting a spiritual, soulful depth we never would have expected years ago! This album's one of his best efforts ever – and feels more like some lost 70s... read more

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A mindblowing collaboration – one that brings the soulful vocals of Nenah Cherry into play with the avant jazz sounds of The Thing – but all in a mode that's unlike anything either artist has recorded before! The mix of talents is no surprise – given that Nenah's dad is Don... read more

A remixed version of the collaboration between Neneh Cherry and The Thing – but a set with a sound so different, it may as well be an additional record from project! The remixes here really take a lot of liberties with the original music – so that the resulting tracks aren't just jazzy... read more

One of the strangest covers we've seen in years – and a perfect fit for this obscure session of unusual grooves! Drummer Bubbha Thomas is working here in a mode that's kind of an electrified 70s take on the Texas showband style of earlier years – a mode that has the core funky combo... read more

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A long-overdue compilation dedicated to the work of the great soul jazz vocalist Leon Thomas. If you don't know Thomas' own work, you might recognize him as the vocalist on some of Pharoah Sanders' great recordings, like "The Creator Has A Master Plan" and "Hum Allah Hum Allah".... read more

Wonderful work from Leon Thomas – easily one of his greatest albums ever, and a set that was recorded at the same time he was working with Pharoah Sanders! Thomas really rose to fame on Sanders' classic "The Creator Has A Master Plan" – and this set really takes off from that... read more

Heavy Hammond from the mighty Chester Thompson – a smoking soul jazz set that's a real return to the sound of his Powerhouse album from the 70s! Thompson's jazz chops have only gotten better with age – and although he's certainly got a strong resume in funk and soul, we're really... read more

One of the few solo albums ever cut by organist Chester Thompson – a player who's known to most as the keyboardist in Tower Of Power, but one who's also remembered by a select funky few for this killer record for the Black Jazz label! The album's a stripped-down quartet session – with... read more

A wicked little set from British pianist Eddie Thompson – a player who always wasn't as well noticed on this side of the Atlantic, but who will forever be remembered for this classic date for MPS! The set's got a great criss-crossing of styles – a punctuated way of playing the keys... read more

Some of Lucky Thompson's rarest work from the 50s – and some of his best! The American tenorist is working here in two different French groups – one a quintet with Henri Renaud on piano, the other a tentet with the core quartet of Renaud, plus some additional local horn players. ... read more

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An amazing run of music – and key sounds from a time when the Chicago avant garde was finally getting its due in the mainstream! The set features all Novus and Columbia recordings from both the Air trio of Henry Threagill, Fred Hopkins, and Steve McCall – a seminal group from the AACM... read more

A heady power trio – stepping out here with a tight blend of tenor, drums, and bass – definitely jazz in formation, but with some funky and fuzzy touches as well! The bass often really informs the overall sound of the set – and bold basslines often drive the tunes with a punkish... read more

Is Bobby Timmons our all time favorite pianist? Well, if he's not, he's pretty darn near the top of the list! This sweet early side for Riverside finds him in his usual trio format, backed up by an agile rhythm section, Sam Jones and Jimmy Cobb, and serving up the hard swinging, soulful bop we... read more

A pretty wonderful live set of "spontaneous composition" from Keith & Julie Tippett – with moments of spare atmosphere and others of rapt tension – recorded at The Purcell Room in London, for the London Jazz Festival, captured for the BBC program Jazz On 3. The set is... read more

Amazing sounds from British pianist Keith Tippett – a startling crossroads of musical scenes that beautifully brings together the best jazz, rock, and jazz rock impulses on the UK scene at the time – still with a freshness and clarity that the work would never reach a few years later! ... read more

A blistering recent set from Brit jazz legend Keith Tippett – proof that his powers are still strong after all these years! The cover and title look a bit new-agey, but the album's got a very avant sound – a free improvisation that runs for almost 50 minutes – featuring a large... read more

An early stunner from keyboardist Keith Tippett – served up with a punch and power that's missing from a lot of his later work! The music's a perfect blend of free-thinking jazz and some of the more progressive rock ideas of the time – not exactly jazz rock, not exactly avant jazz... read more

A beautiful little overview of the work that Cal Tjader recorded for the Skye Records label at the end of the 60s – some of his grooviest work ever, and all done with a unique blend of styles that Cal barely ever captured again! The rhythms are often inspired by bossa nova, but usually end... read more

2 totally great Cal Tjader electric albums – both recorded originally for the Skye label, and back to back on one CD! Cal Tjader Plugs In is a beautifully plugged-in, turned-on session from Cal Tjader – one that features the funky vibist alongside some sweet Fender Rhodes! The session... read more

Inventive percussion and amazing bass work – plus a host of other interesting elements as well – all wrapped up beautifully in this unique collaboration between Isao Suzuki and Masahiko Togashi! Both players were some of the most creative of the mainstream Japanese scene of the 70s... read more

Billed on the cover as "the big operation for 16 channels", this cooker from the Tokyo Cuban Boys really gives the sound spectrum a run for its money – taking the group's previous Latin vibe, and inflecting it with a good dose of 70s funk in the process! The album's a live one, but... read more

Early and mid 70s big band masterpieces from Charles Tolliver for Strata East – plus a brilliant batch of German recordings from 1979 with Hamburg's great NDR group that was never legitimately issued before now – in an amazing 3CD set from Mosaic! Disc One features the classic Impact... read more

The first album from The Kevin Toney 3 – headed by the piano player and one-time leader of the legendary Blackbyrds – and it's a nicely melodic set of soulful trio jazz! There's a warm, affectionate vibe throughout, and it's played by skillful veterans with genuine passion. Toney... read more

A great take on the music of Charles Mingus – played by a combo with a nicely different flavor than the originals! The combo has a soulful, hardbop sort of energy – yet still also manages all the sharp changes, twists, and turns that make Mingus' music so great – a wonderful... read more

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Exciting flute from the Japanese scene of the 70s – a wicked little set that's filled with funky numbers throughout! The backings are large, but often nice and tight – kind of a groove-ified version of the 60s approach to bigger band jazz albums based around a single soloist – a... read more

A landmark album from one of the greatest European pianists ever! Stan Tracey first made his mark in the Brit bop scene of the late 50s – breaking out with a fresh style that was infused with modern touches of Monk and Tristano – certainly some of the most striking on his side of the... read more

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A sweet little trio set – one that's virtually unknown, given the limited pressing run of the original album – but which stands as one of the best recorded in Germany at the time! The group here have a cohesive focus that's mighty nice – an ability to let loose with open, flowing... read more

Nothing fatal about these guys – given the really life-affirming quality of the music on the set! The group features a compelling blend of reeds, trombone, and drums – often used in these really evocative ways that mix the rhythmic with the lyrical! The trombone does a great job of... read more

An incredible record by Lenny Tristano – one that features him playing solo piano, but in a way that's so inventive, so creative, so pyrotechnic, that Atlantic Records had to include text on the back cover saying "No use is made of multi-tracking, over-dubbing, or tape-speeding"... read more

Killer work from the last years of Stanley Turrentine on Blue Note – tracks that appeared here for the first time ever, as a long-overdue LP release at the end of the 70s! The bulk of the set features some compelling quartet work – with Stan's tenor in the company of McCoy Tyner on... read more

A stone smoker from the great Stanley Turrentine – an album that's got a lot more of an edge than some of his other Blue Note dates from the time – yet, for some odd reason, wasn't issued until the end of the 70s! The group's a crackling septet – yet still put together relatively... read more

One of the greatest Stanley Turrentine albums ever – a hard-blown session that's been one of our favorite Blue Notes for years! Turrentine's tone here is amazing – really raspy and earthy, with a quality that never shows up much in later recordings – a mode that's incredibly... read more

The title's not a reference to Robert Crumb's famous comix character – and instead, it's a great name for this unreleased batch of work from Stanley Turrentine – a perfect summation for the easygoing soul that's always made Stan so great! The group's a nice bridge between the two... read more

Obscure material by Stanley Turrentine – recorded in 1967, but not issued until 1979, and then only briefly! The album's got Stan working strongly in the Joyride style of his previous Blue Note hit – with larger arrangements from Duke Pearson, in a groove that sets Turrentine's tenor... read more

Two mellow jams from Mr T – back to back on a single CD! On Have You Ever Seen The Rain, Stanley Turrentine blows it sweet, mellow, and soulfully – in a wonderful post-CTI session from the 70s! The set features some swirling larger arrangements from Gene Page – done with a bit... read more

Stanley Turrentine's no spoiler here – as his tenor sax soars out over the top of some sweet larger group arrangements from Duke Pearson – all awash in a great sense of soul, joy, and life! The album's got a much brighter feel than you might guess from the cover – a vibe that's a... read more

An excellent early live set that has Stanley playing with a raw tone that you'd hardly recognize if you only know his later, sweeter records. The group's a lively soul jazz quintet, with Grant Green on guitar, playing the kind of hard single note solos that made his early recordings so great, and... read more

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One of the best ESP sessions from the mid 60s – and a startling album of avant tracks from Charles Tyler and his group that included Henry Grimes, Charles Moffet, Joe Friedman, and a young Ronald Jackson. Moffet plays vibes on the session, and combined with Friedman's cello and Grimes' bass,... read more

A wonderful record from McCoy Tyner – and a great reminder that some of his best post-Coltrane work was done for the Blue Note label – which was where Tyner seemed to hit the right sort of spiritual vibe to live up to his Impulse Records legacy! This album's got plenty of long,... read more

An overlooked trio date from McCoy Tyner – and a record that's just the sort of musical journey you might guess from the title! Tyner's piano is as full of fire and flight as always – and the group has some especially great work from bassist Avery Sharpe, who changes his approach from... read more

Brilliant work as a leader from McCoy Tyner – and easily one of his most righteous albums ever – a true batch of spiritual gems that really takes the John Coltrane legacy one step further! Most numbers build with a modal vibe that's more Impulse Records than Blue Note – and... read more

A great album from McCoy Tyner – a set that's steeped in the modal soulfulness of his years with John Coltrane, but also handled in a way that really has him breaking away from the pack a bit! Half the album's played with a trio that features Jimmy Garrison on bass – but the strongest... read more

A nice little tribute to soul, jazz and fusion legend George Benson – and a project that's a labor of love for Benson-devotee, soulful spirit and brilliant guitarist U-Nam – with an allstar lineup that features Ronnie Foster, George Duke, Patrice Rushen, Andreas Oberg, Tim Owens, Marcus... read more

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An amazing collaboration between musicians from three different nations – recorded high in the mountains in Northern Italy – with an equally majestic sound to match! The album's especially noteworthy for being a great space for vocalist Cleveland Watkiss to really rediscover the jazz-ba... read more

A beautiful little record from Matt Ulery – double-length in size, and even more than double in terms of feeling and depth! Matt's a figure on the Chicago scene – and in a way, his music represents the return to arrangements in the city's recent avant jazz world – yet his music... read more

Raspy guitar from James Blood Ulmer – cut right at the end of the 80s decade when he was clearly one of the most inventive players on his instrument! The set's got a quality that's similar to some of James' other records from the US of the time – as it's trying to branch out to a wider... read more

One of our favorite Ulmer records, probably because there's a nice groove running underneath most of the numbers, in a sort of post-Prime Time 80s out-funk sort of way. It never drops into a flat out back beat, but there's always some sense of time, while Ulmer's guitar and Charles Burnham's... read more

An amazing set of modern jazz – penned by Italian film composer Piero Umiliani, but also played by a very hip group headed by a young Gato Barbieri! Although Gato's probably best known for his late 60s appearances on the American scene, and his 70s dates for Impulse and Flying Dutchman... read more

One of the sweetest fusion sets ever recorded from guitarist Phil Upchurch – a set that's less trippy than his earlier albums, but one that more than makes up for that with a tightly soulful groove! Production is by John Tropea and George Benson – and you can definitely hear their... read more

One of the sweetest fusion sets ever recorded from guitarist Phil Upchurch – a set that's less trippy than his earlier albums, but one that more than makes up for that with a tightly soulful groove! Production is by John Tropea and George Benson – and you can definitely hear their... read more

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One of the most soul-based albums in Michal Urbaniak's catalog – a session originally done with TK records during the height of their dancefloor years, fitted up with some really great clubby grooves! The sound here is a mix of fusion and soul – done in a way that still gives Urbaniak... read more

Piano and bass, a beautiful combination – handled here in a relatively lively mode at the Village Vanguard! The album's filled with magical interplay between the piano of Bebo Valdes and bass of Javier Colina – ringing out in styles that definitely hearken back to Afro-Cuban roots, yet... read more

The accordion never sounded groovier – thanks to some great playing by Art Van Damme and amazing production by MPS! This 5CD set features a whopping 10 albums that Art recorded for the legendary German label between 1966 and 1972 – all of which are hipper and more swinging than any of... read more

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Beautiful solo piano from Jasper Van't Hof – an artist we mostly know from 70s electronic sessions for MPS, but who sounds really wonderful here in a spare acoustic setting! Jasper's got this really fluid approach to his instrument – sometimes soaring over the keyboard of the piano as... read more

One of the loosest, freest recordings we've heard from Ken Vandermark in awhile – a great set of duets with drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, who's really got the right spirit here to match the sensitivity in Vandermark's reeds! Many tunes are in a sparer, gentler exploration of textures and tones... read more

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The minimalism of Erik Satie, handled by the maximalism of the Vienna Art Orchestra – at first glance a seeming mismatch, but instead a record that really opens up Satie's music strongly – and also makes for one of the Vienna Art Orchestra's most memorable moments! The large group is... read more

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A really unusual album from guitarist Al Viola – all solo material, recorded in the mid 50s – and quite a change from some of the more dynamic albums that Al would record in later years! The guitar here has a warmly acoustic feel, yet is still quite jazz-based overall – yet also,... read more

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That's "swinging pool", not "swimming pool" – a distinction that's easy to get once you hear the first few notes of the album! The set's an obscure 80s vocal jazz date from East Germany – recorded by female singer Pascal Von Wroblewsky in a style that feels more... read more

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A beautiful little solo session from the late Mal Waldron – recorded in Paris in 1972, and featuring (as you'd guess from the title) Mal stretching out wonderfully on a well-tuned Steinway! The mood of the set is softer and more introspective than some of Waldron's other work from the time... read more

An excellent 70s European session recorded by Waldron – featuring a quintet with Steve Lacy on soprano sax, Manfred Schoof on trumpet, Jimmy Woode on bass, and Makaya Ntshoko on drums. The tracks are all long – with an approach that's in that later Waldron modal mode on the rhythms,... read more

Two sets of piano solos from Per Henrik Wallin – recorded over two decades apart, yet together showing a tremendous legacy in music! The 1982 tracks are amazingly dynamic – at times bursting forth with almost Cecil Taylor-like runs on the piano, at other times moving with a more... read more

A pair of burning 21st Century recordings by Per Henrik Wallin – easily one of the greatest free jazz pianists working the European scene for the past few decades – as you'll certainly hear on this set! CD 1 features duets between Wallin and drummer Sven Akie Johansson – recorded... read more

Sublime work from pianist George Wallington – and one of his best albums ever! The set's also one of the few he ever recorded as a leader outside the trio format, and has him working with a very hip quintet that features Phil Woods, Donald Byrd, Teddy Kotick, and Art Taylor – all... read more

A long-overdue reissue – both of Cedar Walton's fusion albums for Columbia – back to back on a single CD! Animation is one of Cedar Walton's mid 70s funky jazz efforts – acoustic keys often traded for electric piano, grooving with a funky bigger band, almost in a Ramsey Lewis... read more

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A smoker from reedman Tim Warfield – working here on both tenor and soprano sax, in a tight group that comes across with plenty of fire! The entire lineup here is great – and the quintet includes Nicholas Payton on trumpet, Cyrus Chestnut on piano, Rodney Whitaker on bass, and Clarence... read more

Sublime soulful sax from Grover Washington – the man who virtually reinvented the sound of the instrument for a decade! The package here brings together some of the coolest cuts from Grover's years on Kudu Records – a place that really helped him hone his sound after initial recordings... read more

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