Jazz — All Formats  

One of Airto's most polished records, and an album that we've really grown to love over the years! There's a pretty strong modern soul/R&B component to the album – but at the core, there's still a strong feeling for Brazilian rhythms, and the record's got a wonderfully warm Brazilian... read more

A sweet Japanese set from Toshiko Akioshi – recorded at the Blue Note in Tokyo, with a group that really replicates the sound of her big band from the 70s! Key partner from those years – Lew Tabackin – is in the group playing loads of great tenor and flute solos – and other... read more

A blend of jazz funk and rawer informed grooves from Harold Alexander – and actually a step into more polished vibes thanks to some Arif Mardin arrangements and a new home at Atlantic Records! Although some of the earlier records cut by reed player Harold Alexander may have been more... read more

A very soulful batch of fusion tracks from drummer Horacee Arnold – here leading a group that includes reed talents Billy Harper and Joe Farrell, percussionist Ralph McDonald, guitarist Ralph Towner, and Dave Friedman on vibes and percussion. Tracks are long and spiralling, with a spiritual... read more

A post-Blue Note effort, and Donald's changing things up a bit with his 125th Street Orchestra and Uptown Singers – funking along in a way you'd expect from the longwinded title! Byrd loostens up the smoother backgrounds of his recent Larry Mizell helmed work, and in their place are grooves... read more

Funky electric groove from Donald Byrd – a post Mizell effort that's still burning in a crisp groove similar to his classic 70s Blue Note work – one that's absolutely dripping with keys! Isaac Hayes produced this one, and also played a lot of those keyboards on the session with Byrd's... read more

A really amazing little record – way more than usual for this sort of live recording – given that it features some very unique performances together by artists we've never heard on the same stage otherwise! The premise is simple, but wonderfully effective – in that the album... read more

A wonderful follow-up to the first Montreux Summit album – and like that classic, a groundbreaking assemblage of some of the best jazz musicians of the 70s! The format here is slightly different – with more of a focus on smaller groupings of musicians, but still with a really fresh ear... read more

A classic set of spiritual fusion from this short-lived allstar group Compost – featuring Harold Vick, Bob Moses, Jumma Santos, and Jack DeJohnette! Vick's at his moody soulful best here, in a mode that's similar to his Strata East work – and the record also features occasional vocals... read more

A really heavily-jamming album from Larry Coryell's Eleventh House group – certainly to be expected, given that the lineup includes John Lee on bass, Mike Mandel on keyboards, and Alphonse Mouzon on drums! The sound has plenty of rock-fusion touches – and Coryell's guitar is searing,... read more

One of Joe Farrell's first LPs as a leader – and a stellar session that's one of the high points in the CTI catalog! During the late 60s, Farrell had been emerging as a modernist – with less of the funky sound of his later 70s work – and this album pairs him with a very Miles... read more

Killer CTI work from Joe Farrell – with grooves so sharp you could cut your trousers on them! Farrell's angular reed style is in perfect form here – grooving with a small group that includes Herbie Hancock on piano, Joe Beck on guitar, Steve Gadd on drums, and Don Alias on percussion... read more

We love Sonny Fortune – because he always plays so great! Sonny started as more of an acoustic soul jazz player – but by the time of this session, he's working with a lot of electric backing, in a fusiony mode that should dampen his enthusiasm, but which only seems to spur him onto new... read more

A well-titled set from Chico Freeman – as the reedman definitely takes older modern modes into new territory here – moving in almost Monk-ish space, but with some sharper, bolder tones overall! The album's a surprising one for an early 80s major label release – a great reminder... read more

An essential set that brings together tracks from all of Herbie's key transitional recordings for Warner Brothers! Herbie started his years for the label playing in a more straight-ahead funky style – with perennial sample fave recordings like "Wiggle Waggle", "Lil... read more

One of the most starkly beautiful recordings in Paul Horn's career – with spiritually resonant, almost spine tingling solo flute and some chants, all recorded in the Taj Majal one day in April of 1968! It's really all about the atmosphere, as it would have to be given the location –... read more

A bundle of soul from Freddie Hubbard – one that has him blowing beautifully over full arrangements from Bert DeCoteux – the 70s super-soul maestro who really brings a new sound to Hubbard's music! The style's a bit smoother than other Freddie albums of the time, but still really great... read more

Jazz funk genius from Freddie Hubbard in the mid 70s! Gleam was a Japanese-only double album from the jazz giant in its original release – mighty funky at times, too – right up there with some of the best Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock Japanese sets from the 70s! It's a live set... read more

Sweet electric Freddie Hubbard – a wonderfully laidback session that's filled with space and soul – hardly what you'd expect from the title! The album follows nicely in the style that Hubbard hit at CTI – an openly flowing groove that has Freddie's trumpet on top of long electric... read more

The title reads like a typo, but the album's a great set of smooth fusion from Freddie Hubbard – self-produced, and almost a summation of all the styles he'd mastered in the 70s! The session's never too over the top or too ambitious – just features Freddie working with a hip group in a... read more

One of the greatest Yusef Lateef albums on Atlantic Records – and that's saying a lot, given the high level of quality he was hitting at the label! The album's a perfect blend of the newly-funky Lateef style with some hipper, more sophisticated touches – a mode that hints at his bigger-... read more

Wonderful sounds from Hubert Laws – and like some of his best CTI work of a few years before, a set that really goes way beyond any easy expectations! There's moments of ambition here that really link the record to Laws' CTI sides – that mix of fuller arrangements and higher-concept... read more

Sweet soulful flute from the great Hubert Laws – gliding high here in a great session from his post-CTI years! The album's a bit more soul-based than some of Hubert's earlier dates – but that change is a great one, and really helps Laws find some rich new energy – a focus in the... read more

Hubert Laws hits an 80s groove here – but the shift doesn't seem to dampen his soul at all! At some points, the rhythms are a bit more pronounced than before – bouncy and funky at points, with a slight nod to the clubs – yet other points still have that soft, airy finish that... read more

An overlooked gem from Ramsey's 70s years at Columbia – a record that has him grooving over larger arrangements, sweeping along in a great blend of soul and class that makes for some really great numbers! Side one of the album features Ramsey playing keyboards on the extended "Legacy&quo... read more

Michal Urbaniak's third Fusion set for Columbia – very fittingly titled, considering what a huge influence his playing had on the genre! The album's a very tight batch of groovers – soaring and spacious, but never overindulgent – sometimes featuring scatting vocals by wife... read more

An overlooked soulful gem from Michael White – one of his smoother albums, but with a tight sound that really makes the whole thing great! The set was produced by George Duke, and it's got the same feel as some of Duke's best work of the time – soaring, soulful, with a style that... read more

Not only a great follow-up to the first Echoes Of An Era session, but also a standout 80s performance from Nancy Wilson – quite possibly her best of the decade! The setting is nice and laidback – a live date with a core combo that features Joe Henderson on tenor, Chick Corea on piano,... read more