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Arguably THE classic Cal Tjader album of the 60s – a landmark album that crossed over equally into Latin, jazz, and mainstream audiences – and a stone cooker that's filled with smoking little grooves! The set's probably best known for its title track "Soul Sauce" – one... read more

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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

Incredible first album from a player who would go onto become one of the major soul jazz talents of the 70's – and one of the owners of the Strata East label. Tolliver plays here with the original incarnation of his Music Inc group – which includes Stanley Cowell, Steve Novosel, and... read more

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One of the best of the Schema/Rearward reissues of lost Italian jazz – and a sparkling session that features the work of a young Gato Barbieri, plus trumpeter Franco Ambrosetti, pianist Franco D'Andrea, and bassist Giovanni Tommaso. Drummer Franco Tonani leads the session – but the... 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

One of our favorite recordings ever of George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess – done by Bethlehem Records in the mid 50s, and featuring nearly every one of the label's great talents at the time! The choice of the lead characters is a bit odd – as Mel Torme plays Porgy and Francis Faye... read more

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

Towner on 12 string and classical guitar – completely solo!... read more

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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

Excellent double LP set that brings together all of the material from Lennie's classic Atlantic LPs – Lennie Tristano and The New Tristano. The recordings are stellar stuff – of the sort that rewrote the book for modern jazz piano. The first LP has Lennie playing with Lee Konitz on... read more

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The first album from guitarist John Tropea – ace 70s session guitarist, but a surprisingly great leader and arranger in his own right too! Tropea's working here in a vibe that's clearly influence by the CTI sound – smooth but funky fusion – laid down in prime studio conditions,... read more

Very hip work from one of the coolest cats of the 50s – the amazing Bobby Troup, heard here at the height of his powers in a very sweet setting! The group's actually a quartet – given that Bobby's on piano, alongside Howard Roberts on guitar, Bob Enevoldsen on bass, and Don Heath on... read more

A really unique group – with a sound that's unlike anything else we've ever heard before! The Eastern European players certainly aren't a household name on this side of the Atlantic – but they've got a very inventive approach to their music here – using four acoustic basses, each... read more

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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

Perfect Bob James electric arrangements make this LP by Stan one of his best for CTI! The record's got a laidback dope 70s approach to funky jazz – with loads of nice modal chords, sliced through by some deep soul solos from Stan. Players include Idris Muhammad, Bob James, Harold Mabern,... 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

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

A great album – with a really swinging groove! Stanley's soulful horn is set in a slightly larger group, in the style that would dominate his later years for the Blue Note label. Duke Pearson arranged the set, and players include James Spaulding, Blue Mitchell, Grant Green, Pepper Adams,... read more

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During the early 60s, Blue Note wisely cut a number of sessions that took advantage of their soulful in-house rhythm trio The Three Sounds. The group recorded more than a few successful albums under their own name – but they also did a few great records that feature them backing up a more... 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

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

A really mindblowing session from McCoy Tyner – perfectly titled "Expansions" to showcase the change in his style at the time! The record is one of Tyner's first larger group efforts – and is a brilliant example of the expansion of his talents in the post-Coltrane years... read more

A beautifully full session from McCoy Tyner – one recorded with added horns and voices, and very much in the mode of some of Horce Silver's best 70s experiments for Blue Note! The sound is as bold, dynamic, and soulful as other Tyner albums from the time – and the added elements really... read more

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Darkly-tinged piano work from McCoy Tyner – recorded live, in extended takes, with long-spiralling lines that soar in his best post-Coltrane approach to the piano! The album's got a depth and passion that's missing from some of Tyner's other trio sessions of the time – and features... read more

Pretty darn nice stuff from McCoy Tyner, from a period when he was opening up to the soul jazz spiritualism that was around him – a movement that was clearly directly inspired by his work with Coltrane, but which also helped to shape his playing, and return the favor of influence. The group... read more

Brilliant work by McCoy Tyner – an album that has him firmly stepping out of the shadow of Coltrane with a sound influenced by the rising Afro-centric style of soul jazz to emerge in the 70s! The group on the set is a quartet with Bobby Hutcherson on vibes – and the mixture of... read more

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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

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

A landmark album of the New York downtown scene – and one of the most groundbreaking guitar jazz albums of the 70s! James Blood Ulmer plays here with members of Ornette Coleman's group of the time – including Ornette himself, Denardo Coleman, and Jaamaladeen Tacuma. The style is very... 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

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Plenty of darkness here from Phil Upchurch – those great tones and notes he worked so well back in the 70s – all with that near-perfect quality that made him one of the most in-demand players of his day! The style here is a bit different than some of Phil's previous work in Chicago... 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

An incredible album from one of the greatest talents on the Chicago soul scene of the late 60s – guitarist Phil Upchurch, a player with an amazing sound! Phil could work in worlds that were equal parts soul and psychedelia – making his guitar a perfect accompaniment for the best... read more

An incredible album from one of the greatest talents on the Chicago soul scene of the late 60s – guitarist Phil Upchurch, a player with an amazing sound! Phil could work in worlds that were equal parts soul and psychedelia – making his guitar a perfect accompaniment for the best... 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

A pretty sweet 70s session from Michal Urbaniak – done in the same heavy funk style as his bigger label recordings of the time, with a solid blend of electric rhythms and some nice trippy solo work! The core of the group is Urbaniak on violin and lyricon, Urszula Dudziak on voice and... 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

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Great early work from Dave Valentin – a record of soulful fusion tracks done shortly after his time in Ricardo Marrero's group – gliding along with a warm production tone, and that great end-of-70s GRP sound! The tunes are nicely laidback, never as overly-slick as in later years –... read more

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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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Fierce funky instrumentals from Motown keyboardist Earl Van Dyke – a set that's overflowing with great original tracks, plus some sweet funky covers too! The style here is quite different than Earl's previous work – and quite different from most of Motown too – with a hard-edged... read more

Sweet and moody flute work from Thijs Van Leer – best known as the flute player with Focus! The album's got Thijs playing over very sweet and spare orchestrations – often in a classical-tinged mode, but with some of the moodier, more atmospheric feel of European flute work of the time.... read more

Early groovy goofy accordion stuff, with a good mix of vibes, guitar, and squeezebox. The tracks are short, as short as on the rest of Art Van D's other Columbia stuff from this period, but the sound is classic Van Damme, if you go for that kind of thing.... 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

Vaughan is backed by an orchestra for this collection of standards that she does in a style all her own. Tracks include "Tenderly", "Don't Blame Me", "I'm Thru With Love", "I Cover The Waterfront", "The Man I Love", "I've Got A Crush On... read more

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From bop to swing – and everything in between! The album's an 80s reissue of a classic performance by Charlie Ventura – recorded in Pasadena in 1949, with his septet that included Benny Green on trombone, Boots Mussuli on alto, and vocalese bits by Jackie & Roy! Ventura was a key... read more

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A monster! This is one of the rare few albums that tenorist Harold Vick ever cut as a leader – and it's pretty darn great all the way through! Vick is probably best known as the sax player with Jack McDuff during his mid 60s glory years – and this album captures him a similar mode,... read more

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

Vier is Thomas Freier on sax, Juergen Dahmen on piano, Walfried Boecker on bass and Axel Kroell on drums.... read more

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A great early slice of Eddie Vinson – material that features him playing alto and singing, in a mode that's almost more jump and jive than later R&B!... read more

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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Allen's on the front cover in a white turtleneck that makes him look like a bit of a square, but the session's a nice jazzy fusion outing, in the best tradition of some of the excellent work from the time on the short-lived Headfirst label! Vizzutti plays trumpet in the lead, often in a... read more

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A killer album of German fusion from the late 70s – a blend of acoustic elements, Brazilian rhythms, and freer jazz moments that's right up there with the best of the Glucklich generation! The group's led by percussionist Heinz Von Moisy – and it features plenty of his own rootsy work... read more