... CD

... CD

A 60s set from Memphis bluesman BB King – but one put together with a very distinct Chicago touch as well! The set's produced by Johnny Pate, and recorded live with a vibe that's similar to King's classic recording at The Regal – but it's almost got even more of a soulful punch, thanks to backing from a cool small combo that includes Bobby Forte on tenor, Kenneth Sands on trumpet, Duke Jethro on Hammond, and Louis Satterfield on bass! BB's vocals are great – in his best early form – and the tunes are bluesy, but also smoke with a nice degree of soul – and almost some jazzy touches at times from the tenor and organ. Titles include "Don't Answer The Door", "Blind Love", "Tired Of Your Jive", "Night Life", "Buzz Me", and "Waitin On You". CD

An excellent set by BB King – one of his best from the 60s, and a smoking live set recorded at Chicago's legendary Regal Theatre! The enthusiasm at the venue shows that BB's Memphis-honed style is a perfect fit for the electrified Chicago sound of the 60s – and the recording really brings out some wonderful responses from the audience – making the record a blues equivalent of James Brown's famous Live At The Apollo set! The record features introductions by Chicago DJs Pervis Spann and E Rodney Jones – and tracks include "Every Day", "Please Love Me", "Worry Worry", "Woke Up This Morning", "Help The Poor", and "You Upset Me Baby". CD

Not BB's most famous work – but great stuff, with a raw edge, and some excellent guitar work on the best tracks! Titles include "Mr Pawnbroker", "Walking Dr Bill", "My Own Fault Darling", "Catfish Blues", "Please Set A Date", and "Driving Wheel". CD

... CD

... CD

Art Blakey at the Keystone Korner – really rattling the rafters with a great lineup that includes Bobby Watson on alto sax, David Schnitter on tenor, and Valery Ponomarev on trumpet! Although the Shorter/Morgan lineup is always hailed as one of Blakey's best, we're also pretty partial to this great late 70s stretch of The Jazz Messengers – as it shows some wonderful early flowering of Watson's alto, and his songwriting abilities; Ponomarev's well-blown trumpet lines; and Schnitter's crisp, sharp lines on tenor – always carved out with a great depth of feeling. Add to the mix some great piano from James Williams, and bass from Dennis Irwin, and you've got a great lineup next to Blakey's drums – all working together in a rough-edged, hard soul space on tracks that include "Pamela", "Unlimited", "Dark Side Light Side", "Blues For Two", and "In This Korner". CD also features the bonus track "1977 AD". CD

A landmark album that had one of the best versions of the Jazz Messengers taking a big step forward – thanks to some increased songwriting by the group's young tenor genius – Wayne Shorter! Shorter's tunes take up all of the second half of the record, and all of them have gone onto become classics – "Giantis", "Sleeping Dancer Sleep On", and "Noise In The Attic" – all tunes that hint at the modernism that was to come in Wayne's music, and which especially seem to push his tenor and the trumpet of Lee Morgan into the range of more mature colors and tones that would grace their music as the 60s moved on. Meanwhile, there's a rock-solid rhythm drive at the core – Art Blakey on drums, Jymie Merritt on bass, and the great Bobby Timmons on piano – still making a strong contribution to the group. Lee Morgan wrote the nine minute tune "Johnny's Blue" on side one – which also includes a beautiful version of "Like Someone In Love" – a masterpiece in soulful lyricism! CD features one bonus alternate track, too! CD

An explosive session from an expanded edition of the Jazz Messengers – recorded at a key point when Art Blakey moved the group up to six members instead of five! Although bigger than the group on most Jazz Messenger Blue Notes, the sextet have an energy that's almost tighter – a sense of poise, focus, and vision that's not just driven by Blakey's drum kit alone – but by the kind of unique magic that only happens during rare groupings in classic jazz. A key part of the energy here comes from pianist Cedar Walton – who's replacing the Bobby Timmons soul jazz mode with a sound that's a bit more expansive and visionary. But equally important is the three horn lineup of Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, and Wayne Shorter on tenor – a two-brass frontline that's used far differently than other groups – bold one minute, but personal and sensitive the next. There's a mixture of warmth and driving energy here that's simply incredible – a prime example of Blakey taking things to the next level, when it would have been easy enough for him to sit on his laurels and keep doing the same thing over and over again! Includes classic readings of Cedar Walton's "Mosaic", Freddie Hubbard's "Crisis", and Curtis Fuller's "Arabia" – as well as Shorter's excellent "Children Of The Night". CD

An explosive session from an expanded edition of the Jazz Messengers – recorded at a key point when Art Blakey moved the group up to six members instead of five! Although bigger than the group on most Jazz Messenger Blue Notes, the sextet have an energy that's almost tighter – a sense of poise, focus, and vision that's not just driven by Blakey's drum kit alone – but by the kind of unique magic that only happens during rare groupings in classic jazz. A key part of the energy here comes from pianist Cedar Walton – who's replacing the Bobby Timmons soul jazz mode with a sound that's a bit more expansive and visionary. But equally important is the three horn lineup of Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, and Wayne Shorter on tenor – a two-brass frontline that's used far differently than other groups – bold one minute, but personal and sensitive the next. There's a mixture of warmth and driving energy here that's simply incredible – a prime example of Blakey taking things to the next level, when it would have been easy enough for him to sit on his laurels and keep doing the same thing over and over again! Includes classic readings of Cedar Walton's "Mosaic", Freddie Hubbard's "Crisis", and Curtis Fuller's "Arabia" – as well as Shorter's excellent "Children Of The Night". CD

Collected work by Blo – a hip Nigerian funk ensemble from the mid 70s! The group have a more complicated sound than some of their contemporaries – adding in dubbier stylings and bits of psychedelic guitar to the more common Afro-Funk percussion – in a mode that almost sounds like it's got traces of Can or other proggish groups, as you might hear on some of Tony Allen's more recent work, or on some of the early 70s Brit post-colonial crossover bands, like Assagai or Cymande. It all makes for a very interesting sound – marking the group as one of the most unique of their generation! Titles include "Blo", "It's Gonna Be A Good Day", "Number One", "Trace of Suicide", "Atide", "Don't Take Her Away From Me", and "Miss Sagit". CD

One of the greatest albums ever for Blue Note – and the only album recorded by tenor player Tina Brooks that was issued during his lifetime! The album's nearly perfect – and features Brooks' edgey tenor set in an all star group that includes Duke Jordan on piano, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Sam Jones on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. Brooks had blown on other Blue Note sessions before, but here, working as a leader, his sound is tremendous – vaguely to the left of center of some of his other tenor counterparts on the label, but with an equally impeccable approach to soul and rhythm. Titles include "Miss Hazel", "Good Old Soul", "Up Tight's Creek", and "Theme For Doris". CD

Amazing small group work from Ralph Burns – a real standout, given the amount of his larger ensemble sessions in the 50s! The album features Burns on piano – overdubbed on some tracks – working with a combo that includes Jimmy Raney on guitar, Clyde Lombardi on bass, and Osie Johnson on drums – all gently modern players who fit perfectly with Ralph's vision for the record. Things aren't as dark or as arch as on some of Burns' bigger dates of the decade – almost a bit warm at times, especially thanks to Ralph's piano lines. Titles include "Autobahn Blues", "Echo Of Spring", "Spring Sequence", "Sprang", "Spring Is Here", and "Gina". CD

Incredibly soulful work from 70s west coast player Hadley Caliman – a great talent on both sax and flute, and a player who only cut a very small number of albums under his own name! The album's got a really seductive feel – gently spiritual, with a style that bubbles with restrained energy, but which runs very very deeply through the length of the set. The album's really well put together – stuffed with original tracks, and featuring backing by Hotep Cecil Bernard on piano, David Williams on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. Both Caliman's tunes and playing have a lightly magical feel to them – a sadness behind the sun, done at a complicated level that we appreciate more and more over the years. Titles include "Gala", "My Marie", "Presenting Mr. Jones", and "Schyleen". CD

A brilliant live set by Betty Carter – originally issued on her own Bet-Car label in 1980, and a perfect summation of the underground soul that was bubbling through her work in the 70s! The Betty you hear here is way different than the Betty of earlier years – freer, more soulful, working in an unfettered setting that lets her take off on piano and vocals, working in a mode that's got a modal vibrant quality unmatched by most other singers! The album includes a great version of "Open The Door", a 25 minute reading of the landmark tune "Sounds", and the tracks "Tight", "Fake", "So", "My Favorite Things", "Caribbean Sun", and "I Think I Got It Now". CD

Sublime stuff! Sure, it's easy to sit back and say that you don't really dig Ray Charles albums that mix together country music and soul, and that you prefer his hard raw raunchy Atlantic recordings from the earlier days. But let's be honest, Ray really made his biggest splash with this stuff – and although it became extremely popular over the years, it's also part of a huge country soul tradition that's a very accurate representation of the rich crossover culture going on in southern soul, a tradition that for some reason always gets underplayed by folks who want to carve up the world in easy racial lines. Truth is, Ray was not the only soul artist to embrace country, and we can think of a host of others – including Solomon Burke, Ivory Joe Hunter, Joe Simon, Clarence Carter, Brook Benton, and Bobby Womack who all participated in this rich tradition. This set's essential if you're interested in checking out this side of Ray's career – and the price is pretty nice, considering that you get 4CDs, a great book, and 92 songs in all! Work is pulled from Ray's classic ABC sides in the format, plus others from before and after that generation. Titles include "A Born Loser", "I'm Movin On", "Busted", "Crying Time", "Teardrops In My Heart", "Half As Much", "No Letter Today", "Oh Lonesome Me", "Ring Of Fire", "What Am I Living For", "Let Your Love Flow", "Down In The Valley", and "Take These Chains From My Heart". CD

Some of the greatest Miles Davis material ever recorded – and not really ever officially issued as an album until this collection! The recordings are from the magical year of 1958, a time when Miles was working in the Kind Of Blue mode – on the album of the same name, one of his all-time standout classics. The work on this set is in a very similar spirit – recorded by a sextet that includes the rhythm section of Jimmy Cobb, Paul Chambers, and a young Bill Evans, who brings a magically modal feel to the album that really gives it an edge. Added to that are the saxophones of John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley, blowing together in two ends of the soul spectrum, really stretching the color palette from Miles' usual work. Miles himself seems very inspired by the company, and works with plenty of space to allow the saxophonists to stretch out in wonderful solos – and Evans himself is simply amazing, working wonderfully in the setting, making us wish he'd recorded more group dates like this one! The first 3 tracks on the set were briefly issued on the flipside of the Jazz Track album (an obscure Columbia LP that also included 10 songs from the soundtrack to Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud), and a few others on later live LPs – but this is the first time the material from that group has appeared together as a full album. Includes stellar versions of "Stella By Starlight", "Green Dolphin Street", "Fran Dance", "My Funny Valentine", "Oleo", and "Love For Sale". CD

The title says it all – as Billy sings themes from 12 big movies of the late 50s and early 60s – familiar tunes done here in a nice soulful setting, with arrangements by Billy Byers, and Bobby Tucker at the head of the orchestra. Titles include "More", "The High & The Mighty", "Moon River", "Never On A Sunday", "The Good Live", "On Green Dolphin Street", and "The Days Of Wine & Roses". CD includes a bonus cut – "Tonight", with backings by Hal Mooney! CD

Bill Evans is reunited with singer Monica Zetterlund – in a live date done more than a decade after their classic Waltz For Debby album! The first side of the record features Evans in a trio mode – working instrumentally, without Monica, in a group that features the great Eddie Gomez on bass and Eliot Zigmund on drums – easily some of the better-recorded European live material by Bill from the 70s, caught in a way that really shows his new sensitivity in the later decade. Evans' piano is breathtaking here – a subtle symphony of shades and tones that delights the ears at each new twist and turn – recorded in some slightly longish takes on tunes that include "Sugar Plum", "Sareen Jurer", "Very Early", and "Gloria's Step". Bill continues the feeling of the first side wonderfully on the flip – as Zetterlund joins the group, and shows how much she's matured as well since here last meeting with Evans. Most of the tunes are standards, but they've got a sensitivity that goes way beyond familiar readings – carried off wonderfully by Monica in some beautifully dark-toned vocals. Titles include "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "The Second Time Around", "Once Upon A Summertime", "What's New", and the lovely "Samba". CD

Quite a popular live album from Ella – recorded in Berlin at the height of the cold war years – featuring a famous recording of "Mack The Knife" that almost blew away Bobby Darin's hit with the cut! The album's nicely free of some of the stodginess of some of Ella's Songbook albums from the same time – with light and jazzy backing by a group that includes Jim Hall, Paul Smith, Wilfred Middlebrooks, and Gus Johnson. Titles include "Mack The Knife", "How High The Moon", "Too Darn Hot", "Gone With The Wind", "Misty", and "Summertime". Features bonus tracks not on the original album! CD

A great set from Ella Fitzgerald – recorded at Carnegie Hall during a stretch when Fitzgerald was hitting new worldwide fame, and singing a lot of groovy contemporary tunes – but done here in a very old school style that hearkens back to Ella's earliest days in the jazz world! The orchestra here is that of Chick Webb, directed by Eddie Barefield – who brings a vintage swing to the music that's mighty nice, and free from some of the more modern modes of some of Fitzgerald's studio work of the time. The live setting allows for Ella to open up nicely on some tunes – especially some of the medley numbers, which may well be some of the most entertaining on the record. Ella sings with some backing from Ellis Larkins on piano on a few numbers – and a few other tracks are instrumental, with work by Tommy Flanagan on piano, Eddie Lockjaw Davis on tenor, and Al Grey on trombone. Titles include "Stardust", "Some Of These Days", "I've Gotta Be Me", "C Jam Blues", "Smooth Sailing", "Indian Summer", and "Lemon Drop". CD

A fantastic rare album cut by Stan Getz in Europe! The session features Getz as the main soloist with the Clarke-Boland Big Band, and the overall sound is an incredible chapter in both the career of Getz and the CBBB. Given that most of the CBBB's soloists had a sharp angular sound, Getz's softer tenor approach is a real change for the group, and it's wonderful to hear the way that he floats around their driving arrangements – never getting lost in the mix, and instead adding whole new ranges of tones and color to their trademark sound. The set features 6 original compositions – including "Extravagances", "Escarmouches", "Provocations", and "Touchstone" – and it's packaged in a very nice fold-out cover! CD

A great live set from Dexter Gordon – recorded in the late 60s, but previously unreleased – and featuring a rare appearance from Bobby Timmons on piano! Gordon and Timmons are a rare treat together – and they're working here in the fully-extended, quite open-ended mode of the Left Bank jazz society in Baltimore – well recorded, and with plenty of room for long solos, especially from Dex! Timmons' piano work brings a nice sense of force, focus, and grooves to the tracks – and the rest of the group features Victor Gaskin on bass and Percy Brice on drums – on titles that include "Boston Bernie", "Broadway", "Blues Up & Down", and "In A Sentimental Mood". CD

Really wonderful work from trombonist Al Grey – sounding hipper here than at any other point in his career! One of the great reason for Al's sound here is the presence of tenorist Billy Mitchell – a partner with Al in the Basie band, and a great player who gives just about any session a deeply soulful finish. The rest of the group is equally nice too – with work by Dave Burns and Donald Byrd on trumpet, Floyd Morris and Herbie Hancock on piano, and Bobby Hutcherson on vibes. The use of vibes is especially striking for a set like this, and really gives the proceedings a different feel than you might think. Titles include "R.B.Q.", "Minor On Top", "African Lady", and "Hi Fly". CD

Quite possibly our favorite album ever from pianist Andrew Hill – a really unique outing that features the vibes of Bobby Hutcherson and a rare non-Sun Ra appearance by tenorist John Gilmore! The presence of Hutcherson brings a real "new thing" energy to the album – a feel that's similar to Bobby's classic Dialogue album, of which Hill was such an important part. But the searching tenor of Gilmore also brings a striking new level to the session as well – and his solos open up with a raw, earthy quality that really shades in the album with a great deal of feeling. Gilmore's role here is a bit like that of Joe Henderson on his freer Blue Note material – but his sound still undeniably unique, at a level that really makes us wish he'd recorded more albums like this at the time. The tracks are all originals by Hill, and include the titles "Duplicity", "Black Monday", "The Griots", and "Le Serpent Qui Danse". CD features 2 bonus alternate takes too! CD

Jazzy magic from the current Japanese underground – a hip group bubbling under, but with the same magic energy Jazztronik! Like Jazztronik, J's Bee blends together solid jazz roots and modern production – searching out some richly organic grooves that start slowly, build with spare keyboards and rhythms, and then take off to the skies with a really righteous sound. There's a bit of vocals on the set, but like Jazztronik, the group's equally well suited to working in an instrumental mode too. Tracks include "Eclipse", "Glow", "Naked", "Floating", "DB (Deep Blue)", and "Desert Skyline (Version 2)". CD

Really wonderful work from Jazzhole – a record that goes far beyond some of the simpler modes bubbling around the Neo Soul underground these days! Lead vocalist Marlon Saunders will be familiar to Dusty Groove customers for his other great solo work – but here his sound is somewhat different – a bit more introspective and sophisticated, with a warm rasp in his voice that sounds beautiful alongside the flowing keyboards and jazzy phrasing of the backings. The style is one that's really all its own – certainly inspired a bit by the classics, but hardly a simple copy of them – and Jazzhole prove once again that they're a great little combo who don't need to hit you over the head to hook you into their soul! Titles include "Poet's Walk", "All The Ways", "Jonesing", "One More Time", "Do It Right", "Timeless", and "It Would Have Been Enough" – plus a surprisingly great cover of Boz Scaggs' "Lowdown". CD

An amazing record from Kyoto Jazz Massive – and about time, too! The Japanese collective has been bubbling under for years – doing some of the most groundbreaking production, remix, and single work of the current Japanese scene – and this album is really their first true full-length, a massive set of tracks with a soulful approach we never knew they had! The whole thing's amazing from the word "go" (which actually isn't the first word on the album!) – and the first few tracks are especially strong, all soulful numbers with vocals by guest singers that include Vanessa Freeman, Victor Davies, and Maiya James. After that burst, the album takes off instrumentally – stretching for the sky in a jazz-infused blend of beats and keyboards, occasional other instrumentation creeping into the mix at just the right moments. Titles include "The Dawn Introduction", "The Brightness Of These Days", "Mind Expansions", "Stargazer", "Eclipse", "Between The Lights", "Substream", "Shine", "ME Outroduction", and "Behind The Shadow". CD

While we're not big on career retrospective best of's, especially artists like Marley, whose been collected over & over, this is actually a respectable set, and the deluxe edition includes a full CD of bonus tracks, all remixes from the 80s. Don't worry though, we know there's clubby remixes of some of his material out there, but there's none of that here. The remixes were handled by folks like Errol Brown, ET Thorngren & Groucho Smykle, and are all tastefully put together, plus there's a number of tunes included that weren't part of the original set. The original CD includes tons of classics, like "Get Up Stand Up", "Exodus", "Stir IT Up", "Easy Skanking" & 'Redemption Song" and the remixes include "One Love/People Get Ready", "Coming In From The Cold", "Buffalo Soldier" & "Lively Up Yourself". 29 tracks in all. CD

A really unusual album for Jack McDuff – one that was recorded in Memphis, with a lineup and a feel that's quite different from other Blue Note sessions of the time! There's a lot of electricity bubbling in the record – and although McDuff normally never worked with a bassist on earlier sessions, this one features a unnamed player who really lays out a nice bottom for the whole session – bubbling the tunes with lots of work on the electric, and letting McDuff concentrate on funking things up with the keys of the Hammond! The set features a key recording of Jack's classic "Theme From the Electric Surfboard", plus the funky numbers "Butter (For Yo Popcorn)", "The Vibrator", and "Down Home Style". CD

An amazing album – simply groundbreaking, and a key turn for Jackie McLean! The record features a group of hip young players – including a very young Tony Williams, plus Grachan Moncur III, Bobby Hutcherson, and Eddie Kahn – all playing in a spare contemplative modernist mode that would soon become known as "new thing" jazz. The four tracks on the album – "Frankenstein", "Ghost Town", "Blue Rondo", and "Saturday & Sunday" – are extremely stark, and even Hutcherson's often-warm vibes sound harsh and metallic, especially next to McLean's razor-sharp tone. The record's a real treasure – and never too out to be unenjoyable by fans of McLean's more inside work. Extremely compelling – and we sure wish they were making them like this again! Also includes a bonus alternate of "Saturday & Sunday". CD

A great lost bit of funk – and a pretty mysterious record, too! The record came out hot on the heels of Manu Dibango's big original version of "Soul Makossa" – and while it's got a groove that definitely leans towards Afro Funk, it's also got plenty of Caribbean touches too – a wicked blend of funk and island styles that's almost like The Beginning Of The End at some of the best moments – but with a touch of New York underground as well! We've never been entirely sure if the group wasn't just a Winley Records studio project – maybe The Rimshots under another name – but whatever the case, the record's a damn funky classic – filled with lots of original-sounding grooves that make the whole thing well worth tracking down. Titles include a version of "Soul Makossa", with a groove that's harder than the original – plus "Skin N Soul", "Good Groove", "Mozambique", "Finger In It", "Dance Girl", and the extended "Bahamas Melody". CD

With grooves this great, the house must have been full – and the album's a gem of an early live date by Wes Montgomery, recorded in Berkeley with a quartet that includes Johnny Griffin on tenor, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums! The tunes have a nicely cooking feel throughout – even when they're more gentle ones – and the record's a good reminder that outside of the studio, Wes could sometimes play with a bit more force on the strings – raspily hitting notes that explode off the guitar with tremendous precision and a good deal of feeling. Titles include the Montgomery originals "Full House", "SOS", and "Cariba", plus the tunes"Blue N Boogie" and "Come Rain Or Come Shine". CD features 3 bonus tracks! CD

A strange little record, but a great one too – a posthumous album that took older Wes Montgomery sides and souped them up a bit after his death! The core material here is quartet recordings done in 1965 – Montgomery's guitar in a hip group with Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums – other material recorded at the same time as the Smokin At The Half Note set, discovered later by Verve, and augmented with fuller backings from Claus Ogerman for this record in 1968. In contrast to some of Wes' other albums of this nature, the core combo grooving was done first, which then ends up directing Ogerman's arrangements – and not the other way around – making for a really unique mix of sounds, especially on some of the longer tracks. Titles include "Four On Six", "Oh You Crazy Moon", "Willow Weep For Me", "Misty", "Impressions", and "Portrait Of Jennie". CD

Includes the songs "Cantaloupe Island", "Contact", "Pebble Beach Walk", "California", "The Loner", "Soul Summit", "Eighty-One", "Twenty Small Cigars", "How Would You Like To Have A Head Like That", "King Kong", and "With A Little Help From My Friends". CD

A stunner of a set from Ken Vandermark & co as Powerhouse Sound – a riveting 2CD batch of rhythmic juxtaposition inspired by dub, sound collage production, and free rock caterwauling – done with a pair of line-ups in both Oslo and Chicago! The Oslo group is heavy with bass and stuttering electronic manipulations, and features Vandermark, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten and Nate McBride on electric bass, Pall Nilssen-Love on drums and Lasse Marhaug on electronics. The Chicago crew runs through variations of the material and changes up the instrumentation with Vandermark, John Herndon on drums, Jeff Parker on guitar and McBride on bass. Disc one (Oslo version) includes "Shocklee (For Hank Shocklee)", "King To Crown (For King Tubby), "Coxsone (For Coxsone Dodd)", "2-1-75" (For Miles Davis), "Acid Scratch (For Lee Perry)", "Exit-Salida (For Burning Spear)" and "New Dirt (For The Stooges)". Disc two (Chicago version) includes "Old Dictionary (For Bernie Worrell)", "King To Crown Pt 1/Acid Scratch Pt 2", "Coxsonne", "2-1-75" and "New Dirt/King To Crown Pt 2". CD

A massive overview of the early years of the career of trumpeter Shorty Rogers – a 2CD set that brings together performances by Shorty in other groups (Woody Herman, Red Norvo, Stan Kenton, Lighthouse All Stars), plus some of Rogers' seminal early 50s sides as a leader! The package is a great way to look at Shorty in these "bubbling under" years – the time when he was making bold strides as a soloist in other artists' groups, then first forging the Giants sound that became one of the most popular in 50s jazz. Titles include "Bop" by Red Norvo, "Igor" and "Lemon Drop" with Woody Herman, "Short Wave" with Maynard Ferguson, "Jolly Rogers" and "Viva Prado" with Stan Kenton, "Punkin" with Louis Bellson, "What's New" with Lighthouse All Stars, and "Chino", "Coop De Graas", "Morpo", "Diablo's Dance", "Pesky Serpent", "Indian Club", "Powder Puff", "Didi", and "Four Mothers" all issued under Shorty's name. CD

The start of a fantastic tradition – the first-ever recording of the SF Jazz Collective, a kickoff to a series that would give us amazing records for years to come! This time around, the group work through a series of Ornette Coleman tunes, re-arranged by Gil Goldstein for the octet – which features an all-star lineup that includes Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Joshua Redman on tenor, Nicholas Payton on trumpet, Miguel Zenon on alto, Josh Roseman on trombone, Renee Rosnes on piano, Robert Hurst on bass, and Brian Blade on drums – all strong leaders on their own, but doing a remarkable job here of putting aside egos and working together as a whole! Coleman tunes include "Una Muy Bonita", "Lonely Woman", "School Work", "Happy House", and "When Will The Blues Leave" – and originals include "Of This Day's Journey", "Wages", "March Madness", and "Rise & Fall". CD

A wonderful album for all those folks who ever crabbed about Shepp going back "inside" during the late 70s! The record is straight jazz – not as righteous as Attica Blues or some of the other Impulse albums, yet done with a wonderfully soulful quality that shows that even without a large group backing him up, Shepp could blow wonderfully on the sax. Most tunes feature him on soprano, and the album also features a bit of tenor – and the group is a quartet with Walter Bishop on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums. Tracks are all long, and Shepp's got this great laidback and mellowly searching tone. Titles include "In A Mellow Blues", "Enough", "The Scene Is Clean", and "On Green Dolphin Street". CD

Originally a Japanese-only session – and one of the best records ever by this legendary 70s jazz super-group – a real return to acoustic jazz roots, with a lineup that includes Herbie Hancock on piano, Wayne Shorter on tenor, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums! There's a lot of the sorts of energy that some of the players created when working with Miles Davis the decade before – but shaped with some of the soulfulness that Freddie Hubbard unleashed during his early CTI years – very welcome here, at a time when Hubbard was getting more electric touches on some of his albums. Herbie's great too – and the album ranks with his other great Japanese-only albums of the decade – really given a sense of creative freedom that didn't always happen with the more commercial drive that Columbia was pushing in the US. The whole thing's filled with lots of long modal numbers, strong soloing all around, and a top-shelf presentation of the material – on titles that include "Tear Drop", "Fragile", "One Of Another Kind", "Papa Oriente", "Domo", and "Pee Wee". CD

A real standout in the catalog of pianist George Wallington – a very cooking live set, recorded at the Cafe Bohemia with an expanded quintet! The record supposedly showcases Wallington's style (or gimmick) – called "The Peck", and explained as a series of incomplete phrases from the players – but to us, this approach is just prime 50s hardbop at its most inventive – a mode that might be dubbed "call and response", in which players trade lines back and forth with great dynamism and energy! Players here are all very well suited to the task – and include Donald Byrd on trumpet, Jackie McLean on alto, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Taylor on drums – all working with great boppish fire on a set of tunes that include "Sweet Blanche", "Minor March", "Jay Mac's Crib", and "Bohemia After Dark". CD