Absolutely burning live recording of Brownie's group co led with Max Roach, and also featuring Sony Rollins. This set features some the group's best playing, limited only by the mediocre sound quality of the recording. Great extended takes on "I'll Remember April", 'What's New", "Daahoud", "Lover Man" and "52nd Street Theme". LP, Vinyl record album

Small group genius from one of the first major players of jazz guitar – electrified Charlie Christian, working here in the Benny Goodman Sextet, and in his own combo too! LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime early work from the legendary Tal Farlow – the kind of sides that show by he was one of the most important jazz guitarists of the 50s! The bulk of the 2CD set features LA sessions recorded for Norman Granz during Farlow's early years at Verve – dates from 1954 and 1955 that often feature Tal's hollow body guitar right out front in the mix, over backing from Gerald Wiggins, Claude Williamson, Red Mitchell, Chico Hamilton, and others. One session features some added horn work by Bob Enelvoldsen, Bill Perkins, and Bob Gordon – and the package features 29 mid 50s titles that include "Tal's Blues", "Little Girl Blue", "Autumn In New York", "I Like To Recognize The Tune", "I Remember You", "It's You Or No One", "Tenderly", "Lullaby Of The Leaves", "Tea For Two", "This Is Always", "Walkin", "Will You Still Be Mine", and "Lorinesque". Added to these are a handful of earlier tunes recorded when Tal was in the Red Norvo trio – really beautiful work that features Farlow's guitar next to bass from Charles Mingus and vibes from Red! Titles include "Godchild", "This Can't Be Love", "Move", "Swedish Pastry", and "Cheek To Cheek". CD

Sublimely spiritual work from trombonist Charles Greenlee – a player who's best remembered for work as a sideman with Archie Shepp, but who really sparkles as a leader on this rare Japanese set! The vibe here is totally great – a righteous approach to soul jazz that rivals the best work of the Strata East scene in the US, but which is carried off with the poise and power of some of the best mid 70s Japanese-only dates of this type – clearly a great deal of respect and freedom given to Greenlee in the studio, but also some good help in putting together the record in as solid a way as possible. Jean Carn makes a great appearance singing on 3 tracks here – with a quality that's even more righteous than her work with Doug Carn on Black Jazz – and one more number features the great Joe Lee Wilson on vocals too. Players include Hubert Eaves and Art Matthews on piano, Charles Sullivan on trumpet, Archie Shepp on tenor and soprano, Buster Williams on bass, and either Charlie Persip or Beaver Harris on drums – and titles include "I Know About The Life", "He's Gone", "Steam", "Someday", "Crusificado", and "Miss Barbara". LP, Vinyl record album

A really special set of late work from Coleman Hawkins – shorter numbers, but played with plenty of flair with a small combo that also includes Oscar Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on bass, Herb Ellis on guitar, and Alvin Stoller on drums! CD

A small combo live recording at Ronnie Scotts – with Milt Buckner on Hammond and Tony Crombie on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection of Thelonious Monk's early pre-LP recordings for Blue Note – seminal not only for the label's commitment to a modernist bop ideal, but also for Monk's integration in the growing collection of top-level jazz players on the New York scene! The work is notable also for the fact that Monk's playing sometimes in larger group settings – not just trio ones – and here, his early writing for and interplay with saxes and trumpet certainly has a strong effect on the development of modern jazz in the 50s – as you'll hear on tracks that include work from players like Sahib Shihab and Lou Donaldson on alto, Milt Jackson on vibes, and Idrees Suliman and Kenny Dorham on trumpets – depending on the volumes. Art Blakey is on drums throughout – and titles on this first volume include "Round Midnight", "In Walked Bud", "Thelonious", "Epistrophy", "Misterioso", "Well You Needn't", and "Off Minor". New version features a total of 21 tracks with great remastering and some rare alternate takes! CD

Charlie Parker in a Latin mode – one of those ideas that shouldn't work that well, but does – and went on to influence a whole generation in jazz! Parker's alto and Latin rhythms are an amazing combination – rhythms that move even more frenetically than regular bop modes – and a horn that simply soars over the top, driven on by their inspiration – and hitting these grooves that few later Latin jazz musicians could ever hope to touch! Much of the material here is in a small group mode – in contrast to the fuller charts on some other Parker cubop recordings from the time – with players who include Walter Bishop on piano and a young Kenny Dorham on trumpet. Titles include "Mama Inez", "Estrellita", "Tico Tico", "Fiesta", and "Un Poquito De Tu Amor". LP, Vinyl record album

This record collects some unreleased takes as well as original masters of some of his better known recordings. Included on this collection are "Bird Gets The Worm", "Bluebird", "Klaunstance", "Barbados", "Merry Go Round", "Chasing The Bird", "Koko", "Perhaps", "Warming Up A Riff", "Slim's Jam", "Popity Pop", "Dizzy Boogie", and "Flat Foot Floogie". CD

This record collects some unreleased takes as well as some original masters of some of his better known recordings. Included on this collection are "Bird Gets The Worm", "Bluebird", "Klaunstance", "Barbados", "Merry Go Round", "Chasing The Bird", "Koko", "Perhaps", "Warming Up A Riff", "Slim's Jam", "Popity Pop", "Dizzy Boogie", and "Flat Foot Floogie". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic 50s collection of Verve material by Charlie Parker – and one of those records that will definitely help you understand his genius right from the start! The lineup here is slightly large – wonderful arrangements by Joe Lipman that are a bit orchestral, with strings as well – but never used in styles that get in the way of Charlie Parker's solidly smoking alto sax! In fact, the music is a key example of just what makes Bird so different – as he's right out front, taking off in all his own directions – showing that although part of a group, a musician of his caliber can also take flight in ways that few jazz musicians would have imagined a few years before. The set features incredible readings of the tunes "Temptation", "Lover", "Stella By Starlight", "Dancing In The Dark", and "Laura". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic full length set from Verve Records – one of those key late 50s albums that helped piece together the scattered legacy of Charlie Parker for the label! This set has a focus on small combo work from Bird – all quartet sessions, captured by Verve with a crispness that really shows his maturing early 50s style at its best, and with a few alternates of some tracks, which also illustrate that way that Parker could effortlessly change a solo from recording to recording! The group features Al Haig on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Max Roach on drums – and titles include "Kim", "Cosmic Rays", "Laird Baird", "Chi Chi", and "Confirmation". LP, Vinyl record album

A late 50s album that issues some killer combo material by Bird! One half of the album features work by a group that includes Red Rodney, John Lewis, Ray Brown, and Kenny Clarke – and the other features Parker with Miles Davis, Walter Bishop Jr, Max Roach, and Teddy Kotick. Tracks are short, and include some classics – and the album includes alternate takes of 4 numbers. Titles include "Si Si", "Swedish Schnapps", "Back Home Blues", "Lover Man", "Au Privave", "She Rote", and "Star Eyes". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice, nice compilation of sides cut by Powell for Norman Granz, from 1949 to 1951. Given Powell's well documented bouts with instability and alcoholism, there are several periods that lasted for months and sometimes years when he would go unrecorded. The first dates on this set come at the end of one of those periods, and Bud is in fine, fiery form, presented here in a trio setting with Ray Brown and Max Roach. Another set of trio's follows, with Curly Russell replacing Brown, and the second LP is almost all solo piano work. The set is extensvely annotated by Gary Giddins, and features some of Powell's best sides. 24 tracks in all, including "Tempus Fugit", "Cherokee", "Strictly Confidential", "Sometimes I'm Happy", "Tea For Two" and "Sweet Georgia Brown". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Solo recordings with a side's worth of originals and standards on the flipside. LP, Vinyl record album

Pure genius from pianist Monty Alexander – a collection that features some of his greatest recordings for MPS! Sometimes, there's a special sort of magic that happens between a player and a label – and that's definitely what happened with Alexander at MPS Records during the 70s – a whole new level of his playing that never came out with other labels – and which, despite countless other recordings in later years, may not have ever sounded this great again! There's a sense of freedom to the MPS recordings – a unique approach to rhythm that really works well with Monty's touch on the keys – and which makes the tunes, although often just trio or quartet number, supremely groovy from the ground up. Titles include "So What", "Theme From Shaft", "Montevideo", "Brown Skin Girl", "We've Only Just Begun", "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", "Here Comes The Sun", and "Theme From Love Story". CD

A great collection of Thelonious Monk's early pre-LP recordings for Blue Note – seminal not only for the label's commitment to a modernist bop ideal, but also for Monk's integration in the growing collection of top-level jazz players on the New York scene! The work is notable also for the fact that Monk's playing sometimes in larger group settings – not just trio ones – and here, his early writing for and interplay with saxes and trumpet certainly has a strong effect on the development of modern jazz in the 50s – as you'll hear on tracks that include work from players like Sahib Shihab and Lou Donaldson on alto, Milt Jackson on vibes, and Idrees Suliman and Kenny Dorham on trumpets – depending on the volumes. Art Blakey is on drums throughout – and titles on this second volume include "Four In One", "Ask Me Now", "Criss Cross", "Skippy", "Hornin In", "Sixteen", and "Let's Cool One". New version features a total of 18 tracks with great remastering and some rare alternate takes! CD

A tremendous collection of work by Art Tatum – maybe even THE collection of work by Art Tatum – as the 2CD set brings together all the material that appeared on the legendary 20th Century Fox albums by Art – recorded in a private home in Hollywood late in his career, but at a time when he was even more inventive than ever. Film studio sound whiz Ray Heindorf recorded the sessions – and also had a huge amount of unissued tracks that appear here – making the set more like a package of Volmes 1 and 2 – plus 3 and 4 as well! CD

Sublime solo piano work from Art Tatum – on titles that include "The Way You Look Tonight", "There's A Small Hotel", "Dancing In The Dark", "You Go To My head", and "After You've Gone". LP, Vinyl record album

Early genius from Toshiko Akioshi – a set of live recordings with the early quartet formed with her (then) husband and reedman Charlie Mariano! Mariano's a real treat to our ears in just about any setting – but we're especially fond of his alto work during these under-recorded years – a time when Charlie was really stretching out past the sound of his more familiar 50s sides, yet still with that amazing sense of tone, space, and timing he had at the start! The recordings are relatively laidback – a nice change from the tightness that both Toshiko and Charlie might show in the studio – with a roughness at points that only seems to deepen the soul of their playing. Titles include "Elegy", "Deep River", "Song Of The Farm", "Blues For Father", and "When You Meet Her". CD

A great 2CD set that captures the genius of Fred Anderson during his prime years as a spokesperson for Chicago's AACM! Anderson's style has changed quite a bit since these rare recordings – making them important for understanding his progression as a musician, not to mention essential if you're a fan of his work, or the spiritual strands of the AACM during the 70s. The group on both records features Anderson on tenor, Billy Brimfield on trumpet, Steven Palmore on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums and tablas. The first disc features the Dark Day album, issued briefly by Message records in Europe in 1979, and the second disc features a previously unissued live set, recorded in Verona in 1979, featuring material that complements the Dark Day set very nicely! Titles include "Saxoon", "Dark Day", "Three On Two", "The Prayer", and "The Bull". CD

Gentle-going genius from the later years of Satchmo's career – a session that has Louis on trumpet and vocals, backed by the Oscar Peterson Trio! Peterson's usual group with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown is expanded slightly for this outing – bringing in Louis Bellson on drums to syncopate the tunes a bit more strongly, and give them that gently swinging rhythm that always works well with Armstrong's style. The real surprise, though, is Louis' voice – which is simple, almost elegant at times – and free from some of the gimmicks of other 50s sessions, or the too-playful style of his better-known duets of the period. We really love his gentle, honest approach to the lyrics here – on tunes that include "I'll Never Be The Same", "Moon Song", "What's New", "There's No You", "You Go To My Head", "That Old Feeling", and "Let's Fall In Love". CD also features 4 bonus tracks – including "Let's Do It", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "Willow Weep For Me", and "Makin Whoopee". CD

A long-overview testament to the genius of Miguel Atwood Ferguson – a string player whose work has graced countless other great spiritual jazz projects from the west coast scene, and one who finally gets a chance to showcase his beautiful sense of creation in all its glory! The massively extended set is worth all the room that Miguel has been given – as the package features over three hours of music that flowers with all sorts of emotion, especially joy and hope – with Atwood-Ferguson working with help from friends who include Bennie Maupin and Kamasi Washington on reeds, Jeff Parker on guitar, and a whole host of musicians – including Domi & Beck, Carlos Nino, Thundercat, Jamire Williams, Jamael Dean, and others! There's a majestic quality to the record, but also a very personal tone too – as if Miguel has taken the wide range of his experience over decades on the scene, and woven it into a brilliant sonic poem of his own – served up here on 52 selections that leave us breathless! CD

A long-overview testament to the genius of Miguel Atwood Ferguson – a string player whose work has graced countless other great spiritual jazz projects from the west coast scene, and one who finally gets a chance to showcase his beautiful sense of creation in all its glory! The massively extended set is worth all the room that Miguel has been given – as the package features over three hours of music that flowers with all sorts of emotion, especially joy and hope – with Atwood-Ferguson working with help from friends who include Bennie Maupin and Kamasi Washington on reeds, Jeff Parker on guitar, and a whole host of musicians – including Domi & Beck, Carlos Nino, Thundercat, Jamire Williams, Jamael Dean, and others! There's a majestic quality to the record, but also a very personal tone too – as if Miguel has taken the wide range of his experience over decades on the scene, and woven it into a brilliant sonic poem of his own – served up here on 52 selections that leave us breathless! LP, Vinyl record album

A crucial European performance by Albert Ayler in the mid 60s – one that wasn't issued until many years after the recording, but which has become one of the sharpest pictures of his genius at the time! The vibe here is different than the Ayler albums for ESP – still very much in the same territory, but with this approach that's really reaching out with a deeply spiritual consciousness – an energy to embrace the whole history of jazz, both very old and very new – and re-form its entire ideology into a richly personal expression. Ayler's tremendous on tenor, but Don Ayler is often equally great on trumpet – and the unusual group features Michel Samson on violin, William Fowell on bass, and Beaver Harris on drums. Titles include really unique readings of "Bells", "Prophet", "Our Prayer/Spirits Rejoice", "Ghosts", "Truth Is Marching In", and "Spiritual Rebirth/Light In Darkness/Infinite Spirit". CD

Brilliant late work from spiritual saxophone genius Albert Ayler – one of his last truly great albums! The session has none of the jazz-meets-other music feel of some of the other Impulse albums – and is more in the straight expressive style of the ESP recordings. Tracks are more reined in here – with some short themes that are almost a distillation of the freedom Ayler had been expressing for a few years, summed up beautifully in tunes that have a plaintive cry, filled with as much soul and love as Ayler could muster into his horn! Players include Donald Ayler on trumpet, Cal Cobbs on harpsichord, Alan Silva on bass, and Milford Graves on drums – and titles include "Zion Hill", "Love Flower", "Love Cry", "Ghosts", "Omega", and "Dancing Flowers". CD also includes some extra bonus material! CD

Brilliant late work from spiritual saxophone genius Albert Ayler – one of his last truly great albums! The session has none of the jazz-meets-other music feel of some of the other Impulse albums – and is more in the straight expressive style of the ESP recordings. Tracks are more reined in here – with some short themes that are almost a distillation of the freedom Ayler had been expressing for a few years, summed up beautifully in tunes that have a plaintive cry, filled with as much soul and love as Ayler could muster into his horn! Players include Donald Ayler on trumpet, Cal Cobbs on harpsichord, Alan Silva on bass, and Milford Graves on drums – and titles include "Zion Hill", "Love Flower", "Love Cry", "Ghosts", "Omega", and "Dancing Flowers". LP, Vinyl record album

Early work by avant saxophone genius Albert Ayler – and very very striking! The setting is very spare, with only bass and drums backing Ayler up – and the way the album is mixed, Ayler's solos dominate the tracks in a way that isn't always the case with some of the more group-driven later work. His tone is amazing even in this early date of 1962 – and he completely blows away the other two players on the set, drummer Sune Spangberg and bassist Torbjorn Hulcrantz. The set was first recorded by the small Swedish label Bird Notes, and it's the beginning of a longtime love affair that Swedish modernists had with Ayler's tone and playing – a love affair that runs up to the current avant garde that includes Mats Gustafsson. Includes a mindblowing reworking of "I'll Remember April", plus versions of "Rollins Tune", "Tune Up", and Ayler's own "Free". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublimely soulful work from Azymuth – 2 albums back to back on a single CD! Cascades is fantastic fusion from a group who just couldn't miss during these early 80s California years! The sound here is smooth, but never slick – always a little offbeat, and quite different from more mainstream US fusion of the time – thanks to the genius of Jose Roberto Bertrami's keyboards, which glide one moment, dip the next, and often have these slight changes in speed that are totally great. Other members of the core trio include Alex Malheiros on bass and guitar and Ivan Conti on drums and percussion – and the set also features guest work by Mauricio Einhorn on harmonica, Jose Carlos on flute, and Sidney Moreira on percussion. Titles include "Remembering Milton", "Club Morocco", "Through The Window", "Festa Nativa", "Cascade Of The Seven Waterfalls", and "Indian Pepper". Rapid Transit is a set with a really warm groove overall – hardly the too-fast, or too-urban record you might expect from the title! Instead, there's a nicely organic sensibility going on here – a sound that feels fresh and spontaneous, even when it's in the highly electric territory of Jose Roberto Bertami's keyboards. There's a slight bit of added flute and percussion on the set, but most of the sounds here are from the core Azymuth trio – who even vocalize wordlessly on one of the album's best tracks. Titles include "Missing Doto", "Make Mine Guarana", "Gate Of Time", "I'm Just Looking Around", "Somewhere In Brazil", and "Afternoon". (Brazil, Jazz) CD

A really raw recording of the guitar genius of Derek Bailey – still as revolutionary here in late life as it was back in the 70s – and paired with some stunning improvisational work on bass from Simon H Fell! Fell's got the same way of turning his instrument inside out as Bailey, but also sometimes goes for these more human, textural approaches – almost as if he's hugging the bass, and urging it to life with his arms and fingers – while Bailey's approach is more pointed. The set was performed live, and has a great sense of room in the recording, with the elements echoing out nicely – on the titles "Pre-Tea 1", "Pre-Tea 2", "Post-Tea 1", and "Post-Tea 2". LP, Vinyl record album

A crowning moment of genius from trumpeter Harry Beckett – a musician who's graced a heck of a lot of records over the years, but who really knocks it out of the park with this amazing early session as a leader! Harry's work on flugelhorn is worth the price of admission alone – bold, focused, and full of all these sharp edges that really mark a new moment of expression on the instrument, equally matched by his work on trumpet too. Yet the overall vibe of the group is what really sends the record home – sounds on piano from John Taylor, vibes from Frank Ricotti, soprano and tenor from Alan Skidmore, and baritone and soprano from John Surman – all key players on Beckett's scene, really hitting their heights here. Arrangements are by Surman, Beckett, and Graham Collier – all of whom wrote material too – and titles include "Flare Up", "Where Fortune Smiles", "Flow Stream Flow", "The Other Side", "Rolli's Tune", "Fools Play", and "Third Road". LP, Vinyl record album

A great early CTI session by George Benson, and one of the most stripped-down, straight-ahead funky records he did for the label! There's a sharpness here that's different than the larger feel of some of Benson 's later records – a sound that almost links back to his soul jazz roots in the 60s – played by a tight combo that features Benson on guitar, Clarence Palmer on organ, Ron Carter on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – plus percussion from Michael Cameron and Albert Nicholson. There's a version of "So What" on here that's got to be one of the best funky takes of that standard ever – with great hard grooves on the intro – and on other cuts, the real genius is in the way the simple tracks are arranged to shift between darkly chromatic passages and slight bits of funk. Titles include "All Clear", "Ode To A Kudu", and "Somewhere In The East". Plus, the CD features 3 bonus tracks – alternate versions of "Ode To A Kudu", "Somewhere In The East", and "All Clear". CD

A legendary lineup of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers – heard here on an extended set of concert performances done in France at the start of the 60s! As on the Blue Note live albums by the group, there's a special sort of energy going on here that pushes past the already-great studio material – long solos, and a tremendous showcase for the talents of the key players in the group – the genius young trio of Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor, and Bobby Timmons on piano – all at the height of their early powers! The group also features the great Jymie Merritt on bass next to Art's drums – and titles include nice long versions of "Noise In The Attic", "It's Only A Paper Moon", "Night In Tunisia", "So Tired", "Blues March", "Kozo's Waltz", "Close Your Eyes", "Lost & Found", "Dat Dere", and "Moanin" – plus "My Funny Valentine", "Round Midnight", "Yama", and "The Summit". CD

One of the greatest Art Blakey Blue Note sessions of all time – and perhaps one of the greatest to realize the genius of the Jazz Messengers lineup that included Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor, and Bobby Timmons on piano! The trio of young talents are at the height of their early soulful powers here – working with Blakey and bassist Jymie Merritt in a set of tunes that are overflowing with expressive solos, unusual timings, and the Blakey genius for mixing bold statements with personally introspective moments. Nearly every track on the record's a classic – and titles include an early version of Bobby Timmons' "Dat Dere", plus Wayne Shorter's beautiful tunes "Lester Left Town", "Chess Players", and "Sakeena's Vision". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest Art Blakey Blue Note sessions of all time – and perhaps one of the greatest to realize the genius of the Jazz Messengers lineup that included Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor, and Bobby Timmons on piano! The trio of young talents are at the height of their early soulful powers here – working with Blakey and bassist Jymie Merritt in a set of tunes that are overflowing with expressive solos, unusual timings, and the Blakey genius for mixing bold statements with personally introspective moments. Nearly every track on the record's a classic – and titles include an early version of Bobby Timmons' "Dat Dere", plus Wayne Shorter's beautiful tunes "Lester Left Town", "Chess Players", and "Sakeena's Vision". 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

One of Art Blakey's first true moments of genius! This transitional version of the Jazz Messengers included two parts – Lee Morgan and Bobby Timmons – of the holy Morgan/Shorter/Timmons trilogy, and it's also got the added bonus of Benny Golson on tenor, who was at the height of his power at this point. The record really shines in ways that few Blakey albums shone since his days with Horace Silver – in that it's a forum for fresh new writing, most importantly Golson's landmark compositions "Blues March" and "Along Came Betty", and Timmons' instant classic "Moanin". The whole album's wonderful, though, and Golson's edgey modernism adds a strong dimension to the group's usual soulful romping groove! (And in fact, as a tribute to the group's success, the album was initially named Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, but quickly retitled Moanin in this version, after the big hit single!) LP, Vinyl record album

One of Art Blakey's first true moments of genius! This transitional version of the Jazz Messengers included two parts – Lee Morgan and Bobby Timmons – of the holy Morgan/Shorter/Timmons trilogy, and it's also got the added bonus of Benny Golson on tenor, who was at the height of his power at this point. The record really shines in ways that few Blakey albums shone since his days with Horace Silver – in that it's a forum for fresh new writing, most importantly Golson's landmark compositions "Blues March" and "Along Came Betty", and Timmons' instant classic "Moanin". The whole album's wonderful, though, and Golson's edgey modernism adds a strong dimension to the group's usual soulful romping groove! (And in fact, as a tribute to the group's success, the album was initially named Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, but quickly retitled Moanin in this version, after the big hit single!) LP, Vinyl record album

One of Art Blakey's first true moments of genius! This transitional version of the Jazz Messengers included two parts – Lee Morgan and Bobby Timmons – of the holy Morgan/Shorter/Timmons trilogy, and it's also got the added bonus of Benny Golson on tenor, who was at the height of his power at this point. The record really shines in ways that few Blakey albums shone since his days with Horace Silver – in that it's a forum for fresh new writing, most importantly Golson's landmark compositions "Blues March" and "Along Came Betty", and Timmons' instant classic "Moanin". The whole album's wonderful, though, and Golson's edgey modernism adds a strong dimension to the group's usual soulful romping groove! (And in fact, as a tribute to the group's success, the album was initially named Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, but quickly retitled Moanin in this version, after the big hit single!) CD also features a bonus version of "Moanin". CD