With Stanton Davis, Malachi Thompson, Bruce Purse, and Bowie on trumpet – plus Craig Harris and Steve Turre on trombone, Vincent Chancey on French horn, and Phillip Wilson on drums. Titles include "Coming Back Jamaica", "Nonet", "When The Spirit Returns", and "Lament". LP, Vinyl record album

Smooth jazzy work from Deodato – a record that takes off from his electric keyboard work of the early 70s, and shows his growing interest in modern soul and R&B a the time! Deodato's still a few years way from some of his famous soul production work, but he's already got a great ear for a groove – and works in a style that's tight, but never too slick – the best Joe Sample or Crusaders territory, but even more groove oriented too. You can definitely hear Deodato's growing taste for modern soul here – especially on the seminal club jammer "Whistle Bump", which is a tight keyboard-driven groove, with some sweeping strings underneath wah wah guitar. The cut's the real standout on the album – although there's a few other nice moments, like "Space Dust" and "Lovely Lady", which has a great mellow Bob James-ish sound. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the tracks "Black And Tan Fantasy", "Maroon", "Blue Serge", "Mood Indigo", "Azure", "Gal From Joes" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The great Lalo Schifrin plays piano and leads a crack group of studio players through some larger orchestral material with a nice jazzy feel! The overall approach is similar to Lalo's classic 60s soundtrack work – with nice solos arching out over sweeping strings and orchestral passages, and all tracks written with a good deal of punch, plus lots of little Latiny influences. Easily one of his most perfectly conceived albums of the 60s – and pretty darn tough to find. Tracks are long and titles include "El Salon Mexico", "New Fantasy", "Sabre Dance", and "Prelude #2". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare early Fantasy LP, one that features Gerry Mulligan working with a strong early group – Chet Baker on trumpet, Chico Hamilton on drums, and Carson Smith on bass – on 4 tracks recorded in San Francisco, and 4 others recorded slightly later in LA. The tunes are short, piano-less, and have that fluid 50s Mulligan groove – and titles include "Turnstile", "Limelight", "Carioca", "Bark For Barksdale", and "Line For Lyons". LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal material from Cecil Taylor – an explosive album that was one of the first to show the world just how much his style had evolved since the late 50s! When Taylor first showed up on the scene, he was already a pianist that was going farther out than just about anyone – but by the time of this 1962 performance in Copenhagen, he'd really taken off – working in these massive flurries of keyboard intensity that were unlike anything anyone had ever heard before – the full-blown Taylor aesthetic that's endured for decades, set up perfectly here in a trio with some brilliantly bracing alto sax by Jimmy Lyons, and equally free work on drums by Sunny Murray! All tracks are long, and titles include "Trance", "Call", "Lena", and "D Trad That's What". LP, Vinyl record album

A 70s collection of recordings off the Jazz At Oberlin and Jazz At College Of Pacific albums, featuring Paul Desmond. LP, Vinyl record album

A record as spacey as the image on its cover, and a further example of the keyboard genius of the great Greg Foat – a masterful musician in just about any setting! Here, Foat teams up with drummer Ayo Salawu – who provides some tight, core rhythms that mix funkier styles with more open modes – which are then pushed to the heavens by all sorts of keyboard work from Greg – on a variety of Korg, Roland, and Ensoniq keys! The back cover indicates that the record's an homage to older sound library material – particularly that moment when the keyboards took over from fuller groups – but with the jazz background of Foat, there's also plenty more going on here – which makes the album a real cut above. Titles include "Mines Of Andromeda", "Stasis Loop", "Cruising Home", "The Lonely Robot", "Interstellar Fantasy", "Solar Pirates", and "Journey To Arcturus". LP, Vinyl record album

Ed Longo plays plenty of keyboards here – and serves up cuts that move effortlessly between boogie-oriented grooves and more laidback numbers – so that the set's got a nice balance of mellow moments and groovers! Other instrumentation includes saxes, Fender Rhodes, flute, and guitar – and there's vocals on just one cut, but most of the the record is instrumental, and has a late 70s/early 80s production approach that keeps things warm and soulful, but never slick or commercial. Titles include "A Palm In The Closet", "New Life", "Arcadian Dream", "Love On The Line", and "Trouble In Paradise". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary live performance, and one that's often billed as a high moment in the history of bebop – a special concert-only group that brings together five key bop heavyweights – Charlie Parker on alto, Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, Bud Powell on piano, Charles Mingus on bass, and Max Roach on drums – all coming together in a unique one-off performance! The set was recorded up in Canada, and represents one of the first widely-circulated live recordings of a straight bop set – different than some of the mix of styles you'd get on a JATP record, with long tracks that really show the nonstop creative energy that shifts between the players. The original vinyl release broke the concert out into two records – and this is the quintet material, with titles that include "Perdido", "Salt Peanuts", "All The Things You Are", "Wee", and "Hot House". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic record – one of Shaw's real landmarks of the 70s, and a lasting testament of soul jazz genius! The record features Shaw working with a group that includes a number of like-minded players – Frank Strozier, Ronnie Matthews, and Stafford James – all of whom fit together perfectly with Shaw to craft some strident tunes with the same sort of modal groove and soulful spiritualism as his work on the Moontrane record. Titles include "Sashianova", which has a great modal groove, "Jean Marie", and "Tomorrow's Destiny" – but the whole album is great together, and we never tire of listening to it! LP, Vinyl record album

A 12" LP that brings together early 50s tracks from Dave Brubeck's trio – back when the group included a young Cal Tjader on drums and vibes. Tracks are short and sweet – less time-change oriented than Brubeck's later work – and titles include "Perfida", "Avalon", "Heart & Soul", "Squeeze Me", "Always", and "I Didn't Know What Time It Was". LP, Vinyl record album

A great back-to-basics solo album from the legendary David Axelrod – cut in the mid 70s for Fantasy Records, after higher-concept projects like The Auction and Messiah! This set gets right to the core – and focuses on the funk currents that were always part of Axelrod's larger arrangements, but which sometimes never got pulled to the forefront as strongly – and the approach is almost like some of the funky jazz albums that were issued by Fantasy/Prestige Records at the time – especially those that Axelrod produced for Cannonball Adderley. The whole thing has that great Axelrod sense of composition, with lots of space, and lots of spare cold bits that are nice nice nice for sample cuts – and titles include the classic track "Everything Counts", plus "Get Up Off Your Knees", "My Family", and "Mucho Chupar". LP, Vinyl record album

If you've ever doubted the real jazz sensibility of Tony Bennett, then this is an album to change your mind – because Tony's working here in a marvelously unadorned setting – with only the piano of Bill Evans to back him up! The record's a rare gem from years after Bennett was cracking the pop charts, but was willing to pull back to the jazz of his roots – and the session's equally rare for Evans, who rarely worked with vocalists at this point in his career. The simplicity of the album is its strength – and together, the pair really sound tremendous – slightly faltering at times, but in a way that exposes a sense of humanity you might not find in other records, especially those by Bennett. Titles include "When In Rome", "Some Other Time", "The Touch Of Your Lips", "My Foolish Heart", "Waltz For Debby", and "Young & Foolish". (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A classic album from San Francisco pianist Dave Brubeck – recorded at Oberlin College, the mid-Ohio haven of bohemiana, and a growing hotbed of jazz activity centered around students in the college's conservatory of music at the time of the recording! Dave and crew made the trip at the request of the kids – breaking from their mostly San Francisco-based recording career to cut what would end up becoming a very successful album in Dave's catalog, and begin a whole "at" or "goes to" series in his career – followed up at many other locations. The group's the early quartet with Paul Desmond on alto, Ron Crotty on bass, and Lloyd Davis on drums – and tunes include long and jamming versions of "The Way You Look Tonight", "How High The Moon", and "Stardust". LP, Vinyl record album

Late work from Duke – a set that has that nicely mature approach to arrangements, with a group that includes Johnny Hodges on alto, Paul Gonsalves on tenor, Cootie Williams and Cat Anderson on trumpets, and Lawrence Brown on trombones. Titles include a "Johnny Hodges Medley" – plus "Boola Boola", "Chromatic Love Affair", "Put-Tin", and "Swamp Goo". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic never-heard performance from one of the greatest pianists of the 20th Century – a live date recorded in Madison, WI – and exactly the kind of record that reminds us why Bill Evans in a live setting is maybe even more revelatory than Bill Evans in the studio! It's impossible to describe what makes this record wonderful, but the whole thing just grabs us right from the very first note – with that balance of strength and subtlety that makes Evans in the 70s so amazing – balanced out by equally mesmerizing work from Eddie Gomez on bass! The Gomez/Evans interplay is captured fantastically here – and given just the right sort of subtle support from Eliot Zigmund on drums – and despite the fact that the material has never been issued before, the whole thing's completely top-level work, and on a par with anything in Bill's catalog of the 70s. Titles include "Up With The Lark", "Sugar Plum", "Minha", "All Of You", "Some Other Time", "Someday My Prince Will Come", and "TTT". LP, Vinyl record album

A later session from Bill Evans – but one that features some great work from Lee Konitz on alto and Warne Marsh on tenor – one of Evans' last sessions with horn players! Eddie Gomez plays bass – and titles include "Eiderdown", "Pensativa", "Everytime We Say Goodbye", "Pensativa", and "Speak Low". LP, Vinyl record album

A great pairing, heard perfectly here – on titles that include "Show Type Tune", "Invitation", "Blue Serge", "Are You All The Things", and "Falling Grace". LP, Vinyl record album

Over the years, we've come to realize that the best thing about the Peanuts cartoons isn't the actions of Charlie Brown and Lucy, but the wonderful music from Vince Guaraldi – perhaps the one aspect of the cartoons that's kept on giving over the years, and which we can proudly carry into adulthood! Vince's music is sublime – often simple, but groovy – a mix of rhythmic vamps and more lyrical passages that perfectly underscore the melancholy that graced the characters of Charles Schultz, and which perhaps defines them even better than the clunky stories or voiceovers on the screen. This set features all the best numbers from the glory days of those cartoons – mostly holiday numbers, but some other gems too – titles that include "Skating", "Little Birdie", "Baseball Theme", "Linus & Lucy", "Happiness Is", "Oh Good Grief", "Christmas Is Coming", "Great Pumpkin Waltz", "Thanksgiving Theme", and both vocal and instrumental versions of "Christmas Time Is Here". LP, Vinyl record album

Keystone bop indeed – a smoking little set from Freddie Hubbard, recorded during his great back-to-basics years of the early 80s! The tracks here are all quite long, and informed by a strong sense of hard bop – but they also open up with some sharper, more modern moments at times – of the sort that keenly reflect Freddie's best roots during his early years at Blue Note. The other players here are all quite strong – especially well-matched for the energy of such a record – with Bobby Hutcherson on vibes and Joe Henderson on tenor, plus rhythm from Billy Childs on piano, Larry Klein on bass, and Steve Houghton on drums. 3 lengthy tracks: "The Littlest One Of All", "One Of Another Kind", and "Body & Soul". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the original Fantasy LPs that the Montgomery Brothers cut when they were just wee lads from Indianapolis who'd showed up on the west coast with their guitar, vibes, and electric bass in hand. Wes, Buddy, and Monk play a lively live set that has a lot more swing than usual, and which grooves nicely on just about every cut. Paul Humphrey is the drummer, which probably explains the groove, and the tracks include a tasty cover of "Jeanine", plus "Green Dolphin Street", "Beaux Arts", and "Snowfall". LP, Vinyl record album

A 50s Fantasy album that brings together 2 earlier 10" jazz sessions – one by Mulligan and one by Desmond, both unusual outings for the players. Side one features Gerry Mulligan working with a strong early group – Chet Baker on trumpet, Chico Hamilton on drums, and Carson Smith on bass – on 4 tracks recorded in San Francisco, and 4 others recorded slightly later in LA. The tunes are short, piano-less, and have that fluid 50s Mulligan groove – and titles include "Turnstile", "Limelight", "Carioca", "Bark For Barksdale", and "Line For Lyons". Side two is a session that features 4 tracks with Paul in a quintet with Dick Collins on trumpet and Dave Van Kriedt on tenor sax – working without a piano, and in a fluid-grooving style that recalls a lot of the Gerry Mulligan style of the time. The other 4 tracks from the set are even more unique – and have Desmond blowing dreamily over a "with voices" chorus – done with the Bill Bates singers in a style that's warmer than similar work by Charlie Parker, and which really points the way towards some of the Desmond solo genius of the 60s. Titles include "Jeruvian", "Garden In The Rain", "Misty Window", "Winky", "Soon", and "Will I Know". LP, Vinyl record album

The second half of the legendary Jazz At Massey Hall performance from 1953 – a set that features the core rhythm trio, without Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie – a killer lineup that has Bud Powell on piano, Charles Mingus on bass, and Max Roach on drums! The tunes are a bit shorter than on the quintet sides, but maybe that's because Powell can always pack so much into such a short space – and Mingus has plenty of sharp small group imagination here, while Roach is a young genius, really breaking out here too. Titles include "Sure Thing", "Lullaby Of Birdland", "Jubilee", "Cherokee", and "Embraceable You". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few recordings ever made by this obscure Chicago singer – with a few tracks that feature Bill Evans on piano! Titles include "Out Of This World", "My Time Of Day", "Lazy Afternoon", "It's All Right With Me", and "Because We're Kids". (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best records ever by this unique bop trumpeter – and one that catches him with a strong comeback group that includes Chicagoans Ira Sullivan on trumpet and tenor, Vic Sproles on bass, and Norman Simmons on piano. Roy Haynes rounds out the group on drums – giving the proceedings a warm soulful feel. Titles include "Swingin With Daddy-O", "Hale To Dale", "Laura", and "Trumpet Juice". LP, Vinyl record album

The crashing waves of the Pacific coast hardly seem like the serene setting you might want for the vibes of Cal Tjader – but this album works surprisingly well, and offers up Cal's combo in a Monterey live date, before the jazz festival really got going strong! The group's one that matches his best early albums for Fantasy – piano from Lonnie Hewitt, soulful bass from Al McKibbon, and some great Latin percussion from Mongo Santamaria and Willie Bobo! Paul Horn also joins the group on flute – blowing with lyrical lines that fit the sound wonderfully, adding a whole new dimension to the music. Many tracks are longer than usual for the Fantasy years – and titles include "Walkin With Wally", "Doxie", and "Afro Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Cal Tjader's best late 50s dates for Fantasy Records – thanks to some smoking tenor sax from Jose "Chombo" Silva! The album has Cal working in the very comfortable territory of San Francisco's Blackhawk Nightclub – in a combo that also features familiar players Vince Guaraldi on piano, Al McKibbon on bass, Willie Boby on drums, and Mongo Santamaria on congas – all musicians who'd previously helped Tjader hit some of his best Latin grooves! But the addition of Silva on a few tracks here really makes the set crackle – giving it a gutsy, soulful fee that you don't always get on some of Tjader's other records. Tracks are longish – and titles include the nice original "Bill B", plus jazzy versions of "I Love Paris", "Blue & Sentimental", and "Night In Tunisia". LP, Vinyl record album

Stanley blows it sweet, mellow, and soulfully – in this wonderful post-CTI session from the 70s! The set features some swirling larger arrangements from Gene Page – done with a bit of the CTI sound lurking in the mix, but also a more complicated groove that almost takes on soundtrack-like proportions at times – a warmly-flowing groove that's lush without being soppy, and which really sets Turrentine up nicely for some sophisticated, mature solos on tenor. Stan's got some great company on the record – including Patrice Rushen on keyboards, David T Walker on guitar, and Freddie Hubbard on trumpet – and although the set's laidback, it's a lot more soulful than you might think – almost like a hip mellow soul set from the time, but with tenor instead of vocals. Includes covers of the Earth Wind & Fire tunes "Reasons" and "That's The Way Of The World", plus the tracks "Touching You", "T's Dream", and "Have You Ever Seen The Rain". LP, Vinyl record album

Soulful Stan, over arrangements by Claus Ogerman! Titles include "Papa T", "Joao", "Birdland", "Nightwings", "Don't Give Up On Us", and "If You Don't Believe". LP, Vinyl record album

A 70s soulful classic from the mighty Stanley Turrentine! Stan's not the bad "Mister T" on this set – he's more in a smooth, mellow mode – blowing over some nice soulful arrangements by Gene Page, ones that take the CTI funk approach, add in some strings, and create a bit of a Barry White sort of instrumental groove! The result is surprisingly great – a lot nicer than you might think – with plenty of slinky soulful numbers that have a subtle undercurrent of funk, and still feature some excellent and inventive blowing from Stan. Titles include "Midnight & You", "Blanket On The Beach", "I'm In Love", "Evil", "Pieces of Dreams", and "Deep In Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Use The Stairs is a near-forgotten date from 1980 – recorded at a time when Stanley Turrentine was still steeped in the fuller arrangements picked up during his CTI years – blowing beautifully as a soloist in the larger setting! The sound here is plenty darn hip – thanks to arrangements from Wade Marcus, who keeps the proceedings more in the soul side of the spectrum than the smooth jazz one. And as always, Turrentine almost sounds better here than in a small group – blowing with a "voice" that's tremendous, and which speaks volumes in a very small space. Other players include Cedar Walton on piano, Gene Bertoncini on guitars, Phil Bodner on reeds, and Grady Tate on drums – and titles include "Tomorrow", "The Lamp Is Low", "Till The Very End", "Jordu", "On A Misty Night", and "Pay The Price". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked album of funky guitar! Arthur Adams was one of the many excellent west coast session players of the early 70s – and if you check the notes on some of your favorite California soul albums, you'll find that you've probably heard his guitar an awful lot over the years! As with some of the other Fantasy albums of the mid 70s, this one gives a more obscure player a chance to step out in the light – as Adams does wonderfully with smooth jazz funk production by Wayne Henderson, which brings out some great tonal colors in Adams' guitar playing. There's a bit of a New Orleans sound in the record, but the real feel is Fantasy Records jazz funk – as you'll hear on the cuts "Chicago Sidewalk", "Bumpin' Around", and "That's the Way It's Gonna Be". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet 80s groover from the mighty Azymuth – a set that's early in their run of albums during the decade for Fantasy Records, and one that offers up a nice adaptation of the groove from their early Brazilian classics! Tracks are nice and lean, and acoustic percussion is blended with keyboard work at a level that really opens up the sound – and which makes Azymuth so different from so many other fusion outfits recording in the US during the time – as does the occasional use of wordless vocals, and that really special sense of rhythm that the group deliver so well! The set includes the classic ten minute "Last Summer In Rio" – a great Fender Rhodes number that was once a huge steppers cut in Chicago – plus the great tracks "The House I Lived In", "What Price Samba", and "May I Have This Dance". (Brazil, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

Legendary drummer Tullio De Piscopo is all by himself on the cover, and that's how he sounds on the record – just playing solo, but with amazing grooves that hardly make you miss the other instruments at all! Tullio's got a long legacy in both jazz and club music – yet this set may be one of his most unique, and one of the purest demonstrations of his talents as a musician – as he manages to serve up these solo tracks that are all rhythmic and very groovy, with a melodic command of the drum kit that fills in all the other elements you might miss – on tracks that move between classic hip hop break cuts, to Brazilian-inflected groovers, to some other rhythmic masterpieces that were certainly years ahead of their time back in 1974! Titles include "Afro Cubano", "Samba Carnival", "Rocking Special", "Afro Jazz", "7/4 Rock", "Fast Afro Samba", "Drum Fantasy", "Onda Nueva 3/4", "Moderato Swing", and "Dodiciottavi". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Duke's most popular albums of the 50s – but we won't hold that against him! The session's one of a number of 50s outings that revisit older classics with the new level of quality offered in the studio – and it's got a similar feel to some of Duke's work for Bethlehem around the same time, which was also done by producer Gus Wildi – tight, but never too facile – and a perfect demonstration of the great balance the Ellington orchestra had at the time. The group includes key players Ray Nance, Cat Anderson, Clark Terry, Juan Tizol, Harry Carney, Paul Gonsalves, and Jimmy Hamilton – and titles include "Black & Tan Fantasy", "Rockin In Rhythm", "Flying Home", "Happy Go Lucky Local", and "In The Mood". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the tracks "Mood Indigo", "Satin Doll", "Black And Tan Fantasy", "You Dirty Dog" and much much more. LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of Duke's signature tunes spanning two decades – with "Black And Tan Fantasy", "The Mooche", "Ring Dem Bells", "Mood Indigo", "Solitude", "Take The A Train", "Perdido", "C Jam Blues", "Caravan", "Sophisticated Lady", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the many things we love about keyboardist Greg Foat is that he's never willing to sit still – that he's always on the move into some new dimension of his music – so much so that it's very difficult to ever compare one of his records with another! This set's got a very keyboard-heavy approach – recorded with just drums from Morgan Simpson of Black Midi – and a style that's like some of the best tracks from that moment when the sound library scene went more electric at the end of the 70s – although in a way that still stretches out with the enigmatic depths of some of Foat's more ambitious projects! The album's full of wonderfully spacey lines and laidback grooves – on titles that include "Underwater Fantasy", "Tropical Love", "Arctic Cavern", "The Investigation", "Green Odyssey", "Riding Into Battel", "Subterranean Lake", and "World Of Tiers". LP, Vinyl record album

Dex's famous return to New York in the mid 70s – recorded at the Village Vanguard in 1977, and featuring some of his best group-heavy playing of the decade! The quintet is fantastic – and includes Woody Shaw, Ronnie Matthews, Stafford James, and Louis Hayes. Features versions of Shaw's "Little Red's Fantasy" and "In Case You Haven't Heard", Matthews' "Let's Get Down", Jimmy Heath's "Gingerbread Boy", and Gordon's own "Fenja" and "Backstairs". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest, grooviest albums that pianist Vince Guaraldi ever recorded – a set that's got the same Peanuts theme as his earlier dates for Fantasy Records, but which also features some sweet electric touches that only make things even better than before! In addition to his warmly vamping piano, with all those lyrical touches we love so much, Vince is playing an electric harpsichord too – which makes for some very groovy moments – in a cool quartet that features guitar from Eddie Duran, bass from Stanley Gilbert, and drums from the great Carl Burnett! All tunes are Peanut-themed – the music that Guaraldi wrote for the TV specials – but they're sometimes taken at a looser style that's even jazzier overall – as you'll hear on the classic "Linus & Lucy", plus "Red Baron", "Peppermint Patty", "Great Pumpkin Waltz", and "Rain Rain Go Away". LP, Vinyl record album

After working for years in the Crusaders, then honing his production skills with excellent work for Fantasy and Mercury, Wayne Henderson put out this album of his own, which drew on a lot of the work he'd been doing during the mid 70s. The album's a showcase for his At Home productions team, and it features work by Bobby Lyle, Roland Bautista, Ronnie Laws, and others. Henderson plays trombone, but he also gets in the way a bit with some hipster vocalizing that doesn't quite work. Titles include "Lady Bug", "Foot Stompin Music", "I'm Staying Forever", and a version of the great stepper "Keep On Keepin On". (Soul, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

Pianist Per Husby is a player with a rich, warm tone – one that really sets the stage here for some wonderfully soulful explorations by a very hip group – a combo who sound perfect when they hit a modal mode, but can also do some other wonderful things as well! Husby's piano is rich at the core, but the record is balanced with all sorts of great reed work – Knut Riisnaes on tenor, Harald Bergsen on alto and tenor, and Bjorn Johansen on soprano, tenor, and baritone – balanced nicely by the trumpet work of Bernt Anker Steen, and given a strong rhythmic pulse from Carl Morten Iversen on bass and Svein Erik Gaardvik on drums. And if you think all these Norwegian names might add up to a sleepy session, you're totally wrong – as the record is a great example of the way the better players on the European scene were absorbing American spiritual jazz experiments, then using the energy to make something new of their own. The title track "The Peacemaker" is worth the price of admission alone – and other titles include "Introduction To No Particular Song", "Smatta", "Nokve", "Fantasy In D", and "Adgang F". LP, Vinyl record album

Genius, pure genius! If you've ever wondered why folks think Stan is so great, check out this landmark set of postwar modern swing tunes – some of the most groundbreaking work of its generation, and proof that there was still a lot of room to grow within the big band format. June Christy provides some icy vocals on a few numbers, and other strong players on the set include Vido Musso, Boots Mussulli, Kai Winding, Eddie Safranski, and Shelly Manne. Arrangements are by Pete Rugolo, Gene Roland, and Stan – and titles include "Artistry In Bass", "Artistry In Percussion", "Fantasy", "Come Back To Sorrento", "Soothe Me", "Opus In Pastels", and "Artistry In Bolero". LP, Vinyl record album

One of numerous two-fers offered by Milestone in the early 70s, compiling recordings by artists that fell under the Fantasy records catalog umbrella at the time, in this case, the Riverside recordings of Wes Montgomery. There are two groups documented here, a quintet and sextet, the first featuring Milt Jackson, Wynton Kelly, Sam Jones and Philly Joe Jones and the second his 2 brothers Buddy and Monk, plus George Shearing, Walter Perkins and Armando Peraza. 18 tracks in all, including "Stablemates", "Stairway To the Stars", "Sam Sack", "Jingles", "Delilah", "Love Walked In", "Love For Sale", "Enchanted", "Stranger In Paradise", "The Lamp Is Low", "Darn That Dream" and "Mambo In Chimes". LP, Vinyl record album

Wicked funky fusion from Opa – a Brazilian-inspired set, and one with loads of great electric moments! Although originally from Uruguay, Opa are best known for their Brazilian-tinged albums on the soul/jazz Fantasy records label in Cali during the mid 70s – great placement, given that their sound is a bit like Azymuth – with a similar mix of South American roots and contemporary electric grooves! This album is actually their first – captured in America before their two classics on Fantasy – and featuring a sharp quartet that includes legendary pianist Hugo Fattoruso on keyboards – a great talent who'd already made jazz and bossa records in the 60s – working here with George Osvaldo Fattoruso on drums, percussion, and flute – plus Ringo Thielmann on bass. The core trio is also joined for this record by percussionist Pappo Atiles – and although there's some light vocal touches, they've got that breezy style that was often used in Brazilian jazz at the time – almost more instrumental than vocal. Titles include a great take on Edu Lobo's "Casa Forte" – plus "Back Home (The Inner City)", "Brother Rada", "African Bird", "Goldenwings", "Brooklynville", and "One & One & One Is Two". LP, Vinyl record album

A confusing title, but a wonderful little record! The album's as much a Herbie Mann Latin session as it is a record by Johnny Rae – which is probably why the album's titled as such – and the group on the set features Rae on vibes, Herbie on flute, Jack Six on bass, Philly Joe Jones on drums, Bobby Corwin on piano, and Jose Mangual, Patato Valdes, and Victor Pantoja on an assortment of Latin and African percussion. The groove is tremendous – Latinized jazz, but with a real tension between the heavy percussion on the bottom and the ligher flute and vibes on the top – especially on the album's more tribal, African-styled numbers. The "suite" features 7 tracks in all – 5 composed by Herbie ("Sorimao", "Beouin", "Sudan", "Ekunda", "Guinean"), plus a version of Sonny Rollins' "St Thomas", and the track "Jungle Fantasy" by Noro Morales. LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal set from Max Roach – the start of his more righteous stretch in jazz, as you might guess from the title of the album! At some level, the record's got a bit of the feel of the post-Clifford Brown Mercury years from Roach – but at another, it's stretching out towards the directions Max would explore fully on the Candid, Impulse, and Fantasy labels in the 60s – an approach to hardbop that often really pushes its limits – not content to simply set up solos for the players, and instead moving with a much more forceful energy overall! Group members include Booker Little on trumpet, George Coleman on tenor, Ray Draper on tuba, and Art Davis on bass – and the lack of a piano makes for a very exciting sound! The album's got 2 great originals by Bill Lee – "Jodie's Cha-Cha" and "Deeds Not Words" – plus Draper's classic "Filide", and the groundbreaking "Conversation" – a very cool solo by Roach on the drums! LP, Vinyl record album

The important first album by singer Judy Roberts – an excellent jazz talent with a sound that's up there with the best jazz fusion vocalists of the 70s! Judy comes at the end of a decade that scored big recordings for singers like Flora Purim and Urzula Dudziak – and she's easily as great as any of those three, and often sadly lost to time because of the later years in which she recorded, and the Chicago scene in which she made her home! This first self-produced album is a rare groovehound's gem – filled with soaring numbers that feature Roberts on both vocals and keyboards – including electric piano, Arp, clavinet, and other keyboards. Titles include "Fantasy", "Thumbs", "Never Was Love", "Dandelion", "Yes Indeed", and "Watercolors". (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite Woody Shaw albums from his later years – and an album that's got the same joyous spirit and free soaring feel of his best 70s work on Muse – really soaring with a sense of life and freedom in a really great way! The core group on the album is the Tone Jansa Quartet – led by European reedman Jansa, and working in a space that's quite similar to that of Shaw's backing groups on previous sessions – strong modal currents in the rhythms, and with Tone's work on soprano, tenor, and flute turning out to be a great partner for Woody's trumpet! Jansa wrote all the tunes on the set, and gave them a soaring feel that we really love – just the right mix of introspection and exploration found on classic Shaw sessions like Little Red's Fantasy or Lovedance. Titles include "Midi", "Boland", "Call Mobility", "River", and "May". LP, Vinyl record album

The second trip into the studio for Cedar Walton's mighty Eastern Rebellion ensemble – and every bit as great as the first! This time around, the lineup's a bit different – with Bob Berg in on tenor, and Curtis Fuller expanding the group on trombone – but the groove is still the same – wonderfully in the pocket soul jazz, swinging with a gentle and fluid glide that's really tremendous. The work ranks up there with the best of Walton's recordings ever – and the tunes are all originals with a rich imagination for tone, soul, and color – and plenty of space for strong solo work. Titles include "The Maestro", "Sunday Suite", "Ojos De Rojo", and "Fantasy In D". LP, Vinyl record album