An all-star group take on the music of Duke Pearson – paying wonderful tribute to the kind of special, soulful grooves that Duke cooked up during his too-short career on Blue Note Records in the 60s! The lineup here is top-shelf, and very much in keeping with the sort of strong combos that Pearson would put together – both for records under his own name, and as a producer for Blue Note – and the lineup here features Diego Rivera on tenor and soprano sax, Art Hirahara on piano, Boris Kozlov on bass, and Vinnie Sperrazza on drums – a no-nonsense group who really focus in on the best elements of the songs, then let loose with great solo work. Jon Davis replaces Hirahara on three tracks on the set on piano – and titles include the great tune "Is That So", plus "You Know I Care", "Sweet Honey Bee", "ESP", "Chili Peppers", "Ready Rudy", and "Idle Moments". CD

One of our favorite albums from Lee Morgan – a soaringly soulful session that was recorded in the mid 60s, and finally issued by Blue Note at the end of the decade! The vibe here really follows from the lyrically inventive, post-Sidewinder mid 60s Morgan years – with a spirit that's similar to Lee's work on the albums Gigolo or Tom Cat, in a style that mixes in a fair bit more modal and Latin influences to the rhythms. The lineup is totally great too – a sextet that features Hank Mobley, Jackie McLean, Cedar Walton, Paul Chambers, and Billy Higgins – the last of whom provides tremendous rhythms that are as fluidly inventive as Morgan's playing and the writing of Hank Mobley, who contributed most of the tunes to the set. Titles include "Hey Chico", "The Double Up", and "The Murphy Man" – and the record also includes a nice version of Duke Pearson's "Sweet Honey Bee". CD

One of the hippest sets that Duke Pearson ever recorded – and an all-out Blue Note soul jazz set that's even better than Pearson's classic Sweet Honey Bee! Duke's style is deeper and more farther-reaching here – with echoes of styles used at the time by Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan – carried off with some of the more tightly-arranged modes used by Pearson on his backdrops for other players at the time. The group here includes James Spaulding on alto, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Jerry Dodgion on alto and flute, Stanley Turrentine on tenor, Garnett Brown on trombone, and rhythm by Gene Taylor on bass and Grady Tate on drums. Tracks have a strong overall focus on the groove – rolling around in that rollicking mid 60s Blue Note style that Pearson helped establish as the label's trademark at the time – but titles are also touched with some of Duke's lighter lyricism, especially on his own solos. Titles include "Make It Good", "Chili Peppers", "Rotary", "Los Malos Hombres", and "Scrap Iron". CD

Smooth later work from Lonnie Smith – but still pretty darn great, with a feel that's in the late 70s Kudu/CTI mode! Arrangements are bigger than ever before – with large backings arranged by Lonnie, and some vocals that have a really wonderful, warm, Stevie Wonder-esque quality to them. The best tracks groove along at a nice midtempo pace, with strong work on keyboards by Lonnie, and a warm, dreamy, soulful quality that's quite different from his Blue Note work, but equally pleasing in another sort of way. Titles include "What's Done Is Done", "I Need Your Love", "Sweet Honey Wine", "My Latin Sky", and "Journey To Within". CD

An album recorded for the Delmark label, but one that follows strongly from the style of Prestige Records in the 60s – particularly those great sessions that featured saxophonist Sonny Stitt blowing next to a Hammond! In this case, the Hammond is handled by the great Don Patterson, who played with Sonny in the 60s – in a trio that also has the great Billy James on drums – a player whose loose, open style really works great with the magic Patterson touch on the keys! The tracks are a bit shorter than some of the longer jams on Don's albums of the 60s, but still equally nice. Stitt plays tenor and alto – and titles include "Funny", "Honey", "Blues For JJ", "Night Has A Thousand Eyes", and "Samba De Orfeo". CD features a previously unissued alternate of "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes". CD

An ear-opening set of Japanese jazz from a time when that nation's scene was really taking off – a period in the 70s when all sorts of new artists and new ideas were really flying around – and leaving behind a huge recorded legacy that's been mostly out of reach for us in the west! Japan always had a few big names in jazz that got exported overseas, but the work here is from some of the smaller names who were still turning out incredible music – much of it only issued on vinyl, and not reissued later – brought together here with copious notes that really tell you a heck of a lot about the music! There's definitely a post-Coltrane vibe going on – lots of spiritual elements, mixed with both moments that are funkier and more soulful, and others that are a bit more freewheeling – often stretched out on extended tracks that really let the artists take off and find their space. Titles include "Black Nile" by Hideyasu Terakawa, "Kirisame" by Ryusei Quartet, "Honey Sanba" by Katsuyuki Itakura, "Cumulonimbus" by Shigeharu Mukai, "Song Of Island" by Yasuhiro Kohno Trio + One, "Phoebus" by Hiroshi Murakami & Dancing Sphinx, "Morning Tiede" by Kohsuke Mine, "Kemo Sabe" by Masao Nakajima, "Song For Hope" by Aki Takase, "Planets" by Masaru Imada Trio + 1, "1/4 Samba" by Tatsuya Nakamura, "Acoustic Chicken" by Koichi Matsukaze, and "Cumorah" by Eiji Nakayama. CD features bonus tracks – "Wolf's Theme" by Seiichi Nakamura, "Burning Cloud" by Ryojiro Kurusawa, and "Groovy Samba" by Hideo Shiraki. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) CD

Sweet slices of work from a hell of a jazz festival – the 1963 Antibes performances, served up here in some incredibly hip material! The set begins with early work from pianist Dollar Brand – whose trio sounds moody and amazing on "Antibes Jam", then gets joined the great vocalist Sathima Bea Benjamin on a version of "Prelude To A Kiss". Next up is the soulful sound of tenorist Klaus Doldinger, whose group includes Ingfried Hoffmann on piano – on a sensitive reading of "Like Someone In Love", which really shows off Klaus' under-recorded ballad style. The great trombonist Eje Thelin follows – leading a quintet with Ulf Andersson on tenor and Lars Joesten on piano – on the very long "Antibes Jam". A Polish group follows with another long track – a sharp-edged take on "Well You Needn't", led by tenorist Jan Wroblewski in a quartet with Wojciech Karolak on piano. Last up is singer Sarah Vaughan – working with the Kirk Stewart Trio – on the titles "I Can't Give You Anything But Love", "Tenderly", "A Taste Of Honey", and "Bill Bailey". CD

A record that shows a very different side of Dr John than you might know from the trippy classics of his early years at Atlantic Records – as the set's all instrumental, but with the doctor focusing on an older tradition of New Orleans piano! The quality of the record is amazing – all solo, with no other instrumentation at all – and honestly, were it not for the setting, you might never know what a hell of a pianist Dr John can be – as his work on the keys is sometimes hidden amidst larger arrangements and placed next to his vocals. Many tunes are originals, and titles include "New Island Midnight", "Saints", "Honey Dripper", "Big Mac", "Memories Of Professor Longhair", "Mac's Boogie", and "Delicado". New version features bonus tracks – six more tracks added to the original album! (Soul, Jazz) CD

A stunning achievement as a leader from Alabaster DePlume – material that's maybe some of the most powerful he's ever given us, even though the core of the record comes from the same sessions as his previous album, Gold! As with that record, the material here was originally performed at the Total Refreshment Centre in London, but is then completely transformed by DePlume as he works his way through the recordings – shifting things around, changing up the original sounds, and letting the selection and mixing process create the album's sound in the best International Anthem style – but also at a level that showcases DePlume's compositional ear! Alabaster plays tenor, guitar, and keyboards – and other musicians include James Howard on guitar, Tom Herbert on bass, and Sarathy Korwar on drums and tablas – and there's a number of other voices who drift through the mix as well, sometimes with full lyrical contributions, sometimes in more subtle ways. Titles include "Did You Know", "Levels Of Human", "Not Even Sobbing", "Sibomandi", "Greek Honey Slick", "Broken Again", "Naked Like Water", "The Best Thing In The World", and "To That Voice & Say". CD