As the title implies, Harris plays his own compositions – in an intimate setting with bassist George Duvivier and drummer Leroy Williams. The tracks show a good range of Harris' styles – from straight bop, to gentle lyricism, to down and dirty soul jazz. Titles include "Inca", dedicated to the famous Nica De Koenigswarter (of "Nica's Tempo" fame), "Father Flanagan", "Apache", and "Even Tempered". LP, Vinyl record album

Import collection of some more obscure Miles moments from the late 50s Columbia years! There's 4 tracks recorded with the orchestra of Michel Legrand – and players that include Coltrane, Phil Woods, Jerome Richardson, and Bill Evans: "Jitterbug Waltz", "Round Midnight", "Wild Man Blues", and "Django". 2 tracks from a recording by the Brass Ensemble Of The Jazz & Classical Music Society, one led by John Lewis, the other by Gunther Schuller, are surprisingly wonderful – very much in the mode of Miles' work with Gil Evans, with a similar glistening sound on Miles' trumpet, and warm chromatic washes of sound underneath to provide the perfect soloing vehicle. And there are 4 numbers, a pair each from the Coltrane/Garland incarnation of the quintet, "Sweet Sue" & "Budo", and a transitional sextet from 1962, "Devil May Care" & "Blue Xmas". LP, Vinyl record album

Comprehensive 3 LP set that covers the full range of Mingus' great recordings for Atlantic, including stuff from many hard to find albums that you won't find easily on LP. The track list is virtually a catalog of his greatest recordings, with 18 tracks in all: "Pithecanthropus Erectus", "Profile Of Jackie", "Haitian Fight Song", "Reincarnation Of A Lovebird", 'Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting", "Cryin' Blues", "Devil Woman", "Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am", "Passions Of A Woman Loved", "Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love", "Better Git Hit In Your Sould", "Tonight At Noon", "Sue's Changes", "Canon", "Free Cell Block F, 'Tis Nazi USA", "Goodbye, Porkpie Hat", "Passions Of A Man" and the spoken word number "Mingus On Mingus" which is Mingus himself looking back on his career. Well done liner notes, too, in a nice tri-fold gatefold package. LP, Vinyl record album

Good deal indeed – always soulful sounds from Gene Harris and his early incarnation of The Three Sounds – served up with a tightness that few other trios could match at the time! Harris is very strongly in the lead on the keys – hitting hard enough on the left hand that he hardly needs a rhythm section to back him up – which leaves drummer Bill Dowdy and bassist Andy Simpkins plenty of space to take off on their own inflections during the set. Titles include a few great original tunes – like "Down The Track" and "Tracy's Blue" – but the band also does nice versions of "That's All", "St. Thomas", and "Robbin's Nest". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully hard-storming set – and a record that not only firmly put the Jazz Messengers on the map, but also set a whole new standard for live jazz recording! The group here is the early version of the Messengers – almost co-led by drummer Art Blakey with pianist Horace Silver – and featuring Clifford Brown on trumpet, just a few months before his early death – plus Lou Donaldson on alto and Curley Russell on bass. The presence of alto instead of tenor makes the sound slightly different than later incarnations of the group – and the overall approach is one that virtually defines the shift from straight bop to hardbop in the 50s – a mode that both Blakey and Silver were key in creating. Tracks include "Split Kick", "Quicksilver", "Mayreh", and "A Night In Tunisia". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully hard-storming set – and a record that not only firmly put the Jazz Messengers on the map, but also set a whole new standard for live jazz recording! The group here is the early version of the Messengers – almost co-led by drummer Art Blakey with pianist Horace Silver – and featuring Clifford Brown on trumpet, just a few months before his early death – plus Lou Donaldson on alto and Curley Russell on bass. The presence of alto instead of tenor makes the sound slightly different than later incarnations of the group – and the overall approach is one that virtually defines the shift from straight bop to hardbop in the 50s – a mode that both Blakey and Silver were key in creating. Tracks include "Wee Dot", "Quicksilver" (alternate), "Now's The Time", and "Confirmation". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer early album by Art Blakey and his first incarnation of The Messengers – recorded before Horace Silver left the group, and a rare non-Blue Note outing done for Columbia Records! The ensemble here features Donald Byrd on trumpet, Hank Mobley on tenor, and Doug Watkins on bass – alongside Silver's piano and Blakey's thundering work on drums – and the album is virtually a blueprint for the sound of hardbop in years to come – focused and intense, but still with plenty of room for individual solo expression! Tracks include a classic reading of "Nica's Dream", plus Horace Silver's great "Ecaroh", and Mobley's own "Infra-Rae" and "Hank's Symphony". LP, Vinyl record album

The Dave Brubeck Quartet goes to college – a pretty good place for the combo, considering how many fans they had on campus in the 50s! The sound here is never too academic for the setting, though – just the same sort of Brubeck groove first forged in the small clubs in San Francisco – played beautifully by an incarnation of the quartet that includes Paul Desmond on alto sax, Bob Bates on bass, and Joe Dodge on drums. The long, bluesy "Balcony Rock" is a real gem, with some standout work by Desmond that reminds us that he could be a great improvisor in an extended format – and other tracks include "Out Of Nowhere, "Le Souk", "The Song Is You", "Don't Worry Bout Me", and "Take The A Train". LP, Vinyl record album

Very spacey work from Mahavishnu Orchestra – a set that continues the change in sound explored by the second incarnation of the group – one that's much more spacious than the first! The group here is somewhat large, but often comes off with a good sense of leanness at times – less of the notes-on-notes jams of rockish fusion, and more stretched-out spiritual modes, mixed with a slight dose of funk at just the right moments! John McLaughlin's in the lead on guitar, and other players include Gayle Moran on keyboards, Jean-Luc Ponty on electric violin, and Narada Michael Waldon on drums, percussion, clavinet, and vocals. Titles include "Eternity's Breath", "Lile's Dance", "Can't Stand Your Funk", "Earth Ship", "Be Happy", "Opus 1", and "Pegasus". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully hard-storming set – and a record that not only firmly put the Jazz Messengers on the map, but also set a whole new standard for live jazz recording! The group here is the early version of the Messengers – almost co-led by drummer Art Blakey with pianist Horace Silver – and featuring Clifford Brown on trumpet, just a few months before his early death – plus Lou Donaldson on alto and Curley Russell on bass. The presence of alto instead of tenor makes the sound slightly different than later incarnations of the group – and the overall approach is one that virtually defines the shift from straight bop to hardbop in the 50s – a mode that both Blakey and Silver were key in creating. Tracks include "Split Kick", "Quicksilver", "Mayreh", and "A Night In Tunisia". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully hard-storming set – and a record that not only firmly put the Jazz Messengers on the map, but also set a whole new standard for live jazz recording! The group here is the early version of the Messengers – almost co-led by drummer Art Blakey with pianist Horace Silver – and featuring Clifford Brown on trumpet, just a few months before his early death – plus Lou Donaldson on alto and Curley Russell on bass. The presence of alto instead of tenor makes the sound slightly different than later incarnations of the group – and the overall approach is one that virtually defines the shift from straight bop to hardbop in the 50s – a mode that both Blakey and Silver were key in creating. Tracks include "Wee Dot", "Quicksilver" (alternate), "Now's The Time", and "Confirmation". LP, Vinyl record album

Stunning stuff – and one of the greatest Charles Mingus albums of all time – a true treasure recorded in that magical year of 1957, when Mingus was finally finding his strongest voice in modern music! The album's near-perfect from start to finish – as bold a statement in jazz as anyone might be allowed to make in the late 50s, yet still always focused, driven, and wrapped up with a tremendous sense of energy. The tracks are all quite long – perfect vehicles for Mingus to reach his full level of expression – played by a group that includes Curtis Porter on tenor and alto sax, Jimmy Knepper on trombone, Wade Legge on piano, and Dannie Richmond on drums – making an early appearance in his alliance with Mingus that would last for many many years. Titles include classic versions of "Haitian Fight Song", "Blue Cee", and "Reincarnation Of A Lovebird" – plus "The Clown", which features a long improvised monologue by Jean Shephard! LP, Vinyl record album

Sun Ra's first album as a leader – originally issued on the Transition label, but presented here in its better-known incarnation by Delmark Records! Even at this early point, Ra had a sound unlike any of his contemporaries – large group and modern, but not in a way that showed any similarities to work going on in New York or LA – a voice that was all his own, and already quite boldly stated, even in these early years! The format might be somewhat familiar – an ensemble with horns and rhythm – but the overall execution really starts to open up as the album moves on – with odd phrasings, timings, and unusual moments that live up to all the promise you might expect from Ra. Even Mingus and some of his better-known contemporaries weren't heading in these directions in the mid 50s – and the record is a proud showcase of the freedoms that players were often accorded in the less-trafficked Chicago scene of the time. Horns include Art Hoyle & Dave Young on trumpets, John Gilmore on tenor sax, Pat Patrick on baritone, Julian Priester on trombone, and James Scales on alto sax – and rhythm includes Jim Herndon on tympani, Robert Barry on drums, Wilbur Green on electric bass, and a young Richard Evans on acoustic bass! Titles include "Brainville", "Call For All Demons", "Transition", "Lullaby For Realville", "Street Named Hell", "New Horizons", "Fall Off The Long", "Possession", and "Future". LP, Vinyl record album

Great Blue Note 2-fer that brings together a bunch of previously unreleased live sessions from Art Blakey and different incarnations of the Jazz Messengers! Sides 1 through 3 feature a stellar set of tracks recorded in 1961 and 1962 with the sextet lineup that included Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, and Curtis Fuller, with the titles "Promised Land", "Arabia", "Mosaic", "Ping Pong", and "Up Jumped Spring". Side 4 has some older material, from 1954 – by the first incarnation of the group that included Lou Donaldson, Clifford Brown, and Horace Silver – and the titles "Wee Dot", "Blues", and "The Way You Look Tonight". Nice notes, and as usual, the Messengers shine in a good live setting. LP, Vinyl record album

One of a handful of documents from the late 50s of an early incarnation of Ornette's group, that still featured piano, before he decided to pursue the more limitless possibilities of a keyless harmelodic group. Paul Bley joins Ornette, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins in this seminal recording, which offers an altogether different perspective on Coleman's formative years developing the free concept. 4 numbers in all: "Klactoveesedstene", "I Remember Harlem", "The Blessing" and "Free". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer early album by Art Blakey and his first incarnation of The Messengers – recorded before Horace Silver left the group, and a rare non-Blue Note outing done for Columbia Records! The ensemble here features Donald Byrd on trumpet, Hank Mobley on tenor, and Doug Watkins on bass – alongside Silver's piano and Blakey's thundering work on drums – and the album is virtually a blueprint for the sound of hardbop in years to come – focused and intense, but still with plenty of room for individual solo expression! Tracks include a classic reading of "Nica's Dream", plus Horace Silver's great "Ecaroh", and Mobley's own "Infra-Rae" and "Hank's Symphony". LP, Vinyl record album

Great rare 50s material by Blakey – an early 80s issue of outtakes from the Hard Bop LP, plus some sides recorded shortly afterwards, with a slight line-up change! The group is one of the earliest incarnations of the Jazz Messengers, featuring Donald Byrd and Hank Mobley in the front line, and Doug Watkins and Horace Silver playing rhythm alongside Blakey, blowing hard on four burning sides worthy of the title of the LP they were left off of – "Late Show","Ill Wind", "Weird-O" and an alternate take of "Carol's Interlude". The remainder of the album trades in Kenny Drew, Ira Sullivan and Wilbur Ware for "Lil' T" and "The New Message", and there's a "Gershwin Medley" featuring an altogether different lineup of the Messengers. LP, Vinyl record album