Seminal work from one of the hippest big bands of the 70s – the legendary ensemble led by pianist Toshiko Akioshi and reedman Lew Tabackin! The group marks a huge shift for Akiyoshi – a move away from the more bop-inflected small combo work of earlier years, into a rich new role as a composer and arranger – one who comes up with fantastic charts for the ensemble, filled with color, tone, and a great sense of swing! Tabackin's reeds are great too – always handled with bold lines, and a strongly visionary sound – and other players on the dates include Bill Perkins and Gary Foster on saxes, Bobby Shew and Ron Raider on trumpets, Britt Woodman and Charlie Loper on trombones, Don Baldwin on bass, and Peter Donald on drums. The 3CD set features 5 albums in all – Kogun, Long Yellow Road, Tales Of A Courtesan, Insights, and March Of The Tadpoles – and titles include "Elegy", "American Ballad", "Henpecked Old Man", "Opus Number Zero", "Since Perry/Yet Another Tear", "Strive For Jive", "Village", "Studio J", "Mobile", "Deracinated Flower", and "Notorious Tourist From The East". CD

One of the great little organ combo that Odell Brown recorded with his crack group The Organ-Izers for Cadet. Lots of very groovy stuff, with Louis Satterfield on bass (before the Pharoahs and before Earth, Wind, & Fire), Curtis Prince on drums, Henry Gibson on congas, and Artee "Duke" Payne on tenor. A great bit of grooviness from the Chicago scene of the late 60's, and a great set of tracks that includes "Mas Que Nada", "Tommy's Thing", "Ain't That A Groove", and a very cool reworking of "Quiet Village", with a cool organ solo instead of piano! CD

A record that's far more beautiful than you'd guess from the "carcass" in the title – a strong set of vocal work from singer Kimiko Kasai – easily one of the hippest Japanese singers of the 70s! Although Kasai's sometimes straight on the album, she also stretches out in freer, more expressive modes – at a level that's quite similar to some of the more experimental modes used by Karin Krog during the same period – although with a slightly unique feel as well. Backings are from the quartet of reedman Kosuke Mine – whose lines on soprano and alto sax are almost worth the price of the album alone – and all tracks are long, with titles that include "Be Still My Soul", "Round Midnight", "Yellow Carcass In The Blue", "Alone Together", "River Dry", and "Blues In C Minor". (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

Beautiful work from pianist Tete Montoliu – three full albums served up in a single package! First up is Man From Barcelona – a set cut late in Tete's career, but one that has this beautiful way of building up a tune – maybe even more lyrical and sincere than some of Montoliu's earlier music! The trio features nicely understated work from George Mraz on bass and Lewis Nash on drums – both players who often step aside and let Tete pace the tune, find his groove, and bring in all sorts of really lovely colors even before things start swinging – served up on tunes that include "Tune Up", "Stella By Starlight", "Autumn Leaves", "Django", and "Concierto De Aranjuez". On Secret Love, pianist Tete Montoliu gets some Cedar Walton backing – in a trio with Sam Jones on bass and Billy Higgins on drums – both musicians who really make the record stand out from the pack! Tete himself is at the peak of his powers – able to play with this commanding sense of majesty from the very first note – but with a style that also has plenty of room for more lyrical flourishes, too – although often with these soulful strides that we don't seem to hear that well in other trio sessions of this vintage! We're not going to credit Jones and Higgins with bringing this on – but heck, they sound wonderful here, and really make the whole thing crackle with warm imagination throughout. Titles include "Four", "Stella By Starlight", "Secret Love", and "Confirmation". The title's correct on the third album – as that's yellow dolphin street, not "Green Dolphin Street" – a very special place where Tete Montoliu unfurls a beautiful selection of solo piano numbers! Tete's really at the height of his powers here – and spins out wonderfully without any bass or drums, yet with all the complex, fluid feel that you might expect from a trio. The range of tonal colors is wonderful – and always delivered with a rhythmic impulse, even when Montoliu is flying free – on titles that include "Yellow Dolphin Street", "Napoleon", "Where Are You", "Waltz For Nicolien", and "I Hate You". CD

3 ECM treats from bassist Eberhard Weber – packaged in a single set! First up is Yellow Fields – a record with great soprano sax from Charlie Mariano, who also plays shenai and nagaswaram too – plus keyboards from Rainer Brunighaus and drums from Jon Christensen – on titles that include "Touch", "Left Lane", "Yellow Fields", and "Sand Glass". Next is Silent Feet – a set that features soprano and sax from Charlie Mariano, plus piano and keyboards from Rainer Brunighaus, and drums from John Marshall – on titles that include "Eyes That Can See In The Dark", "Seriously Deep", and "Silent Feet". Last up is Little Movements, from 1980 – a set that again has Weber working with great reeds from Charlie Mariano – alongside keyboards from Rainer Brunighaus and drums from John Marshall, who also plays percussion too. Titles include "Bali", "A Dark Spell", "The Last Stage Of A Long Journey", and "No Trees He Said". Mariano really gives the records a nice bite – a bit more than usual for ECM! CD

(Brazil, Jazz) CD

Searing, soulful energy from this overlooked Japanese combo of the 70s – a crack quartet led by drummer Ryojiro Furusawa, working here with some great guest work on trombone from Shigeharu Mukai! The tunes are often very simple, but with a groove that's totally great – a bit of a modal vibe at times, and some spiritual jazz undercurrents at others – really making the record feel like some lost Strata East album, thanks to electric piano lines from Toshiyuki Daitoku and some tenor and soprano sax from Tomoki Takahashi. Most tunes are long, and very openly grooving – and titles include "Yellow Cherry", "You Wanna Rain", "For Heavens Sake", "Snake Walk", and "Acoustic Chicken". CD

Maybe the first album we've ever seen from trumpeter Josh Lawrence – and a set that will definitely have us looking out for more! Lawrence composed almost every tune on the set, and works with a sense of color that really lives up to the title – on lines that are sometimes nicely compressed and subtle, and blown on flugelhorn – sometimes bold and vibrant, soaring out in the company of an excellent group that includes Caleb Curtis on some especially nice alto and flute! The keyboards shift throughout – as Orrin Evans plays acoustic piano on five titles, and Adam Faulk handles Fender Rhodes on seven more – creating a nice shift in color that furthers the spirit of the tunes, driven by rhythm work from Madison Rast on bass and Anwar Marshall on drums. Titles include "Black", "An Uptown Romance", "Yellow", "Presence", "The Conceptualizer", and "Green". CD

Rob Mazurek is one of the most collaborative musicians we know – but this time around, he's completely solo, but handling a range of instruments that might usually be associated with a larger group! In addition to his familiar trumpet and pocket trumpet work, Rob's creating sounds here on prepared and regular piano, bells, shakers, flutes, and percussion – and also using a bit of sampler work, his voice, and even a bucket too – all in the kind of spontaneously spiritual styles he's unlocked in improvisations with other players in recent years! The sound is wonderful – maybe a more intimate take on the Exploding Star vibe – and titles include "Sbagliato", "Bar Basso", "Moss Covered Hips", "Collectors Of Bones", "Collimated & Trestled", and "Magic Yellow Bucket". CD

Bitches Brew is the club, not the sound of the music – a night spot in Yokohama where European reedman Liudas Mockunas improvised these performances in the company of a range of different Japanese players! The lineup shifts with each track, as do the horns handled by Mockunas – who blows tenor and soprano sax – plus a very cool "water prepared soprano sax" – in the company of Akira Sakata on clarinet and alto, Masayo Koketsu on alto, Eiichi Hayashi on alto, Yoshihide Otomo on guitar, and Kazutoki Umezu on bass clarinet, alto, and soprano! All tracks are nice and long, and filled with the sort of sharp reed interplay you'd know from both the music of Mockunas or Sakata – on titles that include "Brown Line", "Green Line", "Red Line", "Blue Line", and "Yellow Line". CD

A fantastic lost legacy in European free improvisation – the complete works of a group who were first known as Modern Jazz Quintet Karlsruhe, then later as Fourmenonly – presented here in a beautiful 3CD set! First up is the album Trees – issued on a small label in 1968, but a set that matches the groundbreaking energy of the early work on FMP – played by a group that features Helmuth Zimmer on piano, Wilfreid Eichorn on tenor and soprano sax, Claus Buhler on bass, Rudi Thielmann on drums, and Herbert Joos on flugelhorn, Mellophon, piston, and percussion! The group have a melodic vibe at the core – often feeling out the initial space as a unit, then exploding with sound and color – and really making especially great work of the talents of Joos and Eichorn – players who work together with great power, driven on by the others. Titles include "Lonely Time", "Trees", "Schnee Verbrennt", "Change Of Beauty", and "The Devil Is Green Blue Yellow". CD also features a bonus unreleased improvisation too! Next is Position 2000 – a record of even longer improvisations, and one that shows the quintet really developing their sound – strongly aware of the farther reaches, but always beginning in some more colorful passages that almost have a melody, before exploding out with very vibrant energy! The lineup is the same as on the debut – with Herbert Joos on flugelhorn, mellophone, Indian flute, and percussion – and Wilfried Eichorn on tenor, soprano sax, bass clarinet, flute, and percussion – alongside Helmuth Zimmer on piano, Klaus Buhler on bass, and Rudi Thielmann on drums. Titles include "The Sun Is Coming Over", "Position 2000", and "Where Love Forever Shines". CD also features an unreleased improvisation. For the next album, bassist Buhler has departed the group – who are renamed Fourmenonly! Their first record is a brilliant set of free jazz from the German scene of the 70s – very different than other work of the time, in that there's maybe more of a future-thinking balance between sounds and silence, frenzy and fragility – all served up by a quartet that features Herbert Joos on trumpet and flugelhorn, Wilfried Eichhorn on tenor and soprano sax, Helmuth Zimmer on piano and percussion, and Rudi Theilmann on drums and percussion. Titles include "Viridiana/Ich Und Meine Bruder/Compulsion" and "Count Down/Excess". On the album Eight Science Fiction Stories, the Fourmenonly lineup is expanded by trombonist Wolfgang Czelusta – and perform some fantastic work billed as "science fiction stories", all composed by Herbert Joos. The sound is as revolutionary as on the group's earliest material, but also maybe more compact as well – nicely focused, with especially strong emphasis on the interplay between Czelusta on trombone, Wilifried Eichorn on bass clarinet, flute, and oboe, and Herbert Joos on flugelhorn, trumpet, and mellophone. The piano of Helmuth Zimmer is amazing – almost Cecil Taylor-like in intensity at times – and drummer Rudi Theilmann does a great job of moving from passages of full-on power to more spacious percussion. Titles include "Lucifer Is Marching On", "Dead Season", "The Beauty Without A Face", "Departure", "Plastic Happiness", and "Space Wall". CD

Very groovy set of vocal tracks recorded by Mel during his years with Verve, and featuring some haunting arrangements by Russ Garcia. The title track – "Swingin' On The Moon" – is a goofy uptempo number of the sort that sometimes doesn't work, but which sounds very nice here, thanks to Mel's witty interpretation. The rest of the tracks, though, have a beautiful mellow spacey sound, as the Velvet Fog rolls in, and washes over the arrangements with vocals like "Moon Song", "No Moon At All", "The Moon Was Yellow", and "Moonlight Cocktail". Comes complete with a very cool cover that has a blonde model wearing a space helmet! (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

A fantastic package of music that celebrates the 20 years of recording by Bugge Wesseltoft – easily one of the most compelling musical figures to emerge at the end of the 20th Century! Years back, we stocked Bugge in our New Grooves section, as he had a bit of a clubby electronic vibe – but over the years, he turned out to be not only a hell of a jazz musician, but also a budding minimalist too – a talent who completely transformed his sound, and also touched a generation of contemporaries with his strong sense of collaboration and musical stewardship! This package really showcases that legacy – and features work by artists who include Joshua Redman, Mari Boine, Erik Truffaz, Joaquin Claussell, Hakon Kornstad, Sidsel Endressen, and others – although the main focus is always Bugge's music at the core, and his incredible sense of sound and timing. The set features some old and out of print tracks, but also includes some new versions of older compositions, and a few unreleased tracks as well – making the whole thing way more than just a compilation, and instead another important addition to Bugge's catalog. Titles include "Sender", "Turner", "Breed It", "Mamullah", "You Might Say (new version)", "Yellow Is The Color", "Somewhere In Between", "Existence (new version)", "Hope (new version)", "Wy (new version)", "Kammermusik", "Den Fyrste Songen, "Try Out Here In There", and "Yoyk (new version)". CD

Tracks include "Yellow Nimbus", "Children's Song #6", "April Snow", "The Falcon", and "Swedish Landscape". CD

You gotta love a record with song titles like "Marijuana", "Drugstore", and "Hurrycane" – and we can definitely promise that the overall sound definitely matches those trippy references! The record's one of the most obscure Italian sound library sets from the time – and really has a feel that's more like an offbeat jazz album overall – never too outside, but definitely modern – with very strong passages from the saxophone, flute, and trumpet players in the group – who work nicely alongside some sweet organ and guitar, which provide some excellent psychedelic touches! Tony Iglio himself handles the Hammond – and wrote and arranged all the tunes – and in addition to the three mentioned above, other titles include "Jungla", "Yatagan", "Yellow Drops", "Soft Cream", and "Velvet". (Sound Library, Jazz) CD

A long form suite performed by the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra with Lew Tabackin! Other tracks include "Long Yellow Road" and "Wishing Peace". CD

A stretched out performance from Ahmad Jamal – recorded with stunning acoustic brilliance at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 1985, in a performance that alternates between long solo lines on the piano, and bolder passages with bass, drums, and percussion! There's a strength here that's easily overlooked – especially given that Jamal cut so much great work in earlier years – but even in the 80s, his talents were still flowing strongly, and Ahmad was often hitting the keys with a bolder hand than ever before – an approach that increased the rhythmic intensity and personal vision of his music. Titles include "Yellow Fellow", "Acorn", "Crossroads", "Rossiter Road", "Ebony", and "Footprints". CD