All Categories — LPs  

Classic funky MPS material from Peter Herbolzheimer and his legendary group of European and American ex-patriot players. The record grooves on hard and funkily, in a way that you'd hardly guess from a German bandleader – but which has become a favorite with groovers and jazz dancers... read more

Rare non-MPS work from this groovy leader – a sweet Polish live date, with versions of "Spanish", "Sunflower Chant", and "Blues In My Shoes"! Gustav Brom is great too – on titles that include "Who Can I Turn To", "Prilezitestne Blues",... read more

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A smoking version of the Herd – with Red Norvo on vibes, Flip Phillips on tenor, Bill Harris on trombone, Pete Candoli on trumpet, and Chubby Jackson on bass!... read more

A smoking version of the Herd – with Red Norvo on vibes, Flip Phillips on tenor, Bill Harris on trombone, Pete Candoli on trumpet, and Chubby Jackson on bass!... read more

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Excellent stuff – a record that we love it to death, and listen to all the time! Woody Herman's band meets the soulful arrangements of Richard Evans, and the whole thing cooks nicely in the Chess studios in Chicago. The result is a tasty blend of soulful big band tracks, with a strident... read more

A sweet small group session from Woody Herman – with the man himself on clarinet, plus Nat Pierce on piano, Chuck Andrus on bass, and Gus Johnson on drums.... read more

With solos from Gary Klein on tenor, Dusko Goykovich on trumpet, Phil Wilson on trombone, Billy Hunt on trumpet, and Nat Pierce on piano – plus a bit of vocals from Joe Carroll! Titles include "Wa Wa Blues", "Bedroom Eyes", "The Good Life", and "Dear John... read more

A rare one from Woody Herman – recorded during his 70s electric years, with keyboards by Lyle Mays – on tunes that include "Jazzman", "Where Is The Love", "Reunion At Newport", and a version of Chick Corea's "La Fiesta".... read more

Despite what you might think about some of Woody's big band contemporaries from the 40s, you've got to admit that Woody himself was always growing and changing as the decades went on – as this 1963 album will attest! Woody's in great form here – still working with a tight group of... read more

Titles include "The Strut", "My Wish", "Taste Of Honey", "Jazz Hoot", "Hallelujah Time", and "After You've Gone".... read more

Woody recorded on 2 coasts – in New York and San Francisco – with smaller than usual groups of hip players that include Dusko Goykovich, Don Rader, Sal Nistico, Steve Marcus, and Bill Watrous. Woody himself plays soprano and alto sax in addition to his usual clarinet – and the... read more

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Herrmann's back in fine form on this mid 70s score for a Brian DePalma thriller – lots of swirling orchestral themes, handled here with a good degree of space, which makes the stronger musical statements really pack a punch! Titles include "Court's Confession", "The... read more

Herrmann's original score to the film is pretty compelling – almost in the mode of some of his work for Hitchcock – and it's conducted here by Herrmann himself and by Dave Blume. The album's got 2 especially noteworthy tracks – "Diary Of A Taxi Driver", which features a... read more

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Classic piano work by Eddie Heywood – a 50s jazz player who crossed over to the pop instrumental realm often, but not on this album! The set's a relatively straight jazz trio session – with Wendell Marshall on bass and Jimmy Crawford on drums – and titles include "So Little... read more

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Great Commodore label material from pianist Eddie Heywood – and Billie Holiday sings on four of the album's twelve tracks!... read more

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A groovy late 70s outing from the Hi Los – done at the same time that group member Gene Puerling was having a great run for MPS with his group The Singers Unlimited! The style here's a bit like the Hi Los of old, but it's also got some of the smoother, sweeter tones that Puerling developed... read more

Some of the best material that Al Hibbler ever recorded – with backings from the band of Leroy Lovett!... read more

Great backings from Gerald Wilson!... read more

Real gems from Al Hibbler – key recordings with Duke Ellington! Titles include "You Of All People", "Good Woman Blues", "It's Monday Every Day", "Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me", and "The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise".... read more

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A great trio – with Curtis Lundy on bass and Victor Lewis on drums!... read more

John Hicks works in some really wonderful company here – a trio with bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Idris Muhammad – both of whom really add a lot to the date! We're always big fans of Lundy's sound on bass – and his approach here has the same warm-rolling quality you'd find in... read more

A beautiful little session from John Hicks – recorded in 1988, but with a spiritual edge that reminds us of some of the best indie soul jazz sides of the 70s. Although Hicks often recorded around the time leading a trio, this set features the great altoist Bobby Watson sitting in with a... read more

A trio set with Hicks on acoustic piano, plus bass by Walter Booker and drums by Idris Muhammad – the three of them stretching out in that soulful mode of the best work on the Theresa label. Features three Hicks' originals, "Naima's Love Song", "Mind Wine", and "Peanu... read more

A beautiful set of duets – Hicks on piano and Murray on tenor and bass clarinet, playing some of his most sensitive DIW material ever!... read more

Early genius from Eddie Higgins – a pianist who was a big thing on the Chicago scene of the 60s, but is probably best known to most folks for his revival records of the past decade or two! The younger Higgins has more of an edge than the later one – and this self-titled debut is a... read more

Groovy session of piano trio material, recorded in Chicago by the city's "great white hope" of the 60s: pianist Eddie Higgins. The set was recorded for the Dunwich production group (who gave the world The Shadows of Knight), but was licensed to Atlantic for final release. The group's a... read more

A six track EP of unheard Gary Higgins material from the early 70s – acoustic tracks recorded prior to the landmark Red Hash. It's just voice and guitar, but the stuff cuts way deeper than we expected, with easygoing guitar playing and sharp lyricism. Higgins was quite brilliant at the time... read more

Quite possibly the best album ever from funky maestro Monk Higgins! The record's got some of his tighest work of the time – with plenty of tight breaks, nice keyboards, and soulful sax riffs – and Monk is going full-out on the arrangements, in the manner that he used for his best late... read more

An excellent batch of soulful and funky instrumental tracks – super-dope 70s work from funky arranger Monk Higgins! The album grooves in the best blacksploitation soundtrack mode – as Monk plays tenor sax and organ in the set, over slinky stepping arrangements that feature Paul... read more

Nice one! This obscure blacksploitation soundtrack features a hip Monk Higgins score for a Pam Grier film that's supposedly "Hotter than Coffey and meaner n' Foxy Brown". Having seen the film, we don't know if we'd totally agree with that assessment, but the music's strong enough, and... read more

Quite possibly our favorite album ever from pianist Andrew Hill – a really unique outing that features the vibes of Bobby Hutcherson and a rare non-Sun Ra appearance by tenorist John Gilmore! The presence of Hutcherson brings a real "new thing" energy to the album – a feel... read more

Later solo work from Andrew Hill – an Italian session with four long tracks, and a fair bit of sensitive tones throughout! The record definitely has some of Hill's tentative qualities of the period – playing that almost makes you feel like he's rediscovering the keyboard of the piano... read more

Buck plays tenor, with Kenny Barron on piano, Buster Williams on bass, and Billy Hart on drums! Titles include "Tokudo", "Oleo", "I'm Aquarius", and "SMY".... read more

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Produced by Tommy Couch, with tracks that include ZZ's classic "Down Home Blues" – plus "Givin It Up For Your Love", "Woman Don't Go Astray", "When It Rains It Pours", and "Love Me".... read more

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One of the lasting classics on the Malaco label – and a key album in helping the company take control of the southern soul market in the 80s! ZZ Hill sounds just as great here as he did on earlier records – amazing vocally, with that trademark rasp that comes in at just the best... read more

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With Calvin Newborn on guitar, Carl Pruitt on bass, and Bill English on drums.... read more

Titles include "The Girl From Ipanema", "Frenesi", "Broadway", "At Sundown", "Runnin Wild", and "Louise".... read more

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One of Hino's sweeter fusion albums – still soulful enough, but done in a style that's more like CTI funk than some of his earlier albums. Leon Pendarvis handled the group and plays keyboards on the record – and other players include Steve Gadd, Bob James, John Tropea, Masabumi... read more

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Finally!!! The notoriously elusive album that every digger spends hours combing the Easy Listening bins in search of. Of course, this one is in demand for the excellent sample cut "Harlem Hendoo", but it certainly isn't a one tracker thanks to composer Paul Griffin and arranger Teacho... read more

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A really great set of spiritually-tuned jazz from the team of bassist Eric Hochberg and drummer Andrew Potter – the latter of whom we love for his work in the Potter & Tillman team! This set was done a fair bit before that classic – and has a freewheeling, exploratory sound that... read more

Art Hodes in on piano and is joined by Max Kaminsky on trumpet, Ray Conniff on trombone, Rod Cless on clarinet, Jack Bland on guitar, Bob Haggard and Sid Jacobs on bass and Danny Alvin on drums. Tracks include "Doctor Jazz", "Yellow Dog Blues", "Changes Made", "Sl... read more

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Features Sidney Bechet on clarinet and Wild Bill Davison on trumpet!... read more

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Hodges leads a large group of Ellington players that includes Willie Cook, Clark Terry, Cat Anderson, Jimmy Hamilton, Harry Carney, Ray Nance, and Jimmy Woode. The overall sound has that Ellington-minus-Ellington, plus-Hoges feel of similar Verve sessions like these – with lots of nice... read more

Swing session with small group backing by Billy Strayhorn, Jimmy Woode, Sonny Greer, and Clark Terry – and which features Johnny's warm tones soloing nicely on comfortable standards. All of side one is a "ballad medley", with a very Creamy sound, and titles that include "But... read more

A nice little 60s album by Johnny Hodges – one of the few post-Verve sessions that has him still playing in the hard swinging Ellingtonia small combo mode of the 50s! Players are all strong – and include Jimmy Jones, Cat Anderson, Ray Nance, Harry Carney, and Paul Gonsalves – and... read more

An excellent collection of early work recorded under Johnny Hodges' name in the early years – sessions from 1938 and 1939, issued here on LP format in the mid 50s under LP format, with a nice cover by William Steig! The tracks are a great assortment of small group numbers that focus on... read more

One of Hodges' best albums for Verve from the 60s – recorded with a great small combo that includes Grant Green on guitar, Grady Tate on drums, and Wild Bill Davis on organ. The sound's a lot hipper than you'd expect – with less of the corny organ work by Davis that can ruin a session... read more

Although we've always thought that Wild Bill Davis was a bit of a snoozer, these records that he made with Johnny Hodges are all pretty groovy, especially this one, which has Grant Green on guitar. The group plays a number of originals, with a solid soul jazz sound that borders on a Blue Note bag.... read more

An excellent album that features late 30s recordings by some of Duke Ellington's most famous sidemen! The groups on most of these are fairly similar – mostly small group sessions from the larger Ellington outfit – pulled out in ways that give a strong focus on the solo talents of the... read more

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An excellent collection of Billie's 30s work for Columbia Records – featuring 3LPs worth of material, represented with much better sound than the original 78 rpm release of the songs. Billie's in the company of a host of great jazzmen – including Count Basie, Lester Young, Teddy Wilson... read more

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Titles include "My Man", "Lover Man", "I Cover The Waterfront", "Them There Eyes", and "The Same Old Story".... read more

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A well-done collection of Billie's early work – featuring sides from the late 30s recorded for Brunswick, Vocalion, and Columbia – all laid out in Chronological order, with full details on the sessions! Titles include "Without Your Love", "This Year's Kisses", "... read more

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A pretty cool relic of Billie's private life – rehearsal material that has her sounding a bit less in control than usual – even somewhat tipsy at times! Jimmy Rowles is on piano and Artie Shapiro is on bass.... read more

A very unusual concert from Billie Holiday – one that features narration by Gilbert Millstein, telling the story of Billie's life! The format is quite unusual – almost a live documentary, with the subject of the documentary there in person herself! Millstein narrates from the start,... read more

Titles include "Miss Brown To You", "If You Were Mine", "What A Little Moonlight Can Do", "Billie's Blues", "I Cried For You", "I Must Have That Man", and "Easy Living".... read more

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Classic Verve material. Billie sings in a warm relaxed setting, with great small combo backing, and piano by Mal Waldron. The record is one of the best we could recommend on the label – and it includes lots of nice tracks like "Everything Happens To Me", "I Wished On The... read more

Seminal 50s recordings from Billie Holiday!... read more

One of the rare few albums cut by 50s tenor star Joe Holiday – and a gem of a session that has him fronting a larger group, blowing lean well-cut solos on a number of very hip original tunes! The group's a large one, but the sound's still quite tight and swinging – a great follow-up to... read more

An obscure bit of boozy sad songs – proof that Holliday had a lot more to offer than just an extremely strong showing on Broadway. She's working here with arrangements by Glen Osser that sort of take off from the spirit of "The Party's Over" – sad and dreamy, but also with a... read more

A beautiful early album by Loleatta, and one that was recorded shortly before the Hotlanta Sound turned into a stone disco groove. The record's proof that Loleatta was as great a soul singer as she was a disco diva, and the arrangements by Mike Terry do a great job of bringing out all the emotion... read more

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Features some lesser known work by James Williams on piano and Billy Pierce on tenor!... read more