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Great rockabilly sounds from a tiny Texas label – an imprint so small it only pressed up 300 copies of each of its singles – and never reissued them at all! This long-overdue package really digs deep into the Wolf-Tex label – to come up with a handful of gems that really illuminate the company's contribution to music at the start of the 60s – raw tunes that bring together the best elements of early rock, rough-edged country, and even a trace of Western swing at times. All tracks are pretty rare, and the set also features a few unissued numbers too – and titles include "How Much Do You Miss Me", "The Gospel Will Speak", and "Back To Old Wyoming" by Harold Montgomery; "Rock In My Arms" by Herman Stone, "Marguerite" by Ralph & Roy, "My Three Sorrows" by Col Ralph Red McKee, "Waves On The Bayou" by Ramblin Roy Cunningham, and lots more – including some songs by unknown artists, and even a bit of a radio show too!

Fantastic work from one of the most overlooked alto talents of all-time! This beautiful CD features tracks from Sonny's 3 rare albums on Imperial – Jazz USA, Go Man, and Plays Cole Porter. The records were all recorded in 1956 – and they feature some of the strongest bop playing to ever come out of LA, total proof that that city wasn't always noodling around with cool jazz during the 50s! Sonny plays alto so well you want to cry – and every note is perfectly placed, with just the right mix of technical skill and warm soulful humanity. Most of this material has only ever been reissued in Japan – and the CD includes wealth of excellent cuts like "If I Had You", "I Love You", "Wailin With Joe", "West Coast Blues", "Criss Cross", "Ham's Blues", and "Blue Friday" – but the whole thing's great!

Excellent small group work from vibist Terry Gibbs – just the kind of set that shows why he was one of the best known players on his instrument in the 50s! Gibbs has a clear, clean style here that's never too laidback, nor too prone to over-done flourishes – a style that was born in swing, informed by bop, and carried off beautifully by a quartet on the date that includes Terry Pollard on piano, Herman Wright on bass, and Bert Dale (aka Nils Bertil Dahlander) on drums. The sound is nicely straight ahead – no gimmicks, no schtick, just nicely grooving work on vibes and piano – with tracks that include "Seven Come Eleven", "Lonely Dreams", "Dickie's Dream", "Imagination", "King City Stomp", "Pretty Face", "The Continental", "Bless My Soles", and "Nutty Notes".

A great one from Mike Reed and his People Places & Things group – a clear, crisp statement of Chicago modernism at its best – not just modes from Reed's own generation, but from the 50s and 60s as well! Reed's an amazing player on his own – but we especially love the way that he's gone back into Windy City tradition, and found a way to re-introduce a special blend of Chicago jazz – that crucial pre-AACM, post-bop style that would often swing, but have really freewheeling solos too – a mode that really went onto influence American jazz in general once Chicagoans moved onto the New York scene in the 60s. The horns here are key to the approach – really deft work on alto from Greg Ward and tenor from Tim Haldeman – plus some great guest cornet from Josh Berman. Most tracks are piano-less, which allows for even freer reed work – but Craig Taborn guests on piano on two numbers – and the great bass of Jason Roebke holds the set together solidly throughout. Titles include versions of Roscoe Mitchell's "Old" and John Jenkins' "Sharon" – plus the tracks "Warming Down", "The Ephemeral Words Of Ruth", "House Of Three Smiles", and "The Lady Has A Bomb".

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 Kickuchi, and Michael Brecker – plus vocals by Lani Groves and Luther Vandross. Not bad, in a soulful fusion kind of way – and with titles that include "Still Be Bop", "Goin For The Gold", "La Hora Azul", "Sweeter & Sweeter", "Late Summer", and "Antigua Boy".

One of our favorite Lee Morgan albums – and one of his least known! Recorded in the crucial last 5 years of his life, this album is a sparkling mix of hard bop, soul jazz, and slight bits of modernism – that magical mix that Lee was hitting as he reached farther and farther with his music – an amazing legacy in jazz that has us loving every Morgan session from 1965 onward! Lee's playing in very comfortable territory, with a group that includes Bennie Maupin on tenor, Cedar Walton on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – but that doesn't mean that the proceedings are relaxed at all, because the interplay between the players is flawless, and they use their familiarity as a great springboard to soar off into rich new territory. Lee wrote all the tunes on the record – like "Caramba", "Suicide City", and "Soulita". An excellent record throughout, and one that we'd never part with!

Rare work from obscure Chicago tenor player Vito Price – recorded back in the days when there actually used to be a jazz scene in the city's center – also known as The Loop! Price was a New Yorker by birth, but worked in Chicago clubs, TV, and radio in the 50s – and was most likely brought to Argo for this session by Chubby Jackson – with whom he'd worked on a previous date for the label. Price has a strong, bold tone in his horn – swing-based, but with a fluid sense of movement that's absorbed plenty of bop – and on the album, he's playing in two different settings. Side one features a largeish group with two more trumpets and two trombones, and side two features a quintet with a slightly more intimate sound. Lou Levy plays piano in both groups, and titles include "Credo", "Eye Strain", "Swingin The Loop", "Mousey's Tune", and "Duddy".

The glorious return of Os Mutantes – a recent live performance that marks the group's first new album in many many years! The show was recorded before a very enthusiastic audience in London – at a time when the city was in the throes of a recent new wave of interest in Tropicalia – clearly the inspiration for the group's performance here, which is heavy on work from their best years! The lineup features Zelia Duncan in place of Rita Lee on vocals – alongside founders Arnaldo Baptista and Sergio Dias – and the overall sound is pretty great, with some very focused and full-on guitar work throughout. Titles include "Don Quixote", "Ave Gengis Khan", "Tecnicolor", "Virgina", "Cantor De Mambo", "Baby", "El Justiciero", "Balada Do Louco", and "Ave Lucifer".

Man, Lew Tabackin looks pretty darn freaky on the cover image for this one – and although we're tempted to bill the record as his stag-like satyric fling away from his wife, Toshiko Akioshi is very much a key part of the session – contributing some wonderful songs and piano lines to the album's small combo groove! Lew plays flute throughout – blowing in these hauntingly snakey lines that are almost more in the spirit of music by cats like Chris Hinze or Jeremy Steig, than Tabackin's usual groove with his big band – a great change from the usual, recorded here with Toshiko on piano, Shelly Manne on drums, and either John Heard or Bob Daugherty on bass. Titles include "Rites Of Pan", "Autumn Sea", "Be Bop", "Jitterbug Waltz", "Elusive Dream", and "Night Nymph".

One of our favorite albums ever by Kenny Dorham – and a really different session than his usual studio work! The album captures Kenny in a relaxed live setting, with a bit more dirt on his horn than usual – blowing with a tone that's much more open and a bit less poised – in the company of a really great group that features JR Monterose on tenor, Kenny Burrell on guitar, Bobby Timmons on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Arthur Edgehill on drums. The CD features a total of 17 tracks in all – titles from the original LP, plus rare extra material, and some bonus alternate takes – all remastered by Rudy Van Gelder. Titles include Dorham's boppish "Mexico City", plus other enigmatic compositions like "Monaco" and "Hill's Edge", and tracks that include "Round Midnight", "Riffin", "My Heart Stood Still", and "NY Theme".

A very unusual slice of the Chicago jazz scene – and maybe the only album ever recorded by Grady Johnson – an altoist who's worked in the city for decades – an early disciple of Walter Dyett, and a student of his many years before Johnny Griffin and John Gilmore! The set's from 1999, and features a very unusual group led by Johnson – with George Freeman on guitar, Dickie Harris on trombone, and Roland Faulkner on "banjo guitar" – a very unusual instrument that's somewhere in between the two. The group played for over a decade at a regular jazz brunch – where they were supposed to deliver trad, but often gave more of a Chicago hardbop performance – and the CD's a really unusual blend of these genres, especially in Faulkner's unusual string work. The set's worth it alone for Grady's under-recorded work on alto – and for some very nice solos from George Freeman – and titles include "RBQ", "Just A Closer Walk", "The Preacher", "Miles Theme", "Lady Be Good", and a nice "Ballad Medley".

A Windy City classic – from Vee Jay Records! The MJT grooves like nobody's business, thanks to a core rhythm group that includes Harold Mabern on piano, Walter Perkins on drums, and Bob Cranshaw on bass! Add to the mix a young Frank Strozier on alto, fresh from Memphis (he made the trip to Chi-town with buddy Harold Mabern), and the smoking trumpet of Willie Thomas, and you've got one of the tightest combos to never make it in the big time – a killer little group that was almost a Chicago secret back in the day, but one that's well worth discovering if you've got any sort of a love for hardbop or soul jazz! This oft-overlooked gem is one of the best hardbop albums to ever come out of Chicago, and it's got some great originals by Mabern – like "Richie's Dilemma" and "Make Everybody Happy" – plus a nice version of Booker Little's "Sweet Silver".

One of the coolest, grooviest cats who ever cut a record – an an artist with a really unique conception at the time of these recordings! Roy Porter got his start as a drummer during the bebop years, and worked hard on the LA scene of the R&B and soul scenes of the 50s and 60s – but to us, his crowning achievement is these amazing funk sides of the early 70s – amazingly complex, but right on the money too – and a whole new kind of music that's impossible to describe in words! Roy mixes funky drums with lots of cool jazzy changes – keyboard lines, horn parts, and bass bits that have the frenzy you might find in fusion, yet come across with the down-to-earth vibe of a funky 45 – a killer blend that goes way past jazz, and even most straight funk too – as you'll hear in this sweet little set. The package brings together all the best tracks from these key Porter years – and titles include "Jessica" and "Panama" in both vocal and instrumental versions, plus "Wow", "Funny Feelin", "Funky Twitch", "Love You", "Hense Forth", "Out On The Town Tonight", "Givin Me The Blues", "Waver-ing", "Party Time", and "Hip City".

A seminal early recording from one of our favorite reed players ever! In the late 1950s, the young Frank Strozier came up to Chicago from Memphis, along with his longtime friend, pianist Harold Mabern. The two of them both settled nicely in the city's MJT+3 combo, where they proceeded to recorde some incredible hardbop sessions for Vee Jay. During that same time, Strozier began to emerge as a strong soloist and a competent leader in his own right, and Vee Jay gave him a much-needed crack at this debut album. The session's a perfect showcase for Strozier's lyrical beauty, and given the quality of the work, it's a wonder he was never more famous. The group's a quintet, and Strozier's ably teamed with Booker Little, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. Titles include "WK Blues", "Waltz Of The Demons", "Runnin", and "Off Shore".

Lew Tabackin looks a bit stiff on the cover of this one (who wouldn't, in a tan polyester suit?) – but the record's a surprisingly hip date, and a great chance to hear Lew away from his 70s big band with Toshiko Akioshi! As the title and cover imply, the album features Tabackin's "dual nature" on reeds – with one side of flute performances, and another of tenor – both of which are surprisingly soulful. The flute work is somewhat sensitive, and beautifully done – almost poetic at points, and played with a style that's quite different than Lew's big band work. Group members include Don Friedman on piano, Bob Daughtery on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums and waterphone – a rhythm section that really matches the sensitivity of Tabackin's groove on the titles "Euteurpe", "Yellow Is Mellow", and "Out Of This World". The tenor work is a bit more hard-edged, almost boppish, but with a slightly more laidback feel – and titles include "No Dues Blues", "My Ideal", and a great take on "Russian Lullaby".

Rumblin' numbers from late 50s Louisiana – a bit of rockabilly, some that are more rock/less 'billy, still others with the swampier sound you'd expect to be bubbling up outta the bayou! You can feel the influence of 40s New Orleans R&B in the DNA – particularly on the numbers with brass – but there's also some rugged rockers here that would sound right at home in Memphis, or anywhere else – with singles by Tommy Todd, Al Ferrier, Rod Bernard & The Twisters, Arnold Broussard, Jay Chevalier & The Long Shots, Rocket Morgan and others. 28 tracks in all: "Tag Along" by Tommy Todd, "She's Mine" by Johnny Jano, "Linda Gail" by Rode Bernard & The Twisters, "Some Other Time" by Arnold Broussard, "Release Me" by Rocket Morgan, "Boogie Children/Walking With Frankie" by The Playboys, "Rattlesnake" by Wiley Barkdull with Rusty & Doug, "Kansas City" by Warren Storm and more.

Genius work from Moody – and a larger session than usual – one that shows his strong talents with an expanded lineup! Moody's working here with players that have a definite Dizzy Gillespie Big Band bent – including trumpeter Dave Burns, trombonist William Shepherd, baritonist Pee Wee Moore, and pianist Jimmy Boyd – but they're working with Moody in a groove that's got equal parts modern alongside the bop, in a way that makes for some complicated arrangements that bristle with electricity. There's almost a bit of Gigi Gryce or Benny Golson in the spirit of the set – and Moody's work on alto is an especially good example of this on the record. Eddie Jefferson makes a great vocal appearance on "Disappointed" – and other tracks include "Little Ricky", "Big Ben", "Show Eyes", "Hard To Get", and "And You Called My Name".

Really beautiful work from the team of Red Rodney and Ira Sullivan – hardly the sort of stuff we might have heard from the players a decade or two before – and a sophisticated batch of tunes that has them stretching out in rich musical directions! There's little of the boppish roots of either player here – and instead, the album mostly features inspiring jazz compositions from Garry Dial – the pianist in the group, and a real genius with color, tone, and timing. Dial's tunes dominate most of the record, and they really set the group on a great footing – horn trading between Rodney's trumpet and Sullivan's soprano, flute, and flugelhorn – supported with complicated changes from the core rhythm trio. Titles include "Spirit Within", "King Of France", "Sophisticated Yenta", "Crescent City", and "Monday's Dance".

A cool collection of gems from the 70s years at Blue Note Records – a stretch that's often overlooked by folks digging for older hardbop from the 50s and 60s, but a tremendous time for the label, when it really burst forward with new sounds! BNLA was the initial part of the catalog number during this generation – hence the title – and the collection brings together a wealth of funk, soul, and fusion tracks from this crucial Blue Note stretch. The package features 20 tracks on 2CDs – including "People Make The World Go Round" by Bobby Hutcherson, "Mango Sunrise" by John Lee & Gerry Brown, "Chunky" by Ronnie Foster, "Abdullah & Abraham" by Chico Hamilton, "Galaxy" by Eddie Henderson, "His Blessings" by McCoy Tyner, "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" by Marlena Shaw, "Betcha By Golly Wow" by Grant Green, "City Country City" by Lou Donaldson, "Lansana's Priestess" by Donald Byrd, "Harlem River Drive" by Bobbi Humphrey, "La Malanga" by Bobby Hutcherson, and "Tuesday Heartbreak" by Ronnie Foster.

Genius work from Moody – and a larger session than usual – one that shows his strong talents with an expanded lineup! Moody's working here with players that have a definite Dizzy Gillespie Big Band bent – including trumpeter Dave Burns, trombonist William Shepherd, baritonist Pee Wee Moore, and pianist Jimmy Boyd – but they're working with Moody in a groove that's got equal parts modern alongside the bop, in a way that makes for some complicated arrangements that bristle with electricity. There's almost a bit of Gigi Gryce or Benny Golson in the spirit of the set – and Moody's work on alto is an especially good example of this on the record. Eddie Jefferson makes a great vocal appearance on "Disappointed" – and other tracks include "Little Ricky", "Big Ben", "Show Eyes", "Hard To Get", and "And You Called My Name".

We love Frank Strozier – and think he's one of the greatest talents in jazz – period! This long-overdue CD brings together two of Frank's early 60s sessions for the Jazzland label – both of them gems that have lain under-discovered for years. Long Night is an excellent example of the maturity and modernism that was coming out of the Chicago jazz scene as it hit the early 60s – and it features Strozier's soulful alto in the company of some of the city's best players, like pianist Chris Anderson, drummer Walter Perkins, bassist Bill Lee, and baritonist Pat Patrick, playing here away from Sun Ra's group! The title track alone is an incredibly fantastic composition, full of moodiness and incredible reed work – but the rest of the record's great, too, and features excellent originals like "The Need For Love", "The Crystal Ball", and "Pacemaker". March Of The Siamese Children continues the trend – with a sound that goes far beyond the hardbop and soul jazz in which Strozier first cut his teeth – into a mode that's angular and exploratory, yet also still warmly expressive – filled with a richness of sound that holds up fantastically year after year. Titles include "March Of The Siamese Children", "Our Waltz", "Hey Lee", "Lap", "Extension", and "Something I Dreamed Last Night".

Killer work from Freddie Hubbard – some key transitional sides for Atlantic Records, and easily some of his most soulful work ever! Freddie started out as a bopper on Blue Note, but then made a great shift at Atlantic – exploring space and sound in a really wonderful way, and opening up towards some of the killer modes you'd know from his classics on CTI. There's just a bit of electricity in the mix here, as most cuts are acoustic – but they already stretch out in some hip, spiritual styles that are really great. Titles include "For BP", "Lonely Soul", "High Blues Pressure", "Midnite Soul", "Black Soldier", Interlude I", "Echoes Of Blue", "Threnody For Sharon Tate Comment", "Spacetrack", "Leap Frog", "Up Jumped Spring", "Latina", and "On The Quee Tee".

An excellent set of hardbop tracks – originally recorded under the leadership of trombonist Willie Wilson – but also issued under the names of Duke Pearson and Freddie Hubbard over the years! The set was cut in 1961 for the Jazztime label – and really crackles with electricity, and has a straight hardbop sound and a smoking New York groove – every bit as great as the best Blue Note work of the time, but with a raw edge that drives it even further. The group is top-notch, too – and features Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Pepper Adams on baritone sax, Duke Pearson on piano, Thomas Howard on bass, and Lex Humphries on drums – plus the obscure Willie Wilson on trombone, a great player who was a friend of Pearson, and whose only recorded work is on this album. Tracks have a lively well-crafted sound, and titles include "Lex", "Blues For Alvina", "Apothegm", and "Minor Mishap". CD features 5 bonus alternate takes too! Note that this material was also issued by Prestige – under the title Dedication, with Pearson's name as the leader.

One of the rare few albums cut by E Parker McDougal – an underground Chicago tenor player in the tradition of the city's great undiscovered talents, like Von Freeman, Tommy Jones, Cozy Eggelston, and others. This obscure 1975 recording has him playing with a good group of southside players, in a relaxed boppish groove, such as you still might hear in one of the city's small jazz lounges. The material's fairly straight, and nearly all tracks are originals. The band includes Willie Pickens, Wilbur Cambell, and Steve McCall (playing in a non AACM environment) – and the tracks include "Foxxy Minor", "The Skeleton", "Mackin", and "Valse Grits".

Jackie McLean opens it up at Cafe Montmartre in Copenhagen – blowing in the long, open-ended style usually associated with live dates from the club! The format here is similar to the better-known Montmartre recordings by Dexter Gordon and Johnny Griffin – strong rhythms from a trio that features Kenny Drew on piano, Bo Stief on bass, and Alex Riel on drums – topped with dominant solos from Jackie, who's blowing here in a boppish style that's a bit different from some of his more spiritual sessions of the 70s. Titles include "Das Dat", "Smile", "Parker's Mood", and "Confirmation".

One of the coolest, grooviest cats who ever cut a record – an an artist with a really unique conception at the time of these recordings! Roy Porter got his start as a drummer during the bebop years, and worked hard on the LA scene of the R&B and soul scenes of the 50s and 60s – but to us, his crowning achievement is these amazing funk sides of the early 70s – amazingly complex, but right on the money too – and a whole new kind of music that's impossible to describe in words! Roy mixes funky drums with lots of cool jazzy changes – keyboard lines, horn parts, and bass bits that have the frenzy you might find in fusion, yet come across with the down-to-earth vibe of a funky 45 – a killer blend that goes way past jazz, and even most straight funk too – as you'll hear in this sweet little set. The package brings together all the best tracks from these key Porter years – and titles include "Jessica" and "Panama" in both vocal and instrumental versions, plus "Wow", "Funny Feelin", "Funky Twitch", "Love You", "Hense Forth", "Out On The Town Tonight", "Givin Me The Blues", "Waver-ing", "Party Time", and "Hip City". CD features the bonus track "Drums For Daryl".

Excellent obscure jazzy groovers from the groundbreaking team of Cicci Santucci and Enzo Scoppa! Cicci plays trumpet and Enzo plays tenor – and the pair had chops sharp enough to play with the best of the Italian jazz scene of the 70s, but which also graced more than a fair share of private "sound library" recordings of the same time. The grooves are nice and tight, and the pair play with tight rhythm backing by Franco D'Andrea on piano, Bruno Briaco on drums, and Bruno Tomasson on bass – in a great mode that mixes bossa, bop, and mod styles with effortless ease, and which sounds like a classic Blue Note 60s release during its best moments, touched with some of the electricity of the post-Miles generation! Titles include "Wipe Look", "Spirale", "Trip", "Run Run", "Pressa", "Pausa", "Disoccupazione", "Primo Turno", and "Deep Look".

A tasty Latin-tinged set by Bobby Hutcherson – one that recalls his classic Montara album for Blue Note, but handled here with perhaps a bit less electricity overall! Hutcherson's got a wonderful way with colors and tones on the set – extremely evocative, and bursting out with a sunny, soulful energy that really stands out, even from his other records of the time. The group's a strong west coast Latin one – with Francisco Aguabella on congas and Roger Glenn on percussion and flute – and Bobby gets some strong help in the front line from James Spaulding, who plays flute exclusively on the session. Tracks are long, and done with a breezy and open groove – and titles include "Pomponio", "Yelapa", "Poema Para Ravel", "Tin Tin Deo", "Beep D Bop", and "Both Worlds".

A masterpiece of Latin jazz – and one of the truest expressions of the genre we can think of! The album's quite unique, especially for the time – a spare, stripped-down presentation of Latin-influenced jazz – a sound that has its roots in the cubop experiments of a decade before, but which comes off here with even more dynamic energy! Sabu's sound is quite different from the more staid styles of the cha cha/charanga generation at the time of this recording – and thanks to his own heavy conga, percussion from Louie Ramirez, trumpet from Marty Sheller, and alto sax from Bobby Porcelli, the whole album bristles with electricity and excitement. The horn solos are given plenty of room to do their thing – space you might find more on Blue Note or Prestige – and Sabu adds in some great sparer percussion bits too. Titles include "The Oracle", "Breakin' It In", "Flipping", "Nica's Dream", "Otra Vez", and lots lots more great ones!

One of Lee Morgan's most sparkling sessions from the early years – a record that already shows a sense of depth and imagination that would take Lee way beyond simple hardbop solo work! There's a sensitivity here that owes something of a debt to Clifford Brown, yet which is much more modernist overall – touched, no doubt, by a set list that features tunes by Gigi Gryce and Benny Golson, and played in a spirit that's similar to the blend of soul jazz and modernism that both of those players were carving out at the time. Morgan's bandmates for the record include George Coleman on tenor and alto, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Ray Bryant on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Taylor on drums – all in tight formation, but with a sense of relaxed and easy flow that's rare, even in a Blue Note of this vintage! Titles include "You're Mine You", "Just By Myself", "Kin Folks", "City Lights", and "Tempo De Waltz".