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Don Cherry conducts and solos within a large group featuring Frank Lowe, Dewy Redman, Charlie Haden, Ed Blackwell, Charles Brackeen, and other out players associated with the Jazz Composers Orchestra. Weird rhythms and haunting solos throughout, and titles include "Tantra", "Desireless", "Infinite Gentleness", and "Trans-Love Airways".

One of Ornette Coleman's best recordings from the 70s – and like his other album for Columbia, quite a change from the freewheeling sounds he was blowing over at Blue Note! The style here is a bit more high concept, but in a good way – with all the edges that Coleman had developed from the late 50s onward, brought into tighter focus for the Columbia setting – given a bit more complexity, although still with plenty of room for freedom – and played both with a smaller combo, and a slightly larger group. The mix of players is as striking as the sounds on the record – and includes Coleman on alto, trumpet, and violin – plus Dewey Redman on tenor, Don Cherry on pocket trumpet, Bobby Bradford on trumpet, Jim Hall on guitar, Cedar Walton on piano, Charlie Haden on bass, and Billy Higgins and Ed Blackwell on drums. Asha Pulthi sings a bit on the larger ensemble tracks – making a rare appearance here before her 70s soul career in Germany – and titles include "What Reason Could I Give", "Street Woman", "The Jungle Is A Skycraper", and "All My Life".

At the time, KRS's best LP in a while, as he moved toward more radio and dancefloor friendy beats (And that's not a bad thing – at last he's left behind the self-indulgent style of songs like "100 Guns"). No one else could have done a better job of remaking the classic "Heartbeat", featuring Redman and Angie Martinez, and even the "Step into a World" remix with Puffy works. Don't worry, not everything is that uptempo. Other stand-out tracks include "The MC", "Real Hip Hop II", and "I Got Next."

Not just a great duo set between reedman Joe McPhee and bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten – but also a set that pays tribute to the rich legacy of Brooklyn jazz from the 40s onward – pulling together strands of influences from Sonny Rollins, Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, and others! McPhee always sparkles in a setting like this – and his alto and soprano sound sharper and more expressive than we've heard in years – a perfect fit for the well-chosen basslines from Flaten, who seems to have a new sort of soul that really makes the recording shine. Titles include "Spirit Cry", "Blue Coronet", "Putnam Central", "Crossing The Bridge", "Here & Now", and "214 Martense".

Includes performances by Don Redman, Noble Sissle, Eubie Blake, Chick Webb, the Washboard Serenaders and Claude Hopkins.

Ghostface's second full length – maybe the most worthwhile Wu solo project, and the best of all them since the first wave of the Wu. Ghost's flow is raw as hell, furious and re-energized, and so startlingly poetic that we were completely blown away. The guests seem to feed off this huge energy boom, too, with Method Man and Cappadona getting their best verses in a while, and even RZA's misguided Bobby Digital persona kicks some raw dynamite. Also features appearances by Raekwon and Redman, plus a few tracks with beats by the RZA. Tracks include "Nutmeg", "Saturday Nite", "Apollo Kids", "The Grain", "Child's Play", "Malcolm", "Buck 50", and "Cherchez La Ghost".