A beautiful 60s album from Duke Ellington – one that features some of his more popular numbers, as you'd guess by the title – but captured in these sublime, sophisticated arrangements that really reflect the genius sound of his group during the later years! The tracks are familiar, and the arrangements are maybe never too way out – but they're also these mini-masterpieces in color and tone – carried off by a fantastic group of all-stars who've matured and grown as much as the Duke himself – Cootie Williams and Cat Anderson on trumpets, Lawrence Brown and Buster Cooper on trombones, Jimmy Hamilton on clarinet, Johnny Hodges on alto, Paul Gonsalves on tenor, and Harry Carney on piano. There's a darkness in Duke's piano that's maybe missing from earlier versions of this material – that great modern undercurrent of the late years – and titles include "Black & Tan Fantasy", "The Twitch", "Perdido", "Solitude", "The Mooche", "Creole Love Call", "Take The A Train", and "Sophisticated Lady". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic bit of jazz funk fusion – and one of the landmark 70s albums produced by Larry Mizell! This is Gary Bartz's second (and most amazing) collaboration with Larry Mizell – a studio genius who could focus on the best talent of a jazz artist, then expand it using additional keyboards, percussion, and often a sweet bank of chorus vocals to give the tracks an extra soulful sound! By the time of this album, Larry had already worked to great fame with Donald Byrd, Bobbi Humphrey, and Johnny Hammond – and the record has him turning his talents towards Gary Bartz to unlock a whole hidden side of soulful expression that would never be matched again! The title cut – "Music Is My Sanctuary" – is a jazz fusion classic in anyone's book, and it features characteristic Mizell keyboards alongside Gary's soulful sax, augmented by a deep vocal chorus that's simply fantastic. Other highlights include "Carnaval De L'Esprit" and "Macaroni" – and the whole album's nice! LP, Vinyl record album

A hell of a record from the great Merle Haggard – partly a tribute to the western swing pioneer Bob Wills, but also a fantastic demonstration of all the growth that Merle had undergone in such a short time! The songs are all Bob Wills classics, and they're interpreted here by a group that also features members of Bob's original Texas Playboys lineup – including Johnny Gimble on fiddle and Billie Tiny Moore on mandolin – but the real revelation is the way that Merle can not only give complete credit to the way that Bob Wills influenced his music, but also step into the role of a leader with the same sort of strength as Bob – yet in a completely different way. Hag's vocals are different than other Capitol Records of the time – able to capture all the jazzy inflections that Tommy Duncan had when singing with the Texas Playboys – and the style seems to just be another feather in Merle's mighty cap at the time. Titles include "Right Or Wrong", "Brown Skinned Gal", "Misery", "Roly Poly", "Old Fashioned Love", and "Take Me Back To Tulsa". LP, Vinyl record album

A real lost slice of work from the career of Chico Hamilton – recorded for the short-lived Dig label, owned by R&B artist Johnny Otis in the mid 50s! The group here is slightly different than Hamilton's quintet that recorded for Pacific Jazz – in that it's got a sound that's a bit less arranged, and which often opens up into some more freewheeling jazz styles at times. Buddy Collette and Jim Hall are on the session from Chico's regular group – and Buddy's really the co-leader of the set, and contributed some fantastic original tunes that are perfect for his colorful work on reeds. And the group's also got Curtis Counce on bass and Gerald Wiggins on piano – bringing a decidedly heavier groove to the record than on most 50s Hamilton work – one that's topped off by the trumpet of John Anderson, often muted but still powerful enough to make its presence known on the set. Titles include the Collette originals "It's You", "Green Dream", "Jungle Pogo Stick", "Tanganyika", and "A Walk On The Veldt" – plus other session originals "And So Is Love", "Wagnervous", and "The Blindfold Test". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent Duke Pearson album – and (dare we say it?) better than any of his Blue Note LPs! The record features a very tight lineup with Johnny Coles on trumpet, Garnett Brown on trombone, Les Spann on flute, James Spaulding on alto, and George Coleman on tenor – all players who are well suited to Pearson's warm funky style on the piano, but who also have a strong modernist sensibility that really comes through on the solos. The album is filled with nice tracks – like "New Girl", "Honeybuns", "Heavy Legs", and the fantastic lyrical groover "Is That So", plus "You Know I Care" and "Our Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Forget the stupid joke of the title – as the record's a fantastic bit of west coast jazz from the 50s – right up there with some of the best Pacific Jazz sides of the decade! The approach is great – slightly larger arrangements – handled by Johnny Mandel, Cy Touff, and Richie Kamuca – nicely off-kilter, in the vein of some of Shorty Rogers work from the early 50s. As with those recordings, there's some standout solo moments – in a great lineup that features Kamuca on tenor, Cy Touff on bass trumpet, Harry Edison on standard trumpet, Pete Jolly on piano, and Leroy Vinnegar on bass. Titles include "Prez-ence", "Primative Cats", "TNT", and "It's Sand Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Adam Wade is fantastic here – a singer with a sound that could easily rival Nat King Cole or Johnny Mathis, but who also gets a slightly deeper current of soul! Arrangements are full and rich – often with a bit of vocals behind Wade's lead – but the sophisticated charts never get in the way of the more personal touches, which really help the tunes sparkle with a nice sort of imagination, and occasional touches of jazz. Titles include "Gloria's Theme", "We Kiss In A Shadow", "My Reverie", "I Have Dreamed", "For You", and "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic collection from that great Charly/Sun Records run of reissues in the 80s – and a set that looks at all aspects of the label – including country, rockabilly, blues, and more! Includes cuts by Joe Hill Louis, Warren Smith, Billy Riley, Sonny Burgess, Malcolm Yelvington, Ernie Chaffin, Charlie Feathers, Johnny Cash, Harmonica Frank, Carl Perkins, James Cotton, Doctor Ross, Charlie Rich, Carl Mann, and many others! LP, Vinyl record album

A rare Emarcy session as a leader from this tremendous tenorist – with some tracks that have Ben Webster in a small group with John Kirby on bass, Benny Carter on alto, and Maynard Ferguson on trumpet – and three more with larger arrangements from Johnny Richards! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the all-time great ones by Ben Webster! The album was recorded near the end of Webster's all-too-short time on this planet – at a point when he had really perfected a sorrowful tone on tenor, and a strangely sinister approach to ballads – one that gave even familiar tunes an unusual edge. The great Johnny Richards handled backings for the set – in a mode that uses light strings in the background, and which lets the solos step right out front – in a style that rivals the great work of Ralph Burns for Verve's classic "with strings" albums. But the real strength here is Webster's tone, which is fantastic – as you'll hear on titles like "Stella By Starlight", "Nancy", "It's Easy To Remember", and "Accent On Youth". LP, Vinyl record album