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Excellent trippy pop-psychedelia from Gabor Szabo! The record's a bit less jazz than some of his other efforts, with more of that faked-out "eastern"production that you'd get on efforts like these – with occasional voices behind his guitar. Titles include "The End Of Life", "White Rabbit", "Saigon Bride", "Twelve Thirty", "To Sir With Love", and "Are You There?"

The guitar genius of Gabor Szabo – set to magnificent arrangements by Gary McFarland! The set's one of the most sophisticated albums Szabo ever cut – and has a slow-building style that steps off of his Impulse years with a deeper, broader vision of music. By the time of the set, McFarland himself was hitting a more contemplative style in his own music – and you can hear that shift in this album as well, especially in the moodier, mellower moments. Instrumentation includes violin, cello, and French Horn – all used sparingly to augment Szabo's small combo with piano by McFarland! Titles include lots of originals – "The Fortune Teller", "Half The Day Is Night", "Galatea's Guitar", and "Lady In the Moon".

Think what you want about Lena Horne – but this is a plenty darn groovy album! Sure, Lena's style is usually a bit classy and uptown – almost so much so that we don't really dig most of her records. But here, she's working in a very groovy style – paired with the great guitarist Gabor Szabo, in a set of sweetly swinging tunes that share many touches with Gabor's grooviest sides for Impulse and Skey in the 60s! Gabor produced and arranged with Gary McFarland – and the pair really transform the sound of Lena's voice, taking her normally-poised vocals and loosening them up with a subtly funky undercurrent. Richard Tee plays some great organ on the set, in a small combo that also includes Grady Tate and Chuck Rainey – and titles include a lot of Beatles covers – like "Rocky Raccoon", "Fool On The Hill", and "In My Life" – plus the cuts "Nightwind", "Watch What Happens", and "My Mood Is You".

2 of Gabor Szabo's classic late 60s albums for the Skye label – back to back on 1 CD, making for a tripped-out guitar-driven batch of groovy tunes! Both records have this mod exotica sound that would hardly ever be matched again – and feature Gabor's own lead guitar next to another guitar playing rhythm – making for lots of dreamy interplay between the strings, as the backup group does a nice job of hitting weird rhythms, and keeping the pace fresh and clean throughout! There's lots of modal, bossa, and psychedelic influences running through the sets – both produced by Gary McFarland, in a style that recalls some of his own great Verve and Impulse work of the time. Mike Melvoin plays organ on about half the tracks, making for an even groovier touch – and titles include "Divided City", "Bacchanal", "Sunshine Superman", "Some Velvet Morning", "Dear Prudence", "Stormy", "Walk Away Renee", "Michael From Mountains", "I've Just Seen A Face", and "You Won't See Me".

Excellent early 70s work from jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo – a super-dope album that's one of the best he ever recorded! Part of the success of the record has to do with the presence of Bobby Womack – normally a soul singer, but also a heck of a guitarist, playing here alongside Szabo in a very cool twin-guitar style that makes for an amazing sound. Both players have a hollow, warm tone to their work on the strings – stepping around a blend of soul and jazz that's nicely tripped out in a 70s Blue Thumb style. The highlight of the record is the massive track "Breezin", a sample track used by more than one group over the years – but the whole record's amazing, filled with slow, trippy grooves that were years ahead of their time! Titles include "I Remember When", "Just A Little Communication", "Amazon", "Fingers", and "Azure Blue".

Although this one's not from Gabor's classic period on the Skye label, it does have a nice R&B fusion sound to it, and was recorded at Sigma Studios in Philly. Bunny Sigler produced, and he gives the set a 70's soul sort of sound, but Gabor's cool guitar is still out front, and keeps the tracks sharp, in a sort of pop fusion way. Cuts include the spacey "Concorde (Night Flight)", plus "Babby Rattle Snake", "Smooth Sailin", and "Keep Smilin".

Different is right – as this obscure early 60s side shows Chico Hamilton really opening up, moving past the modern chamber style of the late 50s, into the freer modal rhythms that characterized his incredible work of the 60s! The group's the beginning of that sound too – with Charles Lloyd on tenor and flute, Gabor Szabo on guitar, and Albert Stinson on bass – joined by George Bohannon on trombone, who slides around the grooves to expand the bottom of the album's sound nicely! The album's perhaps not as "eastern" as some of Hamilton's mid 60s work – but the roots of that sound are definitely there, with stretched out tracks that really show some great writing and playing working together! Titles include "Voice In The Night", "A Different Journey", "The Vulture", "One Sheridan Square", and "Sun Yen Sen".

Different is right – as this obscure early 60s side shows Chico Hamilton really opening up, moving past the modern chamber style of the late 50s, into the freer modal rhythms that characterized his incredible work of the 60s! The group's the beginning of that sound too – with Charles Lloyd on tenor and flute, Gabor Szabo on guitar, and Albert Stinson on bass – joined by George Bohannon on trombone, who slides around the grooves to expand the bottom of the album's sound nicely! The album's perhaps not as "eastern" as some of Hamilton's mid 60s work – but the roots of that sound are definitely there, with stretched out tracks that really show some great writing and playing working together! Titles include "Voice In The Night", "A Different Journey", "The Vulture", "One Sheridan Square", and "Sun Yen Sen".

Amazing, simply amazing – and light years ahead of the staid sounds that Chico Hamilton was cutting in the 50s! Hamilton's one of those players who has an amazing range to his music – almost all of it really incredible, as Chico always shifts things up over time – continually trying new things, and new modes of expression – even though, given his popularity, he could have just kept recording the same things year after year. This album is true testament to that propensity for growth in Hamilton's music – a wonderfully unbridled set that's filled with unusual rhythms, odd instrumentation, and even some of the first touches of psychedelic jazz to appear in the 60s! Players include Sadao Watanabe on alto and flute, Gabor Szabo on guitar, Jimmy Cheatham on trombone, and Willie Bobo and Victor Pantoja on percussion – all working together in a really wonderful range of modes from track to track – always groovy, but also pretty far-reaching and exploratory too! Titles include "El Moors", "Helena", "Strange", "Marcheta", "El Chico", and "Conquistadores".

Killer work from Chico Hamilton – and a key batch of sides recorded between his 50s quintet sessions for Pacific Jazz and his later modal magic at Impulse! The work here was originally done for the Navy Swings series of radio shows – and features a Chico with the group that included Charles Lloyd on flute, tenor, and alto sax, Gabor Szabo on guitar, George Bohannon on trombone, and Albert Stinson on bass. The lack of piano and presence of trombone makes for a really unique feel to the group – one that's almost got extra bass at moments, thanks to the work of Bohannon – and which allows for some especially creative flourishes from Lloyd on sax – clearly opening up here, even at an early date. Tracks are short, but extremely creative throughout – and the 16 track set is filled with great originals by Lloyd that include "Vulture", "A Rose For Booker", "Transfusion", "Tales", "CL Blues", "One For Joan", "Homeward", and "Sun Yen Sen".

Tracks by Gary McFarland, Gabor Szabo, Cal Tjader & others.

A very nice 70s session from Dave Brubeck's famous alto player. If you don't know the record, it works surprisingly well – as Desmond's icy cool alto is brought into play with the wam production sound of CTI, and the moody backing of Bob James, Gabor Szabo, Ron Carter, and Jack DeJohnette. Titles include "Was A Sunny Day", "Take Ten", "Music For A While", and of course, "Skylark".

Some of the best-remembered cuts from the legendary CTI Records of the 70s – all tracks that have been sampled over the years, thanks to their funky breaks and amazing grooves! CTI and Kudu have been reissued plenty in recent years, but we'll honestly say that this is one of the hippest sets we've ever heard from the label's mighty catalog – and it's got plenty of tracks that aren't that common on the reissue market – a really fresh look at CTI, one that goes way past the bigger hits of the 70s, with a focus on the label's grooves that are being dug strongly in the 21st Century! Titles include "That's All Right With Me" by Esther Phillips, "Canned Funk" by Joe Farrell, "September 13" by Deodato, "Power Of Soul" by Idris Muhammad, "I Had A Dream" by Hubert Laws, "Sister Sanctified" by Stanley Turrentine, "Ziggidy Zag" by Gabor Szabo, "People Make The World Go Round" by Freddie Hubbard, and "Wildflower" by Hank Crawford.

One of Coryell's best albums ever – a much more expansive session than some of his other records, fueled by some of the spiritual intensity of the Impulse records generation. Players on the album include Steve Marcus on tenor and soprano sax, Mike Mandel on piano, Roy Haynes on drums, and Larry Killian on congas – working with Coryell on long trippy tracks that are clearly informed by the styles of 60s work by Chico Hamilton, Charles Lloyd, and Gabor Szabo. All tracks are long, and titles include "Call To The Higher Consciousness", "The Great Escape", and "Gypsy Queen".

Massively groovy work from Chico Hamilton – one of his standout swingers for Impulse Records in the 60s, and a set that really showcases all the changes in music he'd made for the decade! The set features some wonderful reed work from Jerome Richardson and Charlie Mariano, plus some especially great guitar from Gabor Szabo – a player who was rising to fame in Hamilton's group, but also stands out here with lots of the breezy grooves he'd bring to his own dates for Impulse. Tracks are short, but in a good way that really keeps them focused – and other players who complete the groove include Clark Terry on trumpet and Ron Carter on bass – both of whom nicely pick up Chico's sense of adventure and humor. Titles include "Monday Monday", "Daydream", "Stella By Starlight", "Evil Eye", "Manila", "That Boy With The Long Hair", and "Monday Monday".