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One of the last great albums that Rudd played on before going into retirement! The group features Rudd on trombone, Enrico Rava on trumpet, Dve Burrell on piano, Stafford James on bass, and Harold White on drums – and the overall feel is similar to some of the best ESP work of the 60s. The band is very nicely matched, and changed moods and modes together as one unit. Tracks include "Inside Job", "Mysterioso", and "Sacred Song".

Really rich sounds from Woody Shaw – one of his sublime studio sessions for Columbia Records – a major label, but one who really let Woody explore some new ideas in his music! There's a depth here that surpasses some of Shaw's straight small group sessions – really magnificent sounds that push the boundaries of soulful jazz at the end of the 70s, yet still hold onto all the best aspects of Woody's roots – kind of a distillation of all the soulful, spiritual experiments of the past 10 years – delivered in ways that really help them reach out to new ears! The core group features Woody on trumpet and flugelhorn, Larry Willis on piano, Stafford James on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums – but each track features some key guest appearance too – by artists who include Gary Bartz on alto, Curtis Fuller and Steve Turre on trombones, Carter Jefferson on tenor and soprano sax, James Spaulding on flute, Nana Vasconcelos on percussion, and Judi Singh on vocals – singing beautifully on the cuts "Time Is Right" and "Why" – alongside other instrumental numbers that include "Opec", "Josua C", "Isabel The Liberator", and "Ginseng People".

A brilliant date from the later years of Woody Shaw – an album that equally shows Woody's own talents, and those of his key group of younger players too! Shaw's trumpet is perfect in both modes here – the hard-blown righteous numbers Woody first gave the world from his start, and the warmer, more sensitive ballads he was crafting a bit later in his career – never too smooth or mellow, but showing a nice link to tradition in his tone. All tracks are longish, and the group features Steve Turre on trombone, Mulgrew Miller on piano, Stafford James on bass, and Tony Reedus on drums – all familiar players to Shaw, working tightly together on the date. As an added bonus, Bobby Hutcherson joins the group for most of the set – ringing out a strongly soulful tone on his vibes, on titles that include "Misterioso", "400 Years Ago Tomorrow", "Diane", and "Sweet Love Of Mine". The album also features a bonus interview track with Woody too!

A brilliant date from the later years of Woody Shaw – an album that equally shows Woody's own talents, and those of his key group of younger players too! Shaw's trumpet is perfect in both modes here – the hard-blown righteous numbers Woody first gave the world from his start, and the warmer, more sensitive ballads he was crafting a bit later in his career – never too smooth or mellow, but showing a nice link to tradition in his tone. All tracks are longish, and the group features Steve Turre on trombone, Mulgrew Miller on piano, Stafford James on bass, and Tony Reedus on drums – all familiar players to Shaw, working tightly together on the date. As an added bonus, Bobby Hutcherson joins the group for most of the set – ringing out a strongly soulful tone on his vibes, on titles that include "Misterioso", "400 Years Ago Tomorrow", "Diane", and "Sweet Love Of Mine". The album also features a bonus interview track with Woody too!

A Sentimental Journey from sax player Tim Warfield – taking on classic jazz and standards for moody, dynamic and wholly involving album! The title of course comes from the classic tune, sung by Doris Day in it's earliest hit incarnation, given a warm, weary and wonderful reading by Warfield and his crack quartet – who work similar magic on "I'll Be Seeing You", "My Man", "Crazy Rhythm", "In A Sentimental Mood", "Hear's That Rainy Day" and more. Player s include Terell Stafford on trumpet & flugelhorn, Pat Bianchi on B3 and Byron Landham on drums.

Incredible work from drummer Rashied Ali – a set that really delivers on the promise of the music he first crafted with John Coltrane! The vision here is wide and expansive, yet still has a soulful, spiritual heart – a great balance of the free impulses of all players with the core unity of the group – a righteous energy that holds up strongly, even over the course of the album's two long tracks. The set's a great contrast to the work going on in the European scene at the time – and really shows how the American indie recording scene was able to capture performances in a more solid, focused sort of way. In addition to Ali's work on drums, the quartet also features excellent alto and flute from Carlos Ward, piano from Fred Simmons, and bass from Stafford James – the last of whom really ties the whole thing together with his sense of soul. Titles include "Akela" and "As Salaam Alikum".

The south rises again – in this excellent annual issue of Oxford American dedicated to music from below the Mason-Dixon line! This year, the publication's got a special focus on Louisiana – a great mix of soul, jazz, blues, and roots – served up in an issue that's heavy on Crescent City commentary – with articles on Shotgun Joe, Professor Longhair, and Amede Ardoinand – plus musings on the music of New Orleans by Stanley Crouch, a look at a NO strip club, and a long piece on "The Anxiety Of Authenticity". There's loads more little features too – on Louisiana music old and new – and as the biggest bonus, the issue comes with a 21 track CD – featuring cuts that include "Sugar Bee" by Cleveland Crochet & Hill Billy Ramblers, "Two Wings" by Rev Utah Smith, "Real Live Living Hurtin Man" by Johnny Adams, "Reconsider Me" by Margaret Lewis, "Shirley" by John Fred & The Playboys, "The Eyes Of Love" by Margie Singleton, "Parlez Nous A Boire" by Chris Stafford, "Monkey In A Sack" by Lil Buck & The Top Cats, "A Thousand Miles From Nowhere" by Robert Pete Williams, "The Patriotic Flag Waver" by Dr John, "Shine" by Kid Ory, "Bon Ton Roula" by Clarence Garlow, "Look What You're Doin To Me" by Professor Longhair, and "Old Man's Darling" by Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Cha.

Snowboy returns with another batch of grooves in the Hi Hat series – the first volume we've heard under that name in awhile – and while the sound is still great, the format here is a bit different than before! The style this time around is heavily jazzy – and pulled from records that are even more obscure than those used on previous volumes – mostly relatively recent recordings from the past decade or so, but those which were ignored the first time around – making the music here seem even more fresh! Most of the numbers are titles that were buried in more conventional records, but which stand out as modern jazz dance tracks – keeping the spirit of modal, hardbop, and Latin-styled jazz grooves alive and well on the dancefloor – as testified by the album's photos from Snowboy's Hi Hat club night! Titles include "Sunny Day (live)" by Jon Lucien, "Speed Trap" by Peter King, "If I Perish" by Terrell Stafford, "Our Man In Havana" by Cubana Bop, "Seven Steps To Heaven" by World Saxophone Quartet, "Caribbean Fire Dance" by Bobby Sanabria & Ascension, "Blue Bossa" by McCoy Tyner Latin Big Band, and "Fical Mal Com Deus" by Airto.