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A stone killer from the early Blue Note years of tenorist Joe Henderson – a key example of why the label had so much faith in him right from the start, and why Henderson's horn was quite different than so many other players of the 60s! There's a sharp edge here, but there's also a soulful sense of swing – that balance that Joe had more than most of his contemporaries – and which he only continued to develop as the years went on. Echoes of "new thing" modes lie in the background of the record, but upfront things have a sharp 60s Blue Note punch – thanks in part to a great lineup that also includes Kenny Dorham on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Richard Davis on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. Henderson's tone is rough and young – but in a great way, one that's perfect for the exploratory nature of his original tunes on the set, and which matches the mood of Dorham's compositions as well. Tracks include "In N Out", "Short Story", "Brown's Town", and "Punjab".

One of Joe Henderson's first true moments of greatness – a landmark session recorded with a quintet that includes Kenny Dorham on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Butch Warren on bass, and Pete LaRoca on drums! LaRoca's very free on the drum kit, and gives the set a rhythmic looseness that's a bit of a hint at some of Joe's 70's recordings – and that style's even further supported by Tyner's long flowing lines on piano, and Dorham's sparkling work on the trumpet! Includes the classic reading of Kenny's "Blue Bossa", plus the titles "Recorda-Me", "Jinrikishna", "La Mesha", and "Homestretch".

A fantastic session of 60s "new thing" jazz – and one of our favorite early records by Joe Henderson! The album features some incredibly hard playing from Joe – with a very dark edge to his solos that's nicely offset by McCoy Tyner's lyrical piano, and the supple rhythms of Bob Cranshaw and Elvin Jones. It's hard to look at the lineup and not feel this group is approaching the tunes in a very post-Coltrane mode, but Henderson's voice on the tenor is completely singular, and puts that short-sighted theory to rest with his first bold note of the session. The album features 5 numbers in all – 3 originals showcasing Henderson's strong songwriting "Inner Urge", "Isotope" and "El Barrio" – plus the great Duke Pearson ballad "You Know I Care" and the standard "Night & Day".

A far-reaching early gem from Roy Ayers – a set that's much more jazz-based than his later work, and a record that has him touching base with the Blue Note and Strata East sides of the jazz spectrum! The lineup here is incredibly hip – a mix of players that includes a young Charles Tolliver on trumpet, Harold Land and Joe Henderson on tenor, Jack Wilson on piano, and Reggie Workman on bass – not to mention Roy himself on some mighty great vibes! There's a surprising spiritual undercurrent to the music – pointing the way towards jazz to come in the 70s – and titles include "Glow Flower", "Ayerloom", "Virgo Vibes", and "In The Limelight" – plus an early take on Charles Tolliver's "The Ringer".

Insanely wonderful music from Andrew Hill – a lean, stripped-down session that has Hill working at his firey best – in a space that's somewhere between the "new thing" recordings of Jackie McLean, and the brooding brilliance of Andrew's later Smokestack session! The group here has some key figures fleshing out the sound – a young Joe Henderson, blowing tenor with a very edgey quality – the very versatile Richard Davis on bass – and the great Roy Haynes on drums, very much at his most fluid interpretation of rhythm! The whole set's pretty darn great – one of the more mindblowing Blue Notes you'll ever hope to buy – and tracks include "Pumpkin", "Subterfuge", "Cantarnos", and "McNeil Island".

The great Joe Henderson joins pianist Mulgrew Miller for this wonderful album – lending his sharp-edged tenor tone to really make the session stand out from Miller's more common trio dates! Henderson and Miller both have a great ear for the darker side of the spectrum – hitting notes that are never too far out, nor too modern – but which have a rich sense of color that's really wonderful – a bottom-searching sort of feel that gives the album a hell of a lot of feeling! The rest of the quartet features Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums – beautiful partners who are matched with years of experience, which they're only happy to bring to the date. Henderson sits out two numbers – "Ambrosia" and "Exact Change" – but sparkles strongly on the tracks "The Countdown", "Tetragon", "What The World Needs Now Is Love", "Crystal Palace", and "August Afternoon".

One of the most obscure records from trumpeter Blue Mitchell – a great session recorded in the 60s, during Blue's classic stretch with Blue Note – but not issued until 1980, and even then, only briefly! The record's a great example of Mitchell's strong capacity to play well in a larger group – this time a sextet, featuring Joe Henderson's tenor and Leo Wright's alto – playing imaginative lyrical lines next to Blue's sweet trumpet, and dancing around with a sound that's as lyrical as it is soulful! Other players include Herbie Hancock on piano, Gene Taylor on bass, and Roy Brooks on drums – and titles include "Mamacita", "Andrea", "Step Lightly", "Sweet & Lovely", and "Bluesville".

An incredible record – the kind of album that only Blue Note could put out, and an instant classic that will sound wonderful forever! The album's truly one of the great ones – one of those Blue Notes that still makes you stop and pause when you hear it, even though you've heard it a million times in Starbucks and places like that. Horace Silver is working here at the height of his powers – lyrical, free, yet also damn soulful, in a style that makes for some of the most evocative jazz-based grooves cut to wax at the time. Carmell Jones is in the group, and plays some of his best trumpet ever – and Joe Henderson really drives the whole session home with some incredible tenor work. Other group members include Teddy Smith on bass and Roger Humphries on drums – and titles include the instantly famous "Song For My Father", plus "Que Pasa", "The Kicker", and "Calcutta Cutie".

A brilliant album that would forever change the way the organ was used in jazz! The set's the greatest contribution ever from organist Larry Young – a lean and modal session recorded with help from a young quartet that includes Woody Shaw, Joe Henderson, and Elvin Jones – all leaping and loping with Larry's free-thinking work on the Hammond – stretching things out into spiritual grooves that belie Young's fascination with Coltrane's sound of the time, and his freer fusion work of later years! The Hammond had never sounded soul mighty before – freed from the task of thumping out a deeper rhythm, and let loose to explore the same space carved out by Shaw and Henderson's horns! Titles include a classic reading of Woody's "Moontrane", plus "Zoltan", "If", "Beyond All Limits", and "Monk's Dream". Great great stuff, and one of the best-ever Blue Note sessions!

Revolutionary jazz from the era of the Civil Rights Movement and beyond – soulful and spiritual jazz as important as any of the era – an impeccably well chosen compilation of Freedom, Rhythm & Sound from Soul Jazz Records! The set is a tie-in with Soul Jazz's essential Freedom, Rhythm & Sound book – documenting the sounds and providing an aural portrait of a fertile creative period in African American music and cultural history – when the societal struggles were a counterpart to the heretofore unseen depth of creativity and empowerment in jazz music. Includes a nice booklet of notes, and songs from both the independent underground, and some that made it onto established labels like Verve and others, and material by Joe Henderson, Archie Shepp, Errol Parker, Mary Lou Williams, Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Horace Tapscott, Sun Ra and many more. Volume 1 of the vinyl version has 10 tracks on 2LPs, many running on the longer side, for a straight up incredible set of spiritual soul jazz: includes "Africa" by Oliver Lake/NTU, "Space A Nova" by Stanton Davis' Ghetto/Mysticism, "Miss DD" by Mary Lou Williams, "Old Time Religion" by Art Ensemble Of Chicago, "Drinking Song" by Gary Bartz NTU Troop and more.

An excellent groover from Kenny Dorham – possibly one of his best ever albums for Blue Note – a record that shows how much he was pushing past his bop roots in his later years! The tracks are extremely long, and with a Latiny feel that's surprising when you look at Dorham's earlier material. He's helped along in his endeavors here by a fresh group of modernist geniuses that includes Herbie Hancock on piano, Joe Henderson on tenor, Butch Warren on bass and Tony Williams drums – and the album's got 3 long, incredible Dorham originals: "Una Mas" fills up side one, and "Straight Ahead", and "Sao Paulo" cover the flip.

A warmly melodic session from Blue Note's greatest guitarist! The sound of the set's as evocative as the title – an idle moment of space between the notes, explored by Green's tight single-note work on guitar – and wonderfully supported by a lineup that includes Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, and Duke Pearson. Hutcherson and Pearson are always a treat together – bringing out the best exotic side of each other, and crafting a set of spiritually soulful grooves that are really great! The album's got 4 long tracks – exploratory and open, in the best manner of Green's mid 60s work – and titles include "Nomad", "Idle Moments", "Django" and "Jean De Fleur".

An excellent set by Grant Green – recorded in 1964, but not issued until close to 1980, when Blue Note first pulled it out of the vaults, and dropped it on the world! The session's a great one – with an unusual lineup that features Green's guitar in a sextet, with McCoy Tyner on piano, James Spaulding on alto, Joe Henderson on tenor, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – a really wonderful group who help bring something different to the proceedings – helping showcase the great change in Green's second chapter for Blue Note. The album's got a mix of modal grooving and piano-driven hardbop – with a harder groove than some of Green's other non-organ sides for Blue Note. Titles include "Solid", "Minor League", "Ezz Thetic", "Grant's Tune" and "The Kicker".

A jazz classic if there ever was one – and the best-selling album ever by Lee Morgan, thanks to the use of the title track in a car commercial! Sure, you've probably heard "The Sidewinder" enough that you think you know the album already – but the rest of the tunes really open up past that groover, into a realm of lyrical, soulful playing that's simply tremendous! The group on the record features Joe Henderson on tenor, Barry Harris on piano, Bob Crenshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – and the album rolls along with a sense of perfect power that is every bit Blue Note at its best! Titles include "Sidewinder", "Gary's Notebook", "Hocus-Pocus", and "Totem Pole".

A classic Blue Note groover – the funkiest album by Duke Pearson, and a killer batch of piano-heavy soul jazz tunes! Duke really blew out the box for this one – not only coming up with a great batch of original tunes, and playing them with an incredibly soulful touch – but also working with a top-shelf batch of players that includes Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, and James Spaulding! The great Mickey Roker is on drums, playing away with a nice scatter-shot modal mode that grooves in all the right parts – and titles include "Big Bertha", "Sweet Honey Bee", "Sudel", "Ready Rudy?", and "Empathy".

The start of funky funky Herbie Hancock! This album's the first to feature Herbie really breaking away from his straight jazz work – moving into a groove that's nice and funky, using electric piano along with acoustic, to forge the sound that he'd develop famously over the 70s. The album's got a harder, heavier sound than some of his straight electric ones – and it features a larger group with soloists that include Johnny Coles on trumpet and Joe Henderson on tenor – plus some sweet basslines from Buster Williams – all led by Herbie into a tight soul jazz flurry of excellent tracks! Includes the cuts "Fat Mama" and "Wiggle Waggle", both sample favorites, plus "Tell Me A Bedtime Story" and "Lil Brother". Classic stuff, and one of his best records ever!

A contemporary riff on benchmark 70s soul jazz and funky fusion from French producer Medline – who reimagines classics by Roy Ayers, Lonnie Liston Smith, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard and others! It's good, solid stuff – reinterpreting the material in a way that's very mindful of its influence on classic hip hop – with some tighter beats and other nods to classic 90s hip hop production – but it's done with an emphasis on live instrumentation that's pretty great! Medline plays most of the instruments himself, with lots of Afro percussion and jazzy flute – with guest vocals on a number of tunes by Roni Alkekengi. Includes "A New Day", "People Make The World Go Round", "Wind Parade","Expansion" and "Everybody Love The Sunshine" with Roni Alkekengi, "Eboness" and "Red Clay".

A classic set from Horace Silver – one in which his quintet is expanded by some great guest work from trombonist JJ Johnson! Johnson's at the height of his 60s powers here – blowing with that lean, soulful style that always made any record sparkle – and although he's only on half of the tracks on the date, his presence is more than worth the heavy billing he gets on the cover! Other great members of the group include Woody Shaw on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor, and rhythm from Bob Cranshaw on bass and Roger Humphries on drums – all coming together with that wonderful 60s Silver groove. The set's filled with sweetly grooving originals by Horace – a blueprint for the exotic style of soul jazz he helped to forge at the time – great writing all around, on titles that include "Mo Joe", "Nutville", "Bonita", "The African Queen", and "Pretty Eyes".