Pat Martino in one of his greatest settings – live, in front of the kind of an audience where he could really open up! The set's a great marker of the growth that Pat experienced as the 70s approached – taking all the lessons he'd learned from his years gigging it up in the soul jazz underground, and using them to forge a more expansive, more cosmic approach to jazz. The tracks on the set are all quite long – with backing by a trio that features electric piano from Ron Thomas, and an overall sound that's exploratory, but never too out or trippy. Titles include "Special Door", "The Great Stream", and an excellent reading of "Sunny". LP, Vinyl record album

A key moment in the flowering of guitarist Pat Martino – a set that has him really moving away from his soul jazz roots, into a deeper exploration of freer ideas in jazz – touched with a bit of Eastern philosophy! The tracks on the set are all quite long – played by a group that augments Martino with second guitarist Bobby Rose, plus flute and alto from Gregory Herbert, bass from Richard Davis, drums from Charlie Persib, and added tabla and tamboura that really help push the "Eastern" agenda of the set! Martino's solos are still picked out in a clear, clean style – but his phrasing is even more chromatic, and done with a searching quality that befits the album's inspiration from the Koran! Titles include "Distant Land", "Baiyina", and "Where Love's A Grown Up God". LP, Vinyl record album

With Gil Goldstein on piano, Richard Davis on bass, and Jabali Billy Hart on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Martino plays in a 2-guitar quartet – with Bobby Rose backing him up on guitar, plus rhythm accompaniment by Richard Davis and Billy Higgins. The sound's definitely in the trippier, post-hippie style of Martino's work, with a sort of looseness and fluidity that you either love or hate, but a nicely swinging rhythm underneath. Titles include "Footprints", "Road Song", "The Visit", and "Alone Together". LP, Vinyl record album

Spacey electric work from guitarist Pat Martino – a record that seems to be as concerned with sound overall as it is with the jazz stylings of Martino's guitar – and we mean that in a good way! The older modes of Martino's 60s soul jazz work are very far gone by now – but in their place is a new sense of space and tone, one that makes him a completely different player altogether! A few cuts get hard and funky – pairing Martino with the fierce keyboard work of Gil Goldstein – while others are mellower and atmospheric, with lots of moody sounds floating along. Titles include "Fall", "Nefertiti", "City Lights", "Blue Macaw", "Prelude", and "Masquerade". LP, Vinyl record album

Duets between Martino's guitar and the keyboards of Gil Goldstein. LP, Vinyl record album

The date's a bit late, but this is a nice groover from Willis, with a strong jazzy sound, and organ by Mickey Tucker and guitar by Pat Martino. A few of the tracks are a bit more lyrical than the old days, but Willis' tone is always a treat, even in the mellow moments. Titles include "Miss Ann", "Headed & Gutted", "Gator Whale", and "Blue Velvet". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent John Handy album from the 60s – and one that features some especially nice vibes from Bobby Hutcherson – in a group that also features Pat Martino on guitar! Tracks are all nice and long, and the record maybe features some of the most "out" moments in Handy's career – as he blows very soulful solos on alto, while Hutcherson hits some very hard noisy notes on the vibes. The rest of the group includes Albert Stinson on bass and Doug Sides on drums – and titles include "Naima", "A Little Quiet", and "Tears Of Ole Miss (Anatomy Of A Riot)". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent album from Eric Kloss – maybe one of his last good ones, too! The record has him playing with a hip group of young players – basically the Miles Davis rhythm section (Chick Corea, Dave Holland, and Jack DeJohnette) plus guitarist Pat Martino, who was really stretching out at this time. The resultant electric grooves are way different than Kloss' earlier work, yet still much tighter and more soulful than his later stuff – with some slight bits of funk and soul jazz to keep things real. All tracks are fairly long, and the record features versions of "Sunshine Superman" and "Songs To Aging Children" – plus the tunes "Consciousness" and "Outward Wisdom". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer 60s album from Brother Jack McDuff – cut at a time when he was one of the most hard-hitting players on the Hammond! The set has a great lineup – Red Holloway plays tenor on all cuts, except for "The Live People", which features him and Harold Ousley playing back to back – and Joe Dukes is on drums throughout, and the guitar parts are handled by Pat Martino and George Benson – all players who really take off under the leadership of McDuff! Cuts include "Au Private", "East of the Sun", "The Live People", and "Hallelujah Time". LP, Vinyl record album

A Holiday set so sweet, you'll be playing it all year long – as the record's got all the same soul jazz charms as the other Prestige Records albums from Hammond legend Don Patterson! True, the cover is red and green – and true, the songs are all Christmas numbers – but Don and the trio really take off on them, and create that wonderful interplay of grooves that makes their work so wonderful! Patterson handles the basslines with the pedals on the Hammond – alongside Pat Martino on guitar and Billy James on drums – who play with a wonderfully open flow that sets Don free with plenty of flights on the keyboard! Tracks are loose and groovy – and titles include "Merry Christmas Baby", "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", "Silent Night", "O Holy Night", and "Jingle Bells". LP, Vinyl record album

The title's a bit hokey – an obvious play on the Star Wars film that was running in theaters at the time of the record – but the sound is classic Willis Jackson at his finest, recorded in a style that's right up there with his best 60s work for Prestige! The group here is a quintet – with Willis on tenor, Charles Earland on organ, Pat Martino on guitar, Idris Muhammad on drums, and Buddy Caldwell on congas – and as on Earland's best soul jazz sides for Muse from the time, there's a real back-to-basics approach here, one that really gets away from Modes that Willis used on other labels in the 70s. Titles include "The Goose Is Loose", "Bar Wars", "Blue & Sentimental", "Later", and "It's All Right With Me". LP, Vinyl record album