A mellow mainstream fusion classic from the 70s – one that paired the gentle guitar of Earl Klugh with the sweet keyboards of Bob James – in a set that's filled with plenty of warm and laidback touches! The mode here takes off some of the darker edges from James' earlier sound, and softens it nicely with Klugh's colorful approach to the guitar – a slightly tropical mode at times, and one that dances breezily along with help from Ralph MacDonald, Ron Carter, Harvey Mason, and Gary King. Titles include the lovely "Mallorca", plus "I'll Never See You Smile Again", "Kari", "The Afterglow", "Love Lips", and "Winding River". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet electric work from Ron Carter – subtle magic in the best CTI mode! Ron arranged the set himself, but he's working with a core group of CTI players that includes Bob James and Richard Tee on electric piano, Hubert Laws on flute, Ralph MacDonald on percussion, and Billy Cobham on drums – shifting mood, tone, and color with ease as each new track on the album emerges – and uniting the whole proceedings with work on acoustic bass and piccolo bass! Not funky, but very soulful – with a keen sense of space, but never too much so to make things snoozy. Titles include "Blues Farm", "Hymn For Him", "Two Beat Johnson", and "R2, M1". LP, Vinyl record album

With Kenny Barron on piano, Buster Williams on bass, and Ben Riley on drums; plus guests Kermit Moore, Charles McCracken, John Abramowitz, and Richard Locker on celli; Hugh McCracken on guitar and harmonica, and Ralph MacDonald on percussion. LP, Vinyl record album

Grover Washington Jr on Blue Note – but sounding really great here in the company of guitarist Kenny Burrell – very much back to the more basic reed work of his roots, and away from some of the smoother settings of his bigger dates from a few years before! Kenny's well-crafted guitar lines really direct the set – spinning out with energy and soul, and shaping the sound in tones that work especially well with Washington's soprano sax lines. The rest of the group features Ron Carter on bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums, and Ralph MacDonald on percussion – and titles include "Togethering", "Daydream", "Sails Of Your Soul", "Soulero", and "What Am I Here For". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning 70s set from the great Paul Desmond – one that has the tremendous alto player finding an even fresher groove than before – yet all without losing any of the class and control that made him so great in the 50s and 60s! Don Sebesky arranged the set, but most of the instrumentation is nice and lean – small group modes that allow Paul's alto to soar out in the lead, often alongside some excellent guitar work from Gabor Szabo and Gene Bertoncini – the latter of whom provides accompaniment that takes us back to some of Jim Hall's music with Desmond. Bob James plays a bit of piano on the record, and rhythm is by Ron Carter on bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums, and Ralph MacDonald on percussion – plus a bit of cello from George Ricci, who shades tunes in with a mighty nice sound. But as you'd guess, the main focus is on Desmond's sublime alto sax – on titles that include "Was A Sunny Day", "Take Ten", "Music For A While", and of course, "Skylark". LP, Vinyl record album

Featuring Ellis Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland, Herbir Hancock, Larry Willis, Ron Carter, Charnett Moffett, Ira Coleman, Ralph Peterson, Marvin "Smitty" Smith, Al Foster, and Tain - Jeff Watts. LP, Vinyl record album