Dylan's wonderful foray into country rock – the great Nashville Skyline! He takes his voice into a strangely crooning arena that we hadn't heard from him before or since, kinda adding the mysterious vibe of the whole thing. Titles include a duet with Johnny Cash on "Girl From The North Country", plus "Lay Lady Lay", "Country Pie", "To Be Alone With You", and "One More Night". CD

A relatively mellow recent effort from Bobby Hutcherson – one that has him playing both vibes and marimba, and going for a laidback style that allows plenty of spaces for tonal colors and shades of sound! The group's a quintet, with Kenny Garrett on alto, Geri Allen on piano, Christian McBride on bass, and Al Foster on drums – and in a way, the album's kind of a link between Hutcherson's inside work of the Landmark years, and some of his more exploratory work of the late 70s. Titles include "The Coaster", "Candle", "Tres Palabras", "Delilah", "Who's Got You", and "Pomponio". CD

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Miguel Migs has often skewed more towards the soulful side of the house and otherwise club groove sound, and he does so on an even deeper level with Outside The Skylike! This one features a diverse roster of guests – and an impressive one, too – Meshell Ndegeocello, Bebel Gilberto, Capleton, Lisa Shaw, Evelyn Champagne King, Aya, Lisa Shaw and more! Really impressive work from Miguel, with timeless club soul influences going into inventive club grooves of his own unique inspiration. Includes "Tonight" and "Close Your Eyes" feat Meshell Ndegeocello, "Breakdown" and "Lose Control" with Lisa Shaw, "The Distance and "Don't Stop" feat Aya, "Life" feat Half Pint, "Changin'"f eat Sonny J Jameson, "The System" feat Capleton, "Getaway" with Georg Levin, "Zuzu" with Bebel Gilberto and more. CD

Dylan's wonderful foray into country rock – the great Nashville Skyline! He takes his voice into a strangely crooning arena that we hadn't heard from him before or since, kinda adding the mysterious vibe of the whole thing. Titles include a duet with Johnny Cash on "Girl From The North Country", plus "Lay Lady Lay", "Country Pie", "To Be Alone With You", and "One More Night". CD

One of the best-known 50s jazz sessions from the Savoy label – a laidback classic that's a great illustration of the label's shift in modes after the early bop years! The setting here is relatively informal – with Milt Jackson as the ersatz leader, working almost in blowing session mode with hip players who include Frank Wess on flute and tenor, Hank Jones on piano, Eddie Jones on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums – all players who relax into a groove wonderfully, and really open up on the album's four long tracks. Titles include the classic reading of "Opus De Funk", plus "Opus Pocus", "You Leave Me Breathless", and "Opus & Interlude". A great little set from Milt Jackson – not just for his work on vibes, but also for some great tenor from Lucky Thompson! Thompson's raspy edge brings a nice degree of soulfulness to the set – a sound that adds depth to the sometimes mellower moments set down by Jackson and the rhythm section of Hank Jones, Wendell Marshall, and Kenny Clarke! The small group setting and the longer tracks make the record a good showcase for Thompson's talents at the time – and his way of building a solo gets plenty of room to do its thing here – on tracks that include "Lover", "Angel Face", "Can't Help Lovin That Man", "Sometimes I'm Happy", and "What's New". CD

Jazzy magic from the current Japanese underground – a hip group bubbling under, but with the same magic energy Jazztronik! Like Jazztronik, J's Bee blends together solid jazz roots and modern production – searching out some richly organic grooves that start slowly, build with spare keyboards and rhythms, and then take off to the skies with a really righteous sound. There's a bit of vocals on the set, but like Jazztronik, the group's equally well suited to working in an instrumental mode too. Tracks include "Eclipse", "Glow", "Naked", "Floating", "DB (Deep Blue)", and "Desert Skyline (Version 2)". CD

Includes The Jazz Skyline, Milt Jackson Quartet, Telefunken Blues, and Plenty, Plenty Soul. CD

Beautiful bass work from 50s LA player Red Callender – heard here on his classic Swingin Suite album for Modern, plus tracks from the MGM album Lowest! Swingin Suite is easily one of Red's tightest sessions – a date that has Callender's basslines strongly leading a nonet of players that includes Harry Jones on trumpet, John Ewing on trombone, Willie Green on alto sax, and Buddy Collette on flute and tenor. Collette's lines have a nice sharp edge throughout, and soar out beautifully amidst the bigger backings – and although a "suite", the whole session's got a much more relaxed feel than that compositional title might make you think. Tracks include "On Again", "Greenery", "Pastel", "Dancers", "October Blue", "Bihari", "Skyline", and "Outlines". The remaining tracks on the set were recorded as part of Callender's Lowest album for MGM – a set of both bass and tuba work. Tracks included here feature Callender on bass only, with Gerald Wilson on trumpet and Collette again on flute and tenor. Titles include "Another Blues", "Volume Too", "Five Four Blues", "Pickin Pluckin Whistlin & Walkin", and "Tea For Two". CD

Includes the songs "Smiles", "Shady Lady", "That Old Black Magic", "Oh! Miss Jaxson", "Things Ain't What They Used To Be", "The Moose", "Pow-Wow", "The Great Lie", "Drop Me Off In Harlem", "Gulf Coast Blues", "Skyliner", "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall", "You Always Hurt The One You Love", "West End Blues", "Desert Sands", "E Bob O Le Bob", "Andy's Boogie", "Dark Bayou", "Zanesville Zohio ZZZ", and "Lonesome As The Night Is Long". CD

Two of the biggest singers who ever worked for Verve Records – captured perfectly at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957! Ella Fitzgerald steps out with a strong, lively groove on the first half of the set – swinging things with a looser, more upbeat quality than on some of her mellower Verve studio sets of the late 50s – really grooving it up with small combo backing from the trio of pianist Don Abney! Billie Holiday also gets some small combo backing too – a hip trio with Mal Waldron on piano, Joe Benjamin on bass, and Jo Jones on drums – often a bit more laidback than the group on Ella's sides, but in a great way that helps Holiday hit a very intimate sound, even before this large audience. Ella sings "This Can't Be Love", "Body & Soul", "April In Paris", "I Got A Crush On You", and "Airmail Special" – and Billie sings "Nice Work If You Can Get It", "What A Little Moonlight Can Do", "My Man", "Willow Weep For Me", and "Lady Sings The Blues". CD also features 3 more unissued bonus tracks by Ella – "Too Close For Comfort", "Lullaby Of Birdland", and "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down & Write Myself A Letter". And, added to all of this are 7 more tracks recorded by Carmen McRae at Newport, not issued by Verve in the 50s because Carmen was working for Decca! These sides feature trio backing too – from groups featuring Ray Bryant and Junior Mance on piano – on titles that include "Body & Soul", "Skyliner", "I'll Remember April", "Perdido", and "Love Is Here To Stay". CD

Way more than just the Doo Wop promised in the title – as the set starts with raw harmony work of the 50s, then moves up to include a whole bunch of 60s soul too! The set's a great overview of the evolution of vocal group modes during these crucial years in American music – and some familiar hits are mixed up nicely with lesser-known gems – showing that the compilers really used their heads to put the package together. There's a total of 60 tracks in all, plus a nice booklet too – and titles include "I Believe" by The Earls, "For Sentimental Reasons" by The Cleftones, "The Girl I Love" by The Cadillacs, "I Count The Tears" by The Drifters, "A Casual Look" by The Six Teens, "Down On My Knees" by The Heartbeats, "Out Of Sight" by The Five Keys, "Come Back My Love" by The Cardinals, "Bad Boy" by The Jive Bombers, "Sixty Minute Man" by The Dominoes, "Little Darlin" by The Diamonds, "Lonely Way" by The Skyliners, "The Angels Listened In" by The Crests, "A Wonderful Dream" by The Majors, "Let Me In" by The Sensations, "Smoky Places" by The Corsairs, and "Wish You Were Mine" by The Fireflies. CD