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Incredible stuff – and a rare meeting of two giant jazz talents you'd never thought would appear on the same stage! The album features a 1960 concert in Sweden – Miles and Sonny upfront, with backing by the trio of Wyton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. Tracks are long, fiery, and a bit dirty (if we can say that in mixed company!) – and titles include "No Blues", "If I Were A Bell", "Walkin", "All Of You", and "On Green Dolphin Street".

Stunning live recordings from Albert Ayler's European tour of late 1966 – during a peak creative period for Ayler – while working with an incredible group! This excellent CD captures them in Stockholm for Swedish radio on November 10, 1966 – followed by an equally well documented set in Berlin from one week prior. The performances themselves are energetic throughout, and in turns elegiac, playful and all-out intense! It's awe-inspiring material with emotional depth – that facet enhanced a bit by the presence of a violin – by Dutch player Michel Samson, who is great here. Donald Ayler's trumpet communicates brilliantly with the violin and William Folwell's double bass. Beaver Harris holds it down on drums, while Ayler blazes away in the leader, taking the group into unpredictable movements. Greatness! Includes "Truth Is Marching In", "Omega (Is The Alpha)", "Our Prayer – Bells" and "Infinite Spirit – Japan" from Stockholm, juxtaposed with differing performances of those titles in Berlin, plus the riveting closer "Ghosts – Bells", also from Berlin.

A much-needed entry in the too-short career of The Electric Prunes – a rare live performance from the late 60s, and material that's arguably even more hard-burning than most of their studio work at the time! There's plenty of fuzz and a fair bit of freak going on – and the group are very much at their garagey best here – still plenty trippy, but surprisingly focused too – without as much of the space that might have shown up on later records, and a blistering intensity that matches the best of the Sunset Strip scene at the time. The recording was done by Swedish radio, so is quite clear and strong – and titles include "You Never Had It Better", "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night", "Long Day's Flight", "Smokestack Lightnin", "Get Me To The World On Time", and "Try Me On For Size".

Stan Getz makes a key musical trip to Sweden – to showcase his affection for a jazz scene that had been growing strongly in the postwar years – often in directions that were similar to Stan's own sound at the time! The session is one of the first to pair Stan's tenor with a Swedish group – in this case the bass of Gunnar Johnson, drums of Anders Burman, and piano of Bengt Hallberg – the last of which brings sharper, more angular style to the music than some of Stan's accompanists on earlier American dates – pointing the way towards new experiments to come in his music! Hallberg really helps break the mold from other Getz Verve sessions of the period – and the relaxed, open-ended recording style of the date is almost an equal showcase for his talents as it is for Stan's! Titles include "Indiana", "Get Happy", "I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me", "Everything Happens To Me", "Without A Song", and "I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You".

Early 50s material recorded by the late Clifford Brown – issued here in a classic "memorial" package slightly after his death in 1956! And while Brown never recorded much for Prestige – and never really as a leader – these sides are still a great example of his completely unique touch on the trumpet! The first half of material was recorded in 1953 – and features Brown soloing with Tadd Dameron's group on the tracks "Philly JJ", "Chose Now", and "Dial B For Beauty". The other set features Brown and Art Farmer as the lead soloists with the Swedish All Stars, a group led by Quincy Jones – and tracks on that session include "Stockholm Sweetnin", "Scuse These Blues", and "Lover Come Back To Me".

Amazing live documents of Miles Davis and his incredible mid-to-late 60s quintet – Wayne Shorter on tenor, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums – complete concert recordings from Antwerp, Copenhagen and Paris on 3CDs seeing release for the first time ever, plus a DVD featuring the only known video footage of this group from the period! CD 1 features material from 10/28/68 in Antwerp, CD 2 on 11/2/67 in Copenhagen and 11/6/67 in Paris, with the latter concert continued on CD 3. This is landmark stuff here – a surprisingly rare opportunity to hear first rate live recordings of legendary material from the ESP, Miles Smiles, Sorcerer and Nefertiti albums – as well as brilliant revisits of vital earlier material. Includes live takes on "Agitation", "Foot Prints", "No Blues", "Gingerbread Boy", "On Green Dolphin Street", "The Theme", "Footprints", "Masqualero", "I Fall In Love Too Easily", "Walkin'" and more. The DVD starts with five numbers recorded on 11/7/67 in Karlzruhe, Germany: "Agitation", "Footprints", "I Fall In Love Too Easily", "Gingerbread Boy" and "The Theme". It concludes with material in Stockholm on 10/31/67: "Agitation", "Footprints", "'Round Midnight", "Gingerbread Boy" and "The Theme".

Amazing live documents of Miles Davis and his incredible mid-to-late 60s quintet – Wayne Shorter on tenor, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums – complete concert recordings from Antwerp, Copenhagen and Paris on 3CDs seeing release for the first time ever, plus a DVD featuring the only known video footage of this group from the period! CD 1 features material from 10/28/68 in Antwerp, CD 2 on 11/2/67 in Copenhagen and 11/6/67 in Paris, with the latter concert continued on CD 3. This is landmark stuff here – a surprisingly rare opportunity to hear first rate live recordings of legendary material from the ESP, Miles Smiles, Sorcerer and Nefertiti albums – as well as brilliant revisits of vital earlier material. Includes live takes on "Agitation", "Foot Prints", "No Blues", "Gingerbread Boy", "On Green Dolphin Street", "The Theme", "Footprints", "Masqualero", "I Fall In Love Too Easily", "Walkin'" and more. The DVD starts with five numbers recorded on 11/7/67 in Karlzruhe, Germany: "Agitation", "Footprints", "I Fall In Love Too Easily", "Gingerbread Boy" and "The Theme". It concludes with material in Stockholm on 10/31/67: "Agitation", "Footprints", "'Round Midnight", "Gingerbread Boy" and "The Theme".

The long-awaited release of some brilliant live sessions from the key Miles Davis group at the end of the 60s – the really freewheeling quintet that featured Chick Corea on electric piano, Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano sax, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums! Rhythms here are completely unbound – wilder even than the sounds on Bitches Brew, and played with a similar intensity on the keyboard, trumpet, and reed solos – an unbridled power that really takes off over the space of the very long cuts on the collection! The whole thing's an essential addition to these very important years for Miles – and the 3CDs features live performances from the Antibes Jazz Festival on July 25 and 26, 1969 – plus a November 1969 performance from Stockholm. Titles include "Miles Runs The Voodoo Down", "Sanctuary", "It's About That Time", "Footprints", "Paraphernalia", "Nefertiti", "Masqualero", "Spanish Key", "Directions", "No Blues", and "Bitches Brew". DVD also features a November 7, 1969 performance from the Berliner Jazztage – of titles that include "Directions", "Bitches Brew", "I Fall In Love Too Easily", "It's About That Time", and "The Theme".

Excellent early hardbop work by Miles – recorded in 1952 and 1954, and some of his best early sides as a leader! The CD features remastered versions of the material, sparkling with the talents of Rudy Van Gelder – and the sessions feature JJ Johnson, Gil Coggins, Art Blakey, Kenny Clarke, Jackie McLean, and Oscar Pettiford. Titles include "Weirdo", "Woody N You", "Dear Old Stockholm", "Chance It", "Donna", "Yesterdays", and "The Leap".

Thelonious Monk wrote the title tune, but Miles Davis makes it almost his own here – blowing with a subtly moody magic that makes the album one of his true treasures from the early Columbia years! John Coltrane's along on tenor sax – helping Davis expand the sound the pair first forged on Prestige – and also present is the rhythm trio of Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones – impeccably recorded here with a wonderful sense of space. Titles include Miles seminal take on "Round Midnight", plus "Tadd's Delight", "Dear Old Stockholm", "Bye Bye Blackbird", and "A Leu Cha".

Amazing sounds from Lee Hazlewood – some of his most offbeat, unbridled recordings ever – and that's saying a lot if you've already heard his classics for Mercury, MGM, and Reprise! The package here brings together rare work from Lee's own LHI label – packaged beautifully with a rich set of notes, session details, and some amazing photos that follow in the spirit of the nutty-looking cover image! Hazlewood's voice is sublime throughout – that deeper-than-deep quality that always leaves us breathless – perfect for the sly wit and and "aw shucks" sensibility of the tunes – and also for unlocking the growing adult sensuality that Lee was letting into his work at the time. A few female singers step forth in that great Hazlweood duet mode – Nina Lizell, Suzi Jane Hokom, and Ann Margret – who each sing on a few tracks – but Lee's in the lead on most numbers, and titles include the previously unreleased "I Just Learned To Run" – plus "The Bed", "Sleep In The Grass", "The Night Before", "If It's Monday Morning", "Won't You Tell Your Dreams", "Hey Cowboy", "No Train To Stockholm", "What's More I Don't Need Her", "Trouble Maker", and "Nobody Like You".

Amazing sounds from Lee Hazlewood – some of his most offbeat, unbridled recordings ever – and that's saying a lot if you've already heard his classics for Mercury, MGM, and Reprise! The package here brings together rare work from Lee's own LHI label – packaged beautifully with a rich set of notes, session details, and some amazing photos that follow in the spirit of the nutty-looking cover image! Hazlewood's voice is sublime throughout – that deeper-than-deep quality that always leaves us breathless – perfect for the sly wit and and "aw shucks" sensibility of the tunes – and also for unlocking the growing adult sensuality that Lee was letting into his work at the time. A few female singers step forth in that great Hazlweood duet mode – Nina Lizell, Suzi Jane Hokom, and Ann Margret – who each sing on a few tracks – but Lee's in the lead on most numbers, and titles include the previously unreleased "I Just Learned To Run" – plus "The Bed", "Sleep In The Grass", "The Night Before", "If It's Monday Morning", "Won't You Tell Your Dreams", "Hey Cowboy", "No Train To Stockholm", "What's More I Don't Need Her", "Trouble Maker", and "Nobody Like You".

A stunner! Philly Joe's Beat is a beautiful bit of modernist hardbop by the drummer. Philly Joe pounds away with his usual clarity and groove, but the real treat is an unexpected appearance by the great Bill Barron, who plays tenor on the session. Barron's tenor is amazingly precise, and filled with far-reaching concepts, economically trimmed to fit into some nice tight solos. Tracks include "Muse Rapture", "Lori", "Dear Old Stockholm", "Salt Peanuts", "Got To Take Another Chance", and "That's Earl Brother".

A split 70s LP – with two earlier classics! First up is How I Feel About Jazz – an important early album from Quincy Jones! Q's working here in some of his hippest settings of the 50s – scoring longish versions of jazz tunes for groups that include players like Lucky Thompson on tenor, Herbie Mann on flute, Art Farmer on trumpet, Phil Woods and Gene Quill on alto sax, Hank Jones on piano, and even Charles Mingus on bass! As with most Jones albums of the time, Quincy has a way of making a bigger group sound nice and lean – hitting some especially nice edges along with the rhythms, and really showing the way towards a new soulful sound for a bigger band. Titles include a sublime 10 minute version of "Walkin" that kicks off the album with a great soulful groove – plus original tunes "Evening In Paris", "Stockholm Sweetnin", and "Boo's Blues", as well as a version of Cannonball Adderley's "Sermonette". Next is Quintessence – a very soulful set of big band material from Quincy Jones – recorded during that tight early 60s period when his arrangements just couldn't fail! The album's his only session for Impulse, and it's got a slightly deeper style than his work from the time for Mercury – a bit more sophisticated, with nice modern touches that take the tunes in surprising directions. Part of the greatness of the set lies in the players – as the album features work by Curtis Fuller, Thad Jones, Stu Martin, Freddie Hubbard, Patty Brown, Phil Woods, and Jerome Richardson – and titles include "Robot Portrait", "Hard Sock Dance", "The Twitch", and "For Lena & Lennie".

In case you haven't noticed lately, the Scandinavian scene's blowing up large – and for good reason! As this set nicely documents, there's a rich array of great groups up north – groundbreaking combos with one ear towards the jazzy riffs of 70s European jazz – bringing more life and light into their work than previous Scandinavian electronicists – and creating tracks that are especially appealing to our classics-steeped ears! The feel here is tremendous – with a classic/modern counterpoint that rivals the best on Compost or Schema – and which has the added influence of decades of Scandinavian fusion, funk, modal jazz, and vocalese! Titles include "Trading Eights" by Five Corners Quintet, "Marinade" by Kahuun, "Noisuf (raw jazz take)" by Stockholm Cyclo, "Open The Door" by Elsa, "I Love You My Friends" by Hird, "Kovin Lentaen Kotin Kaipaan" by Kuusumun Profeetta, "Good & Bad" by Povo, "Logic Of Space" by Iony, and "Bloodstream" by Oddjob.

A strange 2LP set – put together in 1971, with a cover and a gatefold format that makes it look like current electric Miles on Columbia, but a track list that features Miles early 50s recordings for Blue Note! The tracks were all recorded by Rudy Van Gelder – and the sessions feature JJ Johnson, Gil Coggins, Art Blakey, Kenny Clarke, Jackie McLean, and Oscar Pettiford. Titles include "Weirdo", "Woody N You", "Lazy Susan", "CTA", "Dear Old Stockholm", "Chance It", "Donna", "Yesterdays", and "The Leap".

Thelonious Monk wrote the title tune, but Miles Davis makes it almost his own here – blowing with a subtly moody magic that makes the album one of his true treasures from the early Columbia years! John Coltrane's along on tenor sax – helping Davis expand the sound the pair first forged on Prestige – and also present is the rhythm trio of Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones – impeccably recorded here with a wonderful sense of space. Titles include Miles seminal take on "Round Midnight", plus "Tadd's Delight", "Dear Old Stockholm", "Bye Bye Blackbird", and "A Leu Cha". The first disc also features 4 bonus tracks too – "Sweet Sue", "Little Melonae", "Budo", and "Two Bass Hit". The second disc are live recordings from '55 and '56.

Wonderful mellowness recorded by Art during the 70s – a beautiful little session done in Stockholm with some really great touches! At the beginning, things start out in typical Farmer ballad mode, but as the album moves on, Sabu Martinez comes in with some added percussion – and the lineup of guitar, bass, and two drummers picks things up with a nice little pace. The whole thing hits its stride on the tune "Green Witch" – a track that has a slight Latin pulse on the bottom, and which almost threatens to go modal – but enjoys its skittish approach to percussion and the way it keeps things edgey! Other tracks include "Smiling Billy", "A Bitty Ditty", and "A Sleeping Bee".

A lost bit of 70s soul jazz and global funk percussion from conguero & trombonist Melvyn Price – an incredible set of heavily rhythmic grooves recorded in Stockholm in 1974 – originally a private press effort, and the most impressive rediscovery yet from Wax Poetics Records! Melvyn grew up outside of Detroit, and he cut his teeth with the freeform Afrikan Folk Ensemble before relocating to Sweden in the 60s, where he thrived in the country's healthy and creative jazz scene. He's joined by a great group of international players who bring diverse flavors to the overall sound, with Latin and African styles of percussion from Price, Jon Dill and Luis Agudo, drums by Gunnar Nyberg and Fredrik Noren, piano by Bjorn Wolff, fluidly jazzy tenor sax from Ed Epstein, and bass by Guy Roellinger, who's work here often sounds like the stuff of funky 70s soundtracks. If we can't quite peg the bluesy bits promised by the title, the rhythms are absolutely impeccable – with the conga and percussion as the driving force of the sound! Titles include "Voodoo Love Dance", "Toward Brazil", "Behind Kungstradgarden", "Happiness Is. . .", "Five O'Clock Traffic" and "Last Train".

A lost bit of 70s soul jazz and global funk percussion from conguero & trombonist Melvyn Price – an incredible set of heavily rhythmic grooves recorded in Stockholm in 1974 – originally a private press effort, and the most impressive rediscovery yet from Wax Poetics Records! Melvyn grew up outside of Detroit, and he cut his teeth with the freeform Afrikan Folk Ensemble before relocating to Sweden in the 60s, where he thrived in the country's healthy and creative jazz scene. He's joined by a great group of international players who bring diverse flavors to the overall sound, with Latin and African styles of percussion from Price, Jon Dill and Luis Agudo, drums by Gunnar Nyberg and Fredrik Noren, piano by Bjorn Wolff, fluidly jazzy tenor sax from Ed Epstein, and bass by Guy Roellinger, who's work here often sounds like the stuff of funky 70s soundtracks. If we can't quite peg the bluesy bits promised by the title, the rhythms are absolutely impeccable – with the conga and percussion as the driving force of the sound! Titles include "Voodoo Love Dance", "Toward Brazil", "Behind Kungstradgarden", "Happiness Is. . .", "Five O'Clock Traffic" and "Last Train".

A really great setting for Pepper Adams – a rare European live date that has his baritone sax matched with the mighty talents of the George Arvanitas trio! Arvanitas' piano is always great, but we especially love the rhythm work here by bassist Jacky Samson and drummer Charles Saudrais – two amazing players who help Pepper find a groove on the record that's quite different than usual. The set begins with the 11 minute "Bossa Noveau" – a Brazilian-styled groover that reminds us a lot of the Samson/Saudrais work with Marco Di Marco and Chris Woods – and the same sort of vibe follows on the 17 minute "Min & Maj Blues" too. "Ephemera" and "Body & Soul" are a bit straighter, but totally great – and the CD also features the bonus track "Dear Old Stockholm".

Groovy big band material, with that very cool 60s Quincy Jones sound! The record has a global gimmick – as Quincy makes a trip around the world, playing tunes associated with various nations, like "Under Paris Skies", "Dear Old Stockholm", "Come Back To Sorrento", "Baia", and "Mack The Knife". Features 2 great originals – "Hot Sake" and "Africana" – and comes packaged in a gatefold cover with sexy images of ladies and globes!