Features Michael Cochrane on piano and Santi Debriano on bass! CD

TK Blue on alto and soprano saxophone, flute and kalimba, Steve Turre on trombone, James Weidman and Onaje Allan Gumbs on piano, Essiet Okon Ossiet on bass, Willie Martinez on bass, and Kevin Jones on percussion. CD

Famous tracks from the legendary Miami Soul powerhouse TK Records – famous not because they were hits in the 70s, but because they were used in later years as hip hop samples – dug from the deep well of music that TK recorded back in the day, to lay the blueprint for a whole new generation! The set brings together 15 gems that are not only funky, and which have key elements that you'll know from hip hop songs – but which also stand pretty darn strongly on their own, as a fantastic overview of the care of creation that TK brought to its work in the studio. Titles include "Groove To Get Down" by T-Connection, "Dedicate All My Love" by Raw Soul Express, "Sweet Thang" by The 13th Floor, "Living Together Is Keeping Us Apart" by Clarence Reid, "Good Good Lovin" by Charles Johnson, "To Touch You Again/Lady Blue" by John Tropea, "Givin Me Your Love" by Facts Of Life, "Dance With Me" by Peter Brown, "Why Can't We Live Together" by Timmy Thomas, and both versions of "90% Of Me Is You" – one by Gwen McCrae, one by Vanessa Kendrick. Also features some J Rocc mixes – "I Get Lifted (J Rocc edit)" by George McCrae, "Keep It Up (J Rocc edit)" by Milton Wright, "I Love The Way You Love (J Rocc dub)" by Betty Wright, and "Clean Up Woman (J Rocc edit)" by Betty Wright. CD

Beautiful work from Adegoke Steve Colson – a warmly grooving set cut with vocalist Iqua Colson – possibly one of Steve's straightest records ever, but one of his most soulful, too! Iqua's got a fluid vocal approach that's mighty nice – and the Colson combo swings in a mix of modal moments and soul jazz roots – with work from TK Blue on soprano and alto sax, Andy McCloud on bass, and Reggie Nicholson on drums. Most titles are originals, with a really fresh feel – the kind of hopeful, optimistic spirit of jazz vocals, if you still no where to look – and titles include "Hope For Love", "At The Church Steps", "Picante", "Regina's Lament", "South Of The Border Serenade", and "After Revelation's Ease". CD

The legendary debut of Bobby Caldwell – a blue-eyed soul singer who borrowed just the right amounts from AOR and R&B! Bobby's got a voice that's really great, and wrapped up warmly amidst keyboards and larger arrangements that all come across with a very cool compressed style – almost as if Caldwell discovered that midtempo and mellow style on some of the Earth Wind & Fire albums from a few years before, and used it as inspiration to craft a classic groove that's very much his own! The set features Bobby's huge classic "What You Won't Do For Love" – but the whole album's great, and other titles include "Special To Me", "Can't Say Goodbye", "My Flame", "Love Won't Wait", "Come To Me", "Down For The Third Time", "Take Me Back To Then" and "Kalimba Song", another nod to Maurice White and crew, to be sure! Also includes a bonus track – the TK version of "Can't Say Goodbye". CD

A 21st Century date from Jimmy Scott – recorded live in Tokyo with small combo backing that almost gives him more of a groove than in some of his other late-life sessions! The band's billed as The Jazz Expressions – and features TK Blue on alto and flute, Jon Regen on piano, Hillard Greene on bass, and Dwayne Broadnax on drums – players who are clearly confident enough of their own talents to not be cowed in the presence of Scott – a fact that sometimes obscures the gentler sides of Jimmy's aging vocals, but which can also be appreciated in terms of the way they don't just lay back and go for a sleepy sort of set. Titles include "I'll Close My Eyes", "Why Was I Born", "I Cried For You", "Time After Time", "Pennies From Heaven", and "You Don't Know What Love Is". CD

Way more than just an album with Gene Ammons as a leader – and instead, a set that truly earns the "all stars" listed on the cover – thanks to a great array of supporting players, and a very loose, open-ended jam session style that lets everyone get in plenty of solo space! Ammons' tenor is tremendous, but he's also a great collaborator here, too – working with Idrees Suliman on trumpet, Pepper Adams on baritone, Mal Waldron on piano, Art Taylor on drums, Doug Watkins on bass, and Ray Barretto on conga – in a mode that's maybe slightly tighter than some of the blowing sessions Prestige was doing at the time, but which still has that key longform creative energy that made the hardbop generation so great. Titles include "Blue Gene", "Scamperin", "Blue Greens n Beans", and "Hip Tip" – and all tracks are long, with plenty of focus on solos! CD

A crackling date from Jackie McLean – a set that's got a more expansive feel than some of his earlier Blue Note work – filled with fire, far from the 50s – and really pointing the way towards his new directions to come! There's a hint of modernism in the mix, mostly on the tone from McLean's alto sax – but most numbers are forward-thinking, and played with a sense of perfection that's pure Blue Note all the way through – served up in original material penned by different members of the group – a killer lineup that includes a young Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, with Kenny Drew on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Pete LaRoca on drums. The whole set is wonderful – and titles include "Cool Green", "Torchin", "Bluesnik", "Drew's Blues", and "Blues Function". CD reissue includes 2 non-LP bonus cuts! CD

An obscure late 50s set from the mighty Hank Mobley – and like all of the tenorist's sides for Blue Note, an essential gem that tops most work by the rest of his contemporaries! The setting here is a really warm and lyrical one – as Mobley's playing with Horace Silver on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, Art Blakey on drums, and the great Art Farmer on trumpet – making one of his rare (and appreciated!) Blue Note appearances on the set! The tracks have a good mixture of hardbop and more lyrical overtones – in a manner that's similar to Silver's work, but with a little more gutbucket soloing on tenor from Mobley. Titles include "Base On Balls", "Fin De L'Affaire", "Funk In Deep Freeze", and "Startin From Scratch". CD also features 2 bonus tracks – alternate takes of "Funk In Deep Freeze" and "Wham & They're Off". CD

Pick any 10 words out of any Outkast album description on our pages at random, and you'll see how dearly we've loved these boys throughout the years – but truth be told, deep down we didn't think that they would be able to pull off the double album/solo album project(s). We were seriously wrong – Speakerboxxx/Love Below is HUGE in every way, and both halves are great all the way through! If you were worried Big Boi's Speakerboxxx half would be lazy southern hip hop without Andre's freaky presence throughout, you can put those fears to rest right now. Speakerboxxx is a deeply soulful electro hopping pounder from front to back – every bit as innovative as Andre's half! Tracks include "Ghettomusick" (which features one of just two appearances by A3000 on the whole disc), "Bowtie" with Sleepy Brown, "Bust" with Killer Mike, "Church", "Tomb Of The Boom" with Konkrete, Big Gipp and Ludacris, "Flip Flop" with Jay-Z, "The Way You Move" and more. A lot of press has been given to the assumption that Andre 3000 has largely forsaken hip hop on his half (The Love Below) and has instead dived head first into cosmic future funk. Well, the rumors are true. There's lots of straight up jazz piano and horn bits on the Love Below, with Andre's half serious, half tongue-in-cheek romantic soul cabaret croon way over the top. It's steeped in the classic Outkast party vibe, but with lots of Sign Of The Times-era Prince (complete with androgynous distorted vocals), Parliament and Cameo thrown into the mix. Sick, energetic genius! Tracks include the deliriously great "Hey Ya!" single, "She Lives In My Lap", "Love Hater", "Happy Valentine's Day", "Roses", "Good Day, Good Sir", "Behold A Lady", "Pink And Blue", "Spread", "Dracula's Lady" with Kelis, and more. Who the hell knows what they can possibly do to surprise us after this – but wherever Andre 3000 and Big Boi go from here, they each have yet another classic in the discography! CD

3 rare hardbop sides – issued together as one great 2 CD set! The album features work from 3 records first issued by the short-lived Transition label from Boston – Byrd's Eye View and Byrd Blows On Beacon Hill, both by Donald Byrd (in case you couldn't guess!), and Watkins At Large, one of the few albums ever issued by hardbop bassist Doug Watkins. The feel of the material is great – totally on a par with the Blue Note hardbop work of the late 50s, and featuring many players in common with those recordings – Hank Mobley, Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Duke Jordan, and Art Taylor. The 2CD set features 17 tracks on all, and it's the first time the material's been made available to the US market at an affordable price! Titles include "Return To Paradise", "El Sino", "Doug's Blues", "Crazy Rhythm", "If I Love Again", "What's New", "More Of The Same", and "Phinupi". CD

The new album from Outkast and the soundtrack to their film Idlewild! Outkast has been daring haters for years to pounce at will – and they really take that approach to the next level by making what is far and away their oddest project in midst of the most scrutiny they will probably ever receive. We're lacking a bit of perspective in that we haven't seen the movie – but the best stuff probably makes it worth picking up. Idlewild continues the tag team style of Speakerboxx/Love Below in that the duo rarely appear together on the same tracks. The single "Mighty O" is the most notable expection, in that both rappers do their thing on it – and 3000 is actually rapping! The rest of the album, surprisingly, has a fairly coherent flow – with little touches of the 1930s vibe and atmosphere ( the setting of the film) – as envisioned by forward looking hip hoppers. It's a daring set of tracks with strong moments – and lots of additional singing by Sleepy Brown and others. Tracks include "Mighty O", "Peaches" feat Sleepy Brown & Scar, "Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me", "N2U" feat Khujo Goodie, "Morris Brown" feat Scar & Sleepy Brown, "Chronomentrophobia", "The Train" feat Sleep Brown & Scar, "Life Is Like A Musical", "Hollywood Divorce" feat Lil' Wayne & Snoop Dogg, "Buggface", "PJ & Rooster", "Greatest Show On Earth" feat Macy Gray. "When I Look In Your Eyes", "Dyin' To Live" and "A Bad Note". CD

A pretty amazing batch of soul, R&B, and funk from the Nashville scene – from an astonishing range of years, too! Of course the memorabilia industry that is "Music City USA" is dominated by country music and pop, and this long, long, LONG overdue collection of singles from 1945-1970 demonstrates how much more was going on in East Tennessee beyond Chet Atkins and the Opry! The tunes range from jump blues & soul of the late 40s and 50s, and on through the harmony soul of the 60s and the pre-funk late 60s. 38 tracks on two CDs: "Nashville Jumps" by Cecil Gant, "Just Walkin' In The Rain" by The Prisonaires, "Baby Let's Play House" by Arthur Gunter, "Christene" by Little Hank Crawford, "You Can Make It If You Try" by Gene Allison, "Somebody, Somewhere" by Larry Birdsong, "Monkey Doin' Woman" by Shy Guy Douglas, "What'd I Say" by Etta James, "Snap Your Fingers" by Joe Henderson, "I Want To" by Joe Tex, "The Chokin'" Kind" by Joe Simon, "Rediscover Me" by Johnny Adams and tons more! CD

A soul jazz classic from Gene Ammons – the kind of session that easy made him "boss" on tenor – with a tone and conception that few other players could touch! The set is done in a style that's laidback, but never too loose – bouncing along in that "with conga" style of rhythm that was used strongly at the start of the 60s – with Ray Barretto on percussion, alongside Tommy Flanagan on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. The style is nice and echoey – a mode that works well not only here, but on most of the 22 other albums that Ammons went onto record during the next 2 years! Titles include "Close Your Eyes", "Canadian Sunset", "Hittin' The Jug", "Confirmation", and "Blue Ammons". CD

Ahhhh . . . The Jam Session years of Gene Ammons! This album was one of a number that Jug cut for Prestige during the mid 50s, all excellent examples of how perfectly the label's "blowing session" style could work when it wanted to. The set takes Ammons' tenor, and groups it with an all-star cast that includes Art Farmer and Donald Byrd on trumpets, Jackie McLean on alto, Mal Waldron on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. All the horn players are given free reign to solo – and as most of the tracks go on and on and on, they really get room to open up, blowing with the kind of competitive creativity you'd hear in a live set at the same time. Includes three long tracks: "Not Really The Blues", "Jammin With Gene", and "We'll Be Together Again". CD

A stunning set from overlooked tenor genius Tina Brooks – a musician who recorded for Blue Note during the key years of Hank Mobley and Johnny Griffin, but whose music was mostly un issued at the time! This rare set is a great second chapter to Tina's True Blue album – material recorded in 1958, but unissued until the late 70s in Japan – at which time the album became an instant classic in the Blue Note catalog – and for good reason, too – as the quintet features a crack lineup – with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Sonny Clark on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Blakey on drums. The group grooves nicely on Brooks' "Nutville" and "Minor Move" (done in other versions later on Blue Note), plus a nice long take of "The Way You Look Tonight" – and the tracks "Star Eyes" and "Everything Happens To Me". CD

A stunning set from overlooked tenor genius Tina Brooks – a musician who recorded for Blue Note during the key years of Hank Mobley and Johnny Griffin, but whose music was mostly un issued at the time! This rare set is a great second chapter to Tina's True Blue album – material recorded in 1958, but unissued until the late 70s in Japan – at which time the album became an instant classic in the Blue Note catalog – and for good reason, too – as the quintet features a crack lineup – with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Sonny Clark on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Blakey on drums. The group grooves nicely on Brooks' "Nutville" and "Minor Move" (done in other versions later on Blue Note), plus a nice long take of "The Way You Look Tonight" – and the tracks "Star Eyes" and "Everything Happens To Me". CD

One of Donald Byrd's first albums on Blue Note – tight, soulful, and a firm statement of hardbop truth – a record that showed that Byrd was firmly on the map! The ensemble features Jackie McLean on alto, and the rhythm section includes Duke Pearson, Doug Watkins, and Lex Humphries – all of whom bring in a sense of lyrical interplay that really shows off a newer side of Byrd's trumpet that didn't emerge in earlier 50s recordings – one that opens up in the individuality of the Blue Note mode, and shakes off some of the more academic trappings of his early work with Gigi Gryce. All tunes are proud originals by Byrd himself – written with a real sense of color, tone, and timing – and titles include "Bup A Loup", "Funky Mama", "Lament", and "Amen". CD

Easy-going Verve swing at its best – the kind of small group session that let a player like Harry "Sweets" Edison shine in a way that he didn't always get to do in a larger group! For this set, Edison's joined by Ben Webster on tenor sax, Barney Kessel on guitar, Jimmy Rowles on piano, Alvin Stoller on drums and Joe Mondragon on bass – in a format that features tunes that are a bit shorter than on some of the other Verve swing sides of the time, but still very much with a relaxed and open-ended feel. Titles include several Edison originals – including "Hollering At The Watkins", "Used To Be Basie", "Studio Call", "Opus 711", "K.M. Blues", and "Walkin With Sweets". CD

A great burner from Diz – and one that features a large group, long tracks, and some stellar early work from Lalo Schifrin! Schifrin was in Diz's group at the time, playing piano and contributing fantastic Latin-tinged arrangements that gave the band a whole new life. Other players on this session include Candido, Leo Wright, Julius Watkins, and Willie Rodriguez – and the tracks include "Africana", "Blues", and "Panamerica". CD

One of the great Mingus albums for Atlantic – and a record that brings together material from 2 different sessions: one from 1957, with Shafi Hadi on alto; and another from 1961, with Roland Kirk and Booker Ervin on saxes. The '57 session has a raw quintet sound, and features some haunting solos by Hadi, who was one of Mingus' best players, but who doesn't always get his due. On the other session, Kirk and Ervin are youthful, firey, and frenetic – and they play with passion as Mingus backs them up on piano (Doug Watkins plays bass on the session). Despite the split nature of the album, it's still one of Mingus' best. Titles include "Tonight At Noon", "Invisible Lady", "Peggy's Blue Skylight", and "Passions Of A Woman Loved". Great French reissue, with the original cover and everything! CD

A very different album for Lee Morgan – especially in comparison with his other early sessions! The record is a gentle batch of ballads and standards, played by Morgan with a quartet that includes Sonny Clark on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Taylor on drums – all beautifully poised to help Lee hit just the right notes in the set. The album's a crucial one, in that it gives Lee Morgan a chance to show off a warmer, mellower, and more introspective style – after first coming onto the scene as a stormer on his first few sessions. The whole thing's great, and a really important part of Morgan's catalog – and an album that was sadly "lost" in the Blue Note catalog for years, due to a too-short initial release! Titles include "Candy", "Who Do You Love, I Hope", "All The Way", and "Since I Fell For You". CD

One of Lee Morgan's first-ever recordings as a leader, cut way back when he was just a hip teenager from Philly with a bucketful of promise on the trumpet! The session's a crack hard bop date – with an all-star cast that includes Hank Mobley on tenor, Hank Jones on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Taylor on drums – and although the proceedings are a bit rough around the edges compared to some of the Blue Note sets, the album's still filled with a heck of a lot of fire, and like all Morgan albums, is totally worth owning! Tracks are longish, and filled with imagination – and titles include "Bet", "Hank's Shout", "Nostalgia", "That's All", and "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise". CD

Quite possibly THE greatest Sonny Rollins album of the early years – or at least the one that has received the most accolades over the years! The record is a brilliant batch of quartet tracks that reinvents bop through Sonny's complicated, yet seemingly automatic solos – an excellent showcase for his razor-sharp talents for improvisation and invention, played with effortless ease, yet still one of the great bar-setting performances of 50s jazz. The group features Tommy Flanagan, Max Roach, and Doug Watkins – and tunes include an original reading of the perennial Rollins' standard "St. Thomas", plus a great version of "Moritat (Mack The Knife)", and the cuts "Strode Rode" and "Blue 7". CD

The lyrical genius at his best – an early record from pianist Horace Silver, but one that already has him really defining that special sort of sound that made him really stand out from his contemporaries! The difference here is hard to put in words – but there's a careful ear for an unusual phrasing in a tune that Silver delivers throughout – not just on his own compositions and piano solos, but also in the way that he puts the whole group together – with stellar work from Donald Byrd on trumpet, Hank Mobley on tenor, Doug Watkins on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums – all players who were about to become leaders and legends on their own, working here under fantastic guidance from Horace. Hayes is particularly great, and his warm drumming brings Silver's playing into a new range that still keeps a lot of his bop roots, but which also allows more room for the kind of flourishes that makes his recordings from this time so great. Titles include the classic "Senor Blues" – plus "Cool Eyes", "Shirl", "Camouflage", "For Heaven's Sake", "Virgo", and "Enchantment". Includes 3 bonus tracks. CD

A killer quartet session by Brit trumpeter Dizzy Reece, recorded as one of his three American albums for Blue Note during the late 50s! Unlike the other records, which featured larger groups, this album's done with a quartet – which gives Reece a chance to really take over on his solos – blowing with a sense of warm and lyricism that's not heard as strongly on the other records – really getting some great support from a rhythm trio that includes Walter Bishop Jr on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. Quite different from some of Dizzy's London work of the time – and with tracks that include "A Ghost Of A Chance", "Our Love Is Here To Stay", "Blue Streak", "Eb Pob", and a nice version of "Yesterdays". CD