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A smoking version of the Herd – with Red Norvo on vibes, Flip Phillips on tenor, Bill Harris on trombone, Pete Candoli on trumpet, and Chubby Jackson on bass!

A smoking version of the Herd – with Red Norvo on vibes, Flip Phillips on tenor, Bill Harris on trombone, Pete Candoli on trumpet, and Chubby Jackson on bass!

A sweet small group session from Woody Herman – with the man himself on clarinet, plus Nat Pierce on piano, Chuck Andrus on bass, and Gus Johnson on drums.

Nice stuff from Woody Herman – recorded in the years after his funky albums on Cadet, and with a similar style that mixes jazz, pop, and little bits of electric playing! Alan Broadbent plays electric piano on the set, and the group's joined by guitarist Mike Bloomfield on a number of cuts as well. Titles include "Adam's Apple", "Sidewalk Stanley", "Hitch Hike On The Possum Trot Line", and "Love In Silent Amber".

A great little meeting of Latin and jazz players – an oft-overlooked album in Puente's catalog of the time! The album features Woody leading a small group of jazz players – including Al Cohn, Paul Quinichette, Billy Byers, and Nick Travis – with extra timbales by Puente and congas by Ray Barretto – and the overall approach is light but tight, with more of a straight jazz component than you'd find on most of Tito's records from the time, but also a wonderfully driven groove that still keeps the rhythms mostly on the Latin end of things! Titles include "Cha Cha Chick", "Tito Meets Woody", "New Cha Cha", "Latin Flight", "Mambo Bambo", "Mambo Herd", and "Fire Island".

A rare bit of early bossa jazz from the US – an obscure 1959 session by Charlie Byrd, and one that predates most of his more famous work on Riverside, Columbia, and Verve! The session's a bit different than most of Charlie's lighter bossa recordings – in that it features his acoustic guitar work over bigger band backings from Woody Herman – done in modes that borrow a sense of sound and space from bossa nova, but which also share plenty of modern jazz touches as well. Arrangers for the record are Sid Feller and Ralph Burns – the latter of whom does a tremendous job with his 4-part "Summer Sequence" – a tone-based Kenton-esque suite that's a real standout part of the record, even if it's not as bossa-styled as some of the other work. Other tunes are all originals by Charlie – and include "Bamba Samba", "Love Song Ballad", "Prelude A Cha Cha", and "Original #2".

Funky Woody from the 70s – an excellent and overlooked album, one that has Woody leading a great group with a fair bit of electric players, in a funky big band style that sparkles with the best of the genre! The group's filled with younger unknown players – but from the sound of the record, you can tell that these kids had been listening to a lot of funk – and had a great ear for mixing electric rhythms with cutting solos on tenor, trumpet, and funky flute. Includes a great version of Chick Corea's "Spain", plus the tracks "Lake Taco", "King Cobra", "Toothless Grin", "Jazzman", and "Don't You Worry Bout A Thing".

With solos from Gary Klein on tenor, Dusko Goykovich on trumpet, Phil Wilson on trombone, Billy Hunt on trumpet, and Nat Pierce on piano – plus a bit of vocals from Joe Carroll! Titles include "Wa Wa Blues", "Bedroom Eyes", "The Good Life", and "Dear John C".

A rare one from Woody Herman – recorded during his 70s electric years, with keyboards by Lyle Mays – on tunes that include "Jazzman", "Where Is The Love", "Reunion At Newport", and a version of Chick Corea's "La Fiesta".

Despite what you might think about some of Woody's big band contemporaries from the 40s, you've got to admit that Woody himself was always growing and changing as the decades went on – as this 1963 album will attest! Woody's in great form here – still working with a tight group of ensemble players, but also hitting a groovier sound that's more in keeping with the time of the material – pointing the way towards some of his sublime sides of the late 60s and early 70s with a subtle shift from swing to groove. You can hear that especially on some of the original tunes – like "Camel Walk", "Sig Ep", and "Tunin' In" – and the album also features nice versions of Horace Silver's "Sister Sadie" and Horace Parlan's "Blues For JP".

Titles include "The Strut", "My Wish", "Taste Of Honey", "Jazz Hoot", "Hallelujah Time", and "After You've Gone".

Woody recorded on 2 coasts – in New York and San Francisco – with smaller than usual groups of hip players that include Dusko Goykovich, Don Rader, Sal Nistico, Steve Marcus, and Bill Watrous. Woody himself plays soprano and alto sax in addition to his usual clarinet – and the set's got some hip numbers like "Cousins", "The Preacher", "Free Again", and "Waltz For A Hung-Up Ballet Mistress".

A classic from the undisputed master of the swing jazz jam session! Jumpin' At The Woodside has Buck Clayton recreating a Count Basie vibe, but in a much more open-ended, and long-grooving way! Most of the tracks on the record are nice and long – really opening up with a solo-heavy, jam session sort of style – and players shift from track to track, and include Woody Herman on clarinet, Coleman Hawkins on tenor, Al Cohn on tenor, Urbie Green on trombone, and Ruby Braff on trumpet. Titles include "Broadway", "Rock A Bye Basie", "Jumpin At The Woodside", and "Blue & Sentimental".

The question in the title is almost a moot point – because with the quality of a record like this, we hardly care if other bands come back at all! Duke's working here on a batch of older big band standards – as you might guess from the title – but the tracks all have a nice little flourish that's filled with plenty of those later Ellington touches – a seemingly effortless ability to place interesting horn bits and rhythmic twists into tunes that you thought you might already know. The set features new takes on classics associated with the bands of Esrkine Hawkins, Glen Gray, Woody Herman, Les Brown, and others – and titles include "Rhapsody In Blue", "Smoke Rings", "Artistry In Rhythm", "The Waltz You Saved For Me", "Woodchopper's Ball", and "Good Bye".

Seminal work from trumpeter Rolf Ericson – a player who also cut some key 50s material in the US, but who's working here in his Swedish homeland! The tracks are a variety of great early 78, EP, and 10" album cuts – most for the small Artist label, all pretty rare, and including some even rarer unreleased material too! Ericson's trumpet is in the lead on most numbers – often with slightly large ensembles, but which are already working in a 50s cool modern mode that's nice and lean – a lesson learned no doubt from Ericson's time in the Woody Herman group in the late 40s. There's a huge amount of material on the CD – 22 tracks in all – and titles include "So What", "Perdido", "Conservation", "Miles Away", "The Daring Young Swedes On The Flying Trapeze", "A Swedish Butterfly", "The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise", and "The Cool Pool".

An amazing record by Jimmy Giuffre – one that he uses to replicate the "4 Brothers Sound" of the years when he played with Woody Herman as one of a group of four saxophonists blowing together – but done here by Jimmy himself on all 4 horns, using early overdubbing techniques that let him play four tenor sax parts at once! The sound is wonderful – filled with complex colors, tones, and changes you won't find on Giuffre's other albums of the time – and Jimmy's backed by usual trio-mates Brookmeyer and Jim Hall – with Brookmeyer on piano, swinging things a bit more than usual next to Hall's guitar. The 4-tenor frontline is wonderful, and titles include "Four Brothers", "Ode To Switzerland", "Space", "Blues In The Barn", and "Memphis In June".

Pretty amazing work from one of the greatest under-rated talents of 50s modern jazz! John LaPorta was a brilliant multi-instrumentalist who's probably best known for his work with Mingus in the mid 50s Jazz Workshop years, and for his earlier sides with Woody Herman – but it's on records under his own name that LaPorta really begins to shine. This great set features 14 tracks that were recorded in the 50s, but never issued before – and 9 more that were from the album Conceptions, issued briefly in the 50s by Fantasy Records. The first 14 tracks form a long suite of jazz-based compositions, handled with a modernist chamber-type approach – and based around some really great solo work on trumpet, baritone, tenor, and bass. The feel is almost like a 50s jazz soundtrack – with lots of moody moments paired with others that break out in a stronger swinging groove. The remaining tracks are equally nice – in a similar style, and showing LaPorta as a composer who could have handled just about any ambitious jazz project of the time. Titles include "Forward Motion", "Jazz Canon", "Images", "Lucidity", "Little Fantasy", "Ferme LaPorta", "En Rapport", and "Triplets You Say".

Arguably one of the greatest albums ever cut by Jimmy Witherspoon – recorded live at an early Monterey Jazz Festival, and done in a style that shows the strong link between jazz and blues in Jimmy's work! The group on the set includes Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, Coleman Hawkins, and Woody Herman – and the longish tracks on the set give them all more than enough room to solo alongside Jimmy's bluesy vocals. The album's also one of the first to be produced by a young David Axelrod – and shows a clear respect for both the singer and the musicians, in a combination that would come out even more strongly on Axe's later productions for Capitol. Titles include "No Rollin Blues", "Big Fine Girl", "Good Rockin Tonight", "Ain't Nobody's Business", and "When I Been Drinkin".

The latest volume in one of our favorite series of soul jazz tracks! This one opens the scope way past previous volumes, and features a rollicking party of tasty little groovers – most of them with a raw, uptempo, funky 45 jukebox kind of feel! Tracks are from the Chess, Fantasy, Jewel, and Brunswick catalogs – with many rare numbers like "Fever" by Sharon Cash, "Get Ready" by Ella Fitzgerald, "Ain't There Something That Money Can't Buy" by Young Holt Unlimited, "Light My Fire" by Erma Franklin, "Hush" by Woody Herman, "Another Plan For School Mix Up" by The Cals, "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Karen Hernandez, "Caesar's Pad" by Googie Rene, "The Point" by Aaron (Chico) Bailey & The Family Affair Band, "I Got To See My Baby" by Lee Jones & The Unforgotten Two, and "Ain't It A Groove" by Dave Hamilton. 23 cuts in all – and very very groovy!

One of the best of Stan's mid 70s albums – a very hip set of big band tracks that swings with a fluid and soulful approach that you wouldn't normally associate with the Kenton groove! In a way, the overall feel here is somewhere in the territory of some of Woody Herman's excellent early 70s work – although with a bit less funk and electronics. Titles include "90 Celsius", "Granada Smoothie", "Pegasus", "Too Shy To Say", "Celebration Suite", and "Journey To Capricorn".

A great CD that brings together 2 rare albums by Yugoslavian trumpter Dusko Goykovich! The International Jazz Octet album features Goykovich leading an all-star group that includes players that would later become partners in the Clarke Boland Big Band – like Kenny Clarke, Francy Boland, Karl Drewo, and Derek Humble! Francy Boland handled the arrangements – and in a way, this one sounds a lot like some of the classic MPS work of the CBBB from the 60s. There's a nice hard groove on most tracks, with sweet soloing by Dusko on the ballads – and titles include "To Je Sve (That's All", "La Campimania", "Doo Doosh", and "Mr. X". Belgrade Blues is a rare 1966 session that features Goykovich leading a sextet comprised of musicians who were playing in Woody Herman's mid 60s group – Nat Pierce, Ronnie Zito, Sal Nistico, Carl Fontana, and Mike Moore – and on this open-ended hardbop set, the group are given a lot more room to solo than they might on some of Herman's albums from the time. The solos of Nistico are especially great – well-crafted, and sharply edged in a way that matches Goykovich's firey trumpet work. Titles include "Wee", "Belgrade Blues", and "Be My Love".