A pretty obscure Sarah Vaughn album – and a nice one! The album's got Sarah singing with arrangements by Hal Mooney, who'd done work for her before in a more standard way, and who here is opening up a bit, at times almost hitting a groovy late 60s mode. Players in the group include Bob James (who also arranged a few numbers), Phil Woods, Benny Golson, and Freddie Hubbard – and titles include "The Man That Got Away", "Alfie", "For Every Man There's A Woman", "Jim", and "My Man". LP, Vinyl record album

An odd collaboration between Afrika Bambaataa and John Lydon that was sort of club hit at the time, but we're not sure what to make of it these days. Dense production by Bill Laswell with his standard heavy beats, guitar and synth lines. The vocal version has Bambaataa and Lydon predicting the end of the world and the dub version in mostly instrumental with lots of cut-up vocal samples. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Amazing is right – as Nina Simone is really taking off here – showing the world that she's way more than just another jazz singer – able to hit some righteous currents that would only explode even more in years to come! Nina's emotion is subtle, but extremely powerful – maybe not as bold as in her late 60s recordings, but already very much part of the performance – even on some of the more standard jazz tunes. Arrangements are by Bob Mersey, and titles include "Blue Prelude", "You've Been Gone Too Long", "Chilly Winds Don't Blow", "Can't Get Out Of This Mood", and "That's Him Over There". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic funky classic from Brother Jack McDuff – a set that's a key part of his evolving style of the late 60s – as Jack leaps from straight organ jazz to a world of wonderful grooves! The set features some larger arrangements from McDuff and the great Richard Evans – definitely in the best Chess/Cadet studio style of the time – moving towards a level of sophistication that really pushes past standard organ jazz from a few years before! Titles include "Black Is", "Hold It For a Minute", "Two Lines", "Summertime", "Jelly Jam", "The Pulpit", "Win Lose Or Draw", and "You Sho Walk Funky". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful music from a group that features familiar players from the world of improvised music, but coming together here in a very different way! Joshua Abrams leads the group, and he's playing guimbri instead of his usual bass – a lighter stringed instrument used with global currents that set a pace for a very organic sound throughout – quite rhythmic at times, but still opening up with plenty of freely improvised moments – from a group that includes key contributions from Lisa Alvarado on harmonium and effects, plus drums from Mikel Patrick Avery, bass clarinet from Jason Stein, and soprano sax from the legendary Evan Parker! The setting is quite an unusual one for Parker – even though the date was recorded at the Cafe Oto in London – and with a set like this, it's clear that the growing power of Abrams' music is starting to have a larger global impact. The set features one long track – "Descension – Out Of Our Constrictions" – spread over the double-length set. LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful later album from pianist Dodo Marmarosa – quite possibly his greatest record ever! The set's an obscure "comeback" date recorded in Chicago for Chess in the early 60s – a trio session with Richard Evans on bass and Marshall Thompson on drums – both working very gently behind Marmarosa's lead. Dodo sounds wonderful here – slightly broken down and world-weary, but in a way that makes for quite a change both from his earlier recordings, and from the standard piano session of the time. There's nothing too polished here, and there's always a strong sense of "voice" on the tracks – a quality that speaks volumes with a short amount of effort – and which has really made this one a favorite of ours over the years! Titles include "Tracy's Blues", "Mellow Mood", "On Green Dolphin Street", and "Cottage For Sale". LP, Vinyl record album

Blue Note 2-fer that brings together some of Gil Evans' great modernist jazz pieces for the World Pacific label. The material was all recorded in New York in 1958 and 1959, and the groups include crack jazz players like Steve Lacy, Art Blakey, Cannonball Adderley, Johnn Coles, Elvin Jones, and Evans himself. The tracks are mostly standards, but they're given super-sharp arrangements by Evans, in the style that he was using for some of his work with Miles Davis. They also feature prominent soloists, also as with the Miles work, and titles include "Chant Of The Weed", "Lester Leaps In", "Round Midnight", "Manteca", and "Sruttin With Some Barbeque". 2 LPs, with a good essay on Evans' work. LP, Vinyl record album

Killer Four Tops material from the early 70s – and a record that proved that they didn't need to be on Motown to still keep churnin' out the hits! The sound is sophisticated, and pushes past the standard format of the group's good-selling records for Motown – hitting a classic AM Radio soul groove that's best summed up by the album's monster hit "Ain't No Woman (Like The One I've Got)", one of those tracks that will probably be played around the world for years and years and years. The rest of the record's just as great, and includes loads of tasty numbers – like the excellent title cut "Keeper Of The Castle", plus "Love Music", "Turn On The Light Of Your Love", and "Remember What I Told You To Forget". Soulful and sophisticated, and a nice break from the Motown years! LP, Vinyl record album

Joni's third beautifully-voiced, gorgeously-composed album for Reprise, following up on her already solid standard of taking a significant step forward in craft and spirit from one album to next! Joni has this perfect way of making you feel like she's singing only for you, but in a way that's big and open enough for the whole world to listen in. The arrangements and production are so good here, too, bringing in lightly jazzy sax, clarinet and flute without compromising on the intimate nature of the songs. Titles include "Morning Morgantown", "For Free", "Conversation", "Ladies Of The Canyon", "The Arrangement", and "The Priest". LP, Vinyl record album

A key pairing of vocalist Mel Torme and pianist George Shearing – two aging jazz artists who really helped re-ignite each others' careers in the 80s! The format here takes Torme back to the best years of his jazz roots – and features spare backing from Shearing's trio, at a level that's intimate, but never too sleepy or prone with cliche. Shearing's touch on the keys is wonderfully sensitive – never just standard backing to a singer – and in a way, he brings out a new sense of depth in Torme's vocals, one that never showed itself so strongly, or so personally in the past. And best of all, at the time of this recording, the duo haven't yet lapsed into the cliches that would later mar their pairing – and instead really work together beautifully in a fresh sense of discovery and joy in each others' company. Titles include "The Midnight Sun", "Someday I'll Find You", "Whisper Not/Love Me Or Leave Me", "Since I Fell For You", "Out Of This World", and "Little Man You've Got The Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A well-titled set – as the album features some of the best early sides that Little Walter recorded for Chess – records that went on to set a whole new standard both in blues vocals and harmonica! There's tightness here that's a bit different from some of the other Chess blues at the time – a quality that's almost a be pre-soul at moments, despite the obvious blues bent of the set. The album features some great liner notes from Studs Terkel – really getting at the scene of which Walter was a part – and titles include "My Babe", "Sad Hours", "Can't Hold Out Much Longer", "Blues With A Feeling", "Juke", "Mean Old World", "Blue Lights", "You Better Watch Yourself", and "Tell Me Mamma". CD features 3 bonus tracks – alternates of "Last Night", "Juke", and "Off The Wall". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest jazz vocal albums of all time – and one of the first true moments of genius from a young Dee Dee Bridgewater! The album's a Japanese only release (proof that they're always hipper to our jazz artists than we are!) – and it features Dee Dee singing material that's quite different than her later R&B-inflected sides from the late 70s – very soaring and spiritual work, delivered in a way that set a whole new standard for jazz at the time! Backing is by a small combo with brothers Ron and Cecil Bridgewater, plus Roland Hanna on acoustic and electric piano, George Mraz on bass, and Motohiko Hino on drums and percussion – but the star of the set is always Dee Dee, who sparkles beautifully on the album's classic versions of "Afro Blue" and "Little B's Poem" – both of which have been redone by many other singers over the years. Other great cuts include "People Make The World Go Round", "Love From The Sun", and "Love Vibrations". LP, Vinyl record album

An essential bit of 70s jazz funk – one of the key Blue Note collaborations between trumpeter Donald Byrd and producer/arranger Larry Mizell – the man who helped set a whole new standard for soulful sounds at the time! The approach here is quite similar to the pair's work on Places & Spaces – tight, but loose at the same time – with Donald delivering solos that are very different than his work from the 60s, while Mizell finds this way to mix together all sorts of instruments, at so many different levels – but with a clarity that's mindblowing. Most tracks have a nice groove, a few points feature a touch of vocals – and titles include the classic, and oft-sampled "Think Twice" – plus "We're Together", "Makin It", "Rock & Roll Again", "I Love The Girl", and "You Are The World". LP, Vinyl record album

The massive full length flowering of Television – a record issued on a major label, but which represents all the underground genius that the group had been bringing to the New York scene for a few years in the mid 70s! The guitar might be worth the price of admission alone – a standard-setting approach that influenced a generation – and, when matched with the vocals of Tom Verlaine, really knocks the whole thing out of the park! There's a blend of raw edge and understated poetry that instantly demonstrates why the American underground of the time was so different than the world of British punk – and although the set came out in 1977, it still has a massive power all these many years later. Every track's a gem – and titles include "See No Evil", "Venus", "Friction", "Marquee Moon", "Elevation", "Guiding Light", "Prove It", and "Torn Curtain". LP, Vinyl record album

Bob Dylan takes on the American songbook once again – revisiting the territory of classic 20th century songwriters that he touched on the Fallen Angels album, but in an overstuffed mode that definitely warrants the Triplicate title! The triple-length format really has Dylan going to town on the material – and maybe doing a lot more than just trying to ape an older singer like Frank Sinatra – as the arrangements are often surprisingly fresh, and almost hit the kind of country/standard mode that Willie Nelson hit with his Stardust recording. In fact, given the rasp and world-heavy tone of Dylan's voice, and the strong use of both acoustic and steel guitar on some of the tunes, the whole thing maybe feels more like a vision of midcentury, seen through a lens that gives the sound of Nashville a lot more importance in the canon. The set was recorded at the Capitol Studios, which seems a great place to capture this vibe – and titles include, not surprisingly, "Stardust", plus "This Nearly Was Mine", "Stormy Weather", "Once Upon A Time", "The Best Is Yet To Come", "As Time Goes By", "Imagination", "Day In Day Out", "There's A Flaw In My Flue", "These Foolish Things", and "You Go To My Head". LP, Vinyl record album

A hardcore classic from Lil Kim – her first full length set as a solo act, and a record that maybe set a new standard for rawness in the world of female hip hop at the time! The record's got some famous help from Notorious BIG, Jermaine Dupri, Puff Daddy, and Jay Z – but Kim's clearly the driving force of the record on her own – Brooklyn in the house, on titles that include "We Don't Need It", "Crush On You", "Drugs", "No Time", "Big Momma Thang", "Queen Bitch", "Player Haters", "MAFIA Land", and "Take It". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from Lonnie Smith – one of the few Hammond heroes from the past who's continued to give us fresh-sounding music over the years! Lonnie's been reinvigorated after returning to Blue Note – and this tight little set follows all the growth he's experienced at the label – organ lines that soar nicely, with a complexity that Smith never had in his early years – given strong rhythmic support from Johnathan Blake on drums and Jonathan Kreisberg on guitar! The middle core of the album is live – recorded at the Jazz Standard – and features work from John Ellis on trumpet, Jason Marshall on baritone, Robin Eubanks on trombone, and Sean Jones on trumpet – on titles that include "Bright Eyes", "Pilgrimage", "Two Damn Hot", "Track 9", and "World Weeps". The set also features two covers – both with surprising vocals from Iggy Pop – a nice take on the Timmy Thomas tune "Why Can't We Live Together", and a version of "Sunshine Superman". LP, Vinyl record album

Very early work from Chico Hamilton – recorded in a piano trio mode that predates his more famous chamber quintet – working with pianist Freddie Gambrell and bassist Ben Tucker on a set of tunes that are mostly standards, and a few bluesy piano explorations. Titles include "Ex Ray's Friends", "Reservation Blues", "These Foolish Things", "You're The Cream In My Coffee", "Five Minutes More", and "Midnight Sun". LP, Vinyl record album

Very early work from Chico Hamilton – recorded in a piano trio mode that predates his more famous chamber quintet – working with pianist Freddie Gambrell and bassist Ben Tucker on a set of tunes that are mostly standards, and a few bluesy piano explorations. Titles include "Ex Ray's Friends", "Reservation Blues", "These Foolish Things", "You're The Cream In My Coffee", "Five Minutes More", and "Midnight Sun". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful early work from Jethro Tull – a formative set that really has the group deepening both their themes and their music! There's still a bit of blues rock at the core – but also some richer, more lyrical modes too – and Ian Anderson does a perfect job of bridging both worlds with his sublime work on flute – an instrument that must have seemed like an odd lead for a rock group at the time, but which is no surprise in the same generation that artists like Herbie Mann and Roland Kirk were making their own hip records – not to mention the great Harold McNair, who was a UK contemporary of Andreson. The whole thing's great – a record that's ripe for rediscovery, and which really gives back year after year – and titles include "A New Day Yesterday", "Back To The Family", "Fat Man", "Reasons For Waiting", "Nothing Is Easy", and the classic instrumental "Bouree". LP, Vinyl record album

One of David Murray's straighter sides from the early 80s – and exactly the kind of record to prove to the world that he could be a strong tenor traditionalist while still bringing an inventive sound to play! Murray's tone is deep and soulful, and often quite lyrical – set nicely in a quartet that features warm piano from John Hicks, bass from Reggie Workman, and drums from Ed Blackwell. The Workman/Blackwell component ensure that things still have an edge at times, even when swinging – and the tunes are a mix of Murray originals and a few standards. Titles include "Morning Song", "Light Blue Frolic", "Off Season", "Duet", "Body and Soul", and "Jitterbug Waltz". LP, Vinyl record album

A lovely little tribute to one of our favorite songwriters of all time – the lyrical genius Tommy Wolf, whose compositions were first championed back in the 50s and 60s by Bob Dorough, Jackie & Roy, and Blossom Dearie! Wolf's got a wonderful way with a twist of a phrase – playful, but never too silly – just freshly original in a world of overdone standards, and a reminder that creative American songwriting didn't stop with Cole Porter and Harold Arlen! Bobbi's voice has a warmly sweet quality that makes for a slightly different approach to the material than others before her – and backing on the record is by a piano trio led and arranged by Chick Cicchetti. Titles include "There Are Days When I Don't Think Of You At All", "Say Cheese", "I'm Alright Til You Touch Me", "It's Nice Weather For Ducks", "You Smell So Good", "I've Never Been Anything", and "A Face Like Yours". LP, Vinyl record album

Late 50's session in which Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker try to recreate the sound that made them a legend on the West Coast in the first place. Cool breezy renditions of a number of standards, held down by the drumming of Dave Bailey and the bass of Henry Grimes, which is a nice treat on an album like this! Titles include "Reunion", "Travelin Light", "Surrey With The Fringe On Top", and "Stardust". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice session of west coast soul jazz – and one that has Les McCann fronting the soulful group of Gerald Wilson. Les sings on a few tracks, but these are mostly sleepy covers of bluesy standards – like "Please Send Me Someone To Love" and "Since I Fell For You". The nicer cuts have Les' piano out front, playing instrumentally on nice originals like "Someone Stole My Chittlins", "Nairobi Nights", and "Lavande". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of classic work by Dave's group with Paul Desmond – featuring 5 tunes from West Side Story, inlcuding "Tonight", "Somewhere", "Maria", and "I Feel Pretty", plus others from shows and standards. The group, as usual, really opens up the tunes – and Desmond's icily skating alto really makes the best of the material. Other titles include "What Is This Thing Called Love", "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World", and "Night & Day". LP, Vinyl record album

The session's billed as "very personal treatments of great standards" – and it's a great twist on familiar material, all given the Thelonius touch! There's less of Monk's creative composition and angular group arrangements going on here – and instead, the album's almost a rewriting of 40 years of popular compositions, all taken into the modern world of Monk's piano. The group's a trio, with Oscar Pettiford on bass and Art Blakey on drums – and titles include nicely reworked versions of "Just You Just Me", "Memories Of You", "Liza", "Darn That Dream", and "Tea For Two". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of classic work by Dave's group with Paul Desmond – featuring 5 tunes from West Side Story, inlcuding "Tonight", "Somewhere", "Maria", and "I Feel Pretty", plus others from shows and standards. The group, as usual, really opens up the tunes – and Desmond's icily skating alto really makes the best of the material. Other titles include "What Is This Thing Called Love", "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World", and "Night & Day". LP, Vinyl record album

The session's billed as "very personal treatments of great standards" – and it's a great twist on familiar material, all given the Thelonius touch! There's less of Monk's creative composition and angular group arrangements going on here – and instead, the album's almost a rewriting of 40 years of popular compositions, all taken into the modern world of Monk's piano. The group's a trio, with Oscar Pettiford on bass and Art Blakey on drums – and titles include nicely reworked versions of "Just You Just Me", "Memories Of You", "Liza", "Darn That Dream", and "Tea For Two". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer classic from the second chapter of Chick Corea's Return To Forever group – standard-setting fusion for the 70s, and a showcase of keyboard skills from Chick that nobody would have imagined years before! There's definitely plenty of soaring energy at the core of the record – the great Lenny White on drums and percussion, and Stanley Clarke on a bit of organ and plenty of bass – the latter of which is used in nicely different ways than his work with George Duke! Al DiMeola plays electric and acoustic guitar, and Chick also uses a bit of acoustic, next to Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and organ – and there's a warmth here that few other fusion combos could ever hope to touch. Titles include "Vulcan Worlds", "Where Have I Loved You Before", "The Shadow Of The Lo", "Where Have I Danced With You Before", "Beyond The Seventh Galaxy", "Earth Juice" and "Song To The Pharoah Kings". LP, Vinyl record album

A bold brilliant statement from pianist Steve Kuhn – his next great record after the seminal Three Waves, and a record that pushes the envelope even further! From the title, you might think that Kuhn's playing some familiar 60s standards for MPS – but he's really working strongly in his own agenda here, stepping forward in strong new voice he was bringing to piano at the time, and even going a bit more outside than ever before. The trio includes Palle Danielsson on bass and Jon Christensen on drums – and although familiar, some of the titles have a sense of freedom that really transforms them. Titles include Burt Bacharach's great "Windows On The World", Michel Legrand's "Watch What Happens", Gary McFarland's "Once We Loved", Carla Bley's "Ad Infinitum", and Kuhn's own "Silver". Prestige US reissue of this MPS recording. LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal 70s side from Miles Davis – originally a Japanese recording, and one that returns to the solid push of the initial electric years! The record's a completely cooking little session – one that mixes the raw, noisier styles of other Davis albums with a focus, funked-up energy that's really set loose in the freer standards of the Japanese scene – all to come up with a sound that's completely otherworldly, and which is light years ahead of most mainstream fusion from the period. Pete Cosey plays some really wicked guitar and synthesizer, Al Foster kicks tremendous energy on his drums, Sonny Fortune brings a soulful depth on soprano sax and flute, and Michael Henderson creates massive flow on the bass. Titles include "Prelude", "Interlude", and a long version of "Theme From Jack Johnson". LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure 70s trio session from pianist Tommy Flanagan – and one that really gets at the full depths of his lyrical talents on the keys! As the title implies, the session features Tommy working through a host of Harold Arlen standards – all familiar numbers, but performed here with a fluid grace that's completely sublime – a gentle soul that almost has echoes of some of the later work of Bill Evans, but a bit more of a sense of presence overall. The trio features George Mraz on bass and Connie Kay on drums – but many passages just have Flanagan's piano gliding along on its own, magically setting the pace for the tunes before the rhythm even comes into the mix. Helen Merrill guests on vocals on a version of "Last Night When We Were Young" – and other tunes include "Out Of This World", "Sleepin Bee", "Ill Wind", "My Shining Hour", and "Get Happy". Produced by Helen Merrill, too! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best-ever Mel Torme jazz vocal albums – right up there with his best Bethlehem recordings! The set was recorded with Marty Paich's Dek-tette, who set the tone perfectly for the warmly perfect style of The Velvet Fog – and who, like Mel, manage to be totally polished, yet also still swing with a fair bit of emotion. The result is a swinging batch of standards that lets Mel shine at his best – including titles like "I've Got The World On A String", "I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You", "Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea", and "I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

That's right – you're not dreaming – this is a rare Scott Walker album, never reissued on CD! The album features Scott singing a number of standards and pop covers, the sort of fare that he laid down on his short-lived TV show in the late 60s. The tunes aren't exactly the same as Scott's own compositions – but the record is arranged by Peter Knight and produced by Johnny Franz, who handled most of Scott's other work on Fontana. Kind of a hint at the direction he would take after his 5th album – and with the tracks "The Look of Love", "Will You Still Be Mine", "If She Walked Into My Life", "Who", "When The World Was Young", and "I Have Dreamed". Cool cover, too – with a picture of Scott wearing the key to a monastery that once offered him refuge! LP, Vinyl record album