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A killer set of Danish modern jazz – recorded at the start of the 60s with a really searing lineup! The set's go-led by pianist Bent Axen and tenorist Bent Jaedig – two guys with a very hip approach to their music, an a keen ear for the sharper sides of jazz at the time – a blend... read more

One of our favorite "lost" albums ever – an amazing small combo jazz session that rivals the best that 60s Blue Note or Prestige had to offer! The group's led by tenor player Hank Bagby – an artist we only know from this record, but who has a rich sense of imagination that... read more

Just when we've thought we've heard everything Peter Brotzmann has to offer – out comes a record like this, and blows us away all over again! As you'd guess from the title, Brotzmann's working here in a Chinese setting – mixing with younger players we'd never heard before –... read more

An amazing little record – not just for the music itself, which is inherently great – but also for its straight jazz presentation of players you might know in more of a reggae-based setting! The album's a smoking set of hardbop numbers, played with plenty of soul – by a combo... read more

A great slice of work from trumpeter Bill Coleman – an American player by birth, but one who became a key part of the French jazz scene in the postwar years – thanks to a big move overseas! Yet the sides here show Bill in an even fresher setting – not just a UK venue, but also... read more

A great slice of work from trumpeter Bill Coleman – an American player by birth, but one who became a key part of the French jazz scene in the postwar years – thanks to a big move overseas! Yet the sides here show Bill in an even fresher setting – not just a UK venue, but also... read more

Bent Jaedig gets title billing here – but as with other performances by this groundbreaking ensemble, the energy really comes from the entire group! Everyone contributes amazing sounds to the record – vibes from Louis Hjulmand, bass from Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen, piano from Bent... read more

A modern jazz combo, with an equally modern vocalist too – a rare four track EP that has the Danish Radio Jazz Group fronted by singer Lise Ringheim! Given the offbeat tones that the group's known for, you can bet that the record's way more than just a torch singer running through familiar... read more

Brilliant bracing sounds from this groundbreaking group – recorded in Poland in the mid 60s, with an added suite of tracks as well! The ensemble is led by bassist Erik Moseholm, who composed all the music in the set – and features amazing horn interplay from a lineup that includes Bent... read more

An early session from German pianist Wolfgang Dauner – one with a sound that's every bit as great as you'd expect from the title! The "dream talk" component here is one that comes from Dauner's gentle, yet modern approach to the keys – one that's clearly learning lessons from... read more

Amazing sounds from the Swedish scene of the 60s – a record that's archly modern, yet soaringly soulful too – a really wonderful combination of modes in the hands of pianist Berndt Egerbladh! The title's a bit strange – as Berndt's hardly the kind of guy that would make us laugh,... read more

A beautiful combination of piano and vibes – performed here by a hip German combo from the postwar years! The quartet features piano from Wolfgang Lauth and vibes from Fritz Hartshuh – the latter of whom plays with a nicely hard-edged, chromatic sound – a great link between some... read more

If you've ever wondered why the world needs so many Bill Evans recordings, then we've got a record to show you why – a sublime batch of live material recorded in Buenos Aries during the 70s, and one of those Evans dates that somehow seems extra-special – even amidst all of Bill's other... read more

Sublime sounds from the later years of Bill Evans – and a recording that shows just how perfectly his piano talents were finding new heights of timing and tone! Many of the tracks here are relatively mellow, and often somewhat dark as well – moody, but not in a way that's negative at... read more

Sublime sounds from the later years of Bill Evans – and a recording that shows just how perfectly his piano talents were finding new heights of timing and tone! Many of the tracks here are relatively mellow, and often somewhat dark as well – moody, but not in a way that's negative at... read more

Tremendous early work from German saxophonist Joki Freund – a player who would go onto much greater fame in the progressive years at the end of the 60s, but who already sounds plenty darn great on this early combo side from 1963! The style of the work is incredibly hip – with a... read more

The only album we've ever heard from singer Martha Hayes – and a beautiful vocal jazz treasure all the way through! Martha's got this raspy style that's quite unique – neither the icy approach of other females of the modern 50s years, nor the bluesy inflections of the Billie... read more

Incredible postwar bop recordings by one of the hippest groups in Germany! During the 50s, pianist Jutta Hipp cut a number of straighter sides for Blue Note that were recorded in the US – but this CD features earlier German recordings, some later issued by Blue Note – all done with a... read more

A great little record – exactly the kind of set that always has us looking out for rare European jazz sessions! As you'd guess from the title, the material was recorded in 1967 – and represents a strong advancement in the sound of Danish jazz – a move forward even more strongly... read more

A rare set from pianist Alex Kallao – an obscure player we really only know from a 50s album for RCA – and who sounds equally great here! Kallao was born blind, but has a hell of a fluid touch on the keys – a soulful swing that goes even farther than his RCA session in this rare... read more

One of the few dates ever as a leader from pinaist Lee Lovett – an artist who mostly worked as an arranger, with credits that include stints with the groups of Erskine Hawkins, Cat Anderson, Tab Smith, and Lucky Millinder! Lee's music here has a much more modern feel than some of those... read more

Incredible early work from one of Germany's greatest modernists – one of the key records that showed the world that German jazz was way more than just a rehashing of American modes in the postwar years! This rare 1963 recording features the quintet of trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff – a... read more

Brilliant modern jazz from German trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff – recording here in 1964, but sounding years ahead of his time, with an amazing a blend of jazz and Asian styles! The album's one of Mangelsdorff's best ever – a set of rhythmic tunes that seem clearly informed by the... read more

Beautiful work from pianist Guido Manusardi – a player who's best known for his work on the Italian scene, but who's heard here in a rare gem from Romania! The style of the work is quite similar to some of Guido's Italian work, but there's a nicely balanced feeling too – a sense of... read more

A very rare gem from the late 50s – a smoking set that was cut for a very small label, but which is every bit as great from a musical perspective as it is from a collector's one as well! The whole thing cooks with the insensity of a Prestige date from the early 50s – very sharp hardbop... read more

Damn great work from one of the greatest British tenorists of the 60s – reedman Dick Morrissey, an artist who never cracked our shores as strongly as Tubby Hayes or Ronnie Scott – but whose work is equally wonderful! Like both Hayes and Scott, Morrissey's got a way of mixing solid... read more

Some of the smokingest material ever recorded by British tenor player Dick Morrissey – and that's saying a hell of a lot, given the strength of his other albums! The date's got the same Storm Warning in the title as one of Dick's studio classics – but the record's something else... read more

Never-issued material from the legendary Dick Morrissey – recorded for England's 77 Records at a time when Morrissey was at the height of his powers on the tenor! All tracks here are nice and long – really stretching out with an inventiveness that blows away even the level heard on... read more

A rare EP from the Danish scene of the 60s – one of those European 7" records that seem to pack even more punch than some of their American counterparts of the time! The trio here is bristling with creative energy – led by bassist Erik Moseholm, driven by the drums of Peter... read more

The band may be riding in a carriage on the cover, but there's nothing old-timey about this set – as the record represents some of the best modern jazz on the Danish scene at the start of the 60s! The album's a rare gem from drummer Bjarne Rostvold – one of the key exponents of his... read more

The band may be riding in a carriage on the cover, but there's nothing old-timey about this set – as the record represents some of the best modern jazz on the Danish scene at the start of the 60s! The album's a rare gem from drummer Bjarne Rostvold – one of the key exponents of his... read more

Live London recordings from the trio of pianist Pat Smythe – a player you might know from his work with Joe Harriott in the 60s – joined here by a great guest star – the American tenor giant Eddie Lockjaw Davis! The setting is very open and fluid – longer live tracks that... read more

A true jazz treasure from the 60s – as if you couldn't guess that already from the cover! The album's a really rare one from trumpeter and reedman Idrees Sulieman – a player who shone strongly on Prestige Records in the late 50s – then made the trip overseas, where he became a... read more

A true jazz treasure from the 60s – as if you couldn't guess that already from the cover! The album's a really rare one from trumpeter and reedman Idrees Sulieman – a player who shone strongly on Prestige Records in the late 50s – then made the trip overseas, where he became a... read more

A very early session on Elektra – cut during a year when the label recorded a surprising amount of jazz! Norene Tate's a singer we only know from this album – a very moody vocalist with this mixture of blue notes and more trilling high spots – a mode that makes her surprisingly... read more

Late great work from Ben Webster – blowing here in the UK with superb backing from the trio of pianist Stan Tracey! Tracey's a player with a much more modern edge than you're likely to hear with Webster in these later years – and although Stan's toning things down a bit from his own... read more

Late great work from Ben Webster – blowing here in the UK with superb backing from the trio of pianist Stan Tracey! Tracey's a player with a much more modern edge than you're likely to hear with Webster in these later years – and although Stan's toning things down a bit from his own... read more

Quite an obscure little record by singer Julie Wilson – the kind of a vocalist you'd expect to come off sounding all cool and icy, but who really puts an unexpected Billie Holiday sort of spin on things – this raspy sort of soul that's way different than some of the cheesecake singers... read more

A really cool set that showcases some of the best talents in the Czech jazz scene at the start of the 60s – a set that features a different soloist on every track – although core backings that link the whole thing together nicely, even as each number allows a strong sense of musical... read more

An amazing look at the Czechoslovakian scene of the 60s – with a special focus on some of the nation's hippest piano players of the time! One name here will definitely be familiar – a very young Jan Hammer, playing acoustic piano in a style that's very different than his later fusion... read more