Bop, ballads, and lots more too – played by reedman Lucky Thompson at a time when he was really picking up some new ideas on the European scene! As with contemporaries like Sonny Criss or Benny Bailey, Thompson was great before he hit the continent – but then came back from Europe a completely changed man – a musician whose sense of expression had evolved strongly in a very short time – to a point where the music on these recordings from 1959 and 1960 is quite different than his American records from a few short years before! Part of the change might come from pianist Michael Naura – who's on all these sides, and is one of the hippest cats working in Germany at the time – but you can already hear Lucky opening up his tone and his inflections, especially on the numbers that feature soprano sax. Other players include Jimmy Gourley on guitar, Hans Koller on tenor, and the great Wolfgang Schulter on vibes – on titles that include "The World Awakes", "Brother Bob", "Yesterdays", "Deep Passion", "Thin Ice", and "Summertime". CD

Really compelling large group work from Phil Woods – one of his first-ever efforts of its type, and a tremendous session that's filled with solos from a wide array of very hip players! The whole album's built around a 5-part "Rights Of Swing" work penned by Woods – a jazz modern number that's obviously taking off of Stravinsky, but without any classical overtones at all – just jazz-based instrumentation from players who include Benny Bailey on trumpet, Julius Watkins on French horn, Sahib Shihab on baritone sax, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and Curtis Fuller on trombone. The horn interplay is wonderful – and the solos are too! CD