Mid 70's 2LP set that combines fantastic early work from Gil Evans and Tadd Dameron. The Gil Evans tracks are shorter and less ambitious than some of Evans' work on Impulse, but the group is excellent – and even in a shorter format, the conception of the work still contains plenty of rich new ideas. Players include Louis Mucci, John Carisi, Steve Lacy, Willie Ruff, Paul Chambers, Nick Stabulis, and Lee Konitz on alto. Titles include "Ella Speed", "Big Stuff", "Jambangle", "Nobody's Heart", and "Remember". Tadd Dameron's contributions here are from a wonderful modernist session – and one that's especially great because it's filled with fresh themes that get past some of his over-reissued standards! Players here include Clifford Brown and Idrees Sulieman on trumpets, Gigi Gryce on alto, Benny Golson on tenor, and Dameron on piano. Titles include "Philly JJ", "Choose Now", "Theme Of No Repeat", and "Dial B For Beauty". Also included are readings of classic Dameron compositions – like "The Scene Is Clean", "Fontainebleau", and "Delerium" – all played by a great little group that includes Dameron on piano, plus Joe Alexander on tenor, Sahib Shihab on alto, Kenny Dorham on trumpet, and Henry Coker on trombone. LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent set that combines the work of two lost horn players from the 50s! The first 8 tracks feature titles from an earlier 10" recording by Eddie Shu – an icy genius on the alto and tenor, working here in quartet format with Bobby Scott, Vinnie Burke, and Roy Haynes. Shu's got an angular tone that's a bit like that of Lee Konitz, but which is slightly less acrobatic, and perhaps a bit warmer – and he's a hell of a player, as you'll hear on the tracks "Tom Dick & Jim", "It's Sand Man", "Justice", "On East Side", and "Peace". Side two features one of the only albums ever cut by tenorist Bob Hardaway – a young west coast player who really cooks on this obscure record for Bethlehem! Hardaway's tenor has a bit more bite than some other Bethlehem horns of the time – and the vibe is almost east coast at time – with a stronger attack on the solos, and a sense of soul that comes through even more strongly on the ballads. The lineup is great, too – with Marty Paich on piano, bringing a nice punch to the tunes – plus vibes from Larry Bunker on side one, ringing out with a really wonderful tone. Bunker shifts to drums on side two – and the record features bass from either Max Bennett or Joe Mondragon, and additional drums from Art Madigan. Titles include "Jr", "Lou's Blue", "Indiana", "I Cover The Waterfront", and "Out Of Nowhere". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare work from Lennie Tristano – some brilliant recordings made at the Half Note in 1958 and 1964, all of which feature Warne Marsh in the group on tenor sax! The first half of the set features Lennie's piano with Marsh's tenor – in a cool quartet with Henry Grimes on bass and Paul Motian on drums. Remaining tracks feature Tristano and Marsh with Lee Konitz on alto, Sonny Dallas on bass, and Nick Stabulas on drums – working in slightly more open territory than the other tracks. Titles include "Continuity", "My Baby", "She's Funny That Way", "Subconscious Lee", "317 East 52nd", and "Background Music". LP, Vinyl record album

Darkly imaginative work from the great Lennie Tristano – and one of the few full albums he ever cut as a leader! The record features the incredible track "Turkish Mambo" – which has Tristano overdubbed 3 times in this dark modal way that's totally amazing, and which will hook you into his playing immediately! A number of other tracks feature a quartet with Lee Konitz – always a good match for Tristano – and a few others have a great trio that's completed by Peter Ind and Jeff Morton. Tracks include "Requiem", "East 32nd", "You Go To My Head", and "Line Up". LP, Vinyl record album

A lost treasure from Lennie Tristano's greatest years – a 2LP set of unreleased material, performed by a quintet that features Lee Konitz! Given how often the Konitz/Tristano pair are mentioned together, but often not heard on records, the album's a real treasure – and repeats the brilliance of the first Tristano album on Atlantic, especially the numbers with Konitz. The rest of the group features Gene Ramey on bass and Art Taylor on drums, and tracks are longish, with nice solo room. Recorded at the Sing Song Room of Confucius Restaurant in New York, and with tracks that include "April", "Confucius Blues", "Lennie-Bird", "Pennies In Minor", "317 East 32nd", "Donna Lee", and "Whispering". LP, Vinyl record album

Although this set was issued in the 70s, it features some excellent rare early work by Tristano, originally recorded for Capitol in 1949. The material features a core of his early devotees – Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, and Billy Bauer – and the selection of tracks includes 2 especially amazing tracks – "Intuition" and "Digression" – both of which were freely improvised in the studio during recording! Along with the other material in the set – "Yesterdays", "Wow", "Sax Of A Kind", and "Maironette" – the record's an essential one for any Tristano fan. The other side of the record features some slightly modernist stuff by Buddy DeFranco, and titles on that stuff include "Bird In Igor's Yard", "Extrovert", and "Aishie". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the earliest work we've ever heard from German tenorist Joki Freund – a player who'd trip out a bit more in later years, but who blows here with a sound that's sharp, modern, and very swinging throughout! The group features trombone from Albert Mangelsdorff, who's also on the straighter side of the spectrum here – plus alto from Emil Mangelsdorff, sounding a lot more modern than on other recordings – really matching the energy of both hornmen, as they all step out in a piano-less group that only features the bass of Harry Schell and drums of Rudi Sehring on rhythm! The music has echoes of better-known 50s modernists – like Lee Konitz or Jimmy Giuffre on our side of the Atlantic, or Hans Koller in Freund's German scene – and the package features live material from a 1957 album, plus additional studio tracks from the rare Joki's Sparkle EP. Titles include "Nico", "Freund Point", "Vie La France", "Swinging Pigeons", "Domicile", "Rudy's Theme", and "From Lighthouse To Frankfurt". LP, Vinyl record album

A set of incredible records from Charles Mingus – all presented together in one mighty nice package! First up is Mingus Moves – a fantastic fresh new chapter in the career of Charles Mingus – a set that features the addition of two key players who would really shape his sound in the 70s – Don Pullen on piano and George Adams on tenor, both completely wonderful here! The group also features excellent trumpet from Roland Hampton, a player we don't know from many other settings – and the set also features some really nice vocal work from Honi Gordon and Doug Hammond. Titles include "Canon", "Moves", "Wee", "Flowers For A Lady", "Opus 3", and "Newcomer". CD also features bonus tracks – "Big Alice" and "The Call". Changes is key 70s work from Charles Mingus – an album that was recorded over the course of three days of creative activity at the end of 1974, but somehow split into two different albums under the Changes name! The lineup here is prime 70s Mingus – George Adams on tenor, Jack Walrath on trumpet, and Don Pullen on piano – young players who really give a fresh voice to Mingus' musical ideas, and help him find this beautiful late life sense of color, tone, and timing that's completely sublime! Titles on this second volume include "Sue's Changes", "Devil Blues", "Remember Rockefeller At Attica", "Free Cell Block F Tis Nazi USA", "Black Bats & Poles", "For Harry Carney", and "Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love" – which features a guest appearance by Marcus Belgrave on trumpet and Jackie Paris on vocals. On 3 Or 4 Shades Of Blues, Charles Mingus is returning to the soulful gospel-influenced mode he swung big in the early 60s! The record's something of a later predecessor of the classics Blues & Roots for Atlantic and Mingus (x5) for Impulse – and the style is slightly less dramatic, but still quite steeped in soulful explorations that feature plenty of notes from the bluer side of the spectrum! Players include George Coleman and Ricky Ford on tenor, Jack Walrath on trumpet, and Larry Coryell on guitar – and titles include new takes on "Better Git Hit In Your Soul" and "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" – plus"Nobody Knows", "Noddin Ya Head Blues", and "Three Or Four Shades Of Blues". Next is Cumbia & Jazz Fusion – one of the most enigmatic albums that Charles Mingus ever recorded – especially in his later years! The set features two very long tracks done by Mingus for use in a film about cocaine traffic between New York and Columbia – but considering the nature of the music, and the freely exploratory style, both numbers here stand very well on their own! Although touched with some of the Latin influences you might expect from the title, the sounds are often darker and more brooding than, say, the Mingus style on the classic Tijuana Moods set. And instead, there's a very serious soundtrack-like vibe going on through most of the set – larger jazz orchestrations used to beautifully underscore subtle themes, and breakout solo moments from players who include Mauricio Smith on flute, Paul Jeffrey on tenor sax, Jack Walrath on trumpet, and Jimmy Knepper on trombone. The album also features a fair bit of added percussion – and features two long tracks, "Cumbia & Jazz Fusion" and "Music For Todo Modo". Me Myself An Eye is complicated later work from Charles Mingus – a great illustration of the way his power to command a large ensemble never wavered as the years went on! The album features two different large groups of players – filled with modernists young and old – including Ricky Ford, George Coleman, and Michael Brecker on tenors; Ronni Cuber and Pepper Adams on baritone; Randy Brecker and Jack Walrath on trumpets; Lee Konitz on alto, Larry Coryell on guitar, Slide Hampton on trombone, and Eddie Gomez on bass. Side one features the 30 minute track "Three Worlds Of Drums", and side two contains a remake of "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting", plus "Devil Woman" and "Carolyn Keki Mingus". Something Like A Bird is one of the last albums Charles Mingus ever gave us – before departing this planet way way too soon! The set shows the increasing sophistication of Mingus' music in these later years – a mode that almost echoes the path that Duke Ellington would take in his final decade – a move towards some larger-form material that still holds onto all the raw energy of the early days, but finds a way to not only bridge larger musical ideas – but musical generations as well! As part of this, the set's got a wonderful lineup – with Lee Konitz on alto, Pepper Adams on baritone sax, George Coleman on tenor, Eddie Gomez on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – and titles include the long title track, "Something Like A Bird", split up over 2 sides of the LP, plus "Farewell Farwell". LP, Vinyl record album

Gerry's second 10" album for the Pacific Jazz label – and almost as groundbreaking as the first! Not only is the quartet with Chet Baker featured strongly on side 1 – with classics that include "Cherry", "Carson City Stage", and "Motel" – but Lee Konitz joins the group on side two, cutting things up with his angular alto sax – a sound that's beautifully placed next to the poised horns of Mulligan and Baker, in a way that really gives the record even more life! Titles on that side include "Sextet", "I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me", "Lover Man", and "Lady Be Good". LP, Vinyl record album