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A beautiful album of spiritual soul and Brazilian influenced jazz from Azar Lawrence -- and a pretty rare one we're thrilled to have! Lawrence is a stellar sax player with a sound that's a bit like Gary Bartz, which means that he fits in perfectly with the Fantasy-era Prestige Records sound -- but ...

A very nice bit of spacey funky jazz from sax player Azar Lawrence, and one of the great earlier productions by Skip Scarborough, with a feel that's very similar to Gary Bartz's work with Larry Mizell! Azar plays a mix of funk and spiritual soul jazz -- and he's got some great electric backing by ...

A pivotal record for Patrice Rushen -- a set that has her really tightening up the groove from previous albums on Prestige -- heading much more towards the focused soul-drenched grooves of her Elektra Records years! The set's a stunner -- still very much with the hip, west coast funky fusion vibe ...

Gene Ammons gets the Cannonball Adderley treatment -- as he blows funky solos over an album arranged and conducted by David Axelrod! Brasswind has a larger, fuller funky sound than some of his earlier work for Prestige -- and it works very well! The overall sound's a bit smoother, but Axelrod's ...

Beautiful stuff from this cool Estonian jazz collective -- a very unique group whose sound reminds us of work we've heard from hip French soundtracks, and from some of the cooler reaches of the European jazz scene in the 60s! Many of the tracks here have vocals -- kind of scatted, with a breezy ...

A real 70s stormer from Frank Foster -- recorded with the Loud Minority ensemble used for the Mainstream album of the same name, but done in a style that's a bit more straight ahead, yet still plenty darn soulful! Frank's hanging here between the two sides of his career -- working in a larger band ...

Forget the hokey title of this one, this is one of the best Frank Foster sets of the 70s! By the time of this 1978 recording, Foster had developed into a stunning tenor talent filled with influences that ranged from Lester Young to late Coltrane. His writing and playing in the 70s was filled with ...

Soulful intensity from Elvin Jones and his Jazz Machine! Soul Train is of the many great originally import-only sessions that Jones cut with his Jazz Machine group during the late 70s -- an ensemble who in this case featured Andrew White on alto, and Ari Brown on tenor and soprano. Like most ...

One of the best-ever Billy Harper records from the 70s -- and one of the rare sessions of his that only ever came out in Japan! Billy is in incredible form throughout -- and plays with a stunning sense of imagination and creativity on the 3 long tracks that make up this LP -- stepping out with ...

Slick 70s jazz funk from Fathead -- an uncommon record in his canon, and a nice one! If you're more accustomed to hearing Newman in more of his bluesy southern R&B inflected jazz setting, this one's a groovy left turn -- with a more polished touch here a la 70s Fantasy, with Wilbur Bascomb on ...

Beautifully-recorded later work from Sonny Stitt -- a record that's got the crispness and poise of his classic work on Roost, with perhaps a bit of the warmer soul he'd picked up in the 70s -- yet laid out in a way that's different from some of his American albums too! The set's a special date ...

Warm and lyrical solo piano work from Tommy Flanagan -- a Japanese only session from the mid 70s, and one of the first of a long run of well-produced dates that Flanagan would do for that market! The format's even more intimate than the relaxed setting of some of Tommy's American dates of the time ...

One of the best David Axelrod-assisted albums from the early 70s -- a sweet batch of funky cuts with arrangements and backings handled by Axe! The record really bubbles with the warm and soulful approach Axelrod was using at Fantasy -- kind of a step off his stark modern sound at Capitol, but ...

A surprisingly wonderful recent album from Stanley Cowell -- soul jazz piano of the 70s, but sounding equally great here in his later years! Cowell is playing acoustic piano in a trio with Tarus Mateen on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums -- and his tones are round, warm, and very rhythmic -- ...

Beautiful ballads from Archie Shepp -- one of his later dates for Venus Records, recorded with a soulful, subtle sound that's totally great! The Shepp heard here is hardly the freewheeling player of 60s avant years -- and is instead an aging master of the tenor who manages to draw on years of ...

Forget the cheesy cover, because this is a wonderful little album -- one of the finest in recent years from Charles McPherson, and a key document of this stunning later chapter in his career! The album's got a laidback and soulful approach -- often with a hint of weary sadness -- in a tone that's ...

A double slice of Stan Getz -- material issued previously on two separate CDs by Steeplechase, brought together here in the price of a single set! The work here is wonderful -- moody late 70s Getz, with some especially soulful moments on the mellow tracks too -- that kind of spun-out blowing that ...

One of the best Joe Pass albums from the 70s -- largely because he's working with such a great group of Brazilian players! Besides percussionist Paulinho Da Costa, the musicians also include drummer Claudio Slon, as well as Oscar Castro Neves, Don Grusin, and Octavio Bailly. Tracks are light and ...

A rather late recording for Pepper, but a great one played with some fierceness that you might not expect from the date of the recording. It helps that he's accompanied by a remarkable rhythm section of George Cables, George Mraz and Elvin Jones, all seasoned vets by this point, and playing with ...

A rather late recording for Pepper, but a great one played with some fierceness that you might not expect from the date of the recording. It helps that he's accompanied by a remarkable rhythm section of George Cables, George Mraz and Elvin Jones, all seasoned vets by this point, and playing with ...

A rather late recording for Pepper, but a great one played with some fierceness that you might not expect from the date of the recording. It helps that he's accompanied by a remarkable rhythm section of George Cables, George Mraz and Elvin Jones, all seasoned vets by this point, and playing with ...

A pretty darn important album for Wes -- as it was his first session with the sort of larger arrangements that would later make him huge! Although Montgomery was mostly recording for Riverside in small combos, this session has him playing in front of larger backings by Jimmy Jones -- not as ...

A very nice little Milt Jackson album -- cut in the mode of some of his excellent soul jazz group sides from the mid 60s. This set pushes Milt past the format of much of his other work -- especially that of the MJQ -- as it features him in a very soulful sextet, working with Tommy Flanagan on ...

A pretty darn great record -- the first full length LP cut by Shelly, issued by Contemporary in the mid 50s, and pulling together side from sessions in 1953, some of which were issued previously, others of which appear for the first time here. The tracks are short and playful -- very much in the ...

A firey little trio session from Junior Mance -- one that features tracks taken at a pace that's even more uptempo than usual, and which really pushes his skills on the keys! The speed of the set is by no means a detriment to Mance's soulful playing -- and if anything, the record stands as one of ...

An unusual Dave Brubeck set from the start of the 60s -- surprisingly on Fantasy, given his Columbia fame of the time -- and with a slightly different lineup that features the great Bill Smith on clarinet! Smith's got a cool modern sound that's not unlike Jimmy Giuffre -- icy but expressive too, ...

Brubeck is reunited with tenorist David Van Kriedt, a key member of his early quintet, which first started making waves in San Francisco during the late 40s. The rest of the group includes Paul Desmond on alto, Joe Morello on drums, and Norm Bates on bass -- and it's interesting to hear Brubeck ...

The fantastic first album from David Sanborn -- a lot more than you might expect if you only know him from later years! Sure, the record's tight -- and yes, Sanborn was a crossover player from the start -- but there's some great moments here, and the whole thing's got a lot more of an edge at ...

A key early pairing of saxophonist Gary Bartz and producer Larry Mizell -- working here together before their more famous collaboration on Capitol Records, in a sound that's even more freewheeling and open-ended! Bartz still has a bit of an edge in his horn here -- the style laid down heavily on ...

Patrice Rushen's second album -- and a very sweet batch of keyboard funk! The record has Patrice working in a groove that's almost like that of Herbie Hancock at the time -- using lots of electric piano, clavinet, and synth to craft some mighty fine jazz funk grooves. The group's a monster ...

A wonderful album for all those folks who ever crabbed about Shepp going back "inside" during the late 70s! The record is straight jazz -- not as righteous as Attica Blues or some of the other Impulse albums, yet done with a wonderfully soulful quality that shows that even without a ...

Tight later work from Jo Jones -- a set that's got all the swinging energy of the early years, but also a relaxed vibe that's mighty nice too! There's a good quality to the recording -- as it's one of those killer 70s sessions done for Denon in Japan -- and Jones is clearly in respectful company, ...

Great Shepp with a great group -- a quartet that pairs Archie's amazing tenor with the piano of John Hicks! The album's one of the best of Archie Shepp's later ballad albums -- and has a really standout feel, thanks to Hicks' warmer tones on the piano alongside Shepp's raspier notes. While other ...

An all-ballad album from Pharoah Sanders, but one that's still plenty darn great -- and blown with all the depth of soul you might expect from his classics! The tunes are mostly familiar, but taken at a really easygoing, open sort of level -- somewhat similar to the ballad work that Archie Shepp ...

Sublime sadness from saxophonist Phil Woods -- a beautiful session of ballads blown with string backings, all wrapped up in a late nite sense of darkness that's really great! Arrangements for the strings are by Andy Stein, and the core trio features Bill Charlap on piano -- but Woods is clearly ...

A long-overdue session of ballads from modern tenor giant Eric Alexander -- a player we've always loved for his soaring, leaping lines on soul jazz sets -- but who also has just the right tone to carry off an album of mellow tunes and ballads! Alexander's tone reminds us a lot of the Sonny Rollins ...

Pure brilliance from tenor giant Eric Alexander -- one of the few modern players we'd put on a par with our favorites from older years! Alexander's got a depth of tone and sense of poise that's simply wonderful on the set -- one that's never staid, but which continues to grow beautifully over the ...

Funky madness at the legendary Fillmore Auditorium -- and a searing set of tracks that rivals the best studio work from trumpeter Don Ellis! The feel here is really open, spontaneous, and inventive -- and tunes are a lot more extended than on most of Don's studio sides from the time -- with not ...

Angular modernism from George Russell -- a record that's still strongly preoccupied with his interest in modes and tones, but which also manages to swing nicely as well! The group here is a sextet -- with Eric Dolphy making a great appearance on alto and bass clarinet -- alongside Dave Baker on ...

A 70s ECM album from Paul Bley, but one that features work from much earlier years -- one session recorded in 1963, the other from 1968 -- both done with Gary Peacock on bass, and either Billy Elgart or Paul Motian on drums! These early sides from Bley are quite interesting examples of his growth - ...

An album that probably stands as one of Teddy Edward's best! The session has Teddy playing in a few different quartets, with a range of interesting piano players that includes Joe Castro, Ronnie Ball, and the great Amos Trice. The real star, though, is Teddy -- and his rich soulful tenor sounds ...

80s repackaging of a fantastic live set from 1968 -- recorded after Blakey's classic Blue Note years, with a unique lineup that includes a young Billy Harper on tenor, Ronnie Matthews on piano, and Julian Priester on trombone! Harper alone is worth the price of the LP -- as his firey solos are ...

One of the few later Johnny Lytle LPs to maintain his classic vibes/organ/congas sound of his earlier years -- in this case recorded with David Braham on organ and Sammy Figueroa on congas. As the title might imply, the LP features a remake of Lytle's classic "Happy Ground". Other ...

With Lloyd on tenor and flute, Keith Jarrett on piano, Ron McClure on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Titles include "Forest Flower 69", "Pre-Dawn", "Sombrero Sam", and "Voice In The Night". ...

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Titles include "Blue Monk", "I Mean You", "Jackie-Ing", "Algo Bueno", and "Sippin At Bells". ...

Titles include "Caravan", "Little Niles", "On The Street Where You Live", "Nothing But The Best", and "Little White Lies". ...

With Charles Owens, Bunk Gardner, Ann Patterson, and Schulman on reeds. Titles include "Scarlatti", "Toccata In F", "Nightcap", "Let's Talk", "But Not For Me", and "This Can't Be Love". ...

Titles include "I Thought", "Walk On By", "Scufflin", "Autumn Leaves", "On A Clear Day", and "Born To Be Blue". With Ron McClure on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. ...

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