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A long-overdue look at the mini-soul empire of Leo Gooden -- an tiny little enclave in East St Louis that was making some mighty hip music in the early 60s! Gooden wore many hats at the time -- politician, club owner, and local businessman -- but he also put together his own band and record label, ...

Beautiful trio material from Italian pianist Enrico Intra -- a player with a great sense of rhythm, and a nice sharp edge in his music! Intra's piano is quite modern at times, although never in ways that are too out or academic -- always coming back to the inside for some warmer notes that really ...

One of the sharpest 50s sessions from Johnny Griffin -- a hip quartet date for Riverside, done at the time when he was working heavily with Thelonious Monk! The album's definitely got an angular groove that shows Monk's influence, but it's also shows Griffin's Chicago's roots as well -- with an ...

The legendary Herb Geller joins pianist Rein DeGraaf in an excellent set dedicated to the music of Gigi Gryce -- those sparkling modern jazz compositions that made such a big impact in the 50s! Gryce's original vision is updated slightly, but the tunes have a mostly classic feel -- very well ...

The first recording we've heard from pianist Sal Mosca in a long time -- recorded in his own studio with a nicely laidback feel! Mosca's still got an ear for the modern tones that first made his music stand out in the 50s, but he also brings in a warmer element too -- a quality that possibly comes ...

A tight, old school set of jazz from the Dutch American All Stars -- a group that features trumpeter John Marshall, pianist Hod O'Brien, bassist Jacques Schols, and drummer Peter Ypma -- all playing here in very relaxed, familiar company! There's nothing too fancy or overdone with these tunes -- ...

Barry Harris plays here both in fragile solo formation, and in some harder trio modes -- all in a session that really captures both sides of his talents nicely! The solo material has that quietly contemplative style that Harris brought on in later years -- a really exploratory approach to the ...

Great work as a leader from reedman Ferdinand Povel -- a player who's sparked up some great moments on albums by other players over the years, but who hardly ever records as a boss on his own! This set's a "forgotten tape" -- recorded in the late 80s, but only issued recently -- and it ...

A very hip live date from the trio of pianist Rob Agerbeek -- one that features guest vocals from Mark Murphy and Ann Burton, two singers who really help the group open up nicely! Agerbeek's trio is plenty strong on its own -- a combo that's surprisingly soulful, with a really bold approach -- and ...

John Marshall's a horn player we're really learning to love these days -- an American native, but one who's blown some of his best music overseas -- particularly in dates like this for the Blue Jack Jazz label! The album's a really old school batch of tracks -- one that has Marshall on both ...

An excellent group that really lives up to their name -- a very soulful quintet, with a groove that's right up there with the best hardbop of the late 50s and early 60s! The ensemble's led by Dutch pianist Cees Slinger, but it features some especially strong work from the hornmen -- tenorist Simon ...

A groundbreaking session from the great French tenor player Barney Wilen -- unlike anything else he ever recorded -- and a unique hybrid of jazz, African rhythms, and more experimental moments! Although Wilen got his start as a bopper in the 50s, he'd really stretched out by the time of this date - ...

A great groover from Italian pianist Romano Mussolini -- a really cool little session that features some key instrumental elements joining his core trio sound! Romano's at the helm on acoustic piano, with support on bass and drums -- but the set also features guest guitar, tenor, and added ...

Heavy Hammond funk -- but from the 60s German scene! Memphis Black was the pseudonym of Ingfried Hoffmann -- quite possibly the best organ player on the continent in the 60s -- an artist known well through his soundtrack and sound library sessions, as well as his killer contributions to the Klaus ...

Always-enigmatic work from Jon Hassell -- hardly a trumpeter with a familiar sound, and a player who almost creates a genre unto himself! The work here is a great extension of the EG Records sides Hassell did with Brian Eno -- and like those dates, Eno's on board for production, working here ...

Slide Hampton's not on every track here, but his presence really makes the album sparkle -- blowing with his usual strong, soulful vibe in the company of two younger tenor players! The album's a live one, recorded in Holland with a Dutch quintet that features the great Cees Slinger on piano, and ...

A beautiful little album from Lee Konitz -- one that seems to have even more sensitivity than usual, thanks to the presence of a string quartet! The sound here is quite unusual -- a mix of small combo jazz with slight added strings -- in a way that's hardly like any "with strings" jazz ...

A blasting barrage of sound from Paul Bley -- a fierce session that's right up there with the most dynamic ESP work of the 60s -- and quite different from some of Bley's more introspective music! The group here is a quintet -- with bold work from Marshall Allen on alto sax and Dewey Johnson on ...

A fantastic album of funky jazz guitar -- by one of the best players in the genre! This is Ivan's first truly sublime album -- a set that showed the world that he was easily one of the greatest jazz guitarists of his generation -- able to spin out single-note jams with a speed and dexterity that ...

A key meeting between the Three Sounds trio and the amazing Monk Higgins -- done at a time when Higgins was taking his Chicago-crafted grooves to work on the west coast -- and doing some really wonderful productions with Dee Ervin! The set features full Higgins backings throughout -- a mix of jazz ...

Fantastic work from the team of Ted Curson and Bill Barron -- a rare French session from 1964, one that captures all the brilliance of their American work from the early 60s! The set features the pair playing in an extremely fragmented mode -- no doubt inspired by the recent loss of Eric Dolphy, ...

Double-length brilliance from the mighty Sahib Shihab -- a set that collects a number of killer 60s sessions with members of the Clarke Boland Big Band -- all of them great! The small combo work here is amazing -- hard-hitting modal jazz that matches, if not tops the best MPS/Saba sounds of the ...

One of the sweetest little jazz funk albums of the early 70s -- and a masterful blend of vibes, guitar, and organ from this legendary Indianapolis combo! The group are probably best known for their backing work behind Grant Green on some of his funky Blue Note sides -- or for vibes player Billy ...

A greatly expanded version of ESP's classic album of live Bud Powell material -- one that adds in an extra batch of long tracks that features Zoot Sims blowing tenor with the trio! The core album here features Powell's piano in that famous Paris trio with Kenny Clarke on drums and Pierre Michelot ...

Beautiful solo piano work from Paul Bley -- spare, stark, and almost lovely -- and a real contrast to some of his more aggressive experiments of the late 60s. The Bley here has almost a hint of sadness and longing, especially on the numbers that have him revisiting tunes he'd done on earlier ...

A strange bit of funk from Yusef Lateef! The record was recorded late in the CTI electric years -- and it's got Yusef fronting a funky jazz group on 5 tracks that have a decidely R&B-ish fusion twist. Dave Matthews -- of James Brown funky fame -- arranged the whole album, and the record is ...

The 4th in Bob James legendary run of Fender Rhodes classics for CTI -- and a record that still has him working with the dark edges that made the first few so great! As usual with these sets, there's a way of putting over the groove that's really unique -- not really funky, but spacious enough to ...

A really unique little record from Chico O'Farrill -- a real change from his usual Latin jazz, and a session that's almost more in a 70s electric jazz mode! The group here is a big one, but they have a really fluid feel -- a sense of timing and groove that's a bit like some of the Dave Matthews-arr ...

The only Blue Note album ever recorded by JR Monterose -- one of the more enigmatic figures of the 50s scene! Montrose was a brilliant player, with a tone and a solo conception that were very unique -- but he lapsed in relative obscurity, due to the fact that he had a penchant for retreating to ...

An excellent double-length set -- one of Woody Shaw's greatest albums, and a majestic batch of spiritual soul jazz numbers -- recorded with an all-star lineup that includes Gary Bartz, Benny Maupin, George Cables, Ron Carter, and Lenny White. Shaw is in top form, and the set is tight, hard, and ...

2 killer jazz funk albums -- both rare, and both on one CD! The records were cut for the short-lived Eastbound side of the soul/funk Westbound label, both under the supervision of Bob Porter, who handled some of the best early 70s jazz funk work for Prestige! Both albums also feature drumming by ...

A rare slice of work from trumpeter Don Cherry -- music that's every bit as forward-thinking as his three classic 60s albums on Blue Note! The session is a live one, but the sound is quite strong -- recorded up-close, and with great focus on Cherry's incredible horn work -- as well as the efforts ...

Astounding work from pianist Andrew Hill -- a rare session that was recorded for Blue Note in 1969, and issued here for the first time! The work has an extremely ambitious approach -- with Hill leading a 9 piece group that includes Woody Shaw, Dizzy Reece, Julian Priester on trombone, Joe Farrell, ...

Previously unreleased gems from the legendary Vince Guaraldi -- early 70s work recorded for Charlie Brown cartoons, most of it a fair bit funkier than the already-reissued soundtracks from the 60s! These sides are from the period when Peanuts was hipping things up a bit -- and Vince's music ...

One of Stanley Turrentine's most obscure sessions for Blue Note -- a rare trio side featuring Roy Brooks on drums, and wife Shirley Scott on organ -- billed on the original album cover as "Little Miss Cott"! The feel here is a bit more open than usual -- no bassist on the set, just Roy's ...

Easily one of the most powerful albums ever cut by Don Cherry -- a searing set of tracks done for Blue Note in the late 60s -- and featuring some tremendous tenor work by Pharoah Sanders! There's a tightness and level of energy here that surpasses even Cherry's other excellent Blue Note sessions -- ...

A legendary album from saxophonist Sahib Shihab -- a record that's gone onto become the birth of all things modal and club jazz in the current scene! Shihab always sounded great, no matter what the setting, but there was definitely something magical going on with this session -- a one-of-a-kind ...

An incredible record that was one of the highest points of Donald Byrd's career! The album's the third one he cut with producer/arranger Larry Mizell -- and of all Byrd's work with Mizell, this one's the funkiest, the tightest, the most soulful, and the most perfectly realized vision of the smooth ...

A beautiful little record by Pharoah Sanders -- quite different than most of his other recordings of the 70s, and done in a smoothly jazzy mode that also features plenty of soul! Sanders did the set in collaboration with Norman Connors -- and the style is in that same great mix of mellow soul and ...

A wonderful album from Lalo Schfrin! This one mixes together bossa piano and sweeping string arrangements -- in a style that's incredibly dark-edged and driving, with a sound that's at once spooky and lovely -- a dancing groove that makes the best tracks really sparkle! The album's light years ...

A surprising turn towards the past for these two fusion heavyweights -- a set that has both Joe Sample and David T Walker reprising a host of older R&B classics! The album was handled by the Crusaders' production team, and it's still got a few elements of that side of the spectrum -- but the ...

A whole new kind of trio session for the 70s -- one that has the airy, open lines of guitarist John Abercrombie stretching out nicely in the company of drummer Jack DeJohnette and bassist Dave Holland! The music is archetypal ECM work of the time -- a complete contrast to a guitar trio session ...

A brilliant album that would forever change the way the organ was used in jazz! The set's the greatest contribution ever from organist Larry Young -- a lean and modal session recorded with help from a young quartet that includes Woody Shaw, Joe Henderson, and Elvin Jones -- all leaping and loping ...

One of the hipper Louis Armstrong albums of the 50s -- a set that still has him singing in that charming comeback style of other sessions of the time -- but which also has a slightly deeper groove overall! The New Orleans Nights title is taken very strongly here -- and the session has a much more ...

Early soul jazz brilliance from a young Gary Bartz -- music that pre-dates his Ntu Troup, and his work with Larry Mizell! Libra is fantastic early work from Gary -- and probably his rarest record ever! The album was cut at a time when the young Bartz was first coming to prominence in the hip ...

A crucially important record in Sonny Rollins' career -- one that had him breaking out of the straight bop sound, and emerging as a major power on the tenor sax -- one with limitless creative power! The set features Rollins working with only drum and bass accompaniment -- played by Max Roach and ...

Gary Burton takes on the music of Carla Bley -- in a wonderfully sensitive set that opens up rich new colors in her music! The group here is a particularly well-chosen one for the effort -- a quintet with Burton on vibes, Mick Goodrick on guitar, Steve Swallow on bass, and Bob Moses on drums -- ...

Very very very cool stuff from Italy in the 70's. This tight little combo featuring Fender Rhodes, electric bass, and congas lays down some super tight grooves with a very deep, very funky, very laid back feel. Originally intended for soundtrack use in TV and commercials, this disc has finally ...

Easily the hippest of the Clarke-Boland Big Band Records from the classic years -- a set of hard grooving tracks that really pushes the envelope of their style! There's a few elements here that are different than usual -- such as the presence of electric piano on a few tracks, which creates a very ...

A rare jazz treasure from the European scene of the early 70s -- killer material from a wealth of American artists and local talents -- all done as special sessions for Dutch radio, and never issued to the public on record! Despite the radio origins of the music, the sound here is tremendous -- ...