Sublime overseas work from these two legendary musicians – both players from different scenes in the US, and who never would have crossed paths back in the day – but who really sparkle here with a sense of brilliance that brings out the best in both artists! There's no other accompaniment at all – just the piano of Horace Parlan alongside the tenor and soprano sax of Archie Shepp – right at that point when Shepp was exploring more conventional structures of jazz, but with all the knowledge he'd learned from the avant scene – which makes for wonderfully soulful ballads here that are unlike anything you might expect. Parlan is great too – stretching out in the very resonant space of the recording – and titles include "Deep River", "Goin Home", "Amazing Grace", "Go Down Moses", and "My Lord What A Morning". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime overseas work from these two legendary musicians – both players from different scenes in the US, and who never would have crossed paths back in the day – but who really sparkle here with a sense of brilliance that brings out the best in both artists! There's no other accompaniment at all – just the piano of Horace Parlan alongside the tenor and soprano sax of Archie Shepp – right at that point when Shepp was exploring more conventional structures of jazz, but with all the knowledge he'd learned from the avant scene – which makes for wonderfully soulful ballads here that are unlike anything you might expect. Parlan is great too – stretching out in the very resonant space of the recording – and titles include "Deep River", "Goin Home", "Amazing Grace", "Go Down Moses", and "My Lord What A Morning". CD

Sublime overseas work from these two legendary musicians – both players from different scenes in the US, and who never would have crossed paths back in the day – but who really sparkle here with a sense of brilliance that brings out the best in both artists! There's no other accompaniment at all – just the piano of Horace Parlan alongside the tenor and soprano sax of Archie Shepp – right at that point when Shepp was exploring more conventional structures of jazz, but with all the knowledge he'd learned from the avant scene – which makes for wonderfully soulful ballads here that are unlike anything you might expect. Parlan is great too – stretching out in the very resonant space of the recording – and titles include "Deep River", "Goin Home", "Amazing Grace", "Go Down Moses", and "My Lord What A Morning". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautifully soulful duets – just Horace Parlan on piano and Archie Shepp on tenor and soprano sax! CD

Straight, soulful work from Archie Shepp – an overlooked gem from the start of the 90s, and a set that we'd rank right up there with his classics from his great "straight" period of the late 70s! The album's got frequent partner Horace Parlan on piano – who already helps things get grounded in all the right territory – and the excellent Wayne Dockery is on bass, a player with subtle power that really helps give the album all the right depth. George Brown completes the group on drums – and Shepp blows both tenor and alto sax – the latter of which has this raspy quality that's maybe overblown, but in this really powerful way. Title sinclude "Ask Me Now", "Party Time", "Billie's Bossa", "Go Down Moses", and "Now's The Time". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked gem in the career of tenorist Archie Shepp – one of those fantastically soulful European recordings that sometimes get missed, given that Shepp was recording so much and in so many ways overseas during these later years! The style here is a wonderful distillation of the modes he was exploring in his post-Impulse years – a small group rendition of the spiritual ideas of that earlier moment, but refined with more of a focus on Shepp's tremendous tone on tenor – even more maturely expressive here than before, at a level that makes us really love this period more and more as the years go on! The group features Horace Parlan on piano, Clifford Jarvis on drums, and Harry Emmery on bass – the last of whom does a wonderful job of filling the space left empty by Wilbur Little, with round tones that echo the soulfulness of Archie's tenor, and really live up to the tribute promised in the title. Tunes include a really wonderful reading of "Steam" – plus "Arrival", "Manhattan", and "Reflexions". CD

An overlooked gem in the career of tenorist Archie Shepp – one of those fantastically soulful European recordings that sometimes get missed, given that Shepp was recording so much and in so many ways overseas during these later years! The style here is a wonderful distillation of the modes he was exploring in his post-Impulse years – a small group rendition of the spiritual ideas of that earlier moment, but refined with more of a focus on Shepp's tremendous tone on tenor – even more maturely expressive here than before, at a level that makes us really love this period more and more as the years go on! The group features Horace Parlan on piano, Clifford Jarvis on drums, and Harry Emmery on bass – the last of whom does a wonderful job of filling the space left empty by Wilbur Little, with round tones that echo the soulfulness of Archie's tenor, and really live up to the tribute promised in the title. Tunes include a really wonderful reading of "Steam" – plus "Arrival", "Manhattan", and "Reflexions". CD

A very late session from trumpet legend Chet Baker – recording here in the very unusual company of tenorist Archie Shepp – a player that few could have imagined working together a few years before! By the time of the date, Shepp had become more of a traditionalist, but still with an ear for the modern edge that graced his earlier work – and while Chet had gotten more modern in his music, the direction was very different than Archie's – in part because of some of the physical changes Baker had gone through. At some level, the session's maybe more one in the mode of Shepp in Europe during the 80s, with Baker along for a guest – as the rhythm section is more suited to Shepp too – with work from Horace Parlan on piano, Herman Wright on bass, and Clifford Jarvis on drums. Both Archie and Chet sing a bit, and titles include "My Ideal", "When Lights Are Low", "Confirmation", "Dedication To Bessie Smith's Blues", "My Foolish Heart", and "How Deep Is The Ocean". CD

Three later albums from pianist Horace Parlan – all cut overseas, many years after his early work for Blue Note! On Joe Meets The Rhythm Section, the "Joe" is Dutch tenorist Joe Van Enkhuizen, who's a great fit with a trio that features Horace Parlan on piano, Rufus Reid on bass, and Al Harewood on drums! The album's got that subtle approach that marks Parlan's later years – a less all-out style than his start on Blue Note, but one that's maybe even more rewarding if you're willing to let yourself slide into it – something that's easy to do when you've got Joe pointing the way with his well-blown, raspy-edged tenor! Reid is mighty nice too – with those instantly-deep notes that always grab us strongly when he's recorded this well – the sort of presence that most other bassists would need to be electric to reach. Titles include "Alfie's Theme", "Bluesville", "FSR", "Wadin", and "Willow Weep For Me". Ellington Ballads is a nice little record that's very much along the lines of the duet sessions that pianist Horace Parlan cut with Archie Shepp – done with a similar open, soulful style that really brings a lot of personal energy to these tunes penned by Duke Ellington! This might be the first time we've ever heard tenorist Joe Van Enkhuizen, but he's a surprisingly great player – and one who carves out these raspy lines on his instrument that fit really well with the well-crafted lines from Parlan's piano – a lot more subtle and spacious than during his Blue Note years, but maybe even more powerful because of that. Titles include "Serenade To Sweden", "I Got It Bad", "Prelude To A Kiss", "Melancholy", "Sophisticated Lady", and "Creole Blues/Tonight I Shall Sleep". Pannonica is a tight little live set from pianist Horace Parlan – recorded with a wonderful trio that features Reggie Johnson on bass and Alvin Queen on drums – both players who seem to effortlessly match Parlan's shifts at every stage of the proceedings! The tracks are relatively long, and showcase all those changes that Horace had made on the European scene since his earlier years on Blue Note – that move towards warmer, more lyrical elements in his music – but still shaped with his ear for soulful modernism too. The titles are all familiar, but served up at the level that can make the right sort of live piano date sound so great – on selections that include "Hi Fly", "Who Cares", "No Greater Love", and "Pannonica". CD

A nice little record that's very much along the lines of the duet sessions that pianist Horace Parlan cut with Archie Shepp – done with a similar open, soulful style that really brings a lot of personal energy to these tunes penned by Duke Ellington! This might be the first time we've ever heard tenorist Joe Van Enkhuizen, but he's a surprisingly great player – and one who carves out these raspy lines on his instrument that fit really well with the well-crafted lines from Parlan's piano – a lot more subtle and spacious than during his Blue Note years, but maybe even more powerful because of that. Titles include "Serenade To Sweden", "I Got It Bad", "Prelude To A Kiss", "Melancholy", "Sophisticated Lady", and "Creole Blues/Tonight I Shall Sleep". CD

Archie Shepp is one of the most unique players in jazz – an artist who started out completely avant at the beginning of his career, then moved to spiritual jazz explorations, then to straighter jazz material in later decades – but always with all that knowledge of the edges and farther realms of jazz he explored in his other music! That's definitely the case here – as Shepp takes on a host of ballads, but with all these edges and dark passages that are completely different than you'd hear from any other player – cast beautifully with help from Horace Parlan on piano, Wayne Dockery on bass, and Steve McRaven on drums. Shepp blows alto and tenor, and in addition to the titles "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "Lush Life", "Angel Eyes", "All Too Soon", and "Embraceable You" – the set also features Shepp originals "Deja Vu" and "I Know About The Life". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked gem in the career of tenorist Archie Shepp – one of those fantastically soulful European recordings that sometimes get missed, given that Shepp was recording so much and in so many ways overseas during these later years! The style here is a wonderful distillation of the modes he was exploring in his post-Impulse years – a small group rendition of the spiritual ideas of that earlier moment, but refined with more of a focus on Shepp's tremendous tone on tenor – even more maturely expressive here than before, at a level that makes us really love this period more and more as the years go on! The group features Horace Parlan on piano, Clifford Jarvis on drums, and Harry Emmery on bass – the last of whom does a wonderful job of filling the space left empty by Wilbur Little, with round tones that echo the soulfulness of Archie's tenor, and really live up to the tribute promised in the title. Tunes include a really wonderful reading of "Steam" – plus "Arrival", "Manhattan", and "Reflexions". CD

A heck of a collection – and one that really gets at the amazing array of free-thinking jazz that was brewing up on the European scene during the 70s! The set brings together over eight hours of music recorded during two years of this legendary festival – and each new disc has some great surprises along the way! There's some possibly more familiar material here – such as long improvisations that include a solo piano performance by Joachim Kuhn, two by a Mal Waldron trio with Jimmy Woode on bass and Allen Blairman on drums, one by a trio headed by pianist Yosuke Yamashita and with Akira Sakata on alto, two more by the duo of Peter Brotzmann on tenor and Han Bennink on drums, and a final two long improvisations by a great Archie Shepp gruop with Richard Greenlee on trombone, Dave Burell on piano, Cameron Brown on bass, and Beaver Harris on drums! Yet that's only the tip of the iceberg – as there's a full CD of music by a group led by Hugo Heredia on saxes and flute – with Horace Parlan on piano, Dodo Goys on bass, Tullio D'Piscopo on drums, and Mandrake Ivanir Do Nascimento on percussion. And there's another CD that features an hour-long improvisation by a version of the Willem Breuker Kollektief with Leo Cuypers on piano, Maarten Van Norden on tenor, Boy Raaymakers on trumpet, and Bernhard Hunnekink and Willem Van Manen on trombones. There's also a very long track by a cool quartet headed by Polish alto giant Zbigniew Namyslowski – and one more by the French Machi Oul Big Band. There's also tracks by Riot, with Uli Beckerhoff on trumpet; Grumpff with Michael Schlaper on tenor and soprano, and Ekkehard Jost on baritone; Mumps with Albert Mangelsdorff on trombone and John Surman on tenor; and the Eddie Prevost Quartet with Geoff Hawkins on tenor and Gerry Gold on trumpet. And last but not least are two long trcks by the Czech group Celula Jazz Crew – with Laco Deczi on trumpet, Karel Ruzicka on electric piano, and Svatopluc Kosvanec on trombone. Phew – that's a lot of music, and the whole thing comes in a very cool 10" box set, complete with a booklet of notes, too! CD