A searing live set from trumpeter Charles Tolliver – one of the few talents who could take his instrument into the kind of long-blown, beautifully open territory explored on a double length album like this! Tolliver maybe inherits a late Lee Morgan quality, but also opens up with the Woody Shaw generation – but at a level that's even more exploratory than Woody, and which follows up the fantastic sounds of his two part Live At Slugs albums, issued slightly earlier on the Strata East label! Strata is a name that's come to be synonymous with the best in spiritual jazz of the 70s – and Tolliver is the key figure at the top of that legacy – really making magic here in a quartet that includes John Hicks on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Alvin Queen on drums. Titles are all nice and long – and include "Grand Max", "Truth", "Prayer For Peace", "Our Second Father" and "Repetition". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer set of searing soulful spiritual material from Oliver Nelson – and one of his best albums of the 70s! There's hardly anything "Swiss" in the music – save for the fact that it was recorded at the Montreux Jazz Fest – as the large ensemble recording has Nelson at the helm of a very hip group of musicians – really stretching out into territory that's more Strata East than any of his other work, especially on the title track! In addition to the tenor from Gato Barberi and alto from Eddie Vinson – both featured on the title – the set also features Charles Tolliver and Harry Beckett on trumpets, Bosko Petrovic on vibes, Na Na on barimbau, Bernard Purdie on drums, and Stanley Cowell on piano. Side one features the soaring "Swiss Suite" – an extended number done for the set – and side two has a bit more Nelson touches coming into play with the progressive lineup – on titles that include "Stolen Moments", "Black Brown & Beautiful", and "Blues & The Abstract Truth". CD

Fantastic stuff, and a record that was virtually the blueprint for spiritual soul jazz in the 70s! Although Max Roach first rose to fame during the bop years, by the time of this set he'd really stretched out a lot – moving past initial righteous projects in the Civil Rights era, to even more progressive work with a group like this! The players are all youthful geniuses who would go onto shape the sound of 70s jazz tremendously – working here at a point that already shows their brilliance – Gary Bartz on alto, Charles Tolliver on trumpet, Stanley Cowell on piano, and even Andy Bey, who sings vocals on the title track. The overall style is very similar to Bartz's early albums on Milestone, or to some of the Music Inc records on Strata East, which feature Cowell and Tolliver. It's no surprise that Cowell contributed 3 tracks to the set – "Effi", "Equipoise", and "Abstrutions" – and the group also performs a great version of Bartz's "Libra"! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the hippest of Gerald Wilson's recordings for Pacific Jazz in the 60s – an excellent live session with a very groovy edge! Wilson's studio work for the label at the time was great enough, but somehow, hearing his group working live, we get a new appreciation of his genius – as the tunes unfold with a soulful depth that goes farther than the studio versions, really grooving with great solo work by Harold Land and Hadley Caliman on saxes, Charles Tolliver on trumpet, Jack Wilson on organ, and Phil Moore on piano! Titles include a great version of Tolliver's "Paper Man" – really showing the growing soulful sound of the group – plus the tracks "Viva Tirado", "Blues For A Scorpio", "Lil Darlin", and "The It's Where It's At". LP, Vinyl record album

Funky sounds from the Harlem scene – an incredibly rich collection of work from the Rojac and Tayster labels – a set so massive, it's like finding a box of rare funky 45s and deep soul singles in the back of some old record store! The package offers up way more work than we might have expected from our knowledge of a few key funk classics from the labels – a treasure trove of under-discovered gems from the grittiest years of the New York scene – most of them cut in the pre-disco years, with raw edges that almost feel more like southern soul and funk than other work from the Big Apple! This overstuffed set also comes with a sweet booklet of notes – really telling the tale of the labels and related enterprises – plus 44 tracks that include "Where Were You" by Kim Tolliver, "Meet Me Halfway" by Lillie Bryant, "Old Love Never Dies" by Big Maybelle, "Something Special About My Baby" by Clarence Reid, "I Love My Baby" by International GTOs, "No Better For Ya" by Jo Armstead, Love Love Love" by Chuck Flamingo, "Christmas In Vietnam" by Private Charles Bowens & The Gentlemen From Tigerland, "Everybody's Going Wild" by Curtis Lee & The KCPs, "Lovin Lies" by Third Guitar, "This & That" by Jo Armstead, "Don't Lose Your Groove" by Lavell Hardy, "Nwanne Nwanne Nwanne" by Aleke Kanonu & Tolbert The Miracle Man, "Lucky Man" by Damn Sam The Miracle Man, "Baby Don't Cry" by Third Guitar, and "Whip Ya" by Chuck A Luck & The Lovemen Ltd. CD

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 late 60s soul jazz group of Max Roach – and Bartz's playing at the time is a perfect model of mid-Coltrane searching with some of the tighter sides of soul jazz that were being forged at labels like Blue Note by players like Hank Mobley or Lee Morgan. The record's a masterpiece of youthful soulful energy – and the group includes Jimmy Owens on trumpet, Richard Davis on bass, Albert Dailey on piano, and Billy Higgins on drums, all players who are perfectly matched to fit Bartz's stridently creative vision. His solos on alto are impeccable – some of the most meaningful we've ever heard on the instrument from the time – and the album's a great one all the way through! Titles include "Air & Fire", "Eastern Blues", "Libra", "Freedom Of The Day", and "Cabin In The Sky". Another Earth is amazing too – one of the first that Gary Bartz ever cut – done during a time when he'd been working with Max Roach and a super-hip group of younger soul jazz players who would go onto shape the sound of the 70s. Bartz leads a group that includes Stanley Cowell, Freddy Waits, Charles Tolliver, Pharoah Sanders, and Reggie Workman – and the music sounds like it was lifted from one of the best albums on Strata East from the 70s. There's no funk, no vocals, no weird rhythms – just pure spiritual jazz, played to perfection, and filled with a creative vitality that most of the players had lost a few years later. Tracks include the album-side "Another Earth", plus "Dark Nebula", "UFO", and "Perihelion & Aphelion". Note: CD omits the track "Disjunction" from Libra – due to space restrictions. CD

Plenty of spirit, and plenty of soul – a 70s classic from organist Doug Carn, and a record that took his instrument, and jazz in general, to a whole new level for the decade! Carn's got this burning, righteous quality on his keys – a vibe that certainly owes something to Larry Young, but also takes off even further – working in a spiritual ensemble that also features his wife Jean Carn on vocals – sounding way more like a righteous jazz singer than on her later soul sides for Philly International! Other players are great, too – and include Charles Tolliver on flugelhorn, Garnett Brown on trombone, George Harper on tenor and soprano sax, Buster Williams on bass, and Alphonse Mouzon on drums. Tracks include "New Moon", "Trance Dance", "My Spirit", "Blue In Green", and "Arise & Shine". CD

Rare work by Andrew Hill – recorded in the 60s – but not issued until this 1975 2-fer package, which then went out of print very quickly! One session's from 1969, and features Hill with Bennie Maupin, Charles Tolliver, and Pat Patrick. Another has him and Maupin playing a few tracks with a string quartet. And the last set (which covers all of the second record) is a straighter set from 1965, with Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Richard Davis, and Joe Chambers. The album's a motherlode of great rare material by one of the best piano players of the 60's, and a talent that Blue Note made sure to record as much as they could. Tracks include "Diddy Wah", "Fragments", "Erato", "Pax", and "Eris". LP, Vinyl record album

A really heady set of tracks from vibist Bobby Hutcherson – a record that has him stepping away from the harder sounds of his early modern years – and moving into the sublime mix of soulful and modal styles that would really grow strongly by the end of the 60s! The album's a treasure through and through – warm, subtle interpretations of the music by a group that features Hutcherson on vibes, James Spaulding on alto and flute, Stanley Cowell on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – all working together in modes that are quite like Hutcherson's music with Harold Land – but slightly looser and freer at points too. The album includes a fantastic version of Cowell's "Effi", which was later recorded by Charles Tolliver a few times, plus other beautiful compositions by Joe Chambers – including "Patterns", "Ankana", "Irina", and "Nocturnal". Also features a bonus alternate of the title track! CD

Herbie Mann's opening plenty of windows with this one – and plenty of doors too – really letting some new influences come to his music, thanks to the presence of Sonny Sharrock on guitar and Roy Ayers on vibes! The album's one of Herbie's wildest from the 60s – and the mix of vibes, flute, and guitar is very very nice – a great blend that really gives a strong showcase to both younger players. Ayers' vibes are especially wonderful – similar to his own soulful Atlantic albums of the period – and Sharrock's guitar isn't as crazy as in later years, but has this sharp edge that's really different than usual for most of his jazz contemporaries. The album features great covers of "There Is A Mountain" and "If I Were A Carpenter" – plus surprisingly bold tunes that include Wayne Shorter's "Footprints", Charles Tolliver's "Paper Man", and Ayers' own "Windows Opened". LP, Vinyl record album

A triple-action classic from alto genius Jackie McLean – and one of those key records from the years when he stunned the world by moving from hardbop into the more experimental modes of the "new thing" generation! The approach here is very formative – not just for some of Jackie's spiritual expressions in the 70s, but also for the way that more creative jazz moved forward in years to come – as McLean is working alongside key players who include Charles Tolliver on trumpet, Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Cecil McBee on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums! Higgins' lyrical playing is a perfect complement to the more avant tones of the others – giving the album a free dancing soul, but also never letting things get too out of hand to lose the jazz basis of McLean's best work. The album includes an early recording of Tolliver's classic tune "Plight", plus the tracks "Wrong Handle", "Action", and "Hootnan". LP, Vinyl record album

Almost a primer on the sound of "new thing" jazz at Blue Note – that magical moment when players on the label were mixing avant expression with a brand new sense of arrangement – as the alto of Jackie McLean is joined by players who include Lee Morgan and Charles Tolliver on trumpets, Herbie Hancock and Larry Willis on piano, Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, and Jack DeJohnette on drums! Includes material from It's Time, Right Now, Action, Consequences, and the 2LP Jacknife set! CD

The quintessential sound of late 60s Horace Silver – on one hand still very much in the Blue Note soul jazz groove that earned him plenty of jukebox single play, but on the other hand really stretching out with a style that's a bit more righteous than before! Horace shows that he can still pen a hit when he wants – and gave the world the tune "Psychedelic Sally" with this set – but he also displays a penchant for more complicated rhythms and freer horn expressions on beautiful tunes like "Kindred Spirits", "Rain Dance", and "Jungle Juice". The group's filled with great players – from tenor work by Stanley Turrentine and Bennie Maupin, trumpet by Charles Tolliver, and drums by a young Billy Cobham! CD

David Weiss has a great conception for this hip little set – a contemporary exploration of the best spiritual energy running through the Blue Note scene in the late 60s – based around compositions by Charles Tolliver, Wayne Shorter, and Charles Moore – the last of whom was featured with the Kenny Cox group from Detroit at the end of the 60s! In keeping with the chosen work, there's a great balance here between swing, soul, and modernism – tunes that unfold strongly with the best sort of progressive jazz energy, yet never get too indulgent – and really let the main soloists take flight over a complicated groove provided by the other members of the group. Weiss is wonderful on trumpet – reminding us of Charles Tolliver back in the day – and other players include JD Allen on tenor, Nir Felder on guitar, Matt Clohesy on bass, and Jamire Williams on drums – on tunes that include "Revillot", "Gravity Point", "Paraphernalia", "Hidden Meanings", and "Snuck In". CD

Features tracks by Donald Byrd/Johnny Coles, Howard McGhee, Richard Williams, Clark Terry, Freddy Hubbard, Kenny Dorham, Booker Little, Benny Bailey, and Charles Tolliver. CD

A blinding reissue of Roy's early jazz work for Atlantic! Both records are great, and feature super-hip lineups that include players like Herbie Hancock, Sonny Sharrock, Joe Henderson, Reggie Workman, Charles Tolliver, and Ron Carter. Despite the early placement of the material in Roy's career, his conception on the vibes is extremely mature, and both records represent a haunting new conception of the instrument that was to later emerge in full force on Roy's jazz funk albums for Polygram a few years later. These Atlantic sides are essential listening for Roy, and they're amazing little records that show a previously under-recognized side of his career. They're filled with great original tracks like "Ayerloom", "Virgo Vibes", "Glow Flower", "Shadows", and "Daddy Bug" – and the sound and package is excellent! CD

A far-reaching early gem from Roy Ayers – a set that's much more jazz-based than his later work, and a record that has him touching base with the Blue Note and Strata East sides of the jazz spectrum! The lineup here is incredibly hip – a mix of players that includes a young Charles Tolliver on trumpet, Harold Land and Joe Henderson on tenor, Jack Wilson on piano, and Reggie Workman on bass – not to mention Roy himself on some mighty great vibes! There's a surprising spiritual undercurrent to the music – pointing the way towards jazz to come in the 70s – and titles include "Glow Flower", "Ayerloom", "Virgo Vibes", and "In The Limelight" – plus an early take on Charles Tolliver's "The Ringer". LP, Vinyl record album

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 late 60s soul jazz group of Max Roach – and Bartz's playing at the time is a perfect model of mid-Coltrane searching with some of the tighter sides of soul jazz that were being forged at labels like Blue Note by players like Hank Mobley or Lee Morgan. The record's a masterpiece of youthful soulful energy – and the group includes Jimmy Owens on trumpet, Richard Davis on bass, Albert Dailey on piano, and Billy Higgins on drums, all players who are perfectly matched to fit Bartz's stridently creative vision. His solos on alto are impeccable – some of the most meaningful we've ever heard on the instrument from the time – and the album's a great one all the way through! Titles include "Air & Fire", "Eastern Blues", "Libra", "Freedom Of The Day", and "Cabin In The Sky". Another Earth is amazing too – one of the first that Gary Bartz ever cut – done during a time when he'd been working with Max Roach and a super-hip group of younger soul jazz players who would go onto shape the sound of the 70s. Bartz leads a group that includes Stanley Cowell, Freddy Waits, Charles Tolliver, Pharoah Sanders, and Reggie Workman – and the music sounds like it was lifted from one of the best albums on Strata East from the 70s. There's no funk, no vocals, no weird rhythms – just pure spiritual jazz, played to perfection, and filled with a creative vitality that most of the players had lost a few years later. Tracks include the album-side "Another Earth", plus "Dark Nebula", "UFO", and "Perihelion & Aphelion". Note: CD omits the track "Disjunction" from Libra – due to space restrictions. CD

Plenty of spirit, and plenty of soul – a 70s classic from organist Doug Carn, and a record that took his instrument, and jazz in general, to a whole new level for the decade! Carn's got this burning, righteous quality on his keys – a vibe that certainly owes something to Larry Young, but also takes off even further – working in a spiritual ensemble that also features his wife Jean Carn on vocals – sounding way more like a righteous jazz singer than on her later soul sides for Philly International! Other players are great, too – and include Charles Tolliver on flugelhorn, Garnett Brown on trombone, George Harper on tenor and soprano sax, Buster Williams on bass, and Alphonse Mouzon on drums. Tracks include "New Moon", "Trance Dance", "My Spirit", "Blue In Green", and "Arise & Shine". LP, Vinyl record album

A solo piano set from Strata East mainman Stanley Cowell – but a record that's got enough soul and spirituality to rival a full group recording! Although working alone here, Cowell's touch on the keys is astounding – often flowing and highly rhythmic, with a pulsating sense of energy that makes even the mellower tracks sparkle with soulful imagination. A number of tracks are intimate explorations of themes heard more famously on albums done with Charles Tolliver – but which come alive in a whole new way here in Stanley's solo setting! Most work here is on acoustic piano, but Cowell also picks up the electric keys for the tune "Travelin Man" – done here as an overdubbed "duet", and one of the hippest tunes on the entire record! Other titles include "Abscretions", "Equipoise", "Prayer For Peace", "Departure No 2", "Sweet Song", and "Emil Danenberg". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Booker Ervin's last sessions – quite different than some of his earlier work, and a great indication of the way that he was stretching his style in the years before his untimely death. The group's a committed band of modernists, and includes a young Charles Tolliver on trumpet, plus John Hicks on piano and Lennie McBrownie on drums. The tracks are short, but they're a compelling mix of Booker's searching tenor lines with warm lyrical accompaniment. Titles include "Boo's Blues", "Franess", "Stolen Moments", "Berkshire Blues", and a great reading of "Dancing In The Dark". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most obscure sessions on Strata East – and an excellent groover that really keeps up the label's soul jazz spirit! Jon Gordon's a lesser-known trombonist from the 70s, but he's working here with an all-star group that includes Charles Tolliver on trumpet, Stanley Cowell on piano, Roland Alexander on reeds, and Andrew Cyrille on drums – all coming together with a spirit that's quite similar to that of Tolliver's classic Music Inc recordings of the time! The titles are mostly all originals by Gordon, played in a loping, lyrical mode that often bursts out with a free-thinking approach to the solos. Titles include "P&G Incorporated", "No Tricks No Gimmicks", "Activity", "Step By Step", and "Dance Of the Ymas". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful session by Andrew Hill – recorded in 1968, but issued only briefly in 1981 – and out of print for years! The session is a key one in understanding Hill's work – as it's a bridge between the arch modernism of his early Blue Note sides, and the more soul-oriented playing of the Grass Roots album. The set features wonderful frontline work in the trumpet of Charles Tolliver, and tenor and soprano of Joe Farrell – both players who open up the sound at the same time they're giving it a nice bottom – egged on by the rest of the combo, which includes Victor Sproles on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. The album's an enchanting one – not as dark as early years, but still with a compelling vision that's all Hill's own. Titles include "Dance With Death", "Love Nocturne", "Black Sabbath", "Partitions", and "Fish N Rice". CD features a bonus alternate take of the title cut. CD

It certainly was time – time for Jackie McLean to break out of his older bop mode, and hit a whole new level of playing with a tight group of "new thing" compatriots like Herbie Hancock on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Charles Tolliver on trumpet! The record isn't as totally "out there" as some of his other ones from this period, but it's a seminal release in Jackie's modernist period – and it's one of the hardest to find from the era. Filled with warmly wonderful original compositions like "Revillot", "Snuff", "Truth", and "Das Dat" – the record is unpacked and remodeled nicely by the trio of young players, aided by Jackie's moody alto, and given a great spin by Roy Haynes on drums. Striking cover, too – with a huge field of exclamation points! CD

A never-issued performance from Horace Tapscott and his Pan Afrika Peoples Arkestra – the large ensemble that provided a perfect platform for the bigger ideas he was bringing into his music in the 70s! A record like this marks Tapscott as every bit the spiritual visionary as Charles Tolliver or Sun Ra at the time – as Horace is recording in California with a series of long, extended compositions – showcased beautifully by a lineup that includes Jessee Sharps on soprano sax, Adele Sebastian on flute, Gary Bias and Michael Session on alto, Linda Hill on piano, and both James Andrews and Charles Chandler on tenor saxes – many of them names you'll know from their own great recordings on the Nimbus label a few years later. Kamau Daaood provides a bit of spoken word on the set – and titles include "Ancestral Echoes", "Sketches Of Drunken Mary", "Eteral Egypt Suite", and "Jo Annette". CD

Plenty of spirit, and plenty of soul – a 70s classic from organist Doug Carn, and a record that took his instrument, and jazz in general, to a whole new level for the decade! Carn's got this burning, righteous quality on his keys – a vibe that certainly owes something to Larry Young, but also takes off even further – working in a spiritual ensemble that also features his wife Jean Carn on vocals – sounding way more like a righteous jazz singer than on her later soul sides for Philly International! Other players are great, too – and include Charles Tolliver on flugelhorn, Garnett Brown on trombone, George Harper on tenor and soprano sax, Buster Williams on bass, and Alphonse Mouzon on drums. Tracks include "New Moon", "Trance Dance", "My Spirit", "Blue In Green", and "Arise & Shine". CD