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Few people did soulful fusion better than Lee Ritenour back in the early 80s – and the guitarist always seemed to find a way to really link together all the different sounds of the electric genre – from heavy jamming to soulful grooving to a rock-like appreciation for a good hook! ... read more CD

A nice mix of 80s groove and jazzy fusion – served up by one of the few players who could make such a set come off so well! Lee Ritenour's fusion work of the 70s always had a fair dose of R&B in the mix – but by the time of this set, he had moved even more strongly into a modern ... read more CD

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A rare Lyle Ritz lead session for Verve – in which the session vet steps out with a set of bop and swing-learned jazz cuts featuring Ritz's ukulele out front! Ritz was more or less known as a bassist at the time, but got an opportunity to step out with the uke here, on a number of standards ... read more CD

A freewheeling trio set from reedman Sam Rivers – the kind of hard-burning, open-ended record he does so well! Rivers' energy here is amazing – a fire that hasn't dimmed since the start of the 70s, when he first started letting loose like this – and throughout the course of the ... read more CD

Really great work from Sam Rivers – an album that's a bit more inside than some of his other European recordings of the period, but in a really great way that makes it a decided standout in Sam's career! Rivers is playing a bevy of heavy horns here – flute, tenor, soprano sax, and even ... read more CD

One of the greatest modern moments on Blue Note – ever! From the cover, to the compositions, to the playing on the set – the whole album crackles with an unbelievable fire that was hardly ever matched again. A young Sam Rivers leads a quartet that includes Jaki Byard on piano, Ron ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A mindblowing moment from the young Sam Rivers – and definitely a set that warrants the "new conception" of the title! Unlike some of Rivers' other material of the time, which often featured original inventive compositions, this set's based around classic standards – but all ... read more CD

Classic live set for Impulse that marked Rivers' shift from a player who kept slightly inside in a modernist vein, to one who burst out in a very free style. Rivers plays long flowing lines on both flute and tenor, and he's backed by Cecil Mc Bee on bass and Norman Connors on drums. The whole LP ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

All that's good, and plenty more – as the set's one of the most unusual records ever from free-thinking Hammond player Freddie Roach! Roach was always one of the more righteous talents of his generation – but here, he takes things even further, but playing in a "with voices" ... read more CD

Smoking work on Hammond from Freddie Roach – a key player in the Blue Note lineup of the 60s, and a strong link between the label's soul jazz and modern sides! The sound here is a really beautiful one – partly in the organ/tenor mode forged by Baby Face Willette and John Patton in ... read more CD

An obscure set from Max Roach – but right up there with his best work of the late 50s on Mercury and other labels! The album features the "award winning" drummer in a quintet with Booker Little on trumpet, Ray Draper on tuba, George Coleman on tenor, and Art Davis on bass – a ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Proof that Max Roach was always experimenting with his music – even in the later years! The album's one of a few 80s efforts to feature Roach's Double Quartet – a group that takes his regular four-piece jazz group and augments it with a string quartet – all in a sound that's ... read more CD

A seminal set from Max Roach – the start of his more righteous stretch in jazz, as you might guess from the title of the album! At some level, the record's got a bit of the feel of the post-Clifford Brown Mercury years from Roach – but at another, it's stretching out towards the ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

The drums are certainly unlimited here – and the album's a really unique one, in that it shows Max Roach in 2 different settings – one with a group, and one that's simply solo! One batch of tracks has Max in the company of a tight group of soul jazz players like Freddie Hubbard, Roland ... read more CD

Max Roach continues the fine line of work with his fresh-voiced quartet of the early 80s – a very hip group that features a young Odeon Pope on tenor, plus Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet and Calvin Hill on bass! The work's similar to Roach's quartet sessions of the late 70s, although perhaps a ... read more CD

A great little album from Max Roach – one that has him finding a whole new voice in jazz! The set was recorded on the heels of Max's time with Clifford Brown – and it's a great little album that has him bouncing back nicely from the loss by moving into a new realm that shows off his ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A later percussion ensemble album by Max Roach – one done in the style of some of his earlier 60s percussion experiments, but with a fuller scope, and a more serious feel overall. The ensemble was first formed in 1970, but recorded here with a very ambitious tone as part of Columbia's ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Max Roach's masterpiece! This record is one of his most perfectly realized visions – and it's a marvelous album that combines politics and modern jazz, yet still manages to swing! The players are some of the hippest that Roach ever worked with – and include Eric Dolphy, Booker Little, ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Bold work from Max Roach – great material from the piano-less quartet that features Odean Pope on tenor and Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet! The style here follows strongly from Roach's Horo and Japanese recordings of the late 70s – as the album features one long track, with plenty of ... read more CD

Solidly righteous jazz from the Max Roach of the 60s – recorded at a time when the player was really breaking away from his straighter hardbop roots, and delving deeper into more freely soulful jazz expression! The record only features 2 long tracks – each a side apiece – played ... read more CD

Previously-unissued work by one of our favorite groups ever from drummer Max Roach – a mighty lineup that included Turrentine brothers Stanley on tenor and Tommy on trumpet, plus the great Julius Priester on trombone! The horns are amazing – balanced between the modern impulses of ... read more CD

A genius collaboration between Max Roach and Anthony Braxton – a single performance that spans the entire record, and which showcases some of the best work by both players at the time! Roach is a real revelation here – coming off of an already experimental side of 70s sessions, but ... read more CD

It's hard to overstate the influence of Max Roach and Clifford Brown on the west coast scene of the 50s – as the two players helped draw out the bop sound of LA that was quickly getting lost in the cool jazz shuffle of the time, and gave it a strength and focus that not only made the group ... read more 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 ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

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Howard Roberts' first album as a leader – a unique little session recorded for Verve, and one that's done with a different feel than his later work for Capitol! And in fact, the session's even different than most Verve work from the time – as it's got Roberts soloing over larger group ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of the rarest of Howard's excellent sides for Capitol in the 60s – and one of the grooviest too! The format here is a bit different than the others – in that some larger arrangements are added to the core group in the set – making for some added horn flourishes that dip in ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Powerful, fiercely creative material from alto sax and clarinet player Matana Roberts and her excellent group – the first chapter of what's purportedly to be 12-part project – and given the strength of this first set, we have no doubt that such a long journey will be worth every step! ... read more CD

Maybe the most dense, most complex work we've heard from Matana Roberts to date – a unusual effort that blends together her own instrumental passages with sound samples recorded during a wintertime ramble through the states of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana! Roberts moves away from ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Powerful sounds from reed player Matana Roberts – the second chapter in her ambitious Coin Coin project, and one that's even more moving than the first! Mantana's got strong ties to the avant scenes in Chicago and New York – but works here in this very unusual style that also embraces ... read more CD

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One of the most obscure jazz titles on Argo – a set that features Chicago barrom singer Chet Roble. Chet accompanies himself on piano here, crooning in a small-hours style that would have been quite appealing, had you been tippling away at the bar, trying to put off going home on another ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

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Maybe the greatest work we've heard so far from Chicago bassist Jason Roebke – a key player on so many sessions for other jazzmen in recent years, but a hell of a visionary leader on his own! Roebke composed all new material for the record – and the set's performed by an octet that's ... read more CD

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Shorty Rogers courts Count Basie – but he does so in a way that's definitely all his own! The material may have Basie roots, but the overall execution is Shorty at his early 50s best – in a way that makes the album one of his strongest for RCA at the time – and that's saying a ... read more CD

Shorty Rogers courts Count Basie – but he does so in a way that's definitely all his own! The material may have Basie roots, but the overall execution is Shorty at his early 50s best – in a way that makes the album one of his strongest for RCA at the time – and that's saying a ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful group, with an approach that really sets the familiar piano trio mode on edge! The lineup is a familiar one – piano from Christ Abrahams, bass from Mike Majkowski, and drums from James Waples – but the way the instruments come together is very unique – as all three ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

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A sweet little session with great mellow sound – and one of the few records ever cut by vibist Joe Roland! Once upon a time, we might have said Joe Roland a bit too soft for us – but this 1956 Bethlehem session has him playing in the company of a hip group that includes Freddie Redd on ... read more CD

Rare work from the RCA years of Sonny Rollins – all recorded during the time of his groundbreaking albums for the label in the early 60s, but never issued until this much later Japanese package! The title is quite apt – as the whole set really shows the development that Rollins brought ... read more CD

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A beautiful soundtrack to the dark British comedy of the same name – starring a young Michael Caine! You might expect it to be a bit schmaltzy, but it's pure jazz all the way through, and features strong inside playing by Rollins over lively orchestrations by Oliver Nelson – filled ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

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An underrated 70s effort from Sonny Rollins, featuring him fronting a dynamite group with Stanley Cowell and Mtume at the height of their Afro-centric electric jazz period. Longtime sideman Bob Cranshaw plus David Lee round out the rhythm section, and this is one of Rollins' LPs featuring the ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Despite the title, which seems a bit silly, the album's actually one of Sonny's best from the 70s – an open-ended live set, recorded with a group that features both electric and acoustic piano, plus guitar and electric bass in the rhythm section – making for a nice slightly funky groove ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

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 ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

Very open-ended work from Sonny Rollins – a set of live tracks recorded for use in the film Saxophone Colossus, with some nicely long tunes that really show Rollins' inventive solo approach in such a setting! The group here is a quintet – with the excellent Clifton Anderson on trombone ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

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About as classic as you can get for Sonny Rollins during the 50s – from the cover right down to the incredible solos on the set! The album's got Rollins really stretching out – still not finding the freer trio mode of his Vanguard session, but still bringing in plenty of fresh ideas in ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest Sonny Rollins records ever! The set is a legendary batch of trio tracks that feature Sonny working in a format that is incredibly free for the time, and which show him as more of a modernist than a bopper – although his solos are still pretty darn fantastic from a bop ... read more CD

With Bobby Broom on guitar, Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. Titles include "Joyous Lake", "No Problem", "Jo Jo", "Penny Saved", and "Coconut Bread". LP, Vinyl record album

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A strange one, and from this perspective, it seems like a crazy decision to pair modernist tenorist Sonny Rollins with a set of large brassy arrangements. Oddly, though, the idea works, and works nicely – as Rollins' edgey solos cut through the heavy arrangements with ease, creating some ... read more CD

One of Sonny's brilliant west coast sessions for Contemporary – records that shouldn't sparkle as much as they do, but which actually stand with his best work of the 50s! Sonny's blowing in front of a session of "leaders" that includes Hampton Hawes, Barney Kessel, Leroy Vinnegar, ... read more CD

Sonny Rollins really opening up – playing live here in a broadcast date from Copenhagen – one that's been available on DVD over the years, but which is presented here without the edits that occurred in the filmed footage! The tracks are all real standards from the Rollins songbook ... read more CD

Sonny is with Kenny Drew, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, and Al Heith. Contains five tracks including "Three Little Words", "St. Thomas", "Sonny Moon For Two", "Medley", and "When Lights Are Low". CD

A crackling bit of hardbop from Sonny Rollins – and a session that has Sonny playing with the Max Roach/Clifford Brown group that included Bud Powell's brother Richie on piano! Sonny had already made a strong name for himself on albums issued under the Roach/Brown tag at the time, and here ... read more CD

As classic as it comes for late 50s Blue Note – and a key meeting between Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk! The group on the set features Rollins and Monk with JJ Johnson, Paul Chambers, and Art Blakey – all of whom push things more in the direction of Blue Note's sound of the time, ... read more CD

A landmark album from Sonny Rollins – a record that really lives up to its title, as it shows the maturing tenorist really finding his own voice in jazz – a sound that's unlike any other! Rollins' Riverside work sometimes seems to get overlooked sometimes in light of his freer late 50s ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

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A great lost chapter in the career of Sonny Rollins – material recorded live at MOMA in 1965, but unissued until this brief package in the late 70s! The work is right up there with Rollins' best for RCA at the time, and almost feels a bit like his live Village Vanguard material from Blue ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

A startling meeting of two generations of tenor sax – recorded during one of Sonny Rollins' best periods on record, but featuring some even more amazing work from Coleman Hawkins! The album's proof that in his later years, Hawkins was a modernist who could match wits with the best players of ... read more LP, Vinyl record album

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A really well-crafted set from saxophonist Antoine Roney – quite possibly our favorite member of his jazzy family, thanks to wonderful work like this! Roney's got a great approach to the tenor here – a style that has some of the searching, searing tones of the post-Coltrane generation ... read more CD

Underground grooving from trumpeter Wallace Roney – one of the excellent albums he recorded for the Muse label in the 90s – a wonderfully well-rounded set that's a tremendous tribute to his tone! The group here is every bit as great as Wallace's work in the frontline – Ravi ... read more CD

One of Wallace Roney's best sessions from the time – an album with a great sense of balance and fullness, and a tremendous tribute to Roney's strength as a leader on Muse Records! The album features equally great contributions from Antoine Roney on tenor – a player who balances out ... read more CD

One of Wallace Roney's best sessions from the time – an album with a great sense of balance and fullness, and a tremendous tribute to Roney's strength as a leader on Muse Records! The album features equally great contributions from Antoine Roney on tenor – a player who balances out ... read more CD

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The Delmark debut as a leader from drummer Frank Rosaly – and a very unique little record! Rosaly's a player we've really dug on other folks' records, and his vision here at the helm is pretty darn great – a real change from some of the modes used by his avant Chicago contemporaries ... read more CD

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