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". LP, Vinyl record album

Solo piano from Andrew Hill – done in that long-flowing mature style that he pulled out in later years – an approach that could be as warm as it was constantly creative! Titles include "Retrospect", "Afternoon In Paris", "Verona Rag", "Darn That Dream", and "Tinkering". LP, Vinyl record album

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

Mindblowing work from pianist Andrew Hill – one of the key records during that short initial run when Blue Note was really giving him a special showcase for his talents – and when the label was dabbling in more avant jazz as part of the "new thing" moment on the scene! The group here is really the stuff of legends – as the set features a very late performance from Eric Dolphy on alto, plus Joe Henderson on tenor, Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Richard Davis on bass, and Tony Williams on drums – all players at the prime of their young talents, soaring to the skies under the leadership of Hill – skittishly working their way into territory that's never truly free, but wonderfully expressive and exploratory – a clear summation of the sense of "modern" in modern jazz! All tracks are originals by the pianist, too – and titles include "New Monastery", "Flight 19", "Spectrum", "Dedication", and "Refuge". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare and beautiful Andrew Hill session, and one of the classic Blue Note entries into the "jazz and voices" sound that the label pioneered with Donald Byrd and Eddie Gale. Hill leads a core jazz group that includes Woody Shaw on trumpet, Carlos Garnett on tenor, Richard Davis on bass, and Freddie Waits on drums – and the group is backed by a vocal ensemble with a very spiritual vibe – a chorus who soar out soulfully, and really augment the jazz instrumentation of the album! The sound is a lot more hip than the Donald Byrd & Voices albums, and the playing of the core jazz group is very very soulful – along the lines of Hill's Grass Roots album, which was also from the same period. The record's similar to the Max Roach/Billy Harper vocal work around the same time, and titles include "Ghetto Lights", "Hey Hey", "Two Lullabies", and "Love Chant". LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing work from pianist Andrew Hill – one of the key records during that short initial run when Blue Note was really giving him a special showcase for his talents – and when the label was dabbling in more avant jazz as part of the "new thing" moment on the scene! The group here is really the stuff of legends – as the set features a very late performance from Eric Dolphy on alto, plus Joe Henderson on tenor, Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Richard Davis on bass, and Tony Williams on drums – all players at the prime of their young talents, soaring to the skies under the leadership of Hill – skittishly working their way into territory that's never truly free, but wonderfully expressive and exploratory – a clear summation of the sense of "modern" in modern jazz! All tracks are originals by the pianist, too – and titles include "New Monastery", "Flight 19", "Spectrum", "Dedication", and "Refuge". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent album by vibist Walt Dickerson – perhaps his most adventurous work from the early days! The title track's a seventeen minute long swirling mix of vibes, piano, bass, and drums – with an excellent moody feel and a cool set of chromatic changes of the sort that characterized Walt's early work. The other two tracks are standards, but they're given the Dickerson twist, and sound beautiful and haunting, with an off-kilter edge. Andrew Hill plays piano, Andrew Cyrille's on drums – and titles include "To My Queen", "How Deep Is The Ocean", and "God Bless The Child". The recording is one of the high points of the Prestige catalog from the time! LP, Vinyl record album

No room for squares with grooves this great – a classic Hank Mobley session from the mid 60s, and one that really shows the growth in his style at the time! The work's still strongly in a hardbop style, but modal elements are definitely creeping into the mix – a bolder sense of rhythm that really transforms the music from before – and lets Mobley reach out in a whole different way with his solos! The album features material from two different sessions – each of which have Mobley's tenor coming into play with other inventive artists on Blue Note at the time. One date features Lee Morgan on trumpet, Andrew Hill on piano, John Ore on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – and the other features Donald Byrd on trumpet, Herbie Hancock on piano, Butch Warren on bass, and Jones again on drums. Titles include "Up A Step", "Me N You", "Three Way Split", "Carolyn", and the classic "No Room For Squares". LP, Vinyl record album

No room for squares with grooves this great – a classic Hank Mobley session from the mid 60s, and one that really shows the growth in his style at the time! The work's still strongly in a hardbop style, but modal elements are definitely creeping into the mix – a bolder sense of rhythm that really transforms the music from before – and lets Mobley reach out in a whole different way with his solos! The album features material from two different sessions – each of which have Mobley's tenor coming into play with other inventive artists on Blue Note at the time. One date features Lee Morgan on trumpet, Andrew Hill on piano, John Ore on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – and the other features Donald Byrd on trumpet, Herbie Hancock on piano, Butch Warren on bass, and Jones again on drums. Titles include "Up A Step", "Me N You", "Three Way Split", "Carolyn", and the classic "No Room For Squares". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Bobby Hutcherson's most important albums ever – and an essential piece of "new thing" jazz that ranks up there with such key Blue note sessions of the genre as Tony Williams' album Life Time, Dolphy's Out To Lunch, and Jackie McLean's One Step Beyond! Hutcherson's sound on the vibes is amazing – metallic, yet melodic – in a sublime blend of the modern and the soulful, all wrapped up in tones and colors that few other players have ever managed to get from the instrument! All the other players on the session really rise to the occasion too – and the album features tremendous work from Sam Rivers, Freddie Hubbard, Andrew Hill, and Joe Chambers. Titles include "Ghetto Lights", "Catta", and "Idle While". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic straight session by Joe Henderson – cut during his early years, when he was breaking out of the box with a heck of a lot of fire! Kenny Dorham's subdued lyricism complements Joe's impassioned playing over the angular, yet still-swinging rythm section of Andrew Hill, Eddie Kahn and Pete La Roca. The track "Pedro's Time" reflects Joe's fascination with Latin-flavored pieces (as evidenced by Joe's previous effort Page One, and his work on Dorham's Una Mas), while pieces like "Teeter Totter", "Our Thing" and "Back Road" play with time and structure in subtle ways. LP, Vinyl record album

Moody material from Bobby Hutcherson – and one of the first records to feature his vibes in the company of tenorist Harold Land – a player who would help Hutcherson make some mighty fine music over the years! The set's got a super-hip group – with Stanley Cowell on piano, giving the record a warm, spiritual undercurrent – one that works perfectly with the lyrical soul of Land's horn. Other players include Reggie Johnson on bass and Joe Chambers on drums – and titles include "Spiral", "Ruth", "Poor People's March", and "Visions". The album also includes one more track – "Jasper" – which was recorded in a 1965 session without Land and Cowell – but with Sam Rivers on tenor and bass clarinet, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and Andrew Hill on piano! Recorded in the 60s, but only initially issued on vinyl in 1979! LP, Vinyl record album

A key early album from reedman Roland Kirk – at set that really has him strongly finding his voice in jazz, and transforming most of modern music in the process! The set's a perfect illustration of the way that Roland could swing with soul, yet still reach out with bold new ideas too – mixing up work on tenor sax, manzello, stritch, flute, and even nose flute – instruments often played at the same time, with this amazing multi-reed style that's really mindblowing – and which follows the soaring sheets of sound of the Coltrane generation, yet completely in its own way too! There's a sharp modern edge to most of the rhythms – thanks in part to the presence of Andrew Hill on piano and celeste on a few cuts – alongside from Vernon Martin on bass and Roy Haynes and Henry Duncan on drums – and a bit of additional piano from Wynton Kelly. The whole thing's amazing – one of those records that never fails to delight us – and titles include "3 In 1 Without The Oil", "ED", "Domino", "Meeting On Termini's Corner", and "A Stritch In Time". LP, Vinyl record album

A special vinyl-only collection of tracks from the legendary Dave Godin Deep Soul series – a set that's kind of the best of the best – given the strength of those all-great soul collections! All the cuts here offer a perfect definition of the deep soul groove at its best – a rich, heartfelt approach to the genre that's heavy on sounds from the southern soul scene of the 60s, but which also features a few inflections from other styles too! Vocals are always at the forefront, sung in a mindblowing way that may well even surpass some of the bigger names of the period – like artists on Atlantic or Stax – and titles include "Like It Stands" by Robert Ramsey, "These Four Walls" by Irma Thomas, "Losin Boy" by Eddy Giles, "Just Loving You" by Ruby Andrews, "You Got Me" by Jaibi, "Try Love" by Dori Grayson, "I'm Sorry I Hurt You" by Nat Phillips, "I Don't Cary Anymore" by Doris Duke, "Who Are You Gonna Love" by Rozetta Johnson, "You Make Me Feel Good" by Jawrence & Jaibi, and "It's Not That Easy" by Reuben Bell & The Casanovas. LP, Vinyl record album