A surprisingly wonderful album – even if these guys break our cardinal rule of jazz combos, which is never to put the name of your home city in place of the players in the group! The group's a quartet with Frank Wess on flute and tenor, Roland Hanna on piano, George Mraz on bass, and Grady Tate on drums – and the set was recorded live in Munich before a very enthusiastic crowd. The sum total of the players is way more than the parts – as all of them manage to really stretch out on the set, working through some long tunes that have a soulfulness and inspiration that's rare for Wess and Hanna especially. Includes the long funky groover "Smelly Jelly Belly" (hate that title!) – plus the cuts "Rodney Round Robin", "Blues For Sarka", and "All Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Osborne Brothers, Merle Travis, Bluegrass Cardinals, Lester Flatt & The Nashville Grass, Buddy Spicher, Josh Graves, Jim & Jesse & The Virginia Boys, Mac Wiseman, Grandpa Jones, Johnny Gimble & The Texas Swing Pioneers, and others. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning mix of talents that brings the heavenly piano and guitar of Antonio Carlos Jobim into play with the lush, but light arrangements of Claus Ogerman – a swirling mix of post-bossa loveliness that redefines Jobim's sound, and opens up new avenues for exploration in sound! The production is amazing – pillowy-soft, but with a complex depth that's hardly been matched again – and although Jobim's the main player, other great musicians include Dom Um Romao, Claudio Slon, Jerome Richardson, Ron Carter, and others. Tracks include "Wave", "Mojave", "Lamento", "Batidinha", "The Red Blouse", "Antiguq", and the groovy "Captain Bacardi". Beautiful all the way through! LP, Vinyl record album

Hard-swinging Buddy Rich from the prime early 70s years – not exactly an all-out funk affair, but still a great groover, with plenty of hip little big band numbers! The groove here is nice and lean – and Buddy and the group are working at Buddy's own club – hitting that trademark all-out Rich sound, but still leaving plenty of room for the soloists. The group's got some great soul jazz players – including Sonny Fortune on alto, Jack Wilkins on guitar, and Kenny Barron on piano – as well as some really smoking tenor work from Sal Nistico, who's always adaptable to a setting like this. The album's got a tasty version of Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon", plus other nice tracks that include "Sierra Lonely", "Nica's Dream", "Billy's Bounce", "Cardin Blue" and "Jumpin At The Woodside". LP, Vinyl record album

To tell the truth, we didn't know he'd ever been lost – but who cares anyway, as the album captures Dave in his best 70s fusion mode! The album's got some great mellow tunes that bubble along with a sweet electric feel – gliding in that Grusin way that was never that funky, but which always had a warm soulful undercurrent nonetheless. Recording is direct to disc, giving the set a high-end production touch – but Dave keeps the playing and the group spontaneous – and he's working here with a small lineup that features Ron Carter, Lee Ritenour, Harvey Mason, and Larry Bunker. Includes a great reading of Jobim's "Captain Bacardi", a good take on the "Theme From Barretta", plus "Sun Song", "Adeus A Papai", and "A Child Is Born". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest albums ever from pianist Duke Pearson – recorded at a time when the musician was taking a bigger role at the Blue Note label, and started exploring some great musical territory in the process! The tracks here were all recorded in the late 60s – but not issued by the label until decades later, when they were pulled together in this fantastic double-length set – a record that comes as a real revelation. The work's quite different than Pearson's big band recordings, or his earlier soul jazz ones – and is a brilliant mix of Brazilian styles, electric instrumentation, complicated arrangements, and some of the more head-oriented jazz that was cropping up on Blue Note at the time – particularly some of the United States Of The Mind albums by Horace Silver! Silver's musical partner Andy Bey sings on the album's title cut – and other musicians include Frank Foster on tenor, Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Wally Richardson on guitar, Jerry Dodgion on flute, Ralph Towner on acoustic guitar, and a young Airto on percussion. Titles include the fantastic "I Don't Care Who Knows It", a great version of "Canto De Ossanha", and the tracks "Bloos", "I Don't Know", "Captain Bacardi", "Rosemary's Baby", "Dialogo", "Upa Neguinho", and "Xibaba". LP, Vinyl record album