Lyrical beauty from trumpeter Blue Mitchell – one of those records that really has him coming into his own, sounding fantastic on Blue Note in a way he never did on his earlier albums as a leader! it's clear that Blue learned a lot while playing in the group of Horace Silver – a way of balancing rhythm with warmer emotion – and moving past more standard hardbop into the more sophisticated territory you'll hear on this set. A young Chick Corea is on the set on piano, shading the tunes with some slightly Latin touches – and fitting in surprisingly well with a quintet lineup that also includes Junior Cook on tenor, Gene Taylor on bass, and Al Foster on drums. Cook is great too – matched with Mitchell as on some of the Silver sessions – and titles include an early version of the Terumasa Hino tune "Alone Alone & Alone", plus "One Shirt", "March On Selma", and "Samba De Stacy". CD

Lyrical beauty from trumpeter Blue Mitchell – one of those records that really has him coming into his own, sounding fantastic on Blue Note in a way he never did on his earlier albums as a leader! it's clear that Blue learned a lot while playing in the group of Horace Silver – a way of balancing rhythm with warmer emotion – and moving past more standard hardbop into the more sophisticated territory you'll hear on this set. A young Chick Corea is on the set on piano, shading the tunes with some slightly Latin touches – and fitting in surprisingly well with a quintet lineup that also includes Junior Cook on tenor, Gene Taylor on bass, and Al Foster on drums. Cook is great too – matched with Mitchell as on some of the Silver sessions – and titles include an early version of the Terumasa Hino tune "Alone Alone & Alone", plus "One Shirt", "March On Selma", and "Samba De Stacy". CD

Lyrical beauty from trumpeter Blue Mitchell – one of those records that really has him coming into his own, sounding fantastic on Blue Note in a way he never did on his earlier albums as a leader! it's clear that Blue learned a lot while playing in the group of Horace Silver – a way of balancing rhythm with warmer emotion – and moving past more standard hardbop into the more sophisticated territory you'll hear on this set. A young Chick Corea is on the set on piano, shading the tunes with some slightly Latin touches – and fitting in surprisingly well with a quintet lineup that also includes Junior Cook on tenor, Gene Taylor on bass, and Al Foster on drums. Cook is great too – matched with Mitchell as on some of the Silver sessions – and titles include an early version of the Terumasa Hino tune "Alone Alone & Alone", plus "One Shirt", "March On Selma", and "Samba De Stacy". CD

The thing to do – is jam! Blue's sounding wonderful in this classic set for Blue Note – one of his best small group albums – recorded with a sound that's solidly in keeping with his lyrically melodic work in the Horace Silver group! The quintet features Chick Corea on piano – sounding incredibly subtle, and making us wish he'd recorded more sides like this – plus Junior Cook on tenor, nicely matching Blue as he did on so many albums from the time – and bass by Gene Taylor and drums by Al Foster. Titles include the hit soul jazzer "Fungii Mama", plus more introspective numbers like "Mona's Mood", "Chick's Tune", "Step Lightly", and "The Thing To Do". LP, Vinyl record album

The thing to do – is jam! Blue's sounding wonderful in this classic set for Blue Note – one of his best small group albums – recorded with a sound that's solidly in keeping with his lyrically melodic work in the Horace Silver group! The quintet features Chick Corea on piano – sounding incredibly subtle, and making us wish he'd recorded more sides like this – plus Junior Cook on tenor, nicely matching Blue as he did on so many albums from the time – and bass by Gene Taylor and drums by Al Foster. Titles include the hit soul jazzer "Fungii Mama", plus more introspective numbers like "Mona's Mood", "Chick's Tune", "Step Lightly", and "The Thing To Do". CD

The thing to do – is jam! Blue's sounding wonderful in this classic set for Blue Note – one of his best small group albums – recorded with a sound that's solidly in keeping with his lyrically melodic work in the Horace Silver group! The quintet features Chick Corea on piano – sounding incredibly subtle, and making us wish he'd recorded more sides like this – plus Junior Cook on tenor, nicely matching Blue as he did on so many albums from the time – and bass by Gene Taylor and drums by Al Foster. Titles include the hit soul jazzer "Fungii Mama", plus more introspective numbers like "Mona's Mood", "Chick's Tune", "Step Lightly", and "The Thing To Do". CD

A very unique album from Hank Mobley – one that has him working alongside Milt Jackson, in an unusual format that mixes the soulful Mobley tenor with some well-crafted work on vibes! The "all star" title is certainly appropriate here – as Mobley and Jackson are joined in a quintet by Horace Silver on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Blakey on drums – almost bringing in an early Jazz Messengers sensibility to the record, but also hitting more of a looser, laidback blowing session approach. There's less of the tightness of other Mobley sessions from the time, and the record has the players really feeling each other out in the studio – with the sort of spontaneity you might hear in a Prestige or Savoy album from the time. Tracks are long, and titles include "Ultramarine", "Don't Walk", "Lower Stratosphere", and "Mobley's Musings". CD

A very unique album from Hank Mobley – one that has him working alongside Milt Jackson, in an unusual format that mixes the soulful Mobley tenor with some well-crafted work on vibes! The "all star" title is certainly appropriate here – as Mobley and Jackson are joined in a quintet by Horace Silver on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Blakey on drums – almost bringing in an early Jazz Messengers sensibility to the record, but also hitting more of a looser, laidback blowing session approach. There's less of the tightness of other Mobley sessions from the time, and the record has the players really feeling each other out in the studio – with the sort of spontaneity you might hear in a Prestige or Savoy album from the time. Tracks are long, and titles include "Ultramarine", "Don't Walk", "Lower Stratosphere", and "Mobley's Musings". CD

A very unique album from Hank Mobley – one that has him working alongside Milt Jackson, in an unusual format that mixes the soulful Mobley tenor with some well-crafted work on vibes! The "all star" title is certainly appropriate here – as Mobley and Jackson are joined in a quintet by Horace Silver on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Blakey on drums – almost bringing in an early Jazz Messengers sensibility to the record, but also hitting more of a looser, laidback blowing session approach. There's less of the tightness of other Mobley sessions from the time, and the record has the players really feeling each other out in the studio – with the sort of spontaneity you might hear in a Prestige or Savoy album from the time. Tracks are long, and titles include "Ultramarine", "Don't Walk", "Lower Stratosphere", and "Mobley's Musings". LP, Vinyl record album

A very unique album from Hank Mobley – one that has him working alongside Milt Jackson, in an unusual format that mixes the soulful Mobley tenor with some well-crafted work on vibes! The "all star" title is certainly appropriate here – as Mobley and Jackson are joined in a quintet by Horace Silver on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Blakey on drums – almost bringing in an early Jazz Messengers sensibility to the record, but also hitting more of a looser, laidback blowing session approach. There's less of the tightness of other Mobley sessions from the time, and the record has the players really feeling each other out in the studio – with the sort of spontaneity you might hear in a Prestige or Savoy album from the time. Tracks are long, and titles include "Ultramarine", "Don't Walk", "Lower Stratosphere", and "Mobley's Musings". CD

An obscure late 50s set from the mighty Hank Mobley – and like all of the tenorist's sides for Blue Note, an essential gem that tops most work by the rest of his contemporaries! The setting here is a really warm and lyrical one – as Mobley's playing with Horace Silver on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, Art Blakey on drums, and the great Art Farmer on trumpet – making one of his rare (and appreciated!) Blue Note appearances on the set! The tracks have a good mixture of hardbop and more lyrical overtones – in a manner that's similar to Silver's work, but with a little more gutbucket soloing on tenor from Mobley. Titles include "Base On Balls", "Fin De L'Affaire", "Funk In Deep Freeze", and "Startin From Scratch". LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure late 50s set from the mighty Hank Mobley – and like all of the tenorist's sides for Blue Note, an essential gem that tops most work by the rest of his contemporaries! The setting here is a really warm and lyrical one – as Mobley's playing with Horace Silver on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, Art Blakey on drums, and the great Art Farmer on trumpet – making one of his rare (and appreciated!) Blue Note appearances on the set! The tracks have a good mixture of hardbop and more lyrical overtones – in a manner that's similar to Silver's work, but with a little more gutbucket soloing on tenor from Mobley. Titles include "Base On Balls", "Fin De L'Affaire", "Funk In Deep Freeze", and "Startin From Scratch". CD also features 2 bonus tracks – alternate takes of "Funk In Deep Freeze" and "Wham & They're Off". CD

Nice stuff from the early days of the MJQ – recorded back when Kenny Clarke was still playing drums with the group, and giving them a bit more of a bottom! One side of the record features material recorded from one of the quartet's first sessions – in late 1952, with the tracks "La Ronde", "Vendome", and "Rose Of The Rio Grande". The rest of the record features material by Jackson's group with Horace Silver on piano, Percy Heath on bass, Kenny Clarke on drums, and the obscure Henry Boozier on trumpet. That material's a bit more bop-oriented, and titles include "Opus De Funk", "Buhania", and "Soma". LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous document of a legendary group – one that was even better in a live setting than they were on record – and that's saying a hell of a lot, given the great records they left behind! The quintet here features trumpeter Woody Shaw at his most righteous – working alongside co-leader Louis Hayes on drums – at the head of a brilliant lineup that features Junior Cook on tenor, Ronnie Mathews on piano, and Stafford James on bass! At some level, the vibe here is a hipper 70s extension of ideas that Cook and Hayes worked on with Horace Silver in the 60s – but there's also a lot more of the spiritual fire that Woody was bringing to his groundbreaking albums for Muse Records – which is underscored both by James' ultra-heavy work on bass, and the skyward-reaching sounds of Mathews on piano. Cook has a brilliant edge on his tenor – sometimes missing from other records – and titles on this second volume include "Some Other Blues", "Invitation", "Round Midnight", "What's New", and "All The Things You Are". Rene McLean is featured on tenor on one track that doesn't include Cook – and all tracks are nice and long! CD

A tremendous document of a legendary group – one that was even better in a live setting than they were on record – and that's saying a hell of a lot, given the great records they left behind! The quintet here features trumpeter Woody Shaw at his most righteous – working alongside co-leader Louis Hayes on drums – at the head of a brilliant lineup that features Junior Cook on tenor, Ronnie Mathews on piano, and Stafford James on bass! At some level, the vibe here is a hipper 70s extension of ideas that Cook and Hayes worked on with Horace Silver in the 60s – but there's also a lot more of the spiritual fire that Woody was bringing to his groundbreaking albums for Muse Records – which is underscored both by James' ultra-heavy work on bass, and the skyward-reaching sounds of Mathews on piano. Cook has a brilliant edge on his tenor – sometimes missing from other records – and titles on this first volume include long takes on "Sun Bath", "Ichi-Ban", "Book's Bossa", "Obsequious", and "Invitation" – plus the requisite "Moontrane". CD

A killer session from Horace Silver – a record that has the legendary Blue Note pianist working with his famous quintet that includes Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Junior Cook on tenor, Gene Taylor on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums! The album's one of the group's first, and really showcases their sublime blend of rootsy soul jazz rhythms and more exotic, sophisticated approaches to arranging – playing in a style that mixes harder grooves with more meditative compositions with incredible lyrical beauty! The album includes tracks that mix both of these styles – and titles include the classic "Sister Sadie", plus "Baghdad Blues", "Melancholy Mood", "Break City", "St Vitus Dance", and the lovely "Peace". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer session from Horace Silver – a record that has the legendary Blue Note pianist working with his famous quintet that includes Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Junior Cook on tenor, Gene Taylor on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums! The album's one of the group's first, and really showcases their sublime blend of rootsy soul jazz rhythms and more exotic, sophisticated approaches to arranging – playing in a style that mixes harder grooves with more meditative compositions with incredible lyrical beauty! The album includes tracks that mix both of these styles – and titles include the classic "Sister Sadie", plus "Baghdad Blues", "Melancholy Mood", "Break City", "St Vitus Dance", and the lovely "Peace". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer session from Horace Silver – a record that has the legendary Blue Note pianist working with his famous quintet that includes Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Junior Cook on tenor, Gene Taylor on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums! The album's one of the group's first, and really showcases their sublime blend of rootsy soul jazz rhythms and more exotic, sophisticated approaches to arranging – playing in a style that mixes harder grooves with more meditative compositions with incredible lyrical beauty! The album includes tracks that mix both of these styles – and titles include the classic "Sister Sadie", plus "Baghdad Blues", "Melancholy Mood", "Break City", "St Vitus Dance", and the lovely "Peace". CD

A killer session from Horace Silver – a record that has the legendary Blue Note pianist working with his famous quintet that includes Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Junior Cook on tenor, Gene Taylor on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums! The album's one of the group's first, and really showcases their sublime blend of rootsy soul jazz rhythms and more exotic, sophisticated approaches to arranging – playing in a style that mixes harder grooves with more meditative compositions with incredible lyrical beauty! The album includes tracks that mix both of these styles – and titles include the classic "Sister Sadie", plus "Baghdad Blues", "Melancholy Mood", "Break City", "St Vitus Dance", and the lovely "Peace". Plus, this CD also includes an extra bonus cut – "How Did It Happen?" CD

A killer session from Horace Silver – a record that has the legendary Blue Note pianist working with his famous quintet that includes Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Junior Cook on tenor, Gene Taylor on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums! The album's one of the group's first, and really showcases their sublime blend of rootsy soul jazz rhythms and more exotic, sophisticated approaches to arranging – playing in a style that mixes harder grooves with more meditative compositions with incredible lyrical beauty! The album includes tracks that mix both of these styles – and titles include the classic "Sister Sadie", plus "Baghdad Blues", "Melancholy Mood", "Break City", "St Vitus Dance", and the lovely "Peace". CD

A classic set from Horace Silver – one in which his quintet is expanded by some great guest work from trombonist JJ Johnson! Johnson's at the height of his 60s powers here – blowing with that lean, soulful style that always made any record sparkle – and although he's only on half of the tracks on the date, his presence is more than worth the heavy billing he gets on the cover! Other great members of the group include Woody Shaw on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor, and rhythm from Bob Cranshaw on bass and Roger Humphries on drums – all coming together with that wonderful 60s Silver groove. The set's filled with sweetly grooving originals by Horace – a blueprint for the exotic style of soul jazz he helped to forge at the time – great writing all around, on titles that include "Mo Joe", "Nutville", "Bonita", "The African Queen", and "Pretty Eyes". CD

A classic set from Horace Silver – one in which his quintet is expanded by some great guest work from trombonist JJ Johnson! Johnson's at the height of his 60s powers here – blowing with that lean, soulful style that always made any record sparkle – and although he's only on half of the tracks on the date, his presence is more than worth the heavy billing he gets on the cover! Other great members of the group include Woody Shaw on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor, and rhythm from Bob Cranshaw on bass and Roger Humphries on drums – all coming together with that wonderful 60s Silver groove. The set's filled with sweetly grooving originals by Horace – a blueprint for the exotic style of soul jazz he helped to forge at the time – great writing all around, on titles that include "Mo Joe", "Nutville", "Bonita", "The African Queen", and "Pretty Eyes". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic set from Horace Silver – one in which his quintet is expanded by some great guest work from trombonist JJ Johnson! Johnson's at the height of his 60s powers here – blowing with that lean, soulful style that always made any record sparkle – and although he's only on half of the tracks on the date, his presence is more than worth the heavy billing he gets on the cover! Other great members of the group include Woody Shaw on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor, and rhythm from Bob Cranshaw on bass and Roger Humphries on drums – all coming together with that wonderful 60s Silver groove. The set's filled with sweetly grooving originals by Horace – a blueprint for the exotic style of soul jazz he helped to forge at the time – great writing all around, on titles that include "Mo Joe", "Nutville", "Bonita", "The African Queen", and "Pretty Eyes". CD

A record with Horace Silver on the cover, but a set that's really more of a Jazz Messengers date overall – as it features a smoking quintet that not only includes Art Blakey on drums and Doug Watkins on bass – but which also has some great frontline work from Hank Mobley on tenor and Kenny Dorham on trumpet! The group's got the rougher, less-iconic feel of the Messengers at their start – similar to their early live dates – but all the right energy is firmly in place, and maybe given even more direction under Silver's leadership and great ear for a tune! The writing is superb, especially on classics like "Doodlin", "The Preacher", "Hippy", and the amazing "To Whom It May Concern" – one of our all-time favorite tunes in the 50s Blue Note catalog – and the solos are all top-shelf too. A real Blue Note classic! LP, Vinyl record album

A record with Horace Silver on the cover, but a set that's really more of a Jazz Messengers date overall – as it features a smoking quintet that not only includes Art Blakey on drums and Doug Watkins on bass – but which also has some great frontline work from Hank Mobley on tenor and Kenny Dorham on trumpet! The group's got the rougher, less-iconic feel of the Messengers at their start – similar to their early live dates – but all the right energy is firmly in place, and maybe given even more direction under Silver's leadership and great ear for a tune! The writing is superb, especially on classics like "Doodlin", "The Preacher", "Hippy", and the amazing "To Whom It May Concern" – one of our all-time favorite tunes in the 50s Blue Note catalog – and the solos are all top-shelf too. A real Blue Note classic! CD

A hokey cover, a hokey title, but a surprisingly great little record – Horace Silver's first quintet session in many many years, and a record that comes across with a really lyrical sense of soul! And sure, the album's not one of his classics for Blue Note, but the format is quite the same – tenor, trumpet, piano, bass, and drums – all woven into a warm tapestry of groove, based around some wonderful original compositions from Horace himself! The whole thing is surprisingly wonderful – especially for the date and the cover – and we'll be honest in saying that we actually passed this one up when it came out back in the 90s (effete jazz snobs we are), but we're really digging it a lot these days, and are glad we finally gave it a chance. Players include Michael Brecker on tenor and Randy Brecker on trumpet – both following Horace's lead strongly – plus Ron Carter on bass and Louis Hayes on drums. Tracks include "Walk On", "Sunrise In Malibu", "You Gotta Shake That Thing", "Whenever Lester Plays The Blues", "Free At Last", and "Brother John & Brother Gene". CD

A bit less well-known than some of the real Horace Silver classics on Blue Note – but an incredible record that shows the Silver Quintet at all its lyrical best! The record is a masterpiece of original voicings from Horace – not just in the unique tunes he penned for the set, but also in the strong direction he gives the group – a well-knit lineup that includes Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Junior Cook on tenor, Gene Taylor on bass, and Roy Brooks on drums – all coming together with some of the most fluid, most intuitive energy of any combo of the time! The melodic themes are structured loosely, so that Mitchell, Cook, and Silver can extrapolate on beautifully-spun solos – and titles include "Sweet Sweetie Dee", "Nineteen Bars", "The Dragon Lady", "Silver's Serenade", and "Let's Get To The Nitty Gritty". LP, Vinyl record album

A bit less well-known than some of the real Horace Silver classics on Blue Note – but an incredible record that shows the Silver Quintet at all its lyrical best! The record is a masterpiece of original voicings from Horace – not just in the unique tunes he penned for the set, but also in the strong direction he gives the group – a well-knit lineup that includes Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Junior Cook on tenor, Gene Taylor on bass, and Roy Brooks on drums – all coming together with some of the most fluid, most intuitive energy of any combo of the time! The melodic themes are structured loosely, so that Mitchell, Cook, and Silver can extrapolate on beautifully-spun solos – and titles include "Sweet Sweetie Dee", "Nineteen Bars", "The Dragon Lady", "Silver's Serenade", and "Let's Get To The Nitty Gritty". CD

A totally fantastic record, and one we'd put right up there next to some of the best soulful hardbop albums on bigger labels of the 60s – even though the set hardly ever saw much circulation back in the day! As you can guess from the cover, the quintet hails from San Francisco – and they work here with a boldly creative vibe that really reflects the energy they were bringing to their club dates in the Bay Area – leadership by pianist Al Tanner, with smoking tenor from Roy Henderson, and a mix of flute and trumpet from George Alexander – both done in these really great ways. Edwar Williams handles bass, and perhaps the biggest name here is drummer Smiley Winters, who would later go on to more avant fame – yet it's the group together as a whole who work so well, often with the cohesive energy and individual voices of the Horace Silver quintet at its best. Titles include the massive modal number "Kuba" – plus "Rolon's Groove", "Bronson's Blues", "The Magi", "Poor Me", and "Zaltanica" – most nice and long. LP, Vinyl record album

A totally fantastic record, and one we'd put right up there next to some of the best soulful hardbop albums on bigger labels of the 60s – even though the set hardly ever saw much circulation back in the day! As you can guess from the cover, the quintet hails from San Francisco – and they work here with a boldly creative vibe that really reflects the energy they were bringing to their club dates in the Bay Area – leadership by pianist Al Tanner, with smoking tenor from Roy Henderson, and a mix of flute and trumpet from George Alexander – both done in these really great ways. Edwar Williams handles bass, and perhaps the biggest name here is drummer Smiley Winters, who would later go on to more avant fame – yet it's the group together as a whole who work so well, often with the cohesive energy and individual voices of the Horace Silver quintet at its best. Titles include the massive modal number "Kuba" – plus "Rolon's Groove", "Bronson's Blues", "The Magi", "Poor Me", and "Zaltanica" – most nice and long. CD features bonus tracks "Lobby Lizards" and "Kuba (alt)". CD

2 rare sides of work by trumpeter Clark Terry – both with a fair bit more edge than many of his later recordings! The first half of the CD is from the amazing 1955 album Clark Terry for Emarcy – a real stunner, and one of Terry's finest moments ever! The record has a rawness and groove that you'd hardly expect from his later albums – no surprise, though, considering that it was cut during that really hip time at Emarcy, when the label was working in a mode that was darker and more challenging than many of the smaller labels at the time. Credit is also due to arranger Quincy Jones – who pulls together a group that includes Horace Silver, Jimmy Cleveland, Cecil Payne, and Art Blakey, all into a fiercely grooving sound that recalls some of his most adventurous work of the 50s. The album kicks off with the stunning "Swahili", a tune that will instantly make you happy you bought the record – and other tracks include "Coop", "Chuckles", "Tuma", "Kitten", and "The Countess". These tracks are followed by 8 more from an obscure 1954 session done under the leadership of clarinetist Jimmy Hamilton – and featuring Terry on trumpet, Barry Galbraith and Sidney Gross on guitars, Oscar Pettiford on bass, and Osie Johnson on drums – all in a really unusual group formation that's totally great! One guitar's used for solos and the other for rhythm – and the lack of piano gives the record a decidedly different swing than you might expect from a Jimmy Hamilton session – one that's less traditional, and more airy and open – really inventive in the rhythmic construction of the tunes, in a mode that's followed up very nicely by the soloists in their own energy. Titles include "Chuckles", "Bohemia After Dark", "Blues In My Room", "Blues For Clarinet", and "What Am I Here For". CD

80s issue of some seminal recordings of some of the most influential, yet unde-documented jazz pianists of the bop and post bop eras. There's three tracks by the Bebop Boys, with Bud Powell, Kenny Dorham, Sonny Stitt, Al Hall and Kenny Clarke: "Bebop In Pastel", "Seven Up" and "Blues In Bebop". Following that there's 5 stellar tracks from Lennie Tristano's trio with Billy Bauer and John Levy, performing his cerebral and vastly influential music on two takes of "Supersonic", plus "On A Planet", "Air Pocket" and "Celestia" and fouor popping bop numbers from Herbie Nichols in a small group rolling through "'s Wonderful", "Nichols & Dimes", "Who's Blues" and "My Lady Gingersnap". There's also a batch of trio sides from Dodo Marmarosa and the under-recorded George Wallington, and a nice handful of bop numbers from the Kenny Clarke Quintet featuring Horace Silver. 27 tracks in all. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes selections by Miles Davis Sextet, Bud Powell Trio, James Moody & His Modernists, Jay Jay Johnson Sextet, Milt Jackson Quintet, Thelonious Monk Quintet, Tadd Dameron Sextet, Horace Silver Trio, Clifford Brown Sextet, and Art Blakey & Sabu. LP, Vinyl record album