A great pairing, heard perfectly here – on titles that include "Show Type Tune", "Invitation", "Blue Serge", "Are You All The Things", and "Falling Grace". CD

A mixture of fusion and soul – with some hard-jamming tracks that bring sometimes brings more of a focus on the groove than the vocals – and other cuts that steer it into a solid pop soul approach! There's a warmth and depth to the production and the songwriting that's a pretty big step away from some of the more synthy sounding soul efforts of the era – definitely giving this album a lift – and Paul Jackson Jr plays a bit of guest guitar with the group – and Ollie E Brown drums a bit and produces a few of the tracks. Titles include "Together We Can Shine", "Intuition", "You're Lying", "Throw Away The Key", "There's Love", "Rise & Shine", and "Count On Me". LP, Vinyl record album

The British duo Linx only recorded two albums back in the day – but they also left behind a lot more remixes, single cuts, and other material – more than enough to fully flesh out this 4CD set! First up is the album Intuition – a mixture of fusion and soul – with some hard-jamming tracks that bring sometimes brings more of a focus on the groove than the vocals – and other cuts that steer it into a solid pop soul approach! There's a warmth and depth to the production and the songwriting that's a pretty big step away from some of the more synthy sounding soul efforts of the era – definitely giving this album a lift – and Paul Jackson Jr plays a bit of guest guitar with the group – and Ollie E Brown drums a bit and produces a few of the tracks. Titles include "Together We Can Shine", "Intuition", "You're Lying", "Throw Away The Key", "There's Love", "Rise & Shine", and "Count On Me". Next is Go Ahead from Linx – a duo who could easily come up with some of the catchiest soul of their generation! The set's got a sparkling feel that follows strongly from the previous Intuition album – bouncy grooves that take a clubby groove, and trim it down nicely – making for some really great hooks in the process, and almost acting as a blueprint for crossover 80s soul in years to come! There's some great Brit funk elements in the backing – which makes the set groove differently from US efforts of this type – and we mean that in a great way – some slight darkness in the keyboards and rhythms, which really keeps things from sounding too poppy overall. Titles include "So This Is Romance", "I Wanna Be With You", "Urban Refugee", "All My Yesterdays", and "I Don't Want To Learn". CD3 features 14 more 12" remixes of album cuts – and CD4 features 15 more remixes, plus rare cuts "Good Girls", "Love Was Not Enough", "We're Here", and "I Found It In You". Plus, there's also another 14 more bonus tracks added on the CDs with the other albums – which makes for a box that includes 62 tracks in all! CD

The British duo Linx only recorded two albums back in the day – but they also left behind a lot more remixes, single cuts, and other material – more than enough to fully flesh out this 4CD set! First up is the album Intuition – a mixture of fusion and soul – with some hard-jamming tracks that bring sometimes brings more of a focus on the groove than the vocals – and other cuts that steer it into a solid pop soul approach! There's a warmth and depth to the production and the songwriting that's a pretty big step away from some of the more synthy sounding soul efforts of the era – definitely giving this album a lift – and Paul Jackson Jr plays a bit of guest guitar with the group – and Ollie E Brown drums a bit and produces a few of the tracks. Titles include "Together We Can Shine", "Intuition", "You're Lying", "Throw Away The Key", "There's Love", "Rise & Shine", and "Count On Me". Next is Go Ahead from Linx – a duo who could easily come up with some of the catchiest soul of their generation! The set's got a sparkling feel that follows strongly from the previous Intuition album – bouncy grooves that take a clubby groove, and trim it down nicely – making for some really great hooks in the process, and almost acting as a blueprint for crossover 80s soul in years to come! There's some great Brit funk elements in the backing – which makes the set groove differently from US efforts of this type – and we mean that in a great way – some slight darkness in the keyboards and rhythms, which really keeps things from sounding too poppy overall. Titles include "So This Is Romance", "I Wanna Be With You", "Urban Refugee", "All My Yesterdays", and "I Don't Want To Learn". CD3 features 14 more 12" remixes of album cuts – and CD4 features 15 more remixes, plus rare cuts "Good Girls", "Love Was Not Enough", "We're Here", and "I Found It In You". Plus, there's also another 14 more bonus tracks added on the CDs with the other albums – which makes for a box that includes 62 tracks in all! CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty amazing album from vocalist Caroline Peyton – a eclectic set from '77 that manages to cohesively blend pop, country, soul, folk and even a touch of disco-styled funk – but it all holds together masterfully thanks to credible craftsmanship and especially to Caroline's lovely vocals! Caroline has an incredible voice – and she's given plenty of room on these tracks to really fill the room with it. Some of tunes wouldn't be out of place at all in the Laurel Canyon scene, but she also handles a more diverse palette of styles. One track, "Party Line" takes a left turn towards club soul, and despite being a bit of an anomaly, it somehow feels right in place with the rest of it. there's an honest, midwestern aura here that shines through wonderfully. Caroline and songwriter/producer Mark Bingham made impeccable team on the couple of underappreciated records they made together in the 70s, and Intuition is a true gem! Original album tracks include "Still With You", "Together", "Donkey Blues", "Call Of The Wild", "Just As We", "You Too", "Brister", All This Waiting" and "Light Years". Numero/Askerisk goes the extra mile with this well done revisit – with nice liner notes by Edd Hurt, photos, and 7 bonus tracks, including demos, outakes and more – including "Shake Down", "Another Today", "Try To Be True", "Spin" and more. CD

Classic modernist jazz from the 50s, long out of print in the US, and issued here in a beautiful CD that includes a huge amount of tracks and good notes on the material! Half of the CD is a reissue of Warne Marsh's rare Jazz Of Two Cities album, a killer two-tenor workout with an icy cool feel, and Marsh and Ted Brown heading up the frontline. Compositions were contributed by Brown, and by Ronnie Ball, who plays piano on the album – and tracks include "Smog Eyes", "Ear Conditioning", "Dixie's Dilemma", and "Quintessence". The other half of the material is culled from Lennie Tristano's late 40's recordings for Capitol, sessions that are often cited as the birth of the cool jazz sound, and which feature key members of the Tristano school, like Lee Konitz, Billy Bauer, and Marsh – who gives some of his earliest recorded work on the tracks. Titles include "Intuition", "Digression", "Crosscurrent", and "Marionette". Beautifully haunting stuff, and material that we're very excited to see reissued again! CD

A very cool project from trombonist Ray Anderson – and a group that definitely lives up to its name! The Pocket Brass Band here is a unique quartet – one that features Ray on trombone, Lew Soloff on trumpet, and Matt Perinne on sousaphone – with just the drums of Bobby Previte for accompaniment! The sound is a really creative take on rootsier brass modes – almost a stripped down version of what you'd hear from the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – but also given more avant jazz touches at times, too – as you'd guess from Ray's pedigree. The sound is extremely evocative – especially on the core "Sweet Chicago Suite" – a really beautiful portrait in sound, with passages that include "High School", "Chicago Greys", "Going To Maxwell Street", and "Get To It". Other titles include "Next March" and "The Stingray Rag". CD

With Arthur Blythe on alto, Ron Carter on bass, and Bill Frisell on guitar! CD

One of the most successful jazz-meets-modern classical albums we've ever heard – thanks largely to the supreme talents of Don Cherry! Cherry leads the large New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra – which includes a large lineup of European free jazz musicians, with Peter Brotzmann, Tomasz Stanko, Manfred Schoof, Kenny Wheeler, Gunter Hampel, Willem Breuker, and Albert Manglesdorf – all conducted by Polish modern composer Krzystof Penderecki. Cherry plays mostly solo on his own composition "Humus", and other tracks include "Sita Rama Encores" (also by Cherry), and Penderecki's "Actions For Free Jazz Orchestra". CD

Vincent Le Quang on soprano sax, Emil Spanyl on piano, Stephane Kerecki on bass, and Daniel Humair on drums. CD

Heinrich von Kalnein on alto and tenor saxophone and alto flute, Christian Bakanic on accordion, piano and Fender Rhodes, and Gregor Hilbe on drums, percission and electronics. CD

Sidemen include Michael Brecker, Lee Konitz, Till Bronner, and Joachim Kuhn. CD

Hans Ludemann on piano with Aly Keita on balaphone and Christian Thome on percussion. CD

An obscure late 80s session from Charlie Mariano – kind of an extension of his spacey fusion of the 70s, but with smoother 80s touches. The set was recorded in Germany, with lots of keyboard work by Mike Herting, who also arranged most of the tracks and produced the album with guitarist Paul Shigihara, who also plays on the record. There's none of the brilliance of earlier days, but Mariano does manage to get in a few nice licks – and titles include "Fourth Sun", "Al Hadji", "Daria", "Kalimba", "Pink Lady", and "The Path". CD

Features duets with Rabih Abou Khalil, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, and Arturo Tuncboyaciyan. CD

Ralph Towner on classical guitar, twelve-string guitar, piano, frame guitar, and synthesizer, Paul McCandless on oboe, English horn, soprano saxophone, sopranino saxophone, bass clarinet, and tin whistle, Glen Moore on bass, and Mark Walker on drums and percussion. CD

An excellent record of Hermeto's from the 80's, and one that captures all of the fantastic moments of his 70's work. Hermeto's reeds are incredible, and he plays here in a way that never goes that far "out", but which still manages to hit these very edgy moments. The arrangements are totally unique, and although they're based in jazz, they have lots of strange off-kilter passages, but also never lose their groove. We're kind of at a loss to describe this properly, but trust us when we say it's the kind of fantastic album you've been looking for by him, and it's on the hard-to-find Som Da Gente label from Brazil. Tracks include "Intocavel", "O Correio", "Viagem", "Zurich", and "Suite Mundo Grande". CD

With Jerome Harris on acoustic guitar and bass and Samir Chatterjee on tabla, Goblet drum and percussion. CD

... CD

Elliott Sharp on guitar, console steel guitar, glissentar, and tenor saxophone – with Curtis Fowlkes on trombone, Alex Harding on baritone saxophone, David Hofstra on bass and tuba, and Tony Lewis on drums. CD

With Mike Mainieri on midi, synclavier and piano, Bendik on saxophones and keys, Steve Kahn on guitars, Tony Levin on bass, and Steve Smith on drums. CD

... CD

Barbara Thompson on saxophones and flute, Billy Thompson on violin, Peter Lemer on keyboards, Paul Westwood on bass guitar, and Jon Hiseman on drums. CD

... CD

Miroslav Vitous on bass, Gary Campbell on tenor saxophone, Robert Bonisolo on tenor and soprano saxophones, Aydin Esen on keyboards, and Roberto Gatto on drums. CD

Angela's looking a bit uptight on the cover, but the set's got a wonderfully smooth feel overall – thanks to production from George Duke! Duke brings a nice sense of warmth to the record – one that's greatly appreciated at this point in Bofill's career, and which helps her hang onto the more jazz-inflected sounds she first brought to wax at the end of the 70s. A few tunes are a bit crossover-oriented, but never too much so – and backing vocals on the set are by Howard Hewett and Shirley Jones. Tracks include "First Time", "Midnight Shine", "Tell Me Tomorrow", "Woman's Intuition", "I Don't Wanna Come Down", "Generate Love", and "You're On". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that has some incredible interplay between the vibes of Walt Dickerson and bass of Richard Davis – both players who've already had a long resume of creative music by the time of this session, yet coming together here in ways that are completely new and fresh! Dickerson's often in the warmer side of his tones – still quite free at points, but never too obtuse – and always with plenty of room for the lovingly soulful sounds of Davis' bass. Titles include "Lucille", "Divine Gemini", "Always Positive", and "Her Intuition". CD

The great John Lennon album from 1973 – still in an exhilaratingly creative mode with strong Plastic Ono traces, even if the overall effect is more mainstream friendly – ultimately, an album that stands incredibly well on its own, even if its something of a bridge to John's rock and roll years to come! The songs aren't as overtly strident as the ones on Sometime In New York City, but there's plenty of passion bubbling under the surface – and the struggle to be as honest and passionate as he can be without bludgeoning us over the head with his feelings brings an underlying tension the work as whole that's pretty amazing to this day. Includes the great, always emotionally resonant title track plus "Bring On The Lucie", "Nutopian International Anthem", "Intuition", "You Are Here", "Meat City", and "I Know I Know". LP, Vinyl record album

A wild set of early 70s leftfield folk from Caroline Peyton – a freewheeling batch of tunes that's a little bit more out there than the warmer, sunshine folk soul of the later Intuition album – but a unique gem that's a great showcase for Caroline's stunning voice, and the songwriting of partner Mark Bingham. The duo's creative origins trace back to a hippie commune outside of Bloomington, Indiana – and the tunes often feel like an unselfconscious, artier riff on the Cali folk scene of the time. The arrangements are built around the voice, and piano on many of the tracks. Unconventional, but warm and true – well worth a late discovery. Original album tracks include "The Sky In Japan Is Always Close To You", "Pull", "Don Beggs", "Tuna", "Engram", "Sweet Misery", "Hook", "Gone For A Day" and more. The Numero/Asterisk reissue goes the extra mile with liner notes by Edd Hurt, lots of photos, and bonus tracks including "Breathe (Live)", "Alll This Waiting", "Paths Of Light", "White Teeth" and enhanced video footage – "Call Of The Wild" and "Fishing Blues" live at the Hummingbird Cafe, in Bloomington, Indiana. CD

Jean Luc Ponty is in very tight formation here – continuing that nice shift to sparer grooves he made at the start of the 80s – when the more cluttered fusion modes of the 70s seemed a bit outdated! Most of the music here comes from keyboards and violin – usually in ways that are never too jamming, and which often hit a spacious kind of groove that mixes equal parts rock and jazz with a few newer soul influences. Guests include Chick Corea and George Benson, but most of the music is by Ponty himself – and titles include "Open Mind", "Watching Birds", "Solitude", "Modern Times Blues", "Orbital Encounters", and "Intuition". CD

Jean Luc Ponty is in very tight formation here – continuing that nice shift to sparer grooves he made at the start of the 80s – when the more cluttered fusion modes of the 70s seemed a bit outdated! Most of the music here comes from keyboards and violin – usually in ways that are never too jamming, and which often hit a spacious kind of groove that mixes equal parts rock and jazz with a few newer soul influences. Guests include Chick Corea and George Benson, but most of the music is by Ponty himself – and titles include "Open Mind", "Watching Birds", "Solitude", "Modern Times Blues", "Orbital Encounters", and "Intuition". LP, Vinyl record album

Although this set was issued in the 70s, it features some excellent rare early work by Tristano, originally recorded for Capitol in 1949. The material features a core of his early devotees – Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, and Billy Bauer – and the selection of tracks includes 2 especially amazing tracks – "Intuition" and "Digression" – both of which were freely improvised in the studio during recording! Along with the other material in the set – "Yesterdays", "Wow", "Sax Of A Kind", and "Maironette" – the record's an essential one for any Tristano fan. The other side of the record features some slightly modernist stuff by Buddy DeFranco, and titles on that stuff include "Bird In Igor's Yard", "Extrovert", and "Aishie". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic set from singer Lee Wiley – and proof that she was one of the best small group jazz vocalists of her time! The album's got a nice small combo swing mode – with players that include Bobby Hackett, Joe Buskin, and Stan Freeman – all backing Lee in a mellow set of familiar numbers, done in an easygoing sort of way. Titles include "Manhattan", "Street Of Dreams", "A Woman's Intuition", "Oh Look At Me Now", and "Sugar". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic set from singer Lee Wiley – and proof that she was one of the best small group jazz vocalists of her time! The album's got a nice small combo swing mode – with players that include Bobby Hackett, Joe Buskin, and Stan Freeman – all backing Lee in a mellow set of familiar numbers, done in an easygoing sort of way. Titles include "Manhattan", "Street Of Dreams", "A Woman's Intuition", "Oh Look At Me Now", and "Soft Lights & Sweet Music". CD