... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

They certainly got the title right on this one – as Jo's singing a great batch of jazz-based tracks – and getting help from an array of small group players that include Ben Webster, Johnny Hodges, Conte Candoli, and Ray Nance! Arrangements are by Johnny Mandel, in a warmly chromatic mode that really helps take Jo's vocals away from the pop end of the spectrum – and into a lush and almost torchy mode that's a real surprise. Mandel does an especially nice job of working the horns into the mix – allowing for some slight but well-placed solo and introduction bits that really help shape the overall sound of the album. Titles include "For You", "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", "Midnight Sun", "The Folks Who Live On The Hill", "I Didn't Know About You", "Imagination", "Dream Of You", "Day Dream", and "I've Got The World On A String". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

With Pied Pipers and Jo Stafford. LP, Vinyl record album

John Scofield's the leader here – but at times, we almost think the record's the vision of pianist Hal Galper as much as it is the guitarist – as both their efforts leap from the grooves with a really wonderful sense of energy! Maybe part of the album's strength is the rhythm duo – as the great Stafford James is on bass, a player we always love, next to drummer Adam Nussbaum – who can also really take off, and keep things driving in ways that have Scofield moving with all these fast flourishes of sound – quickly spinning out those chromatic lines that made him such a distinct player in the 70s! Galper has a great sense of boldness – and titles include "Alter Fields", "Rough House", "Slow Elvin", "Triple Play", "Air Pakistan", and "Ailleron". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the last great albums that Rudd played on before going into retirement! The group features Rudd on trombone, Enrico Rava on trumpet, Dve Burrell on piano, Stafford James on bass, and Harold White on drums – and the overall feel is similar to some of the best ESP work of the 60s. The band is very nicely matched, and changed moods and modes together as one unit. Tracks include "Inside Job", "Mysterioso", and "Sacred Song". LP, Vinyl record album

Damn wonderful work from Woody Shaw – a sublime set for Columbia Records, and one that's head and shoulders above most major label jazz of its generation! Woody's still in his most soulful modes here – the soaring, spiritual, joyous tones we always love in his Muse Records work from a few years before – delivered here with a tightness and vision that even goes beyond those records – thanks to help from Mulgrew Miller on piano, Gary Bartz on alto sax, Steve Turre on trombone, Stafford James on bass, and Tony Reedus on drums. As with most of Shaw's best records, this is truly a great group effort – from the bold tones of Turre, to the soul-drenched pulsations of James, to the highly rhythmic modes from Miller's piano – all fused together perfectly under Woody's magical vision as a leader, and set fire on tunes that include "United", "Katrina Ballerina", "Pressing The Issue", and "The Greene Street Caper", and "Blues For Wood". LP, Vinyl record album

Great early work from Lake – playing here in a number of different settings, but always with well-matched collaborators! 3 tracks on the set – "Owshet", "Heavy Spirits", and "While Pushing Down Turn" – featuring Lake with Olu Dara on trumpet, Donald Smith on piano, Victor Lewis on drums, and Stafford James on bass, playing in sort of a freebop mode. Three more tracks – "Movement Equals Creation", "Intensity", and "Altoviolin" – feature Lake on alto, playing with a violin trio that sounds very dark and moody. "Rocket" is a trio piece, with Joseph Bowie and Charles Bobo Shaw – and "Lonely Blacks" is a somber solo sax piece. LP, Vinyl record album