A really incredible record, and one that stands as a strong testament to both of the players involved – as they work together with open-ended improvisational energy that's really incredible throughout! The set follows a style that drummer Max Roach would soon revisit on other labels – but is maybe the first session to showcase his incredible ability to open up and improvise, in ways that hadn't shown up on most of his other, earlier recordings – perfectly matched by the energy of Archie Shepp on tenor, who's still very much in the throes of his more avant years – sounding incredible as he spins out these bold solos with a deep sense of imagination and meaning. The set features the three part "Sweet Mao" – with titles that include "La Preparation", "La Marche", and "Le Commencement" – followed by the side-long "Suid Afrika 76". Just drums and tenor, nothing else – and brilliant! LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic stuff, and a record that was virtually the blueprint for spiritual soul jazz in the 70s! Although Max Roach first rose to fame during the bop years, by the time of this set he'd really stretched out a lot – moving past initial righteous projects in the Civil Rights era, to even more progressive work with a group like this! The players are all youthful geniuses who would go onto shape the sound of 70s jazz tremendously – working here at a point that already shows their brilliance – Gary Bartz on alto, Charles Tolliver on trumpet, Stanley Cowell on piano, and even Andy Bey, who sings vocals on the title track. The overall style is very similar to Bartz's early albums on Milestone, or to some of the Music Inc records on Strata East, which feature Cowell and Tolliver. It's no surprise that Cowell contributed 3 tracks to the set – "Effi", "Equipoise", and "Abstrutions" – and the group also performs a great version of Bartz's "Libra"! LP, Vinyl record album

A study in brown, and a study in hardbop too – a seminal album of 50s jazz that forever went on to set the tone for the music! The album was one of a few that trumpeter Clifford Brown cut as his star was strongly rising, before a tragic early accident took his life – and it's a masterpiece of bop modernism, done with the co-leadership of drummer Max Roach – with an equally well-matched group that includes Harold Land on tenor, George Morrow on bass, and Bud Powell's brother Richie on piano. Tracks are short, and played with great boppish fire and fury – virtually the blueprint for the hardbop sound of the 50s, and one of the strongest expressions from this important, but short-lived group. Titles include "Gerkin For Perkin", "Sandu", "Jacqui", "Swingin", and the great "Land's End". LP, Vinyl record album

A hell of a jam session record from Emarcy Records – a set that almost seems as if they jazz label were trying to beat Verve Records at their own game! The style here is a bit more unusual than some Verve dates, though – maybe even more in the spontaneous spirit of a real jam session – with a lineup of all-stars that includes Clifford Brown, Clark Terry, and Maynard Ferguson on trumpets – plus Herb Geller on alto, Harold Land on tenor, Max Roach on drums, and either Richie Powell or Junior Mance on piano! There's a definite tie here to the Brown/Roach recordings for Emarcy – augmented by the presence of Powell and Land – but the others clearly change things up, and Dinah Washington even makes a vocal appearance on one track too. Titles include "What Is This Thing Called Love", "Darn That Dream", "Move", and a medley of "My Funny Valentine/Don't Worry Bout Me/Bess You Is My Woman/It Might As Well Be Spring". LP, Vinyl record album

Not west coast, but "best coast" jazz – a prime example of the way the Clifford Brown/Max Roach team helped to cook up the intensity of the LA scene of the 50s by infusing it with a bit of New York fire! The album takes off in the extended mode of Clifford's All Stars album – and like that one, features Max Roach on drums alongside a lineup of players that includes Herb Geller and Joe Maini on alto saxes, Walter Benton on tenor, Kenny Drew on piano, and Curtis Counce on bass – all jamming together in really extended, side-long tracks that have plenty of space for creative solo work and free-flowing improvisation! The format's a very unusual one for the 50s – and a great side-stream to the better-known Brown/Roach albums – with the 2 long tracks "Coronado" and "You Go To My Head". LP, Vinyl record album

Rarely are such "meeting of the minds" sessions worth any fuss at all – but in this case, the masterful talents of the players turn what should be a snoozy "common denominator" session into a modernist classic that still crackles with excitement after all these years! The real success factor here is Ellington, who was hitting a point in his career when he was really beginning to experiment again – as you'll hear in the beautifully angular piano lines that he lays next to Mingus' bass and Roach's lively drums. The set's nearly all originals, and titles include "Money Jungle", "Le Fleurs Africaines", and "Wig Wise". Very nice! LP, Vinyl record album

A classic early 60s session for Candid Records – put together by a group that includes Charles Mingus, Max Roach, and a host of other musicians who were working here as "Newport Rebels" – by setting up the Jazz Artists Guild Festival as a protest against the increasingly commercialized Newport date! And for the record, the group definitely live up to their name – really shaking off the easier modes popularized at the Newport festival, and coming across with a style that's much more modern, firey, and righteous! Other artists include Abbey Lincoln on vocals, Booker Little on trumpet, Tommy Flanagan on piano, Eric Dolphy on saxophone, and Jimmy Knepper on trombone – and titles include a great rendition of "Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do" – plus 2 other great originals, "Cliff Walk" by Booker Little and "Mysterious Blues" by Mingus. LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the hippest Max Roach work of the 60s! This album features one half of the set that was issued on Affinity as a double LP. This first side is made up of 3 tracks featuring Clifford Jordan on tenor, Coleridge Parkinson on piano, and Abbey Lincoln on some vocals – all recorded at an unknown location in 1961: "Long As You're Living", "Who Will Buy", and "Love For Sale". The second side has 2 tracks from a concert in Paris, with Max's group that included Tommy & Stanley Turrentine, as well as Julian Priester. The tracks are long and open-ended – with an approach that you wouldn't find on the group's Mercury sides from the time – both Roach originals: "Kardouba" and "Stop Motion", with the Turrentines stretching out in a soul jazz searching mode that's quite different than their Blue Note work. LP, Vinyl record album

The drums are certainly unlimited here – and the album's a really unique one, in that it shows Max Roach in 2 different settings – one with a group, and one that's simply solo! One batch of tracks has Max in the company of a tight group of soul jazz players like Freddie Hubbard, Roland Alexander, James Spaulding, and Ronnie Matthews. The group is very tight, and they've got hard wailing sound similar to a Blue Note group, but with a bit more of a soul jazz feel. They play on two long tracks – "Nommo" and "In the Red". The rest of the tracks – "Drums Unlimited", "The Drum Also Waltzes", and "For Big Sid" – feature Max playing solo, which is a rare treat for a recording of this vintage. The tracks are great, with a very musical groove, and lively playing by Max that never gets too self indulgent. LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from Max Roach's Double Quartet of the mid 80s – a group that wasn't just an octet, but an expansion of Max's regular four piece group with the addition of a string quartet! The core jazz sound of Odeon Pope's tenor, Tyrone Brown's electric bass, and Cecil Bridgewater's trumpet is expanded by a string group that includes Maxine Roach on viola – and that family relation is probably one reason that made experimentation like this easy for Max! The approach is a surprisingly great one – as the quartet seems to hold the Roach group a bit more inside than before – letting Pope and Bridgewater stretch out on their solos, but not get as sloppy as they had in some of the more outside Roach quartet outings. And the strings color in things really nicely in classic "with strings" jazz mode – but one that echoes more with 70s soul jazz use of such styles than earlier approaches. Titles include "A Little Booker", "Easy Winners", "Sis", and "Birds Says". LP, Vinyl record album

Max Roach continues the fine line of work with his fresh-voiced quartet of the early 80s – a very hip group that features a young Odeon Pope on tenor, plus Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet and Calvin Hill on bass! The work's similar to Roach's quartet sessions of the late 70s, although perhaps a bit more introspective – not as bouncing and joyous as when Billy Harper was with the group, but still freshly modern, and a good indication that Max continued to grow strongly as a player during the time – never content to just rest on his good name from the old days, and always forging forward into fresh jazz territory. Titles include "In The Light", "Good Bait", "Tricotism", "Henry Street Blues", and "Ruby My Dear". LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure set from Max Roach – but right up there with his best work of the late 50s on Mercury and other labels! The album features the drummer in a quintet with Booker Little on trumpet, Ray Draper on tuba, George Coleman on tenor, and Art Davis on bass – a cool piano-less group that hits some really unusual notes! Draper's horn provides a deep bottom to the record, mixing with Davis' exotic tones nicely – and the album represents Roach's increasing penchant for experimentation in the post Clifford Brown years – tunes with an offbeat edge that's really great. Titles include "Pies Of Quincy", "Tuba De Nod", "Milano", and "Sadiga". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful sounds from the ultra-hip Max Roach Quartet of the mid 70s – a lineup that features Billy Harper on tenor, Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet, and Reggie Workman on bass! Tracks are long – very much in the Harper style of the time – and titles include "It's Time", "Calvary", and "Round Midnight". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful sounds from the ultra-hip Max Roach Quartet of the mid 70s – a lineup that features Billy Harper on tenor, Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet, and Reggie Workman on bass! Tracks are long – very much in the Harper style of the time – and titles include "Mr Papa Jo" and "Scott Free (parts 1 & 2)". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Max Roach's most experimental albums from the 50s – a set of serious compositional works performed in conjunction with the Boston Percussion Ensemble. The feel is very much in the mode of 20th century classical work, such as the recordings in the 60s by the Percussions Of Strasbourg – with a wide variety of percussion instruments used on the set, and Roach's drums at the center. Titles include "The Music Inn Suite", "Evolution", and "Variations On A Familiar Theme" – all written by Harold Farberman, who directs the group. LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent set of trio material by Max – and one of the best overlooked sessions by Sonny Clark! The small group setting gives Clark a lot of room to move around on piano – especially since he's the main soloist – and the album has a nice tight snapping sound, with lots of nice tracks like "Sonia", "My Conception", "Minor Meeting", and "Blues Mambo". Also features a version of "Sonny's Crib" – mis-labeled here as "Sonny's Crip"! LP, Vinyl record album

Bold work from Max Roach – great material from the piano-less quartet that features Odean Pope on tenor and Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet! The style here follows strongly from Roach's Horo and Japanese recordings of the late 70s – as the album features one long track, with plenty of creative improvisation from the horn players – and rhythmic moments that get mighty open from Max, who's really on fire at this point in his career. Tyrone Brown plays electric bass, which makes for a nice sort of pulse – and Pope and Bridgewater solo with real force, recalling the same soulful spirit of Roach albums from eyars past! One long track – "Scott Free" – a soulful, spiritual gem throughout. LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful step forward for drummer Max Roach – working here in very creative company with saxophonist Anthony Braxton! Although Roach could have easily rested on his laurels as a famous bop drummer – and have spent endless years touring on highly-paid revival/reunion tours – he was a true creative giant who never stopped expanding his talents, especially during the late 70s, when he was matching up with some of the greats of the avant garde. This album is a perfect example of that commitment to modernism, as Roach duets with Anthony Braxton on a set of 7 fantastic tracks that stand apart from individual work by either artist – more loose and open than earlier Roach work, but a bit more inside than some of Braxton's – with fresh results from both players that never fail to delight! Titles include "Dance Griot", "Birth", "Tropical Forest", and "Spirit Possession". LP, Vinyl record album

Previously unreleased work from the legendary group of Clifford Brown and Max Roach – recorded back in the 50s, when Mainstream producer Bob Shad was working on the Brown/Roach dates for Mercury – but not issued until this set in the 70s, when Shad had his own label! The music here is right up there with the best 50s classics by the pair – really showcasing that amazing trumpet style that made Brownie a genius right from the start – next to some of the burning energy he forged with Roach in the group. Every player's tremendous – Harold Land on tenor, Richie Powell on piano, and George Morrow on bass – and titles include two Clifford Brown originals – "Daahoud" and "Joyspring" – plus Roach's "Mildama", plus the standards "I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", and "These Foolish Things Remind Me Of You". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary concert – recorded at Massey Hall in Toronto, with a previously-unmatched quintet of superstar bop players: Charlie Parker on alto, Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, Bud Powell on piano, Charles Mingus on bass, and Max Roach on drums. This reissue set also includes the Bud Powell trio sides which were issued separately as Jazz At Massey Hall Vol 2. The quintet runs down "Perdido", "Salt Peanuts", "All The Things You Are", "Wee", "Hot House" and "A Night In Tunisia" and the trio sides are "Embraceable You", "Sure Thing", "My Devotion", "Polka Dots & Moon Beams", "Cherokee", "Jubilee", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "My Heart Stood Still", "I Want To Be Happy" and "Lullaby Of Birdland". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little album from Max Roach – one that has him finding a whole new voice in jazz! The set was recorded on the heels of Max's time with Clifford Brown – and it's a great little album that has him bouncing back nicely from the loss by moving into a new realm that shows off his more lyrical side! The group on the album features Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Sonny Rollins on tenor, Billy Wallace on piano, and George Morrow on bass – and as you'd guess by the title, most tunes are in a jazz waltz mode, which gives them a nicely dancing quality, soft and a bit exotic – almost modal at times – and a nice change from Roach's more full-on hardbop style of the Clifford Brown years. Titles include "Little Folks", "Lover", "The Most Beautiful Girl In the World", and "Blues Waltz". LP, Vinyl record album

The legendary trumpeter Booker Little – paired here with drummer Max Roach, who was frequently Book's leader at the time! The set's got a sharp-edged and modern mix of hardbop and fresh ideas – very similar to the best Roach albums of the time – and with a similar sort of group – given that in addition to Little's trumpet, the set also features George Coleman on tenor, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and Art Davis on bass! All arrangements were done by Little – making the album a real showcase of that bold vision in jazz that was taken from us all too soon – and titles include "Milestones", "Rounder's Mood", "Dungeon Waltz", and "Jewel's Tempo". LP, Vinyl record album

Nice album that contains a mid-50s session recorded by Rollins for Prestige – with a quintet that includes the Clifford Brown-Max Roach ensemble, with Rollins filling in the tenor spot. Richie Powell's on piano, and the whole group has a very tight "roots of hardbop" sort of sound. Includes a classic reading of "Pent-up House", plus "Valse Hot", "Kiss & Run", and "Count Your Blessings". LP, Vinyl record album

If worktime was like this for us, you'd catch us showing up on the job early every day – but sadly, nothing at our office can match the brilliance of early Sonny Rollins here – a sharp-edged genius that perfectly illustrates why he was one of the greatest players on his horn for many decades running! There's a depth of tone on the record that rivals Coleman Hawkins or Lester Young – but a quickness of pace and imagination that shows a clear influence from Charlie Parker, and a deftness that few were bringing to the tenor at the time. The rhythm section here is super tight – and features Ray Bryant on piano, George Morrow on bass, and Max Roach on drums – all supporting Rollins' bold lead with lines that bristle with electricity, but still often fall back to let the sound of the tenor envelop the whole group. Tracks are longish, and titles include "Raincheck", "There Are Such Things", "Paradox", and "It's All Right With Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful, beautiful record from Horace Silver – one of his great 70s experiments for Blue Note – and a set that has him working in the same "jazz with voices" mode explored by Max Roach and Donald Byrd in earlier years! The core of the set is focused around the great work of Silver's combo – with Tom Harrell on trumpet, Bob Berg on tenor, Ron Carter on bass, and Al Foster on drums – a wonderfully cohesive unit that arcs and turns with all these sweet little shifts – keeping up with the creative rhythms directed from Silver, while cascading through a beautiful range of tones and colors as well! The vocals follow suit beautifully – directed by Alan Copeland, but with a much more soulful approach than his 60s material – bursting forth with this warmth and sense of tone that really matches the instrumentation. Titles include "I Will Always Love You", "Out Of The Night", "Incentive", "New York Lament", "Mood For Maude", and "All In Time". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best jazz-based sessions recorded by Dinah Washington in the 50s – appropriately titled Dinah Jams, which is a pretty good reference to the feeling of the set! The sessions were recorded in a relatively relaxed, intimate feel – not necessarily as unbridled as a true jam session might be, but with a lot more interplay between the instrumentalists in the group than you might get on a typical 50s jazz session. And with horn players that include Cliford Brown, Harold Land, and Herb Geller – alongside rhythm by Junior Mance, Richie Powell, and Max Roach – you'd have to expect that there'd be some good interplay on the set! Titles include "I've Got You Under My Skin", "No More", "Darn That Dream", "You Go To My Head", and a nice open-ended version of "I'll Remember April"! LP, Vinyl record album

A cool collection of work on the legendary Debut label – including a number of tracks that are hard to find in any other format on vinyl! Titles include "Can You Blame Me" by Honey Gordon, "Notes To You" by Sam Most, "Makin Whoopee" by Don Senay, "Portrait" by Thad Jones, "Bebopper" by The Gordons, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Paul Bley, "Eclipse" by Janet Thurlow with Charles Mingus, "Paris In Blue" by Jackie Paris, and "Orientation" by Max Roach. LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent box set that brings together all of the material recorded at the unique Newport Festival in 1972 – the historic shift to New York City after the previous year's effort in Rhode Island was shut down by demonstrators! The package features a whopping 6 albums in all – 4 of which are Jam session volumes, with material from players who include Charles Mingus, Jimmy Owens, Charles McPherson, Buddy Tate, Big Black, Milt Jackson, Max Roach, Jaki Byard, Nat Adderley, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, and many others – all playing long, open, live tracks. LP 5 features "The Jimmy Smith Jam" – a very jamming set of work by Smith, with help from Kenny Burrell on guitar and Zoot Sims on tenor. LP 6 is "The Soul Sessions" – featuring soul material from Roberta Flack, Curtis Mayfield, Les McCann, and Herbie Mann. LP, Vinyl record album

A really landmark album in soulful jazz for the 60s – a set that takes the already-great energy of the young trumpeter Donald Byrd, and mixes it with some voices borrowed from gospel music bur turned towards modern jazz – all in a style that's very similar to some of the Max Roach experiments from the time! The core group is really great – with tenor from Hank Mobley, guitar from Kenny Burrell, and piano from Herbie Hancock – plus vibes from the obscure Donald Best, an instrument that you don't always hear on Donald Byrd's albums! Added to this group are voices directed by Coleridge Perkinson, a very hip cat who takes the voices far away from cliched modes of earlier years – and into some very righteous territory that makes the record one of Donald Byrd's first really powerful statements as a leader. Duke Pearson handled the arrangements, and the sound is beautiful and spiritual, with a sound that mixes Blue Note hardbop with a style that would later show up on labels like Strata East, or in the experiments of Max Roach and Billy Harper. The tracks are long and moody, and the vocal group never gets in the way, but instead backs Byrd in a way that lets him hit new heights, and which gives him a stronger sense of voice. Titles include the classic "Christo Redentor", plus "Chant", "The Black Disciple", and "Elijah". LP, Vinyl record album

With Max Roach, Kenny Dorham, James Moody, and Tommy Potter in 1949; and with Bill Crow and Lee Abrams in 1954. LP, Vinyl record album

JJ Johnson's always a cooker, but during the late 50s he cut some incredible records for the Columbia label – tight bop sessions that still stand as some of his best work! This album's one of them – a real smoker of a set that features Johnson's trombone as the only lead horn in a cool quartet that also includes Tommy Flanagan on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Max Roach on drums – a crackling rhythm trio who make the record move a lot more than most other jazz sessions on Columbia at the time! Johnson's sense of tone and phrasing is wonderful – unadorned by any other horns, but a very powerful solo vehicle, especially in the company of the other players – and titles include "Harvey's House", "That Tired Old Routine Called Love", "Nickels & Dimes", "Be My Love", "Paul's Pal", and "Commutation". LP, Vinyl record album

A well-done reissue of Charlie Parker's classic work on the Dial label – for this volume featuring material recorded on October 28th, 1947, in New York City. Players include Miles Davis, Duke Jordan, Tommy Potter, and Max Roach – and the set features master and alternate takes of tunes that include "Dexterity", "Bongo Bop", "Dewey Square", "The Hymn", "Bird Of Paradise", and "Embraceable You". LP, Vinyl record album

Notable sidemen include Miles Davis, Dizzie Gillespie and Max Roach. LP, Vinyl record album

Features Max Roach on drums, Ray Brown on bass, Billy Bauer on guitar and John Laporta on Clarinet. LP, Vinyl record album

Charlie Parker on alto saxophone, Curley Russell, Nelson Boyd, and Tommy Potter on bass, Max Roach on drums, Al Haig, Bud Powell, and Tadd Dameron on piano, and Fats Navarro, Kenny Durham, and Miles Davis on trumpet. LP, Vinyl record album

A nice overview of work by Bird and Diz – includes recordings from 1947 in New York City with sidemen that include John Lewis, Mles Davis, Duke Jordan, JJ Johnson, and Max Roach; plus a Gillespie session from 1953 in Paris with Bill Graham on saxophones, Wade Legge on piano, Lou Hackney on bass, Al Jones on drums, and Joe Carroll on vocals. LP, Vinyl record album

Personnel include Miles Davis on trumpet, Charlie Parker on alto, Duke Jordan on Piano, Tommy Potter on bass, and Max Roach on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

The title says "57", but the music's from a few years before – yet that's OK with us, because Bud Powell always has a sound that's instantly timeless no matter what the year! The album brings together sides from Verve dates in 1954 and 1955 – one featuring Art Blakey on drums and Lloyd Troutman on bass, the other featuring Max Roach and Percy Heath. Given the presence of the strong drummers, there's a drive here that's a bit harder than on some of the other Verve dates – a highly rhythmic component that often brings a real focus to some of the more upbeat numbers, but which lays back nicely on the mellower ones to let Powell hit some especially dark notes. Titles include "Deep Night", "That Old Black Magic", "Round Midnight", "Thou Swell", and "Tenderly". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice, nice compilation of sides cut by Powell for Norman Granz, from 1949 to 1951. Given Powell's well documented bouts with instability and alcoholism, there are several periods that lasted for months and sometimes years when he would go unrecorded. The first dates on this set come at the end of one of those periods, and Bud is in fine, fiery form, presented here in a trio setting with Ray Brown and Max Roach. Another set of trio's follows, with Curly Russell replacing Brown, and the second LP is almost all solo piano work. The set is extensvely annotated by Gary Giddins, and features some of Powell's best sides. 24 tracks in all, including "Tempus Fugit", "Cherokee", "Strictly Confidential", "Sometimes I'm Happy", "Tea For Two" and "Sweet Georgia Brown". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly THE greatest Sonny Rollins album of the early years – or at least the one that has received the most accolades over the years! The record is a brilliant batch of quartet tracks that reinvents bop through Sonny's complicated, yet seemingly automatic solos – an excellent showcase for his razor-sharp talents for improvisation and invention, played with effortless ease, yet still one of the great bar-setting performances of 50s jazz. The group features Tommy Flanagan, Max Roach, and Doug Watkins – and tunes include an original reading of the perennial Rollins' standard "St. Thomas", plus a great version of "Moritat (Mack The Knife)", and the cuts "Strode Rode" and "Blue 7". LP, Vinyl record album

The start of a legend – a record that may well be called the birthplace of the Strata East record label – as the let features both trumpeter Charles Tolliver and pianist Stanley Cowell, working together in an early version of the Music Inc group that would be one of the key acts on Strata East during the 70s! The set came at a time when both Tolliver and Cowell had been working in Max Roach's groundbreaking group of the late 60s – getting plenty of training from Max, but also, along with Gary Bartz, opening up with all these new spiritual ideas and fresh compositions – to a point where there's already a very mature, focused vibe on this early set! The rest of the group features Steve Novosel on bass and Jimmy Hopps on drums – and together, the musicians soar beautifully on a set of all original tunes by Tolliver – some of which you'll recognize from later readings, but which are already in a perfect modal, spiritual groove here. Tracks include "Spur", "The Ringer", "Mother Wit", "Plight", and "On The Nile". LP, Vinyl record album

This is the kind of killer bop piano stuff that made Wallington a legend early on – collecting classic trios originally recorded for release as 10" LP in the early days of Prestige! The material features Wallington in three different groups, featuring Max Roach on drums, and either Charles Mingus, Oscar Pettiford or Curley Russell on bass. 15 titles in all including "Love Beat", "Escalating", "Laura", "Summer Rain", "Red, White & Blue", "Arriverderci", "Tenderly", "Squeezer's Breezer", "Among Friends", "Variations", "My Nephew & I", "Cuckoo Around The Clock" and "When Your Old Wedding Ring Was New". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent bop sides cut for EmArcy by Cannonball, collected and assembled in a manner that showcases his wonderfully soulful and hard blowing approach to the alto in the years before Miles recruited him. The set features a host of great sidemen including brother Nat, JJ Johnson, Cecil Payne, Ernie Royal, John Coltrane, Junior Mance, Horace Silver, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Keeter Betts, Sam Jones, Kenny Clarke, Max Roach and Jimmy Cobb. 17 tracks in all, including "Hurrican Connie", "Cynthia's In Love", "Cannonball", "Nat's Everglade", "Fallen Feathers", "Watermelon", "Fort Lauderdale", "Broadway At Basin Street", "T's Tune", "Blues For Bohemia", "Specutacular", "Miss Jackie's Delight", "Hoppin' John", "The Way You Look Tonight", "I'll Remember April", "Limehouse Blues" and "The Sleeper". LP, Vinyl record album

Very early work from Cannonball Adderley – recorded way before the funky years, when he was a hard-wailing soulful soloist with a lot of bop in his style! Cannon's paired here with brother Nat, a good companion even at this early stage – and the two of them solo in front of a large group that features Jerome Richardson, Max Roach, Cecil Payne, and Jimmy Cleveland, all blowing away in hard heavy form, similar to that used on other Mercury/Emarcy jazz sessions from the time. Quincy Jones handled the arrangements, and Cannonball holds his own nicely – and serves up a whole new tone that's a lot more measured than in later years. Tracks include "Fallen Feathers", "Song Is You", "Willows", and "Everglade". LP, Vinyl record album

A key slice of Clifford Brown from the 50s – two long tracks both recorded in an open-ended jam session format, showing a side of Brown's powers that's even bolder and more inventive than some of his previous studio work! The album soars along beautifully – with Brownie in the lead amongst an unusual, but well-chosen batch of players that includes Herb Geller and Joe Maini on alto saxes, Walter Benton on tenor, Kenny Drew on piano, Curtis Counce on bass, and Max Roach on drums – all grooving alongside Clifford on the album's nicely extended tracks. The album was released after Brown's death in 1956, features the side-long tracks "Caravan" and "Autumn In New York". LP, Vinyl record album

An early full-length album issued under Miles Davis' name – one that brings together some earlier 10" and single recordings for Prestige! The feel here is quite similar to Davis' work of the time for Blue Note – done with tracks that are short and tight, and very boppish – less of the glistening Davis style of later years, but still quite strongly voiced nonetheless. Players include Horace Silver on piano on most tracks, plus a bit of keys from John Lewis – and one track even features Charles Mingus on piano! Other players on the sessions include Art Blakey, Max Roach, or Kenny Clarke on drums – plus Percy Heath on bass, and a bit of alto from Davey Schildkraut. Titles include "I'll Remember April", "Old Devil Moon", "Tune Up", "Miles Ahead", "Four", and "Smooch". LP, Vinyl record album

Early bop sides, not led by Miles as you might imagine from this package, but featuring him. We're not entirely certain of the origin of these recordings, but they are at least contemporaneous with the Savoy sides Miles was cutting with Bird, and according to the notes, feature Charlie Parker, Lucky Thompson, Duke Jordan, Max Roach and others. 10 tracks in all: "Out Of Nowhere", "A Night In Tunisia", "Yardbird Suite", "Ornithology", "Moose The Mooch", "Embraceable You", "Bird Of Paradise", "My Old Flame", "Don't Blame Me" and "Scrapple From The Apple". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of recordings pulled from sessions in 1946 and 1949 – with personnel that includes Al Cohn, Max Roach, Shelly Manne, and Zoot Sims. LP, Vinyl record album

The modern touch indeed! You can't get any more classic Benny Golson than this – a sublime late 50s album that features Benny with a sextet, working out amazing versions of the sorts of material that set him apart from every other jazz arranger of the time! The tracks here are complicated, yet have a rootsy soulfulness that makes them instantly compelling – and Benny's tone on tenor sax is sharp and angular, yet also has a raspiness that gives it a degree of honesty you wouldn't expect from a budding young modernist. The rest of the players – Max Roach, Paul Chambers, Wynton Kelly, JJ Johnson, and Kenny Dorham – are equally great, too – and amidst Benny's arrangements, they come together as if they'd been playing in this format for years! Titles include "Out Of The Past", "Venetian Breeze", "Reunion", "Hymn To The Orient", and "Blues On Down". LP, Vinyl record album

Stunning work from one of the greatest players of the post-Coltrane generation – a classic session recorded overseas in the mid 70s, and one that's filled with soulful expressions from the great Billy Harper! Harper's tenor kicks off the set with an immediately gripping sound – as searing as Pharoah Sanders at his Impulse best – but driven on by searching, soaring modal rhythms that are all Billy's own – the kind of grooves he first forged with Max Roach, then really expanded on when given the freedom of a record like this. Other players include trumpeter Virgil Jones, pianist Joe Bonner, bassist David Friesen, and drummer Malcom Pinson – and titles include a killer take on "Croquet Ballet", which Harper originally recorded with Lee Morgan – plus the titles "Dance Eternal Spirits Dance" and "Call Of The Wild & Peaceful Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection that brings together early 50s work in the "birth of the cool" mode! Side one features Lee Konitz and Miles Davis – in a group with Sal Mosca, Max Roach, and Billy Bauer, on very "birth of the cool" like tracks that include "Odjenar", "Hi Beck", "Yesterdays", and "Ezz Thetic". The flipside features several takes of "All The Things You Are", "I'll Remember April", and "These Foolish Things", plus "You'd Be So Nice To Come To" with Jimmy Gourley on guitar, Henry Renaud on piano, Don Bagley on bass, and Stan Levey on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

One of Abbey Lincoln's earliest albums – an all star session recorded with backing by Kenny Dorham, Sonny Rollins, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Max Roach! Abbey's still pretty straight at this point – singing a variety of wispy love songs and emotional tunes – but she's also bringing a bit more feeling to the material than most singers of her generation – hinting at the sharper tones that would come just a few years later in her work! And given the strength of the sidemen alone, the album's already a cut above most jazz vocal records from the time – but really takes on a strong voice when Abbey opens up on some of the best numbers on the set. Titles include "Strong Man", "My Man", "That's Him", "Don't Explain", "I Must Have That Man", and "When A Woman Loves A Man". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer from trumpeter Booker Little – one of the last few records that Book cut before his early death, and one of his only ones as a leader! The album features an excellent soulbop quintet with Wynton Kelly and Tommy Flanagan on piano, Scott LaFaro on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums – working with that dark, sharp edge that always seemed to characterize Little's sessions – kind of an added fire he always brought to the studio when working as a leader. Little's trumpet has some of those great modern tones he blew with Max Roach – and the album's got some great little tracks like "Bee Tees Minor Plea", "Opening Statement", "Minor Sweet", and "The Grand Valse". Excellent stuff all around – and a record that would have been bigger, had it been issued on a larger label! LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent Japanese LP that combines 2 of Gil Melle's rare 10" LPs for Blue Note: New Faces – New Sounds and The Gil Melle Quintet. The first LP features 2 different groups, and has Melle's haunting tenor playing amidst other bop-era modernists like Eddie Bert, Tal Farlow, George Wallington, and Max Roach. Tracks on this session include "The Gears", "October", "Cyclotron", and "Venus". The Quintet LP features Melle on tenor and baritone, playing with Tal Farlow and Urbie Green – and it includes the tracks "Timepiece", "Spellbound", and "Transition". Both sets are amazing, and the music is out-of-this world – with a sound that's unlike anything Blue Note ever did again, and which transcends any sort of traditional descriptions of jazz from the time. Very nice, and just about the only way you'll find this material on LP! LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe not the very beginning of James Moody's career – but definitely some tracks from the early years, recorded overseas in 1949 – with material done both in Paris and Zurich! Some tracks are under Moody's leadership, and some under the name of Max Roach – and Moody blows tenor on almost all numbers, save for two which have him dropping out in favor of Kenny Dorham's trumpet. Other players include Al Haig on piano, Trummie Young on trumpet, Red Allen on alto, and Tommy Potter on bass – and most numbers have that sharp-edged, slightly modern tinge that marked Moody's famous early years. Titles include "Moody & Soul", "Monday Blues", "Maximum", "Tomorrow", "Baby Sis", "Prince Albert", and "Just Moody". LP, Vinyl record album

Herbie Nichols was one of the greatest piano players of the 20th Century, and his best work was recorded for Blue Note! You can hear just about every track he recorded for the label in this set (apart from some alternate takes), which is a stunning batch of lively tracks that rank Nichols right up there with Monk, Cecil Taylor, and Randy Weston for sheer modernist inventiveness. The set includes Herbie's first two 10" albums for Blue Note, and his full Herbie Nichols Trio record – with players who include Art Blakey or Max Roach on drums, and Teddy Kotick or Al McKibbon on bass. Titles include "Step Tempest", "Crisp Day", "2300 Skiddoo", "Query", "Blue Chopsticks", and "Chit Chatting". LP, Vinyl record album

You'll be hard pressed to find a better collection of Charlie Parker's classic work on vinyl! Bird's great recordings for Savoy have often been poorly packaged over the years, but here you get the whole batch of seminal bop sides by the pioneering artist of the genre! Bird's the leader on most of these sides, but there's a nice set of recordings under Tiny Grimes and a very young Miles Davis too, with a host of players from the dawn of the bebop age, including Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Sadik Hakim, John Lewis, Duke Jordan, Curly Russell, Tommy Potter and Max Roach. An as you'd expect from this kind of set, you get loads of multiple takes so you can hear these pioneering players creating the style that would change the face of jazz forever. Put together in 1978, this set features 66 tracks in all, spread out over 5 LPs, with a nicely annotated book, and includes "I'll Always Love You Just The Same","Romance Without Finance", "Billie's Bounce", "Now's The Time", "Thriving On A Riff", "Koko", "Donna Lee", "Chasin The Bird", "Buzzy", "Milestones", "Half Nelson", "Another Hair Do", "Bird Gets The Worm", "Barbados", "Ah-Leu-Cha", "Constellation", "Parker's Mood", "Perhaps","Marmaduke", "Steeplechase" and more! LP, Vinyl record album

Older Charlie Parker material – originally recorded as 78rpm releases for Savoy, packaged up here in full LP form, along with alternate takes and a great cover, in the years after his early death! Players include Miles Davis on trumpet, Tiny Grimes on guitar, Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet and piano, Duke Jordan and John Lewis on piano, and Max Roach on drums – and titles include "Red Cross", "Sippin At Bells", "Little Willie Leaps", "Donna Lee", "Chasing The Bird", and "Half Nelson". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite of Verve's "genius of" collections of Charlie Parker's work – largely because it includes some wonderful and oft-overlooked vocal tunes! 4 of the tracks on the set feature Bird blowing with a vocal chorus arranged by Dave Lambert – in a style that shouldn't work, but does – thanks to Lambert's keen bop sensibilities (heard here before his Lambert Hendricks & Ross years), and to players in the group that include Hal McKusick, Max Roach, and Charles Mingus. Other tracks have Parker either playing in a quartet with Buddy Rich, Ray Brown, and Hank Jones – or in a different group with Kenny Dorham and Tommy Turk. Titles include "Cardboard", "Visa", "Segment", "Passport", "Diverse", "I'm In the Mood For Love", "If I Love Again", and "Star Eyes". LP, Vinyl record album

Part 3 of a series of double LPs issued by Verve in the late 70s compiling his classic recordings for Verve under the direction of Norman Granz. Loads of landmark bop performances are documented here, and the groups include smaller quintets and quartets, as well as some medium sized groups and big band recordings, with sidemen that include Max Roach, Percy Heath, Teddy Kotick, Walter Bishop and others. 30 tracks in all, including "Autumn In New York", "Stella By Starlight", "Begin The Beguine", "Night & Day", "I Can't Get Started", "Old Folks", "I Remember You", "Now's The Time", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "Love For Sale" and "I Love Paris". LP, Vinyl record album