A sparkling postwar musical fantasy of Paris – one made up of a host of famous themes from French pop music of the 20th century, all set to lush string arrangements by a young Michel Legrand! The album's not as upbeat or jazzy as some of Legrand's later soundtrack work, but it's got a wonderful quality all its own – a warmly romantic vision of a Paris that was still putting the pieces back together less than a decade after WWII, presented in a way that glosses sweet sounds over darker corners with a vaguely eerie feel. The record instantly made Legrand an international favorite, and features "The Last Time I Saw Paris", "Paris Canaille", "Autumn Leaves", "A Paris", "La Vie En Rose", "Under Paris Skies", and "April In Paris. CD

The first-ever full and proper reissue of this lost Albert Ayler concert from 1966 – recorded over two days in his hometown of Cleveland, but with an array of key compatriots from the New York scene! The performance is like finding a new ESP album that you didn't know existed – but one that's much longer than the others, too – really revelatory performances from Ayler on tenor, with Donald Ayler on trumpet, Michel Samson on violin, Mutawef Shaheed on bass, and a young Ronald Shannon Jackson on drums – plus added tenor from the great Frank Wright on most of the tracks on the set – adding this majestic fullness to the sound, really furthering that anthemic power that Ayler's music can have when it's this wonderful! Most of the material was recorded on April 17 (and includes Wright), and a few more tracks were recorded on the 16th – over two hours of barely-heard music, with titles that include "Our Prayer/Spirits Rejoice", "Spirits", "Zion Hill", "Untitled/The Truth Is Marching In", "DC", "Ghosts", "Spiritual Bells", and "Prophet/Ghosts/Spiritual Bells". CD

The cover's a bit goofy, but the album's a standout in the 70s career of Sarah Vaughan – one of those sets in which she tried out newer, more contemporary material – and found that both her voice and the new style of arranging were a surprisingly good fit! Vaughan has help here from talents who were working both in soul and jazz at the time – as the album features charts by Paul Griffin, Wade Marcus, Gene Page, Michel Legrand, and Ernie Wilkins – and has a gentle, laidback vibe that glows with a few electric currents – almost in Kudu Records modes, but a bit more expansive overall, and with less of an easy nod to funk. Titles include "Wave", "Do Away With April", "Love Don't Live Here Anymore", "On Thinking It Over", "Right In The Next Room", and "I Need You More". LP, Vinyl record album