One of the raunchiest albums ever cut by organist Freddie Roach – not as high-reaching as some of his later work, but with lots of short tracks that groove with a tight jukebox organ/tenor approach! The band is a strong one – with Conrad Lester on tenor, Eddie Wright on guitar (replaced by Kenny Burrell on a few cuts, and Clarence Johnson on drums – a power packed quartet groove that's lean, clean, and simple – giving the record a raw sound that's a bit more Prestige Hammond than the usual Blue Note set! Titles include "Baby Don't You Cry", "I Know", "Googa Mooga", "Mo Greens Please", "Nada Bossa", and "Party Time". LP, Vinyl record album

The second album from Biggie, and a set that was instantly poised to catapult him to superstardom – even before his tragic death ended up doing that before the release of the record! And yes, the title's a bit cryptic – and given the fact that the material came out after BIG was shot, it might seem like a cash-in collection of left-behind tracks – yet it's not that at all. The long path to the album's creation represents a step forward to almost build a bridge between underground hip hop and mainstream soul – maybe in a way that would have calmed some of the coastal beefs that were taking place at the time – as the late, great one works here with an array of guests from both the worlds of hip hop and R&B – 112, Jay-Z, R Kelly, Puff Daddy, Lil Kim, Too Short, and others – in a classic set of tracks that includes "Hypnotize", "Kick In the Door", "Mo Money Mo Problems", "Notorious Thugs", "Going Back To Cali", "Sky's The Limit", "Miss U", "Ten Crack Commandments", 'What's Beef", and "Nasty Boy". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning session, and proof that Dizzy never slept on his playing – even in the 70s! Originally released as 2 separate LPs in France on the America label, the record is a crack small group set recorded in Paris, and featuring very long tracks that let Dizzy really stretch out on his solos. Kenny Clarke is on drums, and he does some amazing work on the LP's version of "Manteca", which has a great breakbeat at the intro, then grooves along funkily for 13 minutes! The whole set's beautiful, and the other titles include "Brother K", "Wheatleigh Hall", and "Alone Together". The group also features a Brazilian percussionist on a few tracks – most notably the tight groover "Fiesta Mo Jo", a killer track with great solos and a rhythmic conception that shows that Dizzy's still got the Latin beat down nicely. Other titles include "Girl Of My Dreams", "Stella By Starlight", and "I Waited For You". 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". LP, Vinyl record album

A well-remembered soundtrack – and one that's had almost as much appreciation as a record as folks have given the film! If you've seen the movie, you know that the music's a big part of the story – not just the key cuts by Louis Prima, but also the Italian tracks that were less known to American audiences, and which really help give the record some depth! Gary DeMichele composed some original music for the score – but the best tracks here might be the vocal ones – titles that include "Buona Sera", "Five Months Two Weeks Two Days", and "Oh Marie" by Louis Prima – plus "Love Of My Life" by Louis Prima & Keely Smith, "Don't Take Your Love From Me" by Keely Smith, "Mambo Italiano" by Rosemary Clooney, "Stornelli Amorisi" and "Tic Ti Tic Ta" by Claudio Villa, and "Il Pescivendolo" and "Mo Ve'La Bella Mia Da La Muntagna" by Matteo Salvatore. LP, Vinyl record album

A nice little 2-fer collecting two great meetings of two greats! Jug and Stitt go head to head on Boss Tenors, a classic album of tracks that perfectly captures the joy and fury of their live performances from years before! The record was cut in Chicago with a very hard rhythm section that includes John Houston on piano, Charles Williams on bass, and George Brown on drums – and it's way heavier than the usual Verve "meeting of the masters" session, and feels more like a record that should have been issued on Prestige or Argo. Both players are impeccable, and the solos stretch out for a long long very live time. Titles include "Blues Up & Down", "The One Before This", and "Counter Clockwise" – but these guys even groove amazingly on standards like "Autumn Leaves" and "No Greater Love". Boss Tenors In Orbit was a follow up one year later, an obscure little session with the pair once again recreating the energy of their live shows – as they stretch out nicely on very long tracks that have spare backing by the Don Patterson trio! The cuts are mostly standard stuff – "John Brown's Body", "Walkin", "Long Ago And Far Away" – but the twin-tenor sound is great, and Patterson's free organ lines riff away nicely! LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album – even if it was the only session that Cannonball Adderley ever cut for Blue Note! The album was recorded at a time when Adderley was working with Miles Davis – and as such, the session features a group that includes Miles, blowing trumpet in a cool tone that's a perfect offset to Cannonball's more soulful style on alto sax – also different than the sound of his brother Nat, who was Adderley's more frequent partner on records. The rest of the group includes Hank Jones on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Art Blakey on drums – and like John Coltrane's Blue Train, the record's more of an "special session" than the usual Blue Note album, but the strength of the players make it one of the more memorable records of its day! Titles include "Somethin' Else", "One For Daddy-O", "Autumn Leaves", "Love For Sale", and a nice moody take on "Dancing In The Dark". LP, Vinyl record album

A great later date from CTI – proof that the label still had its magic going on well into the 80s! The session's a larger group effort headed up by Don Sebesky, and featuring key solos by Chet Baker, Jim Hall, and Hubert Laws – all of whom get plenty of room to do their thing on the album's longer tracks! Other players include Kenny Barron, Jack Wilkins, Jorge Dalto, George Mraz, and Steve Gadd – plus bit of added percussion – and although the group is large, the overall sound is relatively lean – spacious and airy, in keeping with Baker's best moments on records like these, and always sensitive enough to let Hall's gentle work on the strings of his guitar shine through nicely! Titles include "Malaguena", "Django", "Swan Lake", and "All Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Modern Records sessions by Jimmy Beasley – done for the famous LA label, but all recorded in Beasley's home town of New Orleans – with a very raw, early Crescent City vibe! Many of these cuts were done with the group of Dave Bartholomew at Cosimo's Studios – and they're filled with the kind of romping rhythms and piano lines that you'd know from some of Dave's bigger-name sessions with artists like Fats Domino or Smiley Lewis – yet Jimmy's approach here is nicely different, and far less familiar – almost jazzy at times, and with less of a need to "rock" than some of his contemporaries! That doesn't mean that these tracks don't groove with the New Orleans best – just that they've got some very cool, individual touches – and sophisticated shadings that we really appreciate. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

The only full album from Johnny Ace – a key figure in the Memphis scene of the 50s, and one of the first great casualties of rock and roll! Johnny was one of the first singers to record for the legendary Duke label, and worked in a mode that helped transform the smoother style of the west coast postwar R&B singers into a rougher, rawer mode that would pave the way for Memphis soul in years to come. And although Johnny died a tragic early death (and partially because of it), the impact of his work was tremendous, even in the few short years for which he recorded for Duke – leading to countless posthumous collections, mostly illegitimate, which often presented Johnny's work in less-than-superior conditions. This set is still the best – and features 12 tracks that Ace recorded for the Duke label. Titles include "How Can You Be So Mean", "My Song", "The Clock", "Cross My Heart", "Anymore", "Don't You Know", "Saving My Love For You", "So Lonely", and "Pledging My Love". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the records that really helped establish the legend of Mose Allison as one of the most unique talents in jazz – an early effort that still has Mose working mostly as a pianist, but which also features key vocal performances of "Parchman Farm" and "Lost Mind" – and a spot of trumpet on "Trouble In Mind"! Allison is joined by Addison Farmer on bass, and Nick Stabulas on drums – and the instrumental sides include "Crepuscular Air", "Mojo Woman", "I'll Never Be Free" and "Ain't You A Mess". LP, Vinyl record album

Bad Bossa Nova is right – as Gene Ammons really hits a great groove here – one that's not exactly bossa, but which has lots of Latin and tropical touches! The session makes great use of 2 guitars at the same time – using that of Kenny Burrell for soulful rhythm, but also adding in Bucky Pizzarelli for some nice acoustic embellishments – in a mode that's similar to the soul jazz-com-bossa style used on records like Ike Quebec's Soul Samba or Charlie Rouse's Bossa Nova Bacchanal. The overall rhythms are a bit more complicated, and a bit more soul jazz based than those sets – with Hank Jones on piano, Oliver Jackson on percussion, and Al Hayes adding in some sweet extra bongo! Titles include the classic "Ca'Purange" – plus "Anna", "Yellow Bird", "Cae Cae", and "Moito Mato Grosso". Also issued under the title Jungle Soul! (Ca' Purange). LP, Vinyl record album

A great meeting of tenor talents – a collection of some fantastic early material recorded by Jug for Prestige. This collection of great sides, originally issued as 78s, features Ammons and Stitt locking horns on "Blues Up And Down", "You Can Depend On Me", "Easy Glide", "Walkin", "Touch Of The Blues", "Who Threw The Sleeping Pills In Rip Van Winkle's Coffee?" and "Chabootie", with sidemen that include Duke Jordan, Bill Massey, Tommy Potter, Gene Wright, Jo Jones, Art Blakey and Wesley Landers. Classic blowing material! LP, Vinyl record album

A great comeback for tenor legend Gene Ammons – not just in a musical sense, but also because Jug had spent most of the past few years in prison – as part of the usual trumped-up drug charges that were filed against musicians at the time! At the time of this album, Ammons had not recorded since a very successful flurry of sides recorded in 1961, done for a number of labels, and issued slowly during his time off the recording market – a precursor to this fantastic return to form, which has Gene hitting more of a jazz funk mode, in the best Prestige style at the end of the 60s! Case in point is the presence of Bernard Purdie on drums on a number of cuts – in a lineup that also features some organ from Sonny Phillips, piano from Junior Mance, and electric bass from Bob Bushnell – plus congas from Candido for a nice extra kick! Titles include the funky cuts "Tastin' the Jug" and "Jungle Boss" – plus "Madame Queen" and "Feeling Good". LP, Vinyl record album

Like some of the other issues on Trip, this set brings together some great sides that sort of fell between the cracks in an artist's career. These nice rarer sides by Gene Ammons seem to be recorded by Jug during the early 60's, when he was jumping around his contractual agreements with a number of labels, and recording sessions for just about everybody. The first LP features Jug in the studio with Howard McGhee (the set was briefly issued under his name, on Argo) and a guitarist we're pretty certain is Jake Fisher (from other issues of this material), for a cool laidback soul jazz session that's probably one of Jug's most open-ended from the time. The tracks are all long, with a lot of room for solo space, and a round mellow tone. Titles include "Housewarmin", "Nothin' But Soul", "Jivin Around" and "Jug & McGhee". The second set's a hard-hitting blowing session, cut very much in the mode of Gene's late 50s sides for Prestige – and with a very accomplished group of soul jazzers that includes Nat Adderley, Frank Foster, Bennie Green, and Frank Wess. The groove has a nice raw late night sound – and tracks are pretty long and open-ended. Titles include "Litty Ditty", "Sermonette", "Juggin Around", and "Jim Dog". LP, Vinyl record album

A striking title – and a strong set of grooves, even if the tracks were pulled from a variety of different sessions, and not recorded as a unified album. Jug plays tenor on all cuts – working in formats that range from a Mal Waldron led trio to larger honking groups with horn players like Henderson Chambers, Cecil Payne, Nate Woodward, and Gene Easton. Tracks are short, and most are pretty rocking – with titles that include "Blue Coolade", "Short Stop", "Scam", "Sock", "What I Say", and "Rock Roll". LP, Vinyl record album

Gritty live work from twin tenor giants Gene Ammons and Dexter Gordon – recorded in an open-ended style that's a bit like some of Gordon's famous early work on the Central Avenue scene in LA, or Ammons' famous live "battles" with Sonny Stitt! The date was recorded in Chicago at the North Park Hotel – with sound that's a bit more "live" than some of the other Prestige sessions at the time – and an unusual lineup that features local players Jodie Christian and John Young on piano, Cleveland Eaton on bass, and Steve McCall on drums. The lovely Vi Redd makes a vocal appearance on the track "Lonesome Lover Blues" – and other titles include "The Chase", "Polka Dots & Moonbeams", and "The Happy Blues" – all nice and long! LP, Vinyl record album

Late great work from Ammons – an album done at the time of his funk sides for Prestige, but recorded in the style of his earlier years in Chicago! The session's a laidback set of soulful solo-heavy work – recorded as part of a hip series of shows at the North Park Hotel, with a local rhythm trio that includes Jodie Christian on piano, Cleveland Eaton on bass, and Marshall Thompson on drums. James Moody joins Ammons in the frontline, and the set's got the best electric feel that you'd hear if you were lucky enough to catch either player in a small club date in the early 60s. Loads of very imaginative solo work in the best Chicago tenor tradition – with titles that include "Work Song", "Jim Jam Jug", "Have You Met Miss Jones", and "C Jam Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

The original recording of Berio's dark vocal piece Sinfonia, and one of the pivotal moments when the Swingle Singers switched from doing jazzy versions of classical tunes to work that was more avant garde. Their high level of talent is apparent in this recording, and they give Berio's work a nice haunting sound, with a feel that's even spookier because you sort of recognize them as a pop group, but one that's gone a little crazy here. Cool stuff, and with a good set of notes. LP, Vinyl record album

A great little live set from Maria Bethania – one recorded with the lighter, looser sound she was using in the early 80s – and which stands as a nice contrast to her more dramatic concert performances of the 70s! The music director for the show is Gilberto Gil, and there's a bit of the warmer overtones that Gil was using in his own music at the time – not really the soulful modes, but stronger use of electric keyboards and flowing rhythms that bring in a bit of jazz and a nice sense of fullness. Titles include "Prenda", "Luzes De Ribalta", "Gas Neon", "O Que E O Que E", "Cantico Negro", "Cancao Da Volta", "De Noite E De Dia", and "Nossos Momentos". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Art Blakey's first true moments of genius! This transitional version of the Jazz Messengers included two parts – Lee Morgan and Bobby Timmons – of the holy Morgan/Shorter/Timmons trilogy, and it's also got the added bonus of Benny Golson on tenor, who was at the height of his power at this point. The record really shines in ways that few Blakey albums shone since his days with Horace Silver – in that it's a forum for fresh new writing, most importantly Golson's landmark compositions "Blues March" and "Along Came Betty", and Timmons' instant classic "Moanin". The whole album's wonderful, though, and Golson's edgey modernism adds a strong dimension to the group's usual soulful romping groove! (And in fact, as a tribute to the group's success, the album was initially named Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, but quickly retitled Moanin in this version, after the big hit single!) LP, Vinyl record album

An explosive session from an expanded edition of the Jazz Messengers – recorded at a key point when Art Blakey moved the group up to six members instead of five! Although bigger than the group on most Jazz Messenger Blue Notes, the sextet have an energy that's almost tighter – a sense of poise, focus, and vision that's not just driven by Blakey's drum kit alone – but by the kind of unique magic that only happens during rare groupings in classic jazz. A key part of the energy here comes from pianist Cedar Walton – who's replacing the Bobby Timmons soul jazz mode with a sound that's a bit more expansive and visionary. But equally important is the three horn lineup of Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, and Wayne Shorter on tenor – a two-brass frontline that's used far differently than other groups – bold one minute, but personal and sensitive the next. There's a mixture of warmth and driving energy here that's simply incredible – a prime example of Blakey taking things to the next level, when it would have been easy enough for him to sit on his laurels and keep doing the same thing over and over again! Includes classic readings of Cedar Walton's "Mosaic", Freddie Hubbard's "Crisis", and Curtis Fuller's "Arabia" – as well as Shorter's excellent "Children Of The Night". LP, Vinyl record album