One of the greatest albums ever from Blue Note tenor giant Hank Mobley – a set that really explodes in all the new directions Hank was taking in the 60s! Mobley in the 50s was already the stuff of legend – a tremendous soloist on tenor, and every bit his own man – firmly focused forward with a voice that was already tremendous – but which was turned towards a lot of new ideas with records like this! Both Mobley's phrasing and rhythmic construction are different here than a few years before – still every bit as soulful as ever, but able to open up with richer imagination, especially on the strong original tunes on the set. The group's great – a quintet that offers up both guitar from Grant Green and piano from Wynton Kelly – and rhythm is by the mighty team of Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. Tracks are longish, with plenty of room for solos – and titles include "Smokin", "Greasin Easy", "Workout", and "Uh Huh". CD also features the bonus track "Three Coins In The Fountain". CD

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Tracks include-"Budo", "Cattin", "Hank's Shout", "Madeline" and more. CD

One of the greatest Blue Note albums of all time – a record that's even better than the look of it's cover – which is already pretty darn classic! Hank Mobley had been making records for Blue Note for a number of years before this set – but Caddy For Daddy is one in which he really takes off – mixing earlier hardbop modes with a more complex approach to both rhythm and lyricism – matched with some wonderful work from Lee Morgan in the frontline, who was also really hitting new heights at the time – in a group that also includes Curtis Fuller on trombone, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. The group plays this amazing mix of soul jazz and modal grooves that sets a whole new standard in the Blue Note catalog – and every cut is a winner, with titles that include "Venus Di Mildew", "The Morning After", "3rd Time Around", and "Ace Deuce Trey". Fantastic material all the way through, with tracks that will stay in your head for years – and one of the greatest jazz album covers ever! CD

We put the catalog number in the title of this one because it seemed that Blue Note was putting out too many title-less Hank Mobley albums during the late 50s. Who cares, though? This album's a great batch of hardbop tracks that show Mobley at his finest, and which hardly need a title to hang them together. The group's a sextet, with little-known reed player Curtis Porter on alto and tenor, plus Sonny Clark on piano and Bill Hardman on trumpet. Titles include "Mighty Moe & Joe" and "News" (both written by Porter), plus Mobley's "Double Exposure". Prime hardbop material, and with a great cover that has Mobley looking like an alien behind a microphone! CD

An excellent CD reworking of the original Mobley hardbop classic, and one that restores a number of tracks that were originally recorded for the album's session, but which showed up on other Blue Note albums. The whole thing's got 8 cuts in all, some of which didn't appear on the orignal album, and all of which are killer modal hardbop numbers, of the sort that Mobley was perfecting during this key point in his career. Lee Morgan's on trumpet, and pianist Andrew Hill makes a rare "straight" appearance on the album. Titles include "Comin Back", "Me N You", "Syrup & Biscuits", "Carolyn", and the classic "No Room For Squares". CD

No room for squares with grooves this great – a classic Hank Mobley session from the mid 60s, and one that really shows the growth in his style at the time! The work's still strongly in a hardbop style, but modal elements are definitely creeping into the mix – a bolder sense of rhythm that really transforms the music from before – and lets Mobley reach out in a whole different way with his solos! The album features material from two different sessions – each of which have Mobley's tenor coming into play with other inventive artists on Blue Note at the time. One date features Lee Morgan on trumpet, Andrew Hill on piano, John Ore on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – and the other features Donald Byrd on trumpet, Herbie Hancock on piano, Butch Warren on bass, and Jones again on drums. Titles include "Up A Step", "Me N You", "Three Way Split", "Carolyn", and the classic "No Room For Squares". Plus, this reissue CD features 3 bonus cuts – "Old World New Imports", and alternate takes of "Carolyn" and "No Room For Squares". CD

A lost session by Hank Mobley – originally recorded in 1966, but not officially issued until 1979, and then only briefly until another short issue in the mid 90s! The record has Mobley really reaching out into a new bag – hitting a more soulfully arranged sound than on some of his other straighter Blue Notes – a full, rich groove that's totall wonderful! Duke Pearson arranged the group, and it's slightly larger than usual – with James Spaulding on alto, Lee Morgan on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, Billy Higgins on drums, and Kiane Zawadi and Howard Johnson providing a very unique tuba/euphonium bass part – hardly the clunky horns you might expect, and instead sort of a rumbling bottom-end sound that's really great. Titles include "Hank's Other Bag", "Touch Of Blue", and "A Slice Of The Top". CD

One of the key classics from the hardbop years of Blue Note – the kind of album that really set the label apart from the rest at the time! Soul Station is a deceptively simple album that has tenor giant Hank Mobley playing standards and originals in a quartet with Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Blakey on drums– a spare and simple group, but one with a direct energy that's really amazing – in a way that makes for some of Mobley's best solos on record! The tracks here are all relatively basic in construction, but this territory allows all players to really relax and open up – especially Mobley, who really dominates the proceedings with some well-blown lines on tenor. Blakey's work is great too – nicely restrained, and the date marks one of his last sessions ever as a sideman. Titles include "Soul Station", "Split Feelin's", "Dig Dis", and "This I Dig Of You". CD

One of those rare treasures that was recorded by Blue Note in the 60s, but not issued at the time – a great late Hank Mobley set from 1967 that only saw the light of day in 1980! The album's got Hank really opening things up – using some of those more inventive rhythms and articulate phrasing that really graced his late years at Blue Note – a bold step forward, given his already-great run of material for the label! The core group is a quintet – with Lee Morgan on trumpet and Cedar Walton on piano – both of whom add to the lyrical edge of the playing – and most tracks feature additional work from James Spaulding on alto and flute, and the wonderful Sonny Greenwich on guitar – a player whose unique phrasing really helps shape the record's sound! Rhythms are from Walter Booker on bass and Billy Higgins on drums – again both great choices for the sometimes-modal qualities of the record – and titles include "Don't Cry Just Sigh", "Steppin Stone", "Third Season", "Boss Bossa", and "An Apertif". CD

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Excellent early hardbop material from Mobley – in a style that's similar to his early Blue Note work, but with a bit less polish. Not that that's a bad thing, though – as the long tracks create some strong interplay between the groups, and the rough edges bring out some good sides of the players' tones that you don't get in slicker sessions from the time. The groups include Barry Harris, Donald Byrd, Doug Watkins, and Kenny Clarke – and the CD features material from the full sessions that yielded the Jazz Message album on Savoy, with titles that include "Space Flight", "Cattin", "Madeline", "B For BB", and "Blues Number Two". Added to those tracks is a full bonus LP – recorded in 1953, under the title Max Roach Quintet With Hank Mobley. Despite the early date and boppish orientation of the material on, the tracks have a sinister modernist edge that easily belies the later work of both Roach and Hank Mobley. The set kicks off with the incredible stormer "Cou Manchi Cou", then slides into a crackling batch of cuts that include "Mobleyzation", "Chi Chi", "Sfax", and "Orientation". There's lots of amazing drum work, and some incredible arrangements that show a very far-reaching sensibility on Roach's part. CD

A rock-solid 60s session from Blue Note tenor giant Hank Mobley – and a set with a sound that's as iconic as its cover! The record comes from a key point in Mobley's career – when he was shifting from some more conventional hard bop to a variant of his style that was filled with newer, fresher ideas – slight currents of modernism, mixed in with a soulful groove – served up here with a killer group that also features Lee Morgan on trumpet and Harold Mabern on piano, both players hitting a similar stretching out point in their own careers! Rhythm features Larry Ridley on bass and Billy Higgins on drums – a fluid duo who really help open up Hank's ideas – on titles that include the Mobley originals "Ballin", "The Vamp", "The Dip", and "The Break Through". The sound is incredible – full, rich, soaring – uniquely Mobley's own vision, and not a copycat approach to the styles of Coltrane, Rollins, or other 60s tenorists. CD

One of Hank Mobley's greatest sides from the hardbop years of the late 50s – a searing sextet session with a 3-horn frontline! The group features Mobley on tenor, John Jenkins on alto, and Donald Byrd on trumpet – plus a crackling rhythm group with Bobby Timmons, Wilbur Ware, and Philly Joe Jones. It's great to hear Timmons and Ware together, especially as both of them were at the height of their powers at this point in their careers – and Jenkins' soulful alto work is a key part of the set, and makes us wish he'd gotten in the studio more after this time. Great throughout, with 2 long titles that include "Fit For A Hanker" and "Hi Groove, Low Feedback", plus a nice take of Bud Powell's "Dance Of The Infidels". CD

A very unique album from Hank Mobley – one that has him working alongside Milt Jackson, in an unusual format that mixes the soulful Mobley tenor with some well-crafted work on vibes! The "all star" title is certainly appropriate here – as Mobley and Jackson are joined in a quintet by Horace Silver on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Blakey on drums – almost bringing in an early Jazz Messengers sensibility to the record, but also hitting more of a looser, laidback blowing session approach. There's less of the tightness of other Mobley sessions from the time, and the record has the players really feeling each other out in the studio – with the sort of spontaneity you might hear in a Prestige or Savoy album from the time. Tracks are long, and titles include "Ultramarine", "Don't Walk", "Lower Stratosphere", and "Mobley's Musings". CD

We put the catalog number in the title of this one because it seemed that Blue Note was putting out too many title-less Hank Mobley albums during the late 50s. Who cares, though? This album's a great batch of hardbop tracks that show Mobley at his finest, and which hardly need a title to hang them together. The group's a sextet, with little-known reed player Curtis Porter on alto and tenor, plus Sonny Clark on piano and Bill Hardman on trumpet. Titles include "Mighty Moe & Joe" and "News" (both written by Porter), plus Mobley's "Double Exposure". Prime hardbop material, and with a great cover that has Mobley looking like an alien behind a microphone! CD

We put the catalog number in the title of this one because it seemed that Blue Note was putting out too many title-less Hank Mobley albums during the late 50s. Who cares, though? This album's a great batch of hardbop tracks that show Mobley at his finest, and which hardly need a title to hang them together. The group's a sextet, with little-known reed player Curtis Porter on alto and tenor, plus Sonny Clark on piano and Bill Hardman on trumpet. Titles include "Mighty Moe & Joe" and "News" (both written by Porter), plus Mobley's "Double Exposure". Prime hardbop material, and with a great cover that has Mobley looking like an alien behind a microphone! CD

We put the catalog number in the title of this one because it seemed that Blue Note was putting out too many title-less Hank Mobley albums during the late 50s. Who cares, though? This album's a great batch of hardbop tracks that show Mobley at his finest, and which hardly need a title to hang them together. The group's a sextet, with little-known reed player Curtis Porter on alto and tenor, plus Sonny Clark on piano and Bill Hardman on trumpet. Titles include "Mighty Moe & Joe" and "News" (both written by Porter), plus Mobley's "Double Exposure". Prime hardbop material, and with a great cover that has Mobley looking like an alien behind a microphone! CD

A lost smoker from the legendary tenorist Hank Mobley – recorded relatively late in his career, at a time when his music on Blue Note was really taking some great new directions! The approach here is maybe a bit more straightforward than those records, but still completely amazing – as Mobley's soloing with all these unusual twists and turns, and phrasing that you never would have heard a few years before – all while working with a variety of Dutch backing combos on these live performances from the Netherlands in 1968! One group features Pim Jacobs on piano, Wim Overgaauw on guitar, Ruud Jacobs on bass, and future avant legend Han Bennink on drums – and another features the great Rob Agerbeek on piano, with Hans Van Rossem on bass and Cees See on drums. There's also two studio performances with the larger Hobby Orkest ensemble – quite an unusual setting for Hank, and a great one too – and titles include "Summertime", "Twenty Four & More", "Three Way Split", "Vierd Blues", "I Didn't Know What Time It Was", "Sonny's Tune", "Autumn Leaves", and "Blues By Five". CD

Great early material from Hank Mobley – a record that's practically a Jazz Messengers album, given the lineup – and which comes across with the fire and power of that classic group at their start! Mobley's tenor is set tightly in a combo that includes Horace Silver on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Blakey on drums – just like an early Jazz Messengers group, but without trumpet – and really kicking strongly on the rhythm tip. Mobley's tenor gets some great focus out front – amazing lines that already show the young Hank as one of the freshest tenor voices of his generation. Titles include "Hank's Prank", "Walkin The Fence", "Just Coolin", and "Avila & Tequila". CD

An obscure late 50s set from the mighty Hank Mobley – and like all of the tenorist's sides for Blue Note, an essential gem that tops most work by the rest of his contemporaries! The setting here is a really warm and lyrical one – as Mobley's playing with Horace Silver on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, Art Blakey on drums, and the great Art Farmer on trumpet – making one of his rare (and appreciated!) Blue Note appearances on the set! The tracks have a good mixture of hardbop and more lyrical overtones – in a manner that's similar to Silver's work, but with a little more gutbucket soloing on tenor from Mobley. Titles include "Base On Balls", "Fin De L'Affaire", "Funk In Deep Freeze", and "Startin From Scratch". CD also features 2 bonus tracks – alternate takes of "Funk In Deep Freeze" and "Wham & They're Off". CD

Don't let the cover fool you – because the album's not the Hank Mobley album with John Jenkins on alto, nor the Blue Note 1550 quintet session – but instead some unreleased material with the great Sonny Clark on piano! The group's a five piece, with Kenny Dorham on trumpet – but Kenny bows out for one track, which lets Mobley hold his soulful own on a great bgallad reading of "Deep In A Dream". Almost all the other tracks are originals, though – driven strongly by Clark's deft work on piano, Jimmy Rowser on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. The material was all recorded in that key Hank Mobley year of 1957 – and titles include "Don't Get Too Hip", "The Mobe", "My Reverie", and "On The Bright Side". CD

An extremely well-titled set from the legendary Hank Mobley – one of his key Blue Notes of the 60s, and an album that glides along with an undeniable sense of joy, life, and soul! Mobley's really opening up his groove at this point – moving way beyond standard hard bop and soul jazz riffs, into a field of complicated rhythms – and a flurry of sound that features his mighty tenor atop a crack sextet that includes Blue Mitchell and Jackie McLean. John Hicks handles piano on the session – and brings in a beautiful range of colors and tones – and rhythm's handled by the skipping drums of Billy Higgins and the always-solid bass of Bob Cranshaw. Titles include "Two & One", "High Voltage", "No More Goodbyes", "Advance Notion", and "Bossa De Luxe". CD

One of the first great pairings of Hank Mobley and Lee Morgan – a trumpet/tenor team that was always a treasure, no matter what the setting! This one's a pretty open-ended blowing date – one that gives both horn players plenty of room to stretch out, in a setting that's filled with sharp-edged, and imaginative lines! The rhythm section is rock solid too – with Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and the great Charlie Persip on drums – kicking things nicely on the kit to get a groove going. Tracks are all quite long, and titles include "Git Go Blues", "Speak Low", "Stretchin Out", and "High & Flighty". This CD edition includes 3 bonus tracks – alternate takes of ""High & Flighty", "Speak Low" and "Stretchin Out". CD

A killer set of hardbop from the legendary Hank Mobley – recorded during the initial Mobley run at Blue Note, and a keen document of his amazing power on the tenor sax! The album's got a tightness that's almost impossible to believe – a summation of all the best bop trends of the 50s, rolled into a freewheeling and soulful expression, guided by Mobley's always-sharp ear for a groove. The group's great too – and Art Blakey is on drums, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and a young young Freddie Hubbard plays trumpet. All tracks are nice and long, with a firey hardbop sound, deeply held in place by Mobley's soulful tone on the tenor! Titles include "My Groove Your Move", "Baptist Beat", and "The Breakdown". CD features one more bonus track! CD

One of the key classics from the hardbop years of Blue Note – the kind of album that really set the label apart from the rest at the time! Soul Station is a deceptively simple album that has tenor giant Hank Mobley playing standards and originals in a quartet with Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Blakey on drums– a spare and simple group, but one with a direct energy that's really amazing – in a way that makes for some of Mobley's best solos on record! The tracks here are all relatively basic in construction, but this territory allows all players to really relax and open up – especially Mobley, who really dominates the proceedings with some well-blown lines on tenor. Blakey's work is great too – nicely restrained, and the date marks one of his last sessions ever as a sideman. Titles include "Soul Station", "Split Feelin's", "Dig Dis", and "This I Dig Of You". CD

One of the best-ever Hank Mobley albums on Blue Note – and a killer batch of soulful hardbop that was cut right around the same time as the classic No Room For Squares LP. In fact, the album contains work from 2 different sessions that filtered over to the Squares album – one that featured Mobley with Freddie Hubbard, Barry Harris, Paul Chambers, and Billy Higgins; and another that included Herbie Hancock, Donald Byrd, Butch Warren, and Philly Joe Jones. The work is incredibly sharp – with that wonderful mix of soul jazz, hardbop, and nascent spiritualism that Mobley brought to his best work of the 60s. Titles include "My Sin", "Straight Ahead", "The Turnaround", and "East Of The Village". CD

One of the greatest albums ever from Blue Note tenor giant Hank Mobley – a set that really explodes in all the new directions Hank was taking in the 60s! Mobley in the 50s was already the stuff of legend – a tremendous soloist on tenor, and every bit his own man – firmly focused forward with a voice that was already tremendous – but which was turned towards a lot of new ideas with records like this! Both Mobley's phrasing and rhythmic construction are different here than a few years before – still every bit as soulful as ever, but able to open up with richer imagination, especially on the strong original tunes on the set. The group's great – a quintet that offers up both guitar from Grant Green and piano from Wynton Kelly – and rhythm is by the mighty team of Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. Tracks are longish, with plenty of room for solos – and titles include "Smokin", "Greasin Easy", "Workout", and "Uh Huh". CD features the bonus track "Three Coins In The Fountain". CD

Maybe not the first album from the legendary Band – but a record in which the group get everything completely right all the way through – and sparkle with that special sound that continues to influence generations of music makers, and music lovers! All the great elements the group were bringing to their work with Bob Dylan are in place here – but the focus is completely different, with this warm glow that really fits the vocals of Levon Helm, and a sense of unified vision that makes it really hard to even come up with a match for the energy of the group on this album. The great John Simon adds a few special touches to the overall sound – and titles include "Rockin Chair", "Across The Great Divide", "When You Awake", "Up On Cripple Creek", "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "Look Out Cleveland", and "King Harvest". CD

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A rock-solid 60s session from Blue Note tenor giant Hank Mobley – and a set with a sound that's as iconic as its cover! The record comes from a key point in Mobley's career – when he was shifting from some more conventional hard bop to a variant of his style that was filled with newer, fresher ideas – slight currents of modernism, mixed in with a soulful groove – served up here with a killer group that also features Lee Morgan on trumpet and Harold Mabern on piano, both players hitting a similar stretching out point in their own careers! Rhythm features Larry Ridley on bass and Billy Higgins on drums – a fluid duo who really help open up Hank's ideas – on titles that include the Mobley originals "Ballin", "The Vamp", "The Dip", and "The Break Through". The sound is incredible – full, rich, soaring – uniquely Mobley's own vision, and not a copycat approach to the styles of Coltrane, Rollins, or other 60s tenorists. CD

One of Hank Mobley's greatest sides from the hardbop years of the late 50s – a searing sextet session with a 3-horn frontline! The group features Mobley on tenor, John Jenkins on alto, and Donald Byrd on trumpet – plus a crackling rhythm group with Bobby Timmons, Wilbur Ware, and Philly Joe Jones. It's great to hear Timmons and Ware together, especially as both of them were at the height of their powers at this point in their careers – and Jenkins' soulful alto work is a key part of the set, and makes us wish he'd gotten in the studio more after this time. Great throughout, with 2 long titles that include "Fit For A Hanker" and "Hi Groove, Low Feedback", plus a nice take of Bud Powell's "Dance Of The Infidels". CD

A very unique album from Hank Mobley – one that has him working alongside Milt Jackson, in an unusual format that mixes the soulful Mobley tenor with some well-crafted work on vibes! The "all star" title is certainly appropriate here – as Mobley and Jackson are joined in a quintet by Horace Silver on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Blakey on drums – almost bringing in an early Jazz Messengers sensibility to the record, but also hitting more of a looser, laidback blowing session approach. There's less of the tightness of other Mobley sessions from the time, and the record has the players really feeling each other out in the studio – with the sort of spontaneity you might hear in a Prestige or Savoy album from the time. Tracks are long, and titles include "Ultramarine", "Don't Walk", "Lower Stratosphere", and "Mobley's Musings". CD

A real hardbop treasure from Hank Mobley – one of the hardest to find albums from the legendary Blue Note 1500 series, and a title that's hardly ever been reissued over the yers! The session is a monstrous meeting of Mobley with two of the great young trumpet talents of the late 50's – Lee Morgan and Donald Byrd – really blowing in this open-ended way, but with a lot more focus than you'd find on a record that was just strictly a blowing session too! There's only 4 tracks, and all of them are great, long drawn-out hard bop classics. Horace Silver's on piano, so you know it's got a great groove – and the rest of the group features Paul Chambers on bass and Charlie Persip on drums. Titles include "Double Whammy", "Barrel Of Funk", "Touch & Go", and "Mobleymania". CD

One of the key classics from the hardbop years of Blue Note – the kind of album that really set the label apart from the rest at the time! Soul Station is a deceptively simple album that has tenor giant Hank Mobley playing standards and originals in a quartet with Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Blakey on drums– a spare and simple group, but one with a direct energy that's really amazing – in a way that makes for some of Mobley's best solos on record! The tracks here are all relatively basic in construction, but this territory allows all players to really relax and open up – especially Mobley, who really dominates the proceedings with some well-blown lines on tenor. Blakey's work is great too – nicely restrained, and the date marks one of his last sessions ever as a sideman. Titles include "Soul Station", "Split Feelin's", "Dig Dis", and "This I Dig Of You". CD

One of Hank Mobley's last recordings for Blue Note, and a record that really shows him stretching it out – hitting territory hardly imagined on his earlier hardbop sides! The album's still somewhat inside, but the overall feel is much more spacious than before – a sound that has some nice open moments, and which shows Hank not content to simply blow tenor in a deep, gutbuckety mode – even though that was still pretty darn great! The lineup is a sextet – with Woody Shaw on trumpet, Eddie Diehl on guitar, Cedar Walton on piano, Mickey Bass on bass, and Leroy Williams on drums – a different-than-usual combo for Mobley, and one that furthers the unusual feel of the record. Side one features the extended "Suite" – proof that Mobley's writing had grown as much as labelmate Lee Morgan by the end of the 60s. Other tracks continue that fact – and include "Justine", "You Gotta Hit It", and "Talk About Getting It" – plus "Gayle's Groove", which was written by Bass. The set was originally recorded in 1970, but was not issued on vinyl until 1980! CD

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Briggan Krauss on alto and baritone saxophone, Steven Bernstein on slide and Haitian trumpet, and mellophone, Tony Scherr on bass, and Kenny Wollesen on drums. CD

One of the most unusual albums we've ever heard on the Moserobie label – and that's saying a lot, given the groundbreaking material the Swedish imprint has given us for almost 20 years! Daniel Bingert heads up a group that's very heavy on reed interplay, on a set of tunes that are Monkish at points, but also have some surprising funky touches – not in a conventional way, but at a level that really keeps things interesting! Moussa Fadera handles some plenty heavy drums, and gets bass accompaniment from Torbjorn Zetterberg – a player we always love, but who shows off a whole new side of his talents here. The reeds soar, cross, and sparkle – work from Per Texas Johansson on tenor and bass clarinet, Jonas Kullhammar on alto, and Charlie Malberg on baritone – who also plays piano. The leader Bingert also brings in some moog at times, and Karl Olanderson provides key work on trumpet – on titles that include "Tom Of Norway", "Mobley Phone", "Ulla My Dear", "Soul Nedgangen", "Kennet Lemur", and "Latin Good Times Spela Roll". CD

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A stunning set from overlooked tenor genius Tina Brooks – a musician who recorded for Blue Note during the key years of Hank Mobley and Johnny Griffin, but whose music was mostly un issued at the time! This rare set is a great second chapter to Tina's True Blue album – material recorded in 1958, but unissued until the late 70s in Japan – at which time the album became an instant classic in the Blue Note catalog – and for good reason, too – as the quintet features a crack lineup – with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Sonny Clark on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Blakey on drums. The group grooves nicely on Brooks' "Nutville" and "Minor Move" (done in other versions later on Blue Note), plus a nice long take of "The Way You Look Tonight" – and the tracks "Star Eyes" and "Everything Happens To Me". CD

A stunning set from overlooked tenor genius Tina Brooks – a musician who recorded for Blue Note during the key years of Hank Mobley and Johnny Griffin, but whose music was mostly un issued at the time! This rare set is a great second chapter to Tina's True Blue album – material recorded in 1958, but unissued until the late 70s in Japan – at which time the album became an instant classic in the Blue Note catalog – and for good reason, too – as the quintet features a crack lineup – with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Sonny Clark on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Blakey on drums. The group grooves nicely on Brooks' "Nutville" and "Minor Move" (done in other versions later on Blue Note), plus a nice long take of "The Way You Look Tonight" – and the tracks "Star Eyes" and "Everything Happens To Me". CD

We're not normally great fans of the Ray Brown Trio, but this album's a corker – thanks to some great tenor work by Ralph Moore! Moore's a the height of his powers here – blowing with an easy soulfulness that recalls the classic late 50s work of Hank Mobley. His presence on the set really opens things up – and althoguh Brown's trio is more than fine, and Gene Harris' piano is always a treat, it's really Moore's tenor work that makes this album a gem. Titles are mostly standards, but done with imagination – and titles include "The Champ", "Polka Dots & Moonbeams", "Like Someone In Love", "Quasimoto", "Ralph's Boogie", and "SOS". CD

The entirety of Kenny's first 3 sessions for Blue Note together on one 2 disc set. Arguably some of Kenny Burrell's best work! Unlike some of Kenny's other sessions, which hide his guitar in arrangements that are a bit too complicated – this one's a nicely stripped-down album that sets his hollow electric in a group with Tommy Flanagan on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, Kenny Clarke on drums, and Candido on conga. The tracks are nicely laidback, and Kenny hits some nice deep grooves on cuts like "Fugue N Blues", "Takeela", and "Delilah". Plus, the album also includes a totally cool percussion-only track – "Rhythmorama", which is a duet between Kenny Clarke and Candido! This CD adds the entire session to include the album issued as Kenny Burrell Volume 2 which featured Frank Foster's tenor on numbers like "Moten Swin", "Cheeta" and Phinupi. K.B. Blues, an early 10" side that included the title track (with an alternate take also included here), "Nica's Dream" and "Out For Blood" with tenor man Hank Mobley, is also included. CD

An incredible album from trumpeter Donald Byrd – hard, funky, and with more of an edge than most of his other Blue Note work! The sound on the album's incredibly sinister – really concerned with downward chord turns in moody rhythms – played with a real sense of soul by a frontline that features Byrd next to the tenor of Hank Mobley and sharp alto of the great Sonny Red – really at his best during this period with Byrd! Cedar Walton drives most of the tunes with hypnotic lines on piano – and the rest of the rhythm's cooked up by Walter Booker on bass and Billy Higgins on drums – a fantastic pair who always hint at funk, but still stay in more fluid jazzy territory in a really great way. Titles include the massively hard funky title cut "Blackjack" – plus "Beale Street", "Loki", "Pentatonic", and "Eldorado". CD

8 tracks that do a pretty darn good job of summing up the genius of pianist Sonny Clark during his years at the Blue Note label! The recordings feature Clark in the company of some fierce hardbop groups – with players that include John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, Paul Chambers, Donald Byrd, and Art Farmer. Titles include "Junka", "Cool Struttin", "Dial S For Sonny", "Shoutin On A Riff", and "Sonny's Crib". CD

One of the most classic Blue Note sessions ever – and for good reason too! From the cover, to the title, to the hardbopping grooves of the set, this Sonny Clark late 50s smoker is one of the label's best – as pianist Clark is working here at the height of his powers – leading an all-star group that includes Art Farmer on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Hank Mobley on tenor, Wilbur Ware on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums – all coming together magically on open-ended tunes that tighten up from the blowing session format, and really send the groove home! Plus, Sonny's writing is also great – as the set's got a number of great originals by Clark – and titles include "Bootin' It", "Sonny's Mood", "Shoutin On A Riff", and "Dial S For Sonny" – plus a bonus alternate take of the cut "Bootin' It"! CD

An album that was recorded right in the middle of the fantastic run of Blue Note albums by pianist Sonny Clark – but a set that wasn't issued until many years later, even though it's one of the best of the bunch! The vibe here is prime late 50s Blue Note – not just thanks to Sonny's great work on piano, and the fresh tunes that he brought to the set – but also because the rest of the group is a really all-star lineup too – Donald Byrd on trumpet, Hank Mobley on tenor, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Blakey on drums! The set's got Clark at his most lyrical – playing with a lot of hardbop fire, but also some touches of Horace Silver soulfulness, a perfect match for session-mates Donald Byrd and Hank Mobley. Mobley's in particularly fine form at this point, and the whole set's a real winner! Titles include "Junka", "Blues Blue", "Minor Meeting", and "Royal Flush". The record is paired here with another lost session, one from 1957 that features Clifford Jordan on tenor and Kenny Burrell on guitar. There's a total of 9 brilliantly remastered tracks on the CD – and the set's one of the best bunch of tracks we've ever heard from the great lost piano talent of Sonny Clark. CD

Fantastic stuff, and proof that Rosemary Clooney was always one heck of a great singer – with strengths in jazz that you didn't always hear in her pop work! As you'd guess from the cover, Duke Ellington's leading the group on the album – and most of the tracks here are older Ellington standards, reworked with bold vocal lines from Clooney – in a way that's right up there with any of the usual singers with Ellington's band! Players include Clark Terry, Cat Anderson, Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, and Harry Carney – and titles include "I'm Checkin Out", "Mood Indigo", "Blue Rose", "Grieving", "Hey Baby", and "Passion Flower". CD

Originally a 2LP set, but now a 4CD package – with 14 previously unissued tracks! Legendary early live work from Miles Davis – one of the first examples on record of the way that Davis could really stretch out in a concert setting! The music's a bit more straight ahead than later live dates, but still pretty open and exploratory – and in addition to Davis' sparkling work on trumpet, the album also features some killer tenor lines from Hank Mobley – working here as a key part of Miles' group, and blowing with a hell of a lot of soul. Rhythm is by the rock-solid trio of Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums – and titles include "Neo", "So What", "Fran Dance", and "Well You Needn't". CD

One of the greatest albums ever by pianist Kenny Drew – a record that's as noteworthy for the contributions of the sidemen as it is for the efforts of the leader! Drew's a player who often worked mostly in trio formats – but here, he's hitting hard with a righteous Blue Note power – thanks to the presence of Hank Mobley on tenor and Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, both of whom really give the record an edge! Drew's lyrical sensibilities are shifted to darker, more modern moments at times – and the rest of the group features Sam Jones on bass and Louis Hayes on drums. An essential addition to the Blue Note legacy of Mobley and Hubbard – and the set's filled with original tunes by Kenny, including "The Pot's On", "Undercurrent", "Funk-Cosity", and "Lion's Den". CD

A landmark album from the mighty Bob Dylan – a 2LP set of studio work, which was quite rare at the time – and a set that has Dylan stretching out all his creative powers in newly different directions! The album had a long genesis in the studio – some early work with The Band, then Dylan breaking off with Al Kooper and Robbie Robertson to head down to Nashville – where they interacted with key country session musicians to make this masterful blend of music – work that's not country at all, but which is also moving past Dylan's folk roots too – with a blend of music that still as mindblowing today as it was back in the mid 60s! This is definitely one of those double-length sets that makes fantastic use of all the extra space – overflowing with gems that include "Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35", "Visions Of Johanna", "Pledging My Time", "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again", "Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat", and "Just Like A Woman". CD

Maynard Ferguson cut an undue number of excellent records in his early years – and this smoking set is definitely part of that group! At the time, Maynard was one of the few cats trying to find a way to move the larger band forward in jazz – finding ways to groove like Basie, but also add in some higher ideals, too – all with a surprisingly soulful current that definitely earns the title, and hints at his funky work to come in the 70s! Here, things are more shaded in blue tones and given a nice rhythmic kick – and as always with Maynard, the choice of band members is great – as the lineup features Charlie Mariano on alto, Don Rader on trumpet, Phil Bodner on reeds, Richard Davis on bass, and Mel Lewis on drums – working with strong creative energy on titles that include "What'd I Say", "Baltimore Oriole", "I Believe To My Soul", "I've Got A Woman", and "Alright OK You Win". CD

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A set titled after a Beatles hit of the 60s, but one that's got a lot more depth than that – as the record is a landmark moment in the development of organ/guitar jazz at the time – a set that features the key pairing of guitarist Grant Green and Hammond modernist Larry Young! As with other records from the duo, there's a sense of rhythmic progression and tonal inflection here that's quite different than more standard soul jazz of the time – a complexity that also comes from the drum work of Elvin Jones, and which is topped by the soulful expressions of Hank Mobley on tenor – the last member of this all-star quartet! The whole thing's great – based around loose, free rhythms – and featuring searching solos that also still remain nicely swinging and in the pocket! Titles include "Corcovado", "Stella By Starlight", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", and "At Long Last Love". CD

A set titled after a Beatles hit of the 60s, but one that's got a lot more depth than that – as the record is a landmark moment in the development of organ/guitar jazz at the time – a set that features the key pairing of guitarist Grant Green and Hammond modernist Larry Young! As with other records from the duo, there's a sense of rhythmic progression and tonal inflection here that's quite different than more standard soul jazz of the time – a complexity that also comes from the drum work of Elvin Jones, and which is topped by the soulful expressions of Hank Mobley on tenor – the last member of this all-star quartet! The whole thing's great – based around loose, free rhythms – and featuring searching solos that also still remain nicely swinging and in the pocket! Titles include "Corcovado", "Stella By Starlight", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", and "At Long Last Love". CD

One of the first true moments of genius from tenorist Joe Henderson – his debut as a leader for Blue Note, and a set that already has him knocking it out of the park, and setting a tone for a whole new generation! Right at the start, Joe was as distinct a saxophonist as recent predecessors like Wayne Shorter or Hank Mobley – but like both of them, he had a voice that was all his own – and already stretching past more familiar tenor modes, at a level that would make Henderson one of the most important players in years soon to come! But he's already great here – and is working in a suberpb group with Kenny Dorham on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Butch Warren on bass, and Pete LaRoca on drums. LaRoca's very free on the drum kit, and gives the set a rhythmic looseness that's a bit of a hint at some of Joe's 70's recordings – and that style's even further supported by Tyner's long flowing lines on piano, and Dorham's sparkling work on the trumpet! Includes the classic reading of Kenny's "Blue Bossa", plus the titles "Recorda-Me", "Jinrikisha", "La Mesha", and "Homestretch". CD