A treasure trove of gospel work from the mighty Checker Records label in Chicago – the spiritual imprint of the legendary Chess Records, which gave the world plenty of great soul and blues records back in the day! The difference between the sound of Chess and Checker is minimal – so ... LP, Vinyl record album
Legendary soundtrack work from the mighty Peter Thomas – one of the hippest German cats working on the scene in the 60s – presented here with key classics from the Edgar Wallace spy/crime series, plus a number of unreleased tracks as well! If you know Thomas, you'll know that he's got ... CD
Fantastic jazz from the New Zealand scene of the 70s – funky at times, modal at others – and material by a group who often have the same sort of sharp edges and rhythmic pulses of Stone Alliance, but who also open up more colors with a slightly larger sextet lineup! As with most of the ... LP, Vinyl record album
Easily the most ambitious project we've ever heard from London bassist Daniel Casimir – a set that takes off from older large jazz ensemble mode, yet somehow has a vibe that's very much in keeping with the hippest of the contemporary UK scene! There's some very skittish rhythms at the core ... LP, Vinyl record album
One of the boldest statements ever made by reedman Byard Lancaster – a really freewheeling live set recorded in Paris, and done with the hard-burning energy that marked some of the classic late 60s sessions for BYG! Lancaster's key musical partner here is trumpeter Clint Jackson III, who's ... CD
A fantastic live performance from the spiritual giant Charles Tolliver – material recorded right in the middle of a legendary run of albums for the Strata East label, and done with a very similar vibe! The tracks are long, searching, and very spiritual – and the group here is a bit ... LP, Vinyl record album
Jazz harpist Amanda Whiting takes on the sound of the season – serving up her own take on Christmas classics by Vince Guaraldi and others, all in a way that's a nice change from the usual! The setting is nicely spare – mostly just light bass and drums behind Whiting's instrument in the ... CD
A wonderful performance, and one that really marks the shift in sound and musical development that guitarist Jeff Parker has experienced on the Los Angeles scene – as he works here in the familiar grounds of Enfield Tennis Academy, where he'd held a regular space for quite some time with the ... CD
A great back to basics set for Roscoe Mitchell – freer improvisation than some of his more compositional works, and with a group that matches the energy of some of his important recordings of the late 70s/early 80s period! Other players in the group include Sandy Ewen on guitar, Damon Smith ... CD
Out Of/Into (Gerald Clayton/Immanuel Wilkins/Joel Ross/Kendrick Scott/Matt Brewer)
A mighty hip combo – a quintet that features some of the most exciting Blue Note Records musicians in recent years, all banding together beautifully for a session that has their talents lifted even higher in the company of each other! Players include Joel Ross on vibes, Immanuel Wilkins on ... LP, Vinyl record album
One of our favorite Woody Shaw albums from his later years – and an album that's got the same joyous spirit and free soaring feel of his best 70s work on Muse – really soaring with a sense of life and freedom in a really great way! The core group on the album is the Tone Jansa Quartet ... LP, Vinyl record album
Work Money Death just seem to get better and better with each record – already a great spiritual jazz ensemble, but one whose work opens up with an even deeper sense of soul with each new release! One of the shining stars here is tenorist Tony Burkill – who's blowing with a raspy tone ... LP, Vinyl record album
A never-issued live performance by Sun Ra and the Arkestra – and one that easily sits right up there with some of their best records of the 70s! The extended set offers a great chance to hear the way the Arkestra could effortlessly skirt inside and outside moments when they were at their ... CD
A cool soundtrack for an imaginary movie – one that's about the female jewel thief pictured on the cover, and which is scored by Mondo Sangue with a retro groove that really matches that image! There's some great use of organ, keyboards, and even a bit of vibes on the set – and tunes ... LP, Vinyl record album
Bill Evans is sporting a mustache on the cover, which wasn't always the greatest look for him – but the record's about listening, not looking – and it's a hell of a listen throughout! The set features Bill's wonderful trio with Eddie Gomez on bass and Marty Morell on drums – the ... CD
Fantastic Fender Rhodes from a contemporary Brazilian trio – one who almost seem to take on the best territory that Azymuth worked in back in the day! The sound is lean – just the drums of Joao Fideles, bass of Noa Stroeter, and the mighty nice Rhodes work of Henrique Gomide – a ... CD
A massive set of music – and one that includes all the rare Palm label recordings made by reedman Byard Lancaster in Paris during the 70s! First up is Us – a set that features a really freewheeling trio brought together under the leadership of reedman Byard Lancaster – a group ... LP, Vinyl record album
A rare look at the German cop show sound of the 70s – served up here by the great Peter Thomas, who did so much wonderful spy and sci fi material in the 60s! The tunes have all those charms of Thomas' earlier work, especially his strong commitment to using the best jazz musicians to serve up ... CD
Lost genius from the UK scene of the 80s – the first-ever collection of work by Splat, a group whose singer was the force behind the legendary Ron Johnson records – home to some great funky punky acts back in the day! Splat have a groove that's right up there with labelmates Stump, The ... CD
Some of the most beautiful, most introspective music ever recorded by the great Byard Lancaster – a set that brings his work on reeds and piano into play with the percussion of Keno Speller! Lancaster is clearly the driving force here – there are a lot of fantastic solo passages, many ... CD