A great later release of rare material from Eric Dolphy – sides recorded in the early 60s, but appearing here for the first time ever! The set features long tracks – "GW" and "245", recorded with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Jaki Byard on piano, and Dolphy on alto; and "Bee Vamp" and "Serene" with Booker Little on trumpet, Mal Waldron on piano, and Dolphy on bass clarinet! LP, Vinyl record album

Group features Henry Franklin on bass! (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

A sublime little set – quite possibly the greatest album ever from Brazilian keyboardist Manfredo Fest! Manfredo first cut his teeth on the bossa scene of the 60s – but by the time of this rare indie session, he'd moved up to the US – and was working with sweet keyboards to really electrify his groove! The record's a wonderful blend of 70s Brazilian fusion modes and just a dash of American soul – and in addition to Manfredo's wonderful work on Fender Rhodes, the set also has these brilliant vocals from Roberta Davis – a singer who works wordlessly, using her voice as an instrument in this really cool way – sliding along with the grooves, and making the album sound unlike anything else we can think of. The overall feel is a bit like Joao Donato's excellent Quem E Quem album – and titles include "Jungle Cat", "Facing East", "Who Needs It", and "Brazilian Dorian Dream". (Brazil, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible solo record from Rob Mazurek – a wonderful change from some of his larger group and collaborative projects – even though we love those a heck of a lot too! This set's a great reminder of the core improvisational genius that Rob's always had, but which sometimes is overshadowed by the group activity on his other records. Here, Mazurek blows cornet alone, and also plays both standard and prepared piano – and colors things with just a dash of his great electronics – often used in more sparing and subtle ways than some of his group efforts. A really beautiful set from a musician who continues to reward us over the years – with titles that include "Twombly At New Church", "Gazing Through Walls", "King Of Rome", and "Sweet Life In Disrepair". CD

God, we love this record – and we're not ashamed to admit it! Sure, it sold a gazillion copies – and sure, for some folks it showed the true demise of the Crusaders ensemble. But for us, it's a masterpiece of smooth fusion, and a landmark album of easy jazz that spawned countless imitators that could never hope to match Sample's simple and elegant use of funky riffing and lyrical chords – coming in with just the right dash of darkness when the record's in danger of sounding too light. Most of the rest of the Crusaders had a hand in the record, and the set's got the smooth west coast sound you'd expect from the title. Tracks include "Carmel", "Cannery Row", "Sunrise", and "More Beautiful Each Day". LP, Vinyl record album

A cheesy cover, but a treasure trove of rare tenor work from the legendary Vee Jay Records – mostly non-LP numbers that were issued on singles, by Julian Dash, Tommy Dean, Wardell Gray, Al Smith, Noble Thin Man Watts, and David Shipp! CD

The AACM torch is still held proud and firm in this great recording by Air from 1980. Mssrs. Threadgill, Hopkins, and McCall play in a manner that blends freeness with soulfulness and a nice dash of creative humor – which results in a trio of tracks that are essential listening for fans of the group. Titles include "BK", which features some great flute work by Threadgill, plus "RB" and "CT, JL". CD

A record with a title that sounds like it should be something of a bachelor pad release from the title, but which is instead a good old fashioned, no holds barred, open-ended jazz session from trumpeter Buck Clayton! All tracks are nice and long – way more than usual for big label jazz at the time – and Clayton's trumpet is lineup alongside those of Joe Newman and Joe Thomas, plus other players who include Woody Herman on clarinet, Urbie Green and Benny Powell on trombones, Julian Dash and Al Cohn on tenor, Charlie Fowkes on baritone, Freddie Green on guitar, and Sir Charles Thompson on piano. Titles include "Moten Swing", "Sentimental Journey", "How Hi The Fi", and "Blue Moon". LP, Vinyl record album

A sublime little set – quite possibly the greatest album ever from Brazilian keyboardist Manfredo Fest! Manfredo first cut his teeth on the bossa scene of the 60s – but by the time of this rare indie session, he'd moved up to the US – and was working with sweet keyboards to really electrify his groove! The record's a wonderful blend of 70s Brazilian fusion modes and just a dash of American soul – and in addition to Manfredo's wonderful work on Fender Rhodes, the set also has these brilliant vocals from Roberta Davis – a singer who works wordlessly, using her voice as an instrument in this really cool way – sliding along with the grooves, and making the album sound unlike anything else we can think of. The overall feel is a bit like Joao Donato's excellent Quem E Quem album – and titles include "Jungle Cat", "Facing East", "Who Needs It", and "Brazilian Dorian Dream". (Brazil, Jazz) CD

Sweet electric magic from Ramsey Lewis – four 70s albums in a single collection! First up is Don't It Feel Good – massive keyboard work from the great Ramsey Lewis – easily one of his best records ever, thanks to some spaciously funky production by Charles Stepney! Stepney plays keyboards here along with Ramsey, and the twin-keys approach makes for a sound that's extra-special – one that sums up all the earlier soulful creativity of both artists in their late 60s Cadet Records years, and hones it down to an even sweeter groove for the 70s! A number of tracks have some sort of vocal component, but usually in a chorus mode that soon drops out when the keyboards hit home – and the record features a few great short "interlude" tracks that are almost as great as the longer numbers! Titles include the classic "Juaacklyn", a cover of Earth Wind & Fire's "That's The Way Of The World", and the tracks "I Dig You", "Fish Bite", "Don't It Feel Good", "Something About You", and "Can't Function". Salongo is a tremendous little record, and one of the funky 70s sets that Ramsey Lewis recorded with Earth Wind & Fire! Well, not Earth Wind & Fire entirely – but the Kalimba Productions team of Maurice White and Charles Stepney that gave the group its sound – plus a nice sprinkling of other players that were often associated with sessions by the group! Ramsey's own combo here includes Steve Cobb on drums and vocals, and Derf Reklaw on reeds and vocals as well – and the overall sound has bits of African and Brazilian influences, worked into a soulful fusion groove that sounds a lot like the instrumental backings EWF were using at the time. Titles include "Brazilica", "Slick", "Rubato", "Salongo", and "Seventh Fold". Tequila Mockingbird is an overlooked gem from the Columbia Records years, filled with loads of great grooves, and some pretty mighty keyboards! Part of the record has Ramsey working with Larry Dunn of Kalimba Productions – getting plenty of the Earth Wind & Fire groove that made so much of his Columbia sessions sparkle – while the rest of the set has the great Bert DeCoteaux handling things, and giving Lewis just the right mix of sophistication and soul he was using with other Columbia acts at the time. The album's a perfect example of the way that Ramsey stepped way ahead of the pack during this time in his career – using keyboards and grooves together in ways that so many artists today are still trying to match – but never hit it this right! Titles include "Camino El Bueno", "Caring For You", "Intimacy", "That Ole Bach Music", "Skippin", "Tequila Mockingbird", and "Wandering Rose" – that cool cut by Neal Creque! Love Notes is a great little album of mid 70s funk from Ramsey Lewis – very much in the mode of his Earth, Wind, & Fire related work – no surprise, since the album's dedicated to Charles Stepney, whose influence was such a key part of the sound of the group, and of some of Ramsey's other Kalimba-produced albums from a few years before! Ramsey plays Fender Rhodes, mini moog, and Arp – and he gets help on keyboards from Stevie Wonder and Derf Reklaw, who also plays saxes and percussion on the set. Features versions of Wonder's "Love Notes" and "Spring High", plus Reklaw's "Chili Today Hot Tamale", "Shining", and "Stash Dash". CD

Sweet electric magic from Ramsey Lewis – four 70s albums in a single collection! First up is Don't It Feel Good – massive keyboard work from the great Ramsey Lewis – easily one of his best records ever, thanks to some spaciously funky production by Charles Stepney! Stepney plays keyboards here along with Ramsey, and the twin-keys approach makes for a sound that's extra-special – one that sums up all the earlier soulful creativity of both artists in their late 60s Cadet Records years, and hones it down to an even sweeter groove for the 70s! A number of tracks have some sort of vocal component, but usually in a chorus mode that soon drops out when the keyboards hit home – and the record features a few great short "interlude" tracks that are almost as great as the longer numbers! Titles include the classic "Juaacklyn", a cover of Earth Wind & Fire's "That's The Way Of The World", and the tracks "I Dig You", "Fish Bite", "Don't It Feel Good", "Something About You", and "Can't Function". Salongo is a tremendous little record, and one of the funky 70s sets that Ramsey Lewis recorded with Earth Wind & Fire! Well, not Earth Wind & Fire entirely – but the Kalimba Productions team of Maurice White and Charles Stepney that gave the group its sound – plus a nice sprinkling of other players that were often associated with sessions by the group! Ramsey's own combo here includes Steve Cobb on drums and vocals, and Derf Reklaw on reeds and vocals as well – and the overall sound has bits of African and Brazilian influences, worked into a soulful fusion groove that sounds a lot like the instrumental backings EWF were using at the time. Titles include "Brazilica", "Slick", "Rubato", "Salongo", and "Seventh Fold". Tequila Mockingbird is an overlooked gem from the Columbia Records years, filled with loads of great grooves, and some pretty mighty keyboards! Part of the record has Ramsey working with Larry Dunn of Kalimba Productions – getting plenty of the Earth Wind & Fire groove that made so much of his Columbia sessions sparkle – while the rest of the set has the great Bert DeCoteaux handling things, and giving Lewis just the right mix of sophistication and soul he was using with other Columbia acts at the time. The album's a perfect example of the way that Ramsey stepped way ahead of the pack during this time in his career – using keyboards and grooves together in ways that so many artists today are still trying to match – but never hit it this right! Titles include "Camino El Bueno", "Caring For You", "Intimacy", "That Ole Bach Music", "Skippin", "Tequila Mockingbird", and "Wandering Rose" – that cool cut by Neal Creque! Love Notes is a great little album of mid 70s funk from Ramsey Lewis – very much in the mode of his Earth, Wind, & Fire related work – no surprise, since the album's dedicated to Charles Stepney, whose influence was such a key part of the sound of the group, and of some of Ramsey's other Kalimba-produced albums from a few years before! Ramsey plays Fender Rhodes, mini moog, and Arp – and he gets help on keyboards from Stevie Wonder and Derf Reklaw, who also plays saxes and percussion on the set. Features versions of Wonder's "Love Notes" and "Spring High", plus Reklaw's "Chili Today Hot Tamale", "Shining", and "Stash Dash". CD

We love Oscar Peterson with strings – a setting he never got to use that often, given the popularity of his famous trio recordings! When Oscar gets set up with strings, he seems to play even more freely than with a combo – let loose from rhythm a bit more than before, and instead focusing strongly on melody – which often comes off with a warmly lyrical feel. This album's a rare entry into the Peterson strings category – a great 50s date with Russ Garcia backing Oscar up – giving the album just the right mix of mellow and modern to match Peterson's magical work on the keys! In a way, the album's a link between two different styles of 50s jazz – some of the warmer string-laden work of the piano mainstream, and some of the sharper sounds of the Verve modern approach to the style – served up here by Oscar in ways that bring both modes together perfectly, with just the right dash of both. Titles include "Laura" and "Tenderly" – both tracks you'd have to have on an album like this – plus "Black Coffee", "Ruby", "Stella By Starlight", "A Sunday Kind Of Love", and "I Thought About You". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the earliest work ever recorded by Lester Bowie as a leader – and a set that stands in importance right next to the early Delmark AACM sides by Anthony Braxton and Roscoe Mitchell! Plus, the album's almost an early Art Ensemble of Chicago effort, given the lineup – which features Bowie on trumpet and flugelhorn; Roscoe Mitchell on alto, soprano, clarinet, and flute; Malachi Favors on bass; and Joseph Jarman on alto, sopranino, and clarinet!. The session was cut in 1967 by Chuck Nessa, and it features performances of the tracks "Number 1" and "Number 2" – very much in the Art Ensemble mode, with alternating instrumentation, sharp attacks and spare moments, plus a good dash of humor! CD

A heavy classic from trumpeter Buck Clayton – and a record that set a whole new standard for the jam session on record at the time! The album pushes forward strongly from the territory of the Jazz At The Philharmonic and Jam Session records on Verve – with a vibrancy that's even stronger, and which really has Clayton's leadership bringing all the players into sharp focus. Each track takes up a side of the record – with plenty of room for individual solo work from players who include Joe Newman on trumpet, Urbie Green and Henderson Chambers on trombones, Lem Davis on alto, Julian Dash on tenor, Charlie Fowlkes on baritone, Sir Charles Thompson on piano, and Freddie Green on guitar! The performances are nicely more focused than looser live jam session material of this nature – and titles include "The Huckle-Buck" and "Robbin's Nest". LP, Vinyl record album

Fusion Affair are a group who definitely take their name seriously – as the album's got a mix of keyboards and other electric instrumentation that really lives up to the legacy of jazz fusion – yet also has a way of coming across here with a nicely contemporary vibe! The group's inspirations are as much 80s as they are 70s – yet they've also got more of a 21st Century sense of rhythms, which means that some of the best cuts almost have a contemporary clubby sort of groove. Mathieu Guillot handles Fender Rhodes and a range of other keyboards on the set – in a lineup that also includes guitar, bass, drums, percussion, and additional keys – on the tracks "Venom", "Bounce", "Missing Cat", "Bougie Noire", "Dasha", and "Fruits Rouges". LP, Vinyl record album

Really beautiful work from the great Terry Riley – and a set that continues some of the surprising and wonderful shift towards jazz improvisation he's brought to his career in more recent years! If you know Riley, you'll know that the record's not really a jazz album – and instead, it features him improvising and stretching out in his own minimal ways on both standards, and some original tunes – all recorded in a very intimate studio setting in Japan, with Riley playing both acoustic piano and keyboards, often overdubbed. The set includes really surprising takes on "Blue Room", "The Best Thing For You", "Round Midnight", and "Yesterdays" – then also includes original tunes "Pasha Rag", and "Gotcha Wakatcha" – the last of which has Riley singing along with Sara Miyamoto. Features a bonus 7" single – with the song "Ballade For Sara & Tadashi" in both piano and keyboard versions! (Out Sound, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the funkiest albums ever on Blue Note – a set that mixes the trumpet talents of Blue Mitchell with some killer backings from Monk Higgins – all in a groove that more gritty edges than the best funky soundtracks of the time! Higgins keeps the backings full, but always quite lean – fusing all elements together into a sharp, tight rhythm that steps along with some of the slight African touches you might guess from the title – a groove that's not really that authentic, but which resonates with some of the best inspirations that Hugh Masekela was bringing to American music at the time. And while the album might be an attempt to cash in on Masekela's groove, the feel here is really quite different overall – as tracks are nicely stretched out, with plenty of room for jazzy solo work – and a groove that's much harder overall, thanks to Higgins! Other players include Freddy Robinson on guitar, Wilton Felder on bass, Paul Humphrey on drums, and Plas Johnson on tenor – and titles include "HNIC", "Flat Backing", "Na Ta Ka", "Bantu Village", and "Blue Dashiki". CD

Really beautiful work from the great Terry Riley – and a set that continues some of the surprising and wonderful shift towards jazz improvisation he's brought to his career in more recent years! If you know Riley, you'll know that the record's not really a jazz album – and instead, it features him improvising and stretching out in his own minimal ways on both standards, and some original tunes – all recorded in a very intimate studio setting in Japan, with Riley playing both acoustic piano and keyboards, often overdubbed. The set includes really surprising takes on "Blue Room", "The Best Thing For You", "Round Midnight", and "Yesterdays" – then also includes original tunes "Ballad For Sara & Tadashi", "Pasha Rag", and "Gotcah Wakatcha" – the last of which has Riley singing along with Sara Miyamoto. (Out Sound, Jazz) CD

Beautiful tenor work from Buck Hill – an under-acknowledged genius who finally got his chance to reach a larger audience with a handful of Muse Records releases like this one! Hill's a player with a great deal of feeling – a tone that stretches back to Coleman Hawkins in his best later years, schooled with some of the soul of Stanley Turrentine, but delivered with a warm, rich sound that's all Buck's own – the kind of overlooked tenor talents that would grab your ears from the back of a bar, even if you weren't already hip to the player! Buck's working here with a familiar combo that includes Jon Ozmont on piano, Carroll Dashiell on bass, and Warren Schadd on drums – and he also delivers some surprisingly great original tunes on the set – the titles "Blue Hill", "Mitzi", "Lullaby Of Loosdrecht", "Bossa For Sax", and "Blues In Five For Four Or More". Other titles include "But Beautiful", "I Want To Be Happy", and "Warm Vally". CD

One of the funkiest albums ever on Blue Note – a set that mixes the trumpet talents of Blue Mitchell with some killer backings from Monk Higgins – all in a groove that more gritty edges than the best funky soundtracks of the time! Higgins keeps the backings full, but always quite lean – fusing all elements together into a sharp, tight rhythm that steps along with some of the slight African touches you might guess from the title – a groove that's not really that authentic, but which resonates with some of the best inspirations that Hugh Masekela was bringing to American music at the time. And while the album might be an attempt to cash in on Masekela's groove, the feel here is really quite different overall – as tracks are nicely stretched out, with plenty of room for jazzy solo work – and a groove that's much harder overall, thanks to Higgins! Other players include Freddy Robinson on guitar, Wilton Felder on bass, Paul Humphrey on drums, and Plas Johnson on tenor – and titles include "HNIC", "Flat Backing", "Na Ta Ka", "Bantu Village", and "Blue Dashiki". LP, Vinyl record album

Bobby Watson on alto and soprano saxophone, Melton Mustafa on trumpet, Edward Simon on piano, Carroll Dashiell on bass viol, and Victor Lewis on drums. CD