A fantastic album that brings together all of the European winners of the recent Downbeat polls – like Karin Krog, John Surman, Albert Mangelsdorff, Francy Boland, Daniel Humair, and Niels Henning Orsted-Pedersen. The sextet is a lively batch of free-swinging European jazz stylists, with touches of modernism that keep the whole session on edge throughout – in a way that's right up there with the best of the classic MPS sessions! The highlight of the set is Karin Krog's beautiful vocal version of "Maiden Voyage", but there's loads of other nice bits – like "Winter Song", "Ryoan-Ji", "Open Space", and "Hello Thursday". A great one, and darn tough to find! LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever album from pianist Robert Glasper – the start of a huge legacy in jazz, and an album that has him already finding his own voice as a musician! The sound is fantastic throughout – with a core trio that has Glasper able to carve out all those blocky moments that he does so well – almost like you can really hear him breaking down and rebuilding his own soulful conception of jazz – with help from Bob Hurst on bass and Damion Reid on drums – both well-matched players who really help the album sparkle! There's lots of surprises along the way, too – vocals from Bilal on two cuts, and occasional tenor, either from Marcus Strickland or John Ellis – although the sound of the trio is more than enough. Titles include a stunning reworking of "Maiden Voyage" – and the originals "In Passing", "LNK Blues", "Don't Close Your Eyes", "Lil Tipsy", and "Mood". CD

Not pop music at all, and instead a very groovy sound library set that features plenty of jazz and lots of percussion – all topped with fantastic work on flute from the leader, Bernard Wystraete! The set was supposedly done to echo some of the proggier records of the time, but the presentation is nice and lean – shorter tracks with groovy rhythms, including a bit of inspiration from Brazilian music too, in that variation of the late bossa years that would sometimes appear on Italian soundtracks – all served up with a lively quality that really makes the best use of the flute. Titles include "Le Voyage", "Sexonomie", "Climat", "Episodes", "Prelude No 1", and "Inter Mobile". (Sound Library, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

Not pop music at all, and instead a very groovy sound library set that features plenty of jazz and lots of percussion – all topped with fantastic work on flute from the leader, Bernard Wystraete! The set was supposedly done to echo some of the proggier records of the time, but the presentation is nice and lean – shorter tracks with groovy rhythms, including a bit of inspiration from Brazilian music too, in that variation of the late bossa years that would sometimes appear on Italian soundtracks – all served up with a lively quality that really makes the best use of the flute. Titles include "Le Voyage", "Sexonomie", "Climat", "Episodes", "Prelude No 1", and "Inter Mobile". CD features the bonus tracks "Dilation" and Escale". (Sound Library, Jazz) CD