A very famous moment from Dizzy Gillespie – tracks from his famous concert at Salle Pleyel, in Paris, from 1953! Gillespie's in fine form throughout – working in a great mix of bop and modern elements, with a few occasional playful touches to please the crowd – but never in a way that cuts into the integrity of his music at all! Players include Bill Graham on alto and tenor, Wade Legge on piano, Lou Hackney on bass, and Al Jones on drums – and Joe Carroll sings guest vocals on a number of tracks. Titles include "Tin Tin Deo", "The Champ", "The Bluest Blues", "Birk's Works", "Mon Homme", "Ooh Shoo Be Doo Be", "School Days", "Swing Low Sweet Chariot", and "Good Bait". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark meeting of two talents! This rare session has the poet Langston Hughes reading his own jazz-based work, set to arrangements by Charles Mingus, with additional work by Horace Parlan. Hughes' voice is incredible – a bit frail, with a wispy integrity that really opens up his own writings. Hughes was always a big jazz listener, and his work in this respect is a perfect consummation of ideas that he'd always said were present in his work. Titles include "Could Be", "Testament", "Commercial Theater", "Consider Me", "Jump Monk", and "Weird Nightmare". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark meeting of two talents! This rare session has the poet Langston Hughes reading his own jazz-based work, set to arrangements by Charles Mingus, with additional work by Horace Parlan. Hughes' voice is incredible – a bit frail, with a wispy integrity that really opens up his own writings. Hughes was always a big jazz listener, and his work in this respect is a perfect consummation of ideas that he'd always said were present in his work. Titles include "Could Be", "Testament", "Commercial Theater", "Consider Me", "Jump Monk", and "Weird Nightmare". CD

Pure fantasticness from the great Kamasi Washington – a set that's much more compact than his sprawling Epic, but which has an equally wonderful vibe overall! The album features material that Washington performed at the Whitney Biennial – to accompany paintings by his sister – but the whole thing stands alone beautifully, with that free-flowing, always spiritual vibe that's made Washington one of the strongest young jazz talents to emerge in recent years! The music resonates strongly with the work of some of his key LA contemporaries – like Ronald Bruner Jr, Miles Mosley, Cameron Graves, and Thundercat – all of whom perform in the large ensemble – helping Kamasi's tenor soar to the skies on waves of collaborative joy. Washington composed, arranged, and even produced the record himself – and in some ways, the tightness of the performance makes the whole thing even more satisfying than Epic – as we hope you feel too, on titles that include "Desire", "Humility", "Truth", "Integrity", "Knowledge", and "Perspective". CD