A double-length set from guitarist Mary Halvorson – with two different albums in the package! First up is Amaryllis – a record that has the fantastic guitar of Mary Halvorson amidst so many other sounds and shapes – delivered by a lineup that features Patricia Brennan on vibes, Jacob Garchik on trombone, and Adam O'Farrill on trumpets – all players who already shape the sound in these fantastically colorful way, then get some extra help from the Mivos string quartet! The rhythm duo at the core do a lot too – keeping things moving in these blocks of sound that often fit Mary's approach to guitar – with work from Nick Dunston on bass and Tomas Fujiwara on drums, both players who seem to find the right balance with the overall sound of the group, yet really make the contribution known. Titles include "Side Effect", "Amaryllis", "Hoodwink", "Night Shift", and "892 Teeth". On Belladona, Mary Halvorson has a very unique guest – the Mivos Quartet, who bring a sublime blend of violin, viola, and cello into play with the fantastic tones from Mary's guitar! The set's not like when you add a string group to conventional jazz – as the sound here is much more about the interplay between the acoustic strings – partly the rasp of Halvorson's tones next to the warmer currents of the other instruments – partly the mix of plucked, strummed, and bowed passages that create a multiplicity of sounds and feelings! Halvorson has always given us something amazing with each new record – yet still, this one's a real standout – with titles that include "Haunted Head", "Belladonna", "Flying Song", "Moonburn", and "Nodding Yellow". LP, Vinyl record album

A really well-done overview of work that Pharoah Sanders did for the Timeless label during the 80s – recordings that are not nearly as widely-circulated as his material for Impulse and Theresa, but which represents a key third slice of his career! The setting here is sometimes more conventional in terms of standard jazz productions – smaller groups who play a bit more inside, yet still are a perfect match for Sanders' spiritual vibe on the tenor – an instrument he often uses to cross bridges of jazz generations in these recordings – linking the 70s spiritualism to some of the energy of the younger 80s musicians who were moving things back to basics. Given that Pharoah never had a "basics" stage of his career, this later life material is a real surprise – a bit like the territory that Archie Shepp was hitting in a similar mode at the time – lessons learned from the fringes, brought back to transform the center. Titles include "Africa", "Times Past", "Polka Dots & Moonbeams", "Soul Eyes", "Moniebah", "Moonchild", "You've Got To Have Freedom", "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes", and "Origin". Also includes an unreleased version of "Central Park West". LP, Vinyl record album

A hell of a groove from organist Don Shinn – one of the legendary albums recorded for the Landsdowne Series in the UK at the end of the 60s – and like the rest, a set that turns conventional jazz on its ear! Shinn plays Hammond, and a bit of piano – but hardly in ways that echo the American scene, save maybe for some of the changes of Larry Young – but even then, maybe more in the mode of Young when he would start to jam a bit more in the 70s – as Don works here alongside guitarist Paul Hodgeson, who's not afraid to add in some exotic elements to his strings – with bass from Eric Ford and drums from Peter Wolf – all delivered with the intensity of a group who are clearly aware of the changes in rock, but still lean more heavily towards jazz. This isn't fusion, and it's not really prog either – but a very special blend that makes the album a treasure through and through, on titles that include "Pits Of Darkness", "A Minor Explosion", "The Jolly Dance", and "Hearts Of Gladness". LP, Vinyl record album

Speed, space, and plenty more – all going on in the hands of a quartet led by drummer Masahiko Togashi – a Japanese player who's at his most youthfully creative on this album! Togashi was part of a new generation of musicians on his scene who were moving past conventional jazz modes – not just the free jazz styles that European improvisers were bringing to the music, but also maybe a more organic approach that was years ahead of its time, and not as widely recognized by the rest of the world until many years later. Togashi himself plays a big range of percussion instruments and vibes next to his drums – and the rest of the group features the great Masahiko Sato on piano, Mototeru Takagi on tenor and bass clarinet, and Yoshio Ikeda on bass – all moving effortlessly through a variety of modes of expression, on titles that include "Presage", "Speed & Space", "Expectation", and "Panorama". LP, Vinyl record album