One of the headiest albums ever recorded by the Art Ensemble of Chicago – a brilliant mix of noise and silence that rivals some of the greatest genius of the 20th century avant composition! The album's lead track "Ohnedaruth" builds slowly with a variety of percussion – traveling in People In Sorrow territory that shows a remarkable sense of sound and space. All members of the group pick up some percussion to build the track as it goes along – then follow suit with a more reed-based approach on the other extended tune on the album, "Lebert Aaly" – the group's brilliant tribute to the late Albert Ayler! The sound is incredibly deep and textured – and draws a clear line between creative improvisation and technical composition that puts the group alongside Cage and Hindemuth! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most righteous Horace Silver albums for Blue Note – and a far-reaching, politically-bent batch of tracks that feature vocals by Andy Bey, in a similar style to the work he did on the Gary Bartz records from the time – very hip, and quite different than other jazz vocal work from other singers! Silver plays electric piano on most of the record – and other musicians include Houston Person on tenor and Idris Muhammad on drums – both of whom figure on cuts that feature singer Jackie Verdell replacing Andy Bey. The groove is pretty great throughout – lots of those offbeat lines that you might hear on other Bey albums, warmed up with some of Silver's more familiar soul jazz – and the album is volume 1 (or "Phase 1") of Horace's trippy United States Of Mind series, a series of records on the state of the then-trashed union (proving once again that what goes around, comes around!) Tracks include "The Happy Medium", "Permit Me To Introduce Myself", "Wipe Away the Evil", and "Love Vibrations". LP, Vinyl record album

Ted Daniel may be one of the most compelling sound-shapers we've ever heard on the trumpet – a very under-acknowledged musician whose playing of the 70s and 80s continues to really grab us over the years! This unissued live set is from 1981, and it features Ted on a variety of horns – blowing in a special way that both links to more conventional trumpet modes, yet also shows a knowledge of the more open phrasing that some of his generation were using – like Lester Bowie or Leo Smith. Yet unlike some of those artists, Ted's performance, although free, is never that far from the more familiar roots of trumpet expression – a fantastic balance that really comes through beautifully in the music. There's a few unusual approaches here – one track features a trumpet played into a grand piano, another a flugelhorn through a phase shifter – but even these never go too far out. Titles include "Sunny Side Up", "Closer & Closer", "Vicissitudes Of A Lover", "Al Fine", "Ciao Bene", and "Deac's Ceremonial Testimonial". CD

A cool sextet session from Benny Goodman – one that recalls the best fluid groove of his late 30s small combo sides! The setting here is live, but the recording features excellent sound – all to capture a mix of Benny's clarinet, Zoot Sims' tenor, Bill McGuffie's piano, Bucky Pizzarelli's guitar, and some especially nice vibes from Peter Appleyard – ringing out to really color the sound of the entire record. There's a leanness here that gets past any hoke that you might expect – and the presence of such good musicians in the small combo means that the record offers plenty more than Goodman's already great solo work. Titles include "Where Or When", "I Want To Be Happy", "A Smooth One", "Shine", "Flying Home", "I've Found A New Baby", "The Sheik Of Araby", and "Too Close For Comfort". LP, Vinyl record album

An album with a classic modernist cover image – and one that's also got the same sort of sound to match – brilliant early work from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who's really coming into his own as a leader with this date! Freddie's really finding a voice here – a sharper edge than on some of his later albums, at the beginning of a more modernist phase in the mid-60s – when his efforts would mark him as one of the more straight ahead players of the "new thing" scene. There's a careful balance in Hubbard's work here – spurred on by youthful energy of group mates Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto and flute, Reggie Workman on bass, and Clifford Jarvis on drums. Hubbard is really brimming over with new ideas – as are the other players – and titles include "Lament for Booker", "Prophet Jennings", "Hub Tones", "For Spee's Sake", and "You're My Everything". LP, Vinyl record album

An album with a classic modernist cover image – and one that's also got the same sort of sound to match – brilliant early work from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who's really coming into his own as a leader with this date! Freddie's really finding a voice here – a sharper edge than on some of his later albums, at the beginning of a more modernist phase in the mid-60s – when his efforts would mark him as one of the more straight ahead players of the "new thing" scene. There's a careful balance in Hubbard's work here – spurred on by youthful energy of group mates Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto and flute, Reggie Workman on bass, and Clifford Jarvis on drums. Hubbard is really brimming over with new ideas – as are the other players – and titles include "Lament for Booker", "Prophet Jennings", "Hub Tones", "For Spee's Sake", and "You're My Everything". CD also includes 3 alternate takes of titles on the album. CD

A pivotal session from the late 60s – one that has Jackie McLean pulling things back a bit from his "new thing" period, and turning towards the spiritual soulful groove that would characterize his early 70s work! The album bristles with excitement – still very much informed by a knowledge of the space explored during Jackie's avant years, but never quite willing to go to that space – especially if it means sacrificing the soulful swing of the set! The group's filled with young soulful modernists – including Woody Shaw on trumpet, Lamont Johnson on piano, Scott Holt on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – and Jackie himself seems to be working out a whole new phase of his career with each new track – showing that even when he was at his "new thing" best, he was still ready to move on! Tremendous stuff, and one of our favorite Blue Notes from the time – and one of the most soulful too! Titles include "Floogeh", "Message From Trane", "Toyland", and "Boo Ann's Grind". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal session from the late 60s – one that has Jackie McLean pulling things back a bit from his "new thing" period, and turning towards the spiritual soulful groove that would characterize his early 70s work! The album bristles with excitement – still very much informed by a knowledge of the space explored during Jackie's avant years, but never quite willing to go to that space – especially if it means sacrificing the soulful swing of the set! The group's filled with young soulful modernists – including Woody Shaw on trumpet, Lamont Johnson on piano, Scott Holt on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – and Jackie himself seems to be working out a whole new phase of his career with each new track – showing that even when he was at his "new thing" best, he was still ready to move on! Tremendous stuff, and one of our favorite Blue Notes from the time – and one of the most soulful too! Titles include "Floogeh", "Message From Trane", "Toyland", and "Boo Ann's Grind". CD

A live album, but every bit as seminal as the studio sides that Pat Metheny cut for ECM at the time – and proof that the Metheny magic was clearly his own, and not just a product of studio tricks by Manfred Eicher! The set reprises tunes and themes from a variety of Metheny's earlier ECM albums – but the live presentation of the material somehow really transforms a number of them – pushing them into a soundspace that's similar to the one explored by Pat on the Offramp album, augmented especially by the presence of percussionist Nana Vasconcelos in the group. Titles include "Phase Dance", "Farmer's Trust", "Straight On Red", "The Fields The Sky", "Are You Going With Me", "Extradition", "Going Ahead", "As Falls Wichita So Falls Wichita Falls", and "Travels". LP, Vinyl record album

Beatles Back & Bacharach presents the Ted Heath group in some very groovy territory – playing a fair bit of the first and third "B" in the title, plus a little bit of the second! Heath's instrumentation is quite far from the brassier horns used on his earlier records – and Johnny Keating's sensitive arrangements for the date bring in a fair bit of groovier elements – electric bass, guitar, flute, and even some electric harpsichord! In a way, the record's much more of a Keating album than a Heath one – right down to the subtle dose of funk that Johnny was bringing to his music at this time – and titles include "This Guy's In Love With You", "Norwegian Wood", "B B & B", "Air On The G String", "Let It Be", "You'll Never Get To Heaven", and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal session from the late 60s – one that has Jackie McLean pulling things back a bit from his "new thing" period, and turning towards the spiritual soulful groove that would characterize his early 70s work! The album bristles with excitement – still very much informed by a knowledge of the space explored during Jackie's avant years, but never quite willing to go to that space – especially if it means sacrificing the soulful swing of the set! The group's filled with young soulful modernists – including Woody Shaw on trumpet, Lamont Johnson on piano, Scott Holt on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – and Jackie himself seems to be working out a whole new phase of his career with each new track – showing that even when he was at his "new thing" best, he was still ready to move on! Tremendous stuff, and one of our favorite Blue Notes from the time – and one of the most soulful too! Titles include "Floogeh", "Message From Trane", "Toyland", and "Boo Ann's Grind". LP, Vinyl record album

A near-legendary album from Pat Metheny – the real birth of the "Metheny sound" on record, and a perfect example of the magically fluid groove that he crafted with keyboardist Lyle Mays! The sound here is hard to describe – and even harder when you try to pick out the individual keyboard and guitar bits – because the overall feel of the record is so well wrapped up and lyrically together, yet manages to do so without falling into any too-slick styles or cliched approaches to fusion. We're stunned at how much this one still delights us over the years, and the record still stands as a landmark in its field. Titles include "San Lorenzo", "Phase Dance", "Jaco", "Aprilwind", "Lonejack", and "Apriljoy". LP, Vinyl record album

An album with a classic modernist cover image – and one that's also got the same sort of sound to match – brilliant early work from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who's really coming into his own as a leader with this date! Freddie's really finding a voice here – a sharper edge than on some of his later albums, at the beginning of a more modernist phase in the mid-60s – when his efforts would mark him as one of the more straight ahead players of the "new thing" scene. There's a careful balance in Hubbard's work here – spurred on by youthful energy of group mates Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto and flute, Reggie Workman on bass, and Clifford Jarvis on drums. Hubbard is really brimming over with new ideas – as are the other players – and titles include "Lament for Booker", "Prophet Jennings", "Hub Tones", "For Spee's Sake", and "You're My Everything". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal session from the late 60s – one that has Jackie McLean pulling things back a bit from his "new thing" period, and turning towards the spiritual soulful groove that would characterize his early 70s work! The album bristles with excitement – still very much informed by a knowledge of the space explored during Jackie's avant years, but never quite willing to go to that space – especially if it means sacrificing the soulful swing of the set! The group's filled with young soulful modernists – including Woody Shaw on trumpet, Lamont Johnson on piano, Scott Holt on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – and Jackie himself seems to be working out a whole new phase of his career with each new track – showing that even when he was at his "new thing" best, he was still ready to move on! Tremendous stuff, and one of our favorite Blue Notes from the time – and one of the most soulful too! Titles include "Floogeh", "Message From Trane", "Toyland", and "Boo Ann's Grind". CD

One of the greatest albums on ESP – and a darkly-tinged document that points strongly towards the future of jazz at the end of the 60s! The album's one of the most focused of the early ESP years – and it features drummer Sunny Murray stepping out strongly as a leader – working with players who include Jacques Coursil on trumpet, Byard Lancaster and Jack Graham on alto saxes, and Alan Silva on bass – all with an intensity that prefaces some of the players' later freedoms on the French scene at the end of the decade, and modes to come during the loft jazz years of the 70s! The horns are never too free, and they come together in a flurry of sharp edges that reminds us a bit of sound structures in Archie Shepp's work at the time – but almost more organic and open overall. Titles include "Phase 1234", "Hilariously", "Angels & Devils", and "Giblet". Plus, the CD also features over 30 minutes of bonus interview material! CD

An album with a classic modernist cover image – and one that's also got the same sort of sound to match – brilliant early work from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who's really coming into his own as a leader with this date! Freddie's really finding a voice here – a sharper edge than on some of his later albums, at the beginning of a more modernist phase in the mid-60s – when his efforts would mark him as one of the more straight ahead players of the "new thing" scene. There's a careful balance in Hubbard's work here – spurred on by youthful energy of group mates Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto and flute, Reggie Workman on bass, and Clifford Jarvis on drums. Hubbard is really brimming over with new ideas – as are the other players – and titles include "Lament for Booker", "Prophet Jennings", "Hub Tones", "For Spee's Sake", and "You're My Everything". CD reissue also includes 2 bonus tracks which are alternate takes of titles on the album! CD

A wonderful mellow session from this great guitarist – with Hank Jones on piano, George Duvivier on bass, and Derryl Goes on drums. Titles include "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You", "Don't Sleep In The Subway", "Sunny", "Wave", "Exodus", and "Emily". LP, Vinyl record album

The coolest record so far from this totally great combo – a live recording done on the home turf of the Greg Foat Group – the Playboy Club in London! The retro venue really fits the slinky, sexy vibe of the group's music – and although we already loved these guys before, this album has a really special sort of feel – with loads of wonderful keyboard lines from Greg on Hohner Electra piano, Elka Rhapsody, Hammond L 100, and Mutron Phaser – almost always distorted with a nice degree of fuzz, but still a straight ahead approach, and some great undercurrents of fuzz too! The group also features tenor and trumpet – which sometimes sound distorted, ala Varitone modes – and the overall sound feels like some lost jazzy club combo from the late 60s, really tripping out in a very comfortable space. We'd easily stack this one next to our favorite funky Fender Rhodes records from back in the day – and titles include "By The Grace Of God I Am", "Ingen Reklam", "Funky Fanfare", "Madrid", and "Mr Minor". CD features two bonus tracks – "Finky Minky" and "Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag". CD

Great work from Moody's "second phase" – the post-Overbrook time in which he picks up the flute, drops a bit of the bop style, and starts working in a much more complicated style that showed that he had a hell of a lot of room to grow as an artist! This album's Moody's second for Argo – recorded in 1959, with help from the brilliant arranger Tom McIntosh. Players include Johnny Coles, Musa Kaleem, Gene Kee, and McIntosh – and the album features the first reading of Moody's famous "Darben The Redd Foxx", plus "Cookie", "RBQ", "Daahoud", and McIntosh's perennial favorite, "With Malice Toward None". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from Moody's "second phase" – the post-Overbrook time in which he picks up the flute, drops a bit of the bop style, and starts working in a much more complicated style that showed that he had a hell of a lot of room to grow as an artist! This album's Moody's second for Argo – recorded in 1959, with help from the brilliant arranger Tom McIntosh. Players include Johnny Coles, Musa Kaleem, Gene Kee, and McIntosh – and the album features the first reading of Moody's famous "Darben The Redd Foxx", plus "Cookie", "RBQ", "Daahoud", and McIntosh's perennial favorite, "With Malice Toward None". CD

One of the richest albums we've ever heard from saxophonist James Carter – and one of the sparest too, given that he only blows solo throughout the entire album! We're much more used to hearing Carter on tenor sax – and usually in the company of a small combo, where his classic tone has created great albums for many years. Yet here, he's blowing baritone throughout, and with this open style that still manages to swing nicely without any other backing – a balance between jazz tradition and open improvisation that makes the record so wonderful! There's definitely moments here that resonate with solo work by Hamiet Bluiett or David Murray, but Carter has an approach that's very much his own. Most titles are originals – and tunes include "Shipyard Ramble", "UN", "Ming", "Life Phases Take 2", "Nemesis", "Prince Lasha", and "Stepping Into Beauty". LP, Vinyl record album

A really wonderful setting for the vibes of Gary Burton – a special ECM session that pairs his quartet with larger orchestral backdrops – all conducted by Michael Gibbs, who also wrote the music for the date! Gibbs had already risen to fame by the time of this record – thanks to some groundbreaking albums for large ensembles on the British jazz scene of the late 60s – where he demonstrated a tremendous ear for intimate tones and subtle sounds amidst a larger group. Here, that talent turns out to work perfectly for the rich tones of Burton's vibes – allowing them to develop slowly and spaciously, despite the larger orchestra. The core quartet also features Michael Goodrick on guitar, Steve Swallow on bass, and Ted Seibs on drums – and titles include "The Rain Before It Falls", "Three", "Phases", "Throb", and "Nocturne Vulgaire/Arise Her Eyes". CD