Reedman Bob Downes definitely got the title right here – as the music's got a very spacey sound at times – as Bob reworked a contrabass flute, in order to create these really weird, textural sort of tones! Downes has been making amazing sounds since the start of the 70s – and ... read moreCD
Reedman Bob Downes has always been a player willing to experiment in a wide range of styles – from his early jazz-rock experiments on the UK scene, to a wealth of spiritual and avant sides he's given us in the decades that followed! But this time around, he may be giving us his weirdest, ... read moreCD
Two albums in one package – both of them featuring excellent work from groundbreaking British reedman Bob Downes! Mixed Bag is nothing like you might expect from its title – because while the set does feature a variety of different sessions from Downes, it's also got a very unified ... read moreCD
A funky fusion classic from guitarist Wah Wah Watson – his only album as a leader, despite countless appearances as a sideman on 70s soul, jazz, and pop sessions! The album's got a really wonderful sort of west coast groove – one that takes bits of spacey fusion, bassy funk, and ... (Soul, Jazz)read moreCD
A pair of cool British TV soundtracks – both of which feature an action jazz style to rival the best early work of Henry Mancini for the television screen! First up is lost spy soundtrack work from the British composer Edwin Astley – best known for his work on The Saint and Danger Man, ... (Soundtracks, Jazz)read moreCD
Seminal sounds from the mighty Machito – all recorded during those key years when he was having a huge impact on both the jazz and Latin scenes in New York! Much of the work here features that blend of Havana roots and bebop performance that Machito and Mario Bauza pioneered during the ... (Latin, Jazz)read moreCD
A pair of great albums from Bobby Scott – both pretty darn sweet! First up is Joyful Noises – a really wonderful album from the great Bobby Scott – an artist you might know best as a singer, or as composer of a few big hits in the 60s – but also a hell of a jazz pianist and ... read moreCD
The Jazz Crusaders at the start of the 70s – taking on a bit of The Beatles and some great grooves of their own – and picking up a fair bit of funk in the process! The album still has the group working in the best modes of their late 60s Liberty years – more jazz than fusion, ... read moreCD
Dave Rempis/Matt Piet/Tim Daisy —
Throw Tomatoes ... CD Astral Spirits, 2018. New Copy ...
$8.99
Two fantastic improvisations from the Chicago scene – both featuring the well-known talents of Dave Rempis on saxes and Tim Daisy on drums – plus the rising genius of Matt Piet on piano! Piet's a name we've only begun to pay attention to – but his bold sense of freedom here ... read moreCD
That's an old school looking cover on the front – and the set's got a nice sort of old school vibe – a piano trio approach that takes us back to the New York scene at midcentury – when the right master of the keys could pack in plenty in a very short space! Michael Kanan is quite ... read moreCD
A brilliant set of improvisational jazz from Chicago scene – recorded live at the Empty Bottle in the spring of 2017! Devouring The Guilt is a trio featuring Gerrit Hatcher on tenor sax, Eli Namay on both upright and electric bass, and Bill Harris on drums – showing impressive depth ... read moreCD
Miles Davis' first-ever performance in Japan – a really unique concert that featured the quintet with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams – augmented by a young Sam Rivers on tenor! The presence of Rivers really gives the set an edge – and although Miles is holding Sam ... read moreCD
Herbie Hancock —
Thrust ... CD Columbia, 1974. New Copy ...
$5.996.99
Killer electric work from Herbie Hancock – right on par with his groundbreaking Headhunters set, but a bit spacier too! The album features a Headhunters-solid lineup – with Bennie Maupin on saxes, Paul Jackson on bass, Mike Clark on drums, and Bill Summers on percussion – all ... read moreCD
Herbie Hancock —
Sextant ... CD Columbia/Legacy, 1973. New Copy ...
$5.996.99
An incredible record – and virtually the blueprint for countless other keyboard records to come! At the height of his 70s powers, Herbie really takes off into space with this set – moving away from more commercial music, and hitting a groove that's totally righteous, totally electric, ... read moreCD
Cosmic fusion from David Sancious – one of his headphone-popping albums for Columbia from the 70s! The record has a really outerspace kind of approach – long tracks that build and layer sound, mostly electric instrumentation, with lots of keyboards, guitars, and percussion. He's again ... read moreCD
Jan Akkerman —
Talent For Sale ... CD Imperial/Esoteric (UK), 1968. New Copy ...
$6.9914.99
Rare early solo material from Dutch jazz rock guitar eclecticist/genius Jan Akkerman – a late 60s album released in the Netherlands on Imperial after Akkerman's time in The Hunters and before his work with Brainbox and Focus! It's an early indication of his far reaching tastes and talent ... read moreCD
A previously-unissued performance from Joe McPhee – recorded in the early 80s, and a searing ensemble take on Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman"! The arrangements are beautiful – as the track retains some of the haunting melody of the original composition, yet has a loose, ... read moreCD
Michael Manring —
Unusual Weather ... CD Windham Hill/Adventure, 1986. New Copy ...
$6.9915.98
Warmly flowing sounds from bassist Michael Manring – one of the lesser-known talents of the Windham Hill scene of the 80s, but a great one too! Manring's got a way of letting his instrument flow out in these round, warm lines – a mode that seems to be a bit of an heir to a Gary Peacock ... read moreCD
(Great version – with much better mastering than the previous CD issue!)
Daniel Santiago —
Metropole ... CD Adventure Music, 2009. New Copy ...
$8.9915.99
A jazz album at heart, but one with some distinct Brazilian touches too – a warm blend of the guitar lines of Daniel Santiago with reeds from Josue Lopez and piano from Vitor Goncalves – all wrapped up in a set of rich flowing rhythms! There's some of the sensitivity here that you ... (Brazil, Jazz)read moreCD
Dreamy sounds from the legendary Michel Legrand – working here in a mode that's maybe a bit more lush and romantic than some of his later soundtrack work – yet at a level that's still head and shoulders above most of his 50s instrumental contemporaries! The set's got a melancholy vibe ... read moreCD
Great work as a leader from Don Braden – a set that was one of his last before moving onto bigger-label fame, and one that's very firmly rooted in the soul jazz underground! Don's got a really classic sound on his tenor – blowing with focus, poise, and a hell of a lot of soul – ... read moreCD
One of our favorite albums ever from Weather Report – an album that has them picking up a bit more soul than before, and shaking off some of the experimental sounds of their roots – yet all in a way that still makes them one of the most revolutionary fusion combos of the time! There's ... read moreCD
Nothing serious here – as the sound is soulful, jazzy, and in the hippest fusion spirit of the time – very long, open tracks by a small combo led by Heikki Sarmanto on Fender Rhodes, on tracks that are in the more exploratory side of the Miles Davis/Herbie Hancock spectrum! The work ... read moreCD
Nothing serious here – as the sound is soulful, jazzy, and in the hippest fusion spirit of the time – very long, open tracks by a small combo led by Heikki Sarmanto on Fender Rhodes, on tracks that are in the more exploratory side of the Miles Davis/Herbie Hancock spectrum! The work ... read moreCD
Mostly Other People Do The Killing —
This Is Our Moosic ... CD Hot Cup, 2008. New Copy ...
$6.9914.99
A really exciting avant jazz set from Mostly Other People Do The Killing – a killer quartet who manage to roll through a wide variety of styles that show a true depth of understanding of some of the greatest jazz of the past half century – and have a heck of great time playing it! ... read moreCD
Darol Anger & Barbara Higbie —
Tideline ... CD Windham Hill/Adventure Music, 1982. New Copy ...
$6.9915.98
Piano and violin come together beautifully here – the former by Barbara Higbie, the latter by Darrol Anger – who also plays mandolin and cello as well! There's an acoustic balance here that's more jazz than some of the other Windham Hill albums of the time – especially in the ... read moreCD
(Great version – with much better mastering than the previous CD issue!)
Red Rodney & Ira Sullivan —
Spirit Within ... CD Elektra/Wounded Bird, 1982. New Copy ...
$3.9911.98
Really beautiful work from the team of Red Rodney and Ira Sullivan – hardly the sort of stuff we might have heard from the players a decade or two before – and a sophisticated batch of tunes that has them stretching out in rich musical directions! There's little of the boppish roots of ... read moreCD
A totally fresh post-millennium take on the electric jazz sound of the late 70s & early 80s from Atlanta-based quartet 4 Korners – inspired by the funky fusion era, but really putting it in a timeless light of their own! We've always loved the sound that provides inspiration here – ... read moreCD
A tight trumpeter with a really fresh sound – strong, soulful, and equally well-suited to funky tunes and more freewheeling numbers! The set's brimming over with soul – and the range of musicians changes with each different tune – although Fender Rhodes features on most numbers, ... read moreCD
Unity through diversity from (U)nity! At the core, players Michael Valeanu, Axel Tosca, Chris Smith, Max Cudworth and Amaury Acosta bring a strong backdrop of Afro-Cuban inspired percussion, exciting early fusion-flavored electric guitar, sax and spacey keys, and with a huge group of contributors ... read moreCD
Jared Sims has a great way of making a baritone sax open up and groove – sliding in here alongside Hammond and guitar that give the whole record a late 60s soul jazz vibe – and the sort of setting you're not usually likely to hear with baritone! Sims takes his time, and uses the horn ... read moreCD
A great one from saxophonist Chris Greene – a player who just seems to get better and better with each new release – maturing to a point where his strong status on the Chicago scene should be overtaken by a wider national reputation! This set may well have Greene finding a voice that ... read moreCD
Adam Ben Ezra —
Pin Drop ... CD Little Big Beat/Ropeadope, 2017. New Copy ...
$4.9914.99
Pretty wonderful sounds from Adam Ben Ezra – an artist who works here completely solo, but with a flowing range of sounds that's completely hypnotizing overall! Ezra's a bassist at heart, but also plays piano and clarinet on the record – and also vocalizes a bit, and adds in some foot ... read moreCD
Phil France —
Swimmer ... CD Gondwana (UK), 2017. New Copy ...
$7.99
Beautiful keyboard lines from Phil France – served up here in a mode that's partly jazz, maybe partly more laidback – and often in the kind of slow-building style we love on other records on the Gondwana label! There's almost a meditative vibe to the music – somewhere in the ... read moreCD
Brandee Younger —
Wax & Wane ... CD Brandee Younger, 2016. New Copy ...
$8.99
A hip harpist for the 21st Century – one of the few players on the instrument who've been able to carry on the soulful legacy of Dorothy Ashby in the 60s – while still also giving the instrument a new sort of placement in jazz! Brandee Younger's working here with production help from ... read moreCD
Daniel Zamir —
Alive ... CD Koren (Israel), 2015. New Copy ...
$7.9918.99
Fantastic work from Israeli saxophonist Daniel Zamir – one of the most popular jazz musicians in his home nation, and an incredibly spiritual force who just seems to get more and more powerful every time he hits the recording studio! This live performance is wonderful – with Zamir ... read moreCD
Robert Glasper Experiment —
ArtScience ... CD Blue Note, 2016. New Copy ...
$8.9914.98
Tremendous material from Robert Glasper – a set that takes us back to the brilliance of his first few releases for Blue Note – while also encompassing all the changes he's gone through in recent years too! There's definitely some vocals on the record – but this time around, ... read moreCD
Prince Lasha Ensemble —
Insight ... CD Columbia/Dusty Groove, 1966. New Copy ...
$7.9912.98
Tremendous work from the legendary Prince Lasha – a rare UK-only date from 1966 – and one that has the reedman working away from more familiar contemporaries like Sonny Simmons and Eric Dolphy! The approach on this session is very unique – as Lasha includes harp with the ... read moreCD
A genius album from Swedish baritone giant Lars Gullin – and a set that's from a period that was much less documented on our side of the Atlantic! Gullin was one of the undisputed masters of the instrument, and his American recordings on Mercury and Prestige stand as proof to his talent ... read moreCD