Luke Stewart is the bassist and the composer here – but the quintet is a powerhouse at every level – with reed work from Ken Vandermark and Ed Wilkerson, piano from Jim Baker, and drums from Avreeayl Ra – a lineup who do tremendous things with Luke's music! The tracks are all long, and build beautifully in a mixture of core ideas and individual improvisations – with a quality that almost evokes Wilkerson's important work in 8 Bold Souls, but an execution that's more flowingly spiritual overall – a richness in Stewart's music that brings out very different qualities in both Ed and Ken. The whole thing's great – the kind of record that will really establish Stewart as a musician to listen for in years to come – and titles include "The Scene", "Harp & Concrete Silhouette", "Awakening The Masters", and "Brown & Gray". LP, Vinyl record album

Oscar Peterson's trio is augmented here by a famous guest – trumpeter Clark Terry, whose horn adds a nice bit of punctuation to the set, and makes the record a strong standout in the 60s catalogs of both players! The addition of Terry to the record is a great one – as Clark's rising fame at the time merges nicely with the popularity of the Peterson group – and since both players share a talent for mixing earthy moments with tighter playing, the whole thing comes off pretty darn nicely! Peterson's piano is supported by rhythm work from Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – and Terry not only plays trumpet and flugelhorn, but also vocalizes a slight bit too – sometimes at the same point he's playing his horn! Titles include "Mumbles", "Mack The Knife", "Jim", "Blues For Smedley", "Brotherhood Of Man", and "Incoherent Blues". CD

Oscar Peterson's trio is augmented here by a famous guest – trumpeter Clark Terry, whose horn adds a nice bit of punctuation to the set, and makes the record a strong standout in the 60s catalogs of both players! The addition of Terry to the record is a great one – as Clark's rising fame at the time merges nicely with the popularity of the Peterson group – and since both players share a talent for mixing earthy moments with tighter playing, the whole thing comes off pretty darn nicely! Peterson's piano is supported by rhythm work from Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – and Terry not only plays trumpet and flugelhorn, but also vocalizes a slight bit too – sometimes at the same point he's playing his horn! Titles include "Mumbles", "Mack The Knife", "Jim", "Blues For Smedley", "Brotherhood Of Man", and "Incoherent Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Oscar Peterson's trio is augmented here by a famous guest – trumpeter Clark Terry, whose horn adds a nice bit of punctuation to the set, and makes the record a strong standout in the 60s catalogs of both players! The addition of Terry to the record is a great one – as Clark's rising fame at the time merges nicely with the popularity of the Peterson group – and since both players share a talent for mixing earthy moments with tighter playing, the whole thing comes off pretty darn nicely! Peterson's piano is supported by rhythm work from Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – and Terry not only plays trumpet and flugelhorn, but also vocalizes a slight bit too – sometimes at the same point he's playing his horn! Titles include "Mumbles", "Mack The Knife", "Jim", "Blues For Smedley", "Brotherhood Of Man", and "Incoherent Blues". CD

A nice bit of funky organ work from Jimmy McGriff – a set that's got his famous talents on the Hammond out front of a larger ensemble – but in a way that's very different than some of his albums of that type from the 70s! There's lots of electricity in the mix – electric piano from Horace Ott, bass from Richard Evans, and guitar from Wayne Bennett – mixed with sharp work on horns from Cliff Davis on tenor and flute, Murray Watson on trumpet, and Johnny Beard on baritone – three players who really flesh out the sound! The album's got some excellent stone funky classics – like "The Bird", "Groove Grease", and "Plain Brown Bag" – plus some surprisingly funky readings of standards like "Canadian Sunset" and "Mr Lucky", both made to sound super-nice, thanks to excellent work on bass and drums! CD

A nice bit of funky organ work from Jimmy McGriff – a set that's got his famous talents on the Hammond out front of a larger ensemble – but in a way that's very different than some of his albums of that type from the 70s! There's lots of electricity in the mix – electric piano from Horace Ott, bass from Richard Evans, and guitar from Wayne Bennett – mixed with sharp work on horns from Cliff Davis on tenor and flute, Murray Watson on trumpet, and Johnny Beard on baritone – three players who really flesh out the sound! The album's got some excellent stone funky classics – like "The Bird", "Groove Grease", and "Plain Brown Bag" – plus some surprisingly funky readings of standards like "Canadian Sunset" and "Mr Lucky", both made to sound super-nice, thanks to excellent work on bass and drums! LP, Vinyl record album

A classic from Jimmy Rushing – recorded at a time when he was really finding a new audience for his vocals! In a style that Columbia was using on a number of sides in the late 50s and early 60s, Jimmy and Buck do a bit of educatin' – and trace a progression of jazz styles from New Orleans, to Chicago, to Kansas City, and New York. The Odyssey's not really Jimmy's, so much as it is the jazz that was defined by the white liberal tastes that always were the main force between Columbia in the early years – but the set's still a nice one, like all of Jimmy's later work for Columbia, which features some of the best-recorded vocal work of his career. Titles include "New Orleans", "Doctor Blues", "Rosetta", "Piney Brown Blues", "Lullaby Of Broadway", and "Some Of These Days". (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

Jimmy Smith serves up a bucket of soul here – on an album that's one of his last for Blue Note, and still very much in the strong trio mode that launched his work for the label! The group's that super-sharp early 60s combo of Jimmy's – with Quentin Warren on guitar and Donald Bailey on drums – both players who have a groove that's maybe a bit under-stated at times, but which really lets Smith dominate the record – on both the keys of the Hammond, and the great work he brings to the bass pedals too. The tracks are short, but very groovy – with a tighter sound than on some of Smith's early Blue Note trio albums, and the same kind of in-the-pocket sound that made his Crazy Baby album a big hit. Includes a very groovy remake of "John Brown's Body", the original groovers "Bucket" and "Sassy Mae", and a nice modal tune called "3 for 4". LP, Vinyl record album

With Red Callendar on bass, John "Ironman" Harris on drums, Dinky Morris on saxophones, Jimmie Noone on tenor and clarinet, Curtis Peagler on alto, Snooky Young on trumpet, and special guest Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis on tenor. Titles include "Big Fat Daddy", "Piney Brown", "Finance Company Blues", "How Long Blues", and "Reel Ya Deel Ya Dee Dee Dee". (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A surprisingly wonderful 70s session from pianist Red Garland – thanks to the presence of saxophonist Jimmy Heath on the set! Although Red's most commonly heard in a trio setting, the presence of Heath here really makes the session stand out – as Jimmy's playing with all the best sense of warmth and soulfulness he brought to his own wonderful work of the early 70s – helping Red's rare session for MPS sparkle nicely with his added touches! Heath plays both tenor and soprano sax on the record, and other players include Peck Morrison on bass and Lenny McBrowne on drums. Titles include a great version of Jimmy's "The Quota" – plus "Love For Sale", "On A Clear Day", "The Squirrel", "For Carl", and "Days Of Wine & Roses". CD

A later groover from Jimmy McGriff – but done in a style that's nicely old school overall! The sound here is almost a Prestige Records mid 70s mode – somewhat tighter than the early 70s jazz funk years of the label, but still quite far from the slicker modes you might expect from a 90s date – thanks to classic production work from Bob Porter, the kind of a guy who always knew that it was best to let players like these just lay back and do their thing! McGriff plays Hammond B-3, alongside David Newman on tenor, Red Holloway on tenor and alto, Mel Brown on guitar, and Bernard Purdie on drums – on titles that include "Don't Blame Me", "Fleetwood Stroll", "Red Not N New", "McGriffin", "Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away", and "Things Ain't What They Used To Be". CD

Jimmy Smith serves up a bucket of soul here – on an album that's one of his last for Blue Note, and still very much in the strong trio mode that launched his work for the label! The group's that super-sharp early 60s combo of Jimmy's – with Quentin Warren on guitar and Donald Bailey on drums – both players who have a groove that's maybe a bit under-stated at times, but which really lets Smith dominate the record – on both the keys of the Hammond, and the great work he brings to the bass pedals too. The tracks are short, but very groovy – with a tighter sound than on some of Smith's early Blue Note trio albums, and the same kind of in-the-pocket sound that made his Crazy Baby album a big hit. Includes a very groovy remake of "John Brown's Body", the original groovers "Bucket" and "Sassy Mae", and a nice modal tune called "3 for 4". CD reissue also features previously unissued bonus tracks "Trouble In Mind" and "Sassy Mae", done in an alternate take! CD

A huge step forward in music for saxophonist Jimmy Greene – an artist who's still reeling from the loss of his daughter, who was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012 – but who's turning his grief and sorrow into some of the richest music he's ever recorded! The feel here is even deeper than the first volume dedicated to Green's daughter – original songs that burst out with so much life and energy, we're held rapt right from the very first note – almost never mired in the sort of melancholy you might expect from such an experience, and instead ready to set a new fire to light the way ahead! Greene plays tenor, soprano, alto, and baritone – and other musicians include Kevin Hayes on Rhodes and piano, Mike Moreno on guitar, Renee Rosnes on piano, Ben Williams and John Patitucci on bass, and Jeff Tain Watts and Otis Brown III on drums. Titles include "Fun Circuits", "Second Breakfast", "Flowers", "Stanky Leg", "Big Guy", "Amantes", and "Thirty Two". CD

Not the normal trio set you might expect – because on half the tracks, Hank Jones plays Fender Rhodes – which makes for a very different sound than usual! The record nicely alternates between Jones on acoustic and electric – and Hank manages to give some of the Rhodes tracks this surprising level of lyricism, but in ways that are nicely altered from his acoustic playing. The trio also features Ray Brown on bass and Jimmie Smith on drums – and titles include "My Ship", "Your Feet's Too Big", "Spring Is Here", and "Alone Together" – plus an especially sweet Fender Rhodes version of "Bag's Groove". LP, Vinyl record album

A double album collecting Newk's excellent quartet recordings with Jim Hall for RCA. As such it contains work from The Bridge and What's New?, plus a few numbers that got tacked onto the Standard Sonny Rollins. Given Hall's gentleness and spare modernity on the guitar, a fan of Rollins' hard-blowing late 50s sessions might not expect the album to work – but instead, it sets up his playing in a whole new mode that brings out a leaner, more confident, more sophisticated solo mode that shows that his time woodshedding in retirement was well spent. 13 numbers in all, including "John S.", "The Bridge", "You Do Something To Me", "Where Are You", "Without A Song", "If Ever I Would Leave You", "Brownskin Girl", "Don't Swtop The Carnival", "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes", "My Ship", "Love Letters", "Long Ago (An Far Away)" and "God Bless the Child". CD

A great documentation of this rare live set from 1940 – one of the best slices of Ellington from the time! Johnny Hodges on alto sax, Duke Ellington on piano, Harry Carney on baritone sax and clarinet, Jimmy Blanton on bass, Otto Hardwick on alto sax and clarinet, Barney Bigard on tenor sax and clarinet, Sonny Greer on drums, Freddy Guy on guitar and whistle, Ben Webster on tenor sax, Juan Tizol, Lawrence Brown and Tricky Sam Nanton on trombones, Rex Stewart and Wallace Jones on trumpets, Ray Nance on trumpet, vibes and vocals and Herb Jeffries and Ivie Anderson on vocals. CD

Jimmy Smith heard in the kind of setting that spawned him – playing live at Delaware's Club Baby Grand – just the sort of smoky little jazz room that initially fostered his talents! The liveness of the set brings a really nice edge to the album – a sound that's grittier than some of Jimmy Smith's studio work of the early Blue Note years – and which features him really stretching out on the Hammond, taking close to 10 minutes to run through each tune – and that's saying a lot, given that there's hardly any other soloists! The rest of the group features Thornel Schwartz on guitar and Donald Bailey on drums – and tracks on this first volume include "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Where Or When", "Rosetta", and "The Preacher". LP, Vinyl record album

Three 70s killers from Jimmy McGriff! Groove Grease is a nice bit of funky organ work from Jimmy McGriff – a set that's got his famous talents on the Hammond out front of a larger ensemble – but in a way that's very different than some of his albums of that type from the 70s! There's lots of electricity in the mix – electric piano from Horace Ott, bass from Richard Evans, and guitar from Wayne Bennett – mixed with sharp work on horns from Cliff Davis on tenor and flute, Murray Watson on trumpet, and Johnny Beard on baritone – three players who really flesh out the sound! The album's got some excellent stone funky classics – like "The Bird", "Groove Grease", and "Plain Brown Bag" – plus some surprisingly funky readings of standards like "Canadian Sunset" and "Mr Lucky", both made to sound super-nice, thanks to excellent work on bass and drums! Main Squeeze is one of the grooviest albums ever from Jimmy McGriff – a hard-wailing session that's filled with plenty of cooking lines on the organ, and a few especially funky tracks! The groove here is tight, short, and very sharp – strongly in the mode of other post-Sue sessions by McGriff – like The Worm or other Groove Merchant sides – with a style that's often much more focused than Jimmy's earlier years, and strongly turned towards the rhythms of the tunes! A few numbers are more familiar soul jazz, but these are nicely offset by the harder funk numbers of the record – like the romping, stomping break classic "The Main Squeeze", the totally groovy "The Worm Turns", and the fast-vamping "GMI". The group features Jimmy Ponder on guitar and Connie Lester on alto sax – and other titles include "The Sermon", "Stella By Starlight", and "The Blues Train To Georgia". Tailgunner has Jimmy McGriff in a very cool 70s mode – hitting some of the fuller, more soul-based styles that Johnny Hammond and Jimmy Smith were exploring in the middle of the decade – while still also displaying a hell of a talent on the organ as well! The album has extra keyboards from Pat Rebillot and Paul Griffin – which makes for a nice mix of organ and electric piano sounds, plus some occasional moog that's very nicely placed – all backed by a largeish group that has tight horns, and some occasional soul vocals from Al Downing and Denise Wooten. The vocals are often an augmentation of the tunes, and there's still plenty of room for solos by Jimmy in the middle – on titles that include "Tailgunner", "Flexible Flyer", "Sky Hawk", "Grandma's Toe Jam", and "Bullfrog". CD

With Shelton Hemphill, Harold Baker, Francis Williams, and Wilbur Bascomb, and Ray Nance on trumpets; Claude Jones, Lawrence Brown, and Tyree Glenn on trombones; Jimmy Hamilton on clarinet and tenor; Johnny Hodges and Russel Procope on alto; Al Tears on tenor; Harry Carney on baritone; Fred Guy on guitar; Oscar Pettiford on bass; and Sonny Greer on drums. Titles include "Hy A Sue", "Golden Cress", "The Clothed Woman", "Stop Look & Listen", "Sultry Serenade", "Women", "Fancy Dan", "Brown Betty", and "Smada". LP, Vinyl record album

A great tribute to the late bassist Jimmy Blanton – served up by his old boss Duke Ellington, working here on piano alongside the bass of Ray Brown! This spare piano/bass session is a rarity in Duke's catalog – and it's a real later gem that captures the warmth and imagination of the Ellington piano sound in a near-solo setting. Brown's tones are round and nicely soulful – always a treat, even if not entirely in Blanton's spirit – and titles include "Pitter Panther Patter", "Do Nothin Till You Hear From Me", "Sophisticated Lady", "See See Rider", and "Fragmented Suite For Piano & Bass" – a great extended piece that takes up all of side two! CD

With Jimmy Heath on tenor and Roland Hanna on piano – soloing in an ensemble led by Maurice Peress. Works include "New World A Comin", "Harlem", "Black Brown & Beige", and "Three Black Kings". CD

A funky nugget from the second Blue Note chapter of guitarist Grant Green – that wonderful point when he shifted into more funk-based styles from his hardbop work at the start – and found a way to unlock a whole new side of his talents! The approach here is similar to some of the funky Lou Donaldson albums from the time – like Hot Dog or Say It Loud – in that tracks are nice and long, and have some great funky currents at the bottom from the drums of Idris Muhammad – who kicks up lots of those chunky funky breaks that we always love so much! Green's work on guitar is especially nice – stretched out, but never trippy, with a tight single note style that really gets the most out of the grooves – in a great lineup that features Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Claude Bartee on tenor, Emanuel Riggins on Hammond, Jimmy Lewis on bass, and Candido on congas. Neal Creque contributed two great tracks to the set – "Windjammer" and "Dracula" – and the album also sports a great long version of James Brown's "Ain't It Funky Now", and a sweet cover of "A Day In The Life"! CD

A funky nugget from the second Blue Note chapter of guitarist Grant Green – that wonderful point when he shifted into more funk-based styles from his hardbop work at the start – and found a way to unlock a whole new side of his talents! The approach here is similar to some of the funky Lou Donaldson albums from the time – like Hot Dog or Say It Loud – in that tracks are nice and long, and have some great funky currents at the bottom from the drums of Idris Muhammad – who kicks up lots of those chunky funky breaks that we always love so much! Green's work on guitar is especially nice – stretched out, but never trippy, with a tight single note style that really gets the most out of the grooves – in a great lineup that features Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Claude Bartee on tenor, Emanuel Riggins on Hammond, Jimmy Lewis on bass, and Candido on congas. Neal Creque contributed two great tracks to the set – "Windjammer" and "Dracula" – and the album also sports a great long version of James Brown's "Ain't It Funky Now", and a sweet cover of "A Day In The Life"! LP, Vinyl record album

A funky nugget from the second Blue Note chapter of guitarist Grant Green – that wonderful point when he shifted into more funk-based styles from his hardbop work at the start – and found a way to unlock a whole new side of his talents! The approach here is similar to some of the funky Lou Donaldson albums from the time – like Hot Dog or Say It Loud – in that tracks are nice and long, and have some great funky currents at the bottom from the drums of Idris Muhammad – who kicks up lots of those chunky funky breaks that we always love so much! Green's work on guitar is especially nice – stretched out, but never trippy, with a tight single note style that really gets the most out of the grooves – in a great lineup that features Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Claude Bartee on tenor, Emanuel Riggins on Hammond, Jimmy Lewis on bass, and Candido on congas. Neal Creque contributed two great tracks to the set – "Windjammer" and "Dracula" – and the album also sports a great long version of James Brown's "Ain't It Funky Now", and a sweet cover of "A Day In The Life"! LP, Vinyl record album