Steve Slagle on alto and soprano saxophone and flute, Scott Colley on bass, Lawrence Fields on piano, Roman Diaz on percussion, Bill Stewart on drums, with Dave Stryker on guitar. CD

One more amazing chapter in the mighty development of drummer Chico Hamilton – a killer 70s session for Blue Note – and a record that goes way beyond his earlier experiments of the 50s, modal grooves of the 60s, and funk work for the Flying Dutchman label! The style here is fusion, but way fresher than the usual type – neither jamming rock-styled, nor mellow and smooth – and instead always tickled by Hamilton's sense of a unique rhythm, and his continued great ear for inventive use of reeds – in this case handled by Arthur Blythe on alto and Arnie Lawrence on soprano and tenor sax. The set's also got Steve Turre on bass and trombone, and both Barry Finnerty and Joe Beck on electric guitars – but the real genius is Chico himself, who handled arrangements and wrote most of the album's great tracks. Titles include the exotic number "Abdullah & Abraham" – plus "Andy's Walk", "Peregrinations", "It's About That Time", "Sweet Dreams", "On & Off", "Little Lisa", and "Space For Stacy". CD

Quite an unusual little record – one that appears conventional at the start, but which has a relatively modern feel overall! The group's directed by Chuck Israels – who's really stepping out from his older roles here – working almost in Mingus-like formation, as he pushes the group through a wonderful range of tones and sounds – some modern, some older – but always with a freshness and a real sense of surprise! There's a leaping, soaring energy to many tracks – kind of a later Mingus groove – and players include Arnie Lawrence and Joe Romano on saxes, Rod Levitt and Jimmy Knepper on trombones, Tom Harrell and Mike Lawrence on trumpets, Steve Brown on guitar, and Ben Aronov on piano. A soprano, Margot Hanson, sings a bit on the record – and titles include "Very Early", "Transbluency", "Every Tub", "Understanding Depression", "Blues For OP", "I Mean You", "Lady Of The Lavender Mist", and "His Master's Voice". CD

One of the most fantastic Pharoah Sanders albums – and one that we'd rate head and shoulders above most of his other work! You rarely see this one, which is a shame, because it's not only a beautiful spiritual masterpiece, but it's also got a sound that's very unique, and a nice shift from the Impulse records too! Pharoah's playing with a small group that includes instrumentation you don't usually hear on his albums – like organ and guitar – but the addition of these instruments is used in a way that augments Pharoah's spiritual style, not suppresses it – in a lineup that includes guitar from Munoz, organ from Jiggs Chase, bass from Steve Neil, drums from Greg Bandy, and percussion from Lawrence Killian – all very unusual players, which furthers the unusual sound of the album! Pharoah vocalizes a bit on a version of "Love Will Find A Way" that has a warm spacey groove, and a nice conga base – and the other tracks on the LP are "Harvest Time" and "Memories Of Edith Johnson". This beautiful package also includes rare material added to the album – two long live takes of "Harvest Time", a tremendous track that features Khalid Moss on electric piano and Pharoah stretching out in Teresa Records soulful modes – plus great notes as well! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most fantastic Pharoah Sanders albums – and one that we'd rate head and shoulders above most of his other work! You rarely see this one, which is a shame, because it's not only a beautiful spiritual masterpiece, but it's also got a sound that's very unique, and a nice shift from the Impulse records too! Pharoah's playing with a small group that includes instrumentation you don't usually hear on his albums – like organ and guitar – but the addition of these instruments is used in a way that augments Pharoah's spiritual style, not suppresses it – in a lineup that includes guitar from Munoz, organ from Jiggs Chase, bass from Steve Neil, drums from Greg Bandy, and percussion from Lawrence Killian – all very unusual players, which furthers the unusual sound of the album! Pharoah vocalizes a bit on a version of "Love Will Find A Way" that has a warm spacey groove, and a nice conga base – and the other tracks on the LP are "Harvest Time" and "Memories Of Edith Johnson". This beautiful package also includes rare material added to the album – two long live takes of "Harvest Time", a tremendous track that features Khalid Moss on electric piano and Pharoah stretching out in Teresa Records soulful modes – plus great notes as well! CD