A rare early date as a leader for drummer Jack DeJohnette – a set done for the Japanese Trio label, and with a vibe that's similar to Jack's wonderful records for Prestige! DeJohnette is not only one of the most inventive drummers in jazz at this point, he's also a musician who's willing to step way out of his usual bag – mixing in Fender Rhodes, organ, melodica, and marimba to the music – used in all these cool, creative styles alongside acoustic and electric bass from Dave Holland, who also plays a bit of percussion! The pair duet wonderfully together – with energy that's quite different than any sort of ECM-styled session of this nature – songs that have a good focus, and get really great results from both players. Titles include "Time & Space", "Lydia", "Hewineeway", "The Rain Forest", and "Turned Around". CD

An album of sublime understatement from alto genius Paul Desmond! Desmond was one of the few players who resisted the lure of the 70s electric CTI sound – and stuck pretty much in his usual bag of easy-going grooves, blowing alto with effortless ease, working here with a quartet that includes Ed Bickert on guitar, Connie Kay on drums, and Ron Carter on bass. The tracks are short, but have that magical Desmond quality to them – no tricks, no electric work, just pure and simple coolly blown jazz. Titles include "Everything I Love", "Squeeze Me", "I'm Old Fashioned", "Nuages", and "Why Shouldn't I". LP, Vinyl record album

An album of sublime understatement from alto genius Paul Desmond! Desmond was one of the few players who resisted the lure of the 70s electric CTI sound – and stuck pretty much in his usual bag of easy-going grooves, blowing alto with effortless ease, working here with a quartet that includes Ed Bickert on guitar, Connie Kay on drums, and Ron Carter on bass. The tracks are short, but have that magical Desmond quality to them – no tricks, no electric work, just pure and simple coolly blown jazz. Titles include "Everything I Love", "Squeeze Me", "I'm Old Fashioned", "Nuages", and "Why Shouldn't I". CD features 2 bonus tracks "Wave" and "MASH". CD

A really formative album – not just as part of the key second chapter of alto genius Lou Donaldson, but also as the start of a huge generation of jazz funk grooves to come! The key element here is drummer Idris Muhammad – working in the group of Donaldson, but under his birth name of Leo Morris – and still already graced with that fantastic sense of rhythm that has him stretching out the beats, and creating grooves that would push the 60s soul jazz generation into more electric funk modes in the decade to come! The record's a perfect bridge between the two generations – with long tracks that draw plenty from Idris' drums and Lou's alto – plus work from Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Lonnie Smith on organ, and the young George Benson on guitar – still hard and soulful, in that style he had been using in the 60s group of organist Jack McDuff. If you know the heavily sampled side of Lou Donaldson's work, you'll know the greatness you're getting here – on cuts that include "Dapper Dan", "Midnight Creeper", "Bag Of Jewels", and "Love Power". CD

A really formative album – not just as part of the key second chapter of alto genius Lou Donaldson, but also as the start of a huge generation of jazz funk grooves to come! The key element here is drummer Idris Muhammad – working in the group of Donaldson, but under his birth name of Leo Morris – and still already graced with that fantastic sense of rhythm that has him stretching out the beats, and creating grooves that would push the 60s soul jazz generation into more electric funk modes in the decade to come! The record's a perfect bridge between the two generations – with long tracks that draw plenty from Idris' drums and Lou's alto – plus work from Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Lonnie Smith on organ, and the young George Benson on guitar – still hard and soulful, in that style he had been using in the 60s group of organist Jack McDuff. If you know the heavily sampled side of Lou Donaldson's work, you'll know the greatness you're getting here – on cuts that include "Dapper Dan", "Midnight Creeper", "Bag Of Jewels", and "Love Power". LP, Vinyl record album

A really formative album – not just as part of the key second chapter of alto genius Lou Donaldson, but also as the start of a huge generation of jazz funk grooves to come! The key element here is drummer Idris Muhammad – working in the group of Donaldson, but under his birth name of Leo Morris – and still already graced with that fantastic sense of rhythm that has him stretching out the beats, and creating grooves that would push the 60s soul jazz generation into more electric funk modes in the decade to come! The record's a perfect bridge between the two generations – with long tracks that draw plenty from Idris' drums and Lou's alto – plus work from Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Lonnie Smith on organ, and the young George Benson on guitar – still hard and soulful, in that style he had been using in the 60s group of organist Jack McDuff. If you know the heavily sampled side of Lou Donaldson's work, you'll know the greatness you're getting here – on cuts that include "Dapper Dan", "Midnight Creeper", "Bag Of Jewels", and "Love Power". CD

A really formative album – not just as part of the key second chapter of alto genius Lou Donaldson, but also as the start of a huge generation of jazz funk grooves to come! The key element here is drummer Idris Muhammad – working in the group of Donaldson, but under his birth name of Leo Morris – and still already graced with that fantastic sense of rhythm that has him stretching out the beats, and creating grooves that would push the 60s soul jazz generation into more electric funk modes in the decade to come! The record's a perfect bridge between the two generations – with long tracks that draw plenty from Idris' drums and Lou's alto – plus work from Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Lonnie Smith on organ, and the young George Benson on guitar – still hard and soulful, in that style he had been using in the 60s group of organist Jack McDuff. If you know the heavily sampled side of Lou Donaldson's work, you'll know the greatness you're getting here – on cuts that include "Dapper Dan", "Midnight Creeper", "Bag Of Jewels", and "Love Power". CD

One of our favorite albums by Teddy Edwards – and one with some organ in the group! This obscure quartet side has Gerry Wiggins playing a rare bit of Hammond – grooving the group with a lean and open-ended soul jazz approach that really has Edwards blowing at his best! The style sits right up there next to Gene Ammons' best albums of the time, and the rest of the group features Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Milt Turner on drums. Titles include "Smokin", "No Regrets", "A Bag Of Blues", "Wiggin", and "Little Steddy" – all originals that get Edwards past the usual bag of soulful standards! LP, Vinyl record album

Maynard swings it surprisingly nicely – in his standard big band mode, but with a lot more of an edge than in later years, thanks no doubt to some of the strong players he had in his group! Maynard's solos still have that blaring quality that marks him as a dominant showman, but he also gives ample room to some of the other soloists, especially on the longer tracks. Titles include "Rock Me To Sleep", "Animated Suspension", "He Can't Swing", "Vignette", "For The Cats", and "New Bag Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best records ever cut by hard St. Louis tenorman Jimmy Forrest – and a stripped down quartet side that has him playing with the trio of a young Larry Young! Young's not in his super-hip Blue Note mode yet, but he is a very strong soul jazz player capable of hitting some nice nice moments on the set – and Jimmy's tenor is always a welcome addition on any organ session of the time! Thornel Schwartz is on guitar, Jimmy Smith (the other Jimmy Smith) is on drums, and titles include "Dexter's Deck", "Jim's Jams", "Bag's Groove", and "Help". CD

Lean, righteous blowing from the legendary Frank Foster – one of a handful of extremely hip sessions he cut in the 60s under his own name! The album's the only record Foster ever did for Blue Note – and we dare say it's even better than his previous 60s work on Prestige and Impulse – with a quality that's even darker, even deeper, even more advanced from his earlier years with Basie. There's a rolling, joyous groove to many numbers – that late 60s take on soul jazz that made for so many great tracks on albums by Hank Mobley or Lee Morgan near the end of the decade. Foster keeps things tight, but he's also got an expansive vision too – an edge in the horns that points the way towards some of the chances he'd take in the 70s, but which is still wrapped around a leanly leaping soul jazz groove! Foster wrote 5 of the 6 tracks on the album, and he's working here with a sextet that includes Garnett Brown on trombone, Marvin Stamm on trumpet, and Richard Wyands on piano, who brings in some offbeat notes and colors throughout. Rhythm is by the excellent team of Bob Cranshaw on bass and Mickey Roker on drums – and titles include "Seventh Avenue Bill", "Stammpede", "Little Miss No Nose", "Manhattan Fever", and "Loneliness". Added to the core album is a full bonus album – recorded by Foster nearly a year after the first, and even more far-reaching! There's a quality to the date that mixes together Frank's previous soulful vamping with some more introspective, more lyrical moments – almost modern at times, but not entirely so – and played by a septet that includes Ed Pazant on alto and flute, Burt Collins on trumpet, George Cables on piano, and Jimmy Cleveland on trombone. Foster himself plays a bit of alto clarinet alongside his usual tenor – and titles include "Fly By Night", "Slug's Bag", "What's New From The Monster Mill", and "Hip Shakin". CD

One of the best studio albums ever from the legendary Von Freeman – and a date that really captures some of the careful essence of his live performances in Chicago! Unlike the previous Atlantic album, which tried to fit Von into a more expected bag, this easygoing Nessa session really lets him open up and take off – blowing tunes that are straight ahead, but always with that offbeat style that turns the songs inside out – making them rich exploratory fields for inventive and creative solos! The group fits Von's longtime credo of never upstaging the leader – which gives his tenor lots of room to blow – and players include John Young on piano , David Shipp on bass, and the great Wilbur Campbell on drums. Titles include a great version of Mancini's "Mr Lucky", plus "Swinging The Blues", "Polka Dots And Moonbeams", and "Have No Fear Soul Is Here". This great Nessa CD version has a killer bonus track, too – the Freeman-composed "Boomerang". CD

One of the harder to find Red Garland albums on Prestige, and a trio session recorded with Specs Wright on drums and Jimmy Rowser on bass. This was Prestige's first live night club recording, and it's recorded live on location at the Prelude in Harlem. Red's a little bit less mannered than usual, and he opens up nicely on a set of material that's pretty much in the Harlem jazz lounge bag of the time – "Satin Doll", "Perdido", "Bye Bye Blackbird", "There'll Never Be Another You", "Let Me See", "Prelude Blues", "Just Squeeze Me" and "One O'Clock Jump". LP, Vinyl record album

Never-heard music from pianist Red Garland – working here with a unique trio that features Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums – a lineup that only existed for this one set of performances from 1977! The material is great – maybe better than most Garland albums issued at the time – and the tracks were recorded with great care at the Keystone Korner club in San Francisco – at a level that's similar to the best Fantasy Records live dates from the venue, which were often like this album – a great chance for the artist to really stretch out and do something new! Garland still has that fluid, lyrical sensibility we love in his famous 50s sides – but there's also a much richer, more sophisticated approach to the piano as well – an even deeper sense of tonal color that comes through on the album's long tracks. Jones is great too – increasingly complex during these years, as you'd hear on his own recordings – and a great accompaniment to Red's new modes of expression. The whole thing presents 150 minutes of unreleased music, plus some great notes and photos too – and titles include "Love For Sale", "Billy Boy", "Blues In Bebop", "On Green Dolphin Street", "Dear Old Stockholm", "Bag's Groove", "On A Clear Day", "Straight No Chaser", "Autumn Leaves", and even a version of "The Christmas Song" (since the material was recorded a few weeks before Christmas!) CD

A great lost Verve album that stands as one of Stan Getz's best sessions from the early 60s – a brilliant pairing with Bob Brookmeyer that shows just how much each player had grown in the past decade! There's a strongly modernist feel to the record – more Brookmeyer's influence than Getz's usual bag – with long tracks that move almost airily at times, and which feature some beautiful interplay between tenor and trombone. Rhythm is by a very hip trio of Steve Kuhn on piano, Roy Haynes on drums, and John Neves on bass – and the work's got a great balance between freedom and more focused blowing! Titles include "Minuet Circa 61", "Thump, Thump, Thump", and "Who Could Care". CD

A great lost Verve album that stands as one of Stan Getz's best sessions from the early 60s – a brilliant pairing with Bob Brookmeyer that shows just how much each player had grown in the past decade! There's a strongly modernist feel to the record – more Brookmeyer's influence than Getz's usual bag – with long tracks that move almost airily at times, and which feature some beautiful interplay between tenor and trombone. Rhythm is by a very hip trio of Steve Kuhn on piano, Roy Haynes on drums, and John Neves on bass – and the work's got a great balance between freedom and more focused blowing! Titles include "Minuet Circa 61", "Thump, Thump, Thump", and "Who Could Care". LP, Vinyl record album

Outstanding Dizzy Gillespie material – from one of his most overlooked periods! The time is the mid 60s, and after a few years of working with Lalo Schifrin in his group, Dizzy's changed his Latin bag from hard-edged Cubop to mellower more complicated Bossa and modal jazz. The result is some of the most sophisticated playing in Dizzy's career – hitched to a groove that's still filled with soul and fire, and which rolls on in a compelling way that always hooks us hard! The group features Kenny Barron on piano, and reed work by James Moody, one of the other great secrets of the mid 60s! Tracks are all long – and titles include "One Note Samba", "Con Alma", "Umh, Umh", and "Chega De Saudade". CD

A long overdue classic from Count Basie's excellent 50s guitarist! Freddie was one of the strongest single-line players of the 50s – coming to prominence in the years before Grant Green and Wes Montgomery completely transformed jazz guitar, but never getting as much chance as those greats to record under his own name. This rare 1956 set is one of the few that Freddie ever did on his own, and it's a nicely laidback small group romp, with players that include Al Cohn, Joe Newman, Nat Pierce, and Milt Hinton. Tracks are short, with a focus on Green's guitar on the solos. Titles include "Down For Double", "Free & Easy", "Date With Ray", "Swinging Back", and "Feed Bag". CD

Lost European jazz recordings from the vaults of producer Gigi Campi – and a stellar batch of non-US material with Johnny Griffin at the lead – working in the company of Clarke/Boland compatriots who include Benny Bailey, Sahib Shihab, Jimmy Woode, Idrees Sulieman, and Milt Jackson! Despite the "Bags" in the title, Milt's only on a few tracks – but that's fine with us, because Johnny Griffin is the main attraction – and the material is good small group sides with Griff soloing and trading lines with players like Sulieman and Bailey, or with some of the other players on their own. The recordings are different than the usual breed of Johnny Griffin European recordings – most of which have him soloing with a piano quartet on extended tracks. On this release, most of the tracks are short, hard, and very nicely swinging with a good hard bop groove – as with the best of Griffin's Riverside and Blue Note recordings. Kenny Clarke's on drums on nearly all the material, and he pulls out his bop chops to drive Griff's hard solos as fast as he can. The set's a great batch of work, with excellent notes and photos, and some great playing all around. Cuts include "Gamal Sady 'n Em", "Foot Patting", "Lady Heavy Bottom's Waltz", "Blues For K", "Muvaffak's Pad", "The Girl & The Turk", and "Gyson's Bag". 16 cuts in all, and none of them are from the Griffin/Davis LP on MPS (just in case you thought to ask!) CD

One of Dave's funkier albums of the time – with cuts that include "Captain Caribe", "Rondo", "City Lights", "Rag Bag", and "Mountain Dance". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Dave's funkier albums of the time – with cuts that include "Captain Caribe", "Rondo", "City Lights", "Rag Bag", and "Mountain Dance". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice little set that's got way more to offer than you might guess from its simple title! Sure the set's bebop, and sure it's live – but it's played with a sense of depth, color, and tone that go far beyond a simple "let's go back to the days of Bird and Diz" that you might think. Al Haig's piano work here is especially nice – fluid and flowing, in that great mode that he hit during his later years – and which provides a nice contrast to straighter bop work on the keys. The reed work by Pete King on alto and Art Themen on soprano and tenor is more than just bop soloing too – often more intimately expressive, and occasionally trying for new ideas that sometimes work, and sometimes falter a bit – but bring a nice edge to the set. Titles include "Laura", "Bag's Groove", "Loverman", "Birk's Works", and "Night In Tunisia". CD

The rarest of the 2 Billy Hawks albums for Prestige – both of which are pretty darn rare! Although called a "blues" musician by the label, Billy plays organ in a style that's more in keeping with some of the funky jazz artists on Prestige – especially on the instrumental tracks, which give a lot more room to the instrumental solos. There's a great instrumental groover called "That's Your Bag" that's right up with the best of the Prestige funky jazz tracks from the 60's, and even the vocal cuts are really nice, as Billy has a good soulful singing style. He's backed here by Buddy Terry and Maynard Parker, and tracks include "Heavy Soul", "Whip It On Me", and "I'll Be Back". LP, Vinyl record album

Tasty bluesy organ material from Prestige, featuring 2 hard-to-find records, back-to-back in a single set! Billy Hawks sings and plays organ with a groove that's in between jazz, blues, and deep soul. On New Genius Of The Blues he's fronting a trio that includes a young Ivan "Boogaloo Joe" Jones on guitar, and the group plays a few instrumentals with some excellent organ/guitar interchange. Some of the material here is a bit bluesy, but there's also still a relatively strong soul jazz component as well – one that comes through in the overall structure of the tunes, and in the lean style in which they were recorded. Titles include "Hawks Blues", "Let Me Love You Before You Go", "Got My Mojo Working", "Mean Woman Blues" and more. More Heavy Soul is the rarest of his albums for Prestige – and on this one he plays organ in a style that's more in keeping with some of the funky jazz artists on the label – especially on the instrumental tracks, which give a lot more room to the instrumental solos. There's a great instrumental groover called "That's Your Bag" that's right up with the best of the Prestige funky jazz tracks from the 60s, and even the vocal cuts are really nice, as Billy has a good soulful singing style. He's backed here by Buddy Terry and Maynard Parker, and other tracks include "Heavy Soul", "Whip It On Me", and "I'll Be Back". 19 tracks in all! CD

Early genius from Eddie Higgins – a pianist who was a big thing on the Chicago scene of the 60s, but is probably best known to most folks for his revival records of the past decade or two! The younger Higgins has more of an edge than the later one – and this self-titled debut is a cooker of a hardbop album – thanks not only to work from Eddie's core trio, but also some great horn interplay from Frank Foster on tenor and Paul Seranno on trumpet! Eddie wrote some of the best cuts on the record – some really fresh numbers – and he gets rhythmic help from either Richard Evans or Jim Atlas on bass, and Marshall Thompson on drums. Higgins titles include "Foot's Bag", "Zarac The Evil One", and "AB's Blues" – and the album also features versions of "Blues For Big Scotia" and "Falling In Love With Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic! This is one of the rarest of the rare of all Blue Note albums – and it's the only-ever session cut as a leader by the great tenor player Fred Jackson! The album's a really heavy burner – an all-out organ/tenor assault with the kind of gutbuckety soul groove that only peaked on a rare few Blue Note sessions! Earl Van Dyke plays organ on the session, and it's one of the few jazz albums he appears on, apart from the "soul instrumental" sessions he cut later for Motown. The whole thing's down-n-dirty and mighty nasty – with a feel that's much more like some of the Prestige soul jazz cookers of the time than the usual Blue Note set! Tracks include "Preach Brother", "Dippin In the Bag", "Hootin N Tootin", and "Easin' On Down". CD

A classic! This is one of the rarest of the rare of all Blue Note albums – and it's the only-ever session cut as a leader by the great tenor player Fred Jackson! The album's a really heavy burner – an all-out organ/tenor assault with the kind of gutbuckety soul groove that only peaked on a rare few Blue Note sessions! Earl Van Dyke plays organ on the session, and it's one of the few jazz albums he appears on, apart from the "soul instrumental" sessions he cut later for Motown. The whole thing's down-n-dirty and mighty nasty – with a feel that's much more like some of the Prestige soul jazz cookers of the time than the usual Blue Note set! Tracks include "Preach Brother", "Dippin In the Bag", "Hootin N Tootin", and "Easin' On Down". LP, Vinyl record album

2CDs worth of classic work by Milt Jackson! CD one features 14 tracks from Milt's Atlantic years – recorded with players that include Kenny Burrell, Connie Kay, John Lewis, Frank Wess, and John Coltrane, lifted from a number of different records, and including the titles "Bag's New Groove", "Plenty Plenty Soul", "Cylinder", "Sandra's Blues", and "Ghana". CD two features the album Soul Brothers – featuring Milt in the company of Ray Charles, who gives the set much more of a soulful feel than some of Milt's other records. Titles on that set include "Blue Funk", "Cosmic Ray", "Soul Brothers", and "How Long Blues". CD

Excellent late 50s work by Milt Jackson for Atlantic! Bags & Flutes is very much in the style of Milt's classic Savoy sides from the preceding couple of years – mixing together his jazzy vibes with light lilting solos on flute, either by Bobby Jaspar or Frank Wess, Milt's old compatriot from the Savoy sessions. Piano is by Tommy Flanagan or Hank Jones, and Kenny Burrell plays guitar on the whole album. Tracks include "Ghana", "Connie's Blues", "Sandy", "I'm Afraid The Masquerade Is Over" and "Bag's New Groove". LP, Vinyl record album

Wicked early work from Milt Jackson – a record that's got a lot more of an edge than some of his later work with the Modern Jazz Quartet – a near-perfect modernist bop sound that's every bit the best side of Blue Note in the early 50s! The groups here are really great – one a quintet that features Jackson's partners in the MJQ – John Lewis on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums (who was in the first rendition of the quartet) – the group's also joined by Lou Donaldson on alto sax, who blows with this boppish edge that really deepens the sound! And the other quintet is even better – with Thelonious Monk on piano and Sahib Shihab on alto sax. Milt's vibes ring out in this boldly chromatic way – clearly a sense of discovery in process during the session – and titles include "Bag's Groove", "On The Scene", "Willow Weep For Me", "Criss Cross", "Eronel", "Tahiti", and "What's New". LP, Vinyl record album

Wicked early work from Milt Jackson – a record that's got a lot more of an edge than some of his later work with the Modern Jazz Quartet – a near-perfect modernist bop sound that's every bit the best side of Blue Note in the early 50s! The package brings together material from a few different sessions – some originally on 10" LPs – and the core of the material features Jackson in the company of pianist Thelonious Monk, on some tracks that also feature Sahib Shihab on alto sax! John Lewis plays piano on another batch of tracks that are essentially the early MJQ lineup, but with Lou Donaldson on alto too – so they swing with a bit more soul than you might expect. Titles include "Bag's Groove", "On The Scene", "Willow Weep For Me", "Criss Cross", "Evidence", "Tahiti", "Misterioso", "Four In One", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Two CTI label gems from vibist Milt Jackson – back to back on a single CD! Sunflower is proof that Milt Jackson was easily the hippest member of the Modern Jazz Quartet – and one of the few who could really open up into different sounds away from that combo! This sweet 70s set for CTI is totally great – a whole new chapter for Jackson's vibes, and a real re-setting of the soulful modes he'd explored as a leader in the 60s. There's a wonderfully warm and chromatic feel to the set from the start – as Milt's vibes are set in fuller arrangements from Don Sebesky – with added instrumentation from Herbie Hancock on electric piano, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and Phil Bodner on reeds. The highlight of the album is a nice long take on "People Make The World Go Round", but it's all pretty sweet, and other titles include nice versions of "Sunflower" and "What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life" – and Jackson's own "SKJ" and "For Someone I Love". Goodbye is classic work from vibist Milt Jackson – opening up his bag a lot for the 70s, in a way that makes for some wonderfully casual grooves! The album's not as moodily funky as some of Jackson's other CTI records, but it is a nice batch of laidback tunes played with a distinctly soulful edge – handled by a group that features Cedar Walton on piano, Hubert Laws on flute, Ron Carter bass, Steve Gadd drums – and some guest trumpet from Freddie Hubbard on the track "SKJ". Other titles include "Opus De Funk", "Detour Ahead","Goodbye", and "Old Devil Moon". CD

Jackson, Johnson, Brown, and company – and a few more too – a nicely laidback sextet date from the later years of Pablo Records, done in the great mode that always made the label's work a 70s extension of the Verve Records ethos! Key players here, obviously, are Milt Jackson on vibes, JJ Johnson on trombone, and Ray Brown on bass – Brown also produced the set – and the group also features John Collins on guitar, Tom Rainer on piano, and Roy McCurdy on drums. Tracks are shorter and tighter than a jam session mode for three such heavy players – and titles include "Jaybone", "Lament", "Our Delight", "Bag's Groove", "Watch What Happens", and "The Jumpin Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best 60s albums by the Crusaders – and a swinging Latin session to boot! The core group of The Jazz Crusaders is expanded with some funky flute from Hubert Laws, sweet organ licks from Clare Fischer, and lots of congas from Carlos Vidal – all of whom push the group past their usual (and excellent) soul jazz bag, into a realm of hard-grooving Latin numbers! The playing on the set is tremendous – as "in the pocket" as the group could be, but also a lot more hiply swinging and open to rhythmic changes. A total gem – with titles that include "Agua Dulce", "Tacos", "Soul Bourgeoisie", and "Latin Bit". LP, Vinyl record album

A 12" album that combines sides that JJ Johnson previously issued on Prestige – some as 78rpm singles, some as 10" LP material – all of it very top-level bop modern work from Johnson's first stretch on the scene! There's a sharpness here that really sets JJ apart from other trombonists – that mix of fresh ideas that makes all of his recordings from the time worth checking out – both the late 40s cuts that make up a third of the record, and the additional 8 tracks from 1954 that make up the rest. Other players include Kenny Dorham on trumpet, John Lewis on piano, and Sonny Rollins on tenor for the 1949 sessions – and Kai Winding on trombone and Dick Katz on piano for the 1954 sessions. Titles include "Elysses", "Hilo", "Fox Hunt", "Opus V", "Don't Argue", "Riviera", "Dinner For One", "Wing Bag", and "Hip Bones". LP, Vinyl record album

2 of Boogaloo Joe's best and rarest albums on one CD – guitar jazz funk at its best! First up is Boogaloo Joe – a killer session of funky guitar jazz, and the record that gave Ivan "Boogaloo" Joe Jones his nickname! The set's a full-on wailer that really blows away Joe's first two on Prestige – breaking out ouf the box with a killer lineup that includes Rusty Bryant on tenor, Bernard Purdie on drums, and Sonny Phillips on organ – all working with Joe's incredibly tight guitar lines to craft some wicked tunes that take soul jazz firmly into the sound of the 70s! Titles include "Boogaloo Joe", "People Are Talking", "Dream On Little Dreamer", and "Atlantic City Soul". Right On Brother is next – and is Ivan's first truly sublime album – a set that showed the world that he was easily one of the greatest jazz guitarists of his generation – able to spin out single-note jams with a speed and dexterity that few others could match! The groove here is totally great and very righteous – heavy drums from Bernard Purdie, wailing organ from Charles Earland, and saxophone from Rusty Bryant – all cooking together in the best early 70s Prestige jazz funk mode! Titles include "Right On", "Brown Bag", "Things Ain't What They Used To Be", and "Poppin". CD

One of the more unusual albums on Impulse – and a beautiful session that's filled with surprises you wouldn't expect! Elvin Jones leads a group of well-chosen bandmates in a hip set of tracks that's sort of a "letter" to Coltrane – with groupings that include either Roland Hanna or Hank Jones on piano, plus Richard Davis bass, and Charlie Mariano on alto sax! Mariano is the real highlight of the album, and his sparkling alto playing on the disc is some of his finest work from the 60s – really standing out in one of his few American sessions from the middle part of the decade – soulful, but searching too – very well presented in an album of Coltrane-ness. Titles include "Love Bird", "Fantazm", "Ballade", "Dear John C", and "Smoke Rings". Also features the bonus track "That Five-Four Bag". 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

Drummer Leonard King was on a number of classic 70s recordings by Detroit organ legend Lyman Woodard – but here, he comes across in a much older style of jazz – mixing vocals with small combo work on a set of older standards and some originals too! King's got a wonderfully charming approach to vocals – and is in that tradition of a mostly instrumentalist taking a turn at vocals – as when Dexter Gordon or Chico Hamilton might do so – not as a top-shelf jazz singer, but as a person who's got plenty of love of the music and motivation. The group is a trio – with Rocco Popielarski on bass and Mark Kieme on tenor and flutes – on titles that include "Black & Blue", "Born To Be Blue", "Ed's Love Bag", "Just You Just Me", "Oh Lady Be Good", and "Our Lives". CD

A live quartet date – tracks include "Bag's Groove", "It Might As Well Be Spring", "Avalon", "Stritch In Time", and "Reeling & Rhyming". CD

Not just a flute session from Yusef Lateef – as the set's a record with plenty of saxophone as well as the instrument named in the title! Yusef's mixing his bag nicely for this mid 60s classic – working through tunes that are a mixture of soulful hardbop and eastern exoticism – a shift that's marked by Lateef's changing reed work on tenor, flute, and oboe! The group's a hip quartet with players from Lateef's Detroit scene – the always-great Hugh Lawson on piano, plus Herman Wright on bass, and a young Roy Brooks on drums – all working with Lateef in a sound that almost points the way towards some of the innovations in 70s soul jazz, and which has surprisingly righteous touches that you wouldn't expect from such a simple package! Titles include Brooks' excellent groover "The Smart Set", plus "Oasis", "Road Runner", "The Golden Flute", and "Head Hunters". CD

Although Hubert Laws went onto cut some pretty snoozy fusion records in later years, these early Atlantic albums find him playing with a great soul jazz groove, laying down nice slightly-funky flute solos with a very good groove. The group on the Laws of Jazz includes a young Chick (then called "Armando") Corea on piano, then a much more Latin-tinged player – and the rest of the group includes Richard Davis on bass and Bobby Thomas on drums. Laws' flute is the main solo vehicle – and tracks include "Bimbe Blue", "Miss Thing", "All Soul", and "Black Eyed Peas & Rice". A great little set of Latin jazz! At the time of Flute By-Laws, Hubert Laws was playing with Mongo Santamaria's group – and for this second solo outing, Laws borrows a lot of grooves from Mongo's bag, and also hits a few tasty lines of his own. There's some killer tight Latin numbers with a groovy 60s feel – like "Bloodshot", "Let Her Go", "Baila Cinderella", and "No You'd Better Not" – plus some other tasty jazz numbers like "Mean Lene" and "Strange Girl". Players include a host of Latin jazz crossover talents like Chick Corea, Jimmy Owens, Garnett Brown, and Ray Lucas – as well as strict Latin players like Cachao and Victor Pantoja – and the album's one of Laws' best ever! CD

The title gets it partly right, as the Manhattan Jazz Quintet have some added help on guitar from John Scofield on a few tracks – whose lines definitely underscore some of the more blues-based colors in the music! Scofield's an open, chromatic master on his instrument – and that approach turns out to be a great match for the group's lead horns of Lew Soloff on trumpet and George Young on tenor – both players with very different inflections than John, but who complement his sound in all the right ways. The rhythm's also a bit sharper than usual for the group – with snapping drums from Steve Gadd, and always-great work from Eddie Gomez on bass. Titles include "Basin Street Blues", "Blues March", "Bag's Groove", and "Sweet Basil Blues". CD

A sweet early 60s set by Herbie Mann! After cutting a very successful side at the Gate in 1962, Herbie returns with an even broader approach to the groove – working here with players that include Ahmed Abdul-Malik, Dave Pike, Ray Mantilla, and Ray Barretto, on a set of long tracks that have more than a bit of Latin and global influences! The package is a great one – and as always, one listen will show you that Herbie's a lot hipper than any of us ever give him credit for. Titles include "Bag's Groove", "New York Is A Jungle Festival", "Ekunda", "Bedouin", and "Candle Dance". CD

We don't know what they were putting in the water in Boston during the 50's, but whatever it was, it sure made Bostonians play great jazz – especially all the white guys who picked up alto saxophones. Charlie Mariano was one of those guys, and from the start, his playing on the alto had a brilliant tone that lay somewhere between the iciness of Lee Konitz and the more soulful sound of Art Pepper. Mariano was always completely in his own bag, though, and as you'll hear on this early set of recordings with a young Jaki Byard, he was always open to modernist influences, but (like Byard) never let them get in the way of a soulful solo. We're not sure who these tracks were originally recorded for, but there's 16 of them, and they're all studio material with a hard lively sound. Titles include "Harangue", "Diane's Melody", "It's Magic", "Chandra", "Chanticlear", and "My Nancy". CD

Unreleased live work from Les McCann – recorded at a time when the soulful giant was really breaking it up in clubs around the country, and just about to unleash a whole new righteous side of his talents! The tracks here resonate strongly with some of the earlier Pacific Jazz live work that Les was cutting earlier in the decade – but also show a new evolution that's partly the confidence he had as one of the key soulful musicians on the west coast, but also a shift in his style past some of the more standard soul jazz modes that others were taking from his bag – leaving McCann to keep on growing in new directions of his own. All tracks here are trio titles – recorded in Seattle or at the Village Vanguard – and players include Stanley Gilbert and Leroy Vinnegar on bass, and Frank Severino and Paul Humphrey on drums. Titles include "The Grabber", "Could Be", "I Can Dig It", "Doin That Thing", "Sunny", "The Shampoo", "Blues 5", "Out In The Outhouse", "Lavande", "Da Da", "Yours Is My Heart Alone", and "Wait For It". LP, Vinyl record album

Unreleased live work from Les McCann – recorded at a time when the soulful giant was really breaking it up in clubs around the country, and just about to unleash a whole new righteous side of his talents! The tracks here resonate strongly with some of the earlier Pacific Jazz live work that Les was cutting earlier in the decade – but also show a new evolution that's partly the confidence he had as one of the key soulful musicians on the west coast, but also a shift in his style past some of the more standard soul jazz modes that others were taking from his bag – leaving McCann to keep on growing in new directions of his own. All tracks here are trio titles – recorded in Seattle or at the Village Vanguard – and players include Stanley Gilbert and Leroy Vinnegar on bass, and Frank Severino and Paul Humphrey on drums. Titles include "The Grabber", "Could Be", "I Can Dig It", "Doin That Thing", "Sunny", "The Shampoo", "Blues 5", "Out In The Outhouse", "Lavande", "Da Da", "Yours Is My Heart Alone", and "Wait For It". CD

Funking around something old and something new – as the title says – and a pretty tasty set that has Les on keyboards and vocals, working with a quartet that includes drums, bass, and some nice sax licks from Keith Anderson. The sound's a mixed bag – with some tunes that hit a perfect late 60s Eddie Harris/Les McCann vibe – and others that get a bit mellower and play around the keys, plus one or two vocal numbers that kind of dip down a bit. Overall, though, the feel is fresh enough to warrant our attention, and even the older tunes are remade in some nicer new versions. Titles include "Maleah", "It's You", "Little Blue Volkswagen", "Compared To What", "With These Hands", "Cold Duck Time", and "Zora". CD

2 of the greatest artists on Pacific Jazz meet head to head in the studio – as the Les McCann trio gets backed up by the Gerald Wilson Orchestra! Given the hipness of Wilson's sound, and the fact that his group features solo work by Teddy Edwards and Dennis Budimir, the overall approach to the record is really wonderful – pushing McCann way past his usual bag, and fleshing out the core grooves of the trio very very nicely! Tracks include "Maleah", "Love Of Living To Do", "Kathleen's Theme", "Gus Gus", "Restin In Jail", and "Bailor The Wailor". LP, Vinyl record album

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

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

Funky early 70s work by Jimmy McGriff – a mix of tight groovers and more open soul jazz numbers – all of which represent some of his best moments for the Groove Merchant label! Jimmy's got a lean, mean sound on these tracks – and even when the backings are full, they've got the tightness of a 70s soundtrack – nice and jazzy, and with a great funky punch on the bottom! The McGriff keyboard sound has plenty of room to roam around, even when the cuts are short – and titles include a great cover of "Ain't It Funky Now", plus "Super Funk", "Fat Cakes", "Dig It On", "Bug Out", "If You're Ready Come Go With Me", "Let's Saty Together", "The Bird", "Plain Brown Bag", "Jumpin' The Blues", "Tiki", and "Shuckin & Jivin". LP, Vinyl record album

Most likely our favorite album by John McLaughlin – and one that features him in a wonderfully spare setting – alongside John Surman on saxes, Brian Odges on bass, and Tony Oxley on drums. The playing has a free and loose quality that McLaughlin would later lose on some his more fusion-y outings, and the group runs through some excellent post bop originals and modal excursion – all done with a wide open sound and a great sense of dynamics. Titles include "Extrapolation", "It's Funny", "Argen's Bag", "Pete The Poet", "This Is For Us To Share", "Spectrum", "Binky's Beam", "Really You Know", "Two For Two", and "Peace Piece". CD

Most likely our favorite album by John McLaughlin – and one that features him in a wonderfully spare setting – alongside John Surman on saxes, Brian Odges on bass, and Tony Oxley on drums. The playing has a free and loose quality that McLaughlin would later lose on some his more fusion-y outings, and the group runs through some excellent post bop originals and modal excursion – all done with a wide open sound and a great sense of dynamics. Titles include "Extrapolation", "It's Funny", "Argen's Bag", "Pete The Poet", "This Is For Us To Share", "Spectrum", "Binky's Beam", "Really You Know", "Two For Two", and "Peace Piece". CD

Most likely our favorite album by John McLaughlin – and one that features him in a wonderfully spare setting – alongside John Surman on saxes, Brian Odges on bass, and Tony Oxley on drums. The playing has a free and loose quality that McLaughlin would later lose on some his more fusion-y outings, and the group runs through some excellent post bop originals and modal excursion – all done with a wide open sound and a great sense of dynamics. Titles include "Extrapolation", "It's Funny", "Argen's Bag", "Pete The Poet", "This Is For Us To Share", "Spectrum", "Binky's Beam", "Really You Know", "Two For Two", and "Peace Piece". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the hippest jazz ever played at Vassar College – and previously-unreleased work from avant legend Joe McPhee, recorded right around the same time as his classic Nation Time record! One CD features a smoking performance by McPhee on tenor – working with a group that also includes Byron Morris on alto sax – really stretching out on a mixture of original tunes and some surprisingly free takes on standards – familiar songs blown openly, almost with a Coltrane Quartet sort of approach! But the other CD is even more amazing – and even more obscure – as it features a group with vibist Ernie Bostic, alto saxophonist Otis Greene, and Hammond player Herbie Leaman – all musicians we really don't know at all – but who sound wonderful together! The mix of organ and vibes is completely sublime – and tracks are very long and airy, with a haunting feel that's unlike anything we've ever heard before. The Bostic group plays "Flowers For Mattie B", "Bag's Groove", and "Resolution" – and McPhee's combo takes on "Green Dolphin Street", "Spring Street", "Muntu", "Maybell's Blues", "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise", and "Stella By Starlight". CD

A great McPherson album – and one that shows him at his thoughtful, lyrical best! The playing is waaay out of the "Bird" bag that he got hooked with early on, and features some great long moody tracks with a 70's soul jazz feel to them. Mickey Tucker plays fantastic modal piano lines on the set – and tracks include "Promise", "Horizons", "Dee Blues", and "Night Eyes", all nice and soulful! Great stuff, and one of the lost 70's jazz treats from Xanadu! LP, Vinyl record album

A rare second chapter to Mobley's famous Workout album – recorded in the early 60s, but not issued until the mid 80s – and even then, only momentarily on vinyl! The session's a great one – a quartet outing with a structure that's similar to Hank's classic Soul Station record, but which is a bit more fluid and free-thinking overall! The long tracks give Mobley plenty of room to open up on his solos – really commanding the record with his deeply soulful tone and strong sense of timing. Other players include Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums (plus Grant Green on one track) – and titles include "Out Of Joe's Bag", "I Should Care", "Getting & Jettin", "Hank's Other Soul", and "Three Coins In A Fountain". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare second chapter to Mobley's famous Workout album – recorded in the early 60s, but not issued until the mid 80s – and even then, only momentarily on vinyl! The session's a great one – a quartet outing with a structure that's similar to Hank's classic Soul Station record, but which is a bit more fluid and free-thinking overall! The long tracks give Mobley plenty of room to open up on his solos – really commanding the record with his deeply soulful tone and strong sense of timing. Other players include Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – and titles include "Out Of Joe's Bag", "I Should Care", "Getting & Jettin", "Hank's Other Soul", and "Three Coins In A Fountain". CD

A lost session by Hank Mobley – originally recorded in 1966, but not officially issued until 1979, and then only briefly until another short issue in the mid 90s! The record has Mobley really reaching out into a new bag – hitting a more soulfully arranged sound than on some of his other straighter Blue Notes – a full, rich groove that's totall wonderful! Duke Pearson arranged the group, and it's slightly larger than usual – with James Spaulding on alto, Lee Morgan on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, Billy Higgins on drums, and Kiane Zawadi and Howard Johnson providing a very unique tuba/euphonium bass part – hardly the clunky horns you might expect, and instead sort of a rumbling bottom-end sound that's really great. Titles include "Hank's Other Bag", "Touch Of Blue", and "A Slice Of The Top". LP, Vinyl record album

A lost session by Hank Mobley – originally recorded in 1966, but not officially issued until 1979, and then only briefly until another short issue in the mid 90s! The record has Mobley really reaching out into a new bag – hitting a more soulfully arranged sound than on some of his other straighter Blue Notes – a full, rich groove that's totall wonderful! Duke Pearson arranged the group, and it's slightly larger than usual – with James Spaulding on alto, Lee Morgan on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, Billy Higgins on drums, and Kiane Zawadi and Howard Johnson providing a very unique tuba/euphonium bass part – hardly the clunky horns you might expect, and instead sort of a rumbling bottom-end sound that's really great. Titles include "Hank's Other Bag", "Touch Of Blue", and "A Slice Of The Top". CD

One of the later albums in the group's classic run for Atlantic Records – with titles that include "Bag's Groove", "Blues Milanese", "Pyramid", "The Cylinder", "Really True Blues", "Ralph's New Blues", "Monterey Mist", and "Home". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent Japanese performance from the Modern Jazz Quartet – and a set that was issued in a bit of a lull during their 60s American years for Atlantic Records – which makes it even more important as a key part of their catalog at the time! The 1966 date has the combo in fine form – and almost stepping out with a bit of added soulfulness, in ways that echo some of the styles that Milt Jackson was exploring on his own at the time, and which seem to be brought back to the group! Milt's vibes are wonderful – ringing out with a great sense of pride and presence that may well go beyond earlier MJQ material – and titles include "Really True Blues", "The Cylinder", "Midsommer", "Animal Dance", "For Someone I Love", "Ralph's New Blues", "Pyramid", "Home", "Winter Tale", "Blues Milanese", and "Bag's Groove". CD