Heavy funk from a hip Japanese combo – one that features lots of drums and percussion from leader Akira Ishikawa, plus plenty of guitar, keyboards, and hard-riffing horns! Akira's taking most of his cues here from American funk of the early 70s – work by Incredible Bongo Band, BT Express, and others – but he often serves up the music with a fair bit of conga work at the front of the arrangements, in a way that takes familiar tunes and gives them a much rootsier, earthier kind of groove! The approach is unique, but totally great – and the album's a funk album unlike anything else we can think of – quite unusual even for the experimental Japanese scene of the time. Titles include "Bongo Rock", "Pick Up The Pieces", "Do It Til You're Satisfied", "I've Got To Use My Imagination", "Let's Start", "Love Is The Answer", and "Boogie On Reggae Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

Charles Earland really soars to the heavens here – working in a style that's very different than his early jazz albums on Prestige, but which still features plenty of great solo moments too! Earland's key partner in crime here is the great Randy Muller – the man behind the sound of Brass Construction and BT Express – working on arrangements and production to help the keys of Charles get all these excellent grooves – modes that move between midtempo jazz funk to a few clubbier tracks – all in the hippest side of the 70s spectrum! Earland has expanded his keyboard range past straight Hammond, and works all this other great magic into the Fender Rhodes and other instruments – and the record also features backing vocals from the group Skyy – who would soon go on to great fame on their own, thanks to Muller. Titles include "Let The Music Play", "I Like It", "Changes", "Over & Over", and "Smile". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy funk from a hip Japanese combo – one that features lots of drums and percussion from leader Akira Ishikawa, plus plenty of guitar, keyboards, and hard-riffing horns! Akira's taking most of his cues here from American funk of the early 70s – work by Incredible Bongo Band, BT Express, and others – but he often serves up the music with a fair bit of conga work at the front of the arrangements, in a way that takes familiar tunes and gives them a much rootsier, earthier kind of groove! The approach is unique, but totally great – and the album's a funk album unlike anything else we can think of – quite unusual even for the experimental Japanese scene of the time. Titles include "Bongo Rock", "Pick Up The Pieces", "Do It Til You're Satisfied", "I've Got To Use My Imagination", "Let's Start", "Love Is The Answer", and "Boogie On Reggae Woman". CD

Eddie Lockjaw Davis is one of those players who was always sneaking in slyly great records like this in his later years – albums that never had the full-on bite of his early presence, but which more than made up for that in Eddie's mature mastery of his tone and timing! As with Coleman Hawkins in his later years, Lockjaw almost seemed to know that less was more – especially if he wanted to make an unusual twist, sharp an edge, or surprise the listener with a subtle expression of modernity – all while keeping things swinging in an old school way. Those qualities really come through here – as Davis blows with a quartet that features Kenny Drew on piano, Jesper Lundgaard on bass, and Sven Erik Norregaard on drums – on titles that include "Four", "I Only Have Eyes For You", "Coming Home Baby", "That's All", and "Funky Fluke". LP, Vinyl record album

Mid 70s magic from vocalist Irene Kral – one of a handful of albums that really had Kral setting herself apart from most other jazz vocal contemporaries! The approach here is very simple – just Irene's voice and piano backing from Alan Broadbent – but a hell of a lot goes on in the spare space, thanks to subtly expressive vocals from Kral – never too overdone, yet filled with a mature sophistication that's wonderful – almost conversational at points, yet always with a soft swing that reminds us that she's a jazz singer at heart. Titles include "Love Came On Stealthy Fingers", "I Like You You're Nice", "When I Look In Your Eyes", "A Time For Love/Small World", "Never Let Me Go", "Lucky To Be Me/Some Other Time", "Don't Look Back", and "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most". (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A rare meeting of two musical modernists – legendary improvising guitarist Derek Bailey and percussionist Paul Motian – the latter of whom is in some of his freest territory ever next to Bailey! The set features one long improvisation, plus a shorter encore – both really tremendous and in this space that's a definite meeting of the minds – with Derek maybe working at a level that's slightly more earthy next to some of Motian's percussion, while Paul finds this way to spontaneously move between more subtle sonic expressions and bolder moments of rhythm! The balance is great – an especially unique chapter in Bailey's long legacy of albums of this nature, and a key addition to Motian's catalog as well. LP, Vinyl record album

A really amazing project from Mats Gustafsson – and one that's a great reminder of his ability to create music in so many different and incredible ways! This time around, Mats acts as the conductor – at the head of NyMusik Trondheim and Avant Art Ensemble – both larger groups who mix together acoustic instrumentation with electronics, but all in these very spare, often subtle ways that hardly make you aware of their size at all. There are moments of full-on sonic activity, but much of the proceedings focus on smaller sounds and more focused expressions – served up with solo work from Anders Nyqvist on trumpets, Colin Stetson on amplified bass sax, Hedvig Mollestad on tuba, Jerome Noetinger on revox tape machines, and Dieb 13 on turntables – next to other work on cello, violin, prepared piano, accordion, and guitar. Titles include "Mirrors 1", "Echoes 1", "Shadows 2", "Outro", "Intro", and "Reflection". CD

A group with an enigmatic name, and one with a sound to match – as the quintet play together in ways that link late 50s modern jazz with later, more experimental moments – but all with a sense of cohesion that really makes for a hell of a record all the way through! Some tracks are long, some much shorter – and there's a mix of subtle feeling here that almost takes us back to the territory of Mal Waldron and Eric Dolphy – especially given the album's great use of bass clarinet at times, handled by Joel Stedman, who also plays flute. The rest of the combo features more flute and tenor from Matt Cliffe, piano from Hugh Vincent, bass from Elliot Roffe, and drums from Simon Henry – a wonderfully expressive group who have a superbly fresh sense of tone and timing. Titles include "Faith", "Lizard", "Sight", "Maya's Mood", "Miss B", "Summit", and "Diogenes Pot". LP, Vinyl record album

Pianist Roberto Olzer is great here, but the album also really sparkles with the excellent basswork of Yuri Goloubev – not just an accompanist, but also a creative force who's helped arrange part of the record and deliver a few tunes as well! Olzer's got this sense of tone and timing that's almost virtuostic, and the bass balances things out really well – so that there's a subtle soul to the record, encouraged by the drums of Mauro Beggio – which lets Roberto take off on some really expressive passages, but still swing at all the right moments. Titles include "Ferragosto", "Dreamsville", "Beau Piece", "Novembre", "Morgen", "Maybe Next Time", "The Oldest Living Thing", and "Unlikely Taiko". LP, Vinyl record album

A record with a very careful approach to sound – very slow-building work on soprano sax from Evan Parker, matched with equally thoughtful electronics from Matthew Wright – both players coming together in one of the most subtle executions of this mode we've ever heard! And that quality is only heightened by the fact that the group's a quartet – Peter Evans on trumpet and piccolo trumpet, and Mark Naussef on percussion – players who share the sensitivity of the dual leaders, as they build things up over long improvisations that really showcase that thoughtful sonic sensitivity that's always made Parker such a distinct reedman on the European scene. The whole thing is definitely a free jazz expression of electro/acoustic ideals first forged in the middle of the 20th Century – and titles include "At Altitude", "Drawing Breath", and "Engaged In Seeking". CD

A warmly robust piano trio and one with a really magnificent sound – a real richness that comes from the subtle command of the keys expressed by Roberto Olzer – a player who has this way of being gently emotive, through a great sense of tone – a quality that's also underscored by superb work on bass from Yuri Goloubev! The pair aren't exactly household names in jazz, but they work here alongside excellent drums from Maruo Beggio – in a beautiful set that really lives up to the long legacy of sublime piano trio recordings we've enjoyed from the Sawano label! The set's also got some really great tracks that round out the set – originals that include "Charisma", "La Luna E I Falo", "Little Requiem", "La Bella Estate", and "Le Vieux Charme" – plus a great take on the Ryuichi Sakamoto tune "Bibo No Aozora", and other titles that include "Seaward", "Beautiful Love", and a version of Poulenc's "Adagio" LP, Vinyl record album

A great later date from the legendary Sonny Stitt – and one recorded with the same soulful depth and laidback feel as his best 50s sessions for Roost or Verve! Sonny blows both alto and tenor sax here – and works in the warm company of Sadik Hakim, whose sharp tones on piano bring in a slight modern inflection to the record, but in subtle ways that still lets Stitt's vision strongly take the lead. Buster Williams handles the bass – with those deep tones of his we love so much, and which add a slight contemporary sense of expression to the album – and JR Mitchell rounds out the quartet on drums. Titles include "South Georgie Blues", "Fine & Dandy", "Round Midnight", "Christopher Street Jump", and "Little Girl Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

A really beautiful combination of reeds and synthesizer – one done in a spare, moody style that's extremely evocative! Austin's saxophone work here would be great enough on its own – soulful, fluid, and freely searching, but never too outside. Yet the added synth and percussion from Gallivan really makes the record something special – because Joe never overdoes his contributions, and instead keeps things really even handed – often going for a style that matches the lyrical beauty of Austin's work perfectly. And unlike other projects of this type, this one is never sleepy, or too "atmospheric" – as each tune here has a good structure and sense of economy – letting us know that Gallivan and Austin aren't just putting down sloppy soundscapes. Titles include "Quassia", "Perfect Reality", "Essence Of Purity", "As Above So Below", "Intimate Oasis", and "Subtle Actuation". CD

One of the best albums ever by this legendary Chicago trio – a great example of the way that records on the Nessa label can really get to the heart of artists' intentions! The trio of Henry Threadgill on reeds, Fred Hopkins on bass, and Steve McCall on percussion have never sounded better – and have this intimate, soulful interplay that's sometimes missing from other efforts – that special kind of energy that makes the AACM so great when it's really clicking this well – as deeply spiritual as it is freely expressive! Threadgill plays alto, tenor, bass flute, and the compelling hubkaphone – and titles include "I'll Be Right Here Waiting", "No 2", "GvE", "Subtraction", and "Keep Right On Playing Thru The Mirror Over The Water". LP, Vinyl record album

Possibly the best entry in Art Ensemble Of Chicago's Dreaming Of The Masters series – as the set's devoted to the work of John Coltrane, and has a really unified feel throughout! About half the tunes are Coltrane compositions, and the rest are originals by the Art Ensemble – done with fluid, open sounds that are less a strict tribute to Coltrane, than an expression of the ideas in jazz he allowed! As you might guess, the reeds play strongly in the sound of the set – and both Joseph Jarman and Roscoe Mitchell hit some great moments on the Coltrane tunes especially – notes that are quite different than any Trane might have played, but which he would no doubt appreciate in his music. Titles include "Dreaming Of The Masters", "Impressions", "Spiritual", "Naima", "Song For Atala", and "Go Head". CD

Jazz funk genius from Freddie Hubbard in the mid 70s! Gleam was a Japanese-only double album from the jazz giant in its original release – mighty funky at times, too – right up there with some of the best Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock Japanese sets from the 70s! It's a live set captured in March of '75 at Tokyo's Yubin Chokin Hall – long numbers played by a group that includes Freddie on trumpet, Carl Randall on tenor and flute, George Cables on electric piano, Henry Franklin on bass, Carl Burnett on drums, and Buck Clark on percussion! Each player has plenty of space to groove, and it's very well captured – you can hear the most expressive solos and the most subtle nuances. Some great solos by Freddie and the rest of the players – breathless tenor & flute by Randall, keys by Cables that are jazz funk perfection and interplay between Burnett's drums and Clark's congas & percussion that's somehow tense and comfortable at the same time. The shortest number in the set runs more than the 7 minutes and the longest is more than 20 minutes – and none is one second shorter than necessary, actually leaving us pining for more – making it all the more vital in the double album format. Released on 2CDs for the first time ever here! How this great album has been so hard to find over the years is a mystery. Titles include "Kuntu", "Spirits Of Trane", an amazing cover of Stevie Wonder's "Too High", "Midnight At The Oasis", "Ebony Moonbeams", and "Put It In The Pocket". LP, Vinyl record album

Groundbreaking work from the legendary Ahmad Jamal – not just in his own career, but in live jazz in general! The album's a classic recording of Jamal's trio with Israel Crosby on bass and Vernell Fournier on drums – captured at the Pershing Lounge on the south side of Chicago, where Jamal was clearly wowing the crowd with his amazing talents on the piano. The groove here is sublimely fluid and soulful – clearly the next wave of expression on the piano in the 50s, and as important to the Chicago scene as Bill Evans was to that of New York at the time. The recording quality is wonderful – clear enough to capture the subtleties of Crosby's amazing bass, and the lightly tippling sound of Fournier's drums – and titles include a classic extended reading of "Poinciana", plus "What's New", "But Not For Me", and "No Greater Love". CD

A trio of albums from the great David Murray! Ming is beautifully arranged work from David Murray – an important early large group recording, one that really helped point the way to some of his later genius! The session features Murray leading an all-star octet that includes Henry Threadgill on alto, Olu Dara on trumpet, Butch Morris on cornet, George Lewis on trombone, Anthony Davis on piano, Wilbur Morris on bass, and Steve McCall on percussion. Tracks are a very hip set of original compositions that display an incredible range of soulful feeling and expression – and which open a door to a whole new chapter of Murray's career. Titles include "Ming", "Dewey's Circle", "Jasvan", "The Fast Life", and "The Hill". Sacred Ground is a beautifully spiritual set that really reminds us of the promise we first heard in his music decades ago! Murray's working here with a lean, soulful ensemble that includes Lafayette Gilchrist on piano, Ray Drummond on bass, and Andrew Cyrille on drums – all in a groove that has plenty of sharp edges, but which is also nicely inside – very focused, and with a sense of depth that's really wonderful! All tracks are originals by Murray – penned with the sensitivity of an older soul jazz recording – and two numbers feature lyrics by Ishmael Reed, sung by Cassandra Wilson on guest vocals. Titles include "Sacred Ground", "Transitions", "Family Reunion", "The Prophet Of Doom", "Believe In Love", and "Banished". Lucky Four is a gentler set than some of David Murray's other US dates from the time – but in a really great way that nicely gets at the more sensitive side of his work on tenor and bass clarinet! There's a bit of a hardbop groove to the album, but also a bit more freedom too – a style that never goes that far out, but which reminds us through subtle cues that most of these players have a longer legacy in more avant-oriented work. The group features Dave Burrell on piano, Wilbur Morris on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums – and Burrell especially echoes a range of influences here – almost pulling from older eras of jazz in the way that Jaki Byard used to – an approach that's often echoed by Murray in his horn. Titles include "Valley Talk", "Chazz", "As I Woke", "Abel's Blissed Out Blues", "Sharing", and "As I Woke". CD

Excellent small group work from Sadao Watanabe – easily one of the best Japanese reed players of the past 50 years – still sounding great here on a recent acoustic session! Watanabe plays alto throughout – a definite preferred horn of late – and stretches out in these expressive solos in the company of Gerald Clayton on piano, Ben Williams on bass, and Jonathan Blake on drums – a combo who step out with lots of warm sympathy on a set of tracks that's all original material by Watanabe! Sadao's tunes have a feel that's quite poetic, yet still also swinging too – a balance carried out in a wonderfully subtle way on tunes that include "I Miss You When I Think Of You", "Gemmation", "Vamos Juntos", "Simpatico", and "Warm Days Ahead". CD

Absence is a word that can instantly have a sense of sadness, but it can also have a sort of beauty, too – and that's definitely the case in this album of work done as a tribute to the great Wayne Shorter by trumpeter Terence Blanchard! The record's way more than just a collection of Shorter's tunes – and although it features a few numbers penned by the saxophonist, there's also a set of new music by Blanchard and his piansist too – really lovely numbers that have the trumpeter at his most evocative – in maybe a condensed expression of some of the modes he brings to his larger soundtrack material. The core group is his E-Collective – with Fabian Almazan on piano, Charles Altura on guitar, David Ginyard on bass, and Oscar Seaton on drums – but maybe the most interesting aspect of the record is the gentle use of the Turtle Island String Quartet, who shade in Blanchard's deeper ideas in a nicely subtle way. Titles include "I Dare You", "Envisioned Reflections", "When It Was Now", "Diana", "The Elders", "Dark Horse", "The Second Wave", and "Fall". CD

The Bill Evans trio with Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motian on drums – a near-perfect lineup that forever raised the bar for jazz piano expression! The title here is certainly apt – because even though many of the tunes are shortish, Evans has a sense of exploration in the way he's approaching the keys – one that still retains some of the lyrically rhythmic traces of his first few records – but which also glides forth into territory that was virtually untapped on record for the time. The revolution here is so subtle, it's easy to miss from the perspective of our generation – but give it a few listens, and the record will open up beautifully! Titles include "Israel", "Haunted Heart", "Elsa", "Nardis", and "I Wish I Knew". CD

Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden have been playing together for many decades – growing together in each other's musical lives, and continuing to find rich new ways of expression – even on more subtle sessions like this! The duo take on some of the standards territory that Keith's explored often with a trio – but work together wonderfully without any drums in the mix – as Charlie's bass blocks out these spare, solid spaces that Keith quickly fills with really lovely, lyrical lines on piano! There's not a huge amount of surprises in the record – but that's also what makes the whole thing so strong – as both players could really show off in such an unfettered setting, but instead choose to maturely show their strengths in such a subtle, but really effective way. Titles include "My Ship", "Round Midnight", "It Might As Well Be Spring", "Godobye", "Everything Happens To Me", and "My Old Flame". LP, Vinyl record album

The Bill Evans trio with Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motian on drums – a near-perfect lineup that forever raised the bar for jazz piano expression! The title here is certainly apt – because even though many of the tunes are shortish, Evans has a sense of exploration in the way he's approaching the keys – one that still retains some of the lyrically rhythmic traces of his first few records – but which also glides forth into territory that was virtually untapped on record for the time. The revolution here is so subtle, it's easy to miss from the perspective of our generation – but give it a few listens, and the record will open up beautifully! Titles include "Israel", "Haunted Heart", "Elsa", "Nardis", and "I Wish I Knew". CD