A very cool live set from keyboard maestro Greg Foat – one that's much more spacey than you'd guess from the poolside setting – as Greg's got his keys soaring high, his amps turned up wide, and the overall sound coming across like some combination of Krautrock and fusion! Things are still pretty rhythm throughout – and Foat's trio features drum machines and bass next to his work on Moog Matriarch, which is pretty stunning throughout – yet another demonstration of Greg's incredible ear for vintage keyboard styles – which he seems able to spin out in so many different ways, over the course of so many different albums! Titles include the four part "Pool Side" – plus "Dining Table Grooves", and "Sunset". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the many things we love about keyboardist Greg Foat is that he's never willing to sit still – that he's always on the move into some new dimension of his music – so much so that it's very difficult to ever compare one of his records with another! This set's got a very keyboard-heavy approach – recorded with just drums from Morgan Simpson of Black Midi – and a style that's like some of the best tracks from that moment when the sound library scene went more electric at the end of the 70s – although in a way that still stretches out with the enigmatic depths of some of Foat's more ambitious projects! The album's full of wonderfully spacey lines and laidback grooves – on titles that include "Underwater Fantasy", "Tropical Love", "Arctic Cavern", "The Investigation", "Green Odyssey", "Riding Into Battel", "Subterranean Lake", and "World Of Tiers". LP, Vinyl record album

A record as spacey as the image on its cover, and a further example of the keyboard genius of the great Greg Foat – a masterful musician in just about any setting! Here, Foat teams up with drummer Ayo Salawu – who provides some tight, core rhythms that mix funkier styles with more open modes – which are then pushed to the heavens by all sorts of keyboard work from Greg – on a variety of Korg, Roland, and Ensoniq keys! The back cover indicates that the record's an homage to older sound library material – particularly that moment when the keyboards took over from fuller groups – but with the jazz background of Foat, there's also plenty more going on here – which makes the album a real cut above. Titles include "Mines Of Andromeda", "Stasis Loop", "Cruising Home", "The Lonely Robot", "Interstellar Fantasy", "Solar Pirates", and "Journey To Arcturus". LP, Vinyl record album

Dreamy sounds from keyboardist Greg Foat – a set with a vibe that's very much in keeping with the cover image – which is a spot in Greece where Greg and the quartet recorded the music! Foat's keyboards are a bit more laidback than usual, and mixed with some very cool electronics – in a group that also features mellow guitar from Warren Hampshire, flute and bass clarinet from Sokratis Votskos, and drums from Ayo Salawu – a group who start slow at the beginning of the record, then really pick up the pace at the end! Titles include "Kiki's Tavern", "On The Rose Bush", and "Tsamykonos" – plus the long "Secret World" cut on side two, a number that soars into space with some nicely kicking drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Sure, it's after the Blue Note/Larry Mizell years – but Bobbi's still kicking ass! Instead of Larry Mizell, Bobbi's working with Skip Scarborough – and she's hitting a groove that's a bit smoother and more modern than before, but every bit as sweetly funky and seriously soulful. Bobbi vocalizes a bit amidst spacey jazzy arrangements, and her flute is crystal clear throughout! The title cut, "Tailor Made", is a monster mellow groover with a great slinky sound – and the album's got plenty of other nice ones, like "Jealousy", "Lover to Lover", and "Fajehzo". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the most beautiful work we've ever heard from this legendary pianist – and that's really saying a lot, given how many beautiful records Abdullah Ibrahim has given us over the years! The set expands from Ibrahim's solo performance for Gearbox Records, and takes things into a trio – but a different format than the usual piano trio mode – as bassist Noah Jackson also plays cello, and instead of drums the group's third member is Cleave Guyton Jr, who blows both flute and piccolo in very unique ways! The setup really changes the usual approach that you might know from Abdullah, in a way that shows just how fluid and open his ideas are even at this point in his career – a time when so many others would be content to just rehash the past. All material was recorded live at the Barbican in London – but the first half uses the wide expanse of the room without an audience present, and the second then presents different songs recorded live with a full concert setting. Titles include "Nisa", "The Wedding", "Mindif", "Water From An Ancient Well", "Blue Bolero", "Skippy", "Giant Steps", "Barakat", "Tsakwe", "Krotoa/Crystal Clear", and "Ishmael". CD

Some of the most beautiful work we've ever heard from this legendary pianist – and that's really saying a lot, given how many beautiful records Abdullah Ibrahim has given us over the years! The set expands from Ibrahim's solo performance for Gearbox Records, and takes things into a trio – but a different format than the usual piano trio mode – as bassist Noah Jackson also plays cello, and instead of drums the group's third member is Cleave Guyton Jr, who blows both flute and piccolo in very unique ways! The setup really changes the usual approach that you might know from Abdullah, in a way that shows just how fluid and open his ideas are even at this point in his career – a time when so many others would be content to just rehash the past. All material was recorded live at the Barbican in London – but the first half uses the wide expanse of the room without an audience present, and the second then presents different songs recorded live with a full concert setting. Titles include "Nisa", "The Wedding", "Mindif", "Water From An Ancient Well", "Blue Bolero", "Skippy", "Giant Steps", "Barakat", "Tsakwe", "Krotoa/Crystal Clear", and "Ishmael". LP, Vinyl record album

5 albums from Lee Morgan – one of the coolest cats to ever handle a trumpet for Blue Note! First up is Delightfulee – really unique album from the great Lee Morgan – a set that features the trumpeter in two different settings, but in a way that really works well together! Most of the album has Lee blowing in a very cool quintet – with Joe Henderson on tenor, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – a group who maybe bring out a slightly hipper vibe that really points the way to the rest of Morgan's direction in the late 60s, when he was really letting some more spiritual currents loose. The other two tracks on the record feature a hip larger band directed by Oliver Nelson – swinging hard in a really soulful style! Nelson's arrangements on these two tracks are great – quite progressive, with a soul jazz big band style that seems to point the way towards the 70s – and the band provides a raging backdrop that lets Lee's trumpet soar over the top in beautiful crystal clear solos. Titles include "Nite Flite", "Delightful Deggie", "Ca-Lee-So", and "Zambia". Also features a few bonus tracks. The Cooker is a very appropriate title for a very cooking little album – one of Lee Morgan's first efforts as a leader, cut back during his first years of late 50s fame! The style here is a bit less Morgan-esque than some of Lee's later 60s classics – but the record is rock-solid throughout, and proof that Morgan was every bit as great a leader in a hardbop session as Hank Mobley or some of the other emerging heavyweights at Blue Note! The strength of the group really helps keep the fire stoked on the set – and Bobby Timmons turns in some amazing piano work alongside a lineup that includes Pepper Adams on baritone sax, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The Adams presence gives the record a bit of the feel of some of Pepper's sessions with Donald Byrd – but the sparkling, soaring sound of Morgan makes the record way more than just a copycat set. Titles include "New-Ma", "Night In Tunisia", "Lover Man", "Just One Of Those Things", and "Heavy Dipper". Lee Way is an undisputed masterpiece by Lee Morgan – and one of the first records in which he shed his straight bop sensibility, and began evolving into a soulful genius for the 60s! The album's got 4 long tracks that all build beautifully – really extended numbers that break the format of some of Lee's earlier work, and hint a bit at some of the more complicated touches he'd use on later sessions. All players are great – and include fellow Jazz Messengers Bobby Timmons on piano and Art Blakey on drums, plus Jackie McLean on alto and Paul Chambers on bass. Titles include the sublime "These Are Soulful Days" – a perfect model of soulful lyricism – plus "Midtown Blues", "Nakatini Suite", and "The Lion & The Wolff". Rumproller often gets too easily lumped next to The Sidewinder – because of an obvious title and cover similarity to that hit record – but like that one, the album's far more than jazz cliche – and shows Lee Morgan to be one of the greatest jazz musicians of the 60s. The set starts off with the title cut, "The Rumproller" – hard-wailing soul bop, in the manner of Lee's most popular work – but then it easily flows into more sensitive material that has a freer, lyrical feel – like the great original tune "Eclipso" and Wayne Shorter's "Edda" – both of which are superb. Lee is astounding, as always, on trumpet – and the rest of the group includes the great Ronnie Matthews on piano, plus Joe Henderson, Victor Sproles, and Billy Higgins. Search For The New Land is a brilliant album that proves that even at the height of his success, Lee Morgan was one of the freest thinkers on Blue Note – always coming up with fresh ideas that continued to grow his talents! The first cut on the album is keen poof of that fact – the title track "Search For The New Land" – a beautiful 16 minute exploration of modal jazz themes, with an unusual stop/start device as a means of ushering solos by different bandmates – including Wayne Shorter on tenor, Grant Green on guitar, and Herbie Hancock on piano! The approach is unlike anything that Morgan ever did before – and unlike most of other Blue Note as well – and it also benefits from great rhythmic help from Reggie Workman on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. Other tunes are a bit more conventional, but still pretty special – like some of Morgan's inventive work on the Rajah albums – with titles that include "The Joker", "Melancholee", "Mr. Kenyatta" and "Morgan The Pirate". CD

A really unique album from the great Lee Morgan – a set that features the trumpeter in two different settings, but in a way that really works well together! Most of the album has Lee blowing in a very cool quintet – with Joe Henderson on tenor, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – a group who maybe bring out a slightly hipper vibe that really points the way to the rest of Morgan's direction in the late 60s, when he was really letting some more spiritual currents loose. The other two tracks on the record feature a hip larger band directed by Oliver Nelson – swinging hard in a really soulful style! Nelson's arrangements on these two tracks are great – quite progressive, with a soul jazz big band style that seems to point the way towards the 70s – and the band provides a raging backdrop that lets Lee's trumpet soar over the top in beautiful crystal clear solos. Titles include "Nite Flite", "Delightful Deggie", "Ca-Lee-So", and "Zambia". LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique album from the great Lee Morgan – a set that features the trumpeter in two different settings, but in a way that really works well together! Most of the album has Lee blowing in a very cool quintet – with Joe Henderson on tenor, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – a group who maybe bring out a slightly hipper vibe that really points the way to the rest of Morgan's direction in the late 60s, when he was really letting some more spiritual currents loose. The other two tracks on the record feature a hip larger band directed by Oliver Nelson – swinging hard in a really soulful style! Nelson's arrangements on these two tracks are great – quite progressive, with a soul jazz big band style that seems to point the way towards the 70s – and the band provides a raging backdrop that lets Lee's trumpet soar over the top in beautiful crystal clear solos. Titles include "Nite Flite", "Delightful Deggie", "Ca-Lee-So", and "Zambia". CD also features 4 bonus tracks – "Need It", "Filet Of Soul", "Zambia (big band version)", and "Delightful Deggie (big band version)". CD

2CDs worth of previously unissued material! Both records – Cymbals and Crystal Spears – were originally due to be released on Impulse during the same stretch that the label was repackaging older Saturn albums, but were never issued because of all the messed up relations that quickly terminated what should have been a much longer deal. (Some of this is nicely outlined in the good set of notes that go with the set.) Cymbals features 3 tracks that did appear on a Saturn album called Deep Purple, plus 2 titles that were never issued before – and the set features Ra on organ Rocksichord, vibes, and organ – playing very out and raucously with a group that includes Danny Davis, John Gilmore, and Akh Tal Ebah. Crystal Spears is a lot more introspective, and takes us back to earlier years of the Arkestra. Ra's on organ, marimba, mini moog, and vibes – and the rest of the group's playing a variety of horns and percussion. Tracks include "Crystal Spears", "Sunrise In The Western Sky", "The Embassy Of The Living God", "Thoughts Under A Dark Blue Light", and "The Mystery Of Two". CD

An amazing set from altoist Sonny Red – a player who hardly ever got to make any albums as a leader, and who really burns brightly on this Blue Note classic! Red's got a tone on alto that's as deep and sharp as most tenorists of his generation – extremely soulful, but with a really raspy edge that's almost modern at times – a combination that's quite unique, and which makes his playing on a few key albums well worth tracking down. This album's one of the best of Sonny's few dates on record – and it features the saxophonist working with two different groups – both headed by Wynton Kelly on piano, and with either Sam Jones or Paul Chambers on bass, and either Roy Brooks or Jimmy Cobb on drums – a hell of a great rhythm lineup, no matter how you slice it! Both groups are right on the money, and the whole album swings very nicely – and titles include "Alone Too Long", "The Lope", "Nadia", "Bluesville", and "Blues In the Pocket". CD features 5 previously unreleased bonus tracks too – "Crystal", "Lost April", "Blues For Kokee", "You're Driving Me Crazy", and "You're Sensational". CD

We'll be the first to admit smooth jazz radio has made us very wary of GRP, but the label put out enough nice records in it's early years, we're constantly rethinking that opinion! This early set by Dave Valentin is a great example – as it captures the flautist at his early best, way before he got too smooth, and still had some credibility gained from his work on the NYC Latin scene. Arrangements are by Dave Grusin, who's working here in a sweet blend of his own fusion styles with a few more Latin touches to suit Valentin's roots – and titles include "Legends", "Bouree In E Minor", "Sea Pines", "Crystal Silence", "Afro Blue", "Masquerade", "Patterns For The Sky" and "I Want To Be Where You Are". LP, Vinyl record album

Kurt Elling has been one of the greatest jazz singers of the past few decades, yet he's always pushing his music too – moving past the overdone styles that tend to hold back other singers, with an ear that's very open to new settings, and new possibilities for his magnificent voice! Here, he works alongside guitarist Charlie Hunter – in a quartet that also features DJ Harrison on keyboards and Corey Fonville – in a style that's plenty jazzy, but which has some nice funky currents at times – elements that really help Kurt change things up in these really amazing ways! Titles include a remake of the Bob Dorough/Multiplication Rock classic "Naughty Number Nine", Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow", and a transformation of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman" – plus original tunes "Bounce It", "Little Fairy Carpenter", and "Not Here Not Now". (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A strange record – one that claims to be recorded in 1979, but which sounds exactly like Fischer's 1972 session called T'Da-a-a-a-a. In fact, the players are the same, the songs are the same, and the sound is the same – but the cover lists different timings and a different recording date, so if we're to believe it, are we to think that Fischer took the same group, same songs, and just redid the entire album in 1979? Seems unlikely, but does it really matter? The 1972 record is an excellent album – one of Fischer's elusive electric sides, and one that features him playing a Yamaha EX-42 organ, which has a very cool sound! The group's a quartet, with the great Gary Foster on alto and soprano sax – and the tracks are a mix of older jazz standards ("Soon", "Round Midnight", "Lennie's Pennies") and originals ("Blues In F" by Fischer and "Crystal Sunrise" by Tom Scott), all done in long versions with some intimate and exploratory solos. LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from this top-shelf group of up-and coming players – all newer artists on the Posi-Tone label, hence their name – but working with the kind of crystal clear focus on original material that always makes the label so great! If you love Posi-Tone as much as we do, you'll likely have other albums by these artists – but the lineup together is even greater than the sum of its parts – with a bold sense of arrangement that seems to have each soloist spurring the other on to new heights – amidst original material written by the members of the group! Players include Brandon Lee on trumpet, Markus Howell on alto, Nicole Glover on tenor, Caili O'Doherty on piano, Adi Meyerson on bass, and Cory Cox on drums – on titles that include "Luna Lovejoy", "Shades Of Brown", "Whistleblower", "Afloat", "Stop Gap", "Hold MY Heart", and "Blues For Tangier". CD

A classic compilation of material from the hip later years of Impulse – put together with a title that's a bit misleading, given that some of this stuff was clearly getting some play on underground FM radio! There's some key righteous classics here – like "Attica Blues" and "Money Blues" by Archie Shepp, "Astral Traveling" by Pharoah Sanders, "Galaxy In Turiya" and "Blue Nile" by Alice Coltrane, and "Worry Bout It Later" by Cliff Coulter – alongside other tracks that include "Larry Of Arabia" by Chico Hamilton, "Wave" by Ahmad Jamal, and "Crystalized Tears" by John Klemmer. LP, Vinyl record album