With Jimmy Leary on bass and Panama Francis on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

A great little album from tenor legend Budd Johnson – and a record that nicely updates his sound by pairing him with a hip 60s-styled group! The album's got a jaunty feel that's like the best soul jazz sessions on Impulse at the time – taking Budd's tenor and placing it next to trumpet by Joe Newman, piano by Albert Dailey, bass from Richard Davis, and drums by Grady Tate. Upbeat tracks bounce along in a swinging take on mainstream soul jazz – and the mellower cuts feature some really wonderful blowing from Budd – done with a raspy tone that's got a nice earthy quality! Includes the jazz dancer "Off The Wall", the samba-styled "Strange Music", a snapping take on "Baubles Bangles & Beads", and the syncopated groover "Playin' My Hunch". LP, Vinyl record album

Budd Johnson was one of those players from the old days who was continually drawing praise from younger and hipper musicians – crediting Budd with a tone and talent that was forever an inspiration to them. Case in point is this 1960 session, issued as part of the hip Cannonball Adderley Presents series on Riverside – one in which Budd is given free reign to arrange the albums tracks, coming up with a nice batch of originals and interesting tunes that show him to be a much more complex player than might be expected. The players include a four piece trumpet section with Nat Adderley, Clark Terry, Harry Edison, and Ray Nance – and rhythm is by Tommy Flanagan, Joe Benjamin, and Herb Lovelle. Tracks include "Blues For Lester", "All My Love", "Trinity River Bottom", and "Driftwood". CD

Swedish recording that pairs the great tenor player with a tight local group, and has them laying down a number of standard jazz tracks like "Lester Leaps In", "Now's The Time", and "Body & Soul" in nice long relaxed versions. Budd also reprises his older "Ya Ya Blues", and does a tiny bit of vocalizing on the track. LP, Vinyl record album

Features Andre Persiany on piano, Roland Lobligeois on bass, and Oliver Jackson on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes a side's worth of piano solos recorded in 1944, plus a collection of tracks from the mid to late 40s with his All Stars that include Hot Lips Page and Budd Johnson, a trio session with Bill Cooper on bass and Al Wichard on drums, and a live performance at the Blues Jubilee Concert with Johnn Rogers on guitar, Johnny Parker on bass, and Roy Milton on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

With Pete Johnson on piano, JC Heard and Jack Parker on drums, Al Hall and Abe Bolar on bass, Jimmy Shirley on guitar, Albert Nicholas on clarinet, Ben Webster and Budd Johnson on tenor, Hot Lips Page on trumpet, JC Higginbotham and Clyde Bernhardt on trombone, and Don Stovall on alto. LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of recordings from 1959 and 1961, with sidemen including Thad Jones, Benny Powell, Frnak Wess, Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell, Freddie Gren, and Budd Johnson. LP, Vinyl record album

2 wonderful late 50s sessions from arranger Gil Evans – both of which we'd rank right up there with his best work with Miles Davis, or the albums under his own name for Impulse in the 60s! The first half of the CD is from the album New Bottle Old Wine – a record of swinging modern backdrops, used to showcase both the solo talents of a young Cannonball Adderley, and the dynamic energy of Evans himself! Cannon's sharp-edged early tone is a really great sound for the record – far more modern than you might expect from later funk and soul sides of the 60s – and perfectly poised next to Gil's larger back drops to reignite a host of older tunes with new energy! And while the titles are familiar, the readings certainly are not – as the Evans pen has really changed things up beautifully – as you'll hear on numbers that include "St Louis Blues", "King Porter Stomp", "Willow Tree", "Struttin' With Some Barbeque", "Lester Leaps In", "Round About Midnight", "Manteca", and "Bird Feathers". Great Jazz Standards is equally great, a fantastic lost set from Evans – and one that features Mingus trumpeter Johnny Coles as the lead soloist in front of Evans-led modern groups that include players like Elvin Jones, Ray Crawford, Steve Lacy, Budd Johnson, Rod Levitt, and Chuck Wayne. Despite the "standards" in the title, most of these numbers are modern tunes from the 50s – like "Joy Spring", "Ballad Of The Sad Young Men", "Django", "Straight No Chaser", and "Chant Of The Weed" – all given Evans' unique style of arrangement, tweaked up a few notches to give them a really edgey quality. Coles is clearly standing in for Miles here, but the format works well overall! CD features 15 tracks in all, including some newly-improved versions of a few tracks, correcting mistakes in the original records! CD

A fantastic lost set from modernist genius Gil Evans – one that expands on some of the larger group territory he was exploring with Miles Davis at Columbia Records – but with an even hipper range of soloists overall! The lineup on the record is an all-star one – mostly top shelf players, not studio musicians – and the set has Evans making room in the arrangements for key solo performances by giants who include Johnny Coles on trumpet, Steve Lacy on soprano sax, Budd Johnson on tenor, Ray Crawford on guitar, and both Curtis Fuller and Jimmy Cleveland on trombones – all players who each bring some key moments of magic to the larger arrangements on the album. Evans himself plays piano, and drums are by Elvin Jones and Dennis Charles – which should give you an idea of the modernist inclinations in the music. And although the title says "standards", the tunes here are definitely on the hipper side of the jazz spectrum of the 50s, expanded with beautiful modern arrangements by Gil – on versions of "Joy Spring", "Ballad Of The Sad Young Men", "Django", "Straight No Chaser", and "Chant Of The Weed". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal session for Gil Evans – one that brought his genius to the American public strongly and successfully, without the help of Miles Davis! Sure, Gil had recorded albums as a leader before this one – but the sparkling quality of this set is right up there with the charts he handled for Miles, and the quality of the players in the group make the performance every bit as great. Gil's band includes trumpeter Johnny Coles, plus Ron Carter on bass, Elvin Jones on drums, Budd Johnson on tenor, and Ray Crawford on guitar – all players who open up the sound with a magnificent array of colors that sparkle from the sublime Evans arranging touch. Titles include "Stratusphunk", "Sunken Treasure", "La Nevada", and a great reading of Kurt Weil's "Bilbao Song". CD

A pivotal session for Gil Evans – one that brought his genius to the American public strongly and successfully, without the help of Miles Davis! Sure, Gil had recorded albums as a leader before this one – but the sparkling quality of this set is right up there with the charts he handled for Miles, and the quality of the players in the group make the performance every bit as great. Gil's band includes trumpeter Johnny Coles, plus Ron Carter on bass, Elvin Jones on drums, Budd Johnson on tenor, and Ray Crawford on guitar – all players who open up the sound with a magnificent array of colors that sparkle from the sublime Evans arranging touch. Titles include "Stratusphunk", "Sunken Treasure", "La Nevada", and a great reading of Kurt Weil's "Bilbao Song". CD

A pivotal session for Gil Evans – one that brought his genius to the American public strongly and successfully, without the help of Miles Davis! Sure, Gil had recorded albums as a leader before this one – but the sparkling quality of this set is right up there with the charts he handled for Miles, and the quality of the players in the group make the performance every bit as great. Gil's band includes trumpeter Johnny Coles, plus Ron Carter on bass, Elvin Jones on drums, Budd Johnson on tenor, and Ray Crawford on guitar – all players who open up the sound with a magnificent array of colors that sparkle from the sublime Evans arranging touch. Titles include "Stratusphunk", "Sunken Treasure", "La Nevada", and a great reading of Kurt Weil's "Bilbao Song". LP, Vinyl record album

A dream band indeed – as the set features Maynard working with some excellent players who manage to come together tightly as a unit, then break out in really strong and hard-blown solos! Even in these early recordings, the style of the Ferguson group is firmly in place – incredible tightness, but a real respect for the soloists – and a power to kick it louder and larger than even in a small group setting. Players include Herb Geller, Al Cohn, Hank Jones, Budd Johnson, and Ernie Wilkins – and titles on this first volume include "Maynard The Fox", "The Wailing Boat", "Somebody Wants Me Down There", "Little Girl Kimbi", and "Button Nose". CD

A nice overview of Coleman Hawkins' career in a great 2LP set, containing material recorded between 1939 and 1947, and later work recorded in 1956. Most of the early work is in a wonderful small group format that lets Hawkins' tenor really come to the forefront. Other players on the sessions include Benny Carter, JC Higginbotham, Allen Eager, Peter Brown, and Budd Johnson – and titles include "Half Step Down Please", "Bouncing With Bean", "Meet Doctor Foo", "Spotlite", "Low Flame", and "Jumping For Jane". The later work features the orchestra of Billy Byers, including soloists Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, and Hank Jones. Coleman's the main blower, though – and the arrangements have a solid base that lets him open up in that exploratory tone he was crafting during the time. And although tracks are short, there's a heck of a lot of soul packed into them – recorded with impeccable quality, much more so than earlier sides. Titles include "I Never Knew", "Bean & The Boys", "The Essence of You", "Have You Met Miss Jones", "Dinner For One Please, James", and "I'm Shooting High". LP, Vinyl record album

Featuring Louis Armstrong, Jimmie Noone, Darnell Howard, Walter Fuller, Budd Johnson, Billy Eckstine and more. CD

These sides feature Charlie Shavers working with an octet that includes Billy Byers, Jerome Richardson, Budd Johnson, and George Barnes. The tunes on these sides have a more tightly arranged approach than Shavers' other recordings from this period – still with a strong focus on his fluid solo lines. Titles include "Period Of Adjustment", "Bossa Nova Petite", "Undecided", "Opus 5", "School Days", and "Big Time Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic late Webster material, recorded in a laidback setting for Verve, with associates that include Coleman Hawkins, Budd Johnson, Roy Eldridge, Jimmy Jones, and Les Spann. Side one is a very long version of "In A Mellow Tone", with a blowing session solo approach – and side two features shorter tracks like "Budd Johnson", "Young Bean", and "De Dar". CD

A killer set from Count Basie – recorded during the height of his years at Roulette! The back cover of the record proclaims that "Basie Is Back Home" – clearly a bit by Birdland to lay claim to being the Count's home address, which is a bit of a challenge to his KC roots! Whatever the back story, though, the set's a nice one – swinging hard in that completely tight 60s mode, with a great lineup that includes Frank Foster and Budd Johnson on tenor, Thad Jones on trumpet, Bennie Powell on trombone, and Freddie Green on guitar – a really great group who definitely make the record a cooker! Tracks include "Good Time Blues", "Segue In C", "Little Pony", "Discommotion", and "Whirly Bird", which has a vocal by Jon Hendricks! CD features 8 more bonus tracks – recorded at the same time, and first issued on the Mosaic set Complete Roulette Live Recordings – titles that include "Easin It", "Corner Pocket", "Discommotion", "Whirly Bird (inst)", "I Needs To Be Bee'd With", and "A Little Tempo Please". CD

A sweet little Count Basie get together – one of those small group sessions from the 70s, which made some of these later years of his career such a delight! The album's nicely relaxed – in the best Pablo Records way – almost an extension of the Verve swing modes of the 50s, when players really got to open up more on their solos – but maybe with a bit more Basie bite in the groove, too! The Count's on piano – and the group features Clark Terry and Harry Edison on trumpets, Eddie Lockjaw Davis on tenor, Budd Johnson on tenor and baritone, Freddie Green on guitar, John Clayton on bass, and Gus Johnson drums. The Green/Basie sense of rhythm is as impeccable as always – and titles include "Ode To Pres", "Basie's Bag", "Like It Used To be", "Swinging On The Cusp", and "My Main Men". CD

Great work from the early years from Billy Eckstine – including one track with Billy on trumpet! Band members include Fats Navarro on trumpet, Gene Ammons and Budd Johnson on tenors, Leo Parker on baritone, and Art Blakey on drums! The set also features some vocals from Lena Horne and Sarah Vaughan too! (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

A landmark album – and one of the best records you'll ever find by Mary Lou Williams! The record's a mixture of jazz and spiritual themes, and it features Mary Lou's piano set in some super-hip jazz arrangements that include players like Grant Green, Budd Johnson, Larry Gales, Melba Liston, Ben Tucker, and Percy Heath. The bass and piano work is amazing, and many tracks have a dark groove that's very subtle, but very compelling. About half the tunes feature hip choral vocalizing – in the mode of some of the Donald Byrd or Max Roach albums from the same time – mostly handled by the group of Howard Roberts. Includes the classic groover "A Grand Nite For Swinging", plus "A Fungus Amongus", "Anima Christi", "Miss DD", "The Devil", "It Ain't Necessarily So", and "My Blue Heaven". Great stuff all around – and even better than we're describing it! This CD issue features the original Mary Records cover art – different than the Saba/MPS or later Smithsonian CD versions. CD

A killer set from Count Basie – recorded during the height of his years at Roulette! The back cover of the record proclaims that "Basie Is Back Home" – clearly a bit by Birdland to lay claim to being the Count's home address, which is a bit of a challenge to his KC roots! Whatever the back story, though, the set's a nice one – swinging hard in that completely tight 60s mode, with a great lineup that includes Frank Foster and Budd Johnson on tenor, Thad Jones on trumpet, Bennie Powell on trombone, and Freddie Green on guitar – a really great group who definitely make the record a cooker! Tracks include "Good Time Blues", "Segue In C", "Little Pony", "Discommotion", and "Whirly Bird", which has a vocal by Jon Hendricks! LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal session for Gil Evans – one that brought his genius to the American public strongly and successfully, without the help of Miles Davis! Sure, Gil had recorded albums as a leader before this one – but the sparkling quality of this set is right up there with the charts he handled for Miles, and the quality of the players in the group make the performance every bit as great. Gil's band includes trumpeter Johnny Coles, plus Ron Carter on bass, Elvin Jones on drums, Budd Johnson on tenor, and Ray Crawford on guitar – all players who open up the sound with a magnificent array of colors that sparkle from the sublime Evans arranging touch. Titles include "Stratusphunk", "Sunken Treasure", "La Nevada", and a great reading of Kurt Weil's "Bilbao Song". CD

Classic late Webster material, recorded in a laidback setting for Verve, with associates that include Coleman Hawkins, Budd Johnson, Roy Eldridge, Jimmy Jones, and Les Spann. Side one is a very long version of "In A Mellow Tone", with a blowing session solo approach – and side two features shorter tracks like "Budd Johnson", "Young Bean", and "De Dar". LP, Vinyl record album

With vocals from Ella Johnson. CD

Featuring Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, Louis Jordan, Billie Holiday, Sister Rosetta Sharpe, Lucky Millinder, Buddy Johnson, and more! LP, Vinyl record album

One of Sarah's few albums for Columbia – and quite possibly the best, thanks to some great small group backing, heard on 8 of the album's 12 tunes! The group's a really great one – with Miles Davis on trumpet, Benny Green on trombone, Buddy Johnson on tenor, Tony Scott on clarinet, Mundell Lowe on guitar, and Billy Taylor on piano – all of whom get some surprising solo space on the album, and make the record one of Sarah's best jazz outings of the 50s. The remaining tracks on the set have a lusher ballad style, but are still quite nice – and titles include "Mean To Me", "Goodnight My Love", "Can't Get Out Of This Mood", "East Of The Sun", "Pinky", "Ooh Whatcha Doin To Me", and "Come Rain Or Come Shine". 10 bonus tracks too – including unreleased cuts and alternates. (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

Music from Fletcher Henderson And His Orchestra, Sidney Bechet And His New Orleans Feetwarmers, Al Cooper And His Savoy Sultans, Chick Webb And His Orchestra, Coleman Hawkins And His Orchestra, Erskine Hawkins And His Orchestra, Claude Hopkins And His Orchestra, Benny Carter And His Orchestra, Lucky Millinder And His Orchestra, Teddy Hill And His NBC Orchestra, Andy Kirk And His Clouds Of Joy, Jay McShann And His Orchestra, Count Basie Orchestra, Cab Calloway And His Orchestra, Duke Ellington And His Orchestra, Buddy Johnson And His Orchestra, The Buddy Tate Celebrity Club Orchestra, Tab Smith Orchestra, and Cootie Williams And His Orchestra. CD

A 2-fer set from the 70s – with 2 great older albums from Buck & Buddy! First up is the self-titled Buck & Buddy – beautiful blowing from Buck Clayton and Buddy Tate – captured here in the relaxed, easy-going setting of the Swingville label! The album's got a lot more charm than some of Clayton's sides for Columbia – a bit more mellow, with the kind of after hours feel that lets players like these show their strongest suits on their instruments. Clayton plays trumpet, Tate tenor – and rhythm is from the trio of Sir Charles Thompson on piano, Gene Ramey on bass, and Mousie Alexander on drums. Titles include "High Life", "Birdland Betty", "Can't We Be Friends", and "Kansas City Nights". Next Is Buck & Buddy Blow The Blues – a romping little session from Buck Clayton and Buddy Tate – served up in a looser, more relaxed setting than the former's albums for Columbia, and a slightly more swing-based mode than the latter's dates for Chess! Both horn players get plenty of room to solo in the open-ended Swingville mode – Buck on trumpet and Buddy on both tenor and clarinet – and the group's a nice one too, since Sir Charles Thompson's playing piano, Gene Ramey's on bass, and Gus Johnson's on drums. Titles include "Blue Creek", "Blue Breeze", "Blue Ebony", "Rompin At Red Bank", and "Dallas Delight". LP, Vinyl record album

A great "birth of the cool" album from Capitol – a 10" record that brings together some key recordings from that pivotal jazz year of 1949! Titles include "Imagination" by a large group with Bill Harris in the lead on trombone; "Wow", "Marionette", and "Yesterdays" from a great Lennie Tristano group with Warne Marsh on tenor, Lee Konitz on alto, and Billy Bauer on guitar; "Boplicity" by Miles Davis with JJ Johnson and Lee Konitz; and "Penthouse Serenade", "Extrovert", and "Good For Nothin Joe" by a quintet with Buddy DeFranco on clarinet and Teddy Cohen on vibes. LP, Vinyl record album

A romping little session from Buck Clayton and Buddy Tate – served up in a looser, more relaxed setting than the former's albums for Columbia, and a slightly more swing-based mode than the latter's dates for Chess! Both horn players get plenty of room to solo in the open-ended Swingville mode – Buck on trumpet and Buddy on both tenor and clarinet – and the group's a nice one too, since Sir Charles Thompson's playing piano, Gene Ramey's on bass, and Gus Johnson's on drums. Titles include "Blue Creek", "Blue Breeze", "Blue Ebony", "Rompin At Red Bank", and "Dallas Delight". CD

The modern touch indeed! You can't get any more classic Benny Golson than this – a sublime late 50s album that features Benny with a sextet, working out amazing versions of the sorts of material that set him apart from every other jazz arranger of the time! The tracks here are complicated, yet have a rootsy soulfulness that makes them instantly compelling – and Benny's tone on tenor sax is sharp and angular, yet also has a raspiness that gives it a degree of honesty you wouldn't expect from a budding young modernist. The rest of the players – Max Roach, Paul Chambers, Wynton Kelly, JJ Johnson, and Kenny Dorham – are equally great, too – and amidst Benny's arrangements, they come together as if they'd been playing in this format for years! Titles include "Out Of The Past", "Venetian Breeze", "Reunion", "Hymn To The Orient", and "Blues On Down". CD

2 great Paris live sets from Gerry Mulligan – with his Concert Jazz Band at L'Olympia in 1960 – followed by a 1962 quartet set at the same venue serving as bonus tracks! The 11 titles on the first CD and the first titles on the second CD are culled from the 1960 set – a tight affair with great solo work from a larger group of players – which includes Don Ferrara and Conte Candoli on trumpet, Bob Brookmeyer on valve trombone, Willie Dennis and Alan Raph on trombone, Bob Donovan and Gene Quill on alto, Jim Reider and Zoot Sims on tenor, Buddy Clark on bass and Mel Lewis on drums. A real triumph! Titles include "You Took Advantage Of Me", "Black Nightgown", "Body And Soul", "Barbara's Theme", "Apple Core", "Out Of This World", "Go Home", "I'm Gonna Go Fishing", "Blueport" and more! The second CD is closed out by a 1962 set by the the Gerry Mulligan Quartet – originally released as the LP Gerry Mulligan & His Quartet Live At The Olympia Theatre 1962! The tracks are long, and the setting fluid – as Gerry plays baritone on most tracks, but piano on a couple; and Bob Brookmeyer does the same, taking a break from valve trombone to play piano for one track as well. Rhythm is by the team of Bill Crow on bass and Gus Johnson on drums – and titles include "Spring Is Sprung", "Five Brothers", "Subterranean Blues", "Blue Port", and "Utter Chaos". More than 2 1/2 hours of music on 2CDs! CD

A fantastic collection that has the pianist working in variety of small group settings. Notable sidemen include Curly Russell, George Duvivier, Lloyd Trotman, Percy Heath and Ray Brown on bass; Art Blakey, Art Taylor, Buddy Rich, Kenny Clarke, Max Roach and Osie Johnson on drums. CD

With Bud Freeman, Yank Lawson, Bernie Privin, Lou McGarity, Buddy Morrow, Bernie Leighton, George Duvivier, and Gus Johnson. LP, Vinyl record album

The modern touch indeed! You can't get any more classic Benny Golson than this – a sublime late 50s album that features Benny with a sextet, working out amazing versions of the sorts of material that set him apart from every other jazz arranger of the time! The tracks here are complicated, yet have a rootsy soulfulness that makes them instantly compelling – and Benny's tone on tenor sax is sharp and angular, yet also has a raspiness that gives it a degree of honesty you wouldn't expect from a budding young modernist. The rest of the players – Max Roach, Paul Chambers, Wynton Kelly, JJ Johnson, and Kenny Dorham – are equally great, too – and amidst Benny's arrangements, they come together as if they'd been playing in this format for years! Titles include "Out Of The Past", "Venetian Breeze", "Reunion", "Hymn To The Orient", and "Blues On Down". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare work by Dicky Wells, Buster Bailey, Buddy Rich, Bud Johnson, Pee Wee Irwin, Jimmy Crawford and more. Lots of big groups here! LP, Vinyl record album

2 obscure albums John Benson Brooks – an overlooked 50s jazz composer who often had a penchant for higher concept recordings! The first half of the CD features Folk Jazz USA – one of Brooks' most stripped down records – done with a core group of Zoot Sims on alto, Al Cohn on baritone, Nick Travis on trumpet, Barry Gailbraith on guitar, Osie Johnson on drums, and Buddy Jones on bass. The style is kind of a chamber jazz reworking of tunes from folk sources – done in a way that hangs modernist clothes on older melodies – really dressing them up with the jazz charms of mid 50s RCA! Travis is especially strong on the set – with boldly-stated lines that preserve the melodies, while other players really take off with their solos on the saxes. Titles include "Darling Corey", "Turtle Dove", "Black Is The Color", "Randall My Son", and "Venezuela". Next up is Alabama Concerto – a record based around the solo talents of Art Farmer on trumpet and Cannonbal Adderley on alto sax! The album's based on a number of historical and mythical southern themes – and although it gets a bit hokey at times, the work of Adderley and Art Farmer on the solo sections really opens up the piece and gives it a deep sense of soul. The setting is a drummer-less small group, with Barry Galbraith on guitar, Milt Hinton on bass, and Brooks on occasional piano – and themes include "The Loop", "Trampin", "Little John Shoes", "Milord's Calling", and "Rufus Playboy". CD

Nat King Cole as a leader and a sideman – incredible material from 1936-1946 – featuring the King Cole Trio, side work with Eddie Cole's Solid Swingers, Dexter Gordon, The Keynoters and The Lester Young Trio! There's a number of great tunes here with Nat singing, but also a whole bunch of recordings that shine a light on his impeccable work as a group piano player of the finest caliber, working as Nat King Cole and under some funny pseudonyms while he was recording hits for Capitol! Packaged stunningly, even by Hip-O Select Standards – essentially housing the CDs in a hardcover book of 31-pages with an essay by David Ritz, 7 3/8" square package with detailed session notes, and beautifully reproduced art work from original 78s and 10-inch LPs! Disc one features 17 tracks by the King Cole Trio with Nat singing and at the piano, with Oscar Moore on guitar and and Wesley Prince on bass: "Sweet Lorraine", "This Side Up", "Babs", "Scotchin' With The Soda", "Slow Down", "Hit That Jive, Jack" and more. Disc one also includes 5 tracks with Eddie Cole's Solid Swingers, with Nat on piano, Eddie Cole on bass, Kenneth Roane on trumpet, Tommy Thompson on saxes and Jimmy Adams on drums:" Honey Hush" (with Eddie on vocals) plus an alternate take, "Thunder", "Stompin' At The Panama" and "(Bedtime) Sleep, Baby Sleep". Last up on disc one, four tracks by the Keynoters with Willie Smith on alto, Nat as Lord Calvert on piano, Red Callender on bass and Jackie Mills on drums: "The Way You Look Tonight", "My Old Flame" and more. Disc 2 is comprised of Jazz At The Philharmonic: Los Angeles, July 1944, with collective personal including Nat as Shorty Nadine on piano and singing on "Sweet Lorraine", Shorty Sherlock on trumpet, JJ Johnson on trombone, Illinois Jacquet and Jack McVea on tenor, Red Callender on bass, Lee Young on drums, and Carolyn Richards singing on "The Man I Love". Other titles include "Blues", "Tea For Two", "Rosetta", "Bugle Call Rag", "Oh, Lady, Be Good!" and more. Disc 3 starts with 1943/44 material by Dexter Gordon's group featuring Nat on piano, Sweets Edison on trumpet, Gordon on tenor, Red Callender or Johnny Miller on bass and Clifford Owens on drums: "I've Found A New Baby", "I Blowed And Gone" and more. That's followed by Lester Young Trio material of similar vintage with Nat as Aye Guy on piano, Young on Tenor and Buddy Rich on drums: "I Cover The Water Front", "The Man I Love", "Peg Of My Heart" and more. Last, but not least, Keynoters alternate takes including "The You You Look Tonight", "Airiness A La Nat" and "I can't Believe That You're In Love With Me". (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

Hard-hitting trio work from Ray – one of his early albums for Columbia, and the record that gave him a surprisingly big hit! "Little Susie" is one of those early 60s soul jazz standards, the kind of catchy tune that got played all over the place on radio, and which forever put the artist at the top of the list for recording dates and live sets for a few years. Ray's riding high here – with a trio that features brother Tommy Bryant on bass, and either Eddie Locke or Gus Johnson on drums – and the album's got lots of other short tracks with a similar down-home soul jazz kind of approach. Titles include "Blues For Norrie", "Big Buddy", "Greensleeves", and "If I Can Just Make It". LP, Vinyl record album

With special guests Vic Dickinson, Gus Johnson, and Buddy Tate. CD