The music here is as evocative as the title – almost a mix of contemporary Blue Note modes with older ECM styles – all served up as a perfect showcase for the ever-growing talents of trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire! We've really dug the last two records from Ambrose, and this one seems to push his voice even father than before – sometimes in smaller acoustic settings, sometimes with a bit of vocals, and sometimes a bit of strings – performed by a shifting lineup that includes guests Becca Stevens, Theo Bleckmann, and Cold Specks on vocals – plus a core group that includes Walter Smith on tenor and Sam Harris on piano. Titles include "Marie Christie", "Memo", "Ceasless Inexhaustible Child", "Rollcall For Those Absent", "Vartha", and "Our Basement". CD

Although the initial release of this music was a cheap attempt to cash in on the tragic fame of the late James Dean, this 1956 session was also one of the nicest big band dates to come out of the Pacific Jazz catalog of the 1950s! Chet Baker and Bud Shank are the featured soloists of the set – and the group's conducted by Johnny Mandel and Bill Holman, both excellent arrangers with a strong feel for soundtrack-oriented material of this sort. Tommy Sands sings vocals on a version of "Let Me Be Loved", which is the only standard on the set – as the rest of the tracks are originals by the great Leith Stevens. The band's filled with other west coasters that you'll recognize – and titles include "The Movie Star", "Jimmy's Theme", "The Search", "Lost Love", and "Rebel At Work". CD

Sublime Hammond from Johnny Smith – a pair of early albums for Riverside, back to back on a single CD! Black Coffee is one of Johnny Hammond's first albums – and a cooking little live set that really has the organist working with some early raw power! The group's a trio, but they seem to burn differently than some of the other organ combos of the time – maybe with that fluid sensibility that Johnny brought to his keys, and which would later open up in even more famous ways. The core group features Eddie McFadden on guitar and Leo Stevens on drums – but they're joined by Seldon Powell on tenor for more than half the album, who really opens things up with his tremendous playing – and shows at an early state that Johnny Hammond always knows the right way to use a horn player. Titles include "Monterey Theme", "Far Away Places", "I Remember Clifford", "He's A Real Gone Guy", and "Rufus Toofus". Mr Wonderful is a record that definitely lives up to its title – reminding us not only that Johnny Hammond Smith is one hell of an organist, but also a great leader with a really unique feel for a groove! The set's noteworthy not just for Johnny's own work on Hammond, but also for the presence of a young Houston Person – blowing tenor here in a way that's breathtaking right from the start – a bold, soulful tone that's a perfect fit for the group – which also includes trumpet from Johnny Williams and guitar from Eddie McFadden. The set includes a lot of tasty originals by Johnny – like "Cyra", "Lambert's Lounge", "Departure", and "Opus 2" – and already shows the way that Hammond was complicating his groove from that of other players of the time! CD

A trio of albums from John Stevens' Away – all packaged together in a single CD set! First up is the initial outing from the group – a surprising little set from drummer John Stevens – quite different work than his more outside, freewheeling material in the Spontaneous Music Ensemble! This group hits that second chapter of British jazz rock that the Vertigo label did so well – a style that's much more mature than most American variants of the mode – neither stock rock fusion, nor smooth soul – and instead this approach that's still quite complicated and challenging at times, even though the music can have a nicely tight focus! The group features some excellent alto from Trevor Watts – who brings in lots of sharp edges – and the set also features Peter Cowling on bass and Steve Hayton on guitar. Titles include "Tumble", "It Will Never Be The Same", and "Anni". On Somewhere In Between, drummer John Stevens hits a lot of bases on a great second album with his Away group – almost funky at points, almost outside at others, and always working with the group in a searing, searching mode that's a cut above the usual fusion of the time! There's a bit more electricity on the set this time – electric bass from Nick Stephens and guitar from David Cole – but the energy of the set is still very spontaneous, and driven by Stevens' creative work on drums – and given plenty of bite from the soprano and tenor sax of Robert Calvert. The set's got a plenty fresh vibe – very much like labelmates Nucleus at this point, with lots of sharp edges and complicated patterns – but a sound that's still very down to earth. Titles include "Spirit Of Peace", "Chick Boom", "Can't Explain", and "Now". Mazin Ennit is definitely as amazing as the title proclaims – a bit leaner than before, with this wonderful use of two basses alongside the drums of John Stevens – all in a groove that refines older Brit jazz rock modes, but without losing any sort of edge! There's a complexity here that still lives up to Stevens' rich legacy in music – and the group features lots of sweet reedwork from Robert Calvert, who blows both soprano and tenor. Titles include "Away", "Sunshine Sunshine", "Whoops A Daisy", "Light Relief", and "Temple Music". CD features bonus tracks – "Anni (parts 1 & 2)" featuring John Martyn, and "Can't Explain (parts 1 & 2)" featuringt Terri Quaye. CD

A wild record! Singer Kelly Stevens turns out some fusion versions of Disney songs – not recent ones from the overwrought Lion King days, but old ones, of classic cartoon years. The best part of all, though, is that Kelly's working here with a hip Finnish combo with some great electric keyboards – grooving in a mode that's got a breezy European finish, and which makes the record sparkle like some lost MPS or 70s San Francisco jazz gem. Of course, a few songs are a bit too hokey to get into – but there's some other ones on here that are surprisingly great, and which have an expansive sound that really opens up the tracks. Includes a funky break version of "Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf", a scatting grooving take on "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo", and the tracks "Chim Chim Cheree", "Alice In Wonderland", "When You Wish Upon A Star", and "Heigh Ho". (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

We Jazz magazine is a publication that always finds a way to really get close to our heart – and this time around they've got a fantastic cover feature on righteous jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby – an artist we reissued on the Dusty Groove label many years ago! And in addition to Ashby, the issue also has a great article on Don Cherry – plus more on Jimetta Rose, Peter Evans, Asher Gaedze, and Guy Stevens – plus a great entry in the Discaholic series by Mats Gustafsson, a feature on The Return Of The Queer Jazz Scene, and lots more reviews and other columns too! As always, the presentation is great – a book-like style with full color pages throughout, and well worth the price tag! (Magazines, Jazz) Magazine