A killer set from Italian trumpeter Guido Pistocchi – and one with a very specific old school vibe as well! Pistocchi's going for a 50s California jazz approach here, but one that's also focused on the contributions of Italian-American players Conte Candoli and Tony Fruscella – both of whom are referenced strongly in Guido's approach on his horn, and on the album's choice of tracks! Walter Ricci sings on a few numbers – echoing a bit of Chet Baker's old sound of the 50s – and other cuts are sparkling instrumentals, with Pistocchi on trumpet, Max Ionata on tenor, Gruno Cesselli on piano, Paolo Ghetti on bass, and Marcello Di Leonardo on drums. Title sinclude "Old Hat", "Macedonia", "Zizanie", "You Can't Go Home Again", "Some Day", and "I Can't Get Started". CD

Modal jazz galore – a collection of rare Italian tunes that move with a loping, soaring sense of energy – often very classic in their sound and style, but mostly pulled from a range of more obscure recent sources! Most of the tracks here were never issued outside of Italy – and even then, only on small labels that never achieved wider distribution – making almost the whole collection a new discovery in jazz to our ears, and one that's filled with countless delights throughout! As you'd guess from the title, the rhythms here are well-paced and lively – soaking up a lot of influences from the Coltrane generation, but also coming across with the tightness of a classic Blue Note or Prestige session. Most groups here are quartets, quintets, or sextets – and the longer than usual tracks offer plenty of room for solos on tenor, trumpet, trombone, and piano. Titles include "Spagna" by Piana Valdambrini Sextet, "Babir" by Alliance, "Proof Of The Pudding" by Michael Cochrane, "Calypso" by Dino & Franco Piana, "Naima" by Antonio Farao, "Tutankhamon Dance" by Nuevo Sestetto Italiano, "Woody" by Flavio Boltro, "Spring" by Antonio Farao, "La Stalla Di Pegaso" by Abbate Nicola Fontana Albano, and "New Born" by Idea 6. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

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A sharp-edged session of tremendous trumpet and tenor interplay – served up by the legendary quintet of Gianni Basso and Oscar Valdambrini! The album's got a sound that's as hip as it looks – a great approach to 50s modern jazz, done in a style that's equally influenced by west coast cool and east coast hardbop! Valdambrini's trumpet is beautifully measured throughout – with echoes of both Kenny Dorham and Chet Baker – offset by some deeper grooving on tenor from Basso, who plays with a strength and command that few American players of the time could match. Titles include "Come Out Wherever You Are", "Lo Struzzo Oscar", "Lotar", "Gone With The Wind", "Parlami D'Amore Mariu", and "Fan Tan". CD

A sweet, stretched-out session from saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera – one that still has a bit of the Latin roots of the past, but which also hits a more spacious style that almost reminds us of the best CTI sides of the early 70s! The album's recorded live at San Francisco's Keystone Korner – and Paquito's playing alto sax throughout, working with a hip sextet that includes Carlos Franzetti on keyboards – bringing in some warm, soulful touches to the music that are totally great! Other players include Claudio Roditi on trumpet and trombone and Daniel Ponce on percussion – and all tracks are nice and long, with titles that include "Song For Maura", "Red On Red", "Deja Vu", "Zanaith", and "Estamos Ah". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most beautiful records to come out of the early 70s – a tremendous indie effort from a young Weldon Irvine! Irvine put this album together as sort of a musical "time capsule" of his generation – an effort to capture the era's thoughts, feelings, and emotions through a mix of music, vocals, and a few spoken bits – all woven together in a way that changes moods nicely, but always keeps the same righteously spiritual vibe! Weldon plays keys that are both electric and acoustic throughout – and he's joined by a very hip batch of players who include Jimmy Owens, Lenny White, Alex Blake, George Cables, and others – all working here in a very rough-edged and soulful mode. Titles include the classic break track "Bananas", the sweet vocal number "Deja Vu",and the soul classic "Feelin' Mellow" – also covered by Fatback Band, but even better here in the original! Other tracks include "Soul Sisters", "Watergate Don't Bug Me", "Spontaneous Interaction", and "I Am". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most beautiful records to come out of the early 70s – a tremendous indie effort from a young Weldon Irvine! Irvine put this album together as sort of a musical "time capsule" of his generation – an effort to capture the era's thoughts, feelings, and emotions through a mix of music, vocals, and a few spoken bits – all woven together in a way that changes moods nicely, but always keeps the same righteously spiritual vibe! Weldon plays keys that are both electric and acoustic throughout – and he's joined by a very hip batch of players who include Jimmy Owens, Lenny White, Alex Blake, George Cables, and others – all working here in a very rough-edged and soulful mode. Titles include the classic break track "Bananas", the sweet vocal number "Deja Vu",and the soul classic "Feelin' Mellow" – also covered by Fatback Band, but even better here in the original! Other tracks include "Soul Sisters", "Watergate Don't Bug Me", "Spontaneous Interaction", and "I Am". CD

Killer Latin from South American drummer Frank Hernandez – easily the king of the scene on his side of the globe! Frank's taking a key cue here from the harder sound of the New York scene of the time – and the record's overflowing with great little tracks that mix together heavy percussion, sinister piano, and soulful chorus vocals that leap and dance along with the grooves. A few cuts are instrumentals, done with some great horn work in place – and the whole album's a cooker that can't be denied! Includes a great remake of "El Pito", plus "Dame Tu Carino", "Sabor A Miel", "Potpourri Judio", "Cafe", "Bombonchara", "Rumba Brava", and "Dulce Veneno". (Latin, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most beautiful records to come out of the early 70s – a tremendous indie effort from a young Weldon Irvine! Irvine put this album together as sort of a musical "time capsule" of his generation – an effort to capture the era's thoughts, feelings, and emotions through a mix of music, vocals, and a few spoken bits – all woven together in a way that changes moods nicely, but always keeps the same righteously spiritual vibe! Weldon plays keys that are both electric and acoustic throughout – and he's joined by a very hip batch of players who include Jimmy Owens, Lenny White, Alex Blake, George Cables, and others – all working here in a very rough-edged and soulful mode. Titles include the classic break track "Bananas", the sweet vocal number "Deja Vu",and the soul classic "Feelin' Mellow" – also covered by Fatback Band, but even better here in the original! Other tracks include "Soul Sisters", "Watergate Don't Bug Me", "Spontaneous Interaction", and "I Am". LP, Vinyl record album

A totally great package – one that brings together some of the coolest cuts ever from the early solo years of Weldon Irvine! Side one of the record features two takes on his great "Deja Vu" – the initial short version, which has more of a take on the catchy jazzy lyrics – and the longer version, which runs for almost ten minutes, and has more jazzy solo work! The flipside features the totally wonderful "Feelin Mellow" – a cut with a few singers working next to Weldon's electric piano lines, giving the whole thing a very righteous vibe – which is carried through on the cool "Watergate Don't Bug Me" – complete with melodica from Weldon, Fender Rhodes from George Cables, and some cool extemporaneous lyrics about Watergate! LP, Vinyl record album

Archie Shepp is one of the most unique players in jazz – an artist who started out completely avant at the beginning of his career, then moved to spiritual jazz explorations, then to straighter jazz material in later decades – but always with all that knowledge of the edges and farther realms of jazz he explored in his other music! That's definitely the case here – as Shepp takes on a host of ballads, but with all these edges and dark passages that are completely different than you'd hear from any other player – cast beautifully with help from Horace Parlan on piano, Wayne Dockery on bass, and Steve McRaven on drums. Shepp blows alto and tenor, and in addition to the titles "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "Lush Life", "Angel Eyes", "All Too Soon", and "Embraceable You" – the set also features Shepp originals "Deja Vu" and "I Know About The Life". LP, Vinyl record album

Nothing too mad from reedman John Klemmer – but a set that nicely continues that spacey sound that Klemmer first created at Impulse Records, then moved into some warmer, more soulful territory on records like this! Klemmer's still got an incredibly strong sound on tenor – rich and full, and never held back at all – nor prone to some of the more gimmicky flourishes of some of his mainstream contemporaries – and the setting is never too slick or overdone, which seems to suit John just right! Keyboards work nicely in a mellow, spaced-out groove – and Klemmer crackles these effortless lines out in space – of the soulful style we first fell in love with on his earliest work for Chess. The set features guitar from John Tropea, keyboards from Don Grusin, and drums from Harvey Mason – and Klemmer even vocalizes a bit – in a surprisingly strong style for the music. Titles include "Magnificent Madness", "Deja Vu", "Lifesong", "Adventures In Paradise", "I Can't Help It", and "Don't Take Your Love Away". LP, Vinyl record album

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A sharp-edged session of tremendous trumpet and tenor interplay – served up by the legendary quintet of Gianni Basso and Oscar Valdambrini! The album's got a sound that's as hip as it looks – a great approach to 50s modern jazz, done in a style that's equally influenced by west coast cool and east coast hardbop! Valdambrini's trumpet is beautifully measured throughout – with echoes of both Kenny Dorham and Chet Baker – offset by some deeper grooving on tenor from Basso, who plays with a strength and command that few American players of the time could match. Titles include "Come Out Wherever You Are", "Lo Struzzo Oscar", "Lotar", "Gone With The Wind", "Parlami D'Amore Mariu", and "Fan Tan". LP, Vinyl record album

" A rerelease of two CDs in a budget box". Gold disc copies of "Mujicain: The Bristol Concert" and " Couple in Spirit II". CD

One of our favorite-ever Lee Konitz albums – a really unique session with a wonderful kind of sound! The record is one that might not please all Konitz purists – as Lee plays a bit of Varitone sax and flute in addition to his usual acoustic alto. However, the set's got an amazing edge that you don't really hear in his other work – and was recorded in Italy in 1968 with a hip group that's working in a tight modal soul jazz mode. The other players include Italian luminaries Enrico Rava on trumpet, Franco D'Andrea on piano, and Giovanni Tomasso on bass – and the group grooves in a way that Konitz ensembles never do, pushing Lee to do these solos that actually open up a bit more than usual, almost even showing a bit of the spiritual jazz influences of the time. Titles include "Komonia", "Midnight Mood", "Take Seven", "Tune Down", and "Terre Lontane". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet jazzy grooves from this hip Italian duo – Enzo & Gianni Lo Greco, who've also recorded as Quintetto Lo Greco for Schema Records! The sound here is definitely in a Schema groove – lots of jazzy instrumentation on piano, sax, trumpet, and trombone – very much in the best 60s Italian jazz mode, but kicked up just a bit with some rhythms aimed at the dancefloor – never too over the top, and all acoustic all the way through – a club jazz groove that's perfect for anyone who also digs work on labels like DejaVu or Ricky Tick! There's a bit of vocals on the record – sung by guests Alice Ricciardi, Felix, Katharine Ruestow, Roxie Ray, and Dionne Charles – and titles include "Sam Blues", "Feelin Good", "Don't Cry", "Much More", "Broken Rose", "Iperbole", "Please Don't Go", "Sweet Love", "Changes", and "Goodbye". (New Grooves, Jazz) CD