A fantastic bit of late 60's funk, and a surprisingly slammin' record from Dizzy! The album's got tight, hard, choppy funk arrangements from Ed Bland – who went onto to do some great work at the Perception label – and the group features James Moody blowing hard lean funky solos right next to Diz, in the way that he'd do on some of his own funk work from the same time. The record is wonderful all the way through – killer heavy drums, heavy electric bass, searing sax solos from Diz and Moody – all produced with a mad mad full-on funk sound that will make your jaw drop! Titles include "Blue Chuchifrito", "Chicken Giblets", "Rutabega Pie", "The Fly Fox", "Pot Licka" "Stomped & Wasted" and "Casbah Melon". LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool live material from Dizzy Gillespie – a set that has him working in that groovy blend of Latin with slight funky currents that we love on his best albums from the 70s! The setting here is very open and free, with very extended tracks that really let the rhythms build before the solos come in – a great flow from a quintet that features Mike Longo on piano, Al Gafa on guitar, Earl May on bass, and Mickey Roker on drums – all players who match that special spark and energy that Dizzy brings to the proceedings! Many tracks feature a short spoken announcement, with that wit that Gillespie always has on the stage – and Jon Faddis plays guest trumpet on two tracks as well. Titles include the long cuts "Sunshine", "Brother K", "Ole For The Gypsies", "The Truth", "Manteca", and "The Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing package, and an amazing moment in the career of Charlie Parker – the beginning of his relationship with Verve Records producer Norman Granz – who really helped refine Bird's talents, and also open him up in some new creative directions! The material here originally came out on 10" LPs on the Mercury and Clef labels, but they're also the birth of the Verve Records sound too – top-shelf presentation, and care that Charlie Parker may not have been getting from previous labels like Dial or Savoy! The set features the first two volumes of Charlie Parker With Strings – amazing music that has Bird's sharp-edged alto soaring out over some modern string arrangements – really standard-setting experiments that so many others followed in years to come! Next is Bird & Diz – a sublime pairing with Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet. Charlie Parker Plays South Of The Border is a key cubop session – Bird's alto with Latin rhythms – an equally groundbreaking match as his strings sessions! Last is the self titled Charlie Parker album – a great quartet session, with titles that include the classics "Confirmation" and "Now's The Time". All five albums come with the original David Stone Martin cover art – and come packaged in a slipcover, with a heavy new booklet of notes! LP, Vinyl record album