Titles include "Basin Street", "Weather Bird", "End Blues", "Two Deuces", "Sugar Foot Strut", "Muggles", and more! LP, Vinyl record album

Special material recorded live for this album at a Jazz Piano Workshop in Pittsburgh. LP, Vinyl record album

With George Tucker on bass and Oliver Jackson on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Earl Hines on solo piano performing "You Do Something To Me", "Night & Day", "Rosalie", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "What Is This Thing Called Love", and "You'd Be So Easy To Love". LP, Vinyl record album

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

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With Larry Richardson on bass and Richie Goldberg on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

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One of our favorite records by Earl Hines – a hip little comeback set, recorded in the mid 60s with an Ellingtonish lineup that includes Clark Terry, Cat Anderson, Ray Nance, Lawrence Brown, Jimmy Hamilton, and Johnny Hodges. Hines' piano is certainly a strong force in the record, but even more delightful is the solid feel of the players overall – working with that complete coherence found in the best 60s sides by Duke, but touched here with some of Hines' sprightly approach to the melody. Titles include "Once Upon A Time", "Black & Tan Fantasy", "You Can Depend On Me", "Hash Brown", and "Fantastic That's You". CD

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With Doc Cheatham on trumpet, Rudy Rutherford on clarinet, alto, and tenor, Jack Wilkins on guitar, Jimmy Leary on bass, and Ray Mosca on drums. Arrangements by Buck Clayton and Ernie Wilkins. LP, Vinyl record album

Solo piano performance from the 1974 Montreux Jazz Festival. Titles include "Close To You", "In My Solitude", "Why Do I Love You?", "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", and "West Side Story Medley". LP, Vinyl record album

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

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Great small combo work – with Gonsalves on tenor, Hines on piano, Al Hall on bass, and Jo Jones on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Earl Hines leads a group that includes special guests like Roy Eldridge and Coleman Hawkins – and the material's a relatively traditional batch of tunes, done in Earl's classic piano style. The group performs an extended "Portrait Of Fats Waller", plus shorter tracks like "C Jam Blues", "Rosetta", and "Sunday". LP, Vinyl record album

Earl Hines leads a group that includes special guests like Roy Eldridge and Coleman Hawkins – and the material's a relatively traditional batch of tunes, done in Earl's classic piano style. LP, Vinyl record album

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Louis Armstrong on trumpet & vocal with Yank Lawson on trumpet, Jack Teagarden & Trummy Young on trombone, Barney Bigard & Edmond Hall on clarinet, George Dorsey & Hilton Jefferson on alto saxophone, Bud Freeman, Seldon Powell & Lucky Thompson on tenor saxophone, Dave McRae on baritone saxophone, bass clarinet & bass saxophone, Dick Cary, Earl Hines & Billy Kyle on piano, Everett Barksdal & George Barnes on guitar, Squire Gersh & Arvell Shaw on bass, Sid Catlett, Cozy Cole, Barrett Deems & Kenny John on drums & Velma Middleton on vocals. CD

Titles include "Wild Man Blues" by Sidney Bechet, "Blue Washboard Stomp" by Johnny Dodds, "Apologies" by Mezz Mezzrow, "Glad Rag Doll" by Earl Hines, and more! LP, Vinyl record album

With solos by Milt Hinton, Earl Hines, Joe Newman, Zoot Sims, Urbie Green, Buddy Tate, Lee Konitz, Vic Dickenson, Sal Nistico, and many others. LP, Vinyl record album

Features Sidney Bechet, Muggsy Spanier, Tommy Dorsey, Earl Hines, Sid Weiss, Wild Bill Davison, Pee Wee Russell, and Woody Herman – plus vocals from Lee Wiley. 34 tracks on two CD's. CD

Includes performances with the orchestras of Earl Hines, Billy Eckstine, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and Louis Bellson. LP, Vinyl record album

A cool California concert from Louis Armstrong – surprisingly intimate, despite the setting – and recorded with a less-polished feel than some of his other 50s live dates! There's a relatively spontaneous quality to the music, and the album really helps keep the spirit of the concert intact – offering up snippits of Louis' commentary, and some strong audience response as well. Players include Armstrong on trumpet, Jack Teagarden on trombone, Barney Bigard on clarinet, Earl Hines on piano, Arvell Shaw on bass, and Cozy Cole on drums – and Armstrong sings, and is occasionally joined by Velma Middleton on vocals. Titles include "My Monday Date", "Baby It's Cold Outside", "Star Dust", "The Hucklebuck", "That's A Plenty", and "Just You Just Me". CD

Rare work from the 78rpm generation – all of it before the big Charles Mingus years of the 50s – featuring the bassist in groups with Oscar Pettiford and Earl Hines in the lead – plus other sides recorded under the name of Baron Mingus, with Willie Smith on alto and Lucky Thompson on tenor – and more under a Charles Mingus Quintet with Lee Konitz on alto! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the hipper Louis Armstrong albums of the 50s – a set that still has him singing in that charming comeback style of other sessions of the time – but which also has a slightly deeper groove overall! The New Orleans Nights title is taken very strongly here – and the session has a much more stretched out, open-ended feel than some of Armstrong's sessions from the time – almost the sort of material you'd hear in a Crescent City club in the small hours of the evening, polished a bit perhaps for a larger audience. Players include Barney Bigard on clarinet, Jack Teagarden on trombone, Bud Freeman on tenor, and Earl Hines on piano – and titles include the hip suite "New Orleans Function", which features narration by Armstrong – plus "Struttin With Some Barbecue", "Basin Street Blues", "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It", and "Bugle Call Rag". CD

Joined by Coleman Hawkins, Earl Hines, Bing Crosby, the Mills brothers, Sidney Bechet, Jack Teagarden, Billie Holiday, Louis Jordan, Ella Fitzgerald, and many more. CD

The last album that New Orleans soul legend Allen Toussaint ever recorded – and a set that's maybe more jazz-oriented than most of his other work! The album mostly features Toussaint as an instrumentalist – playing piano, and working through songs by Bill Evans, Duke Ellington, Earl Hines, and others – as well as some of his own compositions too – with a group that includes Bill Frisell on guitar and Charles Lloyd on tenor, although most of the focus really seems to be on the piano! Rhiannon Giddens sings on two tracks, but most of the album is instrumental – and Van Dyke Parks contributes a bit of second piano, and larger arrangements on one track. Titles include "Come Sunday", "Southern Nights", "Rosetta", "Big Chief", "Danza", "Rocks In My Bed", "American Tune", "Mardi Gras In New Orleans", "Waltz For Debby", and "Viper's Drag". (Soul, Jazz) CD

Special guests include Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Earl Hines, and Woody Herman. (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

A cool California concert from Louis Armstrong – surprisingly intimate, despite the setting – and recorded with a less-polished feel than some of his other 50s live dates! There's a relatively spontaneous quality to the music, and the album really helps keep the spirit of the concert intact – offering up snippits of Louis' commentary, and some strong audience response as well. Players include Armstrong on trumpet, Jack Teagarden on trombone, Barney Bigard on clarinet, Earl Hines on piano, Arvell Shaw on bass, and Cozy Cole on drums – and Armstrong sings, and is occasionally joined by Velma Middleton on vocals. Titles include "My Monday Date", "Baby It's Cold Outside", "Star Dust", "The Hucklebuck", "That's A Plenty", and "Just You Just Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes all versions of the legendary Ellington Blanton duets – plus solo recordings, and duos with Billy Strayhorn and Earl Hines. 21 tracks total. CD

Grappelli with Roland Hanna, George Mraz, Mel Lewis and Earl Hines on two of the ten tracks. CD

Featuring Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson, Fats Waller, Jimmy Yangey, Jelly Roll Morton, and Earl Hines. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes music from James P Johnson, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Johnny Hodges, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Earl Hines, Thelonious Monk, Glen Miller, Count Basie, and more – 100 tracks in all! CD

An incredible collection of early Satchmo, with sidemen that include Sidney Bechet, Jimmy Strong, Earl Hines, Zutty Singleton, and Fred Robinson. LP, Vinyl record album

With Sidney Bechet, Earl Hines, Ed Hall, Cliff Jackson, James P Johnson, Gene Krupa, Hot Lips Page, Pee Wee Russell, Willie Smith, Jess Stacy, and George Wettling. LP, Vinyl record album

Features backings by Gerry Mulligan, Ben Webster, Jimmy Rowles, Leroy Vinnegar, and Mel Lewis – plus additional tracks with Roy Eldridge and Earl Hines. (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

A low-priced way to dip into some of the hippest jazz of the 60s and 70s – served up in a very nice package that will blow your mind, but still leave you with enough money left for lunch! The CD is a distillation of the larger 4CD set which bears the same name – and although it's only got a fraction of the work, it also only costs a fraction of the price – making it a great way to dip into this excellent music. Titles include classics like "Stolen Moments" by Oliver Nelson, "Love Supreme Part 1" by John Coltrane, "Our Prayer" by Albert Ayler, "Journey In Satchidananda" by Alice Coltrane, and "Hard Work" by John Handy – plus "Alamode" by Art Blakey, "Theme For Lester Young" by Charles Mingus, "Los Olvidados" by Archie Shepp, and "Black & Tan Fantasy" by Earl Hines. CD

One of a number of late 70s milestones from the Great Jazz Trio – that sublime grouping of Hank Jones on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums! Like the rest of their gems from the time, the album's got this simple, subtle brilliance – a way of approaching piano trio material that was quite fresh for the time – different than Jones might have sounded the decade before, and clearly influenced by the huge growth of the format in Japan – the market for which the album was originally produced. Carter really shines on the record – reminding us of his incredible ability to act as both a soloist and a rhythmatist – and Tony Williams is a great here as he is on the Herbie Hancock trio dates of the time. Titles include "Wave", "Milestones", "Mr Biko", and "Eighty One". CD

One of the most wonderfully lyrical records ever cut for Blue Note – and a shimmering early showcase for the genius of trumpeter Thad Jones! Jones is maybe best remembered for his work in bigger groups, but at the start of his career he's a lyrical genius – as you'll hear on this sublime session that also features tremendous tenor from Billy Mitchell – a player who was also often lost in larger groups, but who really shines wonderfully here next to Thad! The pair are perfect together, and move seamlessly through the session, trading solos with incomparable ease – yet never getting too perfect, and never lacking the humanity that makes a record like this so great. Barry Harris plays some wonderful piano – and the tracks include "If I Love Again", "Thedia", "If Someone Had Told Me", and "April In Paris". CD features 2 bonus tracks – "I've Got A Crush On You" and "Something To Remember You By". CD

One of the most wonderfully lyrical records ever cut for Blue Note – and a shimmering early showcase for the genius of trumpeter Thad Jones! Jones is maybe best remembered for his work in bigger groups, but at the start of his career he's a lyrical genius – as you'll hear on this sublime session that also features tremendous tenor from Billy Mitchell – a player who was also often lost in larger groups, but who really shines wonderfully here next to Thad! The pair are perfect together, and move seamlessly through the session, trading solos with incomparable ease – yet never getting too perfect, and never lacking the humanity that makes a record like this so great. Barry Harris plays some wonderful piano – and the tracks include "If I Love Again", "Thedia", "If Someone Had Told Me", and "April In Paris". CD

A rare early side from Jones, his first album as a leader, originally issued on Debut. Tough Jones would become more well known for the recordings he'd go on to make in larger settings his lyrical playing really shines in these two smaller groups. He plays with an all-star line up of musicians that includes Charles Mingus on bass, John Dennis or Hank Jones on piano, Max Roach or Kenny Clarke on drums and Frank Wess on tenor sax on the quintet sides. The tunes are mostly split between Jones and Mingus originals, and include "One More", "Bitty Ditty", "More Of The Same", "Sombre Intrusion", "Elusive", "I Can't Get Started", "You Don't Know What Love Is", and "Get Out Of Town". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic lost legacy in European free improvisation – the complete works of a group who were first known as Modern Jazz Quintet Karlsruhe, then later as Fourmenonly – presented here in a beautiful 3CD set! First up is the album Trees – issued on a small label in 1968, but a set that matches the groundbreaking energy of the early work on FMP – played by a group that features Helmuth Zimmer on piano, Wilfreid Eichorn on tenor and soprano sax, Claus Buhler on bass, Rudi Thielmann on drums, and Herbert Joos on flugelhorn, Mellophon, piston, and percussion! The group have a melodic vibe at the core – often feeling out the initial space as a unit, then exploding with sound and color – and really making especially great work of the talents of Joos and Eichorn – players who work together with great power, driven on by the others. Titles include "Lonely Time", "Trees", "Schnee Verbrennt", "Change Of Beauty", and "The Devil Is Green Blue Yellow". CD also features a bonus unreleased improvisation too! Next is Position 2000 – a record of even longer improvisations, and one that shows the quintet really developing their sound – strongly aware of the farther reaches, but always beginning in some more colorful passages that almost have a melody, before exploding out with very vibrant energy! The lineup is the same as on the debut – with Herbert Joos on flugelhorn, mellophone, Indian flute, and percussion – and Wilfried Eichorn on tenor, soprano sax, bass clarinet, flute, and percussion – alongside Helmuth Zimmer on piano, Klaus Buhler on bass, and Rudi Thielmann on drums. Titles include "The Sun Is Coming Over", "Position 2000", and "Where Love Forever Shines". CD also features an unreleased improvisation. For the next album, bassist Buhler has departed the group – who are renamed Fourmenonly! Their first record is a brilliant set of free jazz from the German scene of the 70s – very different than other work of the time, in that there's maybe more of a future-thinking balance between sounds and silence, frenzy and fragility – all served up by a quartet that features Herbert Joos on trumpet and flugelhorn, Wilfried Eichhorn on tenor and soprano sax, Helmuth Zimmer on piano and percussion, and Rudi Theilmann on drums and percussion. Titles include "Viridiana/Ich Und Meine Bruder/Compulsion" and "Count Down/Excess". On the album Eight Science Fiction Stories, the Fourmenonly lineup is expanded by trombonist Wolfgang Czelusta – and perform some fantastic work billed as "science fiction stories", all composed by Herbert Joos. The sound is as revolutionary as on the group's earliest material, but also maybe more compact as well – nicely focused, with especially strong emphasis on the interplay between Czelusta on trombone, Wilifried Eichorn on bass clarinet, flute, and oboe, and Herbert Joos on flugelhorn, trumpet, and mellophone. The piano of Helmuth Zimmer is amazing – almost Cecil Taylor-like in intensity at times – and drummer Rudi Theilmann does a great job of moving from passages of full-on power to more spacious percussion. Titles include "Lucifer Is Marching On", "Dead Season", "The Beauty Without A Face", "Departure", "Plastic Happiness", and "Space Wall". CD

An excellent overview of the early Wallace Roney work for Muse Records – brilliant sessions that helped Roney redefine the sound of the trumpet for a whole new generation! Roney's sound was one of the boldest, brightest on the label – and on records like this he really shines – working with an array of like-minded young lions who include Ravi Coltrane, Donald Brown, Antoine Roney, Christian McBride, and Cindy Blackman – on titles that include "Blue In Green", "Obsession", "Daahoud", "Lost", "For Duke", "Donna Lee", and "Love For Sale". CD

One of the most wonderfully lyrical records ever cut for Blue Note – and a shimmering early showcase for the genius of trumpeter Thad Jones! Jones is maybe best remembered for his work in bigger groups, but at the start of his career he's a lyrical genius – as you'll hear on this sublime session that also features tremendous tenor from Billy Mitchell – a player who was also often lost in larger groups, but who really shines wonderfully here next to Thad! The pair are perfect together, and move seamlessly through the session, trading solos with incomparable ease – yet never getting too perfect, and never lacking the humanity that makes a record like this so great. Barry Harris plays some wonderful piano – and the tracks include "If I Love Again", "Thedia", "If Someone Had Told Me", and "April In Paris". CD

A great return to the limelight for reedman Charles Lloyd – heard here in one of his most open, expressive settings in years – with all the best exotic touches of his famous early years still very much intact! Lloyd plays tenor and flute, plus a bit of Chinese oboe as well – an instrument that really underscores some of the more inventive qualities in his music, and which works well with some of the modal energies in the set. The great Michel Perucciani makes a key appearance here on piano – and shades the tunes with a sensitive sound that also helps Lloyd find the new directions he'd take strongly in years to come – and the remaining group features Palle Danielsson on bass and Son Ship Theus on drums. Bobby McFerrin sings in a few spots, but at a level that's hipper than his hits – and titles include "Lotus Land", "Lady Day", "Of Course Of Course", "Night Blooming Jasmine", and "El Encanto". CD

70s brilliance from tenorist Teddy Edwards – a really overlooked album, and one that marks a great step forward from some of Edwards' better-known material of the 60s! That impeccable tone is still very strongly in place – that Edwards way of blowing smooth, but with a subtle bite, too – and Teddy's also developed this sense of flow that's really special – a difference than the way he played fifteen or twenty years before – with almost a Sonny Criss-like approach that really holds us rapt, even in more subtle moments. The album's beautifully recorded – in that stunning Xanadu label way – and the group's a quartet, with Duke Jordan on piano, Larry Ridley on bass, and Freddie Waits on drums. Edwards is clearly the start of the show, though – and really shines on titles that include "Sunset Eyes", "Imagination", "One By One", and "Stella By Starlight". CD

One of the most wonderfully lyrical records ever cut for Blue Note – and a shimmering early showcase for the genius of trumpeter Thad Jones! Jones is maybe best remembered for his work in bigger groups, but at the start of his career he's a lyrical genius – as you'll hear on this sublime session that also features tremendous tenor from Billy Mitchell – a player who was also often lost in larger groups, but who really shines wonderfully here next to Thad! The pair are perfect together, and move seamlessly through the session, trading solos with incomparable ease – yet never getting too perfect, and never lacking the humanity that makes a record like this so great. Barry Harris plays some wonderful piano – and the tracks include "If I Love Again", "Thedia", "If Someone Had Told Me", and "April In Paris". CD features 2 bonus tracks – "I've Got A Crush On You" and "Something To Remember You By". CD

One of our favorite records ever from the great Sven Libaek – an artist who's possibly best known for his underwater soundtrack work of the 70s, but who shines equally well here on a 60s album that has him hitting the top of the waves! The music was written for a surf film in 1966, but has a vibe that's much richer than that – some vibes-heavy tracks that showcase Sven's background in jazz, and which tie nicely to some of the Bruce Brown jazz/surf soundtracks of the early 60s LA scene – mixed with other numbers that have more of an Aussie vibe, in that light wrapping of rhythmic currents and lyrical instrumentation! The vibes alone are worth the price of admission – and titles include "Bikini Girls", "The Lost City", "In The Wave", "To Ride A White Horse", "Turistas Turistas", "Bush Fire", "Break Of Dawn", and "Fun & Games". (Soundtracks, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best albums from singer Teri Thornton – a jazz vocalist who was really starting to come into her own at the beginning of the 60s, and shines here in a way that's different from some of her bigger label sets! Backings are by Norman Simmons – a pianist we love on his own, and for his work in small groups with other singers – but a real surprise here for his work on the album's dark-tinged charts, which have a similar undercurrent of modernism to some of the work at the time by Abbey Lincoln. The group's relatively small – and features work by Seldon Powell on tenor, Clark Terry on trumpet, Earl Warren on alto, Freddie Green on guitar, and Wynton Kelly on piano – and titles include a version of Bob Dorough's "Devil May Care", plus dark takes on "My Old Flame", "Dancing In The Dark", "Left Alone", "What's New", and "Lullaby Of The Leaves". (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from this legendary tenorist! Although Foster's often lumped into the cliche camp for his long years with Basie, he shines like a rough diamond on sessions like these, proving that he's got a tone and a style that he keeps tightly reserved for small group sessions. On this rare Blue Note session from the 10" days, he plays with the great Gildo Mahones on piano – on tracks like "Little Red", "Blues For Benny", and "How I Spent The Night". The record's a hard wailing groover, and it's a treasure for fans of that early Blue Note sound! LP, Vinyl record album

Never-heard studio work from the great Bill Evans – not another one of those many (and great) live performances from overseas – but a well-conceived, beautifully recorded set of tracks that were done for MPS Records in their famous studios in the Black Forest! The group here is Evans sublime trio with the great Eddie Gomez on bass and a young Jack DeJohnette on drums – perfect players for completely reworking the sound of the jazz piano trio, with all the new ideas that Bill had bursting forth at the time – and this material is the only studio session by the group, recorded right after their famous live appearance at Montreux in 1968 (documented on a well-known album on Verve.) The set's a double-length outing – recorded with the kind of crisp, clear sound that MPS brought to its other classic piano albums of the time by artists like Hampton Hawes or Tete Montoliu. The whole thing's wonderful – and Gomez has a wonderful presence in the mix – as the trio really shines on titles that include "Wonder Why", "Green Dolphin Street", "These Foolish Things", "Walkin Up", "Turn Out The Stars", "Very Early", "You Go To My Head", "Lover Man", and "Baubles Bangles & Beads". CD

A really nice little session from Terry Gibbs – a rare one-off album for Impulse, and a straight jazz record that stands out from some of Terry's more gimmick-oriented albums of the 60s! Gibbs plays the vibes beautifully here – hitting with this sense of touch that really shines through – a really personal element that grabs us almost more than on earlier albums. The group's got a light, easygoing swing – one that really lets Terry take the lead at most points – and players include Kenny Burrell on guitar, Sam Jones on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums. There's a few nice whimsical numbers on the set – showing Terry's (and the 60s in general) trend towards using the vibes in new ways and for new grooves – and titles include "Oge", "El Fatso", "Take It From Me", "Gee Dad It's A Deagan", and "8 LBs 10 oz". LP, Vinyl record album