A huge 2CD set – one that features important European work that saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded with trumpeter Don Cherry! CD1 brings together six tracks from Albert Ayler's Hilversum Radio sessions from 1964 – plus an additional three tracks recorded in Denmark a few months earlier! The first six titles are a famous performance by a famous group set loose on a European tour in 1964 – Ayler on tenor, Don Cherry on cornet, Gary Peacock on bass, and Sunny Murry on drums – recorded in The Netherlands for a small audience in a Dutch radio studio! The setting is a wonderful one – a mix of the live freedoms that would really let Ayler stretch out – especially when playing overseas – but recorded with the clarity of some of his studio albums for ESP – that sharp-edged sound that really highlights the groundbreaking style of his playing! The rest of the group here is equally great, and Murray is completely freed up from rhythm at points, to fly beautifully with the rest – on titles that include "Angels", "CAC", "Infant Happiness", "Ghosts", and "No Name". The same group performs on the final three tracks – recorded in Copenhagen for Danish Radio, with an equally great level of clarity – on "Saints", "Spirits", and "Vibrations". The interplay between Ayler and Cherry is especially great – echoing the latter's material with Ornette Coleman, but with a different sort of edge! CD2 features amazing live material from 1964 – work that was recorded at the Club Montmartre in Copenhagen, right around the same time that Albert Ayler recorded his album for Debut Records – and a set that has his quartet in even more firey formation overall! The tracks are long, and Ayler is completely unbridled – at a level that really shows not only how much of a leader he was to the American avant underground, but what an inspiration he was to the European free scene too – who could only help but take a big cue from his work here on tenor! The group also features equally wonderful work from Don Cherry on cornet – sounding quite different than when with Ornette Coleman – plus bass from Gary Peacock, whose dark tones really set the mood – and drums from Sunny Murray, who is also at an explosive point in his career. The material is remastered wonderfully, with permission from Albert Ayler's estate – and titles include "Mothers", "Saints", "Vibrations", Spirits", "Children", and a shorter "Spirits". CD

If you read these pages at all, you'll know we're huge fans of late work by the great Chet Baker – as each different session seems to show a different side of his talents, and incredible evolution in sound, structure, and timing from his better-known material of the 50s! Chet spent many years on the European scene, recording material that was sometimes so scattered, it never fully represented him in the way his early American records did – but that's the wonderful thing about a set like this, as it shows that you can still find a hell of a lot of surprise in a player you already think you know! The package features two unreleased sessions from 1979 – done months apart, in Hilversum – and beautifully preserved, with a sound that really lets you rapturize over the extended solos on most of the tracks – handled by Chet with an amazingly mature style. The first session features Phil Markowitz on piano, Jean Louis Rassinfosse on bass, and Charles Rice on drums – and the second features Frans Elsen on piano, Victor Kaihatu on bass, and Eric Ineke on drums. Titles include "Nardis", "Blue Gilles", "Beautiful Black Eyes", "Down", "Blue Room", "Luscious Lou", "Old Devil Moon", and "The Best Thing For You". CD

Pretty hip stuff – recorded in Paris, but featuring some leading lights of American bohemia! The first half of the CD features work by a quartet led by bassist Buddy Banks, and featuring work by American players Bob Dorough on piano and Roy Haynes on drums, as well as the French musician Jimmy Gourley on guitar. Gourley's tone is excellent on the session, and he really dominates the proceedings over piano work by Dorough – especially on the tracks "I Love You", "Line For Lyons", "Night In Tunisia", and "Buddy Bank's Blues". The second half of the CD features a quartet with Bobby Jaspar on flute and the enigmatic Blossom Dearie on piano. Blossom doesn't sing on the set, but she works in a lovely way with Jaspar – providing some light lyrical backing that gives the tracks a nice little kick. Titles include "Old Devil Moon", "Flamingo", and "There Will Never Be Another You". CD

Fantastic 2 CD set compiling the tracks from Gato's first two LPs for Impulse, plus 5 previously unreleased tracks, and full length versions of tracks that were edited on the original albums. In case you don't know this stuff, it's amazing. Gato went down to Argentina to record the stuff, and it's an insane mix of nuevo tango, South American percussion, and Gato's wonderful reed work – which at this point has a hard edge with a lot of soul, and sounds a lot like Pharoah Sanders. Excellent stuff throughout, with a great booklet that tells the full story of the amazing sessions, and which really opens up the music. One of our fave reissues from Impulse! With the tracks "India", "Gato Gato", "To Be Continued", "Encontros", and "Encuentros". CD

A large group in a small club – the legendary Clarke Boland Big Band, playing at the home turf of one of their key members – tenorist Ronnie Scott! The set features a very legendary performance by the ensemble – a crack lineup that's easily one of the best ever sported by the CBBB – perfectly mixing American rhythms, and a trans-Atlantic lineup of soloists – all tied together with just the sort of rich arrangements that make the group so great! Things groove right from the get-go – thanks to a rhythm lineup that features Kenny Clarke on drums, and Francy Boland on piano – plus bassist Ron Matthewson, sitting in for the usual Jimmy Woode. The horn players really send things off, though – tight trumpets from Benny Bailey, Idrees Sulieman, and Dusko Goykovich; bold trombones from Ake Persson and Nat Peck; and some searing reed lines from Johnny Griffin and Ronnie Scott on tenor, Derek Humble on alto, Sahib Shihab on baritone, and Tony Coe on both tenor and clarinet. This CD features both the first and second sets at Scotts by the group – albums titled Volcano and Rue Chaptal – with titles that include "Volcano", "Griff's Groove", "Now Hear My Meanin", "Box 703 Washington DC", "Thence We Issued Out Again to See the Stars", "Rue Chaptal", "I Don't Want Nothin From Nobody & I Ain't Giving Nothin Away", "Sax No End", "Minor Blues", and "The Girl & The Turk". CD

A beautiful comeback LP recorded by LA alto genius Sonny Criss in the mid 60s – his first American session after a few years in France, and a few years off the scene back home! Sonny's time away had profound effects on his playing – and on this album, he returns transformed from the straight bop mode of his early days, into a mature sensitive artist in sound – capable of an amazing range of emotion, tone, and style! A number of the tracks in this set are pop tunes or standards – like "Black Coffee", "Days Of Wine & Roses", and "When Sunny Gets Blue" – but Criss plays them with a style that transforms them into something completely new, with a lyricism and emotional edge that extends well beyond the original structure of the song. Other tracks include "Steve's Blues", "Greasy", and "Sunrise Sunset" – and the CD features the bonus track "Love For Sale". CD

A great set of Latin-tinged jazz – and the first recording that Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval had made together in many years! The set's got the angular groove of Paquito's best work of the early 80s – tight Latin jazz, with plenty of percussion at the bottom – played out over longer tracks that allow plenty of space for him and Sandoval to solo, and which also feature piano by Danilo Perez and guitar by Fareed Haque. Titles include "Tanga", "Latin American Suite", "Claudia", "Body & Soul", "Reunion", and "Friday Morning". CD

A fantastic Deodato album from 1973! Although this was recorded at the same time as his American releases on CTI, the album has much more of the flavor of his tighter, jazzier, earlier work – with loads of funky keyboards, and lots of shorter tracks that drive along nicely with interplay between electric bass and Brazilian rhythms. The whole thing's a wonderful bit of electric Brazil from the 70s - with a groove that's hard to match by other albums. Some tracks have been issued on the CD Os Catedratecos 73 – but there appear to be other ones here too. Titles include "Skyscrapers", "Flap", "Rudys", "Soccer Game", "The Byrd", "Elizeth", "Boy Meets Girl", "The First Stone", "Cary & Carole", and "Down The Hill". (Brazil, Jazz) CD

A well-titled album from trumpeter Don Ellis – as the set soars to the skies from the very first note! The album's got a dynamic energy that almost beats Don's American work of the time – lots of funky rhythms, and a cool MPS groove that shows the label's strong 70s legacy of larger group jazz recordings! Like other MPS dates of the time, there's a nice mix of electric and acoustic instrumentation in the lineup – bass and guitar that kick the rhythms up strongly, plus keyboards and electrified strings that bring in their own unique sounds. Milcho Leviev handles the keys on the session – and titles are a fresh batch of numbers that include "Sidonie", "Image Of Maria", "Sladka Pitka", "Go Back Home", "Whiplash", "The Devil Made Me Write This Piece", and "Invincible". CD

An unusual set for both Dexter and Blue Note – first, because the set was recorded in Europe (not at Rudy Van Gelder's), and second because the tracks are all quite long! The album was recorded in Paris – and is cut in an open-ended format that's very much in the mode that Gordon would later use on late 60s and early 70s sessions for European labels. The group features (then) local contemporaries Kenny Drew on piano, and Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass – and is rounded out by Donald Byrd on trumpet and Art Taylor on drums. Tracks are long, but not meanderingly so – and feature a great mix of Blue Note hardbop, with some of the "roomier" recordings that were given to American players in Europe. Side one features an extended reading of Donald Byrd's "Tanya", and other tracks include Kenny Drew's "Coppin' The Haven", and a version of "Darn That Dream". CD

One of our favorite Dexter Gordon sessions for Blue Note – and a unique album that's one of the first to illustrate his growing role in the European jazz scene! The group's a quartet – which let's Dex stand out front with plenty of space for marvelous tenor work – and it features Parisian bassist Pierre Michelot, plus Americans Bud Powell on piano and Kenny Clarke on drums – two players who were already making a bit name for themselves overseas. The album's a perfect link between Gordon's earlier American work and his long string of European sessions to come – and titles include a great take of "Scrapple from the Apple", plus excellent readings of "Stairway to the Stars" and "Night in Tunisia". The format is simple, but the sound is magic – classic Dexter Gordon in a tight Blue Note mode! CD reissue also includes 2 non LP bonus cuts – "Our Love Is Here To Stay" and "Like Someone In Love". CD

One of our favorite Dexter Gordon sessions for Blue Note – and a unique album that's one of the first to illustrate his growing role in the European jazz scene! The group's a quartet – which let's Dex stand out front with plenty of space for marvelous tenor work – and it features Parisian bassist Pierre Michelot, plus Americans Bud Powell on piano and Kenny Clarke on drums – two players who were already making a bit name for themselves overseas. The album's a perfect link between Gordon's earlier American work and his long string of European sessions to come – and titles include a great take of "Scrapple from the Apple", plus excellent readings of "Stairway to the Stars" and "Night in Tunisia". The format is simple, but the sound is magic – classic Dexter Gordon in a tight Blue Note mode! CD reissue also includes 2 non LP bonus cuts – "Our Love Is Here To Stay" and "Like Someone In Love". This is the newly remastered version, too – with crisp sound and addional notes and photos! CD

One of the few American albums by Jutta Hipp – a key figure in the German jazz scene of the postwar years, recording here at the Hickory House in New York! The album's a trio date, but it's got more than enough modern energy to warrant inclusion in the Blue Note 1500 series of the 50s – thanks in part to Hipp's forceful, angular approach to the keys of the piano – and also to some great accompaniment from Peter Ind on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums! As usual, Thigpen takes things past any expectations you might have for the trio format – with a great lively touch on the drum kit that keeps the whole proceedings moving nicely. Tracks on this first volume include "These Foolish Things", "Mad About The Boy", "Take Me In Your Arms", "Billie's Bounce", and "Lady Bird". CD

A long-overdue tribute to the legendary Moondog – one of the true visionaries of American music in the 20th Century! Moondog got his starts as a blind musician working the streets of New York at the end of the 40s, but he did so (as you'll note on the cover photo) with a range of unusual instruments of his own invention, and in a minimal, rhythmic style that linked together primitivism with higher musical ideals. Moondog's often been called "the father of minimalism" – and while his experiments of the 50s prefaced the work of Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and others, his work was also much more personal, and had an earthy intensity that's still tremendously powerful even decades later! This collection is one of the first to dip into the earliest of Moondog's recordings – his recordings for the Mars, SRC, Brunswick, and Moondog labels – which are presented here alongside selected tracks from his albums for Epic and Prestige, also of similar vintage. Nearly all the tracks here offer a very primitive blend of percussion that's sometimes mixed with unusual woodwind or stringed instruments – nearly all of Moondog's own invention – and the package also features some great notes on his long career, plus some photos that are as gripping as the music itself! Titles include "Down Is Up", "Big Cat", "Bumbo", "Rimshot", "Rabbit Hop", "Instrumental Round", "Be A Hobo", "Dog Trot", "Oasis", "2 W 46th Street", and "Why Spend The Dark Night With You". (Out Sound, Jazz) CD

One of the first larger concept albums from Oliver Nelson – and a set that really marked a strong step forward as a jazz arranger! The album is one long suite – as you might guess from the title – with righteous themes that deal not just with rising independence in postwar Africa, but also the Civil Rights struggle in the US – performed by a superb lineup that includes Jerry Dodgion on alto and flute, Eric Dixon on flute and tenor, Joe Neman and Ernie Royal on trumpets, Melba Liston and Billy Byers on trombones, Patti Brown on piano, Art Davis on bass, and Ray Barretto on congas. Nelson is fantastic too – and blows tenor and alto with some fantastic moments. Passages of the suite include "Disillusioned", "Freedom Dance", "Emancipation Blues", and "Jungleaire". CD

A brilliant meeting of modes from the mighty Arturo O'Farrill – a set that combines a rich tapestry of Cuban styles with American jazz elements from the cubop years and beyond – all into a spacious double-length set of performances that brings together musicians from around the globe, all recording in Havana under Arturo's direction! The tracks are often ambitious, but never overly-complicated – and instead almost take us back to the clarity of vision that we first loved in the older Afro-Cuban experiments of Machito with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie – and the ability of those records to throw out many ideas at once, yet keep things very fluid and forward-moving at all times. Most tunes were written especially for the project – and titles include "Vaca Frita", "Second Line Soca", "El Bombon", "Just One Moment", "The Triumphant Journey", "Afro Latin Jazz Suite", "Guajira Simple", "Alabanza", "Blues Guaguanco", and "There's A Statue Of Jose Marti In Central Park". CD

A landmark of 70s Afro-styled jazz – and the first album by this famous underground collective! Oneness of Juju were a Washington DC-based group that grew out of the ashes of the Juju avant jazz ensemble – formed in the culturally rich African-American community of DC in the 70s, with spiritual and political aspirations that stretched far beyond the average funky combo. This first album is a masterful blend of percussion, jazz, and a slight bit of funk – alternating vocal tracks with harder-hitting jazz instrumentals, all held together under the leadership of sax player Plunky Nakabinde – a reedman whose work here alone is worth the price of admission – laid out nicely alongside some great percussion, Fender Rhodes, and wonderfully worm vocals on a few tracks. The album's one of the greatest independent soul jazz albums of the 70s – and it's filled with great tracks, such as the breakbeat classic "African Rhythms" and "Liberation Dues" – plus "Kazi", "Funky Wood", "Don't Give Up", "Poo Too", and "Incognito". (Global Grooves, Jazz) CD

Some of the earliest work ever from Jaco Pastorius – rare demo recordings, issued in this format for the first time ever – filled to the brim with the kind of groundbreaking basswork that Jaco helped pioneer! Many tracks are relatively spare, and really give you a great chance to hear the special skills that Pastorius brought to his instrument – that level of soloing that was even more deft than most work on horns, and which pushed the instrument into really amazing territory. Other instrumentation includes Fender Rhodes, drums, steel drums, and some percussion from Don Alias – and titles include "Balloon Song", "Pans #1", "Kuru", "Havona/Continuum", "Time Lapse", and "Opus Pocus". CD

An amazing set – the complete early Oscar Peterson recordings for Norman Granz – packaged in a format that's as lovely as the music itself! The work here is the stuff of legend – the tracks that first pushed Peterson into the limelight of American music, and which opened up a whole new side of jazz improvisation! Although Oscar's made many great records over the years, we're really partial to these initial tracks – as they offer up the Peterson genius at its purest, most basic – often presented with only bass for accompaniment, played by Ray Brown or Major Holley – so that you get plenty of space to hear Oscar open up on the keys! The 3CDs come wrapped inside a hardcover book, which itself is in a beautiful slipcover – filled with full notes on the music, and color reproductions of the album covers that originally contained the music – Oscar Peterson At Carnegie Hall, Tenderly, Keyboard, and An Evening With Oscar Peterson – not to mention a wealth of smaller 7" and 10" releases that are also featured here. There's a total of 50 tracks in all – including two previously unissued numbers, and great bonus tracks as well – a true treasure for fans not only of Peterson, but of jazz piano in general! Titles include "Gai", "Padovani", "Fine & Dandy", "Deep Purple", "Squatty Roo", "Little White Lies", "Debut", "Oscar's Blues", "Tico Tico", "What Is It", "Minor Blues", "The Nearness Of You", "Dark Eyes", "Laura", "There's A Small Hotel", "Fancy Free", and "On The Alamo". CD

The first of a series of great "private" recordings that Oscar Peterson did for the MPS label in the late 60s – sessions done at the home of label owner Hans Georg Brunner Schwer, in a laidback and easygoing style that's different than some of his American work of the time! The group on the set features Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums, and the tunes open up nicely on some of the album's longer takes. Titles include "Easy Walker", "Tin Tin Deo", "Like Someone In Love", and "A Foggy Day". CD

A great CD that features 2 of the Art Ensemble's best French recordings! The first part of the CD features the stunning album Les Stances A Sophie – probably the greatest album ever by the Art Ensemble of Chicago – and also one of their rarest! The group's never been finer – and plays with a creative tightness that you'll be hard pressed to find on other records. Some tracks are almost straight jazz – but there's all these wonderful little breakdowns and burst of creative energy that keep the AACM spirit alive and true. The centerpiece of the album is the massive "Theme De Yoyo", a righteous powerful groover that features vocals by Fontella Bass (wife of Lester Bowie of the group), and which has become an all-time jazz dance classic! Other tracks have a sparer soundtracky feel, and a few more are in the experimental vein of the Art Ensemble's other Paris work at the time. Wonderful overall though – and an incredibly righteous album filled with power and imagination! Titles include "Theme De Celine", "Proverbes", "Theme Libra", and "Variations Sur Un Theme De Monteverdi". People In Sorrow is quite a different record – and features one long track, the title cut, with very spare music, and lots of isolated bass work, horn solos, and percussion – played by the quartet of Roscoe Mitchell, Joseph Jarman, Lester Bowie, and Malachi Favors. The track's a nice counterpart to the music on the first part of the disc – long, moody, and almost chillout in nature! CD

Some of the first bop sides cut by Americans in Paris – a quartet of material from four different sessions, issued properly for the first time on CD, with great mastering, and a good set of notes in French and English! Don Byas is at the forefront of two sessions here – one with the Tyree Glenn Orchestra, the other featuring the Don Byas Ree-Boppers – and tracks on those include "Walking Around", "Red Cross", "Cement Mixer", "Mad Monk", "Billie's Bounce", and "The Hour Of Parting". Howard McGhee is next up – with 7 tracks from a rare 1948 session, and titles that include "Big Will", "Donna Lee", "Nicole", "Denise", and "Punkins". Last up are four tunes by James Moody – cut during the prime of his early bop years, in 1949, and done with a nicely modern edge. Titles include "Verso", "Recto", "Oh Well", and "Convulsions". 23 tracks in all! CD