A beautiful set of modal jazz tracks – recorded by the great LA pianist Jack Wilson with a young Roy Ayers! The set is amazing, and features haunting piano and vibes interplay between Ayers and Wilson – in a style that could best be summed up as LA modern modal, but which is also embellished by lots warm, lyrical twists by both of the soloists. The title cut is a totally groovy workout on Ornette Coleman's "Ramblin", and the rest of the set includes Coltrane's "Impressions", Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments", Lee Morgan's "The Sidewinder", and a great 3-part reading of "The Sandpiper". One of our favorite albums from the 60's, and a beautiful document of one of the lesser-known streams of jazz that was coming out of the west coast during the time – and it's key proof that Ayers was an incredible jazz player in his years before moving to soul music! LP, Vinyl record album

Trippy electric fusion from the west coast – a record that features Ponty, who was working with Zappa at the time, playing a set of electric jazz takes on Zappa tunes – with lots of added help from George Duke, who was also working with Zappa too! The set's almost a "birth of fusion" one – with Zappa arrangements that are clearly in a jazz-rock mode – and lots of electric bass, electric piano, and electric violin in the set. Tracks are long, and riff-heavy – and other players include Ernie Watts, Wilton Felder, Buell Neidlinger, and Ian Underwood. Titles include "America Drinks & Goes Home", "Music For Electric Violin & Low Budget Orchestra", "King Kong", and "Twenty Small Cigars". LP, Vinyl record album

Legendary early live work from Miles Davis – one of the first examples on record of the way that Davis could really stretch out in a concert setting! The music's a bit more straight ahead than later live dates, but still pretty open and exploratory – and in addition to Davis' sparkling work on trumpet, the album also features some killer tenor lines from Hank Mobley – working here as a key part of Miles' group, and blowing with a hell of a lot of soul. Rhythm is by the rock-solid trio of Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums – and titles include "All Of You", "No Blues", "Bye Bye" and "Walkin". LP, Vinyl record album

60s Ahmad Jamal in the studio is already pretty darn great – but live, his group is even more amazing – as the pianist is able to stretch out more, and take a lot more chances too – not just in the way he's striking the keys of the piano, but also working with the fantastic rhythms of Jamil Nasser on bass and Frank Gant on drums! The trio have a legendary way of working together – sensing space as much as moments of music – and their work here on this series of unreleased tracks is completely sublime – and maybe one of the best recorded demonstrations of why Jamal was so revolutionary at the time! The mix of new ideas and soulful swing is incredible – and tracks here are mostly nice and long, filled with bold energy throughout – on versions of "Naked City", "Mr Lucky", "Where Is Love", "Dance To The Lady", "Fantastic Vehicle", "Gloria", "Misty", and "Autumn Leaves". LP, Vinyl record album

60s Ahmad Jamal in the studio is already pretty darn great – but live, his group is even more amazing – as the pianist is able to stretch out more, and take a lot more chances too – not just in the way he's striking the keys of the piano, but also working with the fantastic rhythms of Jamil Nasser on bass and Frank Gant on drums! The trio have a legendary way of working together – sensing space as much as moments of music – and their work here on this series of unreleased tracks is completely sublime – and maybe one of the best recorded demonstrations of why Jamal was so revolutionary at the time! The mix of new ideas and soulful swing is incredible – and tracks here are mostly nice and long, filled with bold energy throughout – on versions of "Naked City", "Mr Lucky", "Where Is Love", "Dance To The Lady", "Fantastic Vehicle", "Gloria", "Misty", and "Autumn Leaves". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Sonny Criss' classic albums for Imperial – a brilliant batch of LA bop from the 50s, with an impeccable sound throughout! Criss had a tone like nobody else on the alto – and here, he's at the height of his early powers – neither blowing too hard, nor going for boppish tricks – and instead settling into an amazing groove with a sense of power, confidence, and extreme "rightness" as to his choice of notes! The album's right on the money throughout – exactly the kind of set that lives up to our lifetime devotion to Sonny's music – and the whole thing's great, with tracks that include "West Coast Blues", "Criss Cross", "Ham's Blues", and "Blue Friday". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest records ever issued on Galt MacDermot's legendary Kilmarnock label – a selection of songs and poems by Harlem school children, set to music by Galt, and sung by vocalist Angela Ortega! Given that Galt's handling the music, you can bet that there's plenty of nicely funky touches at the bottom – supported by rolling bass, snapping drums, and nice use of organ. But the real charm of the tunes comes from the lyrics, which have a simple and to the point way of dealing with issues of racism, poverty, drugs, and other issues of the time. There's a very groovy feel here that almost reminds us of the best of Schoolhouse Rock at times – except that the lyrics are perhaps even more pointed, and surprisingly gripping after all these years. Titles include "Black Is Beautiful", "Drugs", "Slums", "Evil Hands", "Cry Sound", and "Set Us Free". LP, Vinyl record album

The front cover might look a bit dramatic, but the set's got a warm and wonderful feel – lean, soulful instrumentation from a Finnish trio that features Aleksi Heinola on drums, Temu Akerblom on bass, and Marku Holkko on reeds and flute – coming together with this gentle groove that's got a subtle glow all the way through! The music of Holkko is sometimes in a familiar mode, with sax or flute lines snaking through over the grooves – sometimes a bit more laidback and textural – and there's clearly some other instrumentation on the record that warms up the sound from time to time, including a bit of uncredited keyboards. Titles include "Blue Sitar", "Joyous Water", "Hunting Heads", "Waves Of Sound", "Friday Gig", "Momentum Finale", "Amboseli", and "Little Dandelion". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of classic live albums! First up is Thelonious Monk Orchestra At Town Hall – a unique large group effort from Thelonious Monk – but one that bristles with all the angular energy of his other great work for Riverside! The group here is a tentet – filled with excellent players who include Donald Byrd, Phil Woods, Pepper Adams, Eddie Bert, Robert Northern, and Charlie Rouse – all supported by rhythm from the team of Sam Jones on bass and Art Taylor on drums, possibly one of the key factors for the success of the record! The album's comprised of Monk classics like "Little Rootie Tootie", "Thelonious", "Friday The 13th", "Off Minor", "Crepuscule with Nellie" and "Monk's Mood" – all arranged by Hall Overton, a little-remembered modernist from the 50s, but one with a keen dedication towards pushing new sounds from old formats! Overton really keeps the spirit of Monk's music intact here – penning charts that allow for plenty of solo space and the kind of cross-trading lines you'd hear in some of Monk's best multi-horn small group sides for Riverside! Next is Thelonious Monk Quartet Plus Two At The Blackhawk – a stunning pre-Columbia session from Thelonious Monk – a really great live date that has Monk's familiar quartet augmented by west coast players Joe Gordon on trumpet and Harold Land on tenor! Given that Charlie Rouse is already in the group on tenor, the addition of Land's horn makes for a very soulful set – and Gordon's one of those players we love whenever we get a chance to hear him on record, which isn't that often, given how few sessions he cut! Other players include John Ore on bass and Billy Higgins on drums – and titles include "Four In One", "Let's Call This", and "Worry Later". LP, Vinyl record album

A unique large group effort from Thelonious Monk – but one that bristles with all the angular energy of his other great work for Riverside! The group here is a tentet – filled with excellent players who include Donald Byrd, Phil Woods, Pepper Adams, Eddie Bert, Robert Northern, and Charlie Rouse – all supported by rhythm from the team of Sam Jones on bass and Art Taylor on drums, possibly one of the key factors for the success of the record! The album's comprised of Monk classics like "Little Rootie Tootie", "Thelonious", "Friday The 13th", "Off Minor", "Crepuscule with Nellie" and "Monk's Mood" – all arranged by Hall Overton, a little-remembered modernist from the 50s, but one with a keen dedication towards pushing new sounds from old formats! Overton really keeps the spirit of Monk's music intact here – penning charts that allow for plenty of solo space and the kind of cross-trading lines you'd hear in some of Monk's best multi-horn small group sides for Riverside! LP, Vinyl record album

There were three sets of musicians that played with Monk for these recordings and they include Sonny Rollins on tenor sax, Percy Heath on bass, Art Blakey on drums and Julius Watkins on French horn. The tracks are "The Way You Look Tonight", "I Want To Be Happy", "Work", "Nutty", and "Friday The Thirteenth". LP, Vinyl record album