Just a few of the songs here are from the 60s, and many of the rest are written by Gaetano Partipilo himself – and mixed with a few Brazilian numbers as well – all to round out a wonderfully rich sounding album that really lives up to the best Schema tradition! Instrumentation is mostly live jazz – played by Gaetano on alto sax, as well as Nicola Conte on guitar, Pietro Lusso on Fender Rhodes, Pasquale Bardaro on vibes, and Fabrizio Bosso on trumpet – but maybe best of all are the vocals, which shift a bit over the course of the record, and include raspy soul lines from MR Natural, and warmer female vocals from Alice Ricciardi, Heidi Vogel, and Rosalia De Souza. Half the tracks are instrumentals, and the mix of modes really makes the album great – never settled too far into one comfortable corner, and really taking the listener on a great journey overall! Titles include "Essa Mulher", "Se Voce Pensa", "Beyond The Days", "Jive Samba", "Right Now", "13 Death March", "Wall & Water", "Atras Da Porta", "The Sticks", "Moon Flower", and "Ocean Dance". CD

A tremendous step forward for the young Muhal Richard Abrams – a set that still shows his early roots in the AACM, but which also blossoms with some of his more serious compositional efforts to come! There's a sensitivity here that really stands out – even among Abrams' contemporaries – a striving for a wider range of expression – some as bold as before, some much more deeply personal and intimate. The tracks feature a shifting array of players – working alongside Abrams piano, and building up the sound in a number of different ways. Players include Wallace McMillan on flute and sax, Edwin Daugherty on sax, Richard Brown on sax, Emanuel Cranshaw on vibes, Rufus Reid on bass, and Steve McCall and Wilbur Campbell on drums. Ella Jackson provides vocals on "How Are You?" – and other titles include "Ballad For New Souls", "Things To Come From Those Now Gone", "In Retrospect", "Ballad For Old Souls", "1 & 4 Plus 2 & 7", and "March Of The Transients". CD

A fantastic presentation of legendary live material from the team of Miles Davis and John Coltrane – taken from the last concert tour the pair ever did together, and presented here with beautifully stunning sound! The European dates in 1960 were all part of a larger Jazz At The Philharmonic tour – which meant that Norman Granz was on hand to do a great job of capturing the material, which is then given extra-special treatment here for the reissue! Some of these sides have been issued on dodgy overseas collections over the years, but this is the first time all this material has been presented together, and so well – a tremendous illustration of the long solo genius of both Davis and Coltrane, with support from Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums. All tracks are very long – and the set features 8 tracks from the Paris concert on March 21, 5 tracks from the Copenhagen concert on March 24, and 9 from the Stockholm concert on March 22. There's also an interview with Coltrane, conducted during the tour – and titles include "Round Midnight", "On Green Dolphin Street", "All Of You", "So What", "Fran Dance", "Walkin", "All Blues", "Bye Bye Blackbird", and "Oleo". CD

A stunner from Bill Barron! The set's one of the few rare sides that Barron cut as a leader during the early 60s – and it ranks right up there with work by Ornette Coleman or Joe Harriott for sheer raw modern power! The group's a quintet – with Barron and Booker Ervin on tenor, Larry Ridley on bass, Kenny Barron on piano, and Andrew Cyrille on drums – and the warm interplay between Ridley's bass and Barron's piano provides a striking contrast to the sharp-edged horn of Barron and the adventurous drumming of Cyrille. Tracks chop around in a modal groove, but still also retain a bit of soul jazz flair – and like all of Barron's best work, they never forget how to swing, and swing they do! Titles include "Bill's Boogie", "Groovin", "A Cool One", "Playhouse March", and "Work Song". CD

The godlike genius of guitarist Wes Montgomery – served up in some of the best recordings from that 60s period when he really found his groove! Although Wes first sounding great in a small combo setting, working with strong soul jazz touches that showed his Indianapolis roots – as the 60s moved on, he started to hit a sweeter, more sweeping approach to jazz – one that was often augmented by larger arrangements, but which still let the best focus fall on his amazing approach to the strings of the guitar – a style that was filled with rich colors and tones, but which also carried a slightly raspy undercurrent and a subtle sense of darkness. The Montgomery genius is hard to sum up in words (although we've tried!) – but the compilers of this set definitely know how to sum it up in music, and they've really done a great job of collecting Wes' best Verve and A&M sides from this time. Titles include "Impressions", "Movin Wes (part 1)", "Bumpin On Sunset", "Day In The Life", "Shadow Of Your Smile", "Up & At It", "Caravan", "13 (Death March)", "OGD (Road Song)", "Tequila", "The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener", and "Milestones". CD