Groundbreaking Latin Jazz – and an essential 2LP set! The album brings together classic work for Norman Granz' Verve and Clef labels in the cubop mode – including Dizzy Gillespie's Manteca Suite, Machito's Afro-Cuban Suite, titles by Chico O'Farrill, and others recorded in 1949 and arranged by Rene Hernandez. Players include Machito, Charlie Parker, Diz, Mario Bauza, Eddie Bert, Flip Phillips, Chano Pozo, and Jos Mangual – and the quality of the work unifies the sessions wonderfully, even though they were recorded separately over a 5 year period. (Latin, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A great Dizzy Gillespie Latin session recorded during the mid 70s – proof that he could still hold onto the cubop spirit of the old days! The session features a larger group arranged and conducted by Chico O'Farril – who manages to keep a solidly Cuban groove at the base, but really let Dizzy open up with some broader horn flourishes at the top. Given the quality of actual Cuban jazz at the time, this set may well beat most of what was going on in Havana – thanks to solid solos from Dizzy, and backings from a group led by Machito, and featuring players who include Mario Bauza, Jorge Dalto, Manny Duran, Mauricio Smith, and Victor Paz. Side one features the extended "Oro, Incienso y Mirra", and side two is a 3-part suite, "Three Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods". CD

A great Dizzy Gillespie Latin session recorded during the mid 70s – proof that he could still hold onto the cubop spirit of the old days! The session features a larger group arranged and conducted by Chico O'Farril – who manages to keep a solidly Cuban groove at the base, but really let Dizzy open up with some broader horn flourishes at the top. Given the quality of actual Cuban jazz at the time, this set may well beat most of what was going on in Havana – thanks to solid solos from Dizzy, and backings from a group led by Machito, and featuring players who include Mario Bauza, Jorge Dalto, Manny Duran, Mauricio Smith, and Victor Paz. Side one features the extended "Oro, Incienso y Mirra", and side two is a 3-part suite, "Three Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods". LP, Vinyl record album

(Latin, Jazz) CD

Titles include "Asia Minor", "Liorra Timbero", "Desert Dance", "Jungle Drums", and "Gone City". (Latin, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic package – a must-have for any fan of older jazz! This CD set reissues material originally packaged in the rare Jazz Scene box set issued by Verve at the end of the 40s – a limited package of 78rpm singles that documented the styles and sounds of modern jazz at the time, filled with great drawings and photos, and one of those super-rare collectibles that you never ever see! This set does a fantastic job of re-presenting the material – filling one CD with tracks in the original box set, and a whole other CD with bonus material that was never issued at the time! Plus, it comes with great notes, reproductions of the original art, photos, and a whole lot more. It's a rare treasure both visually and musically – as the edgey recordings are in the best late 40s modern mode, blending bop, swing, and influences from other fields – really incredible work that deserves to be heard again and again! Titles include "Introspection" by Ralph Burns, "Sono" by Duke Ellington, "Swingin For Julie & Brownie" by Flip Phillips, "Spring In Naples" by Ralph Burns, "Tailspin" by Billy Strayhorn, "Tea For Two" by Willie Smith, and "Tanga" by Machito. CD

Music from Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Machito, Johnny Hodges, Benny Carter, Flip Phillips, Anita O'Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Blossom Dearie, Mel Torme, Jimmy Giuffre, Lee Konitz, and more. CD

A great set of tracks – even if it is a discographer's nightmare! 12 tracks on the album are from a session originally done under the name of Machito – and features Herbie as the main soloist, over a set of wonderfully lush Latin jazz backings! The feel is nicely exotic – right up there with Herbie's best work of this nature, and done with a heavy groove, thanks to Machito's touch – sounding very similar to his legendary Kenya album. The remaining 8 tracks on the set are pulled from a late 50s session for the tiny Mode label – a tasty bit of west coast jazz that has a very different feel than the Machito material, but which is equally nice! Herbie plays piccolo and tenor in addition to flute – working with a small group that includes Jimmy Rowles, Mel Lewis, and Buddy Colette. Titles on the CD include "Answer Me", "Give A Little Whistle", "Bacao", "Perdido", "Afternoon Death", "Brazilian Soft Shoe", "African Flute", "The Davis Cup", and "Carabunta". CD

A jazz treasure chest – an extraordinary bounty of Bird on Verve! You get absolutely everything here, master takes, alternate takes, loads of previously unissued material, rehearsals, incomplete takes, you get it all! Sidemen include Benny Carter, Kenny Clarke, Miles Davis, Roy Eldridge, Gil Evans, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Hodges, John Lewis, Machito, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Buddy Rich, Max Roach, Ben Webster and Lester Young. There's 177 (!!) tracks in all, so we can't list all the titles here, but some of them include "Blues For Norman", "The Bird", "Repetition", "No Noise", "Okiedoke", "The Opener", "Lester Leaps In", "Flyin' Home", "Perdido", "Everything Happens To Me", "April In Paris", "Summertime", "I Didn't Know What Time It Was", "Bloomdido", "Mohawk", "My Melancholy Baby", "Leapfrog", "East Of The Sun", "I'll Remember April", "Au Privave", "KC Blues", "Swedish Schnapps", "Estrellita", "Funky Blues", "Jam Blues", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", and "Love For Sale". CD

Seminal session that was virtually one of the only west coast attempts to replicate the famous "cubop" mix of bebop and Latin that had been evolving over the years in the New York scene. Machito percussionists like Jose Mangual and Ubaldo Nieto join a west coast group that includes alto player Frank Morgan, trumpeter Conte Candoli, pianist Carl Perkins, and other LA boppers. The back of the record proclaims that with the death of Charlie Parker, someone must step in as the new bop genius – and Morgan does a capable job on tracks like "Wippet", "Chooch", "The Champ", and "Bernie's Tune" – and on the record's non-Latin numbers, included here to expand the release to a 12" format. LP, Vinyl record album

An early 80s look at Latin jazz from David Amram – with a who's who of Latin jazz players and stellar jazz musicians of other realms – including Paquito D'Riveria, Candido, Machito & Machito Jr, Brazilian percussion guru Duduca Fonseca, David Fathead Newman, Jimmy Knepper, Pepper Adams and others others! What could have come out as clinical or academic comes through with passion and affection, partly because Amram could get such incredible players on the record, but mostly because the multi-instrumentalist ring leader is genuinely celebrating the music rather than simply replicating it. Includes "En Memoria De Chano Pozo, "New York Charanga", "Brazilian Memories", "Celebration", "Song Of The Rainforest" and more. CD

A classic album from one of the hippest groups on the UK scene of the 50s – Kenny Graham's excellent Afro-Cubists ensemble – an outfit with a sound as great as its name! There's a fair bit of percussion in the approach here – a sound that's definitely informed by the Cubop experiments of Dizzy Gillespie, Machito, and others on the US scene at the end of the 40s – and the music also features some slightly more exotic touches too, served up with an especially well-arranged approach to the horns. In addition to Graham's strong work on tenor, other players on the date include Stan Tracey on piano and vibes, Joe Hunter on trumpet, and Phil Seamen on drums – on titles that include "I'll Get By", "Olwen's Dream", "Swallowin The Blues", "Cuban Fantasy", "Rockin In Rhythm", and "Bongo Chant". CD features 4 bonus tracks – 2 from the album Tenorama, "Teddy Boy" and "Poinciana" – and 2 more from All The Winners, "Mood Indigo" and "Top Score" – played by the Melody Maker All Stars. 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

Believe it or not, this is a crackling batch of Latin jazz tracks, featuring the alto solos of Charlie Parker and (more importantly) the arranging genius of the great Chico O'Farrill. The material was originally issued on a number of different 10" jazz LPs – some under Parker's name, some under Machito's name – and this beautifully packaged CD does an excellent job of bringing all the material together in an excellent way. Parker's sound is amazingly intense, and it's driven to new and different heights by the pounding Latin rhythms of the group. The CD includes the full 17 minute version of O'Farrill's "Afro Cuban Suite", plus the shorter tracks "Un Poquito De Tu Amor", "Estrellita", "Mango Mangue", and "Okiedoke". Great great great stuff, and the kind of "jazz meets Latin" session that blows away any expectations you might have! CD

The legendary Norman Granz Jazz Scene collection – a limited package of that documented the styles and sounds of modern jazz at the time, one of those super-rare collectibles that you never ever see! A rare treasure both visually and musically – as the edgey recordings are in the best late 40s modern mode, blending bop, swing, and influences from other fields – really incredible work that deserves to be heard again and again! Features work by Charlie Parker, Willie Smith, Bud Powell, Machito, Duke Ellington, Ralph Burns, Lester Young, Neal Hefti, and Coleman Hawkins! LP, Vinyl record album

First volume in Verve's LP collection of Parker's work recorded by Norman Granz, with a mix of tracks that includes some quartet and small group material, some recorded with strings and a couple recorded with Machito & His Orchestra. 15 tracks in all, including "April In Paris", "What Is This Thing called Love", "Lover Man", "Back Home blues", "Passport", "My Little Suede Shoes", "Mango Mangue", "In The Still Of The Night" and "Old Folks". LP, Vinyl record album

A great record – or half-great, as the case may be! One part of this album features Billy with his standard trio of Earl May and Percy Brice, playing mellow piano trio versions of tracks that include "Tune For Tex", "Goodbye", "Biddy's Beat", and "Eddie's Theme". Those cuts are fine, but the real strength of the album lies on the last 4 cuts – all killer Latin jazz numbers cut with a rhythm section that includes Machito, Jose Mangual, Charlie Smith, and Uba Nieto. The added conga, bongos, and timbales really make the tracks groove – and you'll find yourself coming back to "I Love To Mambo", "Mambo Azul", "Early Morning Mambo", and "Candido" more than you will the rest of the record. CD