Sublime duets between Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock – both 70s masters of the keyboard, but working here in an acoustic setting that's a great reminder of the talents both musicians had at the start! The tracks are very long, and balance structure with a lot of improvised intensity – often at a level that recalls some of the longform acoustic trio work that Herbie recorded for the Japanese market in the 70s, mixed with some of the sharper edges that Corea brought to his avant styles from the decade before! The presentation is wonderful – a very ear-opening record for fans of both artists – and titles include "Homecoming", "Bouquet", "The Hook", "Ostinato", "La Fiesta", and "Maiden Voyage". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime duets between Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock – both 70s masters of the keyboard, but working here in an acoustic setting that's a great reminder of the talents both musicians had at the start! The tracks are very long, and balance structure with a lot of improvised intensity – often at a level that recalls some of the longform acoustic trio work that Herbie recorded for the Japanese market in the 70s, mixed with some of the sharper edges that Corea brought to his avant styles from the decade before! The presentation is wonderful – a very ear-opening record for fans of both artists – and titles include "Homecoming", "Bouquet", "The Hook", "Ostinato", "La Fiesta", and "Maiden Voyage". CD

The title here might not roll off the tongue, but the set's full of fantastic funky sounds that will have you fast forgetting you can barely speak the name of the record! Henryk Debich is one of the true European sound library greats of the 70s – but unlike his better-known contemporaries in London, Paris, and Rome, he did most of his work behind the Iron Curtain, for an assortment of radio and TV productions that were never shown on Western screens! Yet with work like this, Debich proves that he's got all the chops of soundtrack and film score greats like Lalo Schifrin or Quincy Jones – as the music is full of great funky rhythms at the core, plenty of riffing guitar and keyboard solos, and even a few more sensitive jazz-based moments too. The set's one of the first to expose the music of Henryk to a larger audience, and as such features notes in English and Polish – alongside cuts that include "Puma", "Wampiry", "Sjesta", "Zblizenie", "Marzanna", "Ostinato Riff", "Blyski I Ciene", and "Wewnatrz I Na Zewnatrz". (Sound Library, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

Bracingly modern work from trumpeter Don Ellis – recorded quite early in his career, long before he broke out with his funkier big band of the late 60s and early 70s! The Ellis heard here is a clear-headed, fresh-thinking player – one who's keenly aware of the changes going on in jazz at the time – and who's working here to carve out his own unique little space. Unusual timings, phrasing, and spacings are common on the set – and Ellis' own well-tuned trumpet sound is at the lead, supported by very inventive rhythm work from Paul Bley on piano, Gary Peacock on bass, and either Gene Stone or Nick Martinis on drums. Titles include the original numbers "Form", "Irony", "Slow Space", and "Ostinato" – plus a great version of Carla Bley's "Donkey". CD

An excellent session that was one of Herbie Hancock's first free-flowing fusion records of the 70s! Herbie's playing Fender Rhodes with a sound that's at once cosmically beautiful, soulfully fragile, and spacily grooving – and he gets some excellent accompaniment from an all-hip group of players that includes Benny Maupin on bass clarinet and flute, Buster Williams on bass, Eddie Henderson on trumpet, and Julian Priester on trombone – plus percussion from Jose Areas and Ndugu Chancler. The roots of later classics like Sextet and Flood all start with this session – and the album contains 3 long tracks – "You'll Know When You Get There", "Ostinato", and "Wandering Sprit Song". LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal sides from Herbie Hancock – amazing material recorded for Warner Brothers in the years between his time at Blue Note and his big fame at Columbia Records – all sides that definitely show Hancock as one mighty righteous cat! Herbie's really stretching past his more conventional jazz of earlier years here – working both with a bit more electricity in his keys, and some larger arrangements that have a wonderful sense of flow and funk – a groove that definitely puts Hancock on a par with Quincy Jones at his funky best during the early 70s! The album's filled with great grooves pulled from the Warner Brothers albums by Hancock – including some quite long numbers – titles that include the funky nuggets "Wiggle Waggle", "Lil Brother", and "Tell Me A Bedtime Story" – plus "Sleeping Giant", "Crossings", "Quazar", "Ostinato", and "You'll Know When You Get There". CD

Seminal sides from Herbie Hancock – amazing material recorded for Warner Brothers in the years between his time at Blue Note and his big fame at Columbia Records – all sides that definitely show Hancock as one mighty righteous cat! Herbie's really stretching past his more conventional jazz of earlier years here – working both with a bit more electricity in his keys, and some larger arrangements that have a wonderful sense of flow and funk – a groove that definitely puts Hancock on a par with Quincy Jones at his funky best during the early 70s! The album's filled with great grooves pulled from the Warner Brothers albums by Hancock – including some quite long numbers – titles that include the funky nuggets "Wiggle Waggle", "Lil Brother", and "Tell Me A Bedtime Story" – plus "Sleeping Giant", "Crossings", "Quazar", "Ostinato", and "You'll Know When You Get There". LP, Vinyl record album

Although Nelson went onto become a very successful pop jazz arranger during the 1960s, this early 1959 album features him as a bright new jazz soloist – with a keen talent for blowing the alto with a tone that is at once soulful and lyrical, yet somehow darkly edgey. The session features a strong hardbop lineup – with Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Ray Bryant on piano, and Art Taylor on drums – and it's a nice tightening up of the looser blowing session format heard on Prestige a few years before. Titles include "Ostinato", "Jams & Jellies", "Don't Stand Up", and "Booze Blues Baby". CD

Although Nelson went on to become a very successful pop jazz arranger during the 1960s, this early 1959 album features him as a bright new jazz soloist – with a keen talent for blowing the alto with a tone that is at once soulful and lyrical, yet somehow darkly edgey. The session features a strong hardbop lineup – with Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Ray Bryant on piano, and Art Taylor on drums – and it's a nice tightening up of the looser blowing session format heard on Prestige a few years before. Titles include "Ostinato", "Jams & Jellies", "Don't Stand Up", and "Booze Blues Baby". LP, Vinyl record album