Darkly beautiful work from singer June Christy – a lesser-remembered gem from the end of her years at Capitol Records! The mood here is very much in keeping with the "night people" setting of the title – a lonely space of empty streets, open windows, and late night saloons – first brought to record so beautifully by June on the Something Cool album, and wonderfully revisited in this fantastic set! Arrangements are by husband Bob Cooper, and although they're a bit less arch-modern than some of Christy's work with Pete Rugolo, they still really get at the boozy genius of June's vocals at their best. Titles include "I Had A Little Sorrow", "Night People", "Make Love To Me", "Shadow Woman", "My Ship", and "Kissing Bug". CD also features 5 bonus tracks from the Do Re Mi album – including "Make Someone Happy", "Asking For You", and "All You Need Is A Quarter". (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

Miles Davis in the early 80s – but still sounding pretty darn great, and somehow managing to take some of his best elements from the 70s and refine them into a slightly more focused groove! The tracks here are shorter than before – no side-long jams at all – but they definitely bristle with slight undercurrents of noise, and have some unbridled rhythms that make for a good sense of energy. Added to these are a few more (then) contemporary touches – a very slight update of Miles' older funk, but never in a slick or commercial way – and still cerebral enough to show the world that Davis wasn't selling out late in the day. Miles plays a bit of keyboards in addition to trumpet – and other players include Bill Evans on saxophones, John Scofield on guitar, Marcus Miller on bass, and Al Foster on drums. Titles include "Come Get It", "It Gets Better", "Speak", "Star People", "U N I", and "Star On Cicely". CD

A really unusual album from bassist William Parker – an artist whose musical world is usually quite far from the 70s soul of Curtis Mayfield – even though both Mayfield and Parker are pretty darn righteous individuals! Yet here, Curtis and William come together in a stunning way – as Parker reworks classic Mayfield songs, and transforms them into fantastic vehicles for spiritual jazz expression! The group has a warmly collaborative vibe, and energy that feels like some lost indie jazz project from the 70s – all held together by Parker's bold acoustic bass and masterful leadership – in a lineup that includes vocals from Leena Conquest, piano from Dave Burrell, saxes and flute from Sabir Mateen, tenor and soprano from Darryl Foster, trumpet from Lewis Barnes, drums from Hamid Drake, and poetry and voice from Amari Baraka. With a lineup like that, you can already guess the vibe – and we can promise that the whole is even better than you might have hoped! Titles include "I Plan To Stay A Believer", "If There's A Hell Below", "This Is My Country", "People Get Ready/The Inside Song", "It's Alright", "Freddie's Dead", "New World Order", and a great 17 minute take on "We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue". CD

Two great albums from Lucky Thompson! First up is Plays Jerome Kern – wonderful work from that early 60s moment when Lucky Thompson was really opening up with a newly soulful sound – and mixing in some great soprano sax work with his tenor! The tunes are familiar, but the execution is wonderful – Lucky blowing easily in a quartet with Hank Jones on piano, Wendell Marshall on bass, and Dave Bailey on drums – the last of whom really keeps things moving, even when mellow. Titles include " Long Ago And Far Away", "Lovely To Look At", "No More", "Look For The Silver Lining", "Who", "Dearly Beloved", "Why Do I Love You", "Why Was I Born", and "They Didn't Believe Me". Happy Days is an overlooked gem from Lucky Thompson's mid 60s years – that wonderful time when he'd returned to the fold even stronger than ever – filled with hip new musical ideas, and a great command for the soprano sax! This set's got Lucky working on both soprano and tenor, both of which are handled with these angular, soulful tones that are totally great – right at home in a group that features Tommy Flanagan on piano, George Tucker on bass, and Walter Perkins on drums – all marvelously sensitive rhythm accompanists. Jack Melady adds harp on 2 tracks on the set – a very nice touch – and titles include "Safari", "Cry Me A River", "People", "You Don't Know What Love Is", and "As Time Goes By". CD

One of the most beautiful albums ever recorded by this legendary AACM pianist! The album was a rare Japanese-only session from 1975, but recorded in Chicago – and it features Muhal playing solo – in beautifully warm spiritual tones that are very different from his playing on many other albums from the time. The work is wonderfully introspective, showing a whole new side to Abrams' genius – the sensitive, contemplative keyboardist who occasionally emerges during some of Abrams' larger group sessions, but who usually gets pushed back in the fray of larger instrumental interplay. The whole album's extremely beautiful, and it's darn near impossible to find in the original! Tracks include "Afrisong", "The Infinitive Flow", "Hymn To The East", "Roots", and "The New People". CD

A real lost treasure from Pacific Jazz – a rare late 50s west coast session from Pepper Adams, featuring the amazing baritonist in a group with Lee Katzman on trumpet, Jimmy Rowles on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Mel Lewis on drums! The sound is incredible – on a par with that rare few of Adams' other magnificent albums as a leader – modern, yet soulful, and with a fluid feel that makes it hard to believe that Pepper's working with a baritone sax. Adams' work is always top-shelf, but this album's an even further cut above – and its proof that Pepper was one of the strongest talents burning in jazz in the late 50s! Tracks are all longish, and feature some nice unusual numbers that include "Minor Mishap", "Blackout Blues", "High Step", "5021", and "Zec". CD also features the bonus track "Four Funky People". CD

2 early experiments by Cannonball Adderley – both of which feature him as the main soloists in front of larger backings! Jump For Joy is an interesting early side by Cannonball that captures him before he'd really found his voice – and when the folks at Mercury still didn't really know what to do with him. The record's a tightly arranged set of tracks from Duke Ellington's musical "Jump For Joy" – with arrangements by Bill Russo, and small group playing that includes Emmett Berry, Bill Evans, Barry Gabraith, Jimmy Cobb, and a small string section. The sound's actually quite haunting – and Cannon's alto solos remind us more of some of the best "with strings" soloing heard on Verve in the early 50s than they do his later soul jazz classics on Riverside or Capitol. That's ok with us, though – because the session's still got a lot to offer in that respect, and Cannonball handles the solos wonderfully! Titles include "Bli Blip", "Just Squeeze Me", "Nothin", and "The Tune Of The Hickory Stick". Cannonball & Strings features Adderley's beautifully edgey alto sliding nicely through a set of standards conducted by Richard Hayman. The album's not as strikingly emotive as other Verve "with strings"outings – such as the Charlie Parker & Strings sessions – but it is a great platform for the youthful Cannonball to do more than wail in a soul jazz kind of way, and it unlocks a much more thoughtful, introspective side of his playing not usually heard on record. A nice divergence from the usual – with titles that include "I Cover The Waterfront", "Two Sleepy People", "I'll Never Stop Loving You", and "Street Of Dreams". CD features 22 titles in all. CD

A great second pairing of this hip team – further proof that Tony Bennett was a hell of a jazz singer when he wanted to be! Titles include "You're Nearer", "Lonely Girl", "You Must Believe In Spring", "Two Lonely People", and "The Bad & The Beautiful". (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

The last-ever live performance of the legendary Dave Brubeck Quartet with Paul Desmond – recorded in 1967, but issued here for the first time ever! The group was the stuff of legend in the 50s and 60s – Dave's incredible approach to piano and time signatures, supported by amazing rhythm progressions from bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello – topped by some completely sublime work on alto sax by the mighty Paul Desmond! Throughout the 60s, the group really expanded their sound wonderfully – through a set of richly exploratory albums for Columbia Records, taking their core approach into a wide range of new styles and formats that really made for some beautiful music. Here, they deliver a stellar swan song – working in a live performance that brings back a few classics, and also shows some of the new territory they'd taken too – all recorded beautifully, at a level that makes the record a perfect pairing with their studio albums for Columbia – almost as if the label had been holding back a gem after all these years. Titles include "For Drummers Only", "La Paloma Azul", "Three To Get Ready", "Someday My Prince Will Come", "I'm In A Dancing Mood", "Set My People Free", "Take Five", and "You Go To My Head". CD

Stan Getz on tenor, accompanied by Kenny Barron on piano, Ray Drummond on bass, and Ben Riley on drums. Tracks include "Joanne Julia", "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", "Yesterdays", and "People Time". CD

Groundbreaking trio work from the great Jimmy Giuffre – an album that cut loose both the piano and the drums – in a way that took Gerry Mulligan's earlier rhythm-less experiments with jazz, and pushed them one degree further! The group on the session features Giuffre on clarinet, tenor, and baritone sax – alongside the guitar of Jim Hall and bass of Ralph Pena – all working together with no other accompaniment, but in a way that's as swinging as it is airy – an amazing exercise in tone, color, and control! The sound is out of this world, and the notes just hang lightly in air – beautifully dancing around one another. Titles include "Voodoo", "Train & The River", "My All", "Crawdad Suite", and "Two Kinds Of Blues". Travelin' Light is one of the most sublime Jimmy Giuffre albums of all time – and a perfect realization of his piano-less/bass-less trio style! The approach here is really revolutionary, especially for the time – as the group simply features Bob Brookmeyer on trombone, Jim Hall on guitar, and Giuffre on reeds. The titles are a mix of standards and originals – but all tracks sound completely unique, with a sound unlike anything else we can describe – and titles include "Swamp People", "Lonely Time", "Green Country", and "Travelin Light". CD

A real standout in the career of guitarist Grant Green – and that's really saying a lot, as every one of his albums is pretty darn special! The set's a trio date, but it's very different than the mode that Grant was using just a few years before – as it's an early pairing with organist Larry Young, and both players take off in all these really wonderful new directions – working with just the drums of Elvin Jones for accompaniment, a player whose Coltrane-trained sense of rhythm brings Green and Young to the height of their early powers! The songs are open and loose, and the set includes two killer early Young compositions – "Talkin About JC" and "Luny Tune" – plus takes on "People", "I'm An Old Cowhand", and "You Don't Know What Love Is". CD

A bold little set from Steve Grossman – a record that's nicely poised between his frenetic work of the 70s and mellower moments of later years – done in quartet formation, but with plenty of focus on Steve's wonderful tenor, especially on the longer tracks! There's a very nice "bit" in Grossman's reed on most of the numbers here – a sound that's not as screeching as on his 70s dates, but which often hints at that direction, then swings back into a rounder, fuller tone on the horn. Backing is by Takehiro Honda on piano, Masahiro Yoshida on drums, and either Hideo Kawahara or Yasushi Yoneki on bass – on titles that include "Taurus People", "Soultrane", "Katonah", and "Afternoon In Paris". CD

Includes the tracks "Watermelon Man", "'Round Midnight", "Cantaloupe Island", "Maiden Voyage", "Circle", "The Sorcerer", "Tell Me A Bedtime Story", "Hidden Shadows", "Chameleon", "Joanna's Theme", "Butterfly", "People Music", "Milestones", "4 A.M.", "Come Running To Me", "Finger Painting", "Stars In Your Eyes", "Rockit", "St. Louis Blues", and "Manhattan". CD

A beautiful later Blue Note album from vibist Bobby Hutcherson – a set recorded after his famous association with Harold Land, but with a groove that's wonderfully soulful in a whole different way! Bobby plays marimbas instead of vibes this time around, and he's working with his own arrangements for a slightly larger group – one that has some sweet fusion overtones, and these wonderful mellow funk inflections – so that even the mellow cuts have this warmly glowing, ultra-soulful sound that's mighty nice – a bit like some of the work from Gene Harris around the same time. Other players include Jerry Peters on Fender Rhodes, who also helped out with the arrangements – plus Harvey Mason on drums and Ernie Watts on reeds – and a few tracks feature sweet backing vocals from The Waters. The highlight here is a nice moody extended version of "People Make The World Go Round", but all cuts are great, and titles include "Silver Rondo", "Manzanita", "NTU", and his dark cover of "Theme From MASH". CD

One of those 90s albums that really made people sit up and take notice of saxophonist Joe Lovano – a musician who'd been appearing on records since the 70s, but who finally got the due he deserved when Blue Note let him open up like this! The album's got a relatively loose, open vibe – almost free, but still swinging at most points – as Joe blows tenor, soprano, and straight alto sax in a trio with the great bassist Dave Holland, the the legendary Elvin Jones on drums! In some way, the record's an extension of that vibe that Jones had in the early 70s – when he's really let a strong reed player take the lead, while also egging him on with his boundless energy – interplay that definitely happens here, on titles that include "New York Fascination", "Eternal Joy", "Villa Paradiso", "Days Of Yore", "4 On The Floor", and "Studio Rivbea". CD

2 of Harold Mabern's best albums for Prestige on one CD! First up is the soulful laidback album Workin & Wailin, which features some excellent extended tracks that let Mabern show his deep Memphis roots. Idris Muhammad's on drums, and the titles include "Strozier's Mood", "Waltzing Westward", and "Blues For Phineas". The next album's the great rare Greasy Kid Stuff, which has more of a harder funk feel, and which features some very nice playing by Lee Morgan and Boogaloo Joe Jones. Titles on that one include "Greasy Kid Stuff", "Alex The Great", "I Want You Back", and the mellowly beautiful "John Neely-Beautiful People". Both records are great, and this CD's an excellent introduction to the amazing soul jazz piano work of one of our favorite artists from the 60s! CD

Includes the songs "Unsaid (6)", "I'm Glad You're Glad", "One Symphony ?- Part 3 (Excerpt)", "Introductions", "Love Ends (Excerpt)", "Understanding", "Solitudine/Lontano/L'Illuminata Rugiada/Proverbi", "Speechless", "Folly Seeing All This (Excerpt)", "PSS", "Comrade (Excerpt)", "A l'Abattoir", "When I Run", "Alien ?- Part 1 (Excerpt)", "Twenty", "Movie Two", "Sometimes I See People (Excerpt)", "The Sinking Spell", "13 (Excerpt)", "Number Six - Part Four", "Preview", and "It Makes No Difference To Me". CD