Ouch, what a terrible title – and for such a nice album! The record brings together sides recorded by Frank Wess and Frank Foster for the Savoy label in 1956 and 1957 – laidback hardbop tunes that have both players working in easy-going company, with the feel of a late 50s Prestige Records blowing session. Neither player is at the top of their form here, but overall, the material is still pretty darn great – and other players include Kenny Burrell, Donald Byrd, Henry Coker, Kenny Clarke, and Benny Powell. Tracks include "Stop Gap", "MC", "La Jolie", "Lazy Sal", "Casa De Marcel", "Hard Sock Dance", "South Side", and "Salvation" – and the album features a few previously unissued tracks. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most unusual Roland Kirk albums of the 60s – his only session for Verve, and a record cut with a slightly different feel than some of his work for Mercury or Atlantic! The core group's an unusual one – a quartet that features a young Lonnie Smith on piano, plus Ronnie Boykins on bass and Grady Tate on drums – all free-thinking talents that are enough to match the whimsy of Kirk's own playing on tenor, flute, stritch, and manzello – but also strong enough jazz players to hold tight during the straighter jazz moments of the set. There's a rich array of jazz styles and histories that seem to peek out from track to track – and the overall vibe is a bit less nutty than Kirk's other albums, with a subtle genius that we really love. A great lost treasure – featuring the tracks "Now Please Don't You Cry Beautiful Edith", "Why Don't They Know", "Silverlization", "Alfie", "Blue Rol", "Stompin' Ground", and "Fall Out". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic stuff! This essential CD brings together two of Roland Kirk's best albums from the mid 60's (and two of his hardest to find on vinyl!) Rip, Rig, & Panic is mindblowing work from Roland Kirk – a record that really pushes the boundaries of his music even farther than some of his earlier, and excellent, albums for the Mercury label! Kirk's really stretching out here – finding a space in jazz that's uniquely his own – modern, yet playful – creative, yet never overindulgent – and perfectly balanced to find a whole new sound of soul for the 60s! Things never get too far outside, but Kirk's reedlines are always breaking out into fresh territory – incredible tenor parts, and also some amazing work on manzello and stritch too, both lesser-known reed instruments that Roland employs to incredible ends. Other group members fit his vibe perfectly – Jaki Byard on piano, Richard Davis on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – each stepping quickly to catch the energy of each new twist and turn in Kirk's music. Titles include the sublime "From Bechet Byas & Fats" – plus "No Tonic Pres", "Rip Rig & Panic", "Mystical Dream", "Black Diamond", and "Slippery Hippery Flippery". Beautiful Edith is a bit mellower, but no less wonderful, and the record features some great early piano work by Lonnie Liston Smith. Titles include "Blue Rol", "No Tonic Press", "Rip, Rig, & Panic", "Slipper, Hippery, Flippery", "Stompin' Grounds", and "Mystical Dreams". CD

Includes recordings with a thirteen-piece combo led by Don Rendell and featuring Jimmy Skidmore; with Lyttleton's Paseo Band; and in a smaller group with Johnny Picard on trombone, Kathleen Stobart on tenor, Tony Coe on alto, Ian Armit on piano, Brian Brocklehurst on bass, and Eddie Taylor on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Features Sonny Rollins on tenor – with Clifton Anderson on trombone, Bobby Broom on guitar, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Steve Jordan on drums. CD

(Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

The title's not a metaphoric one – or at least not entirely so, as this set of original tracks by JD Allen draws strong inspiration from the art of bullfighting – but then also moves on to deeper musings on movement and choice – cast out perfectly by the expert trio on the set! Allen's tenor is already dynamic enough – but it's really set fire here by the bass of Gregg August and drums of Rudy Royston, who propel the original compositions with a deep sense of color and soul that really matches JD's horn – the kind of tenor trio effort that hearkens back to the initial late 50s experiments in the format by Sonny Rollins, but grows to encompass all the changes that have taken place since then! Titles include "Paseillo", "Cathedral", "Suite Of Lights", "Ring Shout", and "Muleta". CD

Mose Allison is one of the coolest, grooviest singers ever to grace the face of jazz – a voice you'll recognize instantly, even if you don't know his name – and an artist who had a huge influence on the sound of the London scene in the 60s! Mose was mod before mod was a thing – and was able to mix his sharp jazz skills on piano with a gutbuckety style of singing that drew heavily from the sound of New Orleans – as did his sense of rhythm – but always with an approach that was more upbeat and jazzy overall, with a hip sophistication that few other artists could hope to touch! And while Mose recorded excellent sounds for decades, this collection focuses in on some of the most important work he ever cut – music done for Prestige, Columbia, and Atlantic Records from the late 50s through the early 70s – served up in the most amazing tribute to Allison we've ever seen. 24 tracks in all – with cuts that include "Foolkiller", "I'm Not Talking", "If You Only Knew", "The Seventh Son", "I'm Smashed", "Wild Man On The Loose", "Back On The Corner", "I Love The Life I Live", "Jus Like Livin", "If You Live", "V8 Ford Blues", "Parchman Farm", "Baby Please Don't Go", "Western Man", "Your Molecular Structure", "Hellow There Universe", and "Swingin Machine". (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

One of Mose's mid 60s albums for Atlantic – recorded live, with a bit more of a hip flair than some of his earlier work for Prestige and Columbia, but still with those great vocals that went onto influence a generation of beatnik jazz singers. Mose has more than a bit of New Orleans in his tone – but he's also got some northern distance from his material, bringing a nice bit of wit into the recordings. There's a total of 11 tracks including "Parchman Farm", "Smashed", "Seventh Son", "Fool's Paradise", "Baby Please Don't Go", and "The Chaser". (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A sublime session that's co-led by two of the greatest figures on the Chicago jazz scene at the time of the recording – drummer Hamid Drake and tenorist Fred Anderson – both musicians that had been working in the city for years, but who really seemed to blossom in the new light that the 21st Century was bringing to their music! The tracks here are long and beautiful – maybe more spiritual than most anything else that Anderson ever recorded – still with enough edges to please his fans of freer improvisation, but building with more rhythmic currents and modal energy – thanks in part to contributions on the record from the great Jeff Parker on guitar, and bassist Joshua Abrams – a player who's really starting to find his way on a record like this! Harrison Bankhead plays piano – but throughout, it's the work of Anderson and Drake that really shines in the spotlight, as it should – on long titles that include "Planet E", "Strut Time", "For Brother Thompson", "From The River To The Ocean", and "Sakti/Shiva". CD

A beautifully-done collection – all the early small combo material recorded by the early groups of Louis Armstrong – collected here with great sound and fantastic notes as well! CD

The birth of genius – a well-chosen array of tracks from the early 78rpm years, beautifully presented here together! Includes 81 tracks and a 77 page booklet. CD

Titles include "Lover", "Body And Soul", "Royal Garden Blues", "Mahogany Hall Stomp", "Tea For Two", "High Society", and "Baby, Won't You Please Come Home". CD

Brian Auger's first album away from singer Julie Driscoll – and a landmark batch of funky organ work that made big waves in both the rock and jazz worlds at the time! Auger's really stretching out here – getting past the simple R&B of his roots, and going into a bubbling funky style that's clearly touched by chromatic inspirations from Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith – both of whom are referenced by some of the song structures on the set. The album's filled with killer organ-based instrumentals – some lean and stripped down, others full and rich – and all of them coming across with a richly soulful sound that you'd hardly expect from a member of the British rock scene! Titles include "Day In The Life", "Red Beans & Rice", "Definitely What!", and his classic "Bumpin' On Sunset". Great stuff, and the kind of Brian Auger material that will convince you of his talents! Includes the bonus track : "What You Gonna Do?". CD

An amazing slice of music from the legendary David Axelrod – quite different than his better-known sides for Capitol and Reprise Records – and plenty darn funky overall! Axelrod is at his studio best here – stepping off the funky jazz modes he produced for Cannonball Adderley, and taking a shot at that territory on his own! In a reversal of modes, Cannonball actually handles the production – with help from Jimmy Bowen – which leaves Axelrod alone to compose, arrange, and direct the group on the set. The album's got a fair bit of electricity in the mix – heavy keyboards from Joe Sample, and some really fuzzy guitars – plus lots of choppy reed work from Joe Sample and Ernie Watts, all wrapped up with some monstrously funky drums from Ndugu Chancler. There's a very bottom-heavy groove to the record – one that makes for a few completely amazing breaks, and a very funky sound overall – and Axelrod does an amazing job of controlling the players here – so that nobody jams too much, and the grooves are always right on the money! The whole thing's great – a sublime symphony of instrumental funk all the way through – and titles include "Reverie", "Miles Away", "Go For It", "Ken Russell", "1000 Rads", and "One". First time ever on CD – a seminal reissue from Dusty Groove! CD

An amazing set of tracks from one of our favorite artists ever – a whopping 33 track, 2CD compilation of some of the best of Roy's work for Polydor! Given the title, you can expect a very hip bent to the tracks picked for the set – lots of righteous politics and hip cultural themes bubbling underneath the funky and jazzy grooves that were Roy's forte during the 70s. And while we treasure just about every single track that Roy recorded for Polydor (re-release all the albums – please!), we also have to say that we probably couldn't have come up with a better 33 tracks if we'd picked them ourselves! Titles include "The Old One Two", "Life Is Just A Moment (part 2)", "The Memory", "Hey Uh What You Say Come On", "Running Away", "Searching", "We Live In Brooklyn Baby", "Coffy Is The Color", "Sweet Tears", "Red Black & Green", "No Deposits No Return", "The Third Eye", "Sweet Tears (disco)", "Africa Center Of The World", "Our Time Is Coming", "Destination Motherland", "Fever", "What You Won't Do For Love", "Thank You Thank You", "Can't You See Me (12" mix)", "Baby You Give Me A Feeling", "Everybody Loves The Sunshine", and "Love From The Sun". (Soul, Jazz) CD

One of the few early albums as a leader cut by trumpeter Benny Bailey – a tremendous talent, finally getting his due! Bailey is one of the great unsung talents of jazz, and he's always made top-shelf work – from his early days with Quincy Jones, to his later years as an American expatriot, recording for European labels like Ego and MPS. This rare early session is one of the few recorded for the super-hip Candid label – and it features Bailey's trumpet at the head of a tight combo that includes Phil Woods on alto sax and bass clarinet, Julius Watkins on French Horn, Les Spann on flute and guitar, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and rhythm from Buddy Catlett on bass and Art Taylor on drums. Despite the "big brass" title, there's no horn section here – and instead, most of the numbers have that sharp-edged modern sound we associate with Candid – with Watkins horn being the only other brass instrument, alongside the lighter lines of Woods and Spann. Titles include "Hard Sock Dance", "Tipsy", "Please Say Yes", and "Maud's Mood". CD

A killer set from Count Basie – recorded during the height of his years at Roulette! The back cover of the record proclaims that "Basie Is Back Home" – clearly a bit by Birdland to lay claim to being the Count's home address, which is a bit of a challenge to his KC roots! Whatever the back story, though, the set's a nice one – swinging hard in that completely tight 60s mode, with a great lineup that includes Frank Foster and Budd Johnson on tenor, Thad Jones on trumpet, Bennie Powell on trombone, and Freddie Green on guitar – a really great group who definitely make the record a cooker! Tracks include "Good Time Blues", "Segue In C", "Little Pony", "Discommotion", and "Whirly Bird", which has a vocal by Jon Hendricks! CD features 8 more bonus tracks – recorded at the same time, and first issued on the Mosaic set Complete Roulette Live Recordings – titles that include "Easin It", "Corner Pocket", "Discommotion", "Whirly Bird (inst)", "I Needs To Be Bee'd With", and "A Little Tempo Please". CD

Tremendous work from one of the greatest pairings in 50s jazz – the crack later group of Count Basie and the amazing arranging talents of the great Neal Hefti! Hefti later went onto greater fame as a 60s soundtrack composer, but back in the day him and Basie were an incredible team together – as Hefti's talent for quirky, witty, whimsical horn passages really opened up the Basie sound of earlier years – and took the band far past any Kansas City cliches, into a groove that was much more suited for a modern audience! This album's one of the best the two ever cut together – and it's overflowing with Hefti gems that include "Cute", "Pensive Miss", "Sloo Foot", "Scoot", "A Little Tempo Please", "Count Down", and "Pony Tail". CD

Tremendous work from one of the greatest pairings in 50s jazz – the crack later group of Count Basie and the amazing arranging talents of the great Neal Hefti! Hefti later went onto greater fame as a 60s soundtrack composer, but back in the day him and Basie were an incredible team together – as Hefti's talent for quirky, witty, whimsical horn passages really opened up the Basie sound of earlier years – and took the band far past any Kansas City cliches, into a groove that was much more suited for a modern audience! This album's one of the best the two ever cut together – and it's overflowing with Hefti gems that include "Cute", "Pensive Miss", "Sloo Foot", "Scoot", "A Little Tempo Please", "Count Down", and "Pony Tail". CD

Two great Eurpoean performances – with a lineup that features Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell, Frank Wess, Snooky Young, and Freddie Green. Tracks include "Why Not", "Easy Money", "A Little Tempo Please", "Jumpin' At The Woodside", "Blee Blop Blues", and "Stella By Starlight". 30 tracks total. CD

Count Basie plays the piano and Joe Williams sings in his bluesy way and they are backed by a slew of musicians who include Thad Jones on trumpet, Ben Powell on trombone, Frank Foster on tenor saxophone, Sonny Payne on drums and many, many others. Frank Foster did all of the arrangements and the tracks include Williams' "My Baby Upsets Me", "Ev'ry Day", and "Please Send Me Someone To Love". CD

One of Joe Williams' standout classics from the 50s – just the sort of record that put him on top of his game at the time! The album's one of Joe's classic outings with Count Basie – one recorded for Roulette with a slightly looser, slightly rawer feel than their work together on Verve. Joe's rendition of "Everyday I Have The Blues" is a near-definitive one – tight, syncopated, and grooving in a style that stretches back to its roots, but which also steps out with a fresh sort of groove that points the way towards changes in soulful vocal styles during the 60s. Other titles work equally well in the mode – bluesy, but never hokey, all freshened up by the Basie approach of the time – and titles include "Baby Won't You Please Come Home", "Going To Chicago", "Joe Sings The Blues", and "What Did You Win". LP, Vinyl record album

A cool little album from Joe Beck – very different than most of his other work! Although Beck's best known for his guitar work on funky 70s jazz records, this early album has him working in a mixture of rock, jazz, and folk styles – all cast in the hipster mode of Verve's Forecast imprint. There's a few funk tunes on here, but the best numbers are stretched out trippy ones that bring together jazz and folk, in a floating "folk funk experience" sound that we totally love, perfect for the generation of Tim Hardin and Nick Drake. Beck sings on some cuts, and others are instrumental. Titles include "Ain't No Use Talkin", "Goodbye LA", "Please Believe Me", "Let Me Go", "Come Back: Visions Without You", and "Spoon's Caress". CD

A 10th Anniversary performance by the Chicago Tentet – a wonderful group that's become the fruitful union of saxophonist Peter Brotzmann with a younger generation of players who were working heavily on the Chicago scene at the time! Back when the group first started, it was something of an experiment – but over the following decade, the ensemble won great attention for their playing, and for good reason too – considering the solo contributions of players like Ken Vandermark and Mats Gustafsson on reeds, Joe McPhee on trumpet and tenor, Johannes Bauer on trombone, Kent Kessler on bass, and Paal Nilssen Love on drums – all working under the visionary leadership of Peter Brotzmann! The tracks are all somewhat long and open-ended – almost more spacious than on other Chicago Tentet records, with a freely improvised feel. Titles include "Ten By Ten", "Little By Little", and "Step By Step". CD

A really dramatic live performance from these free jazz giants – three musicians who really know each other well, but who seem to come off with an even more majestic sense of power here! The performance is from 1974, and it burns with energy right from the start – this sense of inventiveness as if all three players had already mastered their instruments, yet were also surprising themselves during performance with new aspects they had just discovered – a freshness that comes through note after note after note – and in plenty of sounds that aren't notes either! Brotzmann blows alto and tenor, Fred Van Hove plays piano, and Han Bennink nearly destroys his drum kit – on titles that include "Filet Americain", "Involved", "Boogie For Fred", "Der Mammutzahn Aus Balve", and "Schwarzspect". LP, Vinyl record album