Milt Jackson on vibraphone – working with a strong group of younger players that includes Joshua Redman on tenor, Jesse Davis on alto, Benny Green on piano, Christian McBride on bass, and Kenny Washington on drums. CD

Sweet 80s fusion from saxophonist Ernie Watts – one of his key albums as a leader in that decade, after countless years as a session player on other folks' records! The album's mostly jazz, but there's also a soul component as well – thanks to vocals from Phil Perry on some of the album's best tracks, used in a way that settles in nicely alongside Watts' work on alto and tenor sax. And despite the date of the album, there's a nice sense of warmth throughout – instrumentation that's never too forced or commercial – handled by other fusion stalwarts like Don Grusin on keyboards, Lee Ritenour on guitar, and Jimmy Johnson on bass. Titles include "Rock Camping", "One Love", "Red Dress", "Looking Glass", "Where The Spirit Lives", and "Music Prayer For Peace". LP, Vinyl record album

Yipes! This one made everyone a bucket of money – especially Quincy Jones, whose new Qwest imprint the record was one of the first to grace. George has come a long way from his roots with Jack McDuff here – but in a way that kind of has us impressed, as he's grooving away slickly on guitar, laying down some smooth vocals that we never would have imagined from his mid 60s recordings. Includes the massive hit "Give Me The Night", a cover of "Moody's Mood", and the tracks "Star Of A Story (X)", "Midnight Love Affair", "What's On Your Mind", and "Dinorah, Dinorah". The sound of a million supermarkets and elevators during the 80s! LP, Vinyl record album

(Soul, Jazz) CD

A reunion of Miles' legendary sidemen after his death in 1991, including live renditions of "So What" and "All Blues", plus "RJ", "Little One", "Pinocchio", "Elegy" and "Eighty One". CD

With Cedar Walton on piano, John Clayton on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – plus Joshua Redman on tenor and guest vocals by Joe Williams. CD

Features Milt Jackson backed by large string orchestra – with Cedar Walton on piano, John Clayton on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. CD

Notable sidemen include Julius Watkins on French horn, Les Spann on guitar and flute, Phil Woods and Sahib Shihab on saxophones, Melba Liston on trombones, and Clark Terry on trumpet. CD

Great old school sounds from Quincy Jones – the kind of smoking big band album we'd know from his early years on ABC or Mercury Records! The Q's done many great things in the years since those albums – including great work in the soul music and soundtrack fields – but it's great to know he can still turn out a jazz cooker like this when he wants – thanks in part to great help as a co-leader from reedman Sammy Nestico! The horns are totally tight – that great old Quincy way of coming on strong, then letting individual voices break out of the pack – and players include Ernie Watts, Gerald Albright, and Gary Foster on saxes; Oscar Brashear and Wane Bergeron on trumpets; George Bohannon and Bill Watrous on trombones – all great players who really make the record kick. The set also features guest solo work by Hubert Laws on flute, and Kirk Whalum on tenor and soprano sax – and Emil Richards even turns in a bit of vibes, too. Titles include "Grace", "Jelly Roll", "The Joy Of Cookin", "Ya Gotta Try Harder", "Lisett", and "No Time Like The Present". CD