A surprising release on A&M for the Revolutionary Ensemble – formerly a much more underground group, but still sounding great here recording for a bigger label! The lineup features Jerome Cooper on piano, bugle, drums, and a variety of percussion instruments – with Sirone on bass and trombone, and Leroy Jenkins on violin, thumb piano, recorder, and small gongs! Titles include "Trio for Trio", "Chinese Rock", and "Ponderous Planets". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the all-time classics of early 60s mainstream jazz – and a beautiful record that showcases writing and arranging talents of Oliver Nelson! Nelson had been bumping around a variety of sessions before this one – as a leader, sideman, and arranger – but it was with this album that his true talents really unfolded – sparkling with a depth of imagination and expression that marked him as one of the greatest artists in 60s American jazz! The group on the set is an all-star sextet – featuring Paul Chambers, Eric Dolphy, Bill Evans, Roy Haynes, and Freddie Hubbard – a disparate group of players who manage to come together with Nelson and find a unique voice that's rarely been duplicated again! The album features 6 fantastic compositions by Nelson, including "Stolen Moments", "Hoe Down", and "Yearnin". A fantastic record – and one that you can't go wrong with! LP, Vinyl record album

Roman Pokorny on guitar, Frank Basile on baritone sax, Pat Bianchi on Hammond, and Byron Wookie Landham on drums. CD

Roman Pokorny on guitar, Brian Charrette on organ and Daniel Soltis on drums. CD

Drummer Roy Haynes always brings something great to the table for any album he does as a leader – and this record is no exception! Here, the "added something" is the presence of Roland Kirk on reeds – offered a key early chance to express his most modern ideas in the freedom of Haynes' group – working alongside Tommy Flanagan on piano and Henry Grimes on bass, in what was easily one of the hippest groups to record for Impulse in the early 60s! The record's filled with wonderful material – and a mix of originals and standards done with a very twisted edge – all with great interplay between Kirk's quirky sax work and Roy Haynes' amazing drumming – often changing up timings and rhythms with ease, and really matching Kirk's quirky energy for the set. Titles include "Moon Ray", "Raoul", "Snap Crackle", and "Long Wharf". LP, Vinyl record album

An album with a classic modernist cover image – and one that's also got the same sort of sound to match – brilliant early work from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who's really coming into his own as a leader with this date! Freddie's really finding a voice here – a sharper edge than on some of his later albums, at the beginning of a more modernist phase in the mid-60s – when his efforts would mark him as one of the more straight ahead players of the "new thing" scene. There's a careful balance in Hubbard's work here – spurred on by youthful energy of group mates Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto and flute, Reggie Workman on bass, and Clifford Jarvis on drums. Hubbard is really brimming over with new ideas – as are the other players – and titles include "Lament for Booker", "Prophet Jennings", "Hub Tones", "For Spee's Sake", and "You're My Everything". LP, Vinyl record album

The title's exploding with Mingus, and the album is too – a completely classic effort for Impulse Records that's easily one of Charles' best of the 60s! Things are reigned in somewhat from the Mingus years at Atlantic or Candid, but the sound is still great – almost more focused than before – with a sense of all the best qualities that Charles was finding in his music, laid out back to back in near-perfect formation! The group's full of great players – with reeds from Eric Dolphy, Booker Ervin, and Jerome Richardson – all of whom really contribute some deep tones to the album – and Jaki Byard's on piano, making one of his key Mingus appearances of the 60s. Titles include the massive "Better Get Hit In Yo' Soul" (the virtual Mingus "trademark" tune), plus the tracks "Celia", "Hora Decubitus", and "II B.S.". LP, Vinyl record album

A very early date as a leader by McCoy Tyner – cut at a time when he was making big waves in the John Coltrane Quartet, but also sounding plenty darn great on his own! The group here's a trio – with Coltrane associates Art Davis on bass and Elvin Jones on drums – and the warm familiarity of the players is clear from the very first notes of the set. There's a lighter, more lyrical – and possibly more sentimental – style going on here – one that echoes piano work of earlier generations, but which also shows plenty of signs of the growing modalism in Tyner's lines – especially on the striking original tracks "Sunset", "Effendi", "Inception", and "Blues For Gwen". LP, Vinyl record album

Never-heard music from one of the hippest groups ever led by flute man Herbie Mann – a killer lineup that includes Roy Ayers on vibes, Sonny Sharrock on guitar, and Steve Marcus on tenor! The tracks here are all previously unreleased – pulled from the same recordings that gave the world the Live At The Whiskey A Go Go album, but much more far-reaching overall – in a way that not only shows the full range of sounds the group could produce, but which also really brings out some individual moments of genius from each player! Roy's vibes are wonderful – with some very bold chromes, but his usual sense of warmth, too – which can make for a striking comparison with the edges in Sharrock's guitar and the soulfulness of Marcus' tenor. Linda Sharrock sings a bit on the record, but most of the album features long, extended jams from a group that also includes Miroslav Vitous on bass and Bruno Carr on drums – on titles that include "Untitled Jam", "Black Woman", "All Blues", "Portait Of Linda In Three Colors All Black", "Chain Of Fools", "Tangier/If I Were A Carpenter", "Scarborough Fair", "Philly Dog", and "Comin Home Baby/Battle Hymn Of The Republic". CD

Killer trio material from drummer Daniel Villarreal – a lean, clean record that's a really great showcase for all three players involved! The music's got a vibe that's more live and spontaneous than some other efforts on the International Anthem label, and a sound that's almost funky at times – as Daniel's snapping drums get plenty of encouragement from the basses of Anna Butterss, which really sets fire to the guitar of Jeff Parker! Parker's back here at a level that we haven't heard on record in awhile, and the record seems to resonate with all his long experience with a variety of players – while also standing as a showcase for his ability to really deliver some warmly chromatic tones on the guitar. Titles include "Things Can Be Calm", "Daytime Nighttime", "Salute", "Sunset Cliffs", "Republic", "Chicali Outpost", and "Bring It". CD

Killer trio material from drummer Daniel Villarreal – a lean, clean record that's a really great showcase for all three players involved! The music's got a vibe that's more live and spontaneous than some other efforts on the International Anthem label, and a sound that's almost funky at times – as Daniel's snapping drums get plenty of encouragement from the basses of Anna Butterss, which really sets fire to the guitar of Jeff Parker! Parker's back here at a level that we haven't heard on record in awhile, and the record seems to resonate with all his long experience with a variety of players – while also standing as a showcase for his ability to really deliver some warmly chromatic tones on the guitar. Titles include "Things Can Be Calm", "Daytime Nighttime", "Salute", "Sunset Cliffs", "Republic", "Chicali Outpost", and "Bring It". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer trio material from drummer Daniel Villarreal – a lean, clean record that's a really great showcase for all three players involved! The music's got a vibe that's more live and spontaneous than some other efforts on the International Anthem label, and a sound that's almost funky at times – as Daniel's snapping drums get plenty of encouragement from the basses of Anna Butterss, which really sets fire to the guitar of Jeff Parker! Parker's back here at a level that we haven't heard on record in awhile, and the record seems to resonate with all his long experience with a variety of players – while also standing as a showcase for his ability to really deliver some warmly chromatic tones on the guitar. Titles include "Things Can Be Calm", "Daytime Nighttime", "Salute", "Sunset Cliffs", "Republic", "Chicali Outpost", and "Bring It". LP, Vinyl record album