A hell of a record from the young Roland Kirk – one of his first for Mercury Records, and the start of a great run of genius in the 60s! Kirk is mindblowing here – playing tenor, flute, manzello, and stritch – often at the same time, as pictured on the cover – a mode that's no gimmick at all, but which instead shows this wonderfully sophisticated understanding of sound and resonances between the reed instruments! And as always with Kirk, there's a strong current of soul in the music too – emphasized here by backing work from players who include Richard Wyands or Hank Jones on piano, Art Davis or Wendell Marshall on bass, and the great Charlie Persip on drums. Titles include the sublime modal number "We Free Kings" – plus "Three For The Festival", "The Haunted Melody", "You Did It You Did It", "Sack Full Of Soul", and "Moon Song". 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

One of the most wonderful albums by one of our favorite jazz artists of all time! For this unique session, George Braith offers up "two souls in one" – by playing both soprano sax and "stritch" simultaneously – in a two-reed mode that recalls the work of Roland Kirk during the 60s! The sound is incredible – as soulful as it is exotic – and matched here by some excellent backing that includes Grant Green on guitar, Donald Bailey on drums, and Billy Gardner on organ! Gardner's work on the set is especially nice – with a Larry Young-ish free approach to the organ, one that makes for lots of modal grooves that really work perfectly with Braith's sound! Titles include "Braith-A-Way", "Mary Ann", and "Home Street". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic "discovery" of tenor saxophonist Von Freeman – one that was already relatively late in his career, but a key appearance on Atlantic under the auspices of Roland Kirk! The setting here is as loose and laidback as Von needs to really do his thing – backing by a trio that features fellow Chicagoan John Young on piano, plus Sam Jones on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums – all hanging back nicely to let Freeman dominate the set on tenor. The album's noteworthy for its inclusion of a few original tunes by Von – "White Sand", "Portrait Of John Young", "Doin It Right Now", "Brother George", and "Catnap" – all of which mark a nice contrast from some of the more traditional standards that show up on other Freeman albums of the 70s. LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection of Mingus' Impulse sides: "Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress, Then Silk Blues", "The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady: Solo Dance/Duet Solo Dancer/Group Dancers", "The Black Saint & The Sinner Lady: Trio & Group Dancers/Single Solos & Group Dance/Group & Solo Dance", "Meditations For Moses", "II BS", "IX Love", "Celia", "Mood Indigo", "Better Get Hit In Yo Soul", "Theme For Lester Young", "Hora Decubitus", "Roland Kirk's Message" and "Memories Of You". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the last great records by Charles Mingus – a set of extremely compelling original compositions, played by a fresh group of younger players, plus a few older masters! The record's got a fire and sense of emotion that's missing from a number of other 70s Mingus sessions – and it's one of the few later albums we'd easily rank right up there with his late 50s and early 60s classics! Orchestrations were partially arranged and conducdted with help from Sy Johnson – and soloists include James Moody and Bobby Jones on tenor, Charles McPherson on alto, Snookie Young and Lonnie Hillyer on trumpet, and Roland Hanna on piano. Titles include "The Shoes Of The Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers", "Adagio Ma Non Troppo", "The Chill of Death", and "The I Of Hurricane Sue". LP, Vinyl record album