Amazing sounds throughout – 2 killers from Chico Hamilton! El Chico is light years ahead of the staid sounds that Chico Hamilton was cutting in the 50s! Hamilton's one of those players who has an amazing range to his music – almost all of it really incredible, as Chico always shifts things up over time – continually trying new things, and new modes of expression – even though, given his popularity, he could have just kept recording the same things year after year. This album is true testament to that propensity for growth in Hamilton's music – a wonderfully unbridled set that's filled with unusual rhythms, odd instrumentation, and even some of the first touches of psychedelic jazz to appear in the 60s! Players include Sadao Watanabe on alto and flute, Gabor Szabo on guitar, Jimmy Cheatham on trombone, and Willie Bobo and Victor Pantoja on percussion – all working together in a really wonderful range of modes from track to track – always groovy, but also pretty far-reaching and exploratory too! Titles include "El Moors", "Helena", "Strange", "Marcheta", "El Chico", and "Conquistadores". Further Adventures is massively groovy work from Chico Hamilton – one of his standout swingers for Impulse Records in the 60s, and a set that really showcases all the changes in music he'd made for the decade! The set features some wonderful reed work from Jerome Richardson and Charlie Mariano, plus some especially great guitar from Gabor Szabo – a player who was rising to fame in Hamilton's group, but also stands out here with lots of the breezy grooves he'd bring to his own dates for Impulse. Tracks are short, but in a good way that really keeps them focused – and other players who complete the groove include Clark Terry on trumpet and Ron Carter on bass – both of whom nicely pick up Chico's sense of adventure and humor. Titles include "Monday Monday", "Daydream", "Stella By Starlight", "Evil Eye", "Manila", "That Boy With The Long Hair", and "Monday Monday". CD

The biggest volume so far in the Spiritual Jazz series from Jazzman Records – and maybe the best as well! This fantastic collection looks at the huge legacy of spiritual jazz that flowed from the Japanese scene in the postwar years – sounds that had their initial expression around the same time that the modal jazz of Miles and Coltrane was bursting forth in the US, but which also too so many twists and turns of its own – with some very strong influences along the way from Japanese folk and culture! Much of this music was initially restricted only to release on Japanese labels – and even later, as some of the artists attained fame, the global circulation of their music only happened with more commercial recordings. These tracks are the real deal – and together, they represent a huge legacy of jazz that's as appealing and essential as American work from labels like Impulse or Strata East – or European sounds on Saba/MPS. Most tracks are quite long, with flowing grooves – and although the players are reaching out, things are never too free or avant – just filled with a searing sense of soul. Jazzman got strong help on the project from the Deep Jazz Reality series – so the album's got that stamp of approval too – and the whole thing's in one of the most beautiful packages we've ever seen from the label! Titles include "Kumo No Ito" by Mitsuaki Kanno, "East Plants" by Takeo Moriyama, "Positive & Negative" by Minoru Muraoka, "Under Construction" by Koichi Matsukaze, "Ragam Sinthubairavi" by Sadao Watanabe & Charlie Mariano, "Sun In The East" by New Direction For The Arts, "Footprint" by Shungo Sawada, "My Favorite Things" by Tadao Hayashi, "Kikazaru" by Keitaro Miho, "Watarase" by Takeo Moriyama, "Babylonia Wind" by Kiyoshi Sugimoto, "Whispering Weeds" by Yoshio Ikeda, "Kisarazu Zinku" by Toshiko Akioshi, "Sacriment" by Tohru Aizawa, "Spanish Flower" by Tee & Company, and "Scarborough Fair" by Four Units. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) CD