Incredible work from the team of Donald Byrd and Gigi Gryce – crisp modern jazz, filled with soul, and never failing to swing! During the time of these recordings, Gryce was one hell of an arranger – with a tight ensemble approach that worked magic in a small combo setting. He was also a tremendous alto player – with a tone that was unlike any other musician at the time, magically sharp, with a sound that always seemed to inspire a great deal of energy from his bandmates. He gets plenty of that here from trumpeter Donald Byrd – sounding better on these sides than on most of his other 50s recordings – thanks also to some great accompanists, who include Tommy Flanagan, Wendell Marshall, and Art Taylor. Some tunes feature additional horn work from players that include Benny Powell, Julius Watkins, and Sahib Shihab. Volume 1 in this Lonehill's Complete Jazz Lab Studio Sessions mixes 13 tracks originally released on the LPs Jazz Lab, Modern Jazz Perspective, plus mutual tracks with the rare compilation Jazz Omnibus. Titles include "Nica's Tempo", "Smoke Signal", "Over The Rainbow", "Sans Souci", "Speculation", "Stablemates", "Steppin Out", "Social Call", "Satellite", "An Evening In Casablanca" and more! CD

Beautiful solo work from pianist Abdullah Ibrahim – a player with a sound so rich and rhythmic, his sessions like this are often every bit as captivating as his trio and group recordings! There's a really special sort of poetry going on here – first in the way that Ibrahim brings out these unusual tones in the piano – a warmth that almost feels like a Fender Rhodes at times, even though the instrument is acoustic – secondly in the structure of the tunes, which are sometimes short and very poetic – packing a lot of meaning into just a very short space in sound! To balance that out, the record has many different selections – twenty in all – some older compositions reworked, some less familiar. Titles include "Sotho Blue", "District 6", "Tokai", "Blues For A Hip King", "In Tempo", "Dreamtime", "Nisa", "Mindiff", "Trieste My Love", and "Signal On The Hill". CD

Essential early work by Stan – a 3 CD collection of his early 50s recordings for the Roost label, either under his own name and group, or with guitarist Johnny Smith. The Smith sides only make up a very small portion of the package – as most of the work are by Getz's quartet or quintet, the groundbreaking assemblage that featured Jimmy Raney on guitar, whose icy clear tone was a perfect counterpart for Getz's sweet breathy work on the tenor. The quality of the material is really great – and the package does a great job of presenting the work freshly, without an overload of alternate takes or tunes you don't want to hear. There's a total of 59 tracks in all – and titles include "Potter's Luck", "Tenderly", "Budo", "Signal", "Fools Rush In", "Lullaby Of Birdland", "It Might As Well Be Spring", "Yvette", "Melody Express", "Split Kick", "Hershey Bar", and "Penny". CD

Beautiful solo work from pianist Abdullah Ibrahim – a player with a sound so rich and rhythmic, his sessions like this are often every bit as captivating as his trio and group recordings! There's a really special sort of poetry going on here – first in the way that Ibrahim brings out these unusual tones in the piano – a warmth that almost feels like a Fender Rhodes at times, even though the instrument is acoustic – secondly in the structure of the tunes, which are sometimes short and very poetic – packing a lot of meaning into just a very short space in sound! To balance that out, the record has many different selections – twenty in all – some older compositions reworked, some less familiar. Titles include "Sotho Blue", "District 6", "Tokai", "Blues For A Hip King", "In Tempo", "Dreamtime", "Nisa", "Mindiff", "Trieste My Love", and "Signal On The Hill". CD

A really wonderful little chapter in the rich, and all-too-short career of bassist Oscar Pettiford – larger group recordings done for ABC in the mid 50s! The sessions show Pettiford to be surprisingly great at such a format – leading a group through Gigi Gryce arrangements that have a nice modern jazz take on earlier bop themes of the 50s. Gryce himself plays alto on the session, and other players include Jerome Richardson, Benny Golson, Art Farmer, Kenny Dorham, Jimmy Cleveland, Al Grey, Tommy Flanagan, and Lucky Thompson. The CD seems to include material from both Pettiford sessions for ABC – for a total of 17 tracks that include "Two French Fries", "Perdido", "Speculation", "Sunrise Sunset", "Smoke Signal", "Deep Passion", "Nica's Tempo", "Not So Sleepy", "Little Niles", and "Seabreeze". CD

A really wonderful little chapter in the rich, and all-too-short career of bassist Oscar Pettiford – larger group recordings done for ABC in the mid 50s! The sessions show Pettiford to be surprisingly great at such a format – leading a group through Gigi Gryce arrangements that have a nice modern jazz take on earlier bop themes of the 50s. Gryce himself plays alto on the session, and other players include Jerome Richardson, Benny Golson, Art Farmer, Kenny Dorham, Jimmy Cleveland, Al Grey, Tommy Flanagan, and Lucky Thompson. The CD seems to include material from both Pettiford sessions for ABC – for a total of 17 tracks that include "Two French Fries", "Perdido", "Speculation", "Sunrise Sunset", "Smoke Signal", "Deep Passion", "Nica's Tempo", "Not So Sleepy", "Little Niles", and "Seabreeze". CD

Completely sublime duets between alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella and cellist Tomeka Reid – working here together at a level that seems to both bring a whole new sense of energy to duo improvisation, and also put the record at the level of some of the most exciting work of the 70s! The strength here is the tunefulness that both players maintain at most moments – whether it's Mazzarella crafting these rich, soulful lines that feel more like tenor expressions than alto – or Reid working her instrument more like an acoustic bass, again with a depth that seems beyond the instrument's usual scope of expression. There's definitely some free moments throughout, but there's also an adhesion to warmth at the core – on titles that include "Invoking A Spirit", "Blues For Julius & Abdul", "Signaling", "Like So Many Drops Of Water", "The Ancestors Speak", "Rediscovery Of An Age", and "Let It Be Known". CD

Sweet silver cycles from Eddie Harris – a wonderful late 60s album that features lots of lines on the electrified Varitone saxophone, mixed with cool contributions from a shifting lineup of soulful musicians! The set's one of Eddie's real classics from the Atlantic years – completely inventive, but never in a gimmicky way – and a really great bridge between late 60s modes of funk, jazz, and soul – at the same level he'd serve up more famously in his collaborations with Les McCann! There's a lot of that same energy here, but the vibe is even tighter – and Harris really blows us away with his great arrangements, which get a slight bit of help from Arif Mardin. Other players include Melvin Jackson on bass, Seldon Powell on reeds, and Joe Zawinul on keyboards – and titles include "Silver Cycles", "Electric Ballad", "Little Bit", "Free At Last", "Coltrane's View", "Electric Salad", "1974 Blues", and "Smoke Signals". CD

Nicole Mitchell is in very different territory here than on some of her more spiritual albums – something you might have guessed from the cover, which signals another great chapter in Mitchell's shift into science fiction territory on some of her other projects! At some level, Nicole's working more here almost as a writer of speculative soundscapes instead of a jazz musician – blowing a variety of flutes, and adding in some vocalizations – next to the original Vivo electronic system employed by Fabio Paolizzo – whose dark tones and dystopic elements really shape the sound of the set! Titles include "Perils To Beauty", "A Baby Jellyfish", "Replicas", "The Birth", "Transformation Of A Simple Life Form", "Make Fertile", "Wings", and "Apotropaic". CD