Unreleased work from the glory days of the Peter Brotzmann Chicago Tentet – a legendary free jazz ensemble that's playing here at the height of their powers! The group have a vibe here that's wonderful – both as playful and as sinister as the title might imply – stretched out to a performance that's almost 20 minutes in length, and which almost has a sort of cinematic sense of dynamism at times – although still with all the unscripted energy that made the group so great. Brotzmann is in the lead on tenor, with Mars Williams on tenor and soprano, Ken Vandermark on baritone, Mats Gustafsson on alto, Joe McPhee on valve trombone, Jeb Bishop on trombone, Fred Lonberg Holm on cello, Kent Kessler on bass, and Michael Zerang and Hamid Drake on drums. The first-ever issue of this music comes in a limited one-sided record – with music on side a, and a silkscreen of Peter Brotzmann artwork on side B! LP, Vinyl record album

With a name like Cinephonic, you can imagine some of the sound here – but that's also only the tip of the iceberg, as there's a heck of a lot going on with the record! There's definitely a cinematic vibe to the music, yet the work isn't just any retro-styled material influenced by film scores – as these guys have all sorts of wonderful instrumentation of their own, including great use of flute, tenor, trumpet, and some especially nice organ, clavinet, and vibes – all handled by Pierre Chretien, the maestro behind the whole project! Strings provide a nice backdrop, but they're used sparingly, and with a nicely sinister tone – that darkness you might find in the larger charts of David Axelrod at his best. The whole thing's great – every bit as wonderful as their previous record – and titles include "Pyramides", "L'Etoile", "Les Souterrains", "Penombre", "Douleur", "Cendres Et Poussieres", and "Le Combat". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer Latin from South American drummer Frank Hernandez – easily the king of the scene on his side of the globe! Frank's taking a key cue here from the harder sound of the New York scene of the time – and the record's overflowing with great little tracks that mix together heavy percussion, sinister piano, and soulful chorus vocals that leap and dance along with the grooves. A few cuts are instrumentals, done with some great horn work in place – and the whole album's a cooker that can't be denied! Includes a great remake of "El Pito", plus "Dame Tu Carino", "Sabor A Miel", "Potpourri Judio", "Cafe", "Bombonchara", "Rumba Brava", and "Dulce Veneno". (Latin, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic record from Hammond hero Jimmy McGriff – and one that has him opening up his groove a fair bit more than on his early Sue Records sides! Jimmy's sense of rhythm and timing here is great – really changing up and keeping things interesting – still with enough of his strong R&B action on the keys of the organ, but in a very different way that makes the whole album a real standout in his catalog – with a sinister bubbling under funky feel that's just great. Includes the monster cut "Charlotte", which has sort of a rolling, bassy intro that would make a great sample – plus the cuts "Up There, Down Here", "Thing To Come By", and "Down Home On The Moon". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest Sun Ra records from the early 80s – and a set that's every bit as striking as its sinister title! The album was recorded in 1982 – in marathon New York sessions that yielded more than one album's worth of material – but of all of them, this is probably the best, and the one with some of the strongest playing – a really unified album that should have gotten a lot more circulation at the time, instead of a mostly underground release on Saturn Records. The set kicks off with the fantastic "Nuclear War", a wonderful little groover – and a track that's probably as strong a number in the Arkestra's book as "Space Is The Place" – but with a shift in righteous message from the 70s to the 80s. The album then shifts into 2 mellower numbers with weird spacey overtones – "Retrospect" and "Makeup" – before moving into side two, and the drawn-out edgey "Fireside Chat With Lucifer". Players include Ra on piano, electronics, and organ – plus John Gilmore on tenor, Danny Ray Thompson on baritone, Marshall Allen on flute and alto, and Atakatune on percussion – plus vocals from June Tyson and Tyrone Hill on "Nuclear War". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer stuff! Despite the early date and boppish orientation of the material on this album, the tracks have a sinister modernist edge that easily belies the later work of both Roach and Hank Mobley. The set kicks off with the incredible stormer "Cou Manchi Cou", then slides into a crackling batch of cuts that include "Mobleyzation", "Chi Chi", "Sfax", and "Orientation". There's lots of amazing drum work, and some incredible arrangements that show a very far-reaching sensibility on Roach's part. LP, Vinyl record album

The debut album of the legendary pianist Masahiko Sato – a musician who's got a way with a piano that's unlike anyone else we can think of – almost creating these sinister moments at times, which are balanced by occasional moments of warmth, amidst a very groundbreaking sense of freedom! At this point in his career, Sato is so different than American or European avant pianists – and there's a clarity to the performance here that really demonstrates his unique approach – supported by superb work from Yasuo Arakawa on bass and Masahiko Togashi on drums – both players who have these deeper, organic qualities that balance the sharper edges of the piano. All titles are originals – save for an unusual version of "Michelle" – and tracks include "Der Zweig Von Salzburg", "Palladium", and "Closing". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic early record from tenor giant Stanley Turrentine – a set that's completely hard-hitting, and which has a very different vibe than the sweeter sets he'd cut later in the 70s! Instead, this record is pure hardbop all the way through – with Turrentine matching labelmate Hank Mobley for depth of tone and freshness of ideas – stretching out on these long, live tracks with a very cool combo that also features Grant Green on guitar and Horace Parlan on piano – both of whom are superb, and hit some real Blue Note heights on the set. Parlan brings this sinister edge to some of the best tunes, and Green's guitar rings out with these fantastically soulful chromes – providing a great balance to the deep runs that Stanley takes on the tenor. Titles on this first volume include a long moody reading of "Yesterdays", plus the hard bop original "Stanley's Time", and the cuts "Broadway" and "But Not For Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic soul jazz material from trumpeter Donald Byrd – one of his most sinister (and most rare) albums for Blue Note! The group's a quintet, with frequent bandmate Pepper Adams on baritone, Duke Pearson on piano, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – all grooving with some of the tightness heard on other Adams/Byrd dates, but also a warmer, more open-ended approach to the music, especially on the solos! The tracks slink along with a dark little groove – and although Pearson's piano is often sweetly lyrical, it also has a nice hard sound that works well with the sharp-edged horn lines of Byrd and Adams. The album's very much in the vein of the pair's work on the Warwick label during the same time – and with excellent compositions that include "Say You're Mine", "Duke's Mixture", "The Cat Walk", and "Hello Bright Sunflower". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Elvin Jones' greatest records – a set that's quite different from both his work in the John Coltrane Quartet, and some of the powerhouse jazz sides he'd cut later as a solo act! The vibe here is a bit hard to describe, but it somehow comes together in the "midnight walk" of the title – as there's a pulsating rhythm to many of the numbers – one that comes partly from the record's great use of Dollar Brand on piano on some cuts. But other players are great, too – and there's some wicked electric piano work from Steve James – who really gives a few tracks a sinister edge – plus tenor from Hank Mobley, trumpet from Thad Jones, and added percussion from George Abend. Titles include "Midnight Walk", "HM On FM", "The Juggler", "All Of Us", and "Cross Purpose". A great album, and a real lost treasure from the Atlantic back catalog! LP, Vinyl record album

A modernist classic from 60s Blue Note! The album's one of Jackie McLean's greatest from the time – and one of his seminal "new thing" sessions cut with young modernists Grachan Moncur III on trombone and Bobby Hutcherson on vibes – both young players who were really finding the sharper edges of their sound at the time! Three of the four long tracks on the record were written by Moncur, and have a similar approach to his own recordings for Blue Note – moody and introspective, in a style that's as concerned with sound and space as it is jazz and rhythm – and Hutcherson's vibes are beyond compare here, with have a sinister metallic quality that he only used briefly in his early career! The whole record's a gem, and one not to pass up! Titles include "Kahlil The Prophet", "Riff Raff", and "Love & Hate". LP, Vinyl record album

A rhythmic, moody and moving set from Nik Bartch's Ronin for ECM – somewhat relaxed material that still has an something of sinister melodic undercurrent. Bartch's piano leads some dynamtic, and quite wonderful drum work by Kaspar Rast and percussion by Andi Pupato, with bass by Bjorn Meyer and alto sax and bass clarinet by Sha. Patterns repeat for hypnotic effect, but it's an ever evolving landscape. 7 pieces including "Modul 48", "Modul 52", "Modul 55", "Modul 47", "Modul 53", "Modul 51" and "Modul 49_44". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer album by soul jazz pianist Ray Bryant! The title track, "Slow Freight", is an amazing 10 minute groover that moves at a very slow pace (just like a freight train), and which features some very cool ad-lib talking by Paul Serrano – a pretty groovy touch that really adds a lot to the track! Ray's piano is in the lead, with a sinister soulful groove – and he's backed by his patented two-trumpet rhythm sound, played here by Art Farmer and Snookie Young – blasting away with a tightly vamping approach that's really in the groove. The rest of the record's great too – and other tracks include "The Fox Stalker" and "Return Of The Prodigal Son". One of Ray's best ever! LP, Vinyl record album

A great bit of 70s electric work from Quincy – and probably his funkiest album ever! Quincy's really stepping out here from the straighter and spacier styles of earlier records – going for more of the dirty grooves he was cutting up for soundtrack albums, and hitting notes that were a lot more fitting for the blacksploitation era. The record includes the massive funky track cut "Hikky-Burr", which was the theme to the first Bill Cosby Show, and which has a sinister groove, and some wild shouted lyrics! Also features two more great themes – "Ironside" and "The Anderson Tapes" – both of which have a cool electric sound to them, and the nice title cut, which actually features Quincy on vocals! Other tracks include "Cast Your Fate To The Wind", "What's Going On", "Brown Ballad" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A hard bop classic – one of the first albums to feature Art Blakey as a leader – a killer 10" session that's one of the best bop sides on Mercury, but which is expanded here in a Japanese pressing with bonus tracks! Every cut crackles with a sinister intensity that's just fantastic – and Blakey leads a quintet with Joe Gordon on trumpet, Gigi Gryce on alto, and Walter Bishop on piano. The style is a combination of bop and modern idioms – that rare blend of the two that was tough to pull off this well, and which when it did, usually had Blakey in the group! Titles include "Minority", "Mirah", "Futurity", "Eleanor", and "Simplicity". LP, Vinyl record album

Drummer Akira Ishikawa was easily one of the hippest cats on the Japanese scene of the late 60s and early 70s – a player and leader with a great ear for American funk and soul changes of the time, most of which he brought into play on a record like this! The album's definitely got the soul and rock promised in the title, but also plenty of jazz too – as some of the solos go nicely outside, in weird offbeat ways that nicely contrast with the tighter grooves in the rhythm – creating a nice sense of tension that really makes this record stand out from the pack! There's a really sinister undercurrent here – odd edges and weird tones on piano, guitar, and saxophone – all amidst some strongly soulful grooves from the rest of the group. Titles include "The Cougar", "Greensleeves", "No More Than A Drop", "Deep River", "Mago-Uta", and "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic early record from tenor giant Stanley Turrentine – a set that's completely hard-hitting, and which has a very different vibe than the sweeter sets he'd cut later in the 70s! Instead, this record is pure hardbop all the way through – with Turrentine matching labelmate Hank Mobley for depth of tone and freshness of ideas – stretching out on these long, live tracks with a very cool combo that also features Grant Green on guitar and Horace Parlan on piano – both of whom are superb, and hit some real Blue Note heights on the set. Parlan brings this sinister edge to some of the best tunes, and Green's guitar rings out with these fantastically soulful chromes – providing a great balance to the deep runs that Stanley takes on the tenor. Titles on this first volume include a long moody reading of "Yesterdays", plus the hard bop original "Stanley's Time", and the cuts "Broadway" and "But Not For Me". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the all-time great ones by Ben Webster! The album was recorded near the end of Webster's all-too-short time on this planet – at a point when he had really perfected a sorrowful tone on tenor, and a strangely sinister approach to ballads – one that gave even familiar tunes an unusual edge. The great Johnny Richards handled backings for the set – in a mode that uses light strings in the background, and which lets the solos step right out front – in a style that rivals the great work of Ralph Burns for Verve's classic "with strings" albums. But the real strength here is Webster's tone, which is fantastic – as you'll hear on titles like "Stella By Starlight", "Nancy", "It's Easy To Remember", and "Accent On Youth". LP, Vinyl record album