Unheard sounds from the legendary Charlie Parker – a set that features 58 previously-unknown alternate takes of classic recordings from Parker's years with Verve producer Norman Granz – all presented here with a huge amount of detail in the notes! The set is incredible – and has appeal that goes far beyond just pleasing the legion of Parker devotees out there – as the way that Charlie approaches a solo is incredible, and it's equally incredible to hear him trying out different approaches on these different tracks – even on some of the numbers that stop short or are incomplete takes – because there's a sense of fire and excitement that still grabs you, and maybe a lot more than many other artists on a full-length solo. There's a reason why early fans of Bird were so fanatic about hearing everything they could by the man – and this set continues that legacy, and really lives up to the faith – with never-heard takes on "Bloomdido", "Visa", "Okiedoke", "Tune X", "Tune Z", "Star Eyes", "Fiesta", "Tico Tico", "An Oscar For Treadwell", "Mohawk", "My Little Suede Shoes", "Night & Day", "Almost Like Being In Love", "If I Should Lose You", "Tune Y", and "What Is This Thing Called Love". Great notes by Phil Schaap, too – a huge booklet! CD

The rarest of the 2 Billy Hawks albums for Prestige – both of which are pretty darn rare! Although called a "blues" musician by the label, Billy plays organ in a style that's more in keeping with some of the funky jazz artists on Prestige – especially on the instrumental tracks, which give a lot more room to the instrumental solos. There's a great instrumental groover called "That's Your Bag" that's right up with the best of the Prestige funky jazz tracks from the 60's, and even the vocal cuts are really nice, as Billy has a good soulful singing style. He's backed here by Buddy Terry and Maynard Parker, and tracks include "Heavy Soul", "Whip It On Me", and "I'll Be Back". LP, Vinyl record album

Tasty bluesy organ material from Prestige, featuring 2 hard-to-find records, back-to-back in a single set! Billy Hawks sings and plays organ with a groove that's in between jazz, blues, and deep soul. On New Genius Of The Blues he's fronting a trio that includes a young Ivan "Boogaloo Joe" Jones on guitar, and the group plays a few instrumentals with some excellent organ/guitar interchange. Some of the material here is a bit bluesy, but there's also still a relatively strong soul jazz component as well – one that comes through in the overall structure of the tunes, and in the lean style in which they were recorded. Titles include "Hawks Blues", "Let Me Love You Before You Go", "Got My Mojo Working", "Mean Woman Blues" and more. More Heavy Soul is the rarest of his albums for Prestige – and on this one he plays organ in a style that's more in keeping with some of the funky jazz artists on the label – especially on the instrumental tracks, which give a lot more room to the instrumental solos. There's a great instrumental groover called "That's Your Bag" that's right up with the best of the Prestige funky jazz tracks from the 60s, and even the vocal cuts are really nice, as Billy has a good soulful singing style. He's backed here by Buddy Terry and Maynard Parker, and other tracks include "Heavy Soul", "Whip It On Me", and "I'll Be Back". 19 tracks in all! CD

Surprisingly great quartet tracks from two cats we're normally used to hearing in a big band – Thad Jones on cornet and Mel Lewis on drums – joined by Harold Danko on piano and Rufus Reid on bass. Tracks are long, and titles include "But Not For Me", "Autumn Leaves", and "What Is This Thing Called Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Spare duets between Charlie Haden and Hampton Hawes – just bass and piano, with nothing else to hold them up – presented here as a wonderful illustration of the mature, sophisticated talents both artists had developed by the 70s! Hawes had really learned how to spin out a special kind of longform magic as the 60s turned into the new decade – and here, it's great to hear that approach without any drum in the group at all – as the tracks are long and wonderfully introspective, and offer up some beautifully moody work from Haden on bass. Titles include "As Long As There's Music", "This Is Called Love", "Hello Goodbye", "Irene", and "Rain Forest". CD

One of the rarest 70s albums in the Sun Ra catalog – and one of the most unique, too – given that the format here is a piano trio, of the style often used by other jazz musicians – but completely transformed here in the hands of Ra! The music is sometimes straight, but always with angles – taking off nicely from the Horo Records mode right before – and delivered by Ra with this new sense of confidence and historical imagination on the keys of the piano – with great support from Richard Williams on bass and Luqman Ali on drums. There's no spacey production or weird instrumentation – but still, as with the Horo and Improvising Artists material, Sun Ra shows us what a tremendous jazz musician he can be in a more familiar setting – a great snap back to all those who ever might have called him a pretender. Titles include "Blythe Spirit Dance", "Tenderness", "Days Of Happiness", and "Magic City Blue". CD

Cecil Taylor's first LP for the Candid label – and a landmark album that really lets him open up for the first time in years at a recording session! The album was cut at Nola's Penthouse in 1960, and the core group is Cecil's trio with Buell Neidlinger on bass and Dennis Charles on drums – but Archie Shepp joins the group on tenor on two tracks, "Air" and "Lazy Afternoon". The remaining three have a sound that's not always heard on other Taylor albums from the 60s – a bit bluesy, with playing that might be called a bit "straight", but which also shows Cecil's command of the jazz idiom in a mode that allows keen comparison with other players of his generation. Titles include "EB", "This Nearly Was Mine", and "Port Of Call". CD

Spare duets between Charlie Haden and Hampton Hawes – just bass and piano, with nothing else to hold them up – presented here as a wonderful illustration of the mature, sophisticated talents both artists had developed by the 70s! Hawes had really learned how to spin out a special kind of longform magic as the 60s turned into the new decade – and here, it's great to hear that approach without any drum in the group at all – as the tracks are long and wonderfully introspective, and offer up some beautifully moody work from Haden on bass. Titles include "As Long As There's Music", "This Is Called Love", "Hello Goodbye", "Irene", and "Rain Forest". LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique lineup, coming together in a really unique performance – one that definitely pushes the boundaries of all artists involved, and makes for music that's beyond any expectations you might have for the players! The tracks are long, and the music is often quite free and improvised at times – loose, open, and wonderfully experimental – yet still filled with the individual strengths and souls of each of the players – Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano, Leo Genovese on piano, Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, and Esperanda Spaulding on bass and vocals – the latter of which are nicely different here than on her own albums. There's definitely some of the darker currents that Shorter has brought to his music in the past two decades – and titles include "Someplace Called Where", "Endangered Species", "Encontros E Despedidas", "Drummers Song", and "Midnight In Carlotta's Hair". CD

One of the most beautiful albums of the 70s from pianist Richie Beirach – and in saying that, we don't mean to insult the rest of his other great American work! This set was done in Japan, and it's maybe one of Beirach's most obscure of the decade – but it's also a really special session that features the pianist in combination with two different musicians – guitarist Yoshiaki Masuo on side one, and trumpeter Terumasa Hino on side two – each artists whose contributions bring out a slightly different side of Beirach's sound! The guitar on side one highlights some of those spacious, airy notes that Richie brought to his beautiful ECM sides of the period – while Hino's use of both trumpet and flugelhorn emphasizes some of the darker tones of the piano, but in ways that are completely different than Beirach's work with Dave Liebman. One title is also just solo piano – and titles include "Yesterdays", "Mavrodaphne", "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair", "Zal", and "What Is This Thing Called Love". LP, Vinyl record album