Wonderfully soulful grooves from the amazing Lucky Thompson! Despite the simple cover and title, this is a very nice set that brings together some of Lucky Thompson's excellent soulful recordings for the Groove Merchant label during the early 70s. Thompson started out his career as a more traditional tenorist, with a definite post-swing bias – but by the time of these sessions, he'd emerged (after a long stay in Europe) as a more spiritual, more soulful player, capable of deep emotion, and warm flowing introspective solos. He's caught in good company here – as both sessions feature Cedar Walton on keyboards – and the CD features Thompson on both tenor and soprano, which he plays in a delightful way. Titles include "Fillet Of Soul", "Then Soul Walked In", "Home Come'n", "Soul Lullaby", and "Sun Out". CD

A gently beautiful record from trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire – one driven by a desire to create open space, which Ambrose does wonderfully in the company of Bill Frisell on guitar and Herlin Riley on drums! All players have a great sense of timing and work with a "less is more" sort of approach – a quality you'll certainly know from some of Frisell's music, but which is delivered here with a warm balance that's also nicely different than those recordings too! In the wrong hands, the set could have the coldness of an ECM recording, but instead there's a much more sensitive approach going on here – but also one that's never sleepy or too laidback. Titles include "Mr Frisell", "Owl Song 2", "Weighted Corners", "Grace", "Mr Riley", "Henya", and "Flux Fuelings". CD

Don't let the "alternate" in the title fool you, because it's not like the Art Ensemble Of Chicago are getting all alt-rock or anything – nor is the album a set of alternate takes! Instead, the album's one of their best from the time – a well-crafted set of tunes, recorded in very familiar company in Chicago – issued only for the Japanese market by DIW. There's a richly organic quality to some of the tunes – as many of the numbers are sparer, more thoughtful tracks that focus on spare percussion and instrumental interplay between members of the group. The album also features the longer tune "Kush", which gets fairly outside at times – plus shorter numbers that include "Imaginary Situations", "And There Was Peace", "Whatever Happens", and "Alternate Express". CD

Some of Kenny's best recordings – especially from the early days! The albums contained on this 2CD set feature Kenny in the company of some of the best late 50's players at Blue Note. Junior Cook and Tina Brooks are on tenor, Duke Jordan or Bobby Timmons play piano, Louis Smith plays trumpet on some tracks, Sam Jones is on bass, and Art Blakey is on drums throughout. The cuts have a very open-ended blowing session feel, and Kenny comes through surprisingly well, really picking up steam on a way you don't always hear in more restrained recordings. The 2-in-1 combo is a nice idea, too – and it gives you all 9 long tracks from these two rare albums, including "Rock Salt", "Chuckin", "Scotch Blues", and "Phinupi". CD

Genius work from the team of Chick Corea on piano and Gary Burton on vibes – both players who were already making a lot of magic in the 70s, but who really seem to explode in the company of each other! Burton's tones are wonderfully bold and firm – these cascading colors that merge perfectly with Corea's piano lines – which themselves have a beautifully understated feel that's quite different than his fusion material – but which seems to pack an even more powerful punch! The album features no other instrumentation at all – yet the range of feeling and expression is much more powerful than most full group performances – on a sublime set of tracks that include "Duet Suite", "Never", "La Fiesta", "Radio", "Song To Gayle", and selections from Corea's "Children's Songs". CD

Don Cherry gave many wonderful musical performances on the European scene in the 70s, including this one – a gem of a record that was thought to be lost for years, and finally gets released to the world at large! The set's a live collaboration with electronic musician Jean Schwarz – whose contributions here are nicely subtle, and never challenge the acoustic energy of the session, but instead augment it in all these really cool, unique ways – very different than most improvised music with electronics at the time. Cherry plays pocket trumpet and some great doussn gouni – in the company of an equally fantastic lineup that features JF Jenny Clark on bass, Nana Vasconcelos on percussion, and Michel Portal on saxes, bass clarinet, and bandoneon. Given all the elements, there's some very unique sounds going on here – a really amazing record that includes the tracks "Bells One", "Doussn Gouni", "Tribute To Ornette", "Bando", and "Berimbau". CD

The team of Paul Desmond and Jim Hall was one of the best ideas ever forged in American jazz of the 60s – and the icy pair are perfect company together on this album of bossa-inflected tracks with a very cool edge! The album allows Desmond's alto to take on a warmth and flowing quality it never had in the Dave Brubeck group – and Hall's guitar work, while a masterpiece of understatement, brings in just the right amount of ringing tone to echo out the brilliance of Desmond's ideas. Gene Wright and Connie Kay complete the group, and titles include "O Gato", "Samba Cantina", "Girl From East 9th", "Ship Without A Sail", and "Bossa Antigua". Plus, this excellent CD reissue features 2 bonus tracks – the groovy "Samba Cepeda" and an alternate take of "O Gato". CD

Two tenor greats pay tribute to a host of other tenor greats – but with results that are quite different than you might expect! The album's hardly the type that just revisits familiar cliches from tenor giants of years past – and instead, the team of Houston Person and Teddy Edwards really bring a lot of themselves to the record – working through modes previously expressed by John Coltrane, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, and others – but all in ways that are more than solid enough to stand on their own. Of course, they've got some great help here in the rhythm section – Richard Wyands on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Kenny Washington on drums – the latter two of whom we'd be happy to hear in anyone's company. Titles include "Equinox", "The Girl From Ipanema", "Body & Soul", "Talk Of The Town", "That's All", and "Out Of Nowhere". CD

A magnificent follow up to the Undercurrent album from the team of Bill Evans and Jim Hall – and like that one, a set that features amazing interplay between piano and guitar! Hall's guitar has never sounded better – and in the airy company of Evans, it takes on many of the same qualities as on his famous late 50s recordings in the Jimmy Guiffre trio. Bill's work is great too – almost more tonally focused than before, with perfectly chosen notes that resonate beautifully in this very spare space. Titles include "Jazz Samba", "All Across The City", "Angel Face", and "Turn Out The Stars". CD

A magnificent follow up to the Undercurrent album from the team of Bill Evans and Jim Hall – and like that one, a set that features amazing interplay between piano and guitar! Hall's guitar has never sounded better – and in the airy company of Evans, it takes on many of the same qualities as on his famous late 50s recordings in the Jimmy Guiffre trio. Bill's work is great too – almost more tonally focused than before, with perfectly chosen notes that resonate beautifully in this very spare space. Titles include "Jazz Samba", "All Across The City", "Angel Face", and "Turn Out The Stars". CD

Al Grey and Jimmy Forrest found some really great company working together in the 70s – a way to extend the soulful sounds that either player had first started crafting at the beginning of the 60s – Grey on his excellent soul jazz trombone albums for Chess, and Forrest on some killer tenor dates for Prestige – both great moments that the players return to here in a spirited live performance from Chicago! The setting's a small group one – a quintet with Shirley Scott on piano, instead of her usual Hammond – and the tracks burst out with some boldly-blown solos from both Grey and Forrest, who are determined to make their unique voices known – on titles that include "CB & Me", "Salty Papa", "I Can't Get Started", and "Truly Wonderful". CD

A quadruple-header from Ramsey Lewis – four albums from his great 70s electric period on Columbia Records! First up is Funky Serenity – sweet electric funk from Ramsey Lewis! The album's one of his best from the 70s – and it's got Ramsey on Fender Rhodes, electric harpsichord, and other keyboards, grooving away in an open-ended 70s mode that still retains all the heavy soul of his classic work for Chess. Morris Jennings adds in some very nice percussion with his drum work, and Cleveland Eaton's on funky bass, giving the set a strong bottom groove. Features the sublime sample cut "My Love For You", a great version of "Knights In White Satin" that's done with a weird spacey groove, plus the tracks "Kufany Mapenzi (Making Love)", "Serene Funk", "What It Is!", and "Dreams". Golden Hits isn't a "best of", but instead has Ramsey and his funky mid 70s trio with Morris Jennings and Cleveland Eaton revisiting some of his best loved material from the Cadet years, but with the groovy Rhodes and wah wah sound that we dig so much about his CBS recordings. Unlike some of the other records from this period, the group's nice and stripped down, just the electric piano, bass and drums, so the groove's nice and wide open, Ramsey and company popping along with the sanctified soulful vibe of his 60s work, but updating their sound with some nice electric touches. 9 numbers in all: "Hang On Sloopy", "Blues For The Night Owl", "Hi-Heel Sneakers", "Carmen", "Delilah", "Wade In The Water", "Slippin' Into Darkness", "Somethin' You Got", and "The In Crowd". Solar Wind was cut smack dab in the middle of Ramsey's glory days at Columbia Records – with great production help and work on bass from the mighty Cleveland Eaton! The style is nice and lean, with just some occasional fuller touches – and Ramsey plays plenty of Fender Rhodes, in addition to bits of Arp and moog too – in a setting that's mostly trio, with a few guest players stepping into the mix from track to track! There's a nice degree of fuzz at points, thanks to added help from Steve Cropper – and titles include a great funky version of "Summer Breeze", plus "Solar Wind", "Come Down In Time", "Love for A Day", "Hummingbird", "Jamaican Marketplace", and "Sweet & Tender You". Sun Goddess is one of our favorite Ramsey Lewis albums ever – and a perfect summation of the genius that was brewing on the Chicago scene in the late 60s and early 70s! The album has Ramsey working strongly with Earth Wind & Fire – no surprise, given his close ties to Maurice White, who was the drummer in Ramsey's trio before starting his own group – and the shared relationship both artists had with producer Charles Stepney! The three were all key parts of the late 60s sound at Chess Records – but here, they've brought the same soulful energy to Columbia – working in a wider, more mature groove for the 70s – one that has Lewis' wicked Fender Rhodes lines stretching out strongly over tight, compressed, funky lines from EWF! The centerpiece of the set is the massive 7 minute "Sun Goddess", but there's lots of other nice ones like "Living For The City", "Gemini Rising", and "Jungle Strut". Funky, electric, and sublimely wonderful all the way through! CD

The meeting of two key modern jazz talents in the late 50s third stream of jazz – heard on material pulled from three different Atlantic albums recorded at the Music Inn during 1956! The core of the set features the clarinet of Jimmy Giuffre blowing alongside the Modern Jazz Quartet – in a spacious style that's very much in the spirit of Jimmy's own loosely-crafted groups of the time, and which makes surprisingly gentle use of piano, drums, and vibes next to his own gentle phrasing on clarinet. 2 of the 5 tracks with the MJQ add in Giuffre trio members Jim Hall and Ralph Pena – and titles for all include "A Fugue For Music Inn", "Serenade", "Fun",j "Da Capo", and "Fine". Added to these are 4 more titles that have Giuffre in the shifting company of other all-star players on tunes that take on a more traditional nature overall – longer jamming tracks that feature Rex Stewart, Pee Wee Russell, Teddy Charles, and Herbie Mann on titles that include "Blues In E Flat", "In A Mellotone", "The Quiet Time", and "Body & Soul". The last 3 tracks on the set return us to the Modern Jazz Quartet – working here on their own – on tracks that include "2 Degrees East 3 Degrees West", "Variation No 1 On God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", and "Oh Bess Where's My Bess". CD

Really fantastic early work from guitar genius Wes Montgomery – a series of live recordings from his Indianapolis roots – done at a level that's quite different than his bigger records of the 60s! Even at this early age, Wes is already a chromatic master – able to get sounds out of his guitar that are so different than most of his contemporaries – playing in a small combo mode on most tracks, but with less of the R&B influence than most postwar guitarists. Instead, Montgomery is pure jazz all the way through, but also without that too-clean tone that some folks were going for – just a great focus on color and open, honest tone – in the company of musicians who include Carl Perkins and Buddy Montgomery on piano, Mel Rhyne on Hammond, Monk Montgomery on bass, David Baker on trombone, and David Young on tenor. Those last two players only make a few appearances – as most groups are horn-less, which gives Wes even more solo space – on titles that include "Four", "Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea", "It's You Or No One", "Ecaroh", "Sandu", "Whisper Not", "Four On Six", "Mr Walker", "Round Midnight", "West Coast Blues", "Tune Up", "So What", and "The End Of A Love Affair". CD

Steve Nelson's been one of the hippest talents on vibes for many years now – and an album like this is a great reminder of why we love his music so much! Nelson's never content to just echo the sound of previous masters of his instrument – and instead, like a rare few, he finds a way to integrate the instrument into a familiar jazz combo, but all without ever making the vibes stand in second place – really soaring out and ringing forth with a commanding power that really leaves us breathless! Here, Nelson's in some very well-matched, deeply soulful company – a killer quartet with Danny Grissett on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Lewis Nash on drums – superb rhythm players whose own fires rise and burn with the energy of the leader. The ballads on the record are as great as the burners – and it's the burners we love most of all – on titles that include "Eastern Joy Dance", "Soul-Leo", "Grew's Tune", "Samba D'Blue", "New Wheels", "Brothers Under The Sun", and "Melody For Mulgrew". CD

Lonnie Smith's a long way from his Blue Note years here – but the sound is still plenty darn great, thanks to some fuller arrangements from the great Brad Baker – of B Baker Chocolate Company fame! The whole thing's quite electric – with Lonnie on Fender Rhodes and other keyboards on most tracks, and rhythms that bring in bits of strings amidst the smaller jazz combo vamping – a blend that's smoothly soulful, but still more than funky enough to please our ears. Lonnie even sings a bit on the record, too – in this slightly-spacey quality that has echoes of Stevie Wonder – but the main focus overall is on his keyboards, which step out nicely over the backings. Titles include "Keep On Lovin", "What I Want", "No Tears Tomorrow", "Sizzle Stick", "Lean Meat", and "Filet O Sole". CD

Lonnie Smith's a long way from his Blue Note years here – but the sound is still plenty darn great, thanks to some fuller arrangements from the great Brad Baker – of B Baker Chocolate Company fame! The whole thing's quite electric – with Lonnie on Fender Rhodes and other keyboards on most tracks, and rhythms that bring in bits of strings amidst the smaller jazz combo vamping – a blend that's smoothly soulful, but still more than funky enough to please our ears. Lonnie even sings a bit on the record, too – in this slightly-spacey quality that has echoes of Stevie Wonder – but the main focus overall is on his keyboards, which step out nicely over the backings. Titles include "Keep On Lovin", "What I Want", "No Tears Tomorrow", "Sizzle Stick", "Lean Meat", and "Filet O Sole". CD

Tracks include "Ain't Misbehavin'," "Chances Are," "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues," and many more 22 tracks total. CD

The "Tee" here is Takashi Fujii – who doesn't play on the record, but instead arranged with the group – and produced the record with the really deep, complex sound we've come to love on 70s releases from the Three Blind Mice label! The group has a relatively spiritual approach right from the start – almost free, but more soulfully directed overall, and definitely with the sense of poetry you'd expect from the title! Takao Uematso serves up some great tenor sax, and Kenji Mori plays both soprano and tenor – in a group that also features Masaru Imada on electric and acoustic piano, Masayuki Takayanagi on guitar, and Hiroshi Murakomi on drums. Both tracks are long – and titles include "Combo 77" and "Sonnet". CD

The "Tee" here is Takashi Fujii – who doesn't play on the record, but instead arranged with the group – and produced the record with the really deep, complex sound we've come to love on 70s releases from the Three Blind Mice label! The group has a relatively spiritual approach right from the start – almost free, but more soulfully directed overall, and definitely with the sense of poetry you'd expect from the title! Takao Uematso serves up some great tenor sax, and Kenji Mori plays both soprano and tenor – in a group that also features Masaru Imada on electric and acoustic piano, Masayuki Takayanagi on guitar, and Hiroshi Murakomi on drums. Both tracks are long – and titles include "Combo 77" and "Sonnet". CD

British pianist Stan Tracey wrote some fantastic longer-form work for the legendary Lansdowne Series in the UK scene of the 60s – and that compositional imagination kept on going strong over the decades, as you'll hear in these two wonderful pieces from late in his life! The group here is an octet – with a core trio that has Stan in very familiar company, alongside Clark Tracey on drums and Andrew Cleyndert on bass – all illuminated wonderfully by work from Mornington Lockett on tenor and soprano, Simon Allen on tenor, Sammy Mayne on alto, Guy Barker on trumpet, and Mark Nightingale on trombone – all players we don't really know at all, but who bring that same sense of imaginative color to Stan's ideas as some of the more famous British soloists on projects like this from years past. Both works are wonderful – hardly stiff highbrow material at all, and instead pieces that can be enjoyed just as well in terms of their individual tunes – titles that include "Lunar Lanterns", "Moon Cake", "Dragon Boats", "Crackers & Bangers", "Unison", "Building Bridges", "Cuban Connection", and "Humberto's Dream". CD