Herbie Nichols was one of the greatest piano players of the 20th Century, and his best work was recorded for Blue Note! You can hear just about every track he recorded for the label in this set (apart from some alternate takes), which is a stunning batch of lively tracks that rank Nichols right up there with Monk, Cecil Taylor, and Randy Weston for sheer modernist inventiveness. The set includes Herbie's first two 10" albums for Blue Note, and his full Herbie Nichols Trio record – with players who include Art Blakey or Max Roach on drums, and Teddy Kotick or Al McKibbon on bass. Titles include "Step Tempest", "Crisp Day", "2300 Skiddoo", "Query", "Blue Chopsticks", and "Chit Chatting". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best early albums cut by John Lewis as a leader – a set that's a fair bit different than John's work with the Modern Jazz Quartet – thanks to strong guest appearances from players who include Paul Gonsalves and Benny Golson on tenor sax, Eric Dolphy on alto, Jim Hall on guitar, and Herb Pomeroy on trumpet. Most of the tracks are a great mix of the mellow, introspective Lewis approach with some of the freer, more relaxed styles of the soloists – an approach that's slightly third stream, but which also has some of the great sounds and tones that Lewis forged on his Afternoon In Paris album with Sacha Distel. Titles include great versions of "Body & Soul" and "Afternoon In Paris", plus Lewis' classic "2 Degrees East, 3 Degrees West", as well as "I Should Care" and "I Remember Clifford". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that really dives deep with a rich mix of creative rhythms and inventive horn lines! The album still has Jack DeJohnette staying true to his more avant roots – working with tenor from David Murray, alto and soprano sax from John Purcell, baritone and tuba from Howard Johnson, and bass from Rufus Reid – a lineup that's a bit bigger than on other Special Edition albums, and which is used to fill in even more colors and deeper elements than before. Some of the tunes are wonderfully vivid in approach – and titles include "Festival", "Third World Anthem", "Zoot Suite", "Ahmad The Terrible", and "New Orleans Strut". LP, Vinyl record album

The third meeting of this world jazz ensemble, with Colin Walcott of Oregon on sitar, tabla and hammered dulcimer, Don Cherry on trumpet, organ and doussn'gouni and Nana Vasconcelos on berimbau and percussion. All three players have always had a very wide reaching approach to playing, even incorporating international elements in their less overtly "world music" projects, and this set finds them once again vibing well off each other. The tunes feature a wide open approach with improvised excursions on traditional and contemporary themes, with 7 tracks in all: "Goshakabuchi", "Hey Da Ba Doom", "Travel By Night", "Lullaby", "Trayra Boia", "Clicky Clacky" and "Inner Organs". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the title's a bit overly-optimistic – but with a record like this, you can certainly imagine a world in which everybody does like Hampton Hawes! The record's the third in a legendary early run for the Contemporary label – trio material that broke Hawes out of the box and firmly put his rich talents on the keys at the top of the list of the best players in jazz. The sound's an amazing blend of jazz idioms at the time – with some of the flourishes of the Peterson or Jamal crowd, but often a tighter, almost rootsier bottom in the rhythms – a touch of the LA soul jazz sound, showing up here quite early! The trio features Red Mitchell on bass and Chuck Thompson on drums – and tracks are short, but showcase the open sound that Hawes was developing at the time. Titles include "Night In Tunisia", "Body & Soul", "Lover Come Back To Me", and the Hawes originals "The Sermon" and "Coolin The Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer piano jazz, and some of the greatest modernist work ever recorded by Blue Note! Herbie Nichols deserves every bit of the rare fame he ever got – and it's only the paucity of his recordings that has kept him from achieving the status of Thelonious Monk or Cecil Taylor as an avant garde forefather – which makes this album a really key piece of a too-small jazz puzzle! Nichols is amazing throughout – bristling with new ideas, and a fresh approach to modern jazz that also transforms the presence of the other two members of the trio – Art Blakey on drums and Al McKibbon on bass, both of whom are clearly following Herbie's lead here. All titles are original – Nichols was a hell of a writer – and titles include "Third World", "Step Tempest", "Dance Line", "Blue Chopsticks", "Shuffle Montgomery", "Brass Rings", "Crisp Day", and "Amoeba's Dance". LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection of work from one of the hippest bandleaders to emerge in the swing generation – and one of the few to be able to tie his approach to the growing worlds of modern jazz and jump jive too! The set features material from Woody Herman's first three "herds" – the first, his initial recording group with Columbia; the second, his groundbreaking group with the "four brothers" group of horn players who included Stan Getz and Jimmy Giuffre; and the third his mid 50s revival group that had Ralph Burns turning in some great modern arrangements to rework that four brothers sound. The set features very lively notes from Woody himself – and titles include "Non Alcoholic", "Caldonia", "Good Earth", "Four Brothers", "Early Autumn", "Third Herd", "Mulligan Tawny", "Blame Boehm", and "Sidewalks Of Cuba". LP, Vinyl record album