A legendary album from alto genius Art Pepper – a set in which he meets up with the famous Miles Davis rhythm section of the time – Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – a trio of players who really help send the album over the top! There's maybe a bit more of a crackle in the rhythms here than on some of Art's other 50s records – which makes for a classic meeting of east and west coast scenes, and some especially nice raspy lines from Pepper – delivered at that level that always made his music of this period so nicely complex – outwardly cool, but with some seething energy at the core. Titles include a definitive take on Art's classic "Straight Life" – plus "Waltz Me Blues", "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", and "Star Eyes". CD

A legendary album from alto genius Art Pepper – a set in which he meets up with the famous Miles Davis rhythm section of the time – Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – a trio of players who really help send the album over the top! There's maybe a bit more of a crackle in the rhythms here than on some of Art's other 50s records – which makes for a classic meeting of east and west coast scenes, and some especially nice raspy lines from Pepper – delivered at that level that always made his music of this period so nicely complex – outwardly cool, but with some seething energy at the core. Titles include a definitive take on Art's classic "Straight Life" – plus "Waltz Me Blues", "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", and "Star Eyes". CD

Never-heard music from pianist Red Garland – working here with a unique trio that features Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums – a lineup that only existed for this one set of performances from 1977! The material is great – maybe better than most Garland albums issued at the time – and the tracks were recorded with great care at the Keystone Korner club in San Francisco – at a level that's similar to the best Fantasy Records live dates from the venue, which were often like this album – a great chance for the artist to really stretch out and do something new! Garland still has that fluid, lyrical sensibility we love in his famous 50s sides – but there's also a much richer, more sophisticated approach to the piano as well – an even deeper sense of tonal color that comes through on the album's long tracks. Jones is great too – increasingly complex during these years, as you'd hear on his own recordings – and a great accompaniment to Red's new modes of expression. The whole thing presents 150 minutes of unreleased music, plus some great notes and photos too – and titles include "Love For Sale", "Billy Boy", "Blues In Bebop", "On Green Dolphin Street", "Dear Old Stockholm", "Bag's Groove", "On A Clear Day", "Straight No Chaser", "Autumn Leaves", and even a version of "The Christmas Song" (since the material was recorded a few weeks before Christmas!) CD

John Coltrane's classic – and only – recording as a leader for Blue Note! The album's no throwaway date, though – as it stands strongly with both Coltrane's other label work of the time, and with the best of the late 50s Blue Note scene – a time when the label was really cooking at full strength! The groove here is a bit harder, heavier, and hardbop-inflected than some of Trane's late 50s sides with Red Garland – thanks to a lineup that features Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Kenny Drew on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. There's a crisp modern edge to the record that really holds up beautifully – even after years of play – and titles include "Blue Train, "Locomotion", "Moment's Notice", and "Lazy Bird". This edition includes alternate takes of "Blue Train" and "Lazy Bird"! CD

Red Garland's piano was certainly humming strong at the time of this session – as Red's trio were one of the key rhythm components of many Prestige albums of the late 50s, but also a real starring act on their own! The album's got a laidback, almost mellow feel that's a bit different from some of the Garland accompaniment on horn-based sessions – a style that's introspective, but always spirited – sprightly, but never flowery – that magical style that allowed Garland to bridge different worlds of jazz piano in the 50s. Paul Chambers is a perfect accompaniment here on bass, Art Taylor's work on drums is a masterpiece of understatement, and although the titles are all familiar, they're certainly given a special Garland touch! Titles include "The Very Thought Of You", "If I Were A Bell", "Please Send Me Someone To Love", "I Know Why", and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love". CD

An obscure little quartet session from Red Garland – recorded with Les Spann on both guitar and flute, caught at a time when he was just starting to make waves on the New York scene! The presence of Spann gives the record a decidedly different feel than most of Garland's work on Prestige – as the hollow-body guitar tones bring some much bluesier inflections to some of the tunes, offset by more chromatic runs that really illuminate others. Red's own piano is still wonderfully soulful, and presented here with a pointed sense of economy on some numbers – and rhythm is by Sam Jones on bass and Frank Gant on drums. Titles include "Marie's Delight", "This Can't Be Love", "Blues For News", "I Just Can't See For Looking", and "Solar". CD

Red Garland's piano was certainly humming strong at the time of this session – as Red's trio were one of the key rhythm components of many Prestige albums of the late 50s, but also a real starring act on their own! The album's got a laidback, almost mellow feel that's a bit different from some of the Garland accompaniment on horn-based sessions – a style that's introspective, but always spirited – sprightly, but never flowery – that magical style that allowed Garland to bridge different worlds of jazz piano in the 50s. Paul Chambers is a perfect accompaniment here on bass, Art Taylor's work on drums is a masterpiece of understatement, and although the titles are all familiar, they're certainly given a special Garland touch! Titles include "The Very Thought Of You", "If I Were A Bell", "Please Send Me Someone To Love", "I Know Why", and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love". CD

A seminal set from the young Miles Davis – working here on one of his legendary pairings with tenorist John Coltrane, who's equally important to the sound of the session as Miles! Tracks are long, and mix up some modern modes with remade ballads – both sublime expressions of the new ideas in jazz that both players were unlocking at the time, presented here in a setting that still sets a standard for modern jazz on record! The rhythm trio is equally wonderful – Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – and titles "Tune Up", "Blues By Five", and "Airegin" – plus the pair's classic reading of "My Funny Valentine". CD

John Coltrane's classic – and only – recording as a leader for Blue Note! The album's no throwaway date, though – as it stands strongly with both Coltrane's other label work of the time, and with the best of the late 50s Blue Note scene – a time when the label was really cooking at full strength! The groove here is a bit harder, heavier, and hardbop-inflected than some of Trane's late 50s sides with Red Garland – thanks to a lineup that features Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Kenny Drew on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. There's a crisp modern edge to the record that really holds up beautifully – even after years of play – and titles include "Blue Train, "Locomotion", "Moment's Notice", and "Lazy Bird". CD

A nice set – despite being kind of a put-together batch of tunes! The album's titled "The Last Trane" because it represents the last material that Prestige Records had in its vault from the time that John Coltrane was recording for the label in the late 50s. Titles were recorded on 3 different dates from 1957 and 1958 – mostly with Red Garland on piano, and also featuring some additional horn work by Donald Byrd on 2 tracks. The album's got a great spare track called "Slowtrane" – one that features Coltrane playing with only bass and drums for accompaniment – and which recalls the genius of some of his sessions for Transition or Imperial. Byrd's blowing alongside the tenor on versions of "Lover" and "Come Rain Or Come Shine" – and the set's rounded up by a nice open-ended track called "By The Numbers", which has a warm bluesy solo by Trane! CD

An excellent set that spans the gamut of Miles' work on Columbia – from his early hardbop sides to his later experimental ones! All of the material on the 2LP set was unreleased until the time of this release in 1979 – and the album features Miles in the company of a wide variety of players that include George Benson, Cannonball Adderley, Bennie Maupin, Hank Mobley, Joe Zawinul, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Red Garland, and Joe Beck. Titles include "Teo's Bag", "Side Car (1 & 2)", "Sanctuary", "Guinnevere", "Circle In The Round", and "Two Bass Hit". CD

A seminal set from the young Miles Davis – working here on one of his legendary pairings with tenorist John Coltrane, who's equally important to the sound of the session as Miles! Tracks are long, and mix up some modern modes with remade ballads – both sublime expressions of the new ideas in jazz that both players were unlocking at the time, presented here in a setting that still sets a standard for modern jazz on record! The rhythm trio is equally wonderful – Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – and titles "Tune Up", "Blues By Five", and "Airegin" – plus the pair's classic reading of "My Funny Valentine". CD

Really classic jazz grooves from the vaults of Prestige Records – the kind of cuts that first broke big on the London scene of the 80s, at a time when diggers were setting fire to the rare groove scene too! The cuts here are proof that some of the best work doesn't need to come from completely obscure groups or super-tiny labels – as the music here is exactly the kind of work that made huge waves in the US jazz scene when first released, then went underground for many years – until later collectors and diggers brought it back to the limelight! The great thing is how many of these cuts are all acoustic – no need for electricity to make things funky – as you'll hear on tracks that include "Hiyo Silver" by Bennie Green, "Grease Monkey" by Kenny Burrell with Jack McDuff, "Mau Mau" by Art Farmer, "Mambo Inn" by Billy Taylor with Candido, "Manteca" by Red Garland, "Blue Stompin" by Hal Singer, "Spider Man" by Freddie McCoy, "Filthy McNasty" by Eddie Jefferson, "Flatjacks" by Willie Rodriguez, "Blue Gator" by Willis Jackson, and "Pedro Stroller" by Johnny Lytle. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) CD

John Coltrane's classic – and only – recording as a leader for Blue Note! The album's no throwaway date, though – as it stands strongly with both Coltrane's other label work of the time, and with the best of the late 50s Blue Note scene – a time when the label was really cooking at full strength! The groove here is a bit harder, heavier, and hardbop-inflected than some of Trane's late 50s sides with Red Garland – thanks to a lineup that features Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Kenny Drew on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. There's a crisp modern edge to the record that really holds up beautifully – even after years of play – and titles include "Blue Train, "Locomotion", "Moment's Notice", and "Lazy Bird". CD

A seminal set from the young Miles Davis – working here on one of his legendary pairings with tenorist John Coltrane, who's equally important to the sound of the session as Miles! Tracks are long, and mix up some modern modes with remade ballads – both sublime expressions of the new ideas in jazz that both players were unlocking at the time, presented here in a setting that still sets a standard for modern jazz on record! The rhythm trio is equally wonderful – Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – and titles "Tune Up", "Blues By Five", and "Airegin" – plus the pair's classic reading of "My Funny Valentine". CD

Features Kenny Burrell, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Ray Barretto, and others. Tracks include "Walkin", "Your Red Wagon", "Manteca", "Summertime", and "When Your Lover Has Gone". CD

Way more than just a regular trio outing from Red Garland – as the great Leo Wright joins the group on alto for half the tracks – making a rare small group appearance for the time! CD

A beautiful name for a beautiful record – a classic set of hardbop material from John Coltrane's early years as a leader – and a session that has him working with Donald Byrd on trumpet, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Taylor on drums! The album's got a beautifully laidback feel that prefaces some of the Coltrane's more exploratory work on Impulse and Atlantic – but one that still also has the earthy, straight ahead feel of his best early years on Prestige – a great combination that makes the record a key moment in the early career of The Great One. Tracks are all quite long – not exactly blowing session tunes, but done with a feel that's more open than some of the other Coltrane albums of the time – and titles include "Black Pearls", "Lover Come Back To Me", and "Sweet Sapphire Blues". CD

A mellow soulful classic by John Coltrane – and one of his best-remembered early albums for Prestige! The session has all the gentle glow that you might guess from the title – a laidback, open-ended approach that has Coltrane blowing long solos over rhythms from the trio of Red Garland piano, Paul Chambers bass, and either Jimmy Cobb and Art Taylor on drums – with just a bit of guest trumpet from either Freddie Hubbard or Wilbur Harden on three of the album's four tracks. The tunes are plenty long, and even with the added soloists, Coltrane still gets in plenty of space – on titles that include "Stardust", "Time After Time", "Love Thy Neighbor", and "Then I'll Be Tired Of You". CD

Classic early John Coltrane for Prestige – less a bold statement as a leader than a strong batch of blowing session-styled tracks that show how well Coltrane could hold his own with more established players! The groups on the set vary from track to track – and feature players that include Sahib Shihab, Mal Waldron, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Al Heath – plus underappreciated Philly trumpeter Johnnie Splawn. Trane's in great form here – even though the overall set's a bit less structured than some of his later albums – and his tone and solo approach are already stepping out from the rest of the pack with great vigor! Titles include "Bakai", "Time Was", "Straight Street", and "Chronic Blues". CD