A great set of tracks that features Wayne's early work as a leader – all recorded for the Vee Jay label, either under his name, or with the Young Lions group. The material is fantastic, and is proof that even as a youngster, Wayne was one of jazz's best writers and players. Titles include "Seeds Of Sin", "Powder Keg", "Black Diamond", "Dead End", "Wayning Moments", "Down In The Depths", and "Moon Of Manakoora". Great stuff that we never see on vinyl anymore! LP, Vinyl record album

A real lost treasure – and an incredible session that offers a real meeting of minds that's far more than you'd expect from the simple cover and title! The set is a later one for Vee Jay, and it brings together half of the Jazz Messengers with a batch of west coast players – in a groove that wonderfully mixes together different traditions and rhythms in jazz – and which steps out with a sound that's far more than the sum of its parts! Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, and Curtis Fuller join a group headed by Buddy De Franco, and featuring Victor Feldman on piano and vibes, plus Victor Sproles on bass and Freddie Hill on trumpet. The sound of the group is quite unusual – and a lot lighter than you'd guess – giving Buddy plenty of room to solo in a breezy style that's grown tremendously since his 50s recordings – pushed along by some heavier soul from Art and the group. Titles include "Rain Dance", "Blues Bag", "Twelve Tone Blues", "Kush", and "Cousin Mary". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing work from Eric Dolphy – a record that's come out on a number of different labels, under a number of different names – but which is one of his most perfectly-realized sessions of the 60s, and one of his most spiritual albums ever! The record features a shifting lineup of players – almost presaging the ensemble modes that would rise more strongly in the post-Coltrane years – and Dolphy's chosen a strong group of associates, including Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Woody Shaw on trumpet, Clifford Jordan on soprano sax, Prince Lasha on flute, and Sonny Simmons on alto and bass clarinet. Dolphy plays flute, alto, and bass clarinet – and titles include "Love Me", a solo alto tune by Dolphy; "Alone Together", a duet with Davis' bass; a seminal take on "Jitterbug Waltz", completely reinventing the tune for new generations; and the massive "Music Matador". LP, Vinyl record album

A hard set of soul jazz grooves – recorded under the leadership of the great trombonist Benny Green, and one of his few albums not for Blue Note or Prestige! The sound is very much in the Prestige hardbop mode of the late 50s – and Green heads up a group that includes Gene Ammons and Frank Foster on tenor, Nat Adderley on cornet, Frank Wess on flute and tenor, and Tommy Flanagan on piano– a similar lineup, with a similar sound, to some of the albums recorded under Ammons' name as "blowing sessions". The cuts are long, with laid back laid out solos – and titles include "Jim Dog", "Going South", and "Little Ditty". LP, Vinyl record album

Forget the title – which sounds like a bit of a gimmick – as this is a fine fine Eddie Harris album! After the success that Vee Jay had with Eddie Harris' huge hit version of "Exodus", they cut this album of Eddie playing movie themes – like "Green Dolphin Street", "Laura", "Moonglow", and "Secret Love", plus a few standards like "These Foolish Things", and "The More I See You". Dick Marx handled the arrangements – and the overall sound is slicker than Eddie's "Exodus", as his solos are laid out over larger string arrangements by Dick Marx, but it's not without some charms – especially because Eddie's tone at this point is amazing, filled with little tricks and turns that make just about anything he plays sound great! LP, Vinyl record album

Great jazz version of Henry Mancini's famous score – played by Eddie Harris and his killer Chicago group from the old days – a very cool lineup that includes the young Charles Stepney on vibes, plus Willie Pickens on piano! There's a great bunch of tracks here besides the hit "Moon River" – like "Sally's Tomato", "Mr Yunioshi", "Latin Golightly", and "The Big Heist" – and Eddie and crew do an excellent job with the music, opening it up more than Mancini's recording, but still retaining all of its humor and warmth! LP, Vinyl record album

A great assortment of some of the great jazz recorded during the short-lived run of Vee Jay Records – titles that include "Exodus" by Eddie Harris, "Awful Mean" by Paul Chambers, "Wrinkles" by Wynton Kelly, "Bye Bye Blackbird" by Bill Henderson, "Hazing" by Louis Hayes, "I'm A Fool To Want You" by Lee Morgan, "Jim Dog" by Bennie Green, and "Sleepy" by The MJT + 3. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Early genius from Eddie Higgins – a pianist who was a big thing on the Chicago scene of the 60s, but is probably best known to most folks for his revival records of the past decade or two! The younger Higgins has more of an edge than the later one – and this self-titled debut is a cooker of a hardbop album – thanks not only to work from Eddie's core trio, but also some great horn interplay from Frank Foster on tenor and Paul Seranno on trumpet! Eddie wrote some of the best cuts on the record – some really fresh numbers – and he gets rhythmic help from either Richard Evans or Jim Atlas on bass, and Marshall Thompson on drums. Higgins titles include "Foot's Bag", "Zarac The Evil One", and "AB's Blues" – and the album also features versions of "Blues For Big Scotia" and "Falling In Love With Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Midnite is right – as the session's a moody, mellow late nite one – just spare trio material by Wynton, played in a group that features Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums! The titles are all nice and long – and really let Kelly stretch out on the keys – working in a mode that's lyrical and soulful – on a set of titles that include include Babs Gonzales' "Weird Lullaby", plus "Skatin", "Temperance", "On Stage", and "Pot Luck". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Wynton Kelly's greatest albums, and an all-star hardbop session that includes Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones. With Philly Joe on drums, and Morgan and Shorter, the LP almost has the feel of a classic Art Blakey session for Blue Note, but Kelly's piano gives it a feel that's a bit warmer, and more relaxed. The tracks are nearly all long, with very open room for soloing, and nice catchy hooks by the various writers – who include Kelly, Morgan, and Shorter. Titles include "Wrinkles", "Mama G", "What Know", and "Sidney". LP, Vinyl record album

2LP set that brings together Kelly's recordings for Vee Jay from the late 50s and early 60s – featuring mostly trio material, with the likes of Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones, plus a few quintet tracks, cut with Lee Morgan and Wayne Shorter added in. Titles include "Pot Luck", "Skatin", "Temperance", "Weird Lullaby", and "Wrinkles". LP, Vinyl record album

A Windy City classic – from Vee Jay Records! The MJT grooves like nobody's business, thanks to a core rhythm group that includes Harold Mabern on piano, Walter Perkins on drums, and Bob Cranshaw on bass! Add to the mix a young Frank Strozier on alto, fresh from Memphis (he made the trip to Chi-town with buddy Harold Mabern), and the smoking trumpet of Willie Thomas, and you've got one of the tightest combos to never make it in the big time – a killer little group that was almost a Chicago secret back in the day, but one that's well worth discovering if you've got any sort of a love for hardbop or soul jazz! This oft-overlooked gem is one of the best hardbop albums to ever come out of Chicago, and it's got some great originals by Mabern – like "Richie's Dilemma" and "Make Everybody Happy" – plus a nice version of Booker Little's "Sweet Silver". LP, Vinyl record album

A totally cool little set! The package features material written by hip arranger Phil Moore – done in a MMO style with instrumentations designed to back up a cool singer – in this case with some nice modern jazz modes! LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent early session from a young Lee Morgan – a set that we'd rank right up there with his best Blue Note material of the time! The set's from a time when Lee's trumpet was a key force in the Jazz Messengers – and there's definitely a Messengers vibe going on here, thanks to drums from Art Blakey – who works in a quintet alongside Clifford Jordan on tenor, Wynton Kelly on piano, and Paul Chambers on bass. Jordan's tenor has a nice sharp edge – and like some of the Wayne Shorter sessions for Vee Jay, there's a nice sense of darkness here that's a bit different than some of Morgan's usual moments. Titles include "Terrible T", "Mogie", "Bess", and Wayne Shorter's "Running Brook". LP, Vinyl record album

Mavis Rivers sings a set of tracks originally made famous by Mildred Bailey – with backing by a combo led by Red Norvo, and featuring Harry Edison, Bill Harris, and Eric Dixon. The sound's hipper than you might think from the Bailey reference, thanks to Red – and titles include "Easy To Love", "I'm Confessin That I Love You", "Lover Come Back To Me", "Please Be Kind", and "My Last Affair". (Vocalists, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal early recording from one of our favorite reed players ever! In the late 1950s, the young Frank Strozier came up to Chicago from Memphis, along with his longtime friend, pianist Harold Mabern. The two of them both settled nicely in the city's MJT+3 combo, where they proceeded to recorde some incredible hardbop sessions for Vee Jay. During that same time, Strozier began to emerge as a strong soloist and a competent leader in his own right, and Vee Jay gave him a much-needed crack at this debut album. The session's a perfect showcase for Strozier's lyrical beauty, and given the quality of the work, it's a wonder he was never more famous. The group's a quintet, and Strozier's ably teamed with Booker Little, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. Titles include "WK Blues", "Waltz Of The Demons", "Runnin", and "Off Shore". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal early recording from one of our favorite reed players ever! In the late 1950s, the young Frank Strozier came up to Chicago from Memphis, along with his longtime friend, pianist Harold Mabern. The two of them both settled nicely in the city's MJT+3 combo, where they proceeded to record some incredible hardbop sessions for Vee Jay. During that same time, Strozier began to emerge as a strong soloist and a competent leader in his own right, and Vee Jay gave him a much-needed crack at this debut album. The session's a perfect showcase for Strozier's lyrical beauty, and given the quality of the work, it's a wonder he was never more famous. The group's a quintet, and Strozier's ably teamed with Booker Little, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb. Titles include "WK Blues", "Waltz Of The Demons", "Runnin", and "Off Shore". LP, Vinyl record album

In the years after Charlie Parker passed away, tributes to his greatness were a very common thing in local jazz scenes across the US. This is a prime example of that tradition, but way more than that, it's also a killer Chicago jazz session from the old days – featuring trumpeter Ira Sullivan at his best, along with some great local players that include tenorist Nicky Hill, pianist Jodie Christian, and bassist (Raphael) Don Garrett. The music is what you'd expect – loving renditions of Bird standards like "Klacktoveedesesteene" and "Love Letters" – but there's also a lot more going on underneath, and the album's as much a Charlie Parker tribute as it is a batch of bop and soul jazz numbers with a good underground feel. LP, Vinyl record album

A great lost album from Eddie! The record was one of his few cut for Columbia – recorded between his early years at Vee Jay and his hit years at Atlantic – and it's an excellent little batch of cuts, with a tight Chicago soulful grooving sound, and a strong approach that mixes hardbop and soul jazz in a very nice way. Some of the material is pop in origin – like "Goldfinger" and "People" – but even those tracks are done very nicely, with a nice groove and Eddie's biting sax firmly in place. Other titles include "East End Blues", "Rice Pudding", "That's Tough", and "Ineffable". LP, Vinyl record album

A real cooker of a set – and one that features Wynton's piano over some great larger backings from Claus Ogerman! The style of the set is really wonderful – as Wynton plays with a core smaller group that includes Kenny Burrell on guitar, plus regulars Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums – all of whom make more than ample space for Ogerman to come into the mix and fill up the tunes with some sweetly grooving 60s backings – often using electric bass to punch up the bottom, and rollick things around in a stepping style that's a nice mainstream take on the soul jazz groove that Kelly virtually helped invent! A few tracks are more in a small combo mode, but even those manage a pretty darn smoking groove – and overall, the album's got a lot more depth than even some of Kelly's best for the Vee Jay label from previous years! Titles include the bossa groover "Cesar & Cleopatra" – plus "Quiet Village", "If That's The Way You Want It", "Comin' In The Back Door", and "Theme From Burke's Law". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent work from pianist Harold Mabern – a strong talent whose lyrical powers graced the MJT sides from Chicago on Vee Jay in the early 60s, and a player who also worked on some great Blue Note sessions in the mid 60s. This set is possibly his strongest for Prestige – a tight, hard batch of soul jazz tracks, with a more pronounced punch than some of his other work. The group is great – with Blue Mitchell on trumpet, George Coleman on tenor, Bill Lee on bass, and the excellent (and virtually unknown) Hugh Walker on drums. The album's got some great long cuts – including "Rakin & Scrapin", "Such Is Life", and "Aon". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the rarest albums of Chicago jazz from the 50s – and one of the greatest, too! Although Walter Perkins' MJT+3 went onto cut a number of records on Vee Jay with a different lineup, this early session features an all-Chicago lineup that differs from the later one, which was augmented by later visitors from Memphis, like Frank Strozier and Harold Mabern. In their place are prime Chicago talents, like altoist Nicky Hill, trumpeter Paul Serrano, and the great AACM composer/pianist Richard Muhal Abrams (playing here without the Muhal in his name!) The album's a complete delight, and is filled with loads of original compositions by Abrams that mix hard bop lines with more exotic lyrical conceptions – a true meeting of all the sides of jazz bubbling under in Chicago during the 50s, and a delight to listen to over and over again through the years! Titles include "No Land's Man", "Little Brother", "Egypic", "End Of The Line", and "Temporarily Out Of Order". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most fantastic hardbop albums of all time! Tommy Turrentine was the less-famous trumpet-playing brother of Stanley Turrentine – but he was a hell of a player in his early days, and he cut some amazing records with his brother during the younger years of his career. This is the only record we've ever seen that features him as a leader – but the session's a monster, with the kind of razor-sharp hardbop playing we'd stack up there with must-have LPs like Art Blakey's Freedom Rider, Hank Mobley's Caddy For Daddy, or the legendary Young Lions session on Vee Jay. The group features a number of players who were working with Max Roach at the time – including Stanley Turrentine on tenor and Julian Priester on trombone – as well as Roach on drums, Horace Parlan on piano, and Bob Boswell on bass. Titles include "Gunga Din", "Too Clean", "Time's Up", "Long As You're Living", "Blues For JP", and "Webb City". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most fantastic hardbop albums of all time! Tommy Turrentine was the less-famous trumpet-playing brother of Stanley Turrentine – but he was a hell of a player in his early days, and he cut some amazing records with his brother during the younger years of his career. This is the only record we've ever seen that features him as a leader – but the session's a monster, with the kind of razor-sharp hardbop playing we'd stack up there with must-have LPs like Art Blakey's Freedom Rider, Hank Mobley's Caddy For Daddy, or the legendary Young Lions session on Vee Jay. The group features a number of players who were working with Max Roach at the time – including Stanley Turrentine on tenor and Julian Priester on trombone – as well as Roach on drums, Horace Parlan on piano, and Bob Boswell on bass. Titles include "Gunga Din", "Too Clean", "Time's Up", "Long As You're Living", "Blues For JP", and "Webb City". LP, Vinyl record album