Beautiful work from the legendary Art Farmer – sounds from a time when the trumpeter was really coming into his own, and finding a way to carve out a special space for himself in modern jazz! The sounds here are fresh, but never overstated – blown with that compact mode that makes Farmer's phrasing so distinct, and set up here with a perfect quartet that features Jim Hall on guitar, Steve Swallow on bass, and Walter Perkins on drums. All players are masters of understatement – and the band is sort of a perfect extension of some of Jimmy Guiffre's earlier work on Atlantic with Hall – as they've perfected a simple style that leaves the instrumental solos floating in air, interacting with each other in subtle complex ways that never cease to amaze. Tracks are longer than on some of the studio albums by the group – and titles include "Swing Spring", "I Want To Be Happy", and "What's New". LP, Vinyl record album

A great lost album from Stan Getz! The record features Stan in a totally new setting, playing with some relatively unfamiliar French talents – Eddie Louiss on organ, Rene Thomas on guitar, and Bernard Lubat on drums. Louiss is incredible, and has a free spacey sound that recalls Larry Young – which works perfectly with Getz's post-Coltrane explorations here. The whole album's a triumph, and a tribute to Stan's never-ending quest for new sounds, despite the fact that labels always wanted him to reproduce his bigger hits. Titles include "Our Kind Of Sabi", "Song For Martine", "Invitation", and "Dum Dum". All tracks are long, and the album's a delightful meeting of European jazz and masterful solo talents! LP, Vinyl record album

A standout session from Stan Getz – one of the real gems of his later years, and a masterpiece of well-blown and confident tones! Getz here has a near-perfect form – a poise and balance that comes from decades of woodshedding on tenor sax, but which is still deeply personal, and one of the most honest sounds we can think of on his instrument. At a time when other players were often bumping into other too-contemporary modes, Stan lays back and blows in a warm acoustic setting – with Kenny Barron on piano, George Mraz on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums – plus some additional percussion from Babatunde Lea, who works here in a relatively gentle manner. As with most of the Getz/Barron work of the later years, the balance here is beautiful – never too far-out or indulgent, despite the length of some of the tracks – and almost in that Sweet Rain style of playing that Stan first opened up into at the end of the 60s. Titles include "I Wanted To Say", "Yesterdays", "Dreams", "Falling In Love", and "Voyage". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Grant Green's late great funky albums for Blue Note! Carryin' On is a solid groover with heavy jazz funk grooves that won't stop, and that vibe carries all the way throughout – in the same mode as some of Lou Donaldson's classic sounds from the time! The group features Idris Muhammad on drums, playing his trademark funky breakbeat sound from the late 60s – plus Jimmy Lewis on bass, Willie Bivens on vibes, Claude Bartee on tenor sax and Clarence Palmer on keys. Titles include a great versions of James Brown's "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothin", The Meters' "Ease Back", and Neal Creque's "Cease The Bombing" (featuring Creque on electric piano) plus Green's own "Upshot". LP, Vinyl record album

Stripped-down Count Basie from the start of the 60s – a great little set that has the Count working with some of the best players from his larger group, in a session of even more intimate small combo material! The sounds here echo the Basie groove of the earlier years, but the overall presentation is a fair bit more modern – nicely syncopated with that sense of space discovered by Basie in the 50s – and perfectly interpreted by players who include Thad Jones on trumpet, Frank Wess on flute, Frank Foster on tenor, Freddie Green on guitar, Eric Dixon on flute, and Basie himself on both piano and organ – the latter of which is quite a treat! Titles include "Secrets", "Count's Place", "I Want A Little Girl", "Tally Ho Mr Basie", "Senator Whitehead", "Whatcha Talkin", and "Shoe Shine Boy". LP, Vinyl record album