The birth of genius – 2 key mid 60s albums from swinging Brit jazzer Johnny Keating – both of which showcase his tightly rhythmic "Keating Sound" approach! Keating had originally worked as an arranger in the 50s group of Ted Heath, but after stepping out on his own in the 60s, he came up with a really fresh approach to big band grooving – one that was highly syncopated, in a choppier style of rhythm than many other groups were using at the time, and which was very much in the snapping mode of the best 60s pop work of the time. This new sound meant that Keating could take just about any tune and swing it on its ear – cutting up the basic structure of the song, and rebuilding it in sharper, tighter blocks of sound. The result is a style that's quite different from the usual big band groove – one that makes for some extremely playful instrumentation, but which manages to still keep moving strongly ahead without resorting to too many tricks or gimmicks. For both albums, Keating's working with some great British talents that include Shake Keane on trumpet, Tubby Hayes on saxes, David Snell on harp, and Jim Sullivan on guitar. The CD features a total of 24 tracks that are a wonderful introduction to the Keating Sound of the 60s – with titles that inlcude "Paris", "Brave New World", "Serenata", "Speak Low", "Listen", "The Preacher", "Hey Girl", "Bee Bom", "My Kind Of Girl", and "The Chihuahua". (Jazz, Now Sound) CD

Electric harp?!?! Don't ask us – we like it! Jonny Teupen was one of the strangest and most wonderful artists to record for the MPS label during their glory days – and his big instrument was a jazz harp, which he often electrified to great result! Sure, Dorothy Ashby had been making jazz inroads on the instrument in the US at about the same time – but Teupen had a cool sound that was a bit sitar, a bit guitar, and a bit "inside the piano" at his wildest moments. This record is maybe his greatest moment ever – and mixes Jonny's harp with vibes from Dave Pike guitar from Volker Kriegel, trumpet from Shake Keane, and drums from Charly Antolini – all solid MPS players who really help ground the sound! Titles include "Blue Tattoo", "I Saw The Sun Going Down", "Love Me", " The Cornflower Girl", "Come Back & Shake Me", and "Harp Revolution". (Jazz, Now Sound) CD