The bass of Eric Revis sounds better than we ever remember – and that's saying a lot, because we've really liked his other records too! Yet here, it almost feels like Revis is out to re-state himself as a musician – coming on strong with a tone that could put him up there with the giants of earlier years – and beautifully matched with drummer Chad Taylor, who's always been an amazing example of that rare quality of being tight and loose at the same time! Ken Vandermark blows tenor and clarinet – but in a way that really seems to respect the path taken by Revis and Taylor – as does the piano of Kris Davis, which punctuates the sound perfectly. Titles include "Sing Me Some Cry", "PT 44", "Good Company", "Rye Eclipse", "Rumples", and "Drunkard's Lullaby". CD

A great cooker from the glory days of Ernestine Anderson on Concord Records – a time when the singer was rediscovered, and revamped in a bit of a bluesy mode – reaching a wide new audience at the time! Her vocals really shine at this point in her career, as she lets loose with a bit more personality too – as you'll hear on this swinging set of down home numbers, cut with a combo that includes Red Holloway on tenor, Ray Brown on bass, and Gene Harris on piano! Titles include "Someone Else Is Steppin", "Goin To Chicago Blues", "Alone On My Own", "Mercy Mercy Mercy", and "I Love Being Here With You". CD

Amazing work from Gato Barbieri's legendary exploration of Latin American sounds for Impulse Records – a set that's heavy on Cuban influences, thanks to arrangements from the mighty Chico O'Farrill! The sound is sublime – a bit fuller than some of Gato's other albums in the run, but never with any slick or commercial styles – just more of a richness from O'Farrill's backings, matched perfectly by Barbieri's amazing tones on the tenor! There's a lot of Latin percussion in the backings – courtesy of Ray Mantill, Luis Mangual, and Ray Armando – and Eddie Martinez mixes in some sweet electric piano with his acoustic lines, deepening the soul of the record in a really 70s way. Titles include "Milonga Triste", "Lluvia Azul", "La Padrida", "Viva Emiliano Zapata", and "El Sublime" – the last of which is a good description of the record! CD

An amazing collection – especially since Clifford Brown died before giving the world that many key records – which makes these French sessions from 1953 a very important part of his catalog! The set captures Brownie at his modern best – really making the move past straighter bop, into sparkling chromatic territory – mostly with alto sax genius Gigi Gryce at his side! Gryce first chose Clifford Brown as his main foil in trumpet/alto arrangements – before having to move on to Art Farmer, and then later Donald Byrd – and the sessions here feature groups with either Brown or Gryce as the leader, plus a few quartet sessions with just Brown – with Henri Renaud on piano. CD

A sweet live set from Dave Brubeck's early years on Columbia Records – recorded in New York, but with all the calculated cool and modern tones Brubeck first forged in the San Francisco scene of the 50s! Paul Desmond's on board on alto sax – really getting a lot of space to stretch out on the album's extended performances, with a haunting, floating tone that really sends us. Remaining members include Bob Bates on bass, and Joe Dodge on drums – and tracks include "Lover", "Love Walked In", "The Duke", "Little Girl Blue", and "Fare Thee Well Annabelle". CD features 2 bonus tracks, previously unissued – "Taking A Chance On Love" and "Closing Time Blues". CD

A collection that Milestone issued in 1973 that includes tracks from three of Byrd's early 60s Bossa Nova records – Latin Impressions, Bossa Nova Pelos Passaros and Once More/Charlie Byrd's Bossa Nova. Byrd and his unamplified guitar are joined by Keter Betts on bass and Bill Reichenbach on drums and Latin percussion; other players are also featured. The tracks are mainly composed by the big names of Bossa Nova – Jobim, Powell, Caymmi, Lyra – but there are several Byrd originals as well such as "Azul Tiple", "Bogota", "Mexican Song No 2", and "Amor Flamengo". CD also includes the album Once More! Charlie Byrd's Bossa Nova, a lovely little record from the man who helped Stan Getz find his bossa – and a set that's done with just a bit more backing than usual from Byrd for the time! The album makes nice use of additional percussion, vibes, cello, and a bit of flugelhorn to back up Byrd's work on acoustic guitar – never in a way that dominates too strongly, with just enough added sound to color in the grooves with a slightly deeper tone. Titles include "Presente De Natal", "Three Note Samba", "Limehouse Blues", "Cancao De Nimar Para Carol", "Chega De Saudade", and "Anna". CD

A classic pairing of postwar trumpets – those of Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge, each given plenty of space to speak their piece here in the best Verve all-star tradition! The group's great too – with Herb Ellis on guitar, Oscar Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Louis Bellson on drums. The album's got some sweet stretched out tracks that feature the two trumpet giants really opening up! CD

2 wonderful late 50s sessions from arranger Gil Evans – both of which we'd rank right up there with his best work with Miles Davis, or the albums under his own name for Impulse in the 60s! The first half of the CD is from the album New Bottle Old Wine – a record of swinging modern backdrops, used to showcase both the solo talents of a young Cannonball Adderley, and the dynamic energy of Evans himself! Cannon's sharp-edged early tone is a really great sound for the record – far more modern than you might expect from later funk and soul sides of the 60s – and perfectly poised next to Gil's larger back drops to reignite a host of older tunes with new energy! And while the titles are familiar, the readings certainly are not – as the Evans pen has really changed things up beautifully – as you'll hear on numbers that include "St Louis Blues", "King Porter Stomp", "Willow Tree", "Struttin' With Some Barbeque", "Lester Leaps In", "Round About Midnight", "Manteca", and "Bird Feathers". Great Jazz Standards is equally great, a fantastic lost set from Evans – and one that features Mingus trumpeter Johnny Coles as the lead soloist in front of Evans-led modern groups that include players like Elvin Jones, Ray Crawford, Steve Lacy, Budd Johnson, Rod Levitt, and Chuck Wayne. Despite the "standards" in the title, most of these numbers are modern tunes from the 50s – like "Joy Spring", "Ballad Of The Sad Young Men", "Django", "Straight No Chaser", and "Chant Of The Weed" – all given Evans' unique style of arrangement, tweaked up a few notches to give them a really edgey quality. Coles is clearly standing in for Miles here, but the format works well overall! CD features 15 tracks in all, including some newly-improved versions of a few tracks, correcting mistakes in the original records! CD

A work of understated brilliance from guitarist Jim Hall – and one of our favorite records by him! The setting is simple – Hall plays live with a trio, on a set of familiar standards – but the results are remarkable, as both Hall and the rhythm section manage to bring a hell of a lot of swing and imagination into such a tiny space! Hall's always had a rhythmic approach to his work, but here, playing with drummer Terry Clarke and bassist Don Thompson, he really opens into a great groove – stretching things past his usual standard, and bringing a lot more soul into the set than you might expect. The tunes are ones you'll recognize – "Angel Eyes", "Round Midnight", and "The Way You Look Tonight" – but the real charm is what Hall and the trio do with them! CD

Includes the albums Once Upon a Time, Stride right, and Swing's Our Thing – plus track from a 1970 arranged by Oliver Nelson session and an early 1944 date for Apollo records. CD

Shirley Horn's definitely swinging here – in a set of tracks that features groovy numbers from two different points in her career! Some of the work on the set is from her early 60s years on Mercury and ABC Records – and the other half's from that great stretch in the 90s when her career had really been revived, thanks to a host of excellent recordings for Verve! The mix of material is really great, and shows a wider range of Horn's talents than you'll normally find on other collections – mixing 60s swingers in with some more mature numbers from the later years. Titles include "Big City", "The Great City", "Mack The Knife", "That's No Joke", "I Got Plenty O Nuttin", "Hard Hearted Hannah", "Peel Me A Grape", "How Am I To Know", "Come Dance With Me", and "The Best Is Yet To Come". CD

Two albums from Peggy Lee on one CD. First up is I Like Men! – an obscure album of "guy" songs from the end of the 50s! There's a playful feel to the music that fits Lee's vocals very well – as do the bouncy arrangements from Jack Marshall, who turns out to be one of the best musical partners that Peggy could ever hope for! The set's got that nice jazzy groove that really makes Lee's return to Capitol Records so great – and titles include "Good For Nothing Joe", "Charley My Boy", "Jim", "Bill", and "It's So Nice To Have A Man Around the House". On Sugar 'N' Spice Peggy's sweet as sugar, but working here with a heck of a lot of spice – thanks to arranger Benny Carter, who brings in a wonderfully jazzy feel to the set! The album's one of Peggy's best from her comeback years at Capitol – and a prime example of the syncopated, slinking mode of arrangement that was the best 60s discovery for the Peggy Lee voice – and which allowed her to create a unique space for her own maturing sexuality in pop music. The whole thing's great, and avoids the cliches of some of the other Peggy Lee albums from the time. Titles include "I Believe In You", "Ain't That Love", "The Best Is Yet To Come", "The Sweetest Sounds", "Teach Me Tonight", "Tell All The World About You", and "Big Bad Bill". CD

A really wonderful setting for the piano of Junior Mance – not a trio date, but a live session with a quartet – and one that features some very strong contributions from Houston Person on tenor! The vibe is almost more like some of Person's records of the time, but handled with a bit more care and class by Enja – and in addition to Houston's tenor and Junior's piano, the group also features Calvin Hill on bass and Alvin Queen on drums – two players who do a great job of keeping up with the boundless energy of the others on the album's nicely long tracks! Titles on this second volume include "Mercy Mercy Mercy", "Blues In The Closet", "Some Other Blues", "My Romance", and "Do Nothin Till You Hear From Me". CD

A real treasure from the great tenorist Hank Mobley – and a record that shows him really opening up his sound in his later years at Blue Note! The album's got some key rhythmic elements that come both from the drumming of Billy Higgins and piano of Cedar Walton – both players who bring in a sense of lyricism that really opens up Hank's horn, and which also sets the trumpet of Donald Byrd free as well – in territory that really resonates with some of Donald's own excellent Blue Note material from the mid 60s! The album's one of those great Blue Note dates that was recorded in the 60s, but not issued until many years later – and really makes for a richer side of Mobley's catalog – a new great level amidst all those already wonderful records. Titles include "Bossa For Baby", "Soul Time", "No Argument", and "A Dab Of This & That". CD

An incredible collaboration between pianist Eddie Palmieri and vibist Cal Tajder – a record done for Tico in answer to their previous session for Verve – and a set that's even harder-jamming overall! Cal and Eddie really find something special together on the record – and both players groove into a descarga mode that burns even more strongly than their own other work of the decade – a masterful jam that's a really true collaboration, and which brings out the best that both musicians had to offer. Cal's moving way beyond his familiar modes here – with a fluid, freely colorful sound – and Eddie himself is beginning to hit some of the darker, harder notes that would show up even more strongly on his records of the 70s. There's a much more strongly jazz-based sound here than most of Palmieri's previous records – a really bold focus on the instrumentation as it rolls out over some great modally-informed grooves – and titles include "Bamboleate", "Resemblance", "Guajira Candela", "Mi Montuno", and "Come An Get It". CD

An excellent overview of the early Wallace Roney work for Muse Records – brilliant sessions that helped Roney redefine the sound of the trumpet for a whole new generation! Roney's sound was one of the boldest, brightest on the label – and on records like this he really shines – working with an array of like-minded young lions who include Ravi Coltrane, Donald Brown, Antoine Roney, Christian McBride, and Cindy Blackman – on titles that include "Blue In Green", "Obsession", "Daahoud", "Lost", "For Duke", "Donna Lee", and "Love For Sale". CD

The longest album ever from The Clash – a stunning triple LP set that really shows the group bristling with new ideas and energy throughout! There's a hell of a lot going on here – some cuts that are every bit as strong as the previous records, others that offer a few mis-steps but in a wonderfully playful way – and a few more that really hit this sort of unique mix of genres and politics that could only be summed up as Clash-like at its best! Bits of hip hop, reggae, new wave, funk, and more mix together beautifully – and the album's got a hell of a lot of charm and character, even if you're skipping past a few of the cuts you don't like as much as the others. 36 tracks in all – and titles include "The Magnificent Seven", "Hitsville UK", "Junco Partner", "The Leader", "Police On My Back", "Midnight Log", "The Call Up", "Washington Bullets", "Broadway", "Rebel Waltz", "Look Here", "The Crooked Beat", "Somebody Got Murdered", "Lose This Skin", "Charlie Don't Surf", "Kingston Advice", "Corner Soul", "Let's Go Crazy", "The Sound Of Sinners", "Living In Fame", "Silicone On Sapphire", and "Career Opportunities". 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 overlooked late 60s treasure on Blue Note – 2 rare albums by Kenny Cox & The Contemporary Jazz Quintet – one of the few new groups to work on the label at the time, and an up-and-coming modern combo from Detroit! The first album's quite unique for a number of reasons – not just because the group was a little-known new signing to the label, but also because the work is quite far-reaching at times – some of the most free-thinking jazz recorded for Blue Note during the time, with a sense of boldness that almost stretches back to Jackie McLean's first few records of the new thing years, or a sense of lyrical invention that's a bit like Wayne Shorter when he made a shift towards the outside. Some numbers are awash in fast colors and changes, while others are a bit more in the pocket, with echoes of soul jazz – but the whole thing's incredibly fresh and free, a wonderful little record that only gets better and better over the years! The group features pianist Kenny Cox as the leader, plus Charles Moore on trumpet, Leon Henderson on tenor, Ron Brooks on bass, and Danny Spencer on drums. Titles include "Mystique", "You", "Trance Dance", "Eclipse", and "Number Four". The CD also features the group's second Blue Note album, Multidirection – a session of work that builds strongly on the colors and changes explored by Miles Davis earlier in the 60s, but which takes things off into a whole new direction! (A Multidirection?) The horns on the record have incredible interplay – trumpet by Charles Moore and tenor from Leon Henderson, playing together with a sense of dexterity that may even beat the team of Davis and Wayne Shorter – angular one moment, softly lyrical the next, and always in pursuit of fresh tones and righteous sounds. Kenny Cox's piano is great too – an exercise in understatement at times – getting as much done with one note as other players would with five – as he slowly guides the group along, and grounds their freer expressions with a good sense of humanity. Titles include "What Other One", "Gravity Point", "Spellbound", "Snuck In", and "Sojourn". CD

The first album in many years from Caesar Frazier – the organist you might know from his early 70s funk classics on Westbound Records – still very much at the top of his game in this small combo set! Frazier's very well-recorded here – given the care and respect that we love from the Doodlin label and its handling of Hammond organ giants – and Caesar's deft work on the keys is heard in the company of Lyle Link on tenor and soprano sax, Jacques Lesure on guitar, and Leon Joyce on drums – a nice tight combo who really give the organ plenty of room to groove! Frazier has a more standard organ jazz vibe here than on his earlier records – almost a return to roots that he never put on any other album – served up on titles that include "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise", "Night In Tunisia", "Street Of Dreams", "You will Know", "Thieves In The Temple", "Don't Misunderstand", and two versions of "Purposeful", one that stretches out past the 12 minute mark! CD

Maybe one of the greatest things that George Harrison did after the breakup of The Beatles – not his first solo album, but yet his first non-experimental venture – and a triple-length set that's filled with magic throughout! This isn't one of those "shoulda been a single record" sets – as Harrison has this amazing ability to craft new tunes with new styles in a way that really sets the record apart from his later work with The Beatles – maybe a summation of all those wonderful little moments that George was starting to add to their records, but fully blossomed here into a field's worth of fantastic musical flowers. Titles include "My Sweet Lord", "Wah Wah", "I'd Have You Anytime", "What Is Life", "Run Of The Mill", "Isn't It A Pity", "Plus Me In", "Thanks For The Pepperoni", "Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp", "Beware Of Darkness", "Out Of The Blue", and "Hear Me Lord". Super Deluxe Edition includes new 2020 stereo mixes, two CDs of demos, and outtakes and jams, plus high-res stereo and surround mixes on Blu-ray audio! CD