Tremendous work from Joshua Abrams – a set that's very different than some of his other work in recent years, but every bit as great! The set's got a lean group – Abrams on bass, Jeff Parker on guitar, Gerald Cleaver on drums, and the great Ari Brown on tenor – of Awakening fame – a group that delivers a more stripped-down version of some of Josh's more spiritual ideals – but in ways that also touch base with more conventional jazz expression! Make no mistake, there's nothing conventional about this set – the approach is very unique, and very striking – and the presence of the younger musicians really sets Ari Brown on fire, and reminds us of what a great soloist he can be when he's pushed to his limits. Titles include "Collapsing Novelty", "Duke Hill", "Echo Tracer", "In Place Of Memory", and "Coniunctio". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic record – and one of the warmest, most soulful sets we've ever heard from Muhal Richard Abrams! The album features Muhal's piano alongside the bass of Malachi Favors – a really unique duo outing that unlocks a whole new side of both players, especially Favors, who really seems to have a presence here that's different than usual – a bubbling, effervescent sense of soul that really buoys up the whole record, and helps Abrams hit these beautifully lyrical tones on the piano. We can't recommend this one highly enough, and the tracks include "W.W. (Dedicated to Wilbur Ware)", "JG", "Way Way Way Down Yonder", "Unity", and "Two Over One". LP, Vinyl record album

A group that's co-led by guitarists Brent Fuscaldo and Przemyslaw Krys Drazek – the former of whom also sings, while the latter adds trumpet to the mix! The record has the layered feel and mix of acoustic and electric instruments that we love from the Astral Spirits label – and in addition to work from the core duo, the set features contributions from Joshua Abrams on bass, Hamid Drake on percussion, Tatsu Aoki on bass and shamisen, and Thymme Jones on drums, piano, melodica, and walkie talkie! These other elements are often used in ways that are as subtle as the performance of the leaders – gently filtering into each other to create soundscapes that build with a subtle sort of power and a nice undercurrent of spirituality. Titles include "The Coyote Messenger", "Weaving Tongues", and "Blossoming". LP, Vinyl record album

A group here that features some key members from the American avant scene, but whose standout member might well be pianist Oscar Jan Hoogland – who contributed two originals to the set, and whose work on the keys seems to really direct the energy of this session that features fresh interpretations of tunes by Herbie Nichols and Thelonious Monk! The setting is quite a different one for saxophonist Keefe Jackson, but he's superb throughout – blowing tenor and sopranino sax at a level that has all the angular tones and inventive spirit that players like Steve Lacy or Charlie Rouse brought to their work in the Monk generation – but with all the freer qualities that live up to Keefe's legacy too! The rest of the group is great too – Joshua Abrams reminding us what a swinging bassist he can be, and Mikel Patrick Avery on drums – really punctuating the tunes nicely, on selections that include "Bemsha Swing", "The Happenings", "Epistrophy", and "Gotta Get Some Sleep – plus Hoogland originals "Wimpel" and "Aanhanguis". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful music from Chicago, set to another Chicago-themed project – a film based around the Roy stories of writer Barry Gifford! Yet that literary reference aside, the music here has fantastic merits of its own, even if you've never read Gifford at all – a very different, more compositional side of the spectrum from vibist Jason Adasiewicz, yet still music that has a loose small combo vibe as well – serve dup by a cool quintet that features Jonathan Doyle on saxes, Josh Berman on cornet, Joshua Abrams on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums! There's a mix of new tones and modern ideas that take us back to that late 50s time on the Chicago scene when Sun Ra's Arkestra was still in town – and the tunes penned by Adasiewicz are not only superb, but a perfect showcase for his incredible tones on vibes. Doyle is a real revelation too – a player we don't know well at all at this point, but whose sense of timing and presence really makes the whole record sparkle – as does the work of the rest of the better-known players in the group. Titles include "Ballad For Kitty", "River Blindness", "Walkin To Clinton", "Rudy's Basement", "Sand", and "Blue People". LP, Vinyl record album

The last-ever Chet Baker recording with a quartet – and a set that shows just how completely magical the legendary trumpeter was even up to the end! Chet at this time is completely different than Chet in the 50s or 60s – as he'd really found a way to make all these amazing new sounds on his horn, partly as a way of getting around some of his physical limitations, but also as a way of opening up some of those mid 60s ideas that he barely explored on record at the time. He's working here with a very important musical partner from the last decade – getting great help on guitar and flute from Nicola Stilo – plus Marc Abrams on bass and Luca Flores on piano – on titles that include "Portrait In Black & White", "Funk In Deep Freeze", "Arborway", "In A Sentimental Way", and "If I Should Lose You". LP, Vinyl record album

Natural Information Society have been a key force on the Chicago underground for a number of years – and here, they go back even further, to open the door to the legendary saxophonist Ari Brown – who joins the group on tenor! You might know Brown's music as a member of 70s spiritual group The Awakening, or his later solo albums – and his time-schooled spirit is a perfect match for the ensemble led by bassist Joshua Abrams, who also plays some guimbri on the set. Other players include Ben Lamar Gay and Josh Berman on cornets, Jason Stein on bass clarinet, Lisa Alvarado on harmonium, Kara Bershad on harp, Nick Mazzarella on alto, and Hamid Drake on congas and tablas – a group who work together with the richly organic vibe we always love in projects from Abrams. Titles include "Moontide Chorus", "Is", "Murmuration", "Wane", "Wax", "Immemorial", and "Stigmergy". LP, Vinyl record album

From the end of the 70s onward, the Italian Black Saint record label offered up some of the most high quality spiritual and avant jazz of the time – really taking over where American record companies had dropped the ball, and allowing a huge wave of new energy from both older musicians and a younger generation who might never have gotten the right level of exposure, had Black Saint (and related Soul Note imprint) stepped into the scene! This package offers up some of the coolest cuts from Black Saint – and has an especially strong focus on the work that the label did to carry forward older spiritual sounds, especially those first unlocked on Impulse Records – a legacy that really comes through strongly here. Titles include "Love On A Far Away Planet" and "Mayan Temples" by Sun Ra, "Song For Mozambique/Sea Of Faces" by Archie Shepp, "Guitar Vibes" by Karl Berger, "Tap Dancer" by Oliver Lake, "Ode To The Flower Maiden" by John Carter, "Mama Marimba" by Joseph Jarman and Donh Moye, "Sixth Sense" by Don Pullen, "Hattie Wall" by World Saxophone Quartet, "Laja" by Muhal Richard Abrams, and "Metamusician's Stomp" by Andrew Cyrille & Maono. LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful little record from this longtime stalwart of the Chicago scene. Sam started out in Shrimpboat, gained great fame in Sea & Cake, and here delivers his most wonderful performance to date – a beautiful set of jazzy pop tracks, with backing by Josh Abrams, Archer Prewitt, Jim O'Rourke, and the great drummer Chad Taylor. The tracks bristle with a lovely sense of energy, and they have a sophistication that's wonderful – matched with a lyricism that keeps them always sounding fresh. Sam's turned into a wonderful vocalist, too – and we're betting you won't be able to take this one off the turntable once you get started. Titles include "The Shadow", "Don't Bother", "The Company", and "Faces & People". LP, Vinyl record album

Ramsey Lewis had such great success with his first album of Christmas instrumentals for Chess Records, he soon hopped back in the studio for a second record – but one with a very distinct difference! This time around, the trio's a bit unusual – in that it features regular bassist Eldee Young, but also the great Steve McCall on drums – a percussionist who'd later really flourish in the 70s, and gain great fame for his work in the group Air! The presence of McCall is no surprise, though – Malachi Favors and Muhal Richard Abrams also make appearances on early 60s Chess jazz albums – but it does give the record a nicely special sort of sound, as does the added instrumentation on some tracks too. About half the set features the trio, and the rest features a bigger group that's arranged by King Fleming and Will Jackson – jazz trio with a bit of strings, including some nice harp, and a touch of trombone from John Avant. Titles include "We Three Kings", "Snowfall", "Plum Puddin", "Little Drummer Boy", "Snowbound", "Egg Nog", and "Jingle Bells". LP, Vinyl record album

A totally unique record from drummer Makaya McCraven – and a great one too! The set's built around improvised performances recorded over the period of a year – with some of Chicago's best underground jazz talents, including Matt Ulery on bass, Marquis Hill on trumpet, Jeff Parker on guitar, Justefan on vibes, Desean Jones on tenor, Tony Barba on tenor and electronics, and Josh Abrams on bass – and the performances are then edited down into these shorter, focused tracks that are really wonderful! The music is still quite live in its approach at most moments – and often given a very rhythmic pulse in the way it's put together, but never in any sort of hokey or heavy-handed remix way. The basslines are wonderful – full, round, and very modal – and titles include "The Jaunt", "Time Travel", "The Encore", "The Drop", "Finances", "Just Stay Right There", and "Three Fifths A Man". LP, Vinyl record album