A pivotal album from Jorge Ben – a set that's got the singer back on top of the international market – showing the world the wonderfully soulful sounds he was cooking up in Brazil during the 80s! The record's got the same fluid bounce of his Som Livre sets from a few years before – kind of a modern soul update of the modes that Ben first brought to his music in the 70s – delivered with undeniable charm, a never-ending sense of groove, and a raspy vocal style that still always gets us – even if we can't understand the lyrics! Titles include "Miss X", "Um Aviao Me Informou", "Pega Ela De Montao", "Norma Jean", "Cowboy Jorge", and "Mama Africa". LP, Vinyl record album

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Includes "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good", "Spang", "Frog & Mule" and a few more by Webster, "Lover Come Back To Me" and "Blues Changes" by Hawkins, and "I'm Fer It Too", "I Got Rhythm", and "Hello Babe" by Young. LP, Vinyl record album

Ok, so you might be sick of hearing "Stand By Me" over and over on oldies stations, but Ben's one of the greatest soul singers of the 60s, and checking out this greatest hits set, you'll be surprised at how many great songs he sung that you might not know! Nice ones include "That's When It Hurts", "Around the Corner", "How Can I Forget", "Young Boy Blues", "I (Who Have Nothing)", and the incredible "Amor". LP, Vinyl record album

A really obscure album from the legendary 60s soul singer – done for the short-lived Guinness Records label, right around the same time that Ben was coming back a bit on Atlantic! This one's got a rootsier feel – almost in a southern soul mode, with Ben singing in a style that really brings out the rougher edges in his voice, against arrangements by Bob Gallo that have a slightly dramatic feel. Titles include many originals by Ben, and tunes include "White Moon", "Travlin Woman", "I Guess It's Goodbye", "She Does It Right", and "The Beginning Of It All". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime uptown soul from the great Ben E King – and session that has him paired with a young Claus Ogermann on arrangements! Although later a maestro of the heavy strings, at this point Ogermann's got a great little bounce in his backings – that German-trained use of the electric bass in subtle ways, often used just enough here to give King's tunes a sweetly gentle groove! Even when the tunes are mellow, they've got a nicely stepping quality that moves things along nicely – a classy approach to soul that's full, but never too slick or sleepy. And King's vocals are great, as always – slightly raspy, and filled with an earnest, honest quality that makes even the familiar tunes come alive anew! Titles include "Dream Lover", "Because Of You", "What A Difference A Day Made", "He Will Break Your Heart", and "At Last". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible work from Ben E King! Forget that you've heard the title track a million times, because the album's a treasure all the way through – packed with beautiful tunes arranged and produced by the Lieber-Stoller tune, in that mix of baion rhythms that they were crafting in the uptown studios for the Drifters during the early 60s. The leadoff cut is the amazing "Amor", a lightly grooving number that should have been massive – and just about every other cut is a similar Latin-tinged number. Titles include "Come Closer To Me", "Sway", "Love Me, Love Me", "Frenesi", "Souvenir Of Mexico", and "Basame Mucho". LP, Vinyl record album

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Great 40s material – with Hot Lips Page on trumpet! LP, Vinyl record album

A great late date from Ben Webster – one that has the tenorist working with a Dutch rhythm section that features Cees Slinger on piano, Jacques Schols on bass, and John Engels on drums – stretching out nicely on long tracks that include "Work Song", "The Preacher", "Straight No Chaser", and "John Brown's Body". LP, Vinyl record album

Features Ole Kock Hansen on piano, Bo Stief on bass, and Alex Riel on drums. Titles include "Set Call", "Old Folks", "I Got Rhythm", and "Sunday". LP, Vinyl record album

The stuff of legends, and one of the best sides that Webster cut for Verve in the 50s, this reissue adds a whole 'nother set of quartet sides, recorded with almost the same group, minus Herbn Ellis and replacing Stan Levey with Ed Thigpen. On the original LP the group's a quintet – with the usual suspects (Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, Stan Levey), and a rolling easy groove that's a perfect platform for Webster's gutsy tenor. Norman Granz's formula of easy swing sessions didn't always work for everyone, but in this case, it's a perfect format – as you'll hear on tracks like "Soulville", "Last Date", and "Ill Wind". 15 tracks in all, also including "When Your Lover Has Gone", "Bye Bye Blackbird", "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning", "Lover Come Back To Me" and "This Can't Be Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare meeting of these two American giants of the tenor sax – brought together at the end of the 60s in Europe, both recording late in their careers, but with a laidback and open approach that's really wonderful! The format here is quite loose – a bit like some of the late hours, swing-based sides on Prestige at the end of the 50s – with longish tracks that let both players state their solos in clean, well-recorded phrasings – with gentle support from a trio that includes Tete Montoliu on piano, Peter Trunk on bass, and Albert Tootie Heath on drums. There's a few faltering moments at times, but they also add a nice degree of humanity to the record – kind of a dimming genius that might not have been allowed on an American session by either player, but which speaks volumes here for the time and distance both players had travelled! Titles include "Caravan", "Sundae", "Blues For Dottie Mae", and "Perdido". LP, Vinyl record album

Ben & Sweets finds tenor Webster & trumpeter Edison in wonderful form – both veterans complementing the other brilliantly – with a crack group that includes Hank Jones on piano, George Duvivier on bass and Clarence Johnson on drums. The overall groove is very melodic, but it's still got plenty of kick underneath! Titles include "Better Go", "How Long Has This Been Going On?", "Kitty", "My Romance" and "Did You Call Her Today" and George & Ira Gerswin's "Embraceable You". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautifully laidback blowing from the great Ben Webster – captured here in perfect late 50s formation, with wonderful rhythm support from the Oscar Peterson Trio! The tunes aren't super-long, but still have a relatively open feel – possibly improvised in the studio, with a mellow but deeply soulful sound throughout, thanks to Webster's massive tone on the tenor sax. Peterson's on piano, and other players include Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – and titles include "The Touch Of Your Lips", "When Your Lover Has Gone", "Bye Bye Blackbird", "How Deep Is The Ocean", "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning", "Sunday", and "This Can't Be Love". LP, Vinyl record album

The stuff of legends, and one of the best sides that Webster cut for Verve in the 50s, this reissue adds a whole 'nother set of quartet sides, recorded with almost the same group, minus Herbn Ellis and replacing Stan Levey with Ed Thigpen. On the original LP the group's a quintet – with the usual suspects (Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, Stan Levey), and a rolling easy groove that's a perfect platform for Webster's gutsy tenor. Norman Granz's formula of easy swing sessions didn't always work for everyone, but in this case, it's a perfect format – as you'll hear on tracks like "Soulville", "Last Date", and "Ill Wind". 15 tracks in all, also including "When Your Lover Has Gone", "Bye Bye Blackbird", "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning", "Lover Come Back To Me" and "This Can't Be Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Jimmy Witherspoon pays tributes to his roots in rhythm and blues – but he does so in a wonderful way, by bringing a more jazz-focused approach to the material here – thanks to some nice tenor work from Ben Webster! Back in the 60s, Witherspoon always sat easily on the fence between jazz and blues – but a few key recordings really bring out that aspect of his work – and this obscure session for Reprise is one of them! Spoon's singing in a laidback, small combo setting here – very similar to the style he'd use on live dates in California – and Webster gets in some wonderful moments on the record too, blown with the boozy, late nite style used on his own Reprise album at the time. Titles include "Key To The Highway", "Confessing The Blues", "Did You Ever", "Rain Is Such A Lonesome Sound", "Cherry Red", "Just A Dream", and "Please Mr Webster". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice collection of Gene Ammons' work that doesn't always get as well remembered as his sides for Prestige or Chess – a 1947 bop session for Savoy with Howard McGhee on trumpet, Leo Parker on baritone, Junior Mance on piano, Gene Wright on bass, and Chuck Williams on drums; and early 50s sesssions with Johnny Coles on trumpet, Lino Murray on trombone, Mack Easton on tenor and baritone, John Houston on piano, Ben Stuberville on bass, and George Brown on drums; done in a wonderfully full-voiced tone! The set features Gene's classic "Red Top", plus the great two part "Big Slam", and the titles "Chips", "Goodtime Blues", "Fuzzy", "Jim Dawgs", and "Street Of Dreams". LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal 70s work from one of the most righteous jazz musicians ever! On this set, Alice Coltrane moves past the rawer spiritual sound of her Impulse albums – working with a more focused vision and an approach to jazz that takes her way past the identity of just being "Mrs Coltrane", into territory that's a more perfect expression of her spiritual vision. The approach calls for more ambitious orchestrations, yet never in a way that overwhelms the jazz basis of the music – and Alice herself is on Fender Rhodes, organ, and harp – working with players who include Fred Jackson and Hubert Laws on reeds, Oscar Brashear on trumpet, George Bohannon on trombone, Charlie Haden on bass, Ben Riley on drums, and Armando Peraza on congas. Titles include "Spiritual Eternal", "Om Supreme", "Morning Workshop", "Wisdom Eye", and "Los Caballos". LP, Vinyl record album

Our favorite-ever album by Alice Coltrane – a masterpiece of spirit and soul, recorded in a wonderfully open-handed style – and with a vibe that's maybe a bit different than some of her other records, especially the ones with larger groups! The album's mostly a spare batch of tracks cut by Alice and her trio with Ron Carter on bass and Ben Riley on drums – a group who are already wonderful, and maybe a bit more introspective than Coltrane in other settings – and they're joined at a few points by guest tenor from both Joe Henderson and Pharoah Sanders – both at key parts of their career, and really adding a lot to the album! Pharoah and Joe blow with beautiful post-Coltrane spirituality on the tracks "Ptah The El Daoud" and "Mantra" – but equally great is the beautiful spare piano cut "Turiya & Ramakrishna" – an incredible tune that has Alice playing with a soulfulness you'd hardly expect! A real treasure all the way through – and the kind of album that ranks with the best in the Impulse catalog! LP, Vinyl record album

The breakout album for The Cryan Shames – a wonderfully groovy harmony pop combo from the 60s – one with a sound that's very much the best Sunshine Pop of LA, even though these guys hail from our hometown of Chicago! The vocals come together with a really magical feel – sometimes mellow and drifty, ala The Association – sometimes vibrant and soaring, in a really catchy way! The whole album's great – with just a touch of Brit invasion guitar jangle behind the vocals at times – and titles include "Heat Wave", "We'll Meet Again", "If I Needed Someone", "Hey Joe", "Sugar & Spice", "July", "I Wanna Meet You", and "Ben Franklin's Almanac". LP, Vinyl record album

A soul jazz Latin classic – one that matches the searing tenor work of Eddie Lockjaw Davis with the hard-hitting conga of a young Ray Barretto! The core group of the set is a soul jazz one – with Lockjaw blowing over rhythm by Lloyd Mayers on piano, Larry Gales on bass, and Ben Riley on drums – plus a small added trumpet section on a few tracks. Ray comes into the mix with some really tight percussion on the bottom, aided by a few other players at times – kicking up the tunes and giving them a lot of fire – something that Davis seems to really respond to in his horn. Thanks should also be given to arranger Gil Lopez, who put together the overall sound of the set – and the album's a hard groover all the way through, filled with Latin jammers like "Wild Rice", "Jazz-a-Samba", "Guanco Lament", "Afro Jaws", and "Tin Tin Deo". LP, Vinyl record album

Recorded in January of 1943 – with Ellington on piano, Ray Nance on trumpet and violin, Rex Stewart and Harold Baker on trumpets, Juan Tizol and Lawrence Brown on trombones, Johnny Hodges on alto, and Ben Webster on tenor. LP, Vinyl record album

With the classic Ellington Orchestra line-up featuring Ray Nance, Lawrence Brown, Harry Carney, Tyree Glenn, Lawrence Brown, Ben Webster, and others. LP, Vinyl record album

With Johnny Hodges, Barney Bigard, Al Sears, Ben Webster, Ray Nance, Al Hibbler, Ivie Anderson, and Kay Davis. LP, Vinyl record album

Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins on alto saxophone, Bill Pemberton on bass, Buster Bailey on baritone clarinet, Jimmy Crawford on drums, Al Casey on guitar, Red Richards on piano, Garvin Bushell and Hilton Jefferson on saxophone, Haywood Henry on tenor saxophone, Benny Morton, Dickie Wells, and J.C. Higginbotham on trombone, and Emmett Berry, Joe Thomas, Rex Stewart, and Taft Jordan on trumpet. LP, Vinyl record album

Very early work from Chico Hamilton – recorded in a piano trio mode that predates his more famous chamber quintet – working with pianist Freddie Gambrell and bassist Ben Tucker on a set of tunes that are mostly standards, and a few bluesy piano explorations. Titles include "Ex Ray's Friends", "Reservation Blues", "These Foolish Things", "You're The Cream In My Coffee", "Five Minutes More", and "Midnight Sun". LP, Vinyl record album

Very early work from Chico Hamilton – recorded in a piano trio mode that predates his more famous chamber quintet – working with pianist Freddie Gambrell and bassist Ben Tucker on a set of tunes that are mostly standards, and a few bluesy piano explorations. Titles include "Ex Ray's Friends", "Reservation Blues", "These Foolish Things", "You're The Cream In My Coffee", "Five Minutes More", and "Midnight Sun". LP, Vinyl record album

The title's a bit obtuse, but the music is warm and soulful throughout – a really tremendous session that carries on the strong legacy of solo work that Jimmy Heath was doing in the 70s! The feel here is a lot like some of Heath's dates for the Muse or Xanadu labels – and Jimmy's working here with a great rhythm section that includes Larry Willis on piano, Stafford James on bass, and Akira Tana on drums – players who provide a very soulful grounding for the set. Heath blows alto, tenor, and soprano sax – and remaining players include Tom Williams on trumpet and Tony Purrone on guitar. The groove is in a classic Prestige/Riverside mode – not hard hardbop, but soulful, with touches of post-Coltrane blowing, and the mix of lyricism and soul jazz that Heath's always brought to his best work. Titles include "Trane Connections", "Forever Sonny", "You Can See", "I Waited For You", and "Song For Ben Webster". LP, Vinyl record album

Pretty great later work from Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks – not the immediately-retro style of their earlier albums, but instead this wonderful blend of so many different jazz and acoustic elements – set forward with a style that's wonderfully groovy overall! There's a hip, scatting vibe to the music that almost puts Hicks in the same 70s territory as Ben Sidran – although maybe a few notches earlier in terms of his inspirations – yet coming across with a breezy warmth that's really beautiful, almost like the shift that Maria Muldaur had made from her trad styles of the 60s to the groove of "Midnight At The Oasis". Fender Rhodes warms the record up at all the right moments – and titles include "Boogaloo Jones", "Cruzin", "Garden In The Rain", "Dizzy Dogs", "Vinnie's Lookin Good", "Lovers For Life", and "Collared Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work as a leader from this legendary Duke Ellington altoist – working here with Ben Webster on tenor, Lawrence Brown on trombone, Emmett Berry on trumpet, Leroy Lovett on piano, and Lloyd Trotman on bass – plus some tracks that Flip Phillips and Al Sears on tenor, and Sonny Green on drums. Titles include "In A Mellow Tone", "I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart", "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good", "Sophisticated Lady", and "Solitude". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful Billie from the last years of her life. The material was recorded in 1956 and 1957 in Hollywood, featuring Barney Kessel, Ben Wesbster, Harry Edison, and Jimmy Rowles – all grooving nicely in small group formation. The tracks have a wonderfully fragile quality – and although standards, are still some of Billie's nicest work for Verve. Titles include "April In Paris", "All Or Nothing At All", "We'll Be Together Again", and "But Not For Me". Great David Stone Martin cover, too! LP, Vinyl record album

Late work from the great Billie Holiday – the kind of mature set that made Verve Records such a perfect home for the singer in the 50s! Where other labels might have pushed too much to try to get Billie into more commercial, or more straightforward modes – Verve just relaxes into the kind of small combo sound that usually had the singer at her best – pairing Holiday with a great lineup that includes Harry Edison on trumpet, Ben Webster on tenor, Jimmy Rowles on piano, and Barney Kessel on guitar. The songs are short and focused – with Billie at the top of her form on familiar standards like "Comes Love", "Darn That Dream", "Body & Soul", "They Can't Take That Away From Me", and "Embraceable You". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes "I Want You Back", "ABC", "I'll Be There", "The Love You Save", "Mama's Pearl", "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Maybe Tomorrow", "Lookin' Through Windows", "Dancing Machine", "Got To Be There", "Rockin' Robin", "I Wanna Be Where You Are", "Ben" and "One Day In Your Life". LP, Vinyl record album

A selection of tracks from Illinois Jacquet's late 60s albums for Prestige, featuring Milt Buckner, Barry Harris, and Wynton Kelly on piano, Alan Dawson, Al Foster, Jo Jones, and Oliver Jackson on drums, Frank Foster on tenor, Matthew Gee on trombone, Tiny Grimes, Billy Butler, and Wally Richardson on guitar, Montego Joe on congas, Joe Newman and Ernie Royal on trumpet, and Ben Tucker and Buster Williams on bass. LP, Vinyl record album

A Pablo Records release – but featuring material that was originally destined for Verve Records in the 50s – a rare performance in Japan by the Jazz At The Philharmonic! The double-length set is overflowing with goodness, all recorded in the open-ended, warm-hearted style that Norman Granz brought to these classic performances! The album starts with an extended set by the JATP All-Stars – a group that features Roy Eldridge and Charlie Shavers on trumpets, Willie Smith and Benny Carter on alto, Bill Harris on trombone, and Ben Webster and Flip Philips on tenors – with rhythm from the combo of Oscar Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and JC Heard on drums. JATP titles include a "Ballad Medley", "Tokyo Blues", and "Cotton Tail". The set then features six more tracks by the Oscar Peterson Trio – including "Sushi Blues" and "Up" – and another four by the Gene Krupa Trio – including "Don't Be That Way", and "Cocktails For Two". The set then ends with a long set by Ella Fitzgerald with a quartet – on titles that include "Smooth Sailin", "How High The Moon", "Body & Soul", "Lady Be Good", and "My Funny Valentine" – plus a reading of "Perdido" with the whole JATP group. LP, Vinyl record album

A well-done set, and one that stretches from the pre-Verve years of these groupings, to the big run when they were starting to really shine on record! The first half features mid 40s material – with performances from Illinois Jacquet, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Flip Phillips, and Jack McVea on tenors – plus Willie Smith on alto, Buck Clayton and Shorty Sherock on trumpets, JJ Johnson on trombone, Nat King Cole on piano, and Les Paul on guitar. The second half features early 50s material, including three long ballad medley tracks – with performances from Benny Carter and Willie Smith on altos, Oscar Peterson on piano, Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge on trumpets, and Ben Webster, Lester Young, and Flip Phillips on tenors! LP, Vinyl record album