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Incredible work from Charles McPherson – his first for Xanadu in the mid 70s – wherein his amazing quartet breathes fresh, bop-inspired urgency and a deft sense of soul into some older standards – maybe even as strongly as on his best work for Prestige in the 60s! It's truly timeless – holding true to the classic songcraft of the compositions, but leaving plenty of room to riff and improvise in ways that add both subtle shades and energetic flourishes. The group includes Duke Jordan on piano, Sam Jones on bass and Leroy Williams on drums – all on their game. Beautiful indeed! Songs include "It Could Happen to You," "Lover," "This Can't Be Love", "They Say its Wonderful", "Body And Soul","But Beautiful". CD includes a bonus track, and it's a great one – a tremendous 9 minute take on "All God's Children Got Rhythm". CD

Fantastic work from reedman Charles McPherson – a player who was really coming back to basics in the mid 70s, but also finding a way to stretch out with a sound that was different than his initial albums of a decade before! Charles has moved way past the straight bop that first got him notice – yet he's also got this deft way of making changes that hardly denies that legacy at all, and instead turns to a newly fluid sense of expression that might well make McPherson one of the most soulful altoists of his generation – especially in the long legacy of great records that flowed from this period. The group features Barry Harris on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Leroy Williams on drums – and tracks are nice and long, with titles that include "Tokyo Blue", "East Of The Sun", "Desafinado", "Orient Express", and "Bouncing With Bud". CD features two bonus tracks – "Groovin High" and "Blue N Boogie". CD

A great counterpart to the two famous Charles Mingus albums for the Candid label – really a third "lost" Candid album, recorded at the time of those sets, but never issued until many years later! As with those great dates, the work here is filled with righteous anger, unbridled emotion, and some of the most passionate jazz work of the 20th Century – directed by Mingus with unfailing energy on the bass, and featuring solo work from players who include Eric Dolphy on alto and bass clarinet, Booker Ervin on tenor, Charles McPherson on alto, Ted Curson and Lonnie Hillyer on trumpets, Jimmy Knepper on trombone, and Paul Bley on piano – all giants in their own right, most of whom gave the world some fantastic records under their own leadership too! Tracks are all nice and long, mostly from the November 11, 1960 date that featured two different groups – titles that include "Bugs", "R&R", "Reincarnation Of A Lovebird (2nd version)", "Body & Soul", and "All The Things You Are (all)". CD

Fantastic lost work from Charles Mingus, from a very under-recorded time in his life – the same period in which he gave the world the seminal album Let My Children Hear Music! The setting's a live one – and as on some of Mingus' superb 60s concert sessions, there's a force and fire here that really surpasses the group's energy in the studio – long tracks that are filled with brilliant solo work, and handled by a sextet that includes Bobby Jones on tenor, Charles McPherson on alto, Jon Faddis on trumpet, John Foster on piano, and Roy Brooks on drums – a group with just the kind of young, imaginative horn players that Mingus always used to create a special sort of fire. Titles include the 19 minute "The Man Who Never Sleeps", the 30 minute "Mind Readers Convention In Milano", a 25 minute version of "Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress", and a 20 minute take on "Noddin Ya Head Blue" – plus a 35 minute jam on "Fables Of Faubus" and the shorter "Pops". CD

Charles Mingus at Carnegie Hall – but playing here with relaxed and intimate feel that's not what you might expect from the staid setting! The original album features two long tracks – both done in more of a jam session mode than any other Charles Mingus recordings we can think of. Both numbers are Ellington classics – "C Jam Blues" and "Perdido" – showcasing Mingus' late fascination with the Duke, but in a way that still preserves all of the modern inventions of his own earlier work. As on much of the best Mingus albums from the time, there's a real focus on the strengths of the soloists here – players who include Roland Kirk on tenor and stritch, Hamiet Bluiett on baritone, Jon Faddis on trumpet, John Handy on alto and tenor, Charles McPherson on alto, and Don Pullen on piano – all of whom really play with some sharp edges and bold notes! This great expanded version features more very long tracks – over 70 minutes of unreleased music, with versions of "Celia", "Big Alice", "Fables Of Faubus", and "Peggy's Blue Skylight" – as well as Mingus' introduction of the music. CD

A great live set from pianist Barry Harris – material recorded on the same date that gave us the excellent Live In Tokyo album from reedman Charles McPherson – but done in a very different way that shows that Barry's clearly the leader on these tracks! The rhythm duo is wonderful – the mighty Sam Jones on bass and Leroy Williams on drums – players who can crackle when Harris wants them to, yet also lay back and give Barry lots of spacious territory to work some incredibly deft, personal magic on the keys. The sound almost takes us back to the initial Harris recordings of the early 60s, but also has some of those colors that would flow even more freely in some of his sessions for the Japanese market – on titles that include "I'll Remember April", "Fukai Aijo", "A Soft Spot", "Round Midnight", and "Un Poco Loco". CD features four bonus tracks too – two versions of "Ornithology", plus "Like Someone In Love" and "Night In Tunisia", both nice and long! CD