Arranged and conducted by Chico O'Farrill. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Buddy Greco may have gone onto become a bit of a self-parody in his later years, but back in the mid 50s he was a heck of a great singer with a lot of jazz in his style – as you'll hear on this intimate set recorded at Mister Kelly's nightclub! The album's got a very laidback style, especially when compared to later Greco records – and instrumentation is only piano and bass – with Buddy himself on the former and Johnny Frigo on the latter. Given that Greco's playing piano with his vocals for the record, there's a bit of a Matt Dennis quality to the record – a slightly gentler sound than the later Greco "uh-huh" style of the 60s, and a mode that often brings in jazzier inflections to match his actions on the keys. Titles include "They Didn't Believe Me", "A Foggy Day", "Welcome To Mister Kelly's", "The Nearness Of You", "Give Me The Simple Life", and "Will You Still Be Mine". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

An oft-overlooked jazz vocal session by Mary Ann McCall, with superb arrangements by Johnny Richards, and a nice batch of tracks that have a surprisingly dark quality to them. Titles inlcude "Blue (and Broken Hearted)", "Lover Is Blue", "Melancholy Nights", "Am I Blue", and "My Old Flame". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Features early work from Ronnie Cuber on baritone, Benny Jacobs-El on trombone, Mike Citron on tenor, Mike Abene on piano, and Alan Rubin on trumpet! LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent album of 50s work from Edgar Sampson – an older saxophonist from the swing years in Harlem, and a heck of a great composer as well! The session features Sampson revisiting 12 of his famous classics – including a number that were big tunes in the Benny Goodman and Chick Webb books. Players on the set include Mile Yaner and Hymie Schertzer on alto saxes, Boomie Richman and George Berg on tenor, Charlie Shavers on trumpet, and Tyree Gleen and Lou McGarity on trombone. Titles include "Happy & Satisfied", "Lullaby Of Rhythm", "If Dreams Come True", "Cool & Groovy", "Blue Lou", and "Don't Be That Way". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Great live work from Mel Torme – a 14 track set that's done with spare backings from the Al Pellegrini Trio – possibly the most stripped-down Torme recording from these early years, delivered with an intimacy that's quite different than some of Mel's work on Bethlehem! Pellegrini plays mostly piano, but also a bit of clarinet too – given that Torme also handles a bit of piano – and the backings are always somewhat light, so that Mel's voice really dominates the proceedings. Titles include "County Fair", "Goody Goody", "You're Driving Me Crazy", "Jeepers Creepers", "Get Happy", "Get Out Of Town", and "From This Moment On". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A great 4-part suite that rivals any of Manny Albam's other sessions from the time – including Jazz Greats Of Our Time, or Jazz New York – and, like that one, a set that's filled with top-shelf jazz talents at the time! The tracks here are all quite long, and done in a bluesy mode that gives the album a bit more soul than usual for Albam – and the set features Phil Woods and Gene Quill on altos, Al Cohn on tenor, Art Farmer and Ernie Royal on trumpets, Bob Brookmeyer on trombone, and Eddie Costa on piano. LP, Vinyl record album

Tremendous horn interplay from the team of Al Cohn and Zoot Sims – and a record that may well be one of the best illustrations of their famous magic together in the 50s! The record's got a way of focusing energy, yet letting each player state themselves clearly and cleanly – almost a perfect small group variation of the larger jazz modes of a generation before – carried out here by Cohn and Sims with a great balance of tone and timing, modernism and swing! There's an excellent rhythm group on the date – Mose Allison on piano, Teddy Kotick on bass, and Nick Stabulus on drums – who almost bring in a slightly soulful undercurrent, which works especially well on Sims' solo moments. Tracks include "Two Funky People", "Just You Just Me", "The Wailing Boat", "You're A Lucky Guy", "Brandy & Beer", and "Chasing The Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A great document of the crossover between the New York Latin scene and the Catskills – the upstate resort community that was as important to the Latin groups as the uptown clubs! Like many groups of the period, Machito's found a heck of a lot of work in the Catskills during the 50s – most notably at the Concord Resort, paid tribute to by this set – which includes photos of famous Concord staffers that include swimming instructor Buster Crabbe and golf pro Jimmy Demarest! But apart from that gimmicky approach, the album's actually a strong one for Machito – showing the kind of grooves that helped his 50s group cross over big – a mix of mambo and early cha cha tracks that include "Patricia", "Guaglione", "Torero", "Cha Cha Cha Loco", "Cotillon Mambo", and "Mambo La Concord". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the hippest bandleaders of his generation, even if his group wasn't as famous as those of Basie or Kenton! Pierce was a bit like the former in the heavy swing of his group, but also a fair bit like the latter in that he had a great ear for finding young modernists – players who would work well within the tighter ensemble of the larger group, but also be willing to try out new ideas on their solos – even in a relatively short span on record! The Pierce style was always subtle, but extremely rewarding – especially when given a few repeat listenings. Players here include Joe Newman, Bill Harris, Hal McKusick, Freddie Green, Oscar Pettiford, and Nat Pierce. Includes "Old Rev", "Trip To Nathan's", "Maple Leaf Rag", "That's All", "Sioux City Sue", "Rojiserro", and "The Bearded One". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Exciting", "Titena", "One Night In Monte Carlo", "Champagne Time", "Royal Blue", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

The title tells the story of the album's concept – as Teddi King pays tribute to a dozen male "kings" of music – including Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Dick Haymes, and Billy Eckstine! The tunes are all signature numbers by each of the male stars – redone by Teddi here with a female twist, and set to backings by Lew Douglas and Johnny Richards – both of whom give Teddi some of the best support of her 50s career. Richards' backings are especially great – nicely dynamic, in a way that breaks past some of Teddi's sleepier qualities – and even on the mellower numbers, the King vocals are in full force, sung with even more promise than on previous albums for RCA. Titles include "Flamingo", "Unforgettable", "April Showers", "A Cottage For Sale", "This Love Of Mine", "Keeping Out Of Mischief Now", and "Temptation". LP, Vinyl record album

A surprisingly wonderful solo set from Steve Lawrence – recording away from Eydie Gorme here, but sounding plenty great on his own! Lawrence has a wide-ranging vocal style that really comes out in this album – an ability to swing a tune with a simple turn of a phrase, and a way of putting over a ballad that makes us wonder why he never shined more brightly as a solo romantic act on his own. Nick Perito contributed some equally dynamic arrangements to the set – matching Steve's finger-snapping swing on the upbeat numbers, but sitting back nicely to let the vocals dominate on the mellower ones –and although the tunes are mostly familiar ones, they're given a new sort of energy here. Titles include "Hooray For Love", "All About Love", "Isn't It A Pity", "Too Late Now", "Love Is A Season", "Blah Blah Blah", and "Lover In The House". LP, Vinyl record album

With Johnny Frigo on bass, and Cy Salzberg and Norm Jeffries on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

John Hicks works in some really wonderful company here – a trio with bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Idris Muhammad – both of whom really add a lot to the date! We're always big fans of Lundy's sound on bass – and his approach here has the same warm-rolling quality you'd find in his own best 80s work – really helping to push Hicks' lyrical agenda on the piano with a rhythmic support that's tremendous. Muhammad's pretty great too – definitely on the understated side of his talents, that nicely subtle sound he developed in the 80s – and Hicks, as always, is more than a cut above most of his contemporaries, and continues a long legacy of extremely soulful work on the keys of the piano. Titles include "Pas De Trois", "Hold It Down", "Airegin", "Coral Keys", "Ted's Delight", and "Blue In Green". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A lost legacy of work from Black Jazz Records – the important 70s imprint that's best known for its groundbreaking albums of spiritual and funky jazz – and a company who also issued some rare 45s back in the day! The cuts here represent some of the coolest, funkiest tracks these artists recorded for Black Jazz – all originally issued as 7" singles, some with a two-part approach that has both parts of a longer track spread out over both sides of the wax. The presentation here is as top-shelf as the other Black Jazz reissues handled by Real Gone – complete with notes by Pat Thomas – and titles include "Little B's Poem" and "Peace" by Doug & Jean Carn, "Chi Town Theme" by Cleveland Eaton, "Soul Daddy" and "Be All Your Own" by Kellee Patterson, "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" and "Me & Mrs Jones" by Gene Russell, "Coral Keys (parts 1 & 2)" by Walter Bishop, "Moon Child (parts 1 & 2)" by Doug Carn, "Mr TJ (single edit)" and "Devon Jean" by Rudolph Johnson, "Gee Gee (parts 1 & 2)" by Calvin Keys, and "Powerhouse (parts 1 & 2)" by Chester Thompson. LP, Vinyl record album

A great little collection that's maybe the opposite of the long-running tradition of "desert island discs" – in that the music here is hardly essential, but would be plenty of fun to hear if you were trapped alone with nowhere else to go! Think of the set as the darker side of exotica at the end of the 50s – a spot where tropical sounds mix with Latin rhythms and some rockish touches too – material from the years before surf guitars were really hitting the mainstream, but older modes were being infused with a bit of electricity and new modes of production – all in ways that make for some very cool cuts collected in the set! The package brings together rare singles from a variety of sources – and titles include "Jivaro" by Harvey Anderson, "Babalu" by Phyllis Branch, "The Lonely Sea" by Rick & Trisha, "Strictly Polynesian" by Davy Jones & The Dolphins, "Midnight" by Hank Levine, "Bongo Heat" by Coral & The South Seas, "Martinique" by Ty & Ed, "Atlantis" by Blue Bells, "Rumba Rhapsody" by Hector Cari & The Dancing Strings, "Ho Ba La La" by Dariel Kay, and "Miserlou" by Vitin Aviles Y Su Orquesta. LP, Vinyl record album

Extremely compelling work by the team of Toquinho & Vinicius! The album's a soundtrack to the Globo TV show O Bem Amado – and it's one of a number of albums that were recorded for Brazilian soap operas during the early 70s, most of which (including this one!) feature rare work that didn't appear on other LPs. The arrangements are great – handled on one track by Rogerio Duprat – and the record's got a baroque feel that reminds us of the best work on EMI/Odeon from the same time. A few tracks feature vocals by Maria Creusa, some by Toquinho, either solo or with Vinicius, and one by the Coral Som Livre. Includes the great groovy "Paiol De Polvora", plus "Meu Pai Oxala", "Cotidiano No 2", "Veja Voce", "Patota De Ipanema", and "No Colo Da Serra". LP, Vinyl record album

The legendary Suzanne Ciani is in very classic form here – working on EMS, Buchla, and Moog synthesizers alongside French electronic artist Jonathan Fitoussi! The pair serve up twin-keyboard magic throughout, with a bit of vocalization from Ciani – and the record has all the evocative qualities of her best early material, really a return to the kind of spacey, analog sounds that made Suzanne such an important pioneer back in the day, even if she's only finally getting the right sort of recognition she deserves in the 21st Century! The sound of the work is sublime throughout – very lively, and "live" – not so much processed or programmed, as delivered by two musicians working together with instruments they understand inside and out. Titles include "Sonar", "Pinwheel", "Time Lapse", "Oceanium", "Rainbow Sequence", and "Coral Reef". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic 70s album from Gary Burton – a set that definitely has the "new" promised in the title, as it takes off more from some of Gary's work in previous years! The record's got this explosive sense of color that really comes through in Gary's vibes – and in the way the group can leaop into the fray when needed – almost funky at points, but also able to shift into more sensitive modes too – balanced between the guitar of Michael Goodrick,bass of Abraham Laboriel, and drums of Harry Blazer. Burton's got a bit more bite at times than before – pushing even past his Atlantic Records sound and the tunes are a well-chosen array of songs by contemporaries who include Keith Jarrett, Mike Gibbs, Chick Corea, and Carla Bley. Titles include "Open Your Eyes You Can Fly", "Coral", "Tying Up Loose Ends", "Olhos De Gato", and "Mallet Man". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful package of rare bossa work! The set is a great tribute to the composers mentioned above – and it features some of their best songs in classic renditions, packaged in a cover with an 8 page booklet that's filled with great photos and writings in Portuguese. Titles include "O Barquinho" by Pery Ribero, "Fim De Noite" by Coral De Ouro Preto, "Marcha Da Quarta-Feira De Cinzas" by Elis Regina, "Maria Moita" by Nara Leao, "A Morte De Um Deus De Sal" by Roberto Menescal, "Pau De Arara" by Ary Toledo, "Telefone" by Os Cariocas, and "Invluencia Do Jazz" by Carlos Lyra. LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic little record, and one with a sound that's a surprising as the album is obscure – a mix of Takoma Records-styled acoustic instrumentals blended with other cuts that have a much more funky jazz approach – all wrapped together as a wonderful testament to the overlooked talents of this Swedish guitarist! Thomas plays both acoustic and electric on the record – the former on those spare numbers that have a great sense of intimacy, and even on some of the fuller numbers that bring in a bit of electric piano, bass, and drums – as well as some earthier percussion that's especially nice! The electric guitar comes in a bit here and there, but always in ways that are nicely restrained compared to fusion – on titles that include "Nyanser", "EM", "Horisont", "Quebec", "Coral Reef", and "Frost". LP, Vinyl record album

A totally fantastic set from the turn of the 70s, and one of Freddie Hubbard's most soulful, spiritual albums ever – a seminal chapter in the evolution of soul jazz – and a record that was a keen inspiration for changes to come on labels like Strata East and Black Jazz! The group here features Kenny Barron on both electric and acoustic piano – really stretching out with a hip, open sort of sound – possibly his first of this type on record – and other players include James Spaulding on alto and flute, Reggie Workman on bass, Louis Hayes on drums, and Patato Valdes on added percussion – giving a more complicated groove to the best numbers. Tunes are all long and well-penned – three by Freddie himself ("Eclipse", "Spacetrack", "Gittin' Down"), one by Kenny Barron ("Black Angel"), and one by Walter Bishop (the original recording of his classic "Coral Keys"!) LP, Vinyl record album

A very different album from Archie Shepp – and an introspective record that shows a whole new side of his talents! For the session, Shepp plays piano, not tenor – an instrument he handles with an angular, modern tone – one that seems to echo bits of Herbie Nichols and Thelonious Monk, but with a wider range of sounds too – and a definite sense of spirit that shows Archie's larger growth as a musician in the 70s. The tunes are often familiar numbers, but they're recast in weird ways here – odd phrasing on piano, offbeat rhythms, and some hip backing from Bob Reid on bass and Muhammad Ali on drums. The great Alan Shorter joins the group on flugelhorn for a few numbers – bringing in a freer Paris jazz feel – and titles include "Doodlin", "Invitation", "Coral Rock", "More Than You Know", and Shepp's own "Worried About You". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic 70s album from Gary Burton – a set that definitely has the "new" promised in the title, as it takes off more from some of Gary's work in previous years! The record's got this explosive sense of color that really comes through in Gary's vibes – and in the way the group can leaop into the fray when needed – almost funky at points, but also able to shift into more sensitive modes too – balanced between the guitar of Michael Goodrick,bass of Abraham Laboriel, and drums of Harry Blazer. Burton's got a bit more bite at times than before – pushing even past his Atlantic Records sound and the tunes are a well-chosen array of songs by contemporaries who include Keith Jarrett, Mike Gibbs, Chick Corea, and Carla Bley. Titles include "Open Your Eyes You Can Fly", "Coral", "Tying Up Loose Ends", "Olhos De Gato", and "Mallet Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent work by some of the greatest Brazilian singers and songwriters of the 70s! The material was recorded exclusively for this TV soundtrack in 1976 – and although the scope of the story stretches back to the early 20th century, the feel of most of the material is prime mid 70s MPB. Overall, this is one of the more introspective titles in this series of classic Som Livre soundtracks – as you might guess from the range of material and performers. Titles include "So Louco" by Gal Costa, "Latin Lover" by Joao Bosco, "O Casarao" by Dori Caymmi, "Coisas Da Vida" by Rita Lee, "Tangara" by Coral Som Livre, "A Dor A Mais" by Francis Hime, "Retrato" by Sueli Costa, and "Carolina" by Aquarius. LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful bossa work from Toco – a session recorded in Rio with production by S-Tone, and featuring some wonderful acoustic guitar from the legendary Roberto Menescal! Menescal's presence here really helps give the record a classic grounding – a sense of depth and history that surpasses even Toco's great debut – and which is made even better by the presence of Rosalia De Souza on guest vocals on a number of tracks! As with Rosalia's recent Rio sessions, there's a sound here that's warmer, jazzier, and even more traditionally bossa-based than previous Schema releases – with a bit less of a dancefloor focus in the rhythms, and a lot more live instrumentation! All numbers feature small combo backing, and titles include "Litoral", "Zum Zum", "Assuntos Banais", "Bom Motivo", "Samba Noir", "Barracao", "Voz Da Lapa", and "Contradicao", which features guest vocals from Coralie Clement! LP, Vinyl record album

Other-worldly sounds from a leaf-playing musician from the South American scene – an artist who takes the leaf of a ficus tree, holds it in his mouth, and creates all these unusual sounds that are very much in the territory of some sort of exotic reed instrument! The leaf solos are mixed here with work on acoustic guitar, percussion, and often a bit of organ – all at a level that's completely hypnotic, and which almost feels more like music from the East African scene than the sorts of sounds you'd expect from the city of Quito in Ecuador! And while you might think of these recordings as some sort of sonic novelty, they've got a great amount of feeling and power – a really unexpected depth that comes across right away – maybe even more so if you don't stop to think about the source of the sounds. These vintage recordings are presented here in the best tradition of the Honest Jons label – and titles include "Tondero", "Arbol Frondoso", "Pujili", "Marcu Pungo", "La Naranja", "Negra Piedad", "Simiatu", and "Huashca De Corales". LP, Vinyl record album