Dave Mason's first solo album – and a pretty a great one! Alone Together wasn't a huge hit back in the day, but man is a ever a pleasing set. It's rich with blues & soul steeped lead vocals and sweet backing harmonies and bed of acoustic guitars at the core of most of the tunes – sometimes with a driving intensity, others with a lightly gliding pace. The production is a nice mix of blue-eyed blues and southern skewing wah wah rock – with great musicians in the mix, from Leon Russell to Eric Clapton. Tracks include "Only You Know And I Know", "Can't Stop Worrying, Can't Stop Loving", "Waitin' On You", "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave", "World In Changes", "Sand And Deep As You", "Just A Song" and "Look At You, Look At Me". CD

Dave Stryker on guitar, Stefon Harris on vibraphone, Jared Gold on organ, and Mclenty Hunter on drums. CD

A real breakout album for Earl Klugh – the kind of record that got him on the a-list of fusion players for the rest of the 70s! The title here is especially well-chosen – as the tunes have a gently colorful feel that's never too slick, despite the tighter setting of the album – with light arrangements by Dave Grusin that still leave Earl plenty of space to work his subtle magic on the strings of the guitar. Titles include "Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow", "Summer Song", "Dance With Me", "Dr Macumba", "Long Ago & Far Away", and "Cabo Frio". CD

Michael Formanek on bass, Larry Gold on cello, Don Byron on clarinet, Joey Baron on drums, Danny Blume on guitar and electronics, Uri Caine on piano, Dave Binney on soprano saxophone, Josh Roseman on trombone, Dave Douglas on trumpet, DJ Olive of turntables, Mark Feldman on violin, Arto Lindsay, Dean Bowman on vocals, and Aaron Bensoussan on vocals and hand drums. CD

A record that some saw as a bit of a jolt in the career of Herbie Hancock when it was released – but a set that's actually gone on to become one of the classics in his catalog, thanks to the mix of material and the players on the date! The "new standard" in the title is a reference to many of the songs in the collection – taken from more (then) recent rock and pop, but then turned into jazz instrumental tapestries with Herbie on acoustic piano, Michael Brecker on tenor and soprano, John Scofield on guitars, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Titles include versions of "You've Got It Bad Girl", "Thieves In The Temple", "Your Gold Teeth II", "All Apologies", "Love Is Stronger Than Pride", "Mercy Street", and "Scarborough Fair".. CD

Dave Goldberg on saxophone with Joe Bagg on organ and Adam nussbaum on drums. CD

Dave Brubeck takes on the Eurasian scene – with wonderfully groovy results! The album's one of Brubeck's first in the "impressions" series, and it's a really colorful assortment of tunes – tracks with some lyrical and exotic moments that come through strongly, and which really offer a slightly different take on the Brubeck groove. Paul Desmond's alto sax is key to the sound here, and so is the progressive percussion of Joe Morello – and in addition to Brubeck's piano, the quartet also features bass from Joe Benjamin. Titles are all originals by Dave, and they include "Calcutta Blues", "Marble Arch", "Brandenburg Gate", "Nomad", and "The Golden Horn". CD

Gil Evans on piano, Chris Hunter on alto and soprano saxophone and flute, Hamiet Bluiett on baritone saxophone, clarinet and bass clarinet, Bill Evans on soprano and tenor saxophone and flute, Dave Tucker on bass trombone, Johnny Coles on flugelhorn, John Clark on French horn and hornette, Gil Goldstein and Peter Levin on synthesizer, Dave Bargeron on trombone, Lew Soloff, Miles Evans, and Shunzo O'no on trumpet, Hiram Bullock on guitar, Mark Egan on bass, and Danny Gottlieb on drums. CD

Features Emily Remler and Bucky Pizzarelli on guitar, Ken Peplowski on reeds, Dave Frishberg on piano, John Goldsby on bass, and Terry Clarke on drums. CD

Harry "Sweets" Edison on trumpet, Frank Wess on tenor saxophone, Clark Terry on flugelhorn and trumpet, Junior Mance on piano, Marcus McLaurine on bass, and Dave Gibson on drums. CD

With Marin Taylor and John Goldie on guitar, Dave O'Higgins on saxophone, Alec Dankworth on bass, Jack Emblow on accordion, and James Taylor on drums. CD

Abbey Lincoln in very familiar territory – working through a set of all-original compositions – self-penned tunes that are awash in dark moods and subdued emotions! The setting shows the full depths of Abbey's talents – and is a great reminder that she's not just an old jazz singer that you can trot into the studio for a record of dusted-off standards – but a continually growing, evolving talent – and one with a compositional pen that's as compelling as her instantly-recognizable voice! Instrumentation features guitars from Larry Campbell, accordion from Gil Goldstein, bass from Scott Colley, cello from Dave Eggar, and drums from Shawn Pelton – and Abbey wrote the words and music to all titles save one – a version of "Blue Monk", which features Thelonious' own music. Titles include "And It's Supposed To Be Love", "Should've Been", "Learning How To Listen", "Down Here Below", "The World Is Falling Down", "Throw It Away", and "The Music Is The Magic". CD

Gil Evans on piano, Chris Hunter on alto and soprano saxophone and flute, Hamiet Bluiett on baritone saxophone, clarinet and bass clarinet, Mark Egan on bass, Danny Gottlieb on drums, Johnny Coles on flugelhorn, John Clark on horn and French horn, Hiram Bullock on guitar, Gil Goldstein and Peter Levin on synthesizer, Bill Evans on tenor and soprano saxophone and flute, Dave Bargeron and Dave Tucker on trombone, and Lew Soloff, Miles Evans, and Shunzo O'No on trumpet. CD

Nice stuff – a much richer album than you might guess from the cover and title! Pino Palladino and Blake Mills have a way of making some wonderfully fresh sounds here – Palladino on a variety of basses, and Mills on reeds, guitars, and a whole host of other instruments too! The music is jazz, but of the sort that goes most strongly for the overall sound of the group's output – maybe reaching forth past the sonic experiments of early ECM, but with a very contemporary vibe, and a spirit that's much more varied and filled with surprise overall! Players shift as much as the instruments from track to track – and the set features work from Sam Gendel on poly sax (which sounds great!), plus Larry Golding on flutes and mellotron sax, Marcus Strickland on bass clarinet, and Chris Dave on drums and percussion. The sound is great – very unique, in ways that are hard to describe easily in words – with titles that include "Soundwalk", "Man From Molise", "Djurkel", "Off The Cuff", "Notes With Attachments", and "Ekute". CD