... LP, Vinyl record album

The Fania All Stars pay tribute to a form that inspired many of its players – but which faded from Latin vogue before the group was properly formed in the late 60s. The session's a nice bit of retro Latin, with some strong late era salsa touches. Titles include "Guajira Con Tumbao", a great groover, plus "Hueso Y Pellejo", "Me Voy Pa Moron", "Naranjo Y Lucas", "Isla Del Encanto", and "Vacila Con Tu Trago". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible pairing of two of the most important modern jazz talents of the 50s – trumpeter Clifford Brown and altoist Gigi Gryce – whose sense of structure on these tunes really gives Brownie a whole new space in which to shine! Gryce really seems to get at the mixture of sweetness and bite that Clifford can deliver when he's at his best – which comes through brilliantly in his solos, which are then matched by these raspy, soulful lines from Gryce on his alto. The group's a French one – and swing, but really let the American horn players take the lead – with Henri Renaud on piano, Jimmy Gourley on guitar, Pierre Michelot on bass, and Jean Louis Viale on drums. Tracks include "Baby", "Minority", "Salute To The Band Box" and "Strictly Romantic". LP, Vinyl record album

US issue of some of Gerry's classic Vogue recordings, done in Paris in 1954 with a quartet that featured Bob Brookmeyer on valve trombone, Red Mitchell on bass, and Frank Isola on drums. This is Gerry at the height of his powers, and playing classic piano-less material with supberb accompaniment by Brookmeyer. Tracks include a number of originals, including "Utter Chaos", "Five Brothers", and "Walkin' Shoes", plus others like "Bernies Tune", "Come Out Wherever You Are", and "Laura". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent French session – with Zoot on tenor, Frank Rosolino on trombone, Jimmy Gourley on guitar, Henri Renaud on piano, Don Bagley on bass, and Jean-Louise Viale on drums! Titles include "The Late Tiny Kahn", "Toot's Suite", "Great Drums", "Call It Anything", and "Zoot's Suite". LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool French album cut by LA pianist Gerald Wiggins – working here with his early trio with Chico Hamilton on drums, and Alvin Banks on bass! The tracks are all pretty lively – and titles include "Have You Met Miss Jones", "Ivan Wig Digs Chic", "I Get A Kick", and "Coffee Time". LP, Vinyl record album

Hard to get work by Clifford Brown – 1953 recordings originally done in Europe for the Vogue label! Brown's working here in front of a Parisian trio that features Henri Renaud on piano, Pierre Michelot on bass, and Benny Bennett on drums. There's 12 tracks in all, with multiple takes of "I Can Dream, Can't I?", "The Song Is You", "You're A Lucky Guy" and "Come Rain Or Come Shine" plus "It might As Well Be Spring" and "Blue & Brown". LP, Vinyl record album

Hard to get work by Clifford Brown – 1953 recordings originally done in Europe for the Vogue label! Brown's working here with Gigi Gryce in front of a Parisian quartet that features Henri Renaud, Pierre Michelot, and Benny Bennett. There's 12 tracks in all, including 2 takes each of "All The Things You Are", "Salute To The Bandbox", "Blue Concept" and "Minority", plus "Goofin With Me", "Strictly Romantic", "Baby" and "I Cover The Waterfront". LP, Vinyl record album

A French group from the 70s, but one with a lead singer from Tunisia – the freaky-looking Mahmoud Ayari, who's got his feet up on the cover! The group are fiercely jamming – with a really heavy, driving percussion approach, and lots and lots of freaky guitar fuzz – often used in these really dark ways, which then seems to bring out even more darkness from Ayari's vocals – which act almost like loud calls to action than standard lyrics! A number of tunes are heavy on the instrumental section – which makes for even more great focus on the excellent guitar – and titles include "To Where I Belong", "Lot Of Things", "Explosion", "We All Come & Go", and "My Sorrow" – plus two tunes with really great special effects from Jean Pierre Massiera – "Pop Orbite" and "Pop Pull Hair". LP, Vinyl record album

There's nothing little about the talents of Roy Eldridge on the trumpet – as you'll hear in this hip set of tracks from the start of the 50s – material recorded in Paris with help from some great American sidemen! Half the tracks feature Roy's trumpet in a quintet with Zoot Sims on tenor, Dick Hyman on piano, Pierre Michelot on bass, and Ed Shaughnessy on drums – grooving in the relaxed, swing-based style that you'd expect from Eldridge's 50s work on Verve. Roy sings just a bit on the set – scatting alongside the lead vocals from Anita Love on a version of "It Don't Mean A Thing" – and singing a duet with Anita on the R&B-ish "There Ain't No Flies On Me". Other tracks include "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams", "The Man I Love", "Wild Driver", "Easter Parade", and "Just Fooling". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the earliest small group sessions from tenor giant Frank Foster – recorded in Paris with a quartet that includes Henri Renaud on piano! LP, Vinyl record album

An early album from this might Belgian reedman – a set that mostly features Bobby Jaspar on tenor, working with the quintet of Henri Rene! Titles include "La Baronne", "Black Hourse", "Tenor Business", and "Jimmy's Dream". Very nice, and a key chapter in Jaspar's career! LP, Vinyl record album

Double-length brilliance from the mighty Sahib Shihab – a set that collects a number of killer 60s sessions with members of the Clarke Boland Big Band – all of them great! The small combo work here is amazing – hard-hitting modal jazz that matches, if not tops the best MPS/Saba sounds of the time – all produced to perfection with a really sharp edge, and a cutting approach to jazz that's gone onto inspired countless others in the current scene – including artists on Schema and Ricky-Tick Records, as well as most Japanese club jazz combos! But long before any of those cats started copping his groove, Sahib Shihab had it all totally together – a great ear for his own amazing solos on baritone and flute, and a way of hooking up with players like Francy Boland on piano, Fats Sadi on vibes, Benny Bailey on trumpet, Jimmy Woode on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums. All players here were Shihab's partners in the Clarke Boland Big Band, and they use these small combo sessions to explore some great new ideas – stripped-down groovers that are heavy on rhythm, and really allow full expression from all the players involved. Titles include "Companionship", "Om Mani Padme Hum", "Bohemia After Dark", "Serenata", "Yah Yah Blues", "Balafon", "Talk Some Yak-ee Dak", "The Turk's Bolero", "CT + CB", "Jay Jay", "Stoned Ghosts", "Just Give Me Time", and "Dijdar". LP, Vinyl record album

Jimmy Witherspoon takes the stage at the Olympia Theater in Paris – recording here with a hip small combo who really help him find his unique blend of blues and jazz! The album's got a feel that's quite similar to any of Witherspoon's best American dates of the time – a swinging jazz take on older KC vocal modes, handled by Jimmy in a voice that's easily one of the most recognizable of his generation. Players include Buck Clayton and Emmett Berry on trumpets, Dicky Wells on trombone, Buddy Tate on tenor, and Sir Charles Thompson on piano – and titles include "I Make A Lot Of Money", "Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You", "I'll Always Be In Love With You", "Blowin The Blues", and "Everything You Do Is Wrong". LP, Vinyl record album

US issue of some of Gerry's classic Vogue recordings, done in Paris in 1954 with a quartet that featured Bob Brookmeyer on valve trombone, Red Mitchell on bass, and Frank Isola on drums. This is Gerry at the height of his powers, and playing classic piano-less material with supberb accompaniment by Brookmeyer. Tracks include a number of originals, including "Utter Chaos", "Five Brothers", and "Walkin' Shoes", plus others like "Bernies Tune", "Come Out Wherever You Are", and "Laura". LP, Vinyl record album