Sounds hokey – but this is a fantastic album! French pianist Raymond Fol leads a group that includes American and European players of the Clarke-Boland Big Band mode, like Johnny Griffin, Jimmy Woode, and Fats Sadi, plus American Art Taylor on drums – and he's come up with a swinging take on Vivaldi's Four Seasons that's one of the hippest French jazz sides we've heard from the 60s! Forget the source of the material, because Fol lets the players really go loose on the solos – which means you'll hear great vibes from Sadi, searing tenor from Griffin, and some excellent work on piano and celeste from Fol himself, all set to tight rhythm accompaniment that makes the tracks swing harder than you'd ever expect. A real treat, kind of a swinging jazz suite, ala the best MPS work of the Clarke-Boland Big Band! LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of Parisian sessions from Don Byas – tracks recorded in the city that gave Don his warmest welcome of the postwar years, and which provided him with wonderful players to work with! The first 6 numbers feature a quartet with Byas on tenor and Mary Lou Williams on piano – working here with Don in a surprisingly soulful, straight way – really adding a lot to the set with her own original tunes "OW", "Mary's Waltz", "NME", and "Why". The next 3 numbers feature Byas working with pianist Beryl Booker, who also sings a bit too – on a version of "I Should Care" – alongside instrumental versions of "Makin Whoopee" and "Bery Booker's Byas-ed Blues". Last up are 3 tracks by Don Byas Et Ses Rhythmes – a cool combo with the great Fats Sadi on vibes and Maurice Vander on piano – on titles that include "Jordu", "Anatole", and "Lover Come Back To Me". LP, Vinyl record album

An all-tenor set from Bobby Jaspar – material recorded in Paris in 1953 and 1954, played with a variety of different groups! Jaspar's tenor has a really great sound here – kind of a Lester Young rasp that marks him as a very Getz-like musician at this point – but with a slightly more upbeat edge as well – working nicely alongside players who include Jimmy Gourley on guitar, Fats Sadi on vibes, Roger Guerin on trumpet, Henri Renaud on piano, and Nat Peck on trombone. Titles include "Black Horse", "Kaba Soutra", "Strike Up The Band", "Up In Quincy's Room", "Capri", "Early Wake", "Jeux De Quartes", "Schabooz", and "Struttin With Some Barbecue". 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