One of the best non-Winchester albums from the team of Ferrante & Teicher – not as crazy as some of their work, but still with some good elements of the piano trickery that made them famous. Titles include "Out Of This World", "East Of The Sun", "Over The Rainbow", "Stars In My Eyes", and "Stella By Starlight". Also features the original tracks "Serenade To A Star" and "Beyond The Moon". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Another one of their crazy LPs, which are sometimes hard to find amidst the pop stuff they normally did. This one's got them doing some originals and some standards, augmented by a tight little ensemble of three percussionists and one bassist. The added instruments drive their piano stuff – which is already percussive enough, what with weird keys and mallet designs – into a driving new dimension. 12 tracks in all, including "Che Si Dice", "Va Va Voom", "Aflame", "Parade Of The Bobbies", "Cielito Lindo", "Beyond The Blue Horizon", "Three O'Clock In The Morning" and "The Nearness Of You". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few totally brilliant early Ferrante & Teicher albums – especially for their non-Westminster label releases! The album's a lot like the great Westminster titles – in that it features the pair working in very strange arrangements – often tuning the pianos strangely, and putting things inside the strings, in the manner of John Cage's prepared piano experiments from earlier years. The sound is incredible – highly pyrotechnic, with loads of weird bits, noises, and more odd stuff! Titles include "In The Rain", "Chopstick Cha Cha", "Merry Widow", "Love", "Hurdy Gurdy", and "Busman's Holiday". LP, Vinyl record album

Mostly dramatic material, written by Riddle to accompany this mid 60s film based on the John O'Hara novel of the same name. Ferrante & Teicher perform the main theme – which is jaunty enough – but the other tracks are pretty dark and orchestral, with a fairly gloomy feel overall. Titles include "Roger Bannon", "Table Talk", "Why Don't You Tell Her", "Kiss Me Pumpkin", "A Rage To Live", "I've Got A Husband", and "A Two Hour Drive". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best early albums by Ferrante & Teicher! The record has less of the studio effects of their Westminster albums – but it does feature some killer firey twin piano pyrotechnics, with the same sort of goofy manipulation of the strings and piano innards as on the Soundproof album. Includes nice crazy versions of tracks like "Tabu", "Oye Negra", and a totally great version of "Caravan". Great groovy experimental piano craziness! LP, Vinyl record album

A smooth set from reedman John Klemmer, but a pretty darn soulful one too – and a great illustration of the way that Klemmer could still hold onto his roots a lot more strongly than some of his contemporaries! The backings are gentle and fusiony – often with some great keyboard work from Russell Ferrante – and Klemmer soars out wonderfully in the lead – with a depth of tone and creativity of solos that goes far beyond anything that might have been needed for the date – a real "something extra" that shows that John's still got all the deep elements of his Impulse years in place. Tracks include "Finesse", "Man & Woman", "Sometimes", "Heart", "Sun, Moon And The Stars", and "Beloved". LP, Vinyl record album

A great take on the sound of Hollywood – one that comes from a host of classic instrumental albums of the 50s and 60s – most of which feature new versions of famous soundtrack themes! Many of the cuts here are decidedly leaner, and almost hipper, than the originals – and the compositions run from the best crime/thriller years of the 50s – up to the coolest late 60s styles, including some of the more European-influenced ones. 18 tracks in all – including "Your Zowie Face" by Nelson Riddle, "Moon River" by Henry Jerome, "Barbarella" by Ferrante & Teicher, "Beat Girl" by John Barry, "Theme From The Apartment" by Tito Rodriguez, "Cool" by Martin Denny, "You Gotta Taste All The Fruit" by Leroy Holmes, "A Man & A Woman/Live For Life" by Billy May, "Experiment In Terrory" by Al Caiola, and "Watch What Happens" by Denny McLain. CD

Free and easy grooves from the great Phil Upchurch – a set that has the guitarist evolving more strongly into the world of fusion, after beginning his career with instrumental soul, shifting to heavier funk, and continuing to really open up his jazz chops as the years went by! Here, Phil's playing with a great lineup that includes plenty of soulful tenor from Eddie Harris, billed as having a "saxophone attachment" – which might be an update of his earlier Varitone sound – plus lots of nice work on keyboards from Russ Ferrante, and bass from Phil's son too. The great Harvey Mason sets the groove on drums – and titles include "Groovin Slow", "Midnite Blue", "Free & Easy", "Reunion", "Moment's Notice", and a nice take on "People Make The World Go Round". CD

A surprisingly wonderful debut from the Yellowjackets – one of those groups who've become such a cliche that we forget how great they can be when they're on! This original album was cut years before "smooth jazz" meant "too slick to have soul" – and it's got a sweet electric bounce that follows nicely from the 70s R&B fusion experiments of players like Donald Byrd, Tom Browne, and Ronnie Foster. Russell Ferrante plays some great keyboards on the set next to the bass of Jimmy Haslip and drums of Ricky Lawson – and the album's rounded out with some excellent guest work by fusion luminaries that include Bobby Lyle, Ernie Watts, Larry Williams, Paulinho Da Costa, Robben Ford, and Roland Bautista. LP, Vinyl record album

A smoking little set – an album of jazz takes on Curtis Mayfield classics, played by a hip combo that includes a few musicians from Mayfield's old band! The album's a straight jazz effort all the way through – and the interpretations are so soulful and swinging on their own, you might even forget that Curtis provided the inspiration for the tunes – thanks to work from Wallace Roney on trumpet, Ernie Watts on saxes, Phil Upchurch on guitar, Russ Ferrante on piano, Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, and Henry Gibson on congas! The album's one of the last that Gibson ever cut, and his percussion really helps the whole thing find its groove – providing a nice kick to the work of Roney, Watts, and Upchurch over the top. Titles include "Freddie's Dead", "Superfly", "Beautiful Brother Of Mine", "People Get Ready", "Amen", "Gypsy Woman", and "It's All Right". CD

Free and easy grooves from the great Phil Upchurch – a set that has the guitarist evolving more strongly into the world of fusion, after beginning his career with instrumental soul, shifting to heavier funk, and continuing to really open up his jazz chops as the years went by! Here, Phil's playing with a great lineup that includes plenty of soulful tenor from Eddie Harris, billed as having a "saxophone attachment" – which might be an update of his earlier Varitone sound – plus lots of nice work on keyboards from Russ Ferrante, and bass from Phil's son too. The great Harvey Mason sets the groove on drums – and titles include "Groovin Slow", "Midnite Blue", "Free & Easy", "Reunion", "Moment's Notice", and a nice take on "People Make The World Go Round". LP, Vinyl record album