Bad Bossa Nova is right – as Gene Ammons really hits a great groove here – one that's not exactly bossa, but which has lots of Latin and tropical touches! The session makes great use of 2 guitars at the same time – using that of Kenny Burrell for soulful rhythm, but also adding in Bucky Pizzarelli for some nice acoustic embellishments – in a mode that's similar to the soul jazz-com-bossa style used on records like Ike Quebec's Soul Samba or Charlie Rouse's Bossa Nova Bacchanal. The overall rhythms are a bit more complicated, and a bit more soul jazz based than those sets – with Hank Jones on piano, Oliver Jackson on percussion, and Al Hayes adding in some sweet extra bongo! Titles include the classic "Ca'Purange" – plus "Anna", "Yellow Bird", "Cae Cae", and "Moito Mato Grosso". Also issued under the title Jungle Soul! (Ca' Purange). LP, Vinyl record album

A soul jazz classic from Gene Ammons – the kind of session that easy made him "boss" on tenor – with a tone and conception that few other players could touch! The set is done in a style that's laidback, but never too loose – bouncing along in that "with conga" style of rhythm that was used strongly at the start of the 60s – with Ray Barretto on percussion, alongside Tommy Flanagan on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. The style is nice and echoey – a mode that works well not only here, but on most of the 22 other albums that Ammons went onto record during the next 2 years! Titles include "Close Your Eyes", "Canadian Sunset", "Hittin' The Jug", "Confirmation", and "Blue Ammons". LP, Vinyl record album

Gene Ammons may be the leader, but the tenor giant is in great company here – stretching out over four long tracks, with help from Jackie McLean on alto, Art Farmer on trumpet, Kenny Burrell on guitar, and Mal Waldron on piano! The rhythm is kicked in nicely by Doug Watkins on bass and Art Taylor on drums – and titles include "Pint Size", "King Size", "Stella By Starlight", and "Funky". LP, Vinyl record album

Gene Ammons has some pretty hip friends here – a roster of talent that includes guest appearances by hornmen Cannonball Adderley, Dexter Gordon, and Nat Adderley on one long jam number – plus Hampton Hawes on electric piano on the entire set! The work's done in a laidback, long-blowing way – more the Gene Ammons of earlier live dates than the revived funk hero of the early 70s Prestige years – but thanks to some nicely spacious keyboards from Hawes, the record's got a more modern sound than you might expect, and is a good bridge between 60s and 70s soul jazz modes. Titles include "New Sonny's Blues", "Treux Blue", "Sophisticated Lady", and "Yardbird Suite". LP, Vinyl record album

Gene Ammons' last session – not as funky as earlier work for Prestige, but pretty nice at that! The group's got Gary Bartz on alto, Kenny Drew on piano, Sam Jones on bass, Louis Hayes on drums, and Nat Adderley on cornet – and they groove together well, in the kind of soul jazz/modal mode that you'd find on some of the better mid 70s sides for the Muse label. The album includes a nice remake of Duke Pearson's "Jeanine", plus the tracks "Out In The Sticks", "Alone Again Naturally", "It Don't Mean A Thing", and "Geru's Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Gritty live work from twin tenor giants Gene Ammons and Dexter Gordon – recorded in an open-ended style that's a bit like some of Gordon's famous early work on the Central Avenue scene in LA, or Ammons' famous live "battles" with Sonny Stitt! The date was recorded in Chicago at the North Park Hotel – with sound that's a bit more "live" than some of the other Prestige sessions at the time – and an unusual lineup that features local players Jodie Christian and John Young on piano, Cleveland Eaton on bass, and Steve McCall on drums. The lovely Vi Redd makes a vocal appearance on the track "Lonesome Lover Blues" – and other titles include "The Chase", "Polka Dots & Moonbeams", and "The Happy Blues" – all nice and long! LP, Vinyl record album

Late great work from Ammons – an album done at the time of his funk sides for Prestige, but recorded in the style of his earlier years in Chicago! The session's a laidback set of soulful solo-heavy work – recorded as part of a hip series of shows at the North Park Hotel, with a local rhythm trio that includes Jodie Christian on piano, Cleveland Eaton on bass, and Marshall Thompson on drums. James Moody joins Ammons in the frontline, and the set's got the best electric feel that you'd hear if you were lucky enough to catch either player in a small club date in the early 60s. Loads of very imaginative solo work in the best Chicago tenor tradition – with titles that include "Work Song", "Jim Jam Jug", "Have You Met Miss Jones", and "C Jam Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite an unusual date – both for the players, who are normally more at home on Prestige Records – and for the Pacific Jazz label, who were then a cornerstone of west coast cool jazz! That setting doesn't keep the album from being a killer, though – as Gene Ammons wails away on tenor, next to some lean, clean work on Hammond from the young Groove Holmes – who's already at his rhythmic best, and getting help here from Gene Edwards on guitar and Leroy Henderson on drums! Most tracks are nice and long – half recorded live, half in the studio – and titles include "Morris The Minor", "Good Vibrations", "Hey You What's That", and "Groovin' With Jug". LP, Vinyl record album

Way more than just an album with Gene Ammons as a leader – and instead, a set with a great array of supporting players, and a very loose, open-ended jam session style that lets everyone get in plenty of solo space! Ammons' tenor is tremendous, but he's also a great collaborator here, too – working with Idrees Suliman on trumpet, Pepper Adams on baritone, Mal Waldron on piano, Art Taylor on drums, Doug Watkins on bass, and Ray Barretto on conga – in a mode that's maybe slightly tighter than some of the blowing sessions Prestige was doing at the time, but which still has that key longform creative energy that made the hardbop generation so great. Titles include "Blue Gene", "Scamperin", "Blue Greens n Beans", and "Hip Tip" – and all tracks are long, with plenty of focus on solos! LP, Vinyl record album

Very nice record, and one of the rarer sides by Gene Ammons. We can't remember the exact story behind this, but we know that the material was recorded by Jug during the early 60's, when he was violating his contractual agreements with a number of labels, and recording sessions for just about everybody. Paul Winley caught him then, and put him in the studio with Howard McGhee and guitarist Jake Fisher, for this cool laidback soul jazz session that's probably one of Jug's most open-ended from the time. The tracks are all long, with a lot of room for solo space, and a round mellow tone. Winley has his name on all of the writing credits, which is probably false (the lying bastard!), and titles include "Housewarmin", "Nothin' But Soul", and "Jug & McGhee". LP, Vinyl record album

A stone classic from Gene Ammons – and a record that introduced his talents to a whole new audience in the 60s! The album's a more laidback one than some of Jug's more hard-blown honkers – as you might guess from his hit rendition of the ballad in the title – and the instrumentation here varies between organ from Johnny Hammond Smith and piano from Mal Waldron – making for a nice tapestry of dark-tinged, late nite moods. Other players include Frank Wess on tenor and flute, and Art Taylor or Ed Thigpen on drums. Titles include the classic "Angel Eyes", plus "You Go To My Head" and "It's The Talk Of The Town" – and slightly more groovin numbers like "Getting Around" and "Water Jug". LP, Vinyl record album

A more laidback set than usual from Ammons' early 70s stretch on Prestige – but a record that nicely gets back to that big-toned tenor sound he used often on ballads from earlier years! The combo mixes both electric piano and organ – the former from Hank Jones, the latter from Ernie Hayes – and drums are mostly by Idris Muhammad, but in a style that's a bit more roundly open and soul-based than some of his funkier jams. But there's still a nice groove to many numbers – a gentler one, with a sly undercurrent of soul – even on a few that feature fuller strings arranged by Ed Bogas. Titles include "God Bless The Child", "Strange Fruit", "Fine & Mellow", "Lady Sings The Blues", "Play Me", "Tin Shack Out Back", and "Ben". LP, Vinyl record album

A real turning point in the career of Gene Ammons – a record that almost returns Ammons to his earthier roots, and in the process helps build up a whole new sound in soul jazz for the 60s! The "Jug" nickname in the title is kind of a joking way to help Ammons stand alongside "Miles", "Trane", "Diz", and other one-name monikered stars in jazz – but even without that gimmick (which somehow lasted for years), the album's got a depth that more than gets Gene back on top, thanks to a gritty soulfulness and good sense of feeling in the grooves! Players here include Richard Wyands on piano on most numbers – plus a rare appearance by Clarence "Sleepy" Anderson on 2 numbers – one on organ, one on piano. Rhythm is by Doug Watkins on bass and JC Heard on drums – and Ray Barretto makes one of his great soul jazz appearances on drums – rolling the groove along with a nice bit of bounce throughout! Titles include "Tangerine", "Ol Man River", "Easy To Love", "Seed Shack", "Miss Lucy", and "Namely You". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice selection of rare Gene Ammons work from the mid 50s – all long, hard-blowing tracks! LP, Vinyl record album

Killer live work from Jug – recorded during the early 60s in Chicago, with just an organ-based trio, and very much in the feeling of the best small-group lounge jazz shows of the day! The material is issued here in a 1967 version, its first release – but the grooves were recorded at the DJ Lounge in Chicago – at a time when Gene Ammons was turning out some very raw, rough-edged material! Organist Eddie Buster does a pretty darn good job of wailing away, and Ammons is in very different, very freewheeling form than on many of his other studio sessions from the time. Gerald Donovan is on drums – and titles include "Fast Track", "Foot Tappin", "Scrapple From The Apple", and "Jug's Blue Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice collection of Gene Ammons' work that doesn't always get as well remembered as his sides for Prestige or Chess – a 1947 bop session for Savoy with Howard McGhee on trumpet, Leo Parker on baritone, Junior Mance on piano, Gene Wright on bass, and Chuck Williams on drums; and early 50s sesssions with Johnny Coles on trumpet, Lino Murray on trombone, Mack Easton on tenor and baritone, John Houston on piano, Ben Stuberville on bass, and George Brown on drums; done in a wonderfully full-voiced tone! The set features Gene's classic "Red Top", plus the great two part "Big Slam", and the titles "Chips", "Goodtime Blues", "Fuzzy", "Jim Dawgs", and "Street Of Dreams". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful beautiful work from tenorist Gene Ammons – and an album that really demonstrates that during the 60s, one of Ammons' strongest suits was his work with a mellow tune or ballad! The tracks here are wonderfully laidback, but never sleepy – very soulful, and solidly put together in that Ammons-made gentle-blown way – using just a few notes to send the message out with a powerful punch, without ever overdoing things the way that a few of his tenor contemporaries might be tempted to do! The group's a great fit too – with the lovely Patti Brown on piano, plus bass from George Duvivier and bass from Ed Shaughnessy – and titles include "Two Different Worlds", "Skylark", "Three Little Words", "Street Of Dreams", and "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To". LP, Vinyl record album

Lots of great soul jazz numbers here from the glory days of Prestige – all nice and long! Titles include "Blue Hymn" with Gene Ammons on tenor, Jerome Richardson on flute, and Mal Waldron on piano; "The Rev" with Eddie Lockjaw Davis on tenor, Richardson on flute, and Shirley Scott on organ; "Cool Grits" with Willis Jackson on tenor, Jack McDuff on organ, and Bill Jennings on guitar; and "Enough Said" with both McDuff and Jennings! LP, Vinyl record album

A nice 2LP set that collects material recorded on January 3, 1958 – originally issued as 2 separate LPs, The Big Sound and Groove Blues, but collected here together in its entirety, along with a good set of notes! The album's classic Ammons, playing in a laidback open-ended blowing session, with other strong Prestige players – like Coltrane, Jerome Richardson, Paul Quinichette, Art Taylor, and Mal Waldron, who always seems to be the driving force between most Prestige sides like this. Titles include "Groove Blues", "Jug Handle", "Cheek To Cheek", "Blue Hymn", "The Real McCoy", and "That's All". LP, Vinyl record album

Features the tracks "Jammin With Gene", "Funky", "Blue Hymn", "Blue Gene", "Seed Sack" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A killer set from drummer George Jenkins – with a hard-wailing Central Ave groove, augmented by some killer tenor work by Plas Johnson! This is one of the best albums ever to hear Johnson blowing in a jazz mode – and his tenor skills put him right up there with Willis Jackson or Gene Ammons for sheer soulful blowing. Most rhythms are in an R&B-ish tone, with piano by Ray Johnson, Duke Harris on bass, and Jenkins on drums – and titles include "Gee Gee", "Caravan", "Drum Boogie", "Hot Spot", and "Last Call". LP, Vinyl record album

Arnett Cobb's definitely sizzlin on this classic album for Prestige – a stripped-down quartet setting that features his bold tenor sax right up front in the mix, cutting deeply on a half dozen well-recorded tracks! The sound here is simple, soulful, and completely effective – very much in the mode of labelmate Gene Ammons, but perhaps a bit earthier overall – not R&B honking, but almost on the verge at times. Backing is by Red Garland on piano, George Tucker on bass, and JC Moses on drums – and titles include "Sizzlin", "The Way You Look Tonight", "Black Velvet", and "Blue Sermon". LP, Vinyl record album

The "new scene" of King Curtis here is a jazz one – as Prestige takes him into the studio, and backs up his tenor with accompaniment from Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Oliver Jackson – plus trumpet from Nat Adderley, billed on the back as "Little Brother" for contractual reasons! The tracks are long and open, with less of King's tenor tricks, and more of a laidback Gene Ammons-ish style of blowing. Titles include "Little Brother Soul", "In A Funky Groove", "Have You Heard", and "Da Duh Duh". LP, Vinyl record album

Not just a regular collection – as the set features a number of previously-unissued tracks – including rare cuts by Benny Golson, Red Garland, Kenny Burrell, Gene Ammons, Eric Dolphy, Booker Little, and Eddie Lockjaw Davis. LP, Vinyl record album

Tubby Hayes – we love you! You're a big ol' white guy from England, but you're one of our favorite-ever tenor players – and this set of tracks features some pivotal work from your late 50s years! The set features Tubby on tenor and vibes, Terry Shannon on piano, Jeff Clyne on bass, and Phil Seamen on drums – and although the tunes are simply done, Tubby's wonderfully well-crafted solos remind us of the best of Sonny Rollins or Gene Ammons, with slight touches of early John Handy. Titles include "Tin Tin Deo", "Embers", "Blue Hayes", "Sunny Monday", and "Like Someone In Love". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest albums ever recorded by hardbop trombone legend Bennie Green – an all-star sextet session that cooks like a mofo! The group features the twin tenors of Billy Root and Gene Ammons (billed just as "Jug" on the session, because of contractual reasons) – and it crackles with electricity from a rhythm section that features Ike Isaacs on bass, Sonny Clark on piano, and Elvin Jones on drums. There's some fantastic tracks on here, including Babs Gonzales' "Lullaby of the Doomed", and a monster jam called "We Wanna Cook", which was once described to us as "all you ever need to have a house party" – to which we wholeheartedly agree! Other tracks include "Black Pearl", "BG Mambo", and "Soul Stirrin" – and the album's one of the heaviest duty Blue Notes from the time! LP, Vinyl record album

A 1970 re-titled version of the earlier album The New Scene Of King Curtis – one of his best from the time! The "new scene" of King Curtis here is a jazz one – as Prestige takes him into the studio, and backs up his tenor with accompaniment from Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Oliver Jackson – plus trumpet from Nat Adderley, billed on the back as "Little Brother" for contractual reasons! The tracks are long and open, with less of King's tenor tricks, and more of a laidback Gene Ammons-ish style of blowing. Titles include "Little Brother Soul", "In A Funky Groove", "Have You Heard", and "Da Duh Duh". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from the early years from Billy Eckstine – including one track with Billy on trumpet! Band members include Fats Navarro on trumpet, Gene Ammons and Budd Johnson on tenors, Leo Parker on baritone, and Art Blakey on drums! The set also features some vocals from Lena Horne and Sarah Vaughan too! LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite albums by Teddy Edwards – and one with some organ in the group! This obscure quartet side has Gerry Wiggins playing a rare bit of Hammond – grooving the group with a lean and open-ended soul jazz approach that really has Edwards blowing at his best! The style sits right up there next to Gene Ammons' best albums of the time, and the rest of the group features Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Milt Turner on drums. Titles include "Smokin", "No Regrets", "A Bag Of Blues", "Wiggin", and "Little Steddy" – all originals that get Edwards past the usual bag of soulful standards! LP, Vinyl record album

A hard set of soul jazz grooves – recorded under the leadership of the great trombonist Benny Green, and one of his few albums not for Blue Note or Prestige! The sound is very much in the Prestige hardbop mode of the late 50s – and Green heads up a group that includes Gene Ammons and Frank Foster on tenor, Nat Adderley on cornet, Frank Wess on flute and tenor, and Tommy Flanagan on piano– a similar lineup, with a similar sound, to some of the albums recorded under Ammons' name as "blowing sessions". The cuts are long, with laid back laid out solos – and titles include "Jim Dog", "Going South", and "Little Ditty". LP, Vinyl record album

Charlie Parker classics in a variety of flavors – a great collection of material from the 50s, 60s, and 70s – all showing the huge influence of Bird's songwriting on the sound of modern jazz! The recordings here offer up a variety of formats, in a variety of different settings – piano jazz, guitar work, and hardbop horns – all pulled from the mighty vaults of Fantasy Records. Titles include "Parker's Mood" by Eddie Jefferson, "Scrapple From The Apple" by Blue Mitchell, "Yardbird Suite" by Art Pepper, "Confirmation" by Gene Ammons, "Now's The Time" by Frank Morgan, "Steeplechase" by Hampton Hawes, "Repetition" by Wes Montgomery, and "Billie's Bounce" by Johnny Griffin. LP, Vinyl record album