One of our favorite-ever albums on Blue Note – a great 60s session that features one of the most unique reed players to ever record for the label! George Braith takes a bit of a page from Roland Kirk – in that he handles a variety of oddly-tuned reed instruments, but with a wonderfully soulful focus – mixing this nice edge with more familiar soul jazz modes, at a level that makes his records of the time completely unique! The group also features some sublime organ lines from Billy Gardner – a player you might know more from previous records with Lou Donaldson on piano, but who's very open and expressive here – almost echoing Larry Young at times – which is great next to the work of Grant Green's guitar on the record! Braith's playing is incredible – slightly exotic, but also quite soulful – and titles include "Nut City", "Sweetville", and "Extension". CD

One of the most wonderful albums by one of our favorite jazz artists of all time! For this unique session, George Braith offers up "two souls in one" – by playing both soprano sax and "stritch" simultaneously – in a two-reed mode that recalls the work of Roland Kirk during the 60s! The sound is incredible – as soulful as it is exotic – and matched here by some excellent backing that includes Grant Green on guitar, Donald Bailey on drums, and Billy Gardner on organ! Gardner's work on the set is especially nice – with a Larry Young-ish free approach to the organ, one that makes for lots of modal grooves that really work perfectly with Braith's sound! Titles include "Braith-A-Way", "Mary Ann", and "Home Street". CD

One of our favorite-ever albums on Prestige Records from the 60s – and a set that's a fair bit different than most of the other work on the label! The set's an unusual outing for saxophonist George Braith – cut after his famous albums for Blue Note, and in a mode that's quite different – very far-reaching, and almost spiritual at points – with the blend of jazz and other modes that you might find on the Cadet/Concept sessions in late 60s Chicago! Braith plays a wide assortment of saxes – c-melody, alto and soprano – but his playing here is a bit different than the Roland Kirk-like vibe of before – sometimes more stretched-out and exploratory, in a Nathan Davis sort of vibe – sometimes wrapped up in some larger explorations from the whole group. There's moments of raw percussion with echoey production, others with wordless vocals floating alongside the lead soloist, and still others that have that catchy blend of soul jazz and exoticism you'd find in the music of Eddie Harris or Yusef Lateef – even though Braith here is completely his own artist too! The set features Jane Getz on piano, Jay Carter and Eddie Diehl on guitar, and Ben Dixon on drums – but there's also a lot of percussion, both Latin and otherwise, from a shifting lineup of players. The whole thing's wonderful – and titles include "Del's Theme", "Musart", "Evelyn Anita", "Our Blessing", "Laura", and "Splashes Of Love". CD

The title's a bit hokey, but the group's a great one – a saxophone quartet, led by Elton Dean and augmented by bass and drums, for a very unique sound! The style here is quite different than that of the over-used 80s sax quartet style – as the bass and drums propel the group into a much stronger groove, and relieve the other sax parts of any rhythm keeping, yet still allow them to be relatively free without any piano in the group. Dean plays both alto and saxello – and is joined by Trevor Watts on alto, Simon Pickard on tenor sax, and Paul Dunmall on tenor and baritone saxes – all coming together in a style that swings wonderfully, yet still has plenty of modern moments – with sounds that almost recall the greatness of Roland Kirk or George Braith! Titles include "Unda", "Rising", "Seven For Lee", "Small Strides", and "Fall In Free". CD

2 excellent early albums from overlooked saxophone genius Eric Kloss! Grits & Gravy is a really incredible little set – with a varied approach that we love! About half the record has Kloss blowing with a quartet that includes Jaki Byard on piano, Richard Davis on bass, and Alan Dawson on drums – going for a style that's more towards the soulful end of Byard's modern approach – and featuring some incredibly well-crafted alto solos for his young age. The other half of the album features a strange but cool larger group – one with Teddy Charles on vibes, Billy Butler on guitar, and even some female backing vocals! The approach on these sides is like that on some of the George Braith and Freddie McCoy sides for Prestige – a great blend of groovy and funky, with a soulful undercurrent that's really sent home by Kloss' solos! A stunning album with a really unique blend of sounds – and titles that include "Repeat", "Grits & Gravy", "Gentle One", "Slow Hot Wind", and "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise". First Class Kloss catches the young saxophone genius at a perfect point in his career, right when he was stretching out from the organ jazz roots of his first few records, but in a way that's not as noodly as in some of his later recordings. The group's incredibly hip – with Jimmy Owens, Cedar Walton, Leroy Vinnegar, and Alan Dawson – and the record bounces with that soulful pre-funk mode that crept into only the best of the Prestige sides of the late 60s. Titles include "African Cookbook", "Chittlins Con Carne", "Comin Home Baby", and "The Chasin Game". 16 tracks in all, including one previously unissued track – "Psychedelicatessen Rag". CD

An all-star group – featuring John SCOfield, Joe LOvano, Dave HOlland, and Al FOster, hence the unusual name of the ensemble – all grooving in an angular mode that recalls the current Blue Note sound at its freshest. Lovano's edgey tenor and soprano work really make the session hold together nicely, as he's got a tone here that almost reminds us of George Braith back in the days when he was recording for Blue Note himself – especially on some of his organ-based sessions. Scofield's guitar is in that cleaner, leaner sound he's using these days – which is a good match for Foster's spare work on rhythm. Titles include "Oh", "Right About Now", "Brandyn", "Faces", "Oh I See", "In Your Arms", and "Shorter Form". CD

Sublime work from Hal McKusick – one of those mid 50s modernists who offered up such hope for new ideas at the time, and who seemed to all but disappear by the middle of the next decade! This album's one of Hal's finest – an optimistically crafted batch of tunes written by many of the 50s best modernists: Gil Evans, Jimmy Giuffre, George Russell, and others – played by a group that includes Art Farmer, Barry Galbraith, Jimmy Cleveland, and Milt Hinton. The approach is east coast chamber jazz – a refreshing change from the west coast version, made all the better by McKusick's crisp tone and precise blowing. Titles include "Alto Cumulus", "Tommy Hawk", "Lydian Lullaby", "One Score & Eight Horns Ago", "Jambangle", and "Just Leave It Alone". CD

A sweet little set from percussionist Willie Rodriguez – one that combines Latin and jazz influences with effortless ease! Instead of the usual early 60s session of this nature – which usually had a straight jazz group with added Latin percussion – this one seems to start from more of a Latinized perspective, then jazz things up a bit with some strong solo work from Seldon Powell. Powell rarely got the chance to play in a session of this nature – working here in only a quartet setting, which means that his work on tenor, alto, and flute really cooks up with plenty of strong notes on the date. Rodriguez plays both drums and Latin percussion, and the rest of the group includes Barry Galbraith on guitar and George Duvivier on bass. Titles include "Nanigo Soul", "Serenata", "Moliendo Cafe", "After Words", "Tasty", "Seafood Wally", and "Flatjacks". CD