Sweet soulful jazz from reedman Hank Crawford – one of his killer Kudu sessions from the 70s – all of which really helped Hank redefine his sound! The setting here is large and full – put together beautifully by Bob James, with that sense of space for the soloist that makes his CTI/Kudu arrangements so crucial – and light years ahead of what other arrangers were doing at the time. The tracks are longish, but never overdone – and the record has all the soulful alto sounds of Crawford's 60s work at Atlantic, but with a definite 70s bent overall. James plays Fender Rhodes, Arp, and clavinet – and other players include Joe Farrell on tenor and flute, Idris Muhammad and Bernard Purdie on drums, and Richard Tee on additional keyboards. Titles include "Jana", "Sho Is Funky", "Don't You Worry Bout A Thing", "Groove Junction", and "All In Love Is Fair". CD

An all star line-up with Melvin Sparks on guitar, Gloria Coleman on organ, Dr John on piano, Wilbur Bascomb on bass, and Bernard Purdie on drums, plus a horn section with Alan Rubin, Lew Soloff, Lou Marini, and Howard Johnson. CD

With Melvin Sparks on guitar, Stan Hope on piano, Peter Martin Weiss on bass, and Grady Tate on drums. CD

Hank Crawford on alto saxophone, Jimmy McGriff on organ with George Benson, Wayne Boyd, Cornell Dupree, Vance James, Mel Lewis, Jimmy Ponder, Billy Preston & Bernard Purdie. CD

Hank Crawford on alto sax, Jimmy McGriff on Hammond organ, Wayne Boyd on guitar & Bernard Purdie on drums. CD

After Hours is the time when Crawford really hits his stride – playing lean and mellow in that easy soulful way that always seemed to work better than any of his other approaches to jazz. This album's got him blowing alto and even playing a bit of piano, in middle-sized groups that include players like Wendell Harrison, Joe Dukes, Sonny Forriest, and Willie Jones. These lesser-known soul jazz players do a pretty darn nice job of setting the mood, and Hank's comfortable approach puts everyone at ease. Tracks include "Soul Shoutin", "After Hours", "Junction", and "Next Time You See Me". CD

Four full albums – More Soul, From The Heart, Soul Of The Ballad, and Dig These Blues. CD

Not really a symphony, but a great album that features the soulful alto sax of Hank Crawford blowing over some rich larger backings from David Matthews – all with a sweetly funky Kudu sound! The style's a bit more polished than some of the other Kudu sessions of the time – almost a bit disco or clubby at times – as Matthews brings in a fair bit of strings and horns to the backings, and also has some female backing singers sweetening up the sound. But as usual with Kudu, the record's no cheap cash-in sort of set – and Matthews ensures that it's got a tightly-crafted groove that's almost like mainstream 70s soundtrack funk at its best moments. Keyboards are by Richard Tee and Leon Pendarvis – and titles include "Sugar Free", "I Hear A Symphony", "The Stripper", "Hang It On The Ceiling", and "Love Won't Let Me Wait". CD

Early CTI/Kudu material from alto legend Hank Crawford – part of a strong 70s run that helped him find a whole new audience for his soulful sound! Crawford got his start with Ray Charles, and cut some classic albums for Atlantic in the 60s – but during the 70s, his sound really warmed up a lot with the right electric touches – providing a flow in the backdrops while Hank too off on tight, well-blown solos – almost the alto sax equivalent to what the tenor of Stanley Turrentine was crafting at the time. Arrangements here are by Don Sebesky and Bob James – sometimes a bit funky, sometimes laidback – and other musicians include James on Rhodes and George Benson on guitar. Titles include a great funky take on "Alone Again Naturally" – plus "We Got A Good Thing Going", "I Don't Know", "A Little Tear", and "Down To Earth". CD

Hank Crawford on alto saxophone, Danny Mixon on piano and organ, Marcus Belgrave on trumpet and flugelhorn, Ronnie Cuber on baritone saxophone, Melvin Sparks on guitar, Stanley Banks on bass, and Kenny Washington on drums. CD

Teddy Edwards at the height of his powers – packing a tight, soulful punch that made him one of the most popular players on the west coast in the early 60s – and a great link between earlier R&B tenorists and the leaner sound of 60s jazz! Edwards has a nice gutbuckety tone at times – the qualities you might hear from Hank Crawford or David Newman in the way they blended their sounds – but the overall feel is leaner and cleaner, too – not many cliches, and a kind of straightforward sound that really shows the new inroads that the LA soul jazz scene was making at the time. The set features a shifting lineup – piano from Amos Trice, Joe Castro, and Ronnie Ball – bass from Leroy Vinnegar and Ben Tucker – and drums from Al Levitt and Billy Higgins – on titles that include a whopping batch of originals like "Teddy's Tune", "Tempo De Blues", "Vintage '57", "Sunset Eyes", and "Takin Off". Plus, this CD's got some great notes, excellent packaging, and even includes 3 unreleased bonus cuts! CD

Features Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Joe Lovano, and Houston Person – plus arrangements by Hank Crawford and Benny Golson. CD

Great later work from Jimmy Scott – sides recorded for Milestone Records near the end of his life – at a time when Jimmy's music was finally getting its due, and reaching wide exposure to a whole new audience! The sound is pretty laidback and mellow on most numbers – and Scott gets some great accompaniment from a host of musicians who include Eric Alexander on tenor, Hank Crawford on alto, Wynton Marsalis on trumpet, and Joe Beck on guitar – on titles that include "You Don't Know What Love Is", "Smile", "Moonglow", "Without A Song", "Please Send Me Someone To Love", and "Strange Fruit". CD

Music from Freddy Cole, Stanley Turrentine, Ella Fitzgerald, Woody Herman, Ruth Brown, Merl Saunders & Friends, Charlie Byrd, Hank Crawford, Etta Jones, Sonny Rollins, and more – 28 songs in all. CD

Purdie follows up his first Soul To Jazz set – with a style and lineup that's even hipper than the first! This one was recorded in New York, and has a tighter, leaner feel overall. Purdie plays with jazz luminaries that include Hank Crawford, Stanley Turrentine, Vincent Herring, Junior Mance, and Cornell Dupree – in a style that's a bit more stripped down than the first session. Includes versions of "New Orleans Strutt", "Mr Magic", "Jubilation", "Shaft", "Amen", and "Nobody Knows". CD

Stunning live material from the great Ray Charles – a 3CD set that brings together a wealth of stage performances from May of 1962, in setting that often lets us focus as much on Ray's incredible piano work as it does his trademark vocals! Charles' talents need no introduction from us, but they're in fantastic formation here – without some of the studio trappings that he was beginning to use in the 60s, and much more of the jazzy flourishes that he was using towards the end of his time at Atlantic Records – played here by a group that includes Marcus Belgrave on trumpet, Hank Crawford on alto, and David Fathead Newman on tenor. The package features 52 live tracks – including "Blue Stone", "The Danger Zone", "From The Heart", "Margie", "One Mint Julep", "Doodlin", "Careless Love", "Hit The Road Jack", and "I Believe To My Soul". Also features a few bonus studio cuts – including work with Louis Jordan! CD

A dozen songs from David "Fathead" Newman, Les McCann & Eddie Harris, Hank Crawford, The Modern Jazz Quartet, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Herbie Mann, Ornette Coleman, Mose Allison, John Coltrane, Ray Charles, Yusef Lateef, and Charles Mingus. CD

Features Hank Crawford, Cyrus Chestnut, George Mraz, and others. CD

Gentle magic from singer Jimmy Scott – one of our favorite of his comeback recordings of recent years! The album features tracks that Jimmy Recorded over sessions done in 2000 and 2001 – working with a host of great jazz players like Eric Alexander, Joe Beck, Hank Crawford, David Newman, Grady Tate, and Cyrus Chestnut – all of whom bring a warm and mellow feel to the set, allowing Jimmy some good space to breeze around in understated brilliance. Titles include "Yesterday", "Those Who Were", "How Long Has This Been Going On", "Time On My Hands", and "If I Should Lose You". CD

A well-titled little set – as the collection is as cool as the sound of CTI Records back in the 70s! The unique package features an LP-sized cover – just like one of the CTI gatefold albums from back in the day – which contains 4 different CDs, each with a slightly different take on the sound of the legendary label! CD 1 is titled Straight Up – and features amazing 70s jazz from Hubert Laws, Ron Carter, George Benson, Randy Weston, Freddie Hubbard, and others. CD 2 is titled Deep Grooves/Big Hits – and features some killer numbers by Esther Phillips, Johnny Hammond, Freddie Hubbard, Deodato, Joe Farrell, and Hank Crawford. Next is CD 3, The Brazilian Connection – a beautiful demonstration of Creed Taylor's love of sounds from Rio and beyond – filled with great work from Airto, Paul Desmond, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stanley Turrentine, Milt Jackson, and Deodato. Last up is Cool & Classic – the 4th CD, with CTI-remade work by older players such as Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Kenny Burrell, and Jim Hall – all a perfect fit for the label's new sound of the 70s! The package also features an LP-sized booklet – filled with notes and rare images! CD

A pretty amazing batch of soul, R&B, and funk from the Nashville scene – from an astonishing range of years, too! Of course the memorabilia industry that is "Music City USA" is dominated by country music and pop, and this long, long, LONG overdue collection of singles from 1945-1970 demonstrates how much more was going on in East Tennessee beyond Chet Atkins and the Opry! The tunes range from jump blues & soul of the late 40s and 50s, and on through the harmony soul of the 60s and the pre-funk late 60s. 38 tracks on two CDs: "Nashville Jumps" by Cecil Gant, "Just Walkin' In The Rain" by The Prisonaires, "Baby Let's Play House" by Arthur Gunter, "Christene" by Little Hank Crawford, "You Can Make It If You Try" by Gene Allison, "Somebody, Somewhere" by Larry Birdsong, "Monkey Doin' Woman" by Shy Guy Douglas, "What'd I Say" by Etta James, "Snap Your Fingers" by Joe Henderson, "I Want To" by Joe Tex, "The Chokin'" Kind" by Joe Simon, "Rediscover Me" by Johnny Adams and tons more! CD

Includes 9 tracks by Sonny Rollins – plus a bonus sampler with 8 tracks by Joe Henderson, Flora Purim, Jim Hall, Hank Crawford, McCoy Tyner, and Jimmy Smith. CD

2 Argo Records gems from Ahmad Jamal – back to back on a single CD! Happy Moods is a sprightly set from the Ahmad Jamal Trio – but also a record that's not as brightly colored as you might guess from the title, thanks to a nice undercurrent of darkness in the mix! Jamal's piano work is often nicely punctuated – perhaps living up to the "happy moods" promised on the cover – but the bass work of Israel Crosby and drums by Vernell Fournier are a lot more subtle – magical element that really makes the record sparkle with that unique Jamal-like approach to rhythm. Titles include "For All We Know", "Excerpt From The Blues", "Little Old Lady", "Pavanne", "Time On My Hands", "Raincheck", and "Rhumba No 2". Listen To The Ahmad Jamal Quintet is a nicely expanded take on the Ahmad Jamal sound of the early 60s – one that adds in guitar from Ray Crawford and violin from Joe Kennedy to Jamal's usual trio grooving! The main focus here is often still on the core group – which features Israel Crosby on bass and Vernell Fournier on drums – but the added elements are used sparely to bring in new colors to the tunes, with Kennedy bowing violin lines on most of side one, and Crawford hitting some of his great single-note lines on most of side two. Titles include "Ahmad's Waltz", "Valentina", "Tempo For Two", "Yesterdays", and "Baia". CD