A classic album from San Francisco pianist Dave Brubeck – recorded at Oberlin College, the mid-Ohio haven of bohemiana, and a growing hotbed of jazz activity centered around students in the college's conservatory of music at the time of the recording! Dave and crew made the trip at the request of the kids – breaking from their mostly San Francisco-based recording career to cut what would end up becoming a very successful album in Dave's catalog, and begin a whole "at" or "goes to" series in his career – followed up at many other locations. The group's the early quartet with Paul Desmond on alto, Ron Crotty on bass, and Lloyd Davis on drums – and tunes include long and jamming versions of "The Way You Look Tonight", "How High The Moon", and "Stardust". LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool soundtrack, and one that offers up a weird and wonderful mix of modes from the mid 60s – bits of surf guitar, garage rock, country, and more – all brought together in a wonderfully evocative mode that hardly needs the images of the offbeat film on the screen! The whole thing is a really great dip into a 60s underground that's not often as well represented in the world of compilations and reissues. Titles include "Tropic Waters" by Steve Waltner, "Melody On The Moon" by The Travelers, "Crying Guitar" by Johnny Blue, "Walk Through The Valley" by Kay Johnson, "Far Away" by Ron Heiss & The Low Notes, "Tarantula" by Jody Reynolds, and "Lost Horizon" by Tommy Dae's High Tensions. LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool soundtrack, and one that offers up a weird and wonderful mix of modes from the mid 60s – bits of surf guitar, garage rock, country, and more – all brought together in a wonderfully evocative mode that hardly needs the images of the offbeat film on the screen! The whole thing is a really great dip into a 60s underground that's not often as well represented in the world of compilations and reissues. Titles include "Tropic Waters" by Steve Waltner, "Melody On The Moon" by The Travelers, "Crying Guitar" by Johnny Blue, "Walk Through The Valley" by Kay Johnson, "Far Away" by Ron Heiss & The Low Notes, "Tarantula" by Jody Reynolds, and "Lost Horizon" by Tommy Dae's High Tensions. LP, Vinyl record album

One of a handful of late 50s albums that Chet Baker recorded for Riverside – all of which are some of his last great 50s work in the studio, before a shift in the 60s to a wider-ranging approach to his music! The style here is definitely in the "classic" Baker mode set down for Pacific Jazz – but a bit more fleshed out by the other players in the set – who seem to push a bit more personality into the tunes, and not just let Chet's trumpet dominate. The sound is soft and gentle – as you'd expect from the title – and other players include Bill Evans, Pepper Adams, Kenny Burrell, Paul Chambers, Connie Kay and Philly Joe Jones – all bringing a bit of a New York undercurrent to the west coast Baker solo style. Titles include "How High the Moon", "It Never Entered My Mind", "If You Could See Me Now", "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", "Time On My Hands", and "You And The Night And Music". LP, Vinyl record album

Two classic albums from the great Sonny Rollins – both made during some time on the LA scene of the late 50s, and matched here with a more obscure third album that issued alternate sides from the sessions! First up is the classic Way Out West – a set that brings the east coast tenor of Sonny Rollins into contact with a west coast rhythm section of Ray Brown and Shelly Manne! Despite Rollins' silly look on the cover, and the album's overall "western" theme, the session's a brilliant one – right up there with Sonny's strongest trio sides of the late 50s, and a key link in a string of excellent recordings for Blue Note, Prestige, and Riverside! The lack of a piano really opens up the style of the set – letting Sonny explore freely on his solos, while Brown's bass and Manne's drums do more than enough to keep the rhythms going on their own. Solos aren't as "out" as on the Village Vanguard sessions, but certainly every bit as inspired – and titles include "I'm An Old Cowhand", "Solitude", "Come, Gone", "Way Out West", and "Wagon Wheels". Next is Sonny Rollins & The Contemporary Leaders – one of Sonny's brilliant west coast sessions for Contemporary – records that shouldn't sparkle as much as they do, but which actually stand with his best work of the 50s! Sonny's blowing in front of a session of "leaders" that includes Hampton Hawes, Barney Kessel, Leroy Vinnegar, Shelly Manne, and Victor Feldman, who plays vibes on one track. Sonny's the real leader here, though – as his bold, proud tenor tone really takes front seat, carving lines that never get tired, bringing a sparkle into tunes like "You", "How High The Moon", "I've Found A New Baby", "The Song Is You", and "I've Told Ev'ry Little Star". Heck, even with songs like those, the album should be weak – but there's an undeniable magic that really makes it great! Last is Contemporary Alternate Takes – a great collection of alternate takes from Sonny's landmark recordings for Contemporary Records in the late 50s – material recorded in LA with an easier-swinging groove than some of his New York work, in a style that let Sonny blow in round, warm, and really open tones – almost foreseeing his work for RCA in the mid 60s. Players include Ray Brown, Shelly Manne, Victor Feldman, and Barney Kessel – and the set features alternate takes of "I'm An Old Cowhand", "Come Gone", "Way Out West", "The Song Is You", and "You". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful set of unreleased Arthur Russell songs – great tunes that he cut in more of an eclectic singer-songwriter approach than some of his other work – emotionally upfront, understated material that is simply beautiful! The songs range from very stripped down and folksy on the earlier recordings – kind of like an East Village Townes Van Zandt (we s**t you not) with Arthur singing and playing acoustic guitar and occasionally his cello – with an intuitive, true understanding of folk and Americana at its most honest and direct, while still working in some avant flourishes. As the set and the years of recording progress, the accompaniment gets busier and more pop, soul and experimental sounds are filtered in – but the song-based approach carries all the way through. For a noted perfectionist and experimentalist, it's a really unfussy batch of material, and very rewarding. Highly recommended! Tracks include "Close My Eyes", "Goodbye Old Paint", "Maybe She", "Oh Fernanda Why", "Eli", "Habit Of You", "Janine", "Big Moon", "The Letter", "Your Motion Says", "Love Is Overtaking Me", "Planted A Thought", "Love Comes Back" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible sounds from the postwar avant scene in France – a small record, but one that's had huge impact over the years! This 3 track EP features compositions based around the "structures sonores" of Jacques Lasry and Bernard Baschet – both of whom create and play these amazing Harry Partch-esque instruments that are part sculpture, part percussive tools – very groundbreaking at the time, and still pretty amazing after all these years. Even more than the instruments, though, the high point of the album is the way that the orchestrations and sonic structures work together – as the whole thing feels like an otherworldly batch of space songs that recalls some of Moondog's work, and some of the other early Musique Concrete composers from the 50s. Tracks include "La Mort Du Clown", "La Danse Du Resort" and "Bolide". 7-inch, Vinyl record

One of the greatest moments ever from pianist Sadik Hakim – a player most people know for his contribution to the American bop scene of the late 40s – but an artist who grew even more strongly during his later years in Montreal! This album's a real highlight from that overlooked time in Hakim's career – a set that not only has the musician playing both Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano, but which also highlights his tremendous skill as a writer, too – with a richness that easily rivals the best on the European scene of the time – such as some of our favorite London jazz musicians, or the great work on MPS. Side one features the extended "London Suite" – a work that's poetic, but also pretty darn groovy too – and side two features on shorter compositions that include "Liliane", "Grey Cup Caper", and "Moon In Aquarius" – all carried off beautifully by a group that includes Al Khabyyr Sayyd Abdul on alto and flute, Billy Robinson on tenor, and Peter Leitch on guitar. LP, Vinyl record album