These guys will forever be known for the jazzy grooving title hit – "Vehicle", a brassy driving number that seems as if it's always being used in some sort of car commercial (which must net these guys a lot of royalties!) – but which is usually mistaken by others for being the work of Blood Sweat & Tears! Like BST, Ides Of March have a really driving sound here – pushing forward with heavy drums, sharp bits of brass, and a great early jazz rock sound that's way better than most work by the competition in years to come! Tracks include "Vehicle", "Wooden Ships", "Home", "Bald Medusa", "One Woman Man", and "Symphony For Eleanor". CD

One of those landmark meetings of mighty talents that sounds even better on record than it does on paper – as the set somehow finds this really special space that's completely between all the best early 70s modes of both Terry Riley and John Cale! Cale was really coming into his own at the time as a solo act – creating amazing records after leaving the Velvet Underground, but also still tied to the deeper art scene from which he emerged. Riley was on the way to becoming one of the most popular of the more modern composers – thanks to a nod from The Who, and a big audience for his wonderfully trippy records on Columbia. The label allowed the pair to create this really special music here – sounds that borrow from Riley's minimalism, while also having some of the darkness of Cale's own compositions – and coming across with this jagged, almost modal sort of approach that's really great. Cale only sings on one song, and the rest of the set is instrumental – as Riley plays piano, organ, and soprano sax – and Cale joins in on bass, guitar, viola, and harpsichord. The two of them groove together in these totally cool tracks that build and build, with minimal lines repeating over and over in endlessly fascinating groove – in a way that touches on a weirdly funky mode! The cut "Ides Of March" has the potential to be dancefloor groover in the jazz dance scene, and there's lots of other great tracks like "Church of Anthrax", "The Protege", and "The Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles". CD

Music from The Ides Of March, Tin Tin, Blues Image, Ferrante & Teicher, The Assembled Multitude, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Ten Years After, Robert John, Flash, The New Seekers, Wayne Newton and Arlo Guthrie. CD

The return of a legend – or maybe more accurately, the first time this legend's ever really gotten his due! Ralph Jackson's been working in the Alabama soul underground for decades – yet this smoking album may well be the first time he's ever really gotten out front, and able to do his thing – working with a tight group of younger musicians who really respect the southern soul vibe that Ralph's going for – and help him hit a really great sound in the process! The set's a soul record through and through – not one of these modern funk workouts with an old singer thrown into the mix – but the kind of old school album you'd hear from Malaco or Criteria Studios – particularly during that point when deep soul was growing up in the 70s. Production and arrangements are right on the money – and all tunes are written by Jackson, save for one totally great cover of The Ides Of March classic "Vehicle"! Other titles include "You've Been Very Good To Me", "Searching", "For Just One Second", "I Can't Leave Your Love Alone", "I'll Take Care Of You", and "There Must Be A Reason". CD

A laidback, and almost rootsy effort from Cassandra Wilson – recorded with small combo backing, and still handled in the sweetly swinging style of her other Blue Note work – but also with some folksy touches that create a more intimate feel on the record than you might think. Of course, part of the reason for that is that a few of the tunes on the set are classic blues numbers – handled by Wilson in an updated style that has kind of a fake authentic quality to it. We still prefer her on the smoother jazzier sides of the set – like the album's great remake of Jobim's "Waters Of March", or the mellow tune "Only A Dream In Rio". Other tracks include "Road So Clear", "Hot Tamales", "Show Me A Love", 'Drunk A Cooter Brown", "Wichita Lineman", "The Weight", and "Justice". CD

Great work from vibist Gary Burton – two RCA albums back to back on a single CD! First up is Lofty Fake Anagram – a standout classic from Burton, and the kind of fresh-voiced and angularly modern session that showed why his sound on the vibes was one of the most revolutionary in jazz at the time! The session features a quartet with Larry Coryell on guitar, Steve Swallow on bass, and Bob Moses on drums – all working in a style that's got touches of modal jazz, and fragments of the Walt Dickerson sound – yet which is also a bit looser, freer, and more spacious – all without going too far "out". Titles include "Lines", "I'm Your Pal", "Fleurette Africaine", "Feelings & Things", "June The 15th, 1967", and "Good Citizen Swallow". Next up is Genuine Tong Funeral – billed as "A Dark Opera Without Words", an extended piece written by Carla Bley, and performed by the Burton quartet with help from a larger group that includes Steve Lacy, Gato Barbieri, Michael Mantler, and Bley herself. As such, the album's probably the most ambitious one that Burton ever recorded during the 60s – never too far out, but with angular tones and strange time changes that mark the record as being quite different from his other sides for RCA. It also makes it one of his best, too – as the record has that wonderfully fresh sound that you get from early work by Bley, never too silly, and with a serious approach to composition that also never loses sight of its roots in jazz. Titles include "The New Funeral March", "Silent Spring", "Mother Of The Dead Man", "Death Rolls", and "The New National Anthem". CD

Fantastic late work from Ayler! The record is one of the last he ever recorded – and it's a no-nonsense live set, without any of the silly influences of some of his late Impulse sides. Most of the material features Ayler blowing long free solos, with a tightness and directness missing from mid 60s sessions. Cal Cobbs is on piano, Steve Tintweiss is on bass, Allen Blairman is on drums, and Mary Maria plays a bit of soprano sax, and sings vocals on "Music Is The Healing Force Of The Universe", done here in a fantastically soulful version! Other tracks include "Holy Family", "Truth Is Marching", "Universal Message", "Spiritual Reunion", and "In Heart Only". CD

A great setting for Stacey Kent – one of the most lovely vocalists to emerge in recent years – heard here in a live performance that's almost got more charm than her previous studio albums for Blue Note! The space is large, but the group is nice and small – an intimate lineup that features guitar from Kent alongside the vocals, tenor and soprano sax from Jim Tomlinson, Fender Rhodes and piano from Graham Harvey, bass from Jeremy Brown, and drums from Matt Skelton – a lineup that provides perfect gentle backings for Stacey's unique way of singing – a light-voiced mode that almost feels like Blossom Dearie at times! Titles include "Waters Of March", "Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars", "Breakfast On The Morning Tram", "O Comboio", "Dreamer", "Jardin D'Hiver", "Samba Saravah", and "Ces Petits Riens". CD features the bonus track "They Say It's Wonderful". CD

Blue in the main style of his early years at Riverside – working in an all-star group (the "Big 6" in the title), with players that include Johnny Griffin, Curtis Fuller, Wynton Kelly, Wilbur Ware, and Philly Joe Jones. Blue's leadership isn't that strong – but fortunately, the others (particularly Griffin, Ware, and Jones) gel together strongly with or without him, making the set crackle with the soulful energy of some of the best Jazzland/Riverside hardbop sides from the time. Tracks include "Sir John", "Blues March", "Big Six", and "Jamph". CD

A nice collection of hard bop sides cut by Blue Mitchell in the late 50s for Riverside, taken from the albums "Big Six", "Out Of The Blue", and "Blue Soul". All selections on here are recorded with an all-star personnel – including his Big Six band with Curtis Fuller, Johnny Griffin, Wynton Kelly, Wilbur Ware, and Philly Joe Jones; his quintet with Benny Golson, Paul Chambers, and Art Blakey; and a later sextet with Jimmy Heath, and Sam Jones. Titles include "Brother 'Ball", "There Will Never Be Another You", "Blues On My Mind", "It Could Happen To You", "When The Saints Go Marching In", "Top Shelf", and "Blue Soul". CD includes bonus track "Park Avenue Petite". CD

A fantastic presentation of legendary live material from the team of Miles Davis and John Coltrane – taken from the last concert tour the pair ever did together, and presented here with beautifully stunning sound! The European dates in 1960 were all part of a larger Jazz At The Philharmonic tour – which meant that Norman Granz was on hand to do a great job of capturing the material, which is then given extra-special treatment here for the reissue! Some of these sides have been issued on dodgy overseas collections over the years, but this is the first time all this material has been presented together, and so well – a tremendous illustration of the long solo genius of both Davis and Coltrane, with support from Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums. All tracks are very long – and the set features 8 tracks from the Paris concert on March 21, 5 tracks from the Copenhagen concert on March 24, and 9 from the Stockholm concert on March 22. There's also an interview with Coltrane, conducted during the tour – and titles include "Round Midnight", "On Green Dolphin Street", "All Of You", "So What", "Fran Dance", "Walkin", "All Blues", "Bye Bye Blackbird", and "Oleo". CD