One of the greatest records that Charlie Haden ever did, and a record that stands as sort of a bookend to his Liberation Music album on Impulse. As with that record, he's got a large group on here, and also like that one, he's playing a batch of tracks that have a definite political bent. Players include Don Cherry, Carla Bley, Dewey Redman, Paul Motian, Jim Pepper, and Michael Mantler; and tracks include "Ballad Of The Fallen", "Too Late", "La Pasionaria", and "The People United Will Never Be Defeated". The sound's a little bit less harsh than his Impulse recording, but it's no less impassioned, and the record's a very emotional batch of music. LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the best work so far from trumpeter Matthew Halsall – and a wonderful continuation of the spiritual vibe he's been giving us for the past few years! Halsall's a real up-and-comer – a trumpeter with a spiritual sensibility that rivals the best players on 70s Impulse or Strata East sessions – working with a fluid, open quality that's unlike any other contemporary musicians we can think of! There's depth of sound to the record that rivals the best spiritual sessions from Build An Ark – or from Halsall's frequent partner and labelmate, Nat Birchall – whose tenor makes parts of the album sparkle as much as Matthew's trumpet. Other musicians include Rachael Gladwin on harp – an instrument used heavily on the record, in a cool Alice Coltrane-like way – plus Lisa Mallett on flute, Adam Fairhall on piano, and Holly Simpson on violin. Titles include "The Sun In September", "Finding My Way", "Sailing Out To Sea", "Mary Emma Louise", and "Fletcher Moss Park". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible modal sounds from trumpeter Matthew Halsall – one of our favorite contemporary jazz artists, and one whose vision just gets bolder and bolder with each new record! This completely sublime set has Halsall working tightly with reedman Nat Birchall – a frequent musical partner whose own records bristle with the same sort of spiritual energy – given some slight additional flavors here with extra flute, harp, and koto – used alongside the more familiar piano, bass, and drums that have always grounded the pair's work together. All tunes are original, and have this vibe that's perfect for the post-Coltrane spiritual jazz generation – but delivered in a way that's quite fresh, too – and not just a simple rehash of early 70s Impulse Records modes. Every track's a gem – and titles include "Sagano Bamboo Forest", "Tribute To Alice Coltrane", "When The World Was One", "Falling Water", and "Kiyomizu Dera". LP, Vinyl record album

Stunning work from one of the greatest players of the post-Coltrane generation – a classic session recorded overseas in the mid 70s, and one that's filled with soulful expressions from the great Billy Harper! Harper's tenor kicks off the set with an immediately gripping sound – as searing as Pharoah Sanders at his Impulse best – but driven on by searching, soaring modal rhythms that are all Billy's own – the kind of grooves he first forged with Max Roach, then really expanded on when given the freedom of a record like this. Other players include trumpeter Virgil Jones, pianist Joe Bonner, bassist David Friesen, and drummer Malcom Pinson – and titles include a killer take on "Croquet Ballet", which Harper originally recorded with Lee Morgan – plus the titles "Dance Eternal Spirits Dance" and "Call Of The Wild & Peaceful Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible package – one that features all three variations on this legendary album, along with bonus material on other pieces of vinyl – plus complete replicas of all 17 issues of the legendary Tribe Magazine – a key outlet for knowledge and culture in the Detroit scene of the 70s! The package has all three variations of the record in their original artwork – and version 1 comes with a 7" single that includes short versions of "Where Am I" and "How Do We End All Of This Madness". Version 2 comes with a 10" album that features full instrumental versions of "What We Need", "How Do We End All Of This Madness", and "Angela's Dilemma". Version 3 is pressed on 2LPs, which each play at 45rpm! The core album is genius work from the Detroit underground of the 70s – one of the greatest records ever on the now-famous Tribe Records label, and a masterpiece of soul, jazz, and righteous spirit! The session's headed by tenor player Wendell Harrison – and it's got an all-star Motor City lineup that includes Marcus Belgrave on trumpet, Phil Ranelin on trombone, Jeamel Lee on vocals, Charles Eubanks on electric piano, and Charles Moore on flugelhorn. The tracks have a spacious spiritual approach that recalls some of the later Archie Shepp on Impulse – a blend of soul jazz with slight touches of electric instrumentation, some vocals, and a very progressive spirit overall – stepping proud in the new freedoms of the 70s, yet still swinging and very groovy. Titles include "Angela's Dilemma", "What We Need", "How Do We End All Of This Madness", "Merciful", and "Beneficent". But maybe even cooler are the issues of Tribe Magazine – rare treasures from the Detroit underground, reproduced here for the first time ever – and maybe even worth the price of the heavy box set. LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible package – one that features all three variations on this legendary album, along with bonus material on other pieces of vinyl – plus complete replicas of all 17 issues of the legendary Tribe Magazine – a key outlet for knowledge and culture in the Detroit scene of the 70s! The package has all three variations of the record in their original artwork – and version 1 comes with a 7" single that includes short versions of "Where Am I" and "How Do We End All Of This Madness". Version 2 comes with a 10" album that features full instrumental versions of "What We Need", "How Do We End All Of This Madness", and "Angela's Dilemma". Version 3 is pressed on 2LPs, which each play at 45rpm! The core album is genius work from the Detroit underground of the 70s – one of the greatest records ever on the now-famous Tribe Records label, and a masterpiece of soul, jazz, and righteous spirit! The session's headed by tenor player Wendell Harrison – and it's got an all-star Motor City lineup that includes Marcus Belgrave on trumpet, Phil Ranelin on trombone, Jeamel Lee on vocals, Charles Eubanks on electric piano, and Charles Moore on flugelhorn. The tracks have a spacious spiritual approach that recalls some of the later Archie Shepp on Impulse – a blend of soul jazz with slight touches of electric instrumentation, some vocals, and a very progressive spirit overall – stepping proud in the new freedoms of the 70s, yet still swinging and very groovy. Titles include "Angela's Dilemma", "What We Need", "How Do We End All Of This Madness", "Merciful", and "Beneficent". But maybe even cooler are the issues of Tribe Magazine – rare treasures from the Detroit underground, reproduced here for the first time ever – and maybe even worth the price of the heavy box set. LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure set from Johnny Hartman – cut in the years before his more famous Impulse recordings, and with a mellower, lusher sound that casts his incredible vocals in a warm romantic setting! The orchestrations are by the little-known Rudy Traylor, and have a full feel that's similar to other Roost and Roulette vocal sessions of the time – a bit jazz, but also with these darker, moodier corners that are perfect for late-nite listening – and which put those rich Hartman vocals in really sublime territory. Johnny serves up a sad-tinged batch of tunes that includes "Little Girl Blue", "But Beautiful", "Long Ago & Far Away", "I Should Care", "To Each His Own", and "How Long Has This Been Going On". LP, Vinyl record album

A superb album from vocalist Johnny Hartman – a later date, but one that we'd rank right up there with his important Impulse Records material of the 60s! In fact, the album's something of a return to greatness for Hartman – the kind of date that should have become a jazz standard, had it not gotten lost in the unfortunate fates of the short-lived Beehive label – who did a really tremendous job with this set. Rather than try to make Johnny a modern singer, in any sort of forced idiom – Beehive instead return him to the best modes of yore, and give him simple, soulful support from a small group that features Frank Wess on tenor and flute, Joe Wilder on trumpet, and Billy Taylor on piano. The track list is great – the kind of tunes that really bring out the sophisticated side of Hartman's talents, yet allow him to be sensitive, too – and titles include "Nobody Home", "Wave", "Easy Living", "I Could Write A Book", and "For All We Know". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first great non-Japanese recordings by trumpeter Terumasa Hino – a smoking little live set from Germany, done at a time when Hino was working at the height of his youthful powers! The mode here is stretched out and open – never too outside, but very exploratory – in the direction that Hino took quite strongly on his Japanese albums as the 70s approached, but performed here in a style that's even more organic than those records. The group is all Japanese – with Motohiko Hino on drums and Mikio Masuda on piano – and added conga at the bottom of the backings almost gives the record an early 70s Impulse Records sort of feel – nice and spiritual, and plenty soulful! Titles include "Alone Alone & Alone", "Taro's Mood", "Black Daffodil", and "Predawn". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful little record – a real standout in both the careers of Milt Jackson and Coleman Hawkins! The album captures Hawk during his great later years – that time when his sound was even more soulful and inventive than ever – with lots of odd modern undercurrents that really work nicely with the album's slight Latin inflections – a bit like those you might hear on some of Hawkins' Impulse Records material from the same generation. Milt Jackson's vibes are great too – chromatic and edgey, and set up with rhythm support from Kenny Burrell on guitar, Tommy Flanagan on piano, Eddie Jones on bass, and Connie Kay on drums. Titles include "Indian Blues", "Don't Take Your Love From Me", "Sandra's Blues", "Stuffy", and "Close Your Eyes". LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous live performance from Ahmad Jamal – one that has the piano genius stretching out on some very long tracks, in a spirit that's similar to the magic he brought to his early 70s records for the Impulse label! As on those, Jamal here also plays a bit of Fender Rhodes – in the company of drummer Frank Gant and bassist Jami Nasser – both players whose sense of open flow really matches Ahmad's energy on the piano – as the tracks take off, open up, and sparkle with creative imagination throughout! The whole thing is a key addition to the small catalog of records from this moment – which include Outertimeinnerspace and Awakening – and titles include long takes on "Bogota", "Effendi", and "Manhattan Reflections". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of 70s work on Impulse by Keith Jarrett, with Dewey Redman on tenor, Charlie Haden on bass, Paul Motian on drums, Donny Johnson and Guilherme Franco on percussion, and Sam Brown on guitar. LP, Vinyl record album

A key early moment for Keith Jarrett – his first-ever solo album, recorded in the early 70s for ECM – and the start of a huge legacy of later work! Before this set, Jarrett had recorded some compelling trio material for Atlantic – and he was also exploring more spiritually soulful tones over at Impulse Records too. But this record is something else entirely – a new showcase for his sensitive expressions – the kind of angular, yet poetic lines that sparkled strongly in the trio recordings, yet stand out even more on their own! Tunes are beautifully penned – and titles include "In Front", "Ritooria", "Lalene", "Starbright", "Vapallia", and "Semblence". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most ambitious albums ever recorded from Clifford Jordan – a totally righteous little effort that was the first installment in the legendary Dolphy Series on the Strata East label! The set has Jordan working with a larger group than usual – an all-star array of players that includes Kenny Dorham and Don Cherry on trumpets, Julian Priester on trombone, Wynton Kelly on piano, Wilbur Ware and Richard Davis on bass, and drums from Roy Haynes, Ed Blackwell, and Albert Heath. The titles are originals by Jordan – long numbers that flow out slowly as they build up new musical ideas – all in a style that's somewhat laidback and spacious, very organic, and a bit like some of the best early 70s Impulse material by Archie Shepp. Album features 4 long tracks – "872", "Vienna", "Doug's Prelude", and "Ouagoudougou". LP, Vinyl record album

A smooth set from reedman John Klemmer, but a pretty darn soulful one too – and a great illustration of the way that Klemmer could still hold onto his roots a lot more strongly than some of his contemporaries! The backings are gentle and fusiony – often with some great keyboard work from Russell Ferrante – and Klemmer soars out wonderfully in the lead – with a depth of tone and creativity of solos that goes far beyond anything that might have been needed for the date – a real "something extra" that shows that John's still got all the deep elements of his Impulse years in place. Tracks include "Finesse", "Man & Woman", "Sometimes", "Heart", "Sun, Moon And The Stars", and "Beloved". LP, Vinyl record album

Really moody magic from the great Yusef Lateef – an artist who was definitely using his time on the Impulse label to open up some new territory in his music! This set might well be the most experimental that Lateef had recorded to date – still filled with the exotic touches of his previous records – including work on a wide range of global reed instruments – but handles with a deeper fascination with sound and shape, so much so that Lateef sometimes steps away from straight swing to some very creative moments. A key part of this sound is pianist Mike Nock – who joins Lateef here, and really opens up his own sound too – playing at a level that's light years past many American pianists, and really setting the stage for some of his work to come as a leader. The rest of the group is great too – an unusual quartet with Reggie Workman on bass and James Black on drums – and titles include "Try Love", "Soul Sister", "Love Waltz", "Warm Fire", "Gee Sam Gee", and "Listen To the Wind". LP, Vinyl record album

A split LP that offers some key tracks from the classic Dave Mackay & Vicky Hamilton album on Impulse from 1968, plus later piano trio recordings by Dave from 1982! Dave & Vicky are represented here by the first 4 tracks on the record – "Blues For Hari", "Here", Now", and "3 For 5" – and on these tunes, the pair are sort of like a hip version of Jackie & Roy – usually singing together on their tracks, with a mixed male/female vocal approach that sounds totally great – and which really fits the breezy mood of the tunes on the set! Dave himself plays Fender Rhodes and piano – along with an odd little combo that includes flute and tenor played by Ira Schulman, percussion by Francisco Aguabella, and guest sitar by by Ray Neapolitan. Other tracks on the album are all from 1982, and feature Dave in warmer trio context with Andy Simpkins on bass and Joey Baron on drums. Titles include "Hands", "The Andyman Suite", and "Triste". LP, Vinyl record album

A real treasure from the South African scene of the 60s – and the kind of record that we thought wasn't being made until the following decade! Tenorist Winston Mankunku Ngozi rivals the genius of Coltrane and Wayne Shorter here – both artists to whom he dedicates a key track on the album – and the record's hardly just a South African jazz effort, as it's got this long-flowing spiritual energy that rivals some of the best American work on Impulse or Blue Note at the time – but, like the best of those records, never does so in any sort of slavish way at all! Instead, Ngozi really finds his own voice here – blowing tenor with a great amount of depth, in a quartet that often hits these modal currents that work great with his horn – a lineup that features Lionel Pillay on piano, Agrippa Magwaza on bass, and Early Mabuza on drums. Incredibly hip and soulful, no matter what the origin – and titles include "Yakhal Inkomo", "Dedication", "Doodlin", and "Bessie's Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A bit more of a high concept album than some of Wynton Marsalis' previous efforts – a set with a few more added horns on side one, and an extended suite on side two! The work definitely shows Wynton's increasing concern with jazz history – his desire to embrace, and sometimes represent, decades of past musical expression in his work – a real Lincoln Center sort of impulse, but one that still comes off relatively well here, and without as much hoke as you'd expect. Side one has Wynton working with regular pianist Marcus Roberts, plus Todd Williams on tenor and soprano sax and Wes Anderson on alto – and side two features a completely different group, much more in an older-styled jazz vein – with Michael White on clarinet, Danny Barker on banjo, Teddy Riley on trumpet, and Freddie Lonzo on trombone. Titles include "The Majesty Of The Blues", "Hickory Dickory Dock", and the expanded "New Orleans Function" suite. LP, Vinyl record album

Beautifully burning work from Japanese saxophonist Kohsuke Mine – a player who cut some fantastic albums in the 70s, even though he never fully got his due on this side of the Pacific! The vibe here is very much in a post-Coltrane spiritual mode – with the leader blowing both tenor and soprano sax, and really working some amazing long, visionary lines on his instruments – sometimes really soaring off with Impulse Records-like energy, other times hitting more modal modes that remind us that Mine was one of the most powerful, soulful forces in the Japanese jazz scene at the time. The rest of the lineup is excellent too – and the album features additional tenor from Hideo Miyata, plus piano from Fumio Itabashi, bass from Hideaki Mochizuki, and drums from Hiroshi Murakami. Titles include "Thirsty", "Self Contradiction", "Spin Drift", "Daguri", and "Expectation". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first bold statements to come from Chicago's AACM underground of the 60s – a tremendous debut effort from the young Roscoe Mitchell! The album's got a "sense of the new" feel that's as gripping as anything recorded by ESP or Impulse around the same time – a rule-breaking, freely-creative approach to jazz that builds strongly off the changes already wrought by Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, and Archie Shepp! The format is somewhat like the Art Ensemble Of Chicago at times – with measured horn work from Mitchell on alto, clarinet, and recorder, Maurice McIntyre on tenor, Lester Bowie on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Lester Lashley on trombone (as well as a bit of cello). Some tracks – like the brilliant "Sound" – offer a slow-building exploration of tones and textures – while others, like the blues-joke "Little Suite", or the harmelodic "Ornette", show a wry sense of humor that would become a Chicago avant hallmark as the years went on! LP, Vinyl record album

Tremendous work by Lee Morgan – easily one of his greatest albums, and a soaring session of modal energy that easily rivals the best work of the Impulse era! The album's got a slightly different feel than usual for Blue Note – a sense of freedom, joy, and soaring energy that's totally great – explored by a crack group that features Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor, Harold Mabern on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – all coming together with a unique sense of creativity! The rhythm section is one of the key factors here – as Mabern, Cranshaw, and Higgins have a fluid groove that really sets the tone for the record – letting Morgan and Shorter stretch out to the height of their powers, and explore some incredible modal and soulful themes. Titles include the seminal 11 minute reading of "The Gigolo", plus "Yes I Can No You Can't", "Speedball", and "Trapped" – as well as an excellent reading of "You Go To My Head" that completely opens up the old standard! LP, Vinyl record album

A really wonderfully-done collection of work from the legendary Sun Ra – put together by longtime musical partner Marshall Allen, and way way different than the typical mish-mash of tracks you'd find on some of the budget or public domain titles on the market! First off, the track selection is really thoughtful – music that definitely defines the Arkestra in the 60s and 70s, but which also highlights some of its overlooked corners too – pulled together from recordings that appeared on the Saturn, Impulse, and other labels – all curated and remastered by Art Yard, who've done their share of great Ra reissues over the years. Plus, the package features a few unreleased performances as well – and although it would serve as a great introduction to the music of Sun Ra, it's also really perfectly put together for longtime Ra fans as well – given the focus, track selection, and overall quality of the whole thing. The sounds are sublime – maybe one of the best summations of the righteous, cosmic genius of the Arkestra at its best – and titles include "Reflects Motion", "Island In The Sun (extended)", "Somewhere In Space", "The Lady With The Golden Stockings", "Somebody Else's World", "Ancient Aethiopia", "Astro Black", "Have You Heard The Latest News From Neptune", "We Travel The Spaceways", and "Plutonian Nights". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal set from Max Roach – the start of his more righteous stretch in jazz, as you might guess from the title of the album! At some level, the record's got a bit of the feel of the post-Clifford Brown Mercury years from Roach – but at another, it's stretching out towards the directions Max would explore fully on the Candid, Impulse, and Fantasy labels in the 60s – an approach to hardbop that often really pushes its limits – not content to simply set up solos for the players, and instead moving with a much more forceful energy overall! Group members include Booker Little on trumpet, George Coleman on tenor, Ray Draper on tuba, and Art Davis on bass – and the lack of a piano makes for a very exciting sound! The album's got 2 great originals by Bill Lee – "Jodie's Cha-Cha" and "Deeds Not Words" – plus Draper's classic "Filide", and the groundbreaking "Conversation" – a very cool solo by Roach on the drums! LP, Vinyl record album

Tremendous work from Sonny Rollins – one of his most sharp-edged sessions of the mid 60s, and a bold departure from some of his previous work for RCA, with a crackling sense of energy that more than lives up to the exclamation point in the title – a starker quality than some of Sonny's earlier records, and one that brings out some sharper tones in his horn, even on the mellower numbers. The rhythm support is loose, but somewhat soulful and spontaneous – and features Ray Bryant on piano, Walter Booker on bass, and Mickey Roker on drums – an unusual pairing for Sonny, but that's what makes them so great. In a way, the album's almost Rollins' equivalent of John Coltrane's earlier Ballads album for Impulse – in that it includes familiar tunes, but remade into completely new numbers by the sound of the leader. Titles include "Green Dolphin Street", "Three Little Words", "Hold Em Joe", "The Blue Room", plus "Alfie's Theme". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastically soulful set from Pharoah – recorded in the early 80s, with his quartet that included Idris Muhammad on drums, John Heard on bass, and William Henderson on piano. The session is live, and the overall feel is easy and mellow – still searching, as in the best mode of Pharoah's work for Impulse, but with a warmer approach that shows him mellowing a bit with age – or as we might put it, figuring out the best aspects of his style, and focusing on those. Includes the sublime "Heart Is A Melody Of Time", a great vocal number that builds in a "Creator Has A Master Plan" sort of way. Also features the highlife-tinged "Goin To Africa", and a lengthy reading of Coltrane's "Ole". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most fantastic Pharoah Sanders albums – and one that we'd rate head and shoulders above most of his other work! You rarely see this one, which is a shame, because it's not only a beautiful spiritual masterpiece, but it's also got a sound that's very unique, and a nice shift from the Impulse records too! Pharoah's playing with a small group that includes instrumentation you don't usually hear on his albums – like organ and guitar – but the addition of these instruments is used in a way that augments Pharoah's spiritual style, not suppresses it – in a lineup that includes guitar from Munoz, organ from Jiggs Chase, bass from Steve Neil, drums from Greg Bandy, and percussion from Lawrence Killian – all very unusual players, which furthers the unusual sound of the album! Pharoah vocalizes a bit on a version of "Love Will Find A Way" that has a warm spacey groove, and a nice conga base – and the other tracks on the LP are "Harvest Time" and "Memories Of Edith Johnson". This beautiful package also includes rare material added to the album – two long live takes of "Harvest Time", a tremendous track that features Khalid Moss on electric piano and Pharoah stretching out in Teresa Records soulful modes – plus great notes as well! LP, Vinyl record album

Stunning live work from the great Pharoah Sanders – a set that's right up there with his best for the Teresa label in the 80s, but which also has some of the bite of his later Impulse material too! Tracks are long and modal – that groove that always seems to unlock the most soulful, mystical currents in Sanders' tenor – and the group is superb, with this beautiful work on bass from the young Curtis Lundy, plus John Hicks on piano and Idris Muhammad on drums – the latter of whom is in that looser mode he reopened in the 80s, and very different than his 70s funk years. Tracks are all nice and long – and titles include "Dr Pitt", "Greetings To Idris", "You Gotta Have Freedom", "It's Easy To Remember", and "The Creator Has A Masterplan". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful live material from Pharoah Sanders – a key record in a time when the tenor genius was really coming back into his own in the 80s – finding a new level of soul and spiritualism after his early run of albums on Impulse Records! The group here are a well-matched array of players who would accompany Pharoah on other key musical journeys at the time – John Hicks on piano, Walter Booker on bass, and Idris Muhammad on drums – the last of whom is also going through a righteous transformation as he gets past some of his funk and club modes of the 70s. The centerpiece of the album is a long quartet version of "You've Got To Have Freedom" – one that's nice and grooving, but in a very different way than the more famous studio version. Another real winner is "Pharomba", a 13 minute long track that has a gentle groove and some extremely nice work on tenor from Pharoah! LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic 80s work from Pharoah Sanders – with a vibe that's a perfect extension of his classic work for the Impulse label! The album has Pharoah working with an amazing group – Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, John Hicks and Joe Bonner on piano, Art Davis on bass, and either Elvin Jones or Billy Higgins on drums. The sound is remarkably fresh – soaring and spiritual, but also more focused than in earlier years, with a great amount of soulful warmth. And although extra elements are added – like vocals, vibes, and added percussion – Pharoah's solos still dominate the whole album beautifully. Titles include "Rejoice", "Origin", "Moments Notice", "Central Park West", "Farah", "Ntjilo Ntjilo/Bird Song", and "Nigerian Juju Hilife". LP, Vinyl record album

Really wonderful live material from tenor genius Archie Shepp – recorded in Paris, a city that always seemed to bring out the best in his music! Here, Shepp's blowing in a mode that's like some of his later Impulse Records from the early 70s – more spiritual overall, with a free-flowing blend of influences, and a slight nod to the straighter sounds that would emerge a bit more in the decade – served up with a very hip quintet that includes Siegfried Kessler on piano, Bob Reid on bass, Noel McGhie on drums, and Pablo Kino on percussion! The bottom-heavy sound of the group is wonderfully offset by Shepp's raspy, soulful tone on tenor – on titles that include a long take on "Things Have Got To Change" – plus "Blues For Donald Duck" and "Along Came Betty". LP, Vinyl record album

Archie Shepp in Europe is always an amazing thing – and here, the spiritual master is captured right between his late 60s free French recordings, and some of his more tightly-controlled Italian albums of the second half of the decade! There's a great balance here – as Archie's still flowing forth with some of the inspirations of his Impulse sessions, while also pushing that spirituality into an exploration of older jazz material too – at that level that would really evolve in his recordings of the following decade. The lineup here is nicely unusual – with some superb piano from Dave Burrell, plus bass from Donald Garrett, percussion and flute from Zusaan Fasteau Garrett, and drums from Muhammad Ali. Shepp plays piano on one track, and Jasper Van't Hof plays piano on another – and titles include "Dr King The Peaceful Warrior", "Little Willie Leaps", "Round Midnight", "Sonny's Back", "African Blues", and "Sophisticated Lady". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible early recording from avant tenor genius Archie Shepp – material recorded before his famous debut for Impulse Records, and with a group that's every bit as legendary as the leader! There's a vibe here that's a bit like ESP at times, but which both also echoes the Impulse Shepp to come, with maybe a slight nod to the direction he'd take in the 80s – thanks in part to a sublime reading of a Duke Ellington tune! The group features Steve Lacy on soprano sax, Roswell Rudd on trombone, Arthur Harper on bass, and Dennis Charles on drums – and the material is well-recorded, done at Bell Studios – with titles that include "Sophisticated Lady", and both long takes and alternates of "Dunbar Days & Miami Joys" and "Viva Jomo". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of Archie Shepp's most freewheeling material of the 60s – a long, extended, single-song album recorded at the Donaueschingen festival a few years before his classic work for BYG/Actuel – and very much in the same bold spirit as his recordings for that label! The single tune – "One For The Trane" – is opened up, stretched out, and run freely by Shepp on tenor, Roswell Rudd and Grachan Moncur on trombones, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Beaver Harris on drums – a very unique lineup that benefits not just from the presence of two trombones, which gives the record a very deep, rich sound – but also from the creative rhythms of Garrison and Harris, a really great team for a session like this! Shepp is wonderful – still with this inherent sense of soul that also ties the performance to some of his brightest moments for Impulse Records – this structure, even when blowing free, that creates an amazing sense of swing somewhere back in the music. LP, Vinyl record album

There might be a trumpet in Archie Shepp's soul, but the album features him on tenor and soprano sax – working in a wonderfully spiritual vein that's almost in the same mode as his early 70s work on Impulse! The album features some very long, drawn out tracks – but ones that build nicely with Shepp's soulful styles of the 70s – that groove he explored a bit on the Black Saint label, with a bold sense of majesty and power, presented with more control than the BYG/Actuel years. The album features some great vocals – again recalling Archie's later Impulse years – and players include Walter Davis Jr on electric piano, Dave Burrell on acoustic piano, Charles Greenlee on trombone, Ray Draper on tuba, and Beaver Harris on drums. Titles include "There's A Trumpet In My Soul", "Zaid", "Down In Brazil", and "It Is The Year Of The Rabbit". LP, Vinyl record album

A real gem from Lonnie Liston Smith's early years in the studio – and a record that's perhaps a bit more "cosmic" than it is "funk" – but that's why we like it so much! The session has Lonnie stretching out a bit more than usual – borrowing some of the righteousness from his years with Pharoah Sanders, and tripping out on tracks that revel in their own spacey brilliance. Lonnie plays both acoustic and electric piano on the record – stretching out on some Impulse-influenced grooves that feature some great soprano sax and flute from the lesser-known George Barron. Titles include the soulful "Beautiful Woman", the ethereal "Sais", and the heavier groover "Cosmic Funk" – plus great versions of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" and John Coltrane's "Naima". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredibly soulful set of jazz from the Danish scene at the start of the 70s – and a record that's much more in keeping with the spiritual sounds of the American underground at the time! The set boasts some tremendous tenor work from Jesper Nehammar – a player we don't know at all, but who's clearly drawn a lot of energy from both John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, especially the modal structures to the way he builds a solo, then soars out on his own! Ole Matthiessen plays piano in the group, and also wrote most of the tunes – and he's got this McCoy Tyner-like ability to block out wonderful phrases that really set the rhythms on fire, driven on by some more subtle efforts from Henrik Hove on bass and Jon Finsen on drums. The whole thing's wonderful – a record you'd file somewhere between your favorite albums on Impulse and Strata East – and titles include "Message For Mike", "Peace", "Brother Yusef", "More Peace", "Voodoo Dance", and "Pharoah". LP, Vinyl record album

The guitar genius of Gabor Szabo – set to magnificent arrangements by Gary McFarland! The set's one of the most sophisticated albums Szabo ever cut – and has a slow-building style that steps off of his Impulse years with a deeper, broader vision of music. By the time of the set, McFarland himself was hitting a more contemplative style in his own music – and you can hear that shift in this album as well, especially in the moodier, mellower moments. Instrumentation includes violin, cello, and French Horn – all used sparingly to augment Szabo's small combo with piano by McFarland! Titles include lots of originals – "The Fortune Teller", "Half The Day Is Night", "Galatea's Guitar", and "Lady In the Moon". LP features bonus tracks – single edits of "Fire Dance" and "Ferris Wheel". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice little record by Gabor – one that reproduces the kind of groove he was hitting on his classic Impulse albums, a mix of tripped-out modal jazz with exotic influences, and more than a bit of soul. Gabor's reunited here with his old bandmate Charles Lloyd from Chico Hamilton years – and Charles plays flute on a remake of "Sombrero Sam", one of Szabo's nicest tunes. Anthony Ortega plays flute on a version of "Stormy", and another long track features nice keyboards by Tommy Eyre. Also includes a remake of "Spellbinder", a great little tune! LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant work as a leader from McCoy Tyner – and easily one of his most righteous albums ever – a true batch of spiritual gems that really takes the John Coltrane legacy one step further! Most numbers build with a modal vibe that's more Impulse Records than Blue Note – and players on the set include Alice Coltrane on harp, Gary Bartz on alto, Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano sax, Ron Carter on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – a wonderful lineup that really holds tightly to the soaring, soulful energy that Tyner spins from his piano – a mode that's never too far out or avant, yet which stretches to the skies with a heavenly vision. The whole thing's wonderful – and tracks include "Message From The Nile", "The Wanderer", "Survival Blues", and "His Blessings". LP, Vinyl record album

A bit of a change for McCoy Tyner – but a set that's every bit as righteous as his other classics from the 70s! The lineup here is slightly different – with John Blake's violin playing a strong role in the sound, and lots of percussion from Guilherme Franco giving the set an almost Latin vibe at times – one that mixes in beautifully with Tyner's bold, modal lines on piano – and which are inflected with soulful reeds from Joe Ford and George Adams. The rest of the group features Charles Fambrough on bass and Al Foster on drums – both very hip cats – and Blake's instrument almost gives the album an early 70s Impulse Records sort of spirituality. Titles include "Horizon", "Motherland", "Woman Of Tomorrow", "One For Honor", and "Just Feelin". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite hip stuff from McTyner – really righteous sounds from his 70s run for Milestone Records, recorded with a great lineup that includes Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Gary Bartz on alto, Azar Lawrence on soprano and tenor sax, Bulster Williams on bass, Billy Hart on drums, and Mtume on percussion! With players like that, it would be hard to miss – but McCoy's also not one to just let the cats do their own thing – as he directs the group with a sense of power and majesty that's really wonderful. Tyner spins out long dramatic lines in a post-Coltrane Impulse mode that's almost more like Alice Coltrane than his usual bag – and the horn solos of Bartz and Lawrence really give the set a crackling edge. Ttiles include "Paradox", "Desert Cry", "La Cubana", and "Sama Layuca". LP, Vinyl record album

Spiritual jazz both old and new – a collection that really gets past the obvious sides of the genre, and brings together a range of unusual work from the 70s onward! The tracks here are a great antidote to the well-traveled territory of labels like Impulse or Strata East Records – and are mostly from lesser-known sources that include tiny indies from the 80s, and a few ground breaking imprints from recent years! There's definitely a vibe here that holds strongly in the spirit of John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, and other innovators from the end of the 60s – but the sound is especially fresh given the obscurity of the tunes. Titles include "For Our Souls" by Doug Hammond, "Amazona" by Francisco Mora Catlett, "The Mystery Of Man" by Sarah Vaughan, "Better Than That" by Nomo, "Gol E Gandom" by Lloyd Miller, "Motherless Child" by Brother Ah, "A Love Supreme" by Dwight Trible, "Why" by Woody Shaw with Carter Jefferson, "Rwanda" by Francis Bebey, "Come Sunday" by Stanley Cowell, and "En El Amanecer Del Tiempo". LP, Vinyl record album

From the end of the 70s onward, the Italian Black Saint record label offered up some of the most high quality spiritual and avant jazz of the time – really taking over where American record companies had dropped the ball, and allowing a huge wave of new energy from both older musicians and a younger generation who might never have gotten the right level of exposure, had Black Saint (and related Soul Note imprint) stepped into the scene! This package offers up some of the coolest cuts from Black Saint – and has an especially strong focus on the work that the label did to carry forward older spiritual sounds, especially those first unlocked on Impulse Records – a legacy that really comes through strongly here. Titles include "Love On A Far Away Planet" and "Mayan Temples" by Sun Ra, "Song For Mozambique/Sea Of Faces" by Archie Shepp, "Guitar Vibes" by Karl Berger, "Tap Dancer" by Oliver Lake, "Ode To The Flower Maiden" by John Carter, "Mama Marimba" by Joseph Jarman and Donh Moye, "Sixth Sense" by Don Pullen, "Hattie Wall" by World Saxophone Quartet, "Laja" by Muhal Richard Abrams, and "Metamusician's Stomp" by Andrew Cyrille & Maono. LP, Vinyl record album

A massive assortment of tracks that go way past the familiar – not a collection of standard classics from Blue Note, Impulse, or Prestige – and instead a whole host of jazzy groovers that we'd never have discovered otherwise! This volume of the series does a great job mixing in contemporary cuts with rare nuggets from years past – in ways that never make you notice the passage of years, as almost all of this work is rooted in a solid blend of tight rhythms and inventive improvisation – heavy on acoustic instrumentation, but with occasional electric moments too! Imagine the kind of groove that Gilles Peterson used to turn us onto years back, when he was spinning rare jazz records, and you'll get the vibe here – served up on titles that include "Tape Your Beat" by Born 74 & Onj, "Still In Love" by GeeW, "46 To Somewhere" by The Sultan's Swing, "Unreachable Galaxy" by Stefano Di Santis, "Movin" by Charro Band De Emilio Guerro, "Caught In A Fever" by Moreen Meridian, "Mr Fool" by Alonson Gonzalez & Jazz Latino, and "Cla Samba" by Juju. LP, Vinyl record album

A massive assortment of tracks that go way past the familiar – not a collection of standard classics from Blue Note, Impulse, or Prestige – and instead a whole host of jazzy groovers that we'd never have discovered otherwise! This volume of the series does a great job mixing in contemporary cuts with rare nuggets from years past – in ways that never make you notice the passage of years, as almost all of this work is rooted in a solid blend of tight rhythms and inventive improvisation – heavy on acoustic instrumentation, but with occasional electric moments too! Imagine the kind of groove that Gilles Peterson used to turn us onto years back, when he was spinning rare jazz records, and you'll get the vibe here – served up on titles that include "I Face East" by Mary Greer Mudiku, "Mende" by Jacques Schwarz Bart, "Mother Of The Future" by Venus Dodson, "Wanting Touch (inst)" by Juju, "Mambo De Papi" by El Caballo Y Su Orquesta, "Ponteio" by Miho Nobuzane, "Samba De La Cruz" by Tres Men, and "I'll Bet You Thought I'd Never Find You" by Lifetime. LP, Vinyl record album

Music with a message – and a wonderfully spiritual groove, too – served up here in a killer collection that goes way past the obvious, and unearths an amazing collection of work from the 70s onwards! The set's not your usual batch of post-Coltrane or Impulse Records cuts – and instead, the music comes from a very deep array of American underground records from the 70s, as well as some rare European releases from that decade and later years, plus lost tracks from the vaults – all coming together in a set of tracks that's as mind-expanding as it is righteously progressive! We'd only ever heard a few of these numbers before – which makes the whole thing a huge discovery to our ears – and titles on this second volume include "Abeba" by Mabon Dawud Quintet, "Ain't Gonna Wait That Long" by Thomas Meloncon, "Song Of Deliverance" by Roy Hytower & The Crowd Pleasers, "Leigh Ann's Dance" by Sheila Landis, "Easy Tune For Dancing" by Now, "Mystic Sky" by Deep Jazz, and "Sandance" by All Williams Quintet Plus One. LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous entry in this wonderful series – a set that proudly proclaims its contents with the "NOW" on the cover! Back when the Spiritual Jazz series first started on the Jazzman label, the music was mostly relegated to material of the John Coltrane generation and the generation that followed – but in the past decade or so, there's been a huge explosion in new artists that explore the deeper, more righteous currents of jazz – music that's pulled in from the farther reaches of free improvisation, to righteous, message-oriented styles that often mix modal rhythms with more exploratory solo passages. Yet this new generation is hardly slavish to the sounds of Impulse Records – as they've really moved beyond, and have used a globe's worth of influences and new 21st Century concepts to bring fresh spirit to the music – opening things up in ways that have made this new movement one of our greatest sources of inspiration in recent years. This double-length entry is a fantastic overview of the sounds that are currently reshaping the planet – and titles on volume 2 include "Flute Song" by Wildflower, "Slow Sweet Burn" by Abeeku, "Palms To Heaven" by The Cosmic Range, "Nova" by Menagerie, "Avo's Tune" by Teemu Akerblom Quartet, "Paris" by Jonas Kullhammar, "Vessels" by The Jamie Saft Quartet, "What Do I Tell My Children Who Are Black "by Angel Bat Dawid, "Trane's Groove" by Carla Marciano, "For Coltrane" by Steve Reid Foundation, "Empty Streets" by Vibration Black Finger, and "Memory Ritual" by The Pyramids. LP, Vinyl record album

Funky nuggets galore – and a fair bit of righteous numbers too – all brought together in celebration of one of the hippest record labels of the early 70s! Flying Dutchman was around for just a bit over five years – yet during that time, the label recorded all sorts of really wonderful music – a mixture of jazz, soul, funk, and other styles that really helped push the envelope at the time – as it took the torch from older labels like Impulse or Prestige, and really continued a big wave of new sounds and groovily experimental music! You'll no doubt recognize some of the cuts here – but the collection does a great job of digging deeper past the Flying Dutchman hits – bringing together some real surprises that showcase the way that the company was trying so many cool things at once, and creating music that's still the stuff of legends many years later. Titles include "Head Start" by Bob Thiele Emergency, "Peaceful Man" by Esther Marrow, "Mama Soul" by Harold Alexander, "Soulful Strut" by Steve Allen, "Heavy Soul Slinger" by Pretty Purdie, "Echoes" by Leon Thomas, "See Saw Affair" by Cesar, "Expansions" by Lonnie Liston Smith, "Bolivia" by Gato Barbieri, "125th Street & 7th Ave" by Oliver Nelson, "Whitey On The Moon" by Gil Scott-Heron, "Echoes" by Leon Thomas, and "Lament For John Coltrane (take 1)" by Bob Thiele. LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous look at one of the coolest jazz labels of all time – and one that has an especially strong focus on the more spiritual side of its music! The paired Black Saint and Soul Note labels came along from the Italian scene right at a time when so many other American companies were shutting their doors – former spiritual jazz powerhouses like Strata East, Impulse, and Black Jazz were moving beyond the music, or disappearing entirely – which made the role of Black Saint/Soul Note such a crucial one! The company came into the game at a time of boundless creativity in American jazz – and really captured a post-Coltrane generation that was brimming over with fire and new ideas, but just needed a place to find expression – which it did at the label, who recorded dozens of albums in the space of less than a decade, nearly all of which have gone onto become classics over the years. And while there's a side of the label that's much more free jazz and avant garde, the cuts here reflect a Black Saint/Soul Note that's just slightly inside – tunes that are still freewheeling, but also have a rhythmic core – and the kinds of open, soaring solos that were first inspired in the 60s generation of Coltrane and Shepp. The choice of cuts is great – similar to the others in the If Music series – and titles include "Mr Seven" by M'Booom, "Joycie Girl" by Don Pullen with Sam Rivers, "Il Giro Del Giorno In 80 Mondi" by Enrico Rava, "Oasis" by Hamiet Bluiett, "Confessin" by John Stubblefield, "Joobubie" by George Adams & Dannie Richmond, "Verde Que Eu Te Quero Ver" by Rava String Band, "Down Home In New York" by Archie Shepp, "BK" by Air, and "The Nagual Julian" by Billy Bang Sextet. LP, Vinyl record album