Sublimely spiritual work from the great John Coltrane – a live album, but one that's easily one of his most important contributions to music in the early 60s – and a set that we'd rank right up there with his best studio sides for Impulse or Atlantic Records at the time! The group here features McCoy Tyner on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – plus the very important addition of Eric Dolphy on the leadoff tune "Spiritual" – a number that features Dolphy on bass clarinet alongside Coltrane's tremendous tenor, as both players open up on extended solos that take the tune to nearly 14 minutes in length! Other numbers omit Dolphy, but are still totally great – and Coltrane picks up the soprano sax for a classic reading of "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise" – and the group shifts slightly for the freer "Chasin The Trane", a 16 minute romp done with only tenor sax, drums, and bass – the latter of which is handled here by Jimmy Garrison instead of Workman. LP, Vinyl record album

A magnificent record from John Coltrane – one of his earliest expressions of unbridled spirituality, and a session that we've treasured for years! As you might guess from the title, there's a slight Latin focus to the record – but not one that has congas and bongos creating choppy rhythms – most just a bold, driving, modal sort of inspiration – of the sort that allows the tracks to open up and flow with some of the genius that Coltrane would show more fully later on Impulse! But honestly, we'd rate this one right up there with the best modal sides on Impulse – as the record's got a sense of flow and energy that's simply breathtaking – with lots of long tracks that let Coltrane open up on tenor and soprano sax, and which also feature work from Eric Dolphy (under the "nom du date" George Lane) on alto, plus Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Elvin Jones on drums, and Art Davis and Reggie Workman on twin basses! The title track "Ole" runs for a whopping 18 minutes, and takes up all of side one – and side two features the great numbers "Dahomey Dance" and "Aisha". LP, Vinyl record album

A famous album – but for good reason! The set's something of a landmark in spiritual jazz from the 60s – and it features a classic live performance from Charles Lloyd, recorded at the Monterey Jazz Festival – almost as a distillation and popularization of ideas that were brewing in the music of John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, and others! The group here features a young Keith Jarrett on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – all flowing magnificently with Lloyd's work on tenor and flute – in an open-ended groove that draws on modal rhythms for inspiration, and which features solos that stretch out, but never go "outside"! The classic performances of "Forest Flower" takes up all of side one – with a dreamy drifting quality that has Jarrett at his best – and side two features a version of his "Sorcery", plus McBee's "Song Of Her", and a version of "East Of The Sun". Soundtrack features a similar line-up with Lloyd on tenor and flute, Keith Jarrett on piano, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – adding Ron McClure in place of Cecil McBee on bass. Titles include "Forest Flower 69", "Pre-Dawn", "Sombrero Sam", and "Voice In The Night". CD

A classic set from reedman Charles Lloyd – a set that really pushes forward all the experiments he'd begun in the Chico Hamilton group – and shows a bold move forward for rhythms in 60s jazz! The tracks are long, and spiral out wonderfully – but in ways that are different than those used by other creators of the time – like Eric Dolphy or John Coltrane. Even though leading the group on tenor and flute, Lloyd's got a real sense of rhythm to his playing – echoes of the Hamilton group – but set loose with a stellar quartet of younger players – including Keith Jarrett on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – all perfect choices for inventive music like this! The standout cut is the amazing "Sombrero Sam", a tight little groover that we never tire of – and one that has Jarrett sounding much more in the pocket than you'd ever imagine – and other tracks include "Dream Weaver", "Autumn Sequence", and "Bird Flight". LP, Vinyl record album

Two great sets from reedman Charles Lloyd! Dream Weaver really pushes forward all the experiments he'd begun in the Chico Hamilton group – and shows a bold move forward for rhythms in 60s jazz! The tracks are long, and spiral out wonderfully – but in ways that are different than those used by other creators of the time – like Eric Dolphy or John Coltrane. Even though leading the group on tenor and flute, Lloyd's got a real sense of rhythm to his playing – echoes of the Hamilton group – but set loose with a stellar quartet of younger players – including Keith Jarrett on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – all perfect choices for inventive music like this! The standout cut is the amazing "Sombrero Sam", a tight little groover that we never tire of – and one that has Jarrett sounding much more in the pocket than you'd ever imagine – and other tracks include "Dream Weaver", "Autumn Sequence", and "Bird Flight". Love-In features a classic batch of modal grooves from Charles Lloyd – recorded during the height of his mind-expanding years, with his famous quartet that included Keith Jarrett on piano and Jack DeJohnette on drums! The tracks are long and magical, done with that spiritual spiraling sound that Lloyd was wowing the hippies with at the time – and considering that this set was recorded live at the Fillmore, there were an awful lot of hippies present to be wowed! But the set's also got a charm that lives long past its time – thanks to an expansive vision from Lloyd on flute and tenor, and from Jarrett on piano too. Titles include "Sunday Morning", "Love-in", "Tribal Dance", and "Temple Bells". CD

With John Coltrane, Bobby Jaspar, Paul Quinichette, Booker Ervin, Gene Ammons, Jackie McLean, Eric Dolphy, Cecil Payne, Pepper Adams, Steve Lacy, Idrees Sulieman, Johnny Splawn, Webster Young, Kenny Burrell, Joe Puma, Teddy Charles, Paul Chambers, Julian Euell, Earl May, Addison Farmer, Buell Neidlinger, Joe Benjamin, Wendell Marshall, Ron Carter, Art Taylor, Albert "Tootie" Heath, Ed Thigpen, Jerry Segal, Kenny Dennis, Elvin Jones, and Charlie Persip. CD

A really great collection of work that sets the scene for the London Underground of the 60s – that heady cultural scene that was about to burst forth and shower the world with a huge range of new music that would influence listeners for decades to come! This package isn't that music – in that most of the artists here are American, mixed with contributions from a few key Brit talents too – and the whole thing works together to showcase the sorts of sounds that were a bit inspiration on the generation that would then inspire many others to come – a mad mix of modern jazz, electronic music, avant classical, groovy vocal, and even some compelling beat/poetry recordings too – all packaged together in an overstuffed 3CD set that makes for a hell of a journey in music! Artists include Ornette Coleman, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Charles Mingus, Daphne Oram, Modern Jazz Quartet, Aldous Huxley, Cecil Taylor, John Cage, Eric Dolphy, Annie Ross, Sun Ra, Gyorgy Ligeti, Allen Ginsberg, Jimmy Smith, Luciano Berio, John Coltrane, Chico Hamilton, Alexis Korner, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Albert Ayler, Joe Harriott, and many others. CD

One of the deepest-digging entries in this wonderful series – a set that explores the wealth of spiritual jazz issued on small indie labels in the 70s – material that's sometimes referred to as "private", although that's really just a factor of how little circulation these records saw back in the day! As is well-known, the 60s influence of John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy set countless fires on players in the generation that followed – including some older musicians who really changed up their groove in the post-Coltrane energy, and recorded material that was full of searing solos, modal rhythms, and a new sort of spiritual vibe! The set features plenty of nuggets from that time – including some very rare 45s – and even includes one or two earlier tracks, which makes for a great span of sounds within. As always with Jazzman, the detailed notes are as great as the track selection – and titles include "By The Grace Of God" by Erni Clark, "Ethiopia" by Carmelo Garcia, "Desiree Song" by Bobby Jackson, "Pharoah's Thing" by Compass, "Symbiosis" by Almanac, "A'Keem" by Cullen Knight, "Themes & Variations" by Black Is, "Middle Eastern Fantasy" by Radam Schwartz & Leslie Ford, "Spanish Boots (parts 1 & 2)" by Don Menza, and "Delilah" by Andrew McPherson. CD

One of the deepest-digging entries in this wonderful series – a set that explores the wealth of spiritual jazz issued on small indie labels in the 70s – material that's sometimes referred to as "private", although that's really just a factor of how little circulation these records saw back in the day! As is well-known, the 60s influence of John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy set countless fires on players in the generation that followed – including some older musicians who really changed up their groove in the post-Coltrane energy, and recorded material that was full of searing solos, modal rhythms, and a new sort of spiritual vibe! The set features plenty of nuggets from that time – including some very rare 45s – and even includes one or two earlier tracks, which makes for a great span of sounds within. As always with Jazzman, the detailed notes are as great as the track selection – and titles include "By The Grace Of God" by Erni Clark, "Ethiopia" by Carmelo Garcia, "Desiree Song" by Bobby Jackson, "Pharoah's Thing" by Compass, "Symbiosis" by Almanac, "A'Keem" by Cullen Knight, "Themes & Variations" by Black Is, "Middle Eastern Fantasy" by Radam Schwartz & Leslie Ford, "Spanish Boots (parts 1 & 2)" by Don Menza, and "Delilah" by Andrew McPherson. LP, Vinyl record album

The title gets it right – as the album's easily the closest thing to free jazz that Ornette Coleman ever recorded – an album-length improvisation played by a "double quartet" that's overflowing with classic players! The style here is a fair bit like John Coltrane's Ascension album for Impulse – and like that one, the session features Ornette and his contemporaries really stretching out – blowing like never heard before on record, and working in a highly unstructured setting! Other players include Eric Dolphy on bass clarinet, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and Scott LaFaro on bass – alongside regular group members Don Cherry on pocket trumpet, Charlie Haden on bass, and both Ed Blackwell and Billy Higgins on drums. One long track – just titled "Free Jazz"! LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful work from artist Ian Johnson – portraits of famous jazz, funk, and soul artists from the 50s through the 70s – served up in a mix of pencil and color, often with a very unique style! The cover image only hints at the pages within – which are often more detailed and iconic – as the portraits often take off from famous album covers or photographs, but then feature additional details added by Johnson – usually color touches around the black and white portrait at the core, which really creates a very vivid picture! Portraits include images of Herbie Hancock, Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Eric Dolphy, Phil Cohran, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Andrew Hill, Thelonious Monk, and dozens of others – and book is 94 pages, full color, and hardcover. Book

A famous album – and for good reason too! The set's something of a landmark in spiritual jazz from the 60s – and it features a classic live performance from Charles Lloyd, recorded at the Monterey Jazz Festival – almost as a distillation and popularization of ideas that were brewing in the music of John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, and others! The group here features a young Keith Jarrett on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – all flowing magnificently with Lloyd's work on tenor and flute – in an open-ended groove that draws on modal rhythms for inspiration, and which features solos that stretch out, but never go "outside"! The classic performances of "Forest Flower" takes up all of side one – with a dreamy drifting quality that has Jarrett at his best – and side two features a version of his "Sorcery", plus McBee's "Song Of Her", and a version of "East Of The Sun". CD

A really great idea for a collection – one that brings together postwar modern music in all of its many formats – from avant jazz, to early electronics, to Indian music, 20th Century classical, and even a bit of straighter jazz moments too! The package is very ear-opening – as it offers the chance to hear instrumentalists next to compositional talents that had inspired them – and the collection provides a way to hear different strains of sonic experimentation that were sometimes running parallel to each other, sometimes criss-crossing in strange ways. There's a wealth of musical discoveries throughout – and the 4CD set is overflowing with key cuts from Ornette Coleman, Bela Bartok, Edgard Varese, Daphne Oram, Jean Sibelius, Eric Dolphy, Ravi Shankar, Pierre Henry, John Cate, John Coltrane, Humphrey Searle, Arnold Schoenberg, Bill Evans, Olivier Messiaen, Luigi Nono, Charles Ives, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Bruno Maderna, Julian Bream, and many others. CD