The brilliant 3rd album from Mike Westbrook – a sharp-edged, two volume set with a scathing anti-war theme! The work is Westbrook's first total-concept album, and it's still one of his best – written with an edge that's free from some of the more whimsical touches that showed up in Mike's later years, and played by a core group of British avant soloists with searing intensity! You've never heard large group scoring like this – bold, ambitious, and quite different than most of what's come before. And although the whole thing sounds as if it's going to fall apart at any moment, it always snaps back into a sharp focus just in the nick of time – with brilliant results that bring the same sense of surprise that you might get from, say, a classic album from Charles Mingus or Archie Shepp! Players include Kenny Wheeler and Henry Lowther on trumpets, Mike Gibbs and Paul Rutherford on trombones, John Surman on baritone and soprano sax, Mike Osborne on alto and clarinet, Alan Skidmore on tenor and flute, Brian Smith on tenor, and Harry Miller and Barre Phillips on bass. Titles on this first volume include "Landscape", "Hooray", "Other World", and "Marching Song". LP, Vinyl record album

The brilliant 3rd album from Mike Westbrook – a sharp-edged, two volume set with a scathing anti-war theme! The work is Westbrook's first total-concept album, and it's still one of his best – written with an edge that's free from some of the more whimsical touches that showed up in Mike's later years, and played by a core group of British avant soloists with searing intensity! You've never heard large group scoring like this – bold, ambitious, and quite different than most of what's come before. And although the whole thing sounds as if it's going to fall apart at any moment, it always snaps back into a sharp focus just in the nick of time – with brilliant results that bring the same sense of surprise that you might get from, say, a classic album from Charles Mingus or Archie Shepp! Players include Kenny Wheeler and Henry Lowther on trumpets, Mike Gibbs and Paul Rutherford on trombones, John Surman on baritone and soprano sax, Mike Osborne on alto and clarinet, Alan Skidmore on tenor and flute, Brian Smith on tenor, and Harry Miller and Barre Phillips on bass. Titles on this second volume include "Transition", "Rosie", "Tension", "Ballad", "Conflict", and "Requiem". LP, Vinyl record album

The brilliant 3rd album from Mike Westbrook – a sharp-edged, two volume set with a scathing anti-war theme! The work is Westbrook's first total-concept album, and it's still one of his best – written with an edge that's free from some of the more whimsical touches that showed up in Mike's later years, and played by a core group of British avant soloists with searing intensity! You've never heard large group scoring like this – bold, ambitious, and quite different than most of what's come before. And although the whole thing sounds as if it's going to fall apart at any moment, it always snaps back into a sharp focus just in the nick of time – with brilliant results that bring the same sense of surprise that you might get from, say, a classic album from Charles Mingus or Archie Shepp! Players include Kenny Wheeler and Henry Lowther on trumpets, Mike Gibbs and Paul Rutherford on trombones, John Surman on baritone and soprano sax, Mike Osborne on alto and clarinet, Alan Skidmore on tenor and flute, Brian Smith on tenor, and Harry Miller and Barre Phillips on bass. This set features both volumes of the recording – with titles that include "Landscape", "Hooray", "Other World", "Marching Song", "Transition", "Rosie", "Tension", "Ballad", "Conflict", and "Requiem". LP, Vinyl record album

The brilliant third album from Mike Westbrook – a sharp-edged, two volume set with a scathing anti-war theme! The work is Westbrook's first total-concept album, and it's still one of his best – written with an edge that's free from some of the more whimsical touches that showed up in Mike's later years, and played by a core group of British avant soloists with searing intensity! You've never heard large group scoring like this – bold, ambitious, and quite different than most of what's come before. And although the whole thing sounds as if it's going to fall apart at any moment, it always snaps back into a sharp focus just in the nick of time – with brilliant results that bring the same sense of surprise that you might get from, say, a classic album from Charles Mingus or Archie Shepp! Players include Kenny Wheeler and Henry Lowther on trumpets, Mike Gibbs and Paul Rutherford on trombones, John Surman on baritone and soprano sax, Mike Osborne on alto and clarinet, Alan Skidmore on tenor and flute, Brian Smith on tenor, and Harry Miller and Barre Phillips on bass. This set features both volumes of the recording – with titles that include "Landscape", "Hooray", "Other World", "Marching Song", "Transition", "Rosie", "Tension", "Ballad", "Conflict", and "Requiem". Great 3CD set features a full bonus disc of rare material – including the 7" single of "Original Peter" and "Magic Garden" – 1970 recordings of "But It Must Get Better & It Will Get Better" and "When Young" by The Mike Westbrook Quartet, and a 1966 recording of "Marching Song" by the Mike Westbrook Sextet – the last three of which have never been released! CD

A legendary session of avant garde jazz – recorded by MPS at the Baden Baden Free Jazz Meeting in 1969! The centerpiece of the record is the performance by the Baden-Baden Free Jazz Orchestra – which is led by Lester Bowie, and features Albert Mangelsdorff, Eje Thelin, Kenny Wheeler, Roscoe Mitchell, Alan Skidmore, Steve McCall, Tony Oxley, Willem Breuker, and other American and European avant players. The group performs a 2 part version of the title track – and their set is a beautiful mix of out styles, and a rare occasion to hear AACM players interacting with other European free jazz musicians. The other tracks on the record feature smaller groups culled from the larger one – and they include Terje Rypdal's group with Karin Krog doing "Ved Soerevatn", Karin performing "For My Two JBs" on a multitrack recorder, and Willem Breuker and John Surman dueting on "May Hunting Song". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic combination of modern jazz talents – the groundbreaking Gary Burton Quartet, and the young avant ensemble of trombonist Mike Gibbs! The set begins with a fantastic performance by Burton's group – heard here in a lineup that has the guitar of Dave Pritchard sharing equal chromatic roles with Burton's beautiful vibes – alongside sublime bass from Steve Swallow, and drums from Bill Goodwin. Gary solos on a great version of "Chega De Saudade", and other tunes include "General Mojo's Well Laid Plan", "Arise Her Eyes", "And On The Third Day", "Ballet", and "Portsmith Configurations". CD 2 features a full set by Gibbs' group – in a rare recording before their debut album – with a lineup that includes Kenny Wheeler and Trevor Barber on trumpets, Alan Skidmore and Ray Warleigh on saxes, Chris Spedding on guitar, and Chris Pyne on trombone with Gibbs. Tracks are all long, and really beautiful – and include "Nowhere", "Walter L", "Tanglewood 63", and "Sojourn/June The 15th 1967". There's also vibes on these performances, but the notes are a bit unclear – so we're not sure if they're by Burton, or Frank Ricotti – who also worked with Gibbs. Burton's group returns on the funky track "Doin The Pig" – and then CD3 features a full second performance from earlier in 1969 – with a group that also includes John Surman on soprano, Mike Osborne on alto, Henry Lowther on trumpet, Jack Bruce on bass, and Ricotti on vibes. Titles on this set include "Feelings & Things/June The 15th 1967", "Sweet Rain", "Family Joy Oh Boy", and "Fly Time Fly Sigh". CD

Unreleased work from alto genius Joe Harriott – two different slices of material from a very under-recorded point in his career! The first five tracks feature Joe in that back to basics mode he was hitting at the time – working in a unique group that features Kenny Wheeler on trumpet and flugelhorn, Pat Smythe on piano, Ron Mathewson on bass, and Bill Eyden on drums – all players who are very open to modern ideas, but who also keep things on more of a groove here – with only a bit of the freedom that Harriott was bringing to his music a few years before! And yet there's still a great tension that makes the set great – swinging jazz mixed with modernism – on titles that include the Horace Silver tunes "Down & Out" and "Psychedelic Sally", plus "WSIMC", "Chronology", and "Shadows". The remaining two tracks on the set feature Joe in a very different setting – the large group of Harry South – the kind of mod jazz in 60s London, working here with a superb lineup that also features Kenny Wheeler and Ian Hamer on trumpets, Ray Warleigh on alto and flute, and Tubby Hayes and Alan Skidmore on tenor saxes! Tunes include the very swinging "Themeology" by South – plus a richly full take on "My Man's Gone Now". CD

Unreleased work from alto genius Joe Harriott – two different slices of material from a very under-recorded point in his career! The first five tracks feature Joe in that back to basics mode he was hitting at the time – working in a unique group that features Kenny Wheeler on trumpet and flugelhorn, Pat Smythe on piano, Ron Mathewson on bass, and Bill Eyden on drums – all players who are very open to modern ideas, but who also keep things on more of a groove here – with only a bit of the freedom that Harriott was bringing to his music a few years before! And yet there's still a great tension that makes the set great – swinging jazz mixed with modernism – on titles that include the Horace Silver tunes "Down & Out" and "Psychedelic Sally", plus "WSIMC", "Chronology", and "Shadows". The remaining two tracks on the set feature Joe in a very different setting – the large group of Harry South – the kind of mod jazz in 60s London, working here with a superb lineup that also features Kenny Wheeler and Ian Hamer on trumpets, Ray Warleigh on alto and flute, and Tubby Hayes and Alan Skidmore on tenor saxes! Tunes include the very swinging "Themeology" by South – plus a richly full take on "My Man's Gone Now". CD

A seminal bit of work from Mike Westbrook – recorded back in the early years of his career, when he still had a pretty sharp edge! Like Westbrook's first few albums on Decca, this set features the British avant jazz maestro playing piano with a large ensemble of some of England's finest jazzmen – including Ray Warleigh, Alan Skidmore, Harry Beckett, Kenny Wheeler, Paul Rutehrford, and Harry Miller. Norma Winstone sings on a few tracks, bringing in her lovely voice in the way that she does on Westbrook's best albums – but overall, the set's a bit more out there and more avant than some of his earlier work, but still has the majestic cohesiveness that makes his work of the time so great. The work is one long piece, split into 9 segments. CD

A seminal bit of work from Mike Westbrook – recorded back in the early years of his career, when he still had a pretty sharp edge! Like Westbrook's first few albums on Decca, this set features the British avant jazz maestro playing piano with a large ensemble of some of England's finest jazzmen – including Ray Warleigh, Alan Skidmore, Harry Beckett, Kenny Wheeler, Paul Rutehrford, and Harry Miller. Norma Winstone sings on a few tracks, bringing in her lovely voice in the way that she does on Westbrook's best albums – but overall, the set's a bit more out there and more avant than some of his earlier work, but still has the majestic cohesiveness that makes his work of the time so great. The work is one long piece, split into 9 segments. CD

Mindblowing work from this important Brit jazz group – working here with an augmented lineup that's mighty nice! In addition to soprano, baritone, and bass clarinet from John Surman – plus bass from Barre Phillips and drums from Stu Martin – the set also features cornet from Harry Beckett and Mark Charig, trombone from Nick Evans and Malcolm Griffiths, piano from Chick Corea, tenor and flute from Alan Skidmore, trumpet from Kenny Wheeler, alto and clarinet from Mike Osborne, and bass from Dave Holland. Titles include "Conflagration", "After The Morrow", "Nuts", and "Malachite". LP, Vinyl record album