Prime mid 50s work from Lucky Thompson – recorded in Paris with the group of drummer Dave Pochonet, and featuring tracks that are longer than usual for a Thompson session! Thompson is on tenor throughout – and the other players include either Henri Renaud or Martial Solal on piano, Michel De Villers on baritone and alto, and Fernand Verstraete on trumpet. There's a bit looser feel to the set than some of Thompson's tighter sides from the US – and titles include "Let's Try Again", "Stewin Up A Wig", "Fascinating Blues", "Home Free", and "One For The Boys & Us". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible work from Lucky Thompson – very different than any of his more famous 50s work, and caught at a really great time in his career! The set was recorded at a time when Lucky had just returned from Europe, and had picked up the soprano sax in addition to his regular tenor. The soprano gave Lucky a lighter, freer, more exploratory soul-based sound that was really unique – a bit Dolphy-inspired at times, but with a more inside approach, as in the work of Nathan Davis – so that even on numbers that might seem staid at the outset, the sax work has an edgey quality that's really wonderful. The session features Tommy Flanagan on piano, Frank Anderson on organ, Wally Richardson on guitar, and either Oliver Jackson and Walter Perkins on drums – and titles include "I'll Be Around", "Star Eyes", "Poor Butterfly", "Kinfolks Corner", "Who Can I Turn To", and "Caressable". LP, Vinyl record album

Two early 70s albums by Lucky Thompson – back to back in a single set! First up is Goodbye Yesterday – an album that has Lucky Thompson working in a mode that's quite different than his early years – working in a cool group that includes Cedar Walton on electric piano and celeste, Larry Ridley on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums! While most cuts are relatively straight, they've got an open soulful approach that's quite different from most of Lucky's other work – much more in the vein of recordings by Walton from the time, with an arch soul jazz righteousness to them, and a bit of an electric vibe when Cedar hits the keyboards. Titles include "Fillet Of Soul", "Back To The World", "Home Come'n", "Tea Time", and "Soul Lullaby". I Offer You is an excellent album of mellow soulful tracks by Lucky Thompson – with a sweet 70s groove that's quite different from most of his other recordings! The album's got a cool mellow feel – with Lucky veering much more towards a CTI-ish electric mode than the style he used on most of his other earlier albums, which were in a soul jazz or hardbop style. Thompson plays both tenor and soprano sax – sometimes with hints of a post-Coltrane influence, in lines that are nice and snakey! The group's great too – with Cedar Walton on acoustic and electric piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums – all very soulful players that help bring a righteous sort of energy to the album! Titles include "Munsoon", "Sun Out", "Aliyah", and a good cover of "Moment Of Truth". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful work from that early 60s moment when Lucky Thompson was really opening up with a newly soulful sound – and mixing in some great soprano sax work with his tenor! The tunes are familiar, but the execution is wonderful – Lucky blowing easily in a quartet with Hank Jones on piano, Wendell Marshall on bass, and Dave Bailey on drums – the last of whom really keeps things moving, even when mellow. Titles include " Long Ago And Far Away", "Lovely To Look At", "No More", "Look For The Silver Lining", "Who", "Dearly Beloved", "Why Do I Love You", "Why Was I Born", and "They Didn't Believe Me". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

With vocals by Estelle Edson, Sylvia Syms, Dinah Washington, and Thelma Love. LP, Vinyl record album

Late great work from Ammons – an album done at the time of his funk sides for Prestige, but recorded in the style of his earlier years in Chicago! The session's a laidback set of soulful solo-heavy work – recorded as part of a hip series of shows at the North Park Hotel, with a local rhythm trio that includes Jodie Christian on piano, Cleveland Eaton on bass, and Marshall Thompson on drums. James Moody joins Ammons in the frontline, and the set's got the best electric feel that you'd hear if you were lucky enough to catch either player in a small club date in the early 60s. Loads of very imaginative solo work in the best Chicago tenor tradition – with titles that include "Work Song", "Jim Jam Jug", "Have You Met Miss Jones", and "C Jam Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

The title says it all with this one – as Milt Jackson plays a set of ballads, and a set of blues – but both in ways that really make the best of his warmly chromatic approach to the vibes! The players here vary on different tracks, but apart from MJQ regular John Lewis, the album also presents Jackson with some less-familiar associates who include Barney Kessel on guitar, Lucky Thompson on tenor, and Oscar Pettiford on bass. A few tracks on the album also feature an augmented woodwind section – and titles include "Bright Blues", "Hello", "They Didn't Believe Me", "The Song Is Ended", "So In Love", and "Gerry's Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Plenty plenty soul here – as Milt Jackson's moving away from the Modern Jazz Quartet, and working with a great group of players that really expand his sound! The session's a bit like some of Milt's soul jazz work for Riverside and other labels – in that it's got rhythms, timings, and solos that all are much more gutbuckety than you'd expect from the other side of his career – a real nod towards the nascent soul jazz sound in the late 50s, served up with lots of undercurrents from R&B and gospel in the mix. Side one features players that include Ronnie Peters on alto sax, Frank Foster on tenor, and Sahib Shihab on baritone – plus Horace Silver on piano – and Silver makes a return appearance on side two, alongside a group that includes Lucky Thompson on tenor and Joe Newman on trumpet. Titles include "Plenty, Plenty Soul", "Boogity Boogity", "Heartstrings", "Sermonette", "The Spirit Feel", "Ignunt Oil", and "Blues At Twilight". LP, Vinyl record album

With Lucky Thompson, Lionel Hampton, and Duke Ellington. LP, Vinyl record album

An early leader session for Jimmy Cleveland – one that pulls him out of the Lionel Hampton group, and puts him in the company of a number of different all-stars – top level players that Mercury brought together in three different sessions for the album. Players include Lucky Thompson, Cecil Payne, Barry Galbraith, Wade Legge, Paul Chambers, and Jerome Richardson – and it's the quality of the ensemble grooving that really makes the album swing, a lot more than Cleveland's solos on his own. Titles include "Vixen", "Hear Ye Hear Ye", "See Minor", "Bone Brother", "Count 'Em", and "Little Beaver". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare work from the 78rpm generation – all of it before the big Charles Mingus years of the 50s – featuring the bassist in groups with Oscar Pettiford and Earl Hines in the lead – plus other sides recorded under the name of Baron Mingus, with Willie Smith on alto and Lucky Thompson on tenor – and more under a Charles Mingus Quintet with Lee Konitz on alto! LP, Vinyl record album

Lots of classic early material – including "If I Were A Bell" recorded with John Coltrane on tenor and Red Garland on piano, "Conception" with Sonny Rollins on tenor and Jackie McLean on alto, "Bag's Groove" with Milt Jackson on vibes, "Solar" with Horace Silver on piano, and "Walkin" with JJ Johnson on trombone, Horace Silver on piano, and Lucky Thompson on tenor! LP, Vinyl record album

Early bop sides, not led by Miles as you might imagine from this package, but featuring him. We're not entirely certain of the origin of these recordings, but they are at least contemporaneous with the Savoy sides Miles was cutting with Bird, and according to the notes, feature Charlie Parker, Lucky Thompson, Duke Jordan, Max Roach and others. 10 tracks in all: "Out Of Nowhere", "A Night In Tunisia", "Yardbird Suite", "Ornithology", "Moose The Mooch", "Embraceable You", "Bird Of Paradise", "My Old Flame", "Don't Blame Me" and "Scrapple From The Apple". LP, Vinyl record album

As classic an early album by Miles Davis as you can find – truly filled with the "all star" players billed in the title, and a session that has the sharpness of Davis' bop work for Blue Note, yet also lets him stretch out in a slightly more relaxed format! The album features Miles trumpet with 2 different groups – one a sextet with Horace Silver, JJ Johnson, and Lucky Thompson; the other a quintet with Silver and the obscure altoist Davey Schildkraut! Tracks are long, with lots of solo room – and titles include his classic takes on "Walkin", "Blue N Boogie", and "Solar" – plus versions of "You Don't Know What Love Is" and "Love Me Or Leave Me". LP, Vinyl record album

With Fletcher Smith on piano and Bam Brown on bass on the trio sessions; Dodo Marmarosa on piano, Bam Brown on bass, and Zutty Singleton on drums on the quartet sessions; and featuring Howard McGhee, Lucky Thompson, Teddy Edwards, and Leo Watson in the orchestra. LP, Vinyl record album

With Dick Vance on trumpet, Eddie Barefield on clariknet, Lucky Thompson on tenor, John Brown on bass, and Jimmy Crawford on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Mid 50s recordings with Dizzy's big bands, with sidemen that include Quincy Jones, JJ Johnson, Hank Mobley, Lucky Thompson, Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, Wynton Kelly, Billy Mitchell, Candido, Al Grey, and many more. LP, Vinyl record album

A really classic set from drummer Jo Jones – really more of a small group Count Basie outing – given that Basie himself guests on piano, and other players here include Freddie Green on guitar, Lucky Thompson on tenor, Emmet Berry on trumpet, and Bennie Green on trombone! The style is swing-based and very tight – but the record also has that easy, open-ended Vanguard jazz groove – recorded here by John Hammond with a good sense of tradition and respect for the players. Titles include 2 takes on "Shoe Shine Boy", plus "Caravan", "Georgia Mae", "Lover Man", "Lincoln Heights", and "Embraceable You". LP, Vinyl record album

Live broadcasts from 1949, with Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Al Haig on piano, Tommy Potter on bass, with Max Roach on drums on one session, and Milt Jackson on vibes and Lucky Thompson on tenor on the other. LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of tracks from three sessions in 1947, with Miles Davis on trumpet, Lucky Thompson on tenor, Duke Jordan, Erroll Garner, and Dodo Marmarosa on piano, Red Callendar, Tommy Potter, and Vic McMillan on bass, and Doc West, Max Roach, and Roy Porter on drums. Titles include "Moose The Moochie", "Yardbird Suite", "Ornithology", "Night In Tunisia", "Embraceable You", "My Old Flame" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Coleman Hawkins, Illinois Jacquet, Lucky Thompson, Kenny Clarke, Charlie Ventura, Metronome All Stars, Count Basie, and Dizzy Gillespie. LP, Vinyl record album

A hip collection of tracks recorded during the early 60s years of the Candid label – all of them great, and all of them exclusive to this LP! The album does a great job of digging into the modern jazz underground of the early 60s – and titles include "R&R" by Charles Mingus, "Oh Yeah Oh Yeah" by Kenny Dorham and Benny Bailey, "Lord Lord Am I Ever Gonna Know" by Lucky Thompson, and "Father & Son" by Cal Massey. LP, Vinyl record album

1970s reissue of Bird's incomparable Dial sides, cut during the height of the Bop age. Though the cover just has a generic photo of Bird, there's extensive notes on the back, and the tracks are arranged in a documentary sort of fashion, lining up all the takes together, so you can hear Bird developing his solos and working through his unique concept, with support from Dizzy Gillespie, Lucky Thompson, Miles Davis & Dodo Marmarosa. Several takes each of "Moose the Mooche", "Yardbird Suite", "Ornithology", "Night & Tunisia" and others. LP, Vinyl record album