Incredible! If you've ever wondered why people think Sonny Rollins is so great, you owe it to yourself to own this album, because it's one that stands as one of the best 5 that Rollins ever cut, and because it features him playing in a stripped-down raw setting that lets his full solo talent come to the forefront. The material was all recorded in 1957 as part of his famous Village Vanguard session for Blue Note, but it was unreleased until 1975, when Blue Note put out this double LP set of the tracks with great notes by Bob Blumenthal. Every cut's a winner, and Rollins plays in two different trio settings – one with Donald Bailey and Pete La Roca, the other with Wilbur Ware and Elvin Jones. It's all great, and will make you a fan of his for life! LP, Vinyl record album

2 LP set of haunting piano work by Jaki Byard, recorded in his early days on Prestige, and not too long after his association with Mingus. He's backed here by some great trio players, including Ron Carter, Roy Haynes, and Pete La Roca, and the set has a lot more going on than the usual piano jazz album. Tracks include "Cinco Y Quatro", "To My Wife", "Hi Fly", "Yamekraw", and "There Are Many Worlds". LP, Vinyl record album

Issued under Kenny Dorham's name, but actually a session led by the obscure tenor player Rocky Boyd, who fronts this (otherwise) all star session that features Kenny Dorham, Ron Carter, Pete La Roca, and Walter Bishop. The record was recorded for the short-lived (and excellent) Jazztime label, but is issued here by Muse. Given Boyd's obscurity, it's no surprise that this material has been issued under Kenny Dorham's name, just to tie it to a more famous player. The group's got a warm hardbop tone, and although Boyd falters at times, Dorham's in very nice form, and is a good match for Bishop's lyrical piano. Tracks include "West 42nd Street", "Alvars", "Ease It", and "Why Not". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic straight session by Joe Henderson – cut during his early years, when he was breaking out of the box with a heck of a lot of fire! Kenny Dorham's subdued lyricism complements Joe's impassioned playing over the angular, yet still-swinging rythm section of Andrew Hill, Eddie Kahn and Pete La Roca. The track "Pedro's Time" reflects Joe's fascination with Latin-flavored pieces (as evidenced by Joe's previous effort Page One, and his work on Dorham's Una Mas), while pieces like "Teeter Totter", "Our Thing" and "Back Road" play with time and structure in subtle ways. LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark set for Blue Note – one that features Freddie Hubbard working in raw, firey, freewheeling territory – given space that few other players at the label were getting at the time! The two volume set features tracks recorded live at Club La Marchal in Brooklyn – and have Hubbard working with a completely hip group that features Lee Morgan, James Spaulding, Harold Mabern, Larry Ridley, Pete La Roca, and Big Black on conga. Each side of the album features one long track – and this second volume features the tunes "Jodo" and "Breaking Point" – done in an extended style that's much rougher and rawer than Hubbard's studio albums of the time! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first true moments of genius from tenorist Joe Henderson – his debut as a leader for Blue Note, and a set that already has him knocking it out of the park, and setting a tone for a whole new generation! Right at the start, Joe was as distinct a saxophonist as recent predecessors like Wayne Shorter or Hank Mobley – but like both of them, he had a voice that was all his own – and already stretching past more familiar tenor modes, at a level that would make Henderson one of the most important players in years soon to come! But he's already great here – and is working in a suberb group with Kenny Dorham on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Butch Warren on bass, and Pete LaRoca on drums. LaRoca's very free on the drum kit, and gives the set a rhythmic looseness that's a bit of a hint at some of Joe's 70's recordings – and that style's even further supported by Tyner's long flowing lines on piano, and Dorham's sparkling work on the trumpet! Includes the classic reading of Kenny's "Blue Bossa", plus the titles "Recorda-Me", "Jinrikisha", "La Mesha", and "Homestretch". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite an unusual session for trumpeter Freddie Hubbard – a set done during his early run of albums for Blue Note, but one that's got some much darker, more modern qualities than the rest! The music here almost verges on some of the "new thing" material of the period on the label – although is not as far outside as some of the others – and the record features two different groups – both with excellent early work from James Spaulding on alto and flute, and really unique use of euphonium from Kiane Zawadi, whose depth on the instrument really explores the darker currents of sound. In addition to Freddie's trumpet work, the set also features Joe Henderson and Hank Mobley on tenors, Harold Mabern and McCoy Tyner on pianos, and Clifford Jarvis and Pete LaRoca on drums. Big Black also adds in percussion on the cuts "Cunga Black" and "Soul Surge" – and other titles include "Outer Forces", "Blue Spirits", and "Jodo". LP, Vinyl record album

A crackling date from Jackie McLean – a set that's got a more expansive feel than some of his earlier Blue Note work – filled with fire, far from the 50s – and really pointing the way towards his new directions to come! There's a hint of modernism in the mix, mostly on the tone from McLean's alto sax – but most numbers are forward-thinking, and played with a sense of perfection that's pure Blue Note all the way through – served up in original material penned by different members of the group – a killer lineup that includes a young Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, with Kenny Drew on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Pete LaRoca on drums. The whole set is wonderful – and titles include "Cool Green", "Torchin", "Bluesnik", "Drew's Blues", and "Blues Function". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent 1959 session that was Slides first as a leader, and which featured Freddie Hubbard, Booker Little, and George Coleman on horns – as well as Pete LaRoca on drums! The format is in that tightly-controlled early Hampton mode – not really big band, but a small combo take on the style – with wonderful breakout solos, and a real flair for soulful arranging that brings out the best in the group – even on the more straight ahead tunes! Titles include "Althea", "Jazz Corner", "Go East Young Man", and "Newport". LP, Vinyl record album

If you ever needed a record to re-remind you of the genius of Jackie McLean, this Blue Note classic may well be it! At first glance, the session appears to be the usual sort of date – a quintet outing, with help from Donald Byrd on trumpet, Walter Davis on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Pete LaRoca on drums – yet as with all of McLean's best moments on records, the album explodes with freshly creative energy from the start – getting way past any easy expectation in the way it sets up the groove and delivers the sound! Jackie's tone is amazing – very modern at times, yet with all the soul of hardbop – and although the rhythms are relatively straight, there's always a slight setting-free at points – that pre-new thing groove that McLean further explored on records like Capuchin Swing or Fickle Sonance. The sound is amazing throughout – and titles are all originals by McLean and Davis – great gems that include "Davis Cup", "Sweet Cakes", "Hip Strut", "Minor Apprehension", and "Greasy". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing live performance from Sonny Rollins – one we'd rank right up there with his legendary Village Vanguard recordings on Blue Note – thanks to its stripped-down trio presentation, and its ability to let Rollins open up in some wonderfully modern tones! As with the Vanguard sides, these tracks feature a superb trio – Henry Grimes on bass and Pete LaRoca on drums – both wonderfully loose players, at the start of a budding legacy of creativity – and well-matched with Rollins, whose really changing his sound and style, and using the open space of the performance to move in directions that nobody would have expected at the start of the decade. Most tracks are standards, but really transformed – and titles include "Paul's Pal", "St Thomas", "There Will Never Be Another You", "Stay As Sweet As You Are", "How High The Moon", "Oleo", and "I've Told Every Little Star". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible early album from pianist Steve Kuhn – one of his first, but already as clear an expression of his modernist genius as you're ever likely to hear! Right from the very first note, the record announces itself as something new – with a freshness that's still as crisp all these many years later as it was back in the 60s – in ways that are different than so many other modern pianists in later years (and we might even include Kuhn's later material in that batch.) The sound is hard to explain – not free jazz, but also not self-consciously avant either – really that own tune that Kuhn's moving to, of the space that would also yield some of his most amazing compositions in the few years to come. Part of the strength of the album also comes from its amazing rhythm section – Steve Swallow on bass and Pete LaRoca on drums – both players who are as inventive and imaginative as Kuhn, although he's clearly directing the show. Titles include "Memory", "Three Waves", "Kodpiece", "Ida Lupino", and "Ah Moore". LP, Vinyl record album

A great release of material from the late 50s – that time when reedman Tony Scott was really starting to experiment! This hip quartet date also features Bill Evans on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Pete LaRoca on drums – a wonderfully sensitive rhythm section who really keep things interesting! Includes extended takes on "Walkin", "Free & Easy Blues", and "My Melancholy Baby". LP, Vinyl record album