An early session as a leader from trumpeter Blue Mitchell – recorded during his glory years with Horace Silver! Unlike his other records, which usually have him in the company of another horn player, this set's got him carrying the full horn solo load by himself – working in a quartet, and playing in a vein that reminds us of similar Art Farmer quartet sessions from the time. Wynton Kelly's backing him up on piano – in a group that also includes Sam Jones on bass and Roy Brooks on drums. Some of the titles are quite unique too – and include "Avars", "Kinda Vague", "Sir John", and "Sweet Pumpkin". LP, Vinyl record album

Tight swing-based material from trumpeter Joe Newman, featuring Frank Foster as a very welcome bandmate in the frontline! The rest of the group includes Tommy Flanagan on piano, plus Eddie Jones on bass and Bill English on drums. The tracks have a nice open-ended quality, with good room for grooving and solos, and lots of nice tenor from Foster. Titles include "To Rigmor", "AM Romp", "Mo Lasses", and "Loop D Loop". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare work from the team of Gigi Gryce and Donald Byrd – material recorded during their Jazz Lab sessions for Columbia Records in the 50s, but unissued at the time! The duo are pure genius together – able to open up with all the modern jazz currents that altoist Gryce was bringing to his writing and arranging, yet still swing with all the sense of soul that you'd know from later work from the famous trumpeter Byrd! The blend is great – kind of like all the best 50s modern jazz ideas rolled into one – a record with plenty of new ideas, but a rock-solid swing to match the best on Blue Note or Prestige – driven strongly by the rhythm trio of Hank Jones on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. Gryce is especially nice – maybe a bit more biting than on some of his earlier records with Art Farmer, and a hell of a soloist throughout. Titles include "Exhibit A", "Capri", "Splittin", "Byrd In Hand", "Ergo The Blues", and "Passade". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most amazing albums ever from Frank Foster – a totally righteous set that's light years ahead of his earlier work with the Basie Band! The format here is right up there with the best on Strata East at the time – a large-group session that's filled with some of the hippest players of the early 70s – all coming together with a joyous, spiritual sense of power! Foster's in the lead on tenor and soprano sax, but other players include Cecil Bridgewater and Hannibal Marvin Peterson on trumpets, Harold Mabern on keyboards, Elvin Jones on drums, Dick Griffin on trombone, Stanley Clarke on bass, Airto on percussion, and even Dee Dee Bridgewater on vocals! Tracks are all quite long and flowing – spiritual expressions of jazz that rival the greatness of anything recorded for Impulse – and titles include "The Loud Minority", "Requiem For Dusty", "JP's Thing", and "EW – Beautiful People". LP, Vinyl record album

A key album in the reintroduction of Coleman Hawkins in the late 50s – recorded in a style that still bears a lot of traces of earlier years, but at a time when Hawk was being claimed as a key influence by a variety of younger modernists! The set's got a sense of freedom that's really surprising – especially on the longer numbers, which unfold with some playful instrumental twists that seem to come especially from trumpeter Idrees Sulieman and trombonist JJ Johnson – both of whom are great on the record. Other players include Hank Jones on piano, Barry Galbraith on guitar, and Oscar Pettiford on bass – and titles include "Juicy Fruit", "Think Deep", "Blue Lights", "Sanctity", and "Chant". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic small group work from tenorist Sal Nistico – and one of the few records that really finds a way to capture his genius! Sal got his start in the Woody Herman band of the 60s – and although a standout there, he really shines even more brightly here in a small group setting – with a sharp edge on his horn that maybe only comes through this well in a handful of his European recordings, especially for the Ego label. In the spirit of that imprint, the great trumpeter Ted Curson is on board – and Sal's tone is also balanced out nicely by some equally great work from Nick Brignola on baritone. The rest of the combo is equally great – with superb rhythm from Ronnie Mathews on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums – and titles include "Be My Love", "Blues For KD", "Bambu", "Fee Fi Fo Fum", and "Anthropology". LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure late 70s session that pairs globe-trotting trumpeters Dizzy Reece and Ted Curson – two of our favorite underground talents from the 50s and 60s! The sessions is quite laidback – with a rhythm section that includes Roy Haynes on drums, Sam Jones on bass, and Claude Williamson on piano – playing out long and uncomplicated lines for the two trumpeters to blow through. The feel is straight bop – straighter certainly than most of Curson's work at the time – and the solos have a bit of a scattered quality that's both slightly off, but also kind of edgey. Tracks are long, and titles include "Marjo", "Walkin", "Bass Conclave", "All The Things You Are", and "Stella By Starlight". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweetly soulful work from trumpeter Louis Smith – and one of his wonderful comeback sets for the Steeplechase label! Smith was first known for his two excellent Blue Note sides of the late 50s – but then disappeared for years as a leader on the recording scene. Here, he's working with a quintet of old masters that include Junior Cook on tenor, Roland Hanna on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Billy Hart on drums – all crafting a sound that's almost a 70s take on the Blue Note spirit of older years. Smith contributed a number of original tunes to the set – most of the titles, in fact – and tracks include "Rhyan's Groove", "Prancin", "Chanson De Louise", "One For Nils", and "Fats". LP, Vinyl record album

A late 70s pressing of some classic Verve sides from the 50s, featuring two masters of the tenor, blowing side by side in a couple of small group settings: one with rhythm backing by Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown, and Alvin Stoller and the other with Jimmy Jones, Les Spann, Ray Brown and Jo Jones, plus Roy Eldridge and Budd Johnson in the frontline. The best tracks have lots of room – plenty of space so that the tenors aren't butting heads with each other in too close of quarters, with space to express themselves freely. Titles include "Blues For Yolande", "La Rosita", "Shine On Harvest Moon", "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", "It Never Entered My Mind", "De-Dar", "Time After Time", "Young Bean" and "In A Mellowtone". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best dates ever as a leader from trumpeter Joe Wilder – and one of the few to have a really relaxed, open sort of format! Joe's not tied up in gimmicks or larger groups here – and he really sparkles in the company of a quartet that features Hank Jones on piano, Wendell Marshall on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums – players that really match Wilder's inherent sense of soul and lyricism, as he waxes some beautiful solos on the set. There's a nice sort of blueness in Joe's tone, but one that's never too forced or cliched – and titles include "Mad About The Boy", "Six Bit Blues", "Darn That Dream", "Prelude To A Kiss", and "My Heart Stood Still". LP, Vinyl record album

A pairing of 2 mid-50s sides by Lester Young for Verve – one album recorded with Teddy Wilson on piano, the other with Oscar Peterson – hence the title! The Wilson session was recorded in 1956, and featuers Gene Ramey on bass and Jo Jones on drums – with tracks that include "Louise", "Pres Returns", "All Of Me", "Prisoner Of Love", and "Love Is Here To Stay". The Peterson session was recorded earlier, in 1952, with Barney Kessel on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and JC Heard on drums – with titles that include "Ad Lib Blues", "Star Dust", "I Can't Give You Anything But Love", "There Will Never Ever Be Another You", "I'm Confessin", and "These Foolish Things". LP, Vinyl record album

A great split set – with some excellent early 60s Columbia material! Ben & Sweets finds tenor Webster & trumpeter Edison in wonderful form – both veterans complementing the other brilliantly – with a crack group that includes Hank Jones on piano, George Duvivier on bass and Clarence Johnson on drums. The overall groove is very melodic, but it's still got plenty of kick underneath! Titles include "Better Go", "How Long Has This Been Going On?", "Kitty", "My Romance" and "Did You Call Her Today" and George & Ira Gerswin's "Embraceable You". Next is the even better album Back In Bean's Bag – a strong full-bodied session with totally solid playing, and a stone cold hardbop groove that you'd never expect from either Coleman Hawkins or Clark Terry. This could be because Dave Bailey's holding down the drum chores, and the record sounds a bit like his great recordings from the early 60's on Epic or Jazztime. There's a fantastic cut called "Tune For The Tutor", which was written by Pat Patrick, and which really grooves. Other nice ones include "Feedin' The Bean" and "Squeeze Me". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Hank Jones' key mid 50s sides for the Savoy label – and quite possibly the hippest of the bunch, thanks to the presence of a young Donald Byrd on trumpet! The core trio here is Hank's group with Eddie Jones on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums – but it's Donald Byrd's trumpet that really makes the album shine – by adding in a slightly sharper edge than you might normally hear on some of Jones' sweeter trio sets. An additional trumpeter – Matty Dice – joins the group on some of the tracks too, blowing alongside Byrd in a relaxed, open-ended way that's totally great. Titles include "An Evening At Papa Joe's, "Summer's Gone", "Don't Blame Me", "And Then Some", and "Almost Like Being In Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful early Verve recording by Basie – one that's packaged here in a great David Stone Martin cover, with a red and blue watercolor of Basie himself. Players include Frank Foster, Frank Wess, Ernie Wilkins, Marshall Royal, Joe Newman, Thad Jones, Bennie Powell, and Freddie Green – plus Basie, of course. Titles include "Two Franks", "Ska Di Didle Dee Bee Doo", "Rails", "Blues Backstage", and "Perdido" – and there's a very strong focus on the best soloists in the group! (Note: this material was also issued under the title The Band Of Distinction – but this is the first version.) LP, Vinyl record album

Classic Verve work by The Count, and a session in which the Basie group plays for dancers – in a style that continued to make them one of the most popular bigger bands of the 50s! Tracks are short, tight, and highly rhythmic – played by a group that features Ernie Wilkins, Marshall Royal, Frank Foster, Frank Wess, and Thad Jones. Titles include "Stereophonic", "Mambo Mist", "She's Just My Size", "You For Me", "Soft Drink", and "Two For The Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Basie was getting all over the place during the 50s – and this set's a great little concert recorded in London! The album's classic Basie for Verve – with Joe Williams on vocals on 3 tracks, and a tight group that includes Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Benny Powell, Matthew Gee, and Frank Foster. Titles include "Flute Juice", "Nails", "Blues Backstage", "Corner Pocket", "Roll Em Pete", and "Well All Right Okay You Win". LP, Vinyl record album

A well-done collection of Lester Young's work for Verve – issued shortly after his death, and offering Prez in a variety of different settings! Most of the work is small combo material, recorded between 1950 and 1956 – all in that open, easygoing Verve style that seemed to work almost better for Young than anyone else! Players include Nat King Cole, Hank Jones, and Gildo Mahones on piano; Ray Brown, Gene Ramsey, and John Ore on bass; and Buddy Rich, Joe Jones, or Connie Kay on drums. Titles include "Back To The Land", "Let's Fall In Love", "This Can't Be Love", "Pres Returns", "Gigantic Blues", and "New DB Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful small group playing by Lester Young – recorded with 2 different groups: one that includes John Lewis, Gene Ramey, and Jo Jones; the other including Gildo Mahones, Jessie Drakes, Gene Ramey, and Connie Kay. The mellow aspects of the players come out nicely against Young's soulful playing – and the piano of Mahones is an especially welcome aspect of the session. Titles include "New DB Blues", "I Can't Believe You're In Love With Me", "Down N Adam", "This Can't Be Love", and "Tenderly". LP, Vinyl record album