Really classic sounding work – from a quartet that features William Parker on bass, Rob Brown on alto saxophone, Hamid Drake on drums, and Lewis Barnes on trumpet. Brown plays some b-flat clarinet on one track, and Parker plays cedar flute on the same track too! CD

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Incredible work from alto genius Art Pepper – one of our favorite albums ever by the saxophonist – and a set that we actually love even more than his classic albums for the Contemporary label! Art's in a setting here that really lets him put a lot of edginess on his horn – demonstrating that sharper tone he brought to the alto, with a lot of bite in the best sort of setting – of which this album is one! The group is nicely focused – and includes Russ Freeman on piano, Ben Tucker on bass, and Gary Frommer on drums – working with Art to give the album a very urgent, upfront sort of vibe. The set's comprised of nearly all original tracks – and titles include "Arts Opus", "Pepper Pot", "Val's Pal", and "Diane". CD's also got 5 bonus tracks, which are alternate takes of tracks on the album. Great stuff, and one to buy if you've ever wondered why you should think Pepper is so great! CD

A live set recorded at the Lighthouse in 1953 – with Sonny Clark on piano! CD

Ivo Perelman on tenor sax, Marilyn Crispell on piano, William Parker on bass, and Gerry Hemingway on drums and voice. CD

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With Charles Flores on bass. CD

Great work from the Don Pullen-George Adams Quartet – a great post-Mingus group that features Adams on tenor and Pullen on piano – along with Dannie Richmond on drums and Cameron Brown on bass! The sound of these sides is really wonderful – as inventive and exploratory as some of Pullen's earlier work, yet carved out with a sense of rhythm and soulfulness that all players had clearly learned from Mingus – a focus that's really wonderful, and which takes this Blue Note gem far past some of the other Pullen/Adams collaborations in other settings. Titles include "A Time For Sobriety", "Mr Smoothie", "Just Foolin Around", and "We've Been Here All The Time". CD

New arrangements by Gordon Goodwin, performed by his Big Phat Band, the Quartet San Francisco, and Take 6. CD

Features Joshua Redman on saxophones, Peter Martin on piano, Christopher Thomas on bass, and Brian Blade on drums. CD

Includes "Triple Quartet", "Electric Guitar Phase","Music For Large Ensemble" and "Tokyo/Vermont Counterpoint". CD

Also includes the pieces "Mallet Quartet" and "Dance Patterns". CD

A pivotal album from minimalist genius Steve Reich – a record that got him into living rooms across America – thanks to the album's higher concept, and key participation of the Kronos Quartet and guitarist Pat Metheny! Kronos perform on the long title track "Different Trains" – a piece that is both a meditation on train travel and its role in the Holocaust – performed by the quartet with additional sounds from Reich on tape! Metheny's guitar sounds fantastic on "Electric Counterpoint" – a work that's completely faithful to the amazing range of tones and colors he'd been bringing to his own albums for years, but which also reworks things with Reich's minimal modes. CD

Timucin Sahin on guitars, John O'Gallagher on alto sax, Thomas Morgan on bass, and Tyshawn Sorey on drums. CD

Sal Salvador was one of the 50's more accomplished modernist talents on jazz guitar – and his work ranks up there with players like Tal Farlow, or Gil Melle's great bandmate Joe Cinderella. This long-overdue CD brings together some of his best work from the mid 50s – by pairing one rare Blue Note 10" jazz session with another album that Salvador cut as part of Capitol's "Stan Kenton Presents" series. The Blue Note session's got some great tracks that feature tenorist Frank Sokolow, an icy toned genius who's never gotten his just dues. Other cuts (on both the Blue Note and Capitol sessions) feature Eddie Costa on piano and vibes, and titles from both include "See", "Round Trip", "Wheels", "Salutations", "Down Home", and "Yesterdays". 18 cuts in all, in a great looking package that replicates the orignal cover art! CD

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Key early work from trumpeter Jack Sheldon – a set that captures his talents at their most basic and most stripped-down – very much in the spirit of the best LA jazz coming out on the Pacific Jazz label at the time! If the cover makes the set look a bit like a Chet Baker album, that's because there's a bit of the Baker approach here – one that's simple and focused, with a strongly melodic style that comes through beautifully on Sheldon's shimmering horn. But there's also a bit more of an edge, too – thanks to bold piano work from Walter Norris, and the addition of Zoot Sims on a number of tracks – and unlike Baker (or Sheldon on later records), there's no vocals here at all – just a strong instrumental groove. Titles include "Beach-Wise", "Groovus Mentus", "Dozo", "Jack Departs", and "Palermo Walk". CD

Key early work from trumpeter Jack Sheldon – a set that captures his talents at their most basic and most stripped-down – very much in the spirit of the best LA jazz coming out on the Pacific Jazz label at the time! If the cover makes the set look a bit like a Chet Baker album, that's because there's a bit of the Baker approach here – one that's simple and focused, with a strongly melodic style that comes through beautifully on Sheldon's shimmering horn. But there's also a bit more of an edge, too – thanks to bold piano work from Walter Norris, and the addition of Zoot Sims on a number of tracks – and unlike Baker (or Sheldon on later records), there's no vocals here at all – just a strong instrumental groove. Titles include "Beach-Wise", "Groovus Mentus", "Dozo", "Jack Departs", and "Palermo Walk" – plus three bonus tracks! CD

A follow-up to Shorter's successful Footprints Live album – done in the same sort of angular and introspective mode, and also with a group that includes Danilo Perez on piano, John Patitucci on bass, and Brian Blad on drums. The overall style's not as much in the joyous, soulful Shorter mode that we love so much from the earlier years – but the record is a good follow-up to Footprints, and will please if you dig that set. Titles include "Smilin Through", "Joy Ryder", "Tinker Bell", "Over Shadow Hill Way", "Adventures Aboard The Golden Mean", and "Beyond The Sound Barrier". CD

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Wonderful work from Zoot Sims – recorded live in Las Vegas in the mid 70s, and captured with an open-ended feel that features plenty of room for solos! Sims really dominates the record – stepping out front of the rhythm section and blowing some incredibly imaginative lines that get past the shorter mode of his studio sessions. There's a feel here that almost reminds us of Sonny Stitt at his best – Zoot blowing in a relaxedly creative mode that flows out with near-perfect choices in tone and phrasing throughout. Most tracks push the 10 minute mark, and the performance features 6 well-recorded numbers that include Zoot on soprano sax on "Flower Waltz", and back on tenor for the tracks "It Had To Be You", "Thumbs Up", "Emily", "I'll Remember April", and "If I Should Lose You". CD

Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet and flugelhorn, Anthony Davis on piano and synthesizer, Malachi Favors Maghostut on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums and synthesizer. CD

Dayna Stephens on saxophone, Aaron Parks on piano, Ben Street on bass, and Greg Hutchinson on drums. CD

Grant Stewart on tenor saxophone, Bruce Harris on trumpet, Tardo Hammer on piano, David Wong on bass, and Phil Stewart on drums. CD

John Stowell on nylon string and fretless baritone guitar, Dave Glenn on tromboine with the Hawcaptak Quartet. CD

John Stowell on guitars, Michael Zilber on saxophones, John Shifflet on bass, and Jazon Lewis on drums. CD

Joined by the Harlem Quartet. CD

A historic meeting between pianist Art Tatum and tenor sax giant Ben Webster! At some level, it's clear that Tatum's the star of the session – as most tracks start out with that introspective and often complicated approach to the keys that marks his trio and solo work – but Webster always slides in just in time to keep the record from being a standard Tatum outing – blowing with a crisp tone that's beautifully recorded here, and hardly concerned at all with the presence of Red Callender on bass and Bill Douglass on drums – who are much lower in the mix. Titles include "Night & Day", "Where Or When", "My Ideal", "Gone With The Wind", and "All The Things You Are". CD

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An obscure French session cut by the great American tenor player Lucky Thompson, with a group of Parisian players that includes Martial Solal on piano, Pierre Michelot on bass, Michel Hausser on vibes, and Gerard Pochonet on drums. Thompson's sweet tenor sound is given nice backing by the vibes/piano lineup, and the session includes a lot of nice tracks like "Indian Summer", "You Go To My Head", "I Cover The Waterfront", and "East Of The Sun". CD

With Davide Logiri on piano. CD

McCoy Tyner on piano, Joe Lovano on saxophone, Christian McBride on bass, and Jeff "Tain" Watts on drums. CD

Features Ken Vandermark on saxophones, Daniel Scanlan on violin and guitar, Kent Kessler on bass, and Michael Zerang on drums. CD

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Amazing work from this seminal group on the FMP scene – a quartet led by pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach, but equally balanced between the saxes of Evan Parker, bass of Peter Kowald, and percussion of Paul Lovens! We're not sure how much to take the "nails" in the title seriously, but it does sound as if Schlippenbach is playing prepared piano at times – or perhaps his command of the keyboard is just so strong, he can make other-worldly elements come from the instrument whenever he wants! Much of the music has a full-on FMP intensity – that non-stop, sonically adventurous quality inherited from Machine Gun – spun out over three great live improvisations, titled "Range", "Black Holes", and "Three Nails Left". CD

Mal Waldron on piano, Steve Lacy on soprano saxophone, Reggie Workman on bass, and Eddie Moore on drums. CD

A bold statement from the legendary David S Ware Quartet of the early 90s – one of the most powerful forces on the American scene of the time! Ware's own blowing on tenor sax is tremendous enough – a key inheritor of the energy of John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders – but when backed by pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist William Parker, and drummer Whit Dickey, his sound is at its fullest – propelled forth on waves of sound and spirit, ever-searching, but never losing itself in the heavens! Tracks are long and freely creative – and titles include "Inverse Alchemy", "Cocoana", "Earthquation", and "Ideational Blue" – as well as 2 beautiful extrapolations on "Tenderly"! CD

Ernie Watts on tenor saxophone, Christof Sanger on piano, Rudi Engel on bass, and Heinrich Kobberling on drums. CD

A pretty compelling session – one that features Ben Webster playing with the first version of the Modern Jazz Quartet! The recording quality of the material is a bit rough, but Webster's tone cuts right through any shortcomings of the setting – blowing deeply over rhythms by the team of John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke. Titles include "Poutin", "Confirmation", "Lady Be Good", "Nearness Of You", and "Cotton Tail". CD

Buster Williams on bass, Steve Nelson on vibes, Mulgrew Miller on piano, and Carl Allen on drums! CD

A great album recorded in 1963 for Atlantic – one of our favorite ever! Jack Wilson's one of our favorite piano players, and we rave about him all the time on these pages – and one of the reasons why we love him so much is that he was often accompanied by Roy Ayers, who started out his career playing vibes in his group! The pair together are a dream, and this album is arguably their best effort – filled with moody modal cuts, and lots of lyrical interplay that hits these beautiful high points, then dives into pits of darkness. Titles include "Harbor Freeway", "De Critifeux", "Corcovado", "Jackleg", and "Nirvana & Dana". CD

A wonderful testament to alto saxophonist Phil Woods and his long running collaboration with bassist Steve Gilmore and drummer Bill Goodwin. The 5CD set unearths almost two decades of studio and live performances – all previously unissued – and features Mike Melilo, Hal Galper, and Jim McNeely on piano, Tom Harrell and Brian Lynch on trumpet, Hal Crook on trombone, and Harry Leahey on guitar. CD

Genius work from the World Sax Quartet – a really unique ensemble who not only set the tone for a generation of jazz musicians to come, but also gave focus to some richly expressive talents from the 70s underground! The quartet is something of a supergroup right from the start – graced with tremendous reed work by David Murray, Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake, and Hamiet Bluiett – all key American players who really helped transform the sound of jazz in the 70s – coming together here in a whole new way on seminal sides for the Black Saint/Soul Note label! The format – which inspired many others – is really compelling – as the group's sounds come only from saxes, no other instrumentation at all – with the four wind players handling all rhythm and melody, and making some really amazing music in the process. Horn interplay had never been heard so clearly before – especially as here, the stars put aside their egos, and never try to overblow each other – and instead have this brilliant way of working together to craft a new sort of groove. The box set features the albums Steppin With, WSQ, Revue, Live In Zurich, and Live At The Brooklyn Academy Of Music – all with the classic lineup – plus Moving Right Along, which actually features a quintet with Bluiett, Murray, and Lake – joined by James Spaulding and Eric Person. CD

With Hamiet Bluiett, Olive Lake, David Murray, and John Purcell – on saxophones, clarinets, flutes, and bells! CD

One of the best albums ever recorded by the WSQ – a sensitive mix of rhythmic tunes and mellow ballads, played by the group with less agression than on previous releases, but in a way that shows that they're really fitting into the style of the ensemble well. Titles include "Cool Red", "Full Deep & Mellow", "Dance Until Dawn", "Fast Life", "Hattie Wall", and "Sweet D". CD

David Murray on tenor sax & bass clarinet, Hamiet Bluiett on baritone sax, Oliver Lake on alto & soprano sax & Bgruce Williams on curved soprano & alto saxes. CD

With Hamiet Bluiett, Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake, and David Murray on a multitude of saxophones, clarinets – even a bit of flute. Titles include "Ming", "David's Tune", "I Heard That", "Quinn Chapel AME Church", "Affairs Of The Heart", and "Little Samba". CD

Really groundbreaking work from the World Sax Quartet – one of the first, and best, all-horn ensembles! The strength of the album definitely hangs on the backgrounds of the players – Julius Hemphill, Hamiet Bluiett, Oliver Lake, and David Murray – all already key reedmen in left field jazz, with a sense of sound and identity that makes each part of the group as strong as its whole – a great trading of musical minds, spirits, and sounds. Instrumentation includes alto, tenor, baritone, clarinet, soprano sax, and bass clarinet – and titles include "Sundance", "Pillars Latino", "Suite Music", "Sound Light", "Connections", and "Fast Life". CD

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