One of the most hard-hitting sessions ever recorded for the Bethlehem label – and a rare date for the imprint by the team of trumpeter Donald Byrd and saxophonist Pepper Adams! The style here is similar to work the pair recorded for Riverside and Blue Note at the same time – razor-sharp hardbop, played with a strong sense of imagination, and plenty of room for drawn-out, creatively-blown solos. Adams is especially great – playing the baritone here with the leanness of a tenor sax – but Byrd is wonderful too, and really starts to break out of some of the more staid modes of his work from a few years back. The group's a sextet that includes guitarist Kenny Burrell, pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer "Hey" Lewis (another name for Louis Hayes?) – on titles that include "Trio", "Philson", "Libeccio", and "Bitty Ditty". CD

One of the greatest albums on the Bethlehem label – and one of the first albums as a leader by the legendary Booker Ervin! At the time of the set, Ervin had come off a great stint with the Charles Mingus group – one that inflected his rootsy Texas tenor tones with a sharper modern edge – heard to perfection on this great little session, which is equal parts hard swinging soul jazz and dark-tinged early 60s modern! Zoot Sims joins Booker in the front line, and the two of them trade tenor solos throughout on the album's long compositions – grooving with a great sextet that includes Tommy Turrentine on trumpet, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and Mingus' drummer Dannie Richmond on the kit! Cuts include "Largo", "The Book Cooks", "The Blue Book", and "Git It". CD

A trio of albums from one of our favorite trumpeters on the European scene! First up is Portrait – a set that stands as a tribute to trumpeter Dusko Goykovich's 70 years on this planet – and a record that features him in a variety of settings too! Other players include Ferdinand Povel on flute and tenor, Tony Lakatos on tenor, Steve Gut on trumpet, Isla Eckinger and Ray Drummond on basses, Abraham Burton on alto, and Kenny Barron and Tommy Flanagan on pianos – on titles that include "Recado Bossa Nova", "Balkan Blue", "Adriatica", "One For Klook", and "Inga". Next is Swinging Macedonia – a legendary German session from the 60s – and a record that really showcases the unusual criss-crossing of modes that was going on in the European scene at the time! There's a very strong MPS vibe here – as trumpeter Dusko Goykovich leads a swinging sextet that includes Nathan Davis on flute, soprano, and tenor – blowing some tremendously soulful reed lines – plus incredible rhythms from Mal Waldron on piano, Peter Trunk on bass, and Cees See on drums. The record's an attempt to bring traditional Macedonian rhythms into a jazz perspective – but with players like these, it swings in a way any Macedonian album never could – damn soulful, and with a great exotic vibe. Davis is especially great, and plays in a soaring modal vein that's similar to his work on his classic MPS sides, and on the records he cut in America in the early 70s. The album's a beautiful session that often get's overlooked because it blends it with the Enja catalog – but it's really more of a record that belongs in an MPS reissue series, and is a great lost groover that's waiting to be rediscovered by the Dusty Groove crowd. Titles include "Macedonia", "Old Fisherman's Daughter", "Jumbo Uganda", "Bem Basha", "Saga Se karame", and "The Nights Of Skopje". Brandenberg Concert features one of the greatest trumpeters on the European scene of the past few decades – heard here in a completely sublime setting! Dusko Goykovich has played in many styles and many ways, but hasn't ever done a date with full strings before – a long-overdue placement for his wonderful tone on trumpet – shimmering out front of a larger ensemble, in the manner of classic "with strings" dates by Dizzy Gillespie or Art Farmer! Altoist Peter King arranged the album – and titles are all originals by Dusko, some of which you might know from earlier records – reworked here beautifully for the new setting. King also solos on a handful of tracks too – a rich voice that provides a nice balance with Dusko's trumpet. Strings are never overdone, and the album's always got a nice swing from a core rhythm trio that features Renato Chicco on piano. Titles include "Good Old Days", "Handful O Soul", "Danca Comigo", "St Germain Des Pres", "Adriatica", "In My Dreams", and "I Miss You So". CD

Pivotal work from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard – eleven full albums recorded by the young jazzman as a leader, together showing a really incredible scope of his talents in just a few short years in the studio! The Blue Note albums here already show an incredible evolution – from initial hardbop crackle at the best level of the label, to a slight shift into new thing territory that marks a more experimental side of Freddie's work that would take off later in the 60s. There's also two Impulse Records releases in the package – the completely sublime sextet outing of The Artistry Of Freddie Hubbard – a great date with Curtis Fuller on trombone, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and John Gilmore on tenor – making a rare appearance in the studio away from the Sun Ra Arkestra! The other Impulse album is titled Body & Soul – and has Hubbard amidst a larger group of modernists on most tracks, with these incredible Wayne Shorter arrangements – then in a small group with shorter on tenor and Eric Dolphy on alto and flute. Blue Note albums include Breaking Point, Blue Spirits, Open Sesame, Going Up, Hub Cap, Ready For Freddie, Hub Tones, and Here To Stay – with players who include Tina Brooks, Jimmy Heath, and Wayne Shorter on tenors; McCoy Tyner, Cedar Walton, and Herbie Hancock on pianos; Paul Chambers, Sam Jones, and Reggie Workman on basses; and James Spaulding making a key early appearance on alto and flute. 70 long tracks in all – and a very detailed booklet of notes with rare photos! CD

One of the best of the early 60s comeback albums by the legendary bop trumpeter Howard McGhee – and a record that really has the player finding a whole new groove in his music! At this point, Maggie's got a fantastic tone that was missing from his earlier records, filled with pain and raw emotion – but also measured with a maturity that gives his solos an incredible sense of economy that delivers a whole hell of a lot with just a few simple notes – a balance that comes through beautifully here, maybe even more so than on any other record by Howard from the time! He's playing here in a great group that includes Roland Alexander on tenor, Bennie Green on trombone, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and Pepper Adams on baritone – and tracks include "Dusty Blue", "Groovin High", "Cottage For Sale", "Flyin Colors", and "With Malice Towards None". CD

One of the coolest jazz vocal albums you'll ever find! Frank Minion sings this suite of tracks billed as an "Introduction To Black Opium Street", and he puts the music together with little recitations in between the tracks, so that the whole thing sounds like one of the great Langston Hughes jazz albums from the same period. Minion's singing voice is in the same rich-toned tradition as singers like Johnny Hartman, but his speaking voice is raw and very soulful – and he gets more than able backing by a great set of players that includes Tommy Flanagan on piano, Roland Alexander on tenor and flute, Dannie Richmond on drums, and Paul Chambers on bass. The whole album sounds more like a rare session on Candid than it does the usual stuff on Bethlehem – and it's a surprisingly hip album that still holds up well over the years! Titles include "Oddsville USA", "Bongo Blues", "Autobiography Of A Musician", "Watermelon", "Flamenco Sketches", "Laughing Boy", and "Later". CD

A great lost chapter in the career of Sonny Rollins – material recorded live at MOMA in 1965, but unissued until this brief package in the late 70s! The work is right up there with Rollins' best for RCA at the time, and almost feels a bit like his live Village Vanguard material from Blue Note – freewheeling, open, and with that continuously creative style that marks his solo talents at their best! The group's a quartet – with Tommy Flanagan on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and either Billy Higgins or Mickey Roker on drums – and tracks are longish, and have that arch mix of modern and traditional modes that we always appreciate in Rollins. Titles include "On Green Dolphin Street", "To A Wild Rose", "Three Little Words", and "There Will Never Be Another You". CD

Really compelling large group work from Phil Woods – one of his first-ever efforts of its type, and a tremendous session that's filled with solos from a wide array of very hip players! The whole album's built around a 5-part "Rights Of Swing" work penned by Woods – a jazz modern number that's obviously taking off of Stravinsky, but without any classical overtones at all – just jazz-based instrumentation from players who include Benny Bailey on trumpet, Julius Watkins on French horn, Sahib Shihab on baritone sax, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and Curtis Fuller on trombone. The horn interplay is wonderful – and the solos are too! CD

A classic early 60s session for Candid Records – put together by a group that includes Charles Mingus, Max Roach, and a host of other musicians who were working here as "Newport Rebels" – by setting up the Jazz Artists Guild Festival as a protest against the increasingly commercialized Newport date! And for the record, the group definitely live up to their name – really shaking off the easier modes popularized at the Newport festival, and coming across with a style that's much more modern, firey, and righteous! Other artists include Abbey Lincoln on vocals, Booker Little on trumpet, Tommy Flanagan on piano, Eric Dolphy on saxophone, and Jimmy Knepper on trombone – and titles include a great rendition of "Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do" – plus 2 other great originals, "Cliff Walk" by Booker Little and "Mysterious Blues" by Mingus. CD

An overlooked US date from 1970 – a set that Dexter Gordon recorded during a quick stop home from his time abroad – really cooking away in the Prestige studios with a great little rhythm section, in ways that are quite different than his better-known European work of the time! The title cut's a groover that definitely matches the promise of its name – a slinky soul jazz number driven along nicely by a rhythm trio that features Tommy Flanagan on piano, Larry Ridley on bass, and Alan Dawson on drums. The group keep things interesting on other cuts too – even when Gordon's dominating with the kind of inventive solo lines he was forging in Europe – and most tracks are longish, with plenty of room for action. Titles include "The Panther", "Valse Robin", "Mrs Miniver", and "The Blues Walk". CD

A true giant step for John Coltrane – and one of the first albums to really showcase his talent as a writer – and his amazing ability for penning some of the most soulful, spiritual themes in jazz! Apart from the well-known title cut, the record's filled with other Coltrane classics – key early readings of "Naima", "Cousin Mary", "Mr PC", "Spiral", and "Syeeda's Song Flute" – all showing a new sense of timing, phrasing, and pacing in jazz – one that would go on to have a huge impact on players in the 70s generation! The group here is relatively straight – Tommy Flanagan or Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Taylor on drums – but the players have never sounded better, and really match Coltrane's sense of power and imagination on these legendary tracks! Great 2CD version – with a completely new mastering of the record, bonus notes, and a full set of unreleased outtakes and alternates – including "Naima (alt)", "Like Sonny (alt)", "Count Down (alt)", "Syeeda's Song Flute (alt)", "Giant Steps (incomplete alt take 1)", and two more takes of "Giant Steps". CD

A rare treasure from Thad Jones – a unique one-off session for United Artists, cut right around the same time as his classic 50s dates for Blue Note! The format is very laidback and open-ended – not really a blowing session, but kind of a relaxed studio outing – one that has Jones working with some players from his Detroit hometown, laying solos in the cut over some warmly soulful rhythms! Tracks are all nice and long, which gives plenty of room for solos – and in addition to Jones on cornet and flugelhorn, the set also features trombone from Al Grey, tenor from Billy Mitchell, piano from Tommy Flanagan, bass from Paul Chambers, and drums from Elvin Jones. Mitchell is always amazing in a set like this – and the album's one of his few small group sets of the time – worth it alone for his excellent playing. Titles include "Like Old Times", "Minor On Top", "Let's Play One", and "No Refill". CD

We love the 70s work of Japanese pianist Fumio Karashima – and this album is one of our favorites from the decade! Fumio's got this way of being both bold and lyrical at the same time – long flows on the keyboard that are partly in the school of McCoy Tyner, but used to transform the more personal touches of an older scene like Hank Jones or Tommy Flanagan – really bursting forth here with long tracks that bristle with the new sort of imagination that the Japanese scene was unlocking at the time! The rest of the trio is equally great – with George Mraz on bass and Motohiko Hino on drums – and titles include "Tears", "Revlis", "Landscape", "The Fall", and "In My Usual Wal". CD