Elvin Jones rose to fame in the company of one of the greatest saxophone players ever – the mighty John Coltrane – and his post-Coltrane work like this really continues a keen respect for the role of the reeds in jazz – and really does a lot to push it forward as well! There's a compelling edge to the record that's light years from Elvin's work with Coltrane – a completely new sensibility that can be spacious one minute, extremely powerful the next – and quite possibly realized to its fullest potential here, thanks to the mindblowing contributions of Dave Liebman on tenor and soprano sax, Frank Foster on tenor and flute, and Joe Farrell on alto and soprano sax. All three players work together on each track – and all shift reeds throughout the session – opening up majestically with inspiration from Elvin's drums, and some wonderful work from Gene Perla on bass. The sound is beyond easy categorization or simple style – and the record's filled with wonderful titles that include "PP Phoenix", "For All The Other Times", "Three Card Monty", and "Cecilia Is Love". LP, Vinyl record album

The title's a great one for this post-Coltrane cooker from Elvin Jones – as the set really has Elvin exploring some really fresh currents in jazz, with a range of complicated rhythms that really pull the whole session along strongly! Rhythm is really set free on the record – as Elvin works to unlock some tremendous new possibilities in jazz, but all at a level that's quite different than his previous work with his famous leader – a rich tapestry of new spiritual expression that's carried off wonderfully by Joe Farrell on flute, tenor, and English horn – plus George Coleman on tenor, Pepper Adams on baritone, and a bit more flute from Fred Tompkins. There's no piano on the album at all – and Wilbur Little plays some tremendous bass, with some occasional conga work from Candido as well. Titles are all originals by group members – or Mrs Jones – and titles include "Whew", "Agenda", "Agappe Love", "Mr Jones", and "Yes". LP, Vinyl record album

Searing work as a leader from drummer Elvin Jones – a set recorded very early on in his years at Blue Note, just a few weeks after the death of John Coltrane – yet one that was never issued by the label at the time! The location is a regular gig that Jones was holding down in New York – and already, he's starting to find that special place that makes his work as a leader so different than the work he did with John Coltrane – really embracing the talents of a young Joe Farrell on tenor sax, who gets plenty of space to soar out with long, bracing solos – as he will soon do on other Elvin Jones albums for the label! The rest of the group features Billy Greene on piano and Wilbur Little on bass – and titles include very long takes of "Keiko's Birthday March", "ME", "On The Trail", "13 Avenue B", "My Funny Valentine", "Oleo", and "Softly In A Morning Sunrise" – plus a version of "Gingerbread Boy" with Larry Young on piano! LP, Vinyl record album

Surprisingly wonderful work from Kenny! The album has Kenny's guitar set to arrangements by Gil Evans – who gives the session a modern edge that really sets it apart from other Burrell albums of the time. Kenny's freed to do his thing – wonderfully, we might add – and Gil paints these washes of sound, color, and tone with the help of hip players like Johnny Coles, Louis Mucci, Julius Watkins, Steve Lacy, Richie Kamuca, Elvin Jones, and Lee Konitz. Tracks include "Lotus Land", "Downstairs", "Moon & Sand", "Terrace Theme", "Greensleeves", and "Loie". LP, Vinyl record album

A lost treasure from the legendary John Coltrane Quartet – material recorded as the soundtrack for the Canadian film Le Chat Danse Le Sac – which features new recordings of material that Coltrane had done in previous years, but really updated by the fresh version of this group! Although the music was used in the film, which was an art house hit at best, it's never been issued on record before – and in fact, its existence was something of a mystery until not that long ago – quite a surprise, given that the sessions were done at Rudy Van Gelder's studio, and have a quality level that really matches the Impulse Records best by these musicians! The tunes are almost like this amazing bridge between the mid 60s Impulse years and the Coltrane sound at the start of the decade on Atlantic – as the grooves are modal, and most music is more inside than the group was hitting by 1965 – yet still burning with that searching spirit that made them so great. The lineup, of course, features John Coltrane on tenor, McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – and the whole thing is an instant key addition to the catalog of this tremendous quartet. Titles include two takes on "Naima", three takes on "Village Blues", and the tracks "Like Sonny", "Traneing In", and "Blue World". LP, Vinyl record album

Sharp-edged John Coltrane at his best – a record that we'd rank right up there with Love Supreme, and which is a key transition point in Coltrane's musical ideas! There's a very strong edge to Coltrane's tone here – and even on the mellower ballads, he plays with a sound not always heard before – a quality that's bristlingly modern, and which really opens up on some of the longer numbers on the set. Rhythm is by the classic quartet with McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – and the sound is always pushing the boundaries towards new ideas, but always keeps nicely inside throughout! Titles include "Crescent", "Wise One", "Lonnie's Lament", and "The Drum Thing". LP, Vinyl record album

A lost slice of work from the mighty John Coltrane – and a set that features the equally great Eric Dolphy up on stage with Trane at the Village Gate! These never-issued recordings are every bit as wonderful as the Village Vanguard material recorded during the same year – with the group moving with boundless energy, maybe even at a level that they wouldn't show on studio recordings for a few years later – bold piano from McCoy Tyner, superb bass from Reggie Workman, and unbridled drums from Elvin Jones – all given further inspiration by the presence of Dolphy, who blows bass clarinet and flute on the record! Trane is already really taking off with the soprano sax, which gets plenty of beautiful solo space here – on tunes that include a rare live take on "Africa", plus an early reading of "Impressions", and "My Favorite Things", "When Lights Are Low", and "Greensleeves" – the latter of which is done in a sublime modal style. LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe one of the greatest jazz albums of all time – a real breakthrough moment for the legendary John Coltrane, and the blueprint for generations of jazz records to come! Trane was already breaking down plenty of boundaries before Love Supreme – but he knocked it out of the park for the album – which is a full-length suite of spiritual expression, one that gives even greater focus and message to Coltrane's long-spiralling style of soloing on the tenor sax! The group here is the classic quartet – McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – taking Trane up to the heavens on waves of modal energy, but also holding his spirit closer to the planet than on some of later, more outside performances. There's a slight bit of vocalization on the record – that chanted energy that imbues the set with so much love – and movements include "Acknowledgement", "Resolution", "Pursuance", and "Psalm". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe one of the greatest jazz albums of all time – a real breakthrough moment for the legendary John Coltrane, and the blueprint for generations of jazz records to come! Trane was already breaking down plenty of boundaries before Love Supreme – but he knocked it out of the park for the album – which is a full-length suite of spiritual expression, one that gives even greater focus and message to Coltrane's long-spiraling style of soloing on the tenor sax! The group here is the classic quartet – McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – taking Trane up to the heavens on waves of modal energy, but also holding his spirit closer to the planet than on some of later, more outside performances. There's a slight bit of vocalization on the record – that chanted energy that imbues the set with so much love – and movements include "Acknowledgement", "Resolution", "Pursuance", and "Psalm". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic addition to the John Coltrane catalog, and a set that's wonderful for so many different reasons it's hard to fit them all in one short passage! As the title implies, the album features a rare live performance of "Love Supreme" – done in 1965, when the work was new both to the world, and the classic Coltrane quartet with McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. Yet the version here is also very different than the album reading – looser, with more "interlude" passages – at a level that already has the group drinking in the spirit of the tune, and finding a way to rise with a new spiritual majesty! Another key part of the recording is the presence of Pharoah Sanders on tenor – making a very early appearance with the group – amidst a septet lineup that also features a very young Carlos Ward on alto, and Donald Rafael Garrett on bass – players who expand the lineup in ways that show some of Coltrane's growing experiments past the quartet structure. The whole thing was recorded at the Penthouse Club in Seattle – a place that's given us some other fantastic "lost" recordings from the 60s in recent years – and the record is essential listening, even if you own the studio Love Supreme record, or any other Coltrane records at all. LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal meeting of the old and new generations of jazz in the 60s – put together in perfect Impulse fashion! At some level, this is actually an early 60s John Coltrane Quartet album – with Duke Ellington sitting in for McCoy Tyner on piano, as that's the lineup on about half of the album – tracks that feature Coltrane on tenor, Elvin Jones on drums, and Jimmy Garrison on bass, all working with Ellington on the keys. On other titles, though, the album features Coltrane playing with a Duke-ish trio that has Aaron Bell on bass and Sam Woodyard on drums – slightly less modern, but with a nice sense of depth throughout! Overall, the the record does a great job of balancing between the best talents of both players – and titles include "Big Nick", "The Feeling Of Jazz", "Take The Coltrane", and "My Little Brown Book". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic lost set from modernist genius Gil Evans – one that expands on some of the larger group territory he was exploring with Miles Davis at Columbia Records – but with an even hipper range of soloists overall! The lineup on the record is an all-star one – mostly top shelf players, not studio musicians – and the set has Evans making room in the arrangements for key solo performances by giants who include Johnny Coles on trumpet, Steve Lacy on soprano sax, Budd Johnson on tenor, Ray Crawford on guitar, and both Curtis Fuller and Jimmy Cleveland on trombones – all players who each bring some key moments of magic to the larger arrangements on the album. Evans himself plays piano, and drums are by Elvin Jones and Dennis Charles – which should give you an idea of the modernist inclinations in the music. And although the title says "standards", the tunes here are definitely on the hipper side of the jazz spectrum of the 50s, expanded with beautiful modern arrangements by Gil – on versions of "Joy Spring", "Ballad Of The Sad Young Men", "Django", "Straight No Chaser", and "Chant Of The Weed". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent 60s work by tenorist Stan Getz – a completely sublime meeting with pianist Bill Evans – tunes recorded in 1964, but not issued at the time, even though they are fantastic – because Verve Records instead wanted to really focus on Stan's bossa nova recordings! The pairing of Getz and Bill Evans is a wonderful one here – as both players are at their warmest, and working with a wonderful sense of tone throughout – Stan, slightly lyrical at times – and Bill, with some slight brooding undercurrents that really add some depth to the set. The rest of the group features either Ron Carter or Richard Davis on bass, plus Elvin Jones on drums – and titles include "Funkallero", "Melinda", "Grandfather's Waltz", "My Heart Stood Still", and "Night & Day". LP, Vinyl record album

A set titled after a Beatles hit of the 60s, but one that's got a lot more depth than that – as the record is a landmark moment in the development of organ/guitar jazz at the time – a set that features the key pairing of guitarist Grant Green and Hammond modernist Larry Young! As with other records from the duo, there's a sense of rhythmic progression and tonal inflection here that's quite different than more standard soul jazz of the time – a complexity that also comes from the drum work of Elvin Jones, and which is topped by the soulful expressions of Hank Mobley on tenor – the last member of this all-star quartet! The whole thing's great – based around loose, free rhythms – and featuring searching solos that also still remain nicely swinging and in the pocket! Titles include "Corcovado", "Stella By Starlight", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", and "At Long Last Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic session of 60s "new thing" jazz – and one of our favorite early records by Joe Henderson – exactly the kind of album to show why his emergence in the decade was such an important new voice in jazz! The album features some incredibly hard playing from Joe – with a very dark edge to his solos that's nicely offset by McCoy Tyner's lyrical piano, and the supple rhythms of Bob Cranshaw on bass and Elvin Jones drums – a really magical quartet who come across very different here than you might expect from the Coltrane legacies of Tyner and Jones! Instead, Henderson makes his presence known right from the very first note – as his voice on the tenor is completely singular – and titles include the Henderson originals "Inner Urge", "Isotope" and "El Barrio" – plus the great Duke Pearson song "You Know I Care", and the standard "Night & Day". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those 90s albums that really made people sit up and take notice of saxophonist Joe Lovano – a musician who'd been appearing on records since the 70s, but who finally got the due he deserved when Blue Note let him open up like this! The album's got a relatively loose, open vibe – almost free, but still swinging at most points – as Joe blows tenor, soprano, and straight alto sax in a trio with the great bassist Dave Holland, the the legendary Elvin Jones on drums! In some way, the record's an extension of that vibe that Jones had in the early 70s – when he's really let a strong reed player take the lead, while also egging him on with his boundless energy – interplay that definitely happens here, on titles that include "New York Fascination", "Eternal Joy", "Villa Paradiso", "Days Of Yore", "4 On The Floor", and "Studio Rivbea". LP, Vinyl record album

The complete recordings of sessions that led to one of the greatest Sonny Rollins records ever – and a genre-defining record that really introduced the world to the concept of a tenor saxophone trio! Rollins is incredible here – really at his best and most adventurous, and almost light years ahead of his work from just a few short years before – working just with the drums of Elvin Jones and bass of Wilbur Ware for accompaniment – as he spins out these long solos that are full of all sorts of sharp modern edges! The lack of piano really makes for something different and fresh in the music – and with this record, Rollins created a format that so many others would take up in years to come. Note that the record also features a small bit of work with Donald Bailey on bass and Pete LaRoca on drums – an equally great rhythm duo! This package features all the material recorded for the Village Vanguard album, plus lots more unissued at the time – titles that include "Night In Tunisia", "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise", "Old Devil Moon", "Striver's Row", "Get Happy", "Four", "Woody N You", "All The Things You Are", "I Can't Get Started", and "I've Got You Under My Skin" – some in more than one version! LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic 80s work from Pharoah Sanders – with a vibe that's a perfect extension of his classic work for the Impulse label! The album has Pharoah working with an amazing group – Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, John Hicks and Joe Bonner on piano, Art Davis on bass, and either Elvin Jones or Billy Higgins on drums. The sound is remarkably fresh – soaring and spiritual, but also more focused than in earlier years, with a great amount of soulful warmth. And although extra elements are added – like vocals, vibes, and added percussion – Pharoah's solos still dominate the whole album beautifully. Titles include "Rejoice", "Origin", "Moments Notice", "Central Park West", "Farah", "Ntjilo Ntjilo/Bird Song", and "Nigerian Juju Hilife". LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant work as a leader from McCoy Tyner – and easily one of his most righteous albums ever – a true batch of spiritual gems that really takes the John Coltrane legacy one step further! Most numbers build with a modal vibe that's more Impulse Records than Blue Note – and players on the set include Alice Coltrane on harp, Gary Bartz on alto, Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano sax, Ron Carter on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – a wonderful lineup that really holds tightly to the soaring, soulful energy that Tyner spins from his piano – a mode that's never too far out or avant, yet which stretches to the skies with a heavenly vision. The whole thing's wonderful – and tracks include "Message From The Nile", "The Wanderer", "Survival Blues", and "His Blessings". LP, Vinyl record album

A great album from McCoy Tyner – a set that's steeped in the modal soulfulness of his years with John Coltrane, but also handled in a way that really has him breaking away from the pack a bit! Half the album's played with a trio that features Jimmy Garrison on bass – but the strongest cuts feature a sextet with John Gilmore on tenor (making a rare non-Sun Ra appearance), Frank Strozier on alto, Thad Jones on trumpet, Butch Warren on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – all working beautifully together in an early example of the soulful group groove that Tyner would hit even more strongly in the post-Coltrane years. Titles include "T N A Blues", "Three Flowers", "Contemporary Focus", and "Night In Tunisia". LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant album that would forever change the way the organ was used in jazz! The set's the greatest contribution ever from organist Larry Young – a lean and modal session recorded with help from a young quartet that includes Woody Shaw on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor, and Elvin Jones on drums – all leaping and loping with Larry's free-thinking work on the Hammond – stretching things out into spiritual grooves that belie Young's fascination with Coltrane's sound of the time, and his freer fusion work of later years! The Hammond had never sounded so righteous before – freed from the task of thumping out a deeper rhythm, and let loose to explore the same space carved out by Shaw and Henderson's horns! Titles include a classic reading of Woody's "Moontrane", plus "Zoltan", "If", "Beyond All Limits", and "Monk's Dream". LP, Vinyl record album

Genius, pure genius! Like all of Wayne Shorter's Blue Note sessions from the mid 60s, this album's a beautiful blend of hard bop ideas with a modern spiritual soulful consciousness – as important in its own way as Coltrane's work of the time – an incredible precursor for sounds from generations to come! Shorter's tenor solos are the main focus here, and he plays with creativity and imagination that you don't often hear on his later works – a sharp, soulful approach – but one that's already light years ahead of some of his Blue Note contemporaries – reaching for new ideas, but without any sense of effort – none of the overly-tense notes you'd get later, and instead just a marvelously fluid feel that really makes sense from the very first note – tremendous listening for both the lifetime jazz fan or the newcomer. McCoy Tyner plays piano, and Reggie Workman and Elvin Jones complete the group – and titles include "House Of Jade", "Deluge", "Mahjong", and "Yes Or No". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful – simply beautiful – one of the greatest Wayne Shorter albums for Blue Note, and one of our favorite jazz albums ever! The record is a masterpiece of lyrical delight – soul jazz mixed with slight touches of experimentalism – but still warm, swinging, and personal enough to captivate even the most novice jazz listener. A players are at the top of their game – and in addition to Shorter's tenor, the group features Lee Morgan on trumpet, McCoy Tyner on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. The tracks unfold in lyrical, modal beauty in a really wonderful way that was barely ever duplicated again – and titles include "Night Dreamer", "Oriental Folk Song", "Virgo", "Charcoal Blues", "Armageddon", and "Black Nile". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first records ever as a leader from funky drummer Idris Muhammad – a set that was cut right at the same time Idris was burning up the kit on his classic jazz funk sessions with other Prestige label players! The groove here is tight, funky, and very much in the mode that Muhammad laid down for other bigger soloists – a solid, socking sound that was the early 70s inheritance of the "Popcorn" funk groove of the late 60s. Players here are all great – and include Melvin Sparks on guitar, Harold Mabern on electric piano, and Virgil Jones on trumpet – and tracks include great covers of "Express Yourself" and "Super Bad", plus "Wander" and "Soulful Drums". LP, Vinyl record album

There's plenty of R&B Christmas collections on the market, but this is one of the best – a really well-done collection that goes way past the over-played hits, and features some really rare treasures in the genre! Although a holiday set, this one's put together with the same depth and care of Ace Records' usual rare soul collections – and features a well-chosen batch of obscure singles, mostly from the west coast and Memphis scenes of the 50s – all supported by great notes, top-shelf packaging, and a really overstuffed set list! Titles include "Christmas Celebration" by BB King, "Santa Claus Baby" by The Voices, "White Hot Christmas" by The Elves, "I Wanna Spend Christmas With You" by Lowell Fulsom, "I Want You With Me Christmas" by Jesse Belvin, "Dig That Crazy Santa Claus" by Oscar McLollie & The Honey Jumpers, "Crazy Santa Claus" by The Debonaires, "Gonna Have A Merry Xmas" by The Nic Nacs, "Merry Christmas Baby" by Mari Jones, "Christmas Bells" by Bobby Nunn, and "Xmas Baby" by Riff Ruffin. LP, Vinyl record album

The setting is the Golden Gate, but the sound is pure Philly International – a rare early live performance from the label, featuring some of its key vocal heavyweights working here with live accompaniment from MFSB! Although the instrumental group backed Philly artists often in the studio, this 1973 concert marks the only time they worked live with the singers – in a stunning showcase for the young label, performed as part of a Columbia Records convention in San Francisco! Given the setting, and the uniqueness of the whole event, the release of this rare material is a treasure for soul fans of many generations – a rare addition to the amazing run of music the label first started giving us at the time. The set begins with MFSB doing a version of "Freddie's Dead" – then runs into Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes singing "I Miss You", "The Love I Lost", and "If You Don't Know Me By Now" – followed by Three Degrees on "I Didn't Know" and "Dirty Ol Man". MFSB then follow with "TSOP", then Billy Paul sings "East" and "Me & Mrs Jones", and the set ends with The O'Jays on "Love Train", "Sunshine", "Back Stabbers", and "When The World's At Peace". LP, Vinyl record album

Badass organ funk from the mighty Leon Spencer – a set that's got a bit of a fuller feel than some of his previous albums for Prestige – but a groove that's also equally great! The style here is somewhere between blacksploitation funk and some of the grooves from the CTI/Kudu camp – with a bit more horns than before on some of the titles, arranged tightly to provide a great foil for Leon's leaner lines on Hammond! Arrangements are by Ed Bogas on the fuller tracks, and players on the album include Hubert Laws on flute, Frank Wess on baritone, Victor Paz and Virgil Jones on trumpet, Joe Beck on guitar, Melvin Sparks on guitar, and Grady Tate on drums. One track features Leon working in a smaller trio format – and titles include "Superstition", "Give Me Your Love", "The Price A Po Man's Got To Pay", "Where I'm Coming From", and "Trouble Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Jazzy 45s galore – and a huge dip into the vaults of Prestige Records! This tasty set brings together 18 classics recorded in the heyday of the jazz funk years at Prestige – the late 60s and early 70s, a time when the soul jazz sounds of previous years were being forged into a leaner, meaner, harder-hitting groove. And although the LP was the growing format during these days, there was actually a heck of a lot of great work issued on 45s – still spinning strong with the jukebox crowds in the clubs and tap rooms, and still getting major play on radio stations, where the single was still king. The set features many 45 mixes of funky classics that you might know from LPs – and intersperses them with some other more obscure numbers pulled from full albums – making for an all-solid, all-funky set of tracks from one of the hippest jazz labels ever! Titles include "Fire Eater" by Rusty Bryant, "Don't Knock My Love" by Idris Muhammad, "Jungle Strut" by Gene Ammons, "Express Yourself" by Idris Muhammad, "Right On" by Boogaloo Joe Jones, "Who's Gonna Take The Weight" by Melvin Sparks, "Sing A Simple Song" by Charles Earland, "Son Of Man" by Houston Person, "Listen Here (part 1)" by Freddie McCoy, "Black Talk (part 1)" by Charles Earland, "Message From The Meters" by Leon Spencer, "Reelin With The Feeling" by Charles Kynard, "I Want You Back" by Harold Mabern, and "Thank You (part 1)" by Melvin Sparks. LP, Vinyl record album