Nobody does the Holidays like Steve & Eydie – serving up the goods with that perfect blend of swing and schmaltz that sounds great during the eleven other months of the year, but somehow sounds especially nice at Christmas! Maybe it's the way they interact – which reminds us a lot of the kind of Holiday TV performances we grew up with – or maybe it's the way that Eydie somehow bubbles over with enthusiasm at these weirdly unexpected moments – as if she's hearing some of these seasonal classics for the very first time. Arrangements are by Don Costa, Al Cohn, and Pat Williams – and some tracks feature the pair together, some feature either Steve or Eydie on their own. Titles include "What Are you Doing New Year's Eve", "Sleigh Ride", "Winter Wonderland", "White Christmas", "Let It Snow", "The Christmas Song", "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". Great expanded edition – with bonus tracks that feature the pair singing "Hurry Home For Christmas" and "Baby It's Cold Outside" – plus Steve on "The First Noel", "Go Tell It On The Mountain", "White Christmas", and "Twas The Night Before Christmas" – and Eydie on "My Favorite Things" and "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear". CD

One more amazing chapter in the mighty development of drummer Chico Hamilton – a killer 70s session for Blue Note – and a record that goes way beyond his earlier experiments of the 50s, modal grooves of the 60s, and funk work for the Flying Dutchman label! The style here is fusion, but way fresher than the usual type – neither jamming rock-styled, nor mellow and smooth – and instead always tickled by Hamilton's sense of a unique rhythm, and his continued great ear for inventive use of reeds – in this case handled by Arthur Blythe on alto and Arnie Lawrence on soprano and tenor sax. The set's also got Steve Turre on bass and trombone, and both Barry Finnerty and Joe Beck on electric guitars – but the real genius is Chico himself, who handled arrangements and wrote most of the album's great tracks. Titles include the exotic number "Abdullah & Abraham" – plus "Andy's Walk", "Peregrinations", "It's About That Time", "Sweet Dreams", "On & Off", "Little Lisa", and "Space For Stacy". CD

One of the most fantastic Pharoah Sanders albums – and one that we'd rate head and shoulders above most of his other work! You rarely see this one, which is a shame, because it's not only a beautiful spiritual masterpiece, but it's also got a sound that's very unique, and a nice shift from the Impulse records too! Pharoah's playing with a small group that includes instrumentation you don't usually hear on his albums – like organ and guitar – but the addition of these instruments is used in a way that augments Pharoah's spiritual style, not suppresses it – in a lineup that includes guitar from Munoz, organ from Jiggs Chase, bass from Steve Neil, drums from Greg Bandy, and percussion from Lawrence Killian – all very unusual players, which furthers the unusual sound of the album! Pharoah vocalizes a bit on a version of "Love Will Find A Way" that has a warm spacey groove, and a nice conga base – and the other tracks on the LP are "Harvest Time" and "Memories Of Edith Johnson". This beautiful package also includes rare material added to the album – two long live takes of "Harvest Time", a tremendous track that features Khalid Moss on electric piano and Pharoah stretching out in Teresa Records soulful modes – plus great notes as well! CD