Columbia/Dusty Groove, 1966. New Copy
Tremendous work from the legendary Prince Lasha – a rare UK-only date from 1966 – and one that has the reedman working away from more familiar contemporaries like Sonny Simmons and Eric Dolphy! The approach on this session is very unique – as Lasha includes harp with the ...
Delmark, 2011. New Copy
A wonderful tribute to Fred Anderson and the creative sanctuary he provided in Chicago at his Velvet Lounge – done wonderfully by saxophonist Ernest Dawkins and his New Horizons Ensemble! The group brilliantly trades in soulful, melodious interplay and sharp left turns into abstractions and ...
Delmark, 2004. New Copy
A strong set of avant jazz resistance from the Chicago scene – and a classic from drummer Ted Sirota, who does a great job of bridging the city's avant jazz and post-rock undergrounds! Sirota's a sometimes-overlooked figure in Chicago jazz – but a record like this stands as a great ...
Delmark, 2013. New Copy
Keefe Jackson's an artist who seems to change the name of his group with each new recording – and for good reason too, given that every album has a very unique, personal feel! This date's a live recording done at the Jazzwerkstatt Festival – and it features Keefe working with a few key ...
Delmark, 1958. New Copy
Some of the few recordings ever made by this tremendous talent from the St Louis scene of the 50s – tenorist Bob Graf, a player with a raspy, modern tone! The work here is nicely stretched out – longer tracks recorded live at Westminster College – partly with a jamming, bop-influe ...
Delmark, 2014. New Copy
Great old school Hammond jazz – featuring a trio with tenorist Sax Gordon in the lead, and Alberto Marsico playing some mighty nice lines on organ! The group's got Alessandro Minetto on drums as its third member – which creates an open, exploratory vibe that's not unlike some of the ...
Delmark, 1949/1951. New Copy
An amazing look at Jazz Ltd – an important outlet for trad jazz in Chicago during the postwar years – and a venue that offered up a crucial residence for a sound that was already beginning to fade in the Windy City! The music here is from the prime early days of the club, and shows the ...
Strut (UK), 1950s/Early 60s. New Copy 3LP Gatefold
A whole new side of the talents of Sun Ra – especially if you only know the longer-style jams on some of his albums from the 60s and 70s! From the very start of his career, Ra was every bit as interested in issuing music on 45s as he was on albums – and in fact, at some of the more ...
Bobby Bradford/Frode Gjerstad/Kent Carter/John Stevens
Blue Cat
No Business (Lithuania), 1991. New Copy
We never cease to be amazed at the sonic sensibilities of the cornet of Bobby Bradford – a musician who always seems to turn out stunning work, no matter what the decade! Here, Bradford is heard in an unissued live performance that features one long improvisation – but a piece that has ...
No Business (Lithuania), 1998. New Copy
The title's a wonderfully poetic one, and the music is too – very open improvisations between Sabu Toyozumi on drums and Yuji Takahashi on piano – along with plenty of percussion from both musicians too! There's a very spacious approach to the music – lots of thoughtful ...
Delmark, 2016. New Copy
Mindblowing sounds from two of the most creative musicians on the contemporary Chicago scene – coming together in a setting that really brings out the best of both of them! Keefe Jackson's a reedman who can blow with a strong sense of freedom, but never lose his way – and, like session ...
Delmark, 2012. New Copy
One of the greatest albums we've heard from Ernest Dawkins in years – and one of the straightest, too! The set's got a hardbop fury we've not always heard from Dawkins – a tight, soulful energy that's spun out beautifully by the local group in the set – a lineup that includes ...
Delmark, 1998. New Copy
Reedman Rich Corpolongo really shines here – playing with even more maturity than on his first album, and showing the world that he's way more than the traditional saxophone swinger he can sometimes be at the clubs! The range of reeds here really opens up the sound – as the set has ...
Delmark, 2017. New Copy
Pianist Paul Giallorenzo has a fantastic flow here – a deeply personal sound that certainly warrants the title – and which is set up beautifully in a trio with Josh Abrams on bass and Mikel Patrick Avery on drums! It's great to hear Abrams working as a sideman in a setting that's a bit ...
Scott Fields Ensemble
Mamet
Delmark, 2000. New Copy
Very angular improvisations from a trio that features Scott Fields on guitar, Michael Formanek on bass, and Michael Zerang on drums – three players who here really echo the boldness of the Chicago free jazz scene at the time! There's a very strong influence from European improvisation going ...
Made In Germany (Germany), 1975. New Copy 2CD
A fantastic live set from reedman Gary Bartz – captured here with his ultra-hip NTU group – who you might know from their classic albums on Milestone in the 70s! Gary's soaring out with a hell of a lot of pride and power right from the start – effortlessly spinning these long ...
Freedom/Muzak (Japan), 1964. New Copy (reissue)
Pre-ESP Records work from the legendary Albert Ayler – and a really special set that definitely shows his strong ties to a previous legacy of African-American music! Ayler always clamed blues and other roots in his sound, but didn't always show them as clearly – given his free-thinking ...
Andex/Muzak (Japan), 1958. New Copy
An amazing little set – one that's got a sound we could hardly expect! The album's a unique Latin jazz session that brings together some of the best talents of the west coast scene of the late 50s – one that features arrangements from Bill Holman, Benny Carter, and Art Pepper – ...
Skye/Muzak (Japan), 1969. New Copy Gatefold
An unusual little soundtrack to this obscure pre-Roots film about slavery – handled with some very nice touches from Gary McFarland, Bobby Scott, and Grady Tate! The music is penned by Scott, and is mostly in that hip blend of jazz and soul roots that he was using on some of his own 60s ...
Delmark, 1996. New Copy
The overdue debut of reedman Ari Brown as a leader – overdue in that Ari had years of Chicago recording experience – including work in Black Jazz label stalwarts The Awakening, and even some time with Ramsey Lewis too! This set has Brown in wonderfully mature formation – more ...
Sackville, 1978. New Copy
Texas tenor from the great Buddy Tate – heard here in a lesser-known session from the 70s – originally done for the indie Sackville label, and easily one of Tate's best recordings from the decade! Buddy's in a nice, loose, open sort of setting – a bit like that on his classic ...
Sackville, 1991. New Copy
We always relish a chance to hear tenorist Don Menza in a stripped-down setting – a place where he can really open up and do his thing, and remind us that although he's equally great in a bigger ensemble, he can really cook in a small combo too! This album's just that sort of setting – ...
Delmark, 2014. New Copy
Maybe the greatest work we've heard so far from Chicago bassist Jason Roebke – a key player on so many sessions for other jazzmen in recent years, but a hell of a visionary leader on his own! Roebke composed all new material for the record – and the set's performed by an octet that's ...
Delmark, 2007. New Copy
A mighty bold statement from the great Keefe Jackson – a Delmark set recorded at a key moment when the Chicago avant jazz scene was exploding with new ideas, and giving birth to a whole new generation! The lineup here bridges two eras, working fantastically under the leadership of Jackson on ...
Delmark, 1991. New Copy
The overdue debut of vibist Jim Cooper – a southside native, and a player who finally got the chance to record in later years – set up here in a group that features excellent tenor work from Chicago legend Ira Sullivan, plus work from Bob Dogan on piano, Dan DeLorenzo on bass, and ...
Delmark, 1996. New Copy
The smoking debut of reedman Rich Corpolongo – and the beginning of a longstanding relationship with Delmark Records! As you can tell from the cover, Rich was hardly a youngster when he cut this album – and that really shows in his seasoned work on alto and soprano sax on the set ...
Steeplechase (Denmark), 2024. New Copy
A fantastic record – one that starts out with a tribute to Pam Grier, and only gets better after that! The set features mostly original material from pianist Mferghu, an artist we don't know that well, but who really blows us away here – working with a mixture of complexity, lyricism, ...
Steeplechase (Denmark), 1961. New Copy
Wonderful live work from one of the hippest groups ever led by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie – his early 60s combo that featured the young Lalo Schifrin on piano and the great Leo Wright on both alto saxophone and flute! Dizzy was really breaking out here – stepping farther from bop, while ...
Okka Disk, 2010. New Copy
A wonderful live performance by this killer Chicago quartet – a group that features Jeb Bishop on trombone, Dave Rempis on saxes, Nate McBride on bass, and Tim Daisy on drums – all really well-matched players who definitely know how to bring out the best in each other! Bishop is ...
Okka Disk, 2009. New Copy 2CD
Three of the greatest saxophonists of the past few decades, teaming up here as a trio, and working at a level of sonic intensity that few other players could match! The set features Mats Gustafsson, Ken Vandermark, and Peter Brotzmann – all blowing tenor, plus a variety of other saxes – ...