Features piano from Red Garland and Shirley Scott! CD

Gentle genius from Red Garland – working here in classic trio formation with Sam Jones and Art Taylor – on a mellow set of late nite numbers and subtle ballads, all carried off in the best tradition of the Moodsville label! Eddie Lockjaw Davis joins the group on 3 tracks on the set – blowing in a style that's spare, open-mouthed, and amazingly soulful – more so almost than even his best ballad blowing on his organ-based records for Prestige during the same time. Davis really sparkles tremendously on the tunes "Softly Baby", "When Your Lover Has Gone", and "We'll Be Together Again" – and other tracks include "Stella By Starlight", "Blue Room", and "Wonder Why". CD

A beautiful tribute to one of the first great pairings of Hammond and tenor – the saxophone of Eddie Lockjaw Davis and the organ of Shirley Scott – presented here in four classic albums that would forever change the face of jazz! The "cookbook" in the title is a reference to the name of the first three records in the set – The Eddie Lockjaw Davis Cookbook records, volumes 1 to 3 – and the set is completed with the great album Smokin, which also pairs Scott and Davis together! The records were key dates for both players – for Davis, a way to firmly move into the world of jazz after roots in more R&B-styled recordings – on long tracks that really showed the world what a tremendous soloist he could be when he had the chance to stretch out. And for Scott, a way to showcase her budding talents on the Hammond – in ways that have a lot more bite than her later trio sides, and which also mark her as a different organ jazz stylist from contemporary Jimmy Smith. All four records here are presented with a new set of notes, and in a really wonderful package overall – finally together after all these years! CD

The first album by Eddie Daniels – and loads better than most of his later work! About half the tracks feature Daniels playing clarinet, which is OK – but the best ones have him on tenor, working away in a lyrical modal mode that's really great. The rhythm's by a trio that includes Roland Hanna, Richard Davis, and Mel Lewis – and the album has that oddball soul jazz sound you'll find on other Prestige titles at the time by players like Jaki Byard or Eric Kloss. Titles include "Felicidad", "That Waltz", "Love's Long Journey", and "The Spanish Flee". LP, Vinyl record album

The title's terrible, but the album's a great one – a really classic-styled jam session, of the sort that the Prestige label hardly ever recorded! The session features 4 tenor giants of slightly older vintage – Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Coleman Hawkins, Arnett Cobb, and Buddy Tate – all coming together in some loosely-structured arrangements that offer the same sympathetic blowing space that you might get from an all-star tenor date on Verve. Rhythm is by a trio with Shirley Scott on organ, George Duvivier on bass, and Art Edgehill on drums – and titles include "Very Saxy", "Fourmost", "Foot Pattin", and "Light & Lovely". CD

Stunning work from Lockjaw! The album features Eddie blowing hard and heavy – much more precisely than on some of his Prestige albums, in a mode that's inflected with more R&B tenor than you'd hear on his later sets. Backing is by his trio, and the album's got a gutsy groove that's really great – made even better by some deeply resonant production! Titles include "Eddie's Function", "Scotty Boo", "I Wished On The Moon", "Say What", "Tia Juana", and "You Need'na". LP, Vinyl record album

Two killers from Eddie Lockjaw Davis – both records that are different from his Cookbook sessions with Shirley Scott, and his twin-tenor battles with Johnny Griffin! First up is I Only Have Eyes For You – easily one of our favorite Eddie Lockjaw Davis albums! The record's a lot livelier than most – and it's recorded with the little-known Paul Weeden trio, who featured a young Don Patterson on organ. Weeden's a pretty good guitarist himself, and the whole session has a nice groovy groovy feel. Titles include "I Only Have Eyes For You", "Street Lights", and "The Way You Look Tonight" – and all tracks are taken at a good clip, with a strong club sound to them. Next is Trackin – a tight little soul jazz cooker from Eddie Lockjaw Davis – done with a sound that's leaner and cleaner than some of his Cookbook sessions – thanks to great Hammond from Don Patterson, working here in the trio of guitarist Paul Weeden! The combo's totally great – nicely focused, and hitting that more mature soul jazz swing that started to really come into play during the mid 60s – that stripping down of the organ stops, focused bite on tenor, and tight comping of guitar – all of which the combo carry off wonderfully – with help from George Duvivier on bass and Billy James on drums. There's a nice long cut with a laidback groove called "Beano", and a number of other shorter standards given the tenor/organ treatment – including "What's New", "Day By Day", and "Robbin's Nest". CD

One of the best later albums by French tenor genius Barney Wilen – a true gem that's far better than the title might indicate! The tunes, as you might guess, are all themes from French films – stretching back to the late 50s jazz/new wave days, when Wilen recorded on a few brilliant soundtracks with Miles Davis and Art Blakey – and moving forward into later years to include a few great tunes from the 60s French scene. The group on the set is Mal Waldron's excellent trio with Stafford James on bass and Eddie Moore on drums – the three of them rounding out the tunes with a strong degree of soul, and lots of open notes and space, which lets Wilen do some incredible work on both tenor and soprano saxes. Tunes are all quite long, and really depart from the original structures – and titles include "Un Homme Et Une Femme", "Les Parapluies De Cherbourg", "Manha De Carnaval", "No Problem", and "Julien Dans L'Ascenseur". CD

The first album by Eddie Daniels – and loads better than most of his later work! About half the tracks feature Daniels playing clarinet, which is OK – but the best ones have him on tenor, working away in a lyrical modal mode that's really great. The rhythm's by a trio that includes Roland Hanna, Richard Davis, and Mel Lewis – and the album has that oddball soul jazz sound you'll find on other Prestige titles at the time by players like Jaki Byard or Eric Kloss. Titles include "Felicidad", "That Waltz", "Love's Long Journey", and "The Spanish Flee". CD

A smoking twin-tenor session for MPS – one that reunites the mighty talents of Johnny Griffin and Eddie Lockjaw Davis! The album was done as an offshoot of both players' work for the Clarke Boland Big Band at the time – and the set was not only produced by CBBB impresario Gigi Campi, but also features a core rhythm trio from that ensemble – Francy Boland on piano, Jimmy Woode on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums! Tracks are nice and long, and have a sound that really shows the evolution of both players since their famous recordings of the early 60s – tones that are even more modern and edgey at points, served up with a fire that hasn't died at all – and set loose on rhythms that move past the usual grooves you might have expected from their American sessions together. Titles include "Tin Tin Deo", "Jim Dawg", "Gigi", "When We Were One", and "Again N Again". CD

A smoking twin-tenor session for MPS – one that reunites the mighty talents of Johnny Griffin and Eddie Lockjaw Davis! The album was done as an offshoot of both players' work for the Clarke Boland Big Band at the time – and the set was not only produced by CBBB impresario Gigi Campi, but also features a core rhythm trio from that ensemble – Francy Boland on piano, Jimmy Woode on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums! Tracks are nice and long, and have a sound that really shows the evolution of both players since their famous recordings of the early 60s – tones that are even more modern and edgey at points, served up with a fire that hasn't died at all – and set loose on rhythms that move past the usual grooves you might have expected from their American sessions together. Titles include "Tin Tin Deo", "Jim Dawg", "Gigi", "When We Were One", and "Again N Again". LP, Vinyl record album

The tenor of Eddie Lockjaw Davis makes an especially nice match for the trumpet of Harry Edison – two very different voices, coming together here with the unusual trio of Hugh Lawson on piano, Ike Isaac on bass, and Clarence Johnston on drums. Tracks include three Edison originals "Oo-ee!", "Jawbreakers", and "Moolah". The album also contains Miles Davis' "Four" and "Broadway", "A Gal In Calico", "I've Got A Crush On You", and "Close Your Eyes". CD

A beautiful tribute to one of the first great pairings of Hammond and tenor – the saxophone of Eddie Lockjaw Davis and the organ of Shirley Scott – presented here in four classic albums that would forever change the face of jazz! The "cookbook" in the title is a reference to the name of the first three records in the set – The Eddie Lockjaw Davis Cookbook records, volumes 1 to 3 – and the set is completed with the great album Smokin, which also pairs Scott and Davis together! The records were key dates for both players – for Davis, a way to firmly move into the world of jazz after roots in more R&B-styled recordings – on long tracks that really showed the world what a tremendous soloist he could be when he had the chance to stretch out. And for Scott, a way to showcase her budding talents on the Hammond – in ways that have a lot more bite than her later trio sides, and which also mark her as a different organ jazz stylist from contemporary Jimmy Smith. All four records here are presented with a new set of notes, and in a really wonderful package overall – finally together after all these years! LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic session by this groundbreaking modernist – essentially a piano trio album, but recorded with two bass players – Richard Davis and Eddie Kahn – one of whom plays rhythm, the other who solos along with Hill – which makes for a really amazing sound – especially when you realize that the great Roy Haynes is on drums! The result is one of Hill's darkest piano outings, brought even deeper by the bass accompaniment, and the lack of any other horns to support the set – the kind of standout session that somehow made every one of his Blue Note albums so distinct from each other – even though they are so fantastic when considered as a whole – a key moment in jazz during the 60s. The album includes Hill's brilliant "Ode to Von", dedicated to Von Freeman, one of his early teachers – plus the tracks "Verne", "Not So", "Wailing Wall", and "The Day After". CD features 4 bonus alternate takes too! CD

A fantastic session by this groundbreaking modernist – essentially a piano trio album, but recorded with two bass players – Richard Davis and Eddie Kahn – one of whom plays rhythm, the other who solos along with Hill – which makes for a really amazing sound – especially when you realize that the great Roy Haynes is on drums! The result is one of Hill's darkest piano outings, brought even deeper by the bass accompaniment, and the lack of any other horns to support the set – the kind of standout session that somehow made every one of his Blue Note albums so distinct from each other – even though they are so fantastic when considered as a whole – a key moment in jazz during the 60s. The album includes Hill's brilliant "Ode to Von", dedicated to Von Freeman, one of his early teachers – plus the tracks "Verne", "Not So", "Wailing Wall", and "The Day After". CD

A warm, wonderful set by Sarah Vaughan – and a later one, closing the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1971 – released for the first time ever! Sarah is backed for most of the set by the trio of Billy Mays on piano, Bob Magnusson on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums – with Sarah managing to both portray heavy emotion and mood and also an easygoing, playful charm – joking with the audience and obviously having a wonderful time. Very nice! Includes the Norman Granz intro, plus "I Remember You", "The Lamp Is Low", "'Round Midnight", "There Will Never Be Another You", "And I Love Him", "Scattin' The Blues", and "Tenderly" – plus a 14 plus minute jam with the Jazz At The Philharmonic All-Stars – Bill Harris, Roy Eldridge, Clark Terry, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Benny Carter and others! CD