Beautiful free-flowing work by Cecil Taylor – and a key album to document his solo piano genius in the 70s! The album's an extended live performance, recorded at Montreux in 1974 – in an open, unbridled style that really shows the open spirit in Taylor's work at the time. The set includes one long piece, divided into 5 movements that include "Abyss", "Petals & Filaments", and "Crossing" – plus 2 shorter tracks "Jitney No 2" and "After All No 2". CD

A reissue of the rare Duke Pearson album Hush – originally issued on the tiny Jazztime label, very briefly during the early 60s! The rare early session by Pearson is one of the few he cut away from Blue Note – and it's musical delight throughout – with twin trumpet work from Donald Byrd and Johnny Coles, piano by Duke, bass by Bob Cranshaw, and drums by the great Walter Perkins – all coming together in a crack style that rivals the best of Blue Note from the time! The two-trumpet frontline is really something to hear, and the interplay between Coles' warm sound and Byrd's hard one opens up the two different sides of Pearson's playing. Titles include "Hush", "Sudel", "Friday's Child", "Smoothie", and "Groovin' For Nat" – and CD features 3 bonus alternate takes. CD

Overlooked genius from Hampton Hawes – one of a number of excellent albums made during a late 60s stint on the European scene – and a set that really has Hamp pushing forward from his previous albums in the US! The tracks are wonderfully fluid – set fire with that Hawes style that was already magical at the start, but which really seemed to find a new sort of energy overseas – possibly here because of the excellent rhythms from Jimmy Woode on bass and Art Taylor on drums – also two players who were really coming into their own at the time. Hampton's got this great blend of lyricism and soulful swing – one that feels a bit like some of the MPS projects that Woode was recording at the time with other players, and which makes the album a real treasure in Hawes' catalog. Every cut save one is an original – and titles include "Sonora", "Blues Enough", "Black Forest", "Spanish Steps", and "Dangerous". Includes two bonus alternate takes – and the unreleased "Child's Play", "They Say It's Wonderful", and "Blues For Bud". CD

One of those fantastic overseas later dates from the great Don Byas – already a wonderful tenorist at the start of his career, but a player who really seemed to hit some new modes of expression once the 60s moved around! In a way, Byas' shift here is a bit like that of Coleman Hawkins at the same time – working on longer tracks, with younger players, and an understanding of some of the modern ideas that were being formed on tenor – yet woven back into a style that's very faithful to his great legacy on the instrument! The group here is wonderful – with key contributions on piano from the mighty Bent Axen – as well as bass from Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen, and drums from William Schiopffe. Titles include long takes of "I'll Remember April", "Lady Bird", "Yesterdays", "Lover Man", and "Night In Tunisia". CD

A sharp early 60s session from the Duke Ellington group – one that seems to draw strongly on the best late 50s work for Columbia Records, but which also seems to add in an extra crackle too! The tunes are relatively short, but the group pack plenty of punch in the small space – especially on the more rhythmic numbers, which almost seem to borrow a bit from Basie's bag – yet with more of the sophistication you'd expect on the Ellington horns. The work of Aaron Bell on bass and Sam Woodyard on drums is especially strong on this session – but there's loads of great interplay from reedmen who include Johnny Hodges, Jimmy Hamilton, Russel Procope, Harry Carney, and Paul Gonsalves – plus trumpet from Bill Berry, Cat Anderson, Roy Burrowes, and Harold Baker. Titles include "Taffy Twist", "Flirtbird", "Smada", "What Am I Here For", "Boo Dah", "Black & Tan Fantasy", and "I'm Gonna Go Fishin". CD

... CD

A really unusual setting for Sun Ra – given that the legendary jazz figure is working here on a host of American songbook standards – and not the cosmic tunes of his own creation! And yes, as you might guess, there's an offbeat feel to almost all the performances here – which stand as a great way of illustrating the deep respect for jazz history that Ra had, even though he was always pushing the music in different directions! There's a number of moments that are quite respectful of the melodies, while others are a bit more offbeat – and the work features Ra solo on one track, working with the bass of Ronnie Boykins and tenor of John Gilmore on the rest, plus work from drummer Clifford Jarvis and trumpeter Walter Miller on four titles. Tracks include "Can This Be Love", "Keep Your Sunny Side Up", "But Not For Me", "Time After Time", and "Easy To Love". CD

Classic early material by Albert Ayler, recorded in New York in 1964, but originally issued only in Europe! The session features Ayler with the obscure trumpeter Norman Howard, plus Henry Grimes on bass and Sonny Murray on drums – and has all the crackle and imagination of Ayler's ESP recordings. In fact, the album stands as a key record that's as essential as Spiritual Unity or Spirits Rejoice – and has a very similar feel to both of those sets. Titles include "Spirits", "Witches & Devils", "Holy, Holy", and "Saints". CD

Very hip work from the Boston modern scene of the mid 50s! The album's one of Serge Chaloff's few as a leader – and is much harder to find than his more widely-issued work for Capitol – an obscure date for the Storyville label, and one that originally only circulated as a 10" LP! The set's also unusual in that it features Serge at the head of a nonet – with strong players that include Charlie Mariano on alto, Herb Pomeroy on trumpet, and Dick Twardzik on piano – all working wonderfully with Chaloff in a groove that's sharply modern, but also plenty darn swinging! There's a strong dose of Boston soul in the mix here, thanks to contributions from the horn players – and the album's got a freshness that's a nice contrast to Serge's more familiar work at Capitol. Titles include originals like "Sherry", "Slam", "A Salute To Tiny", and "Ennie Meenie Minor Mode" – written by group members Mariano and Twardzik! Includes 5 alternate takes. CD

An unusual Sun Ra album – one that was never fully released in this way at the time, although supposedly conceived by RA as a complete package! Side one features material that originally appeared on the rare Invisible Shield album on Saturn –the tracks "Island In The Sun", "Invisible Shield", and "Janus" – which seem to have been recorded around 1970. "Island In The Sun" has a slow bass-heavy groove that's really compelling, and very spare. "Janus" has some great production, and lots of weird echoey bits! Other material includes the track "Velvet", an earlier composition done here in a rougher-edged way, with some great baritone by Pat Patrick – and "Joy", which is relatively improvised, with Ra playing plenty of bold piano, and Danny Davis blowing an alto solo, before Ra swings in on clavioline! CD

Ben Riley on drums, Jon Faddis on trumpet, Ray Drummond on bass, Frank Wess on tenor saxophone & flute, Kenny Barron on piano & Steve Turre on trombone & conch shells. CD

Features Kenny Drew on piano, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Albert Tootie Heath on drums. CD

Key later work from the great Pee Wee Russell – recorded for the Storyville label in Boston, which was a key meeting ground between postwar modernists and key traditional jazz musicians! That setting is maybe a hint at the way that Russell would continue to have a strong influence into the 60s – on labels like Impulse and Columbia – and the sounds here are a great precursor to those recordings – with work from Wild Bill Davison and Doc Cheatham on trumpets, Vic Dickenson on trombone, and George Wein on piano – who originally produced the dates for Storyville. Titles include "Sugar", "Missy", "We're In The Money", "Louise", and "Lulu's Back In Town". CD

Rare material from the great Art Tatum – a series of recordings that were only issued on the V-Disc label, for circulation and broadcast in the world of American military overseas! The tracks were recorded on a few different occasions near the end of WWII and slightly after – and capture Tatum in his 40s prime, at a time when he was creating even more incredible sounds on piano than the decade before – working here on two tracks with the guitar of Tiny Grimes and bass of Slam Stewart – then stepping out in sublime solo mode on the rest of the tracks on the collection! 14 titles in all – including a performance from the first Esquire Concert that was never issued at the time. CD

Beautiful sounds from pianist Denny Zeitlin – one of those players who often gets overlooked, but who's made some incredibly expressive music over the years! The album's got a sparkle that really takes us back to Denny's 60s sides for Columbia, but it's also got a slightly more mature quality as well – especially at the gentler moments – a sense of humanity that definitely comes through the passage of time in Zeitlin's years at the piano, given just the right sort of gentle accompaniment here from Buster Williams on bass and Al Foster on drums. Titles include "Cousin Mary", "Canyon", "As Long As There's Music", "There & Back", and "I Fall In Love Too Easily". CD

Not actually music with Kim Novak – but a set of musical backdrops by Morris Stoloff – designed as a package for the film Jeanne Eagels! The cover has a great color shot on the front, and smaller images of Kim on the back – and the music is surprisingly dark and moody. LP, Vinyl record album

Jazzy goodness from Eddie Palmieri – a recent set that shows him still burning strong after a stunning 50 years in Latin music! The arrangements are spare, but extremely creative – well-penned jazz charts that allow Eddie plenty of modern moments on the keys of the piano, but which also always swing into a tight Latin groove when needed. Other players include Brian Lynch on trumpet, Conrad Herwig and Doug Beavers on trombones, Donald Harrison on alto sax, and John Benitez on bass – and titles include "Nica's Dream", "In Flight", "Listen Here", "Vals Con Bata", "Tema Para Eydie", "EP Blues", and "Mira Flores". CD

A wonderfully ambitious project from these two legendary improvising musicians – a larger project for stage that was created by both pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach and drummer Sven Ake Johansson – the latter of whom here is very much into his later life role as a composer! The set features a mix of voice, vocals, and music – some spoken parts by Johansson, sung passages by the great Shelly Hirsch – and work from a very hip group that includes Wolfgang Fuchs and Dietmar Diesner on saxes, Paul Lovens on drums, Tristan Honsinger on cello, Anne Le Baron on harp, and Schlippenbach on piano. There's a mixture of free jazz, structure, and voice that almost feels as if Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill had the chance to record an album for FMP – and this beautiful set presents the first-ever release of the important 1994 performance of the material. LP, Vinyl record album

An unheard Don Cherry performance from the start of the 80s – and easily one of his most powerful recordings from the time! The vibe here is very free, open, and bold – with Don blowing much sharper notes on trumpet than some of his airier recordings of the 70s – urged on by the sharp-edged alto of John Tchicai, the freewheeling piano lines of Irene Schweizer, and deft drums of Perre Favre – all-star improvisers who work on equal terms with Cherry – in this landmark performance recorded at the Willisau jazz fest in 1980. The album features four long improvisations – based around tunes penned by Tchicai and Pierre Dorge – retitled "Musical Monsters" 1 through 4 for the album. CD

A really well-done document of a pretty amazing time in the Chicago music scene – a huge early 90s burst of creative activity – one that gave the world a handful of famous groups, and a much bigger number of even better acts who really made the city great! Writer Bruce Adams issued some of the music on his label Kranky – but the book here goes way past that imprint, and instead presents a really vivid portrait of the scene at large – clubs, labels, bands, writers, and all the other forces that helped really make Chicago great back then – a city that was bubbling over with new energy right at the same time we started Dusty Groove on the south side. Adams definitely has plenty of his own opinions throughout, but those are also balanced with his insider perspective – which comes forth with a well-balanced explanation of so many intricacies, at a level that's so different than the usual sort of book of this nature, especially from the coasts. And if you're worried that the book is too rock-heavy, don't – because players in the scene here also include Dusty Groove stalwarts like Ken Vandermark, Fred Anderson, and Joshua Abrams. Hardcover edition is 288 pages. Book

One of the hippest albums ever from the team of Kenny Clarke and Francy Boland – a unique small combo session that's even groovier than their famous big band work! The setting is wonderful – Clarke on drums, Boland on piano, and a sextet lineup that includes Sahib Shihab on flute, Fats Sadi on vibes, Jimmy Woode on bass, and Joe Harris on percussion – all players who know each other well, and groove together as one amazing unit on the set! The tunes here are lyrical and lively, modal and moving, and still some of the freshest jazz cut on the European scene of the 60s – music that's having a huge impact these days in the club jazz underground. Shihab's flute work is sublime, especially next to Sadi's vibes – and Harris' added percussion gives a number of the cuts a bit of a Latin kick that's totally great! There's a bit of vocals on the set, and titles include "Ebony Samba", "Tin Tin Deo", "Potter's Crossing", "Wives & Lovers", "Ensadinado", "Lorraine", "Day By Day", "Love Hungry", and "Please Don't Leave". CD

Features Ingrid Laubrock on saxophones, Cory Smythe on piano and quarter-tone keyboard, Sam Pluta on electronics, Zeena Parkins on electric harp, Adam Matlock on accordion, Josh Modney on violin, Robert Landfermann on bass, and Tom Rainey on drums. CD

Johnny Benavidez hits it right on the money here – serving up a set of laidback soul that feels like the classic material that would play big on the scene in East LA – music that's heartbreaking, but deep at the same time – graced with these very personal vocals from Johnny, and given just the right sort of backing from Cold Diamond & Mink! The whole thing is nice and easygoing – sweet soul, of the variety that you'd be more likely to hear from a harmony group, but with Benavidez giving a lead presence that's a bit like Joe Bataan in a similar mode – which makes for the kind of record that's perfect to put on late into the night, windows open, breeze blowing in, when you just want to kick back and turn down. Titles include "Playing The Fool", "Dedicated To You", "Somebody Cares", "Your Last Song", "Let's Get Together", "Do What You Wanna Do", "My Echo Shadow & Me", and "Tell Me That You Love Me". CD

A much bolder record than the previous Portals set from saxophonist Caroline Davis – one that seems to open up plenty of doors in music for the leader and her righteous group to step through! The lineup has fantastic twin-horn energy from the alto of Davis and trumpet of Marquis Hill – a player who really brings a nice degree of bite to the proceedings, while also never going too far out either – sticking to the angular swing brought to the core group by Julian Shore on piano, Chris Tordini on bass, and Allan Mednard on drums. Nappy Nina provides spoken word passages on two tracks, Jen Shyu adds in voice on three others, and Julia Easterlin on one more – and the set also has guest work from Nicole Mitchell on flute and Mike King on organ and Rhodes – on titles that include "Olympian Air", "Kites", "Only The Names Are Changed", "Darien", "City Flora", "Everlasting Fire", and "Cover Up". CD

Maybe one of the most burning albums we've ever heard from Darius Jones – a set that's done as a stripped-down trio – with the drums of Gerald Cleaver and bass of Chris Lightcap next to Jones' really wonderful work on alto! At times, the record has a freewheeling energy that takes us back to Sonny Rollins' use of such format – but that's balanced with the more compositional side of the leader – who delivers some fantastic song structures that serve as beautiful vehicles for the individual expression of each musician! The set's the 7th chapter of Jones' Man'ish Boy series, but definitely stands strongly on its own – with titles that include "Another Kind Of Forever", "We Inside Now", "Motherfuckin Roosevelt", "Affirmation Needed", and "We Outside". LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Blind Willie Johnson, Luke Jordan, the Allen Brothers, Frankie 'Half-Pint' Jaxon, Henry Thomas, Willie Walker, Memphis Jug Band, Red Henderson, Butterbeans & Susie, the Beale Street Sheiks, Leroy Carr, Frank Hutchinson and more. CD

Barry Guy's almost returning to the style of the London Jazz Composers Orchestra here – working with a strong set of avant improvisers on an extended performance that gives most of the individuals plenty of time in the spotlight, while still working together as a whole! Guy plays bass, and directs – across the course of a 71 minute performance of "The Blue Shroud" – with musicians who include Per Texas Johansson on tenor and clarinet, Michel Godard on tuba and "serpent", Torben Snekkestad on soprano sax and reed trumpet, Ben Dwyer on guitar, Augusti Fernandez on piano, Maya Homburger on violin, Julius Gabriel on baritone, Savina Yannatou on voice, Fanny Paccoud on viola, and Lucas Niggli and Ramon Lopez on drums and percussion. CD

MF Doom left our planet all too soon, and he left behind a great legacy of music, too – including a previous collaboration with the Czarface collective, nicely matched by this posthumous set! The balance here is great, and the set brings the metal man of mystery into great play with his collaborators and guests who include DMC, Kendra Morris, and Del The Funky Homosapien – all coming together on an album that's every bit as fun as the first time around, and maybe even more essential, given that we're not going to hear that much more from the unissued archives of MF Doom. Titles include "This Is Canon Now", "So Strange", "Young World", "Mando Calrissian", "Doom Unto Others", "The King & Eye", and "Czarwyn's Theory Of People Getting Loose". LP, Vinyl record album

An important early album from reedman Mats Gustafsson – and one that has him working with older free jazz giants Barry Guy on bass and Paul Lovens on a range of percussion instruments, including a musical saw! Mats is clearly the star of the set – already an amazing master of tones, textures, and timings – as he effortlessly improvises on tenor, baritone, and fluteophone – at a level that seems to be bringing an especially strong response from Guy, who's maybe gutsier here than we'd normally hear during this period. Lovens is, as always, a master of the unique sound – as amazing as Gustafsson in the way that he makes music that seems very detached from any earthy referent! The set features one long improvisation, divided into five passages. CD

A real genre-defying record from the contemporary London scene – a set produced by Shabaka Hutchings, and done with that post-jazz vibe that's really been creeping into his music in recent years! There's a very strong hip hop component to the record at times – thanks to key appearances from Billy Woods, Elucid, Anthony Joseph, and others – but the album also has an instrumental focus at the core, with work from Alex Hawkins on piano, Ross Harris on reeds, Daisy George on bass, and Jas Kayser on drums – players who work with lots of production and processing, so that their contributions are often abstracted into part of a richer, darker whole. Kofi Flexx is less of an artist than a process, as described in the notes – and that process is very strongly at work here – on titles that include "It Was All A Dream", "Apothecary", "Increase Awareness", "Aim", "Fire", "Babylon Dun Topple", "Flowers In The Dark", "By Now", and "Show Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A really unusual setting for the soprano saxophone talents of Evan Parker – and one that definitely unlocks some of the more textural shapesounds in his music! Parker works here alongside Matthew Wright on turntable and live sampling – and the Trance Map trio of Adam Linson, John Coxon, and Ashley Wales – who all add more electronics to the equation – at a level that balances out the spectrum with a huge amount of electric energy next to the acoustics of Parker's horn! Evan's always had a great ear for settings like this – maybe even more so than Anthony Braxton in his famous experiments of the 70s – and there's a building ferocity to the sound that's nicely punctuated by occasional more acoustic-styled tones from Parker. The set features one long live performance, almost an hour in length – divided up into seven segments. CD

One of the key classics from the legendary Quicksilver Messenger Service – and the sort of record that instantly got them to the top of the playlists on the FM underground radio scene of the early 70s! Part of the reason for the album's success is the way it already blends together so many other styles that were floating in the FM airwaves of the time – referencing Indian music, spiritual jazz, acoustic roots, and other styles – but all with a more focused approach that does plenty with the presence of newly-returned Dino Valenti – who's work on guitar and vocals are wonderful. John Cipollina also really shapes the sound with a mix of steel and slide guitars – and titles include the classic "Fresh Air", plus "Just For Love", "Freeway Flyer", "The Hat", "Cobra", and "Gone Again". CD

A stunner of an album – and a really unique Latin percussion jam from the 70s! The session's headed by the legendary Carlos Patato Valdez – who arguably sounds better here than on any of his earlier albums – as he's working with a really fluid, open groove – achieved in the unique setting for the album created by producer Martin Cohen! There's a really traditional feel to some of the tunes – as the music really reaches back to older Afro-Cuban modes – but the sound is also quite 70s too, thanks to occasional warm jazzy touches, and crystal-clear production that still keeps everything nice and crisp. Patato plays quintet and sings – and other players include Steve Berrios on cascara, Nelson Gonzalez on tres and congas, Mario Papaito Munoz on congas, and Virgilo Marti on tumbadora. Many tunes are nice and long – really letting the musicians stretch out and jam, but in a relaxed way that's totally different than older descarga modes. Titles include "LP Theme", "LP Inspiration", "Chevere", and "Alma Mia". CD