Mary Halvorson seems to expand her sound here a bit more than usual – not in that she's working with a large ensemble, or in any sort of too-ambitious ways – but just that she's mixing her very unique phrasing on the guitar with just the right blend of other instruments – all at a level that feels way more than just the sum of its parts! The sextet features work from Adam O'Farrill on trumpet, Jacob Garchik on trombone, and Patricia Brennan on vibes – the last of whom is especially great, and whose tones really do a lot to color the album and shape the sound. The trumpet's got a great presence too – trading nicely with the trombone – and titles include "Desiderata", "Collapsing Mouth", "The Gate", "Tailhead", and "Ultramarine". Plus, Laurie Anderson plays guest violin on "Incarnadine". LP, Vinyl record album

Great small combo work – with Gonsalves on tenor, Hines on piano, Al Hall on bass, and Jo Jones on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

A mighty heavy group – paying tribute to the late drummer Alvin Fiedler – working with the kind of fierce improvisation that Fiedler would have really loved! Tenorist Kidd Jordan was a frequent musical partner of Alvin on record – and the group here really recreates some of the intensity they could deliver together – with Hamid Drake on drums and percussion, Joel Futterman on piano, and William Parker on bass – soaring out beautifully on one extended improvisation that takes up the entire record! Futterman is ferocious on piano, really matching the searing sounds that come from Jordan's horn – as he blows with a legacy of bold, spontaneous creation that almost takes us back to the years of ESP Records or BYG/Actuel. CD

Never-heard music from guitarist Calvin Keys – recorded in a number of different settings over the past decade or two, and issued here together to make for one of his most satisfying records in years! While we've liked the Wide Hive material Keys has recorded during his comeback, we're even more stunned by these tracks – as they've got an even more solid jazz basis overall – as Calvin plays in modes that run from group performances with varied artists who include pianist Elmer Gibson, tenorist Dawan Muhammad, and flute player Art Maxwell – to one solo number that shows an especially beautiful side of Key's music! The whole thing's put together wonderfully – not a scattered batch of tracks, but a record with a surprisingly unified feel – in the manner of the other excellent work we love on this label – and titles include "Emily", "The Last One To Be Loved", "Seems To Be", "Dolphin Dance"," Blues For Ahmed", and "Satchmo's Song". CD

Great 80s work from guitarist Calvin Keys – material that's different than his earlier sides for the Black Jazz label – and which shows Calvin really changing up his sound for the following decade! There's a slightly more inside feel to the recording, but the set's still dripping with soul – warm rhythms that provide a perfect foil for Calvin's open lines on guitar, played with even more deftness than we remember. Other elements include keyboards, percussion, and vocals on one track from Maxayn Lewis, who also sings a bit of backup too – and titles include the smooth groovers "Dantu" and "Love In Your Eyes", plus "Full Court Press", "Growing Pains", and "Bus Scene". LP, Vinyl record album

A set of tracks recorded in the early 90s, unreleased until many years later – and an album that shows a beautifully sensitive side of the music of guitarist Calvin Keys! The title is sometimes very apt – as Calvin is often out front in the lead, crafting these warm lines built from well-chosen chords – but the album's also not just a solo set, as it features work from Jeff Chimenti on piano, Tim Haul on bass, Mark Lignell on drums, and Kenneth Nash on percussion. There's even some light strings at times – but very light, as they just shade in the edges – on titles that include "Dolphin Dance", "Quiet Now", "Isotope", "Marela", "Windows", and "What's Goin On". CD

A set of tracks recorded in the early 90s, unreleased until many years later – and an album that shows a beautifully sensitive side of the music of guitarist Calvin Keys! The title is sometimes very apt – as Calvin is often out front in the lead, crafting these warm lines built from well-chosen chords – but the album's also not just a solo set, as it features work from Jeff Chimenti on piano, Tim Haul on bass, Mark Lignell on drums, and Kenneth Nash on percussion. There's even some light strings at times – but very light, as they just shade in the edges – on titles that include "Dolphin Dance", "Isotope", "Marela", "Windows" and "What's Goin On". LP, Vinyl record album

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The second chapter of the legendary Pere Ubu – served up here in a box set that contains three full albums, plus a full record of rare material too! The core records – New Picnic Time, Song Of The Bailing Man, and Art Of Walking – show the group really stretching out after their initial burst of creativity in Cleveland during the early punk years – a reformed version of Pere Ubu, still strongly under the leadership of Dave Thomas and his amazing lyrical approach – with contributions from Red Krayola member Mayo Thompson on two records, and Anton Fier on one more. Scott Krauss and Tony Maimone provide some of those great rhythmic jumps and starts that the group did so well – and Allen Ravenstein adds in some great electronics as well. The last record in the set – Architectural Salvage – features rare material that includes "Humor Me (live)", "The Book Is On The Table", "Arabian Nights", "Lonesome Cowboy Dave", "Not Happy", and "Tribute To Miles". Deluxe bookback packaging, too – with nice notes and memorabilia! CD

Alvin Queen has given us some pretty heavy work over the years – but here, the drummer's showing off a different side of his talents – a gentler sense of rhythm that really fits the "night" spirit of the record – as he works alongside Calle Brickman on piano and Tobias Dall on bass! Brickman's a warmly lyrical player that really fits Alvin's spirit for the record – and the trio work their way through a number of well-crafted ballad renditions that almost make the whole thing feel like some of the more laidback material from the Oscar Peterson trio of the 60s – and maybe that's the whole idea with the "Night Train" in the title. Tracks include "Farewell Song", "Have You Met Miss Jones", "Bag's Groove", "Night Train", "D & E", "Tranquility In The Woods", "Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars", and "Some Other Time". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Guitarist Sal Salvador made few albums as a leader during his day – but all of them are a treat, especially this one! The set's a mid 50s outing that features Sal's guitar in a quartet with Eddie Costa on piano and vibes – and grooving in a lightly swinging style that has some traces of east coast chamber jazz of the time, but which also displays Salvador's unique fascination with tone, sound, shape, and color! Salvador has a way of approaching the electric guitar that's like few other players in jazz – sometimes coming on full swing, other times laying back and letting the strings and their sounds shape the progression of tunes on the set. Titles include "Salaman", "I Love You", "Handful Of Stars", "Frivolous Sal", "Tangerine", "You Could Swing For That", and "All The Things You Are". CD

Sal Salvador was one of the 50s more accomplished modernist talents on jazz guitar – and his work ranks up there with players like Tal Farlow, or Gil Melle's great bandmate Joe Cinderella. This is Salvador's rare first album for Blue Note – only issued in a 10" vinyl format! The record features quartet and quintet material, and includes tenorist Frank Sokolow, an icy-toned genius who's never gotten his just dues. Sokolow and Salvador sound great together, and create a haunting sound that's better than anything we've heard on other Salvador records from his later years. Titles include "My Old Flame", "Get Happy", "Too Marvelous For Words", "Gone With The Wind", and "After You've Gone". LP, Vinyl record album

Sal Salvador was one of the 50's more accomplished modernist talents on jazz guitar – and his work ranks up there with players like Tal Farlow, or Gil Melle's great bandmate Joe Cinderella. This long-overdue CD brings together some of his best work from the mid 50s – by pairing one rare Blue Note 10" jazz session with another album that Salvador cut as part of Capitol's "Stan Kenton Presents" series. The Blue Note session's got some great tracks that feature tenorist Frank Sokolow, an icy toned genius who's never gotten his just dues. Other cuts (on both the Blue Note and Capitol sessions) feature Eddie Costa on piano and vibes, and titles from both include "See", "Round Trip", "Wheels", "Salutations", "Down Home", and "Yesterdays". 18 cuts in all, in a great looking package that replicates the orignal cover art! CD

Moody instrumental magic from Hareton Salvanini – an artist with an Italian sounding name, and an approach that reminds us of some of the hippest composers of the sound library and film score scene in Italy during the 70s! The album's all instrumental, and is almost a soundtrack for a film that never existed – as Salvanini mixes his own piano lines with these moody strings and dark-tinged instrumentation – all with a vibe that's maybe a bit warmer than David Axelrod or Johnny Harris, but in the same sort of territory as their important albums of the time! Weird reeds color in some moments, offbeat strings some others – and there's a suppressed sense of emotion that lingers with lots of blue currents on the record – really fitting Hareton's look on the cover. Titles include "Salamandras", "Viver", "So, "Primitivo", "Irracional", "Papa Mama", "Yelris", and "Preludio Em Si Bemol Menor". LP, Vinyl record album

A really incredible spiritual jazz treasure from the New Orleans scene – one that features a student group led by legendary Nola musician Alvin Batiste, but delivered in a style that's much more like some of the hipper jazz collectives in cities like Detroit, Chicago, or Philly at the time! The tracks are long and flowing – filled with rhythm progressions that run deep, often with some modal energy – and almost all tracks have these really great vocals from Eddie Perkins, a soulful singer with a style that's in the territory of Andy Bey or Joe Lee Wilson – which, as you can imagine, makes for a really great addition to the music! Other players include Batiste on clarinet, James McElroy on soprano, Ernest Nation on trumpet, Alphonso Rodriguez on guitar, Richard Hunter on percussion, and a young Charlie Singleton on bass – and this rare set was only originally given away as a souvenir for the group's trip to West Africa in 1973. Titles include "Clean Air", "Holdin Meetin", "Nanigo", "Samba Dee", "Ah Je Gu Da Ba", and "Music Came". This reissue also features two rare bonus instrumentals – "Samba Dee" and "Music Came". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's gotta be one of the most righteous school band records ever – way more than just a bunch of students doing big band numbers, and instead a killer batch of spiritual jazz numbers, directed by the legendary Alvin Batiste! The record's one of a rare few 70s sets of this nature – one that shows a group of younger musicians really reaching out for bold new sounds – every bit as complex and soulful as work on labels like Strata East or Black Jazz, with a fiery power that signals a new generation of the jazz underground! And while Batiste is at the head of the group, there's plenty of other great younger players too – including Henry Butler on piano, Henry Scott on flute, Kirk Ford on tenor, Reginald Houston on baritone, Raymond Deggs on trumpet, Julius Farmer on bass, and Herman Jackson on drums! Side one features burning ensemble numbers that include "Music Came", "Tunjii", "Straight Life", and "North American Idiosyncrasy" – and side two features early material by the Henry Butler Trio, on titles that include "So What", "In My Solitude", and "Milestones". LP, Vinyl record album

Head to head blowing from Sonny Sitt and Paul Gonsalves – just the kind of twin-horn performance that Stitt was famous for in his live battle days, and one that also reminds us that Gonsalves can be a very loose swinger when he wants to be! The tracks are all long, and played with the sort of feel you'd hear if you caught these guys live at some small southside club – and the solos also show the kind of inventiveness and imagination you'd catch in that sort of setting – backed by a swinging rhythm combo that features Hank Jones on piano, Milt Hinton on bass, and Osie Johnson on drums. Titles include a version of "Perdido" that's nearly 13 minutes long – plus "Stardust", "Sposin", "Salt & Pepper", and "Theme From Lord Of The Flies". Also features the full bonus album – Now! CD

A really great setting for the guitar of Mary Halvorson – one that reminds us what a versatile player she's become over the years – an artist whose way of inflecting strings and reaching for new colors really continues to amaze us with each new album! There's a very rhythmic pulse to the record – as Michael Formanek provides bass and Tomas Fujiwara plays drums – with the former also bringing in a bit of electronics, while the latter handles vibes – although both rarely diverge too much from the core, which really allows Halvorson to fly throughout. Titles include "Survival Fetish", "Song For Mr Humphries", "Capsicum Annuum", "Should Be Cool", "Brutality & Beauty", and "Swirling Lives". CD

A really beautiful record – one that takes the usual sound of vibes in jazz, and moves them into slightly rootsier territory – mixing the lead instrument of Ricardo Valverde with bass, drums, and a trio of percussionists who really shape the sound! The approach is very unique, and even the guest appearance of other instruments along the way – trombone, trumpet, guitar, and flute – never seems to change the vibe too much, and instead really preserves the wonderfully inherent beauty of the whole recording! Valverde's touch on the vibes creates these gentle explosions of color that are really beautiful – almost blossoming along the pathways created by the percussion – on titles that include "Ogun", "Mensageiro", "Xango", "Oxalufan", "Seu Arariboia", "Tema Para Odoya", "Nana", and "Oxum". CD

The piano of Argentine jazz legend Enrique Villegas gets some great accompaniment here from Ellington sidemen Paul Gonsalves on tenor and Willie Cook on trumpet! Villegas normally recorded in trio modes, or more intimate settings – and it's great to hear him here with a more swinging style, one that really gets great solo work out of the Ellingtonians too – very similar to some of the other non-Duke sessions that Gonsalves was able to cut on a variety of scenes around the world in the 60s! Other players include Alfredo Remus on bass and Eduardo Casalla on drums – and titles include "Perdido", "Blues For BA", "St Louis Blues", "I Can't Get Started", and "Just Friends". CD features three bonus tracks too "Blues En Do", "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen", and "Lullaby Of The Leaves". CD

A heck of a collection – and one that really gets at the amazing array of free-thinking jazz that was brewing up on the European scene during the 70s! The set brings together over eight hours of music recorded during two years of this legendary festival – and each new disc has some great surprises along the way! There's some possibly more familiar material here – such as long improvisations that include a solo piano performance by Joachim Kuhn, two by a Mal Waldron trio with Jimmy Woode on bass and Allen Blairman on drums, one by a trio headed by pianist Yosuke Yamashita and with Akira Sakata on alto, two more by the duo of Peter Brotzmann on tenor and Han Bennink on drums, and a final two long improvisations by a great Archie Shepp gruop with Richard Greenlee on trombone, Dave Burell on piano, Cameron Brown on bass, and Beaver Harris on drums! Yet that's only the tip of the iceberg – as there's a full CD of music by a group led by Hugo Heredia on saxes and flute – with Horace Parlan on piano, Dodo Goys on bass, Tullio D'Piscopo on drums, and Mandrake Ivanir Do Nascimento on percussion. And there's another CD that features an hour-long improvisation by a version of the Willem Breuker Kollektief with Leo Cuypers on piano, Maarten Van Norden on tenor, Boy Raaymakers on trumpet, and Bernhard Hunnekink and Willem Van Manen on trombones. There's also a very long track by a cool quartet headed by Polish alto giant Zbigniew Namyslowski – and one more by the French Machi Oul Big Band. There's also tracks by Riot, with Uli Beckerhoff on trumpet; Grumpff with Michael Schlaper on tenor and soprano, and Ekkehard Jost on baritone; Mumps with Albert Mangelsdorff on trombone and John Surman on tenor; and the Eddie Prevost Quartet with Geoff Hawkins on tenor and Gerry Gold on trumpet. And last but not least are two long trcks by the Czech group Celula Jazz Crew – with Laco Deczi on trumpet, Karel Ruzicka on electric piano, and Svatopluc Kosvanec on trombone. Phew – that's a lot of music, and the whole thing comes in a very cool 10" box set, complete with a booklet of notes, too! CD

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The first-ever full length collection of work by Calvin Arnold – a killer 60s soul singer and guitarist, and one who cut some classic funky 45s back in the day, but never got a chance to record an album! All the material here came out on the Venture label – a small label, but one that got great circulation at the time – which helped Calvin's strong style get into more record collections than you might expect! Arnold's a great singer, with a raw southern style – and the use of guitar here really underscores all the best elements in his voice, as does the lean backings, which often have nice drums! The style here kind of takes off where Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle" began – strong praise in our book – and titles include "Snatchin Back", "Funky Way", "Scoobie Doo", "Mini Skirt, "Fool Me Baby", "Lovely Way To Go", "Just A Matter Of Time", "Messin With The Old Folks Home", "Your Love Is Too Much", and "You Got To Live For Yourself". CD

Features Derek Bailey on guitar, Jamaaladeen Tacuma on bass, and Calvin Weston on drums! CD

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

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A set that's gotta be one of the most righteous school band records ever – way more than just a bunch of students doing big band numbers, and instead a killer batch of spiritual jazz numbers, directed by the legendary Alvin Batiste! The record's one of a rare few 70s sets of this nature – one that shows a group of younger musicians really reaching out for bold new sounds – every bit as complex and soulful as work on labels like Strata East or Black Jazz, with a fiery power that signals a new generation of the jazz underground! And while Batiste is at the head of the group, there's plenty of other great younger players too – including Henry Butler on piano, Henry Scott on flute, Kirk Ford on tenor, Reginald Houston on baritone, Raymond Deggs on trumpet, Julius Farmer on bass, and Herman Jackson on drums! Side one features burning ensemble numbers that include "Music Came", "Tunjii", "Straight Life", and "North American Idiosyncrasy" – and side two features early material by the Henry Butler Trio, on titles that include "So What", "In My Solitude", and "Milestones". LP, Vinyl record album

Head to head blowing from Sonny Sitt and Paul Gonsalves – just the kind of twin-horn performance that Stitt was famous for in his live battle days, and one that also reminds us that Gonsalves can be a very loose swinger when he wants to be! The tracks are all long, and played with the sort of feel you'd hear if you caught these guys live at some small southside club – and the solos also show the kind of inventiveness and imagination you'd catch in that sort of setting – backed by a swinging rhythm combo that features Hank Jones on piano, Milt Hinton on bass, and Osie Johnson on drums. Titles include a version of "Perdido" that's nearly 13 minutes long – plus "Stardust", "Sposin", "Salt & Pepper", and "Theme From Lord Of The Flies". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever full length collection of work by Calvin Arnold – a killer 60s soul singer and guitarist, and one who cut some classic funky 45s back in the day, but never got a chance to record an album! All the material here came out on the Venture label – a small label, but one that got great circulation at the time – which helped Calvin's strong style get into more record collections than you might expect! Arnold's a great singer, with a raw southern style – and the use of guitar here really underscores all the best elements in his voice, as does the lean backings, which often have nice drums! The style here kind of takes off where Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle" began – strong praise in our book – and titles include "Snatchin Back", "Funky Way", "Scoobie Doo", "Mini Skirt, "Fool Me Baby", "Lovely Way To Go", "Just A Matter Of Time", "Messin With The Old Folks Home", "Your Love Is Too Much", and "You Got To Live For Yourself". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the lost treasures from the late 60s RCA catalog – a very strange, and very hippy-dippy mix of hard rock, blues, and slight folksy touches – recorded with lots of nice production twists and turns, and plenty of tripped out guitar work! There's kind of a messed-up New York scene feel to the set – not exactly ESP rock, but somewhere in the neighborhood of The Fugs, or maybe Beefheart at times. Titles include "Parahighway", "Ancestral Wants", "A Hundred Days", "Auto Salvage", "Burglar Song", and "Rampant Generalities". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

One of the last of Alvin's 70s singles – and a tasty bit of smooth dancefloor funk with the same infectious quality of his 60s dance numbers! There's a bit of a "Shaft" approach to the funky backings here, and Alvin and some ladies shout out the calls on the chorus, directing you around the dancefloor with little bits of vocals. 7-inch, Vinyl record

Classic hard-grooving Alvin Cash – with that early Mar V Lus sound that feels like it was recorded at the bottom of a well! Not that that's a problem, though, as the approach makes the single bump and groove right off your turntable! "Barracuda" is a funky funky fishy dance – and the "It" in "One More Time" is "The Twine", which gets grooved over again here! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Pretty cool stuff – one of the only relics of the early 60s animated Chipmunks show! Features the great main theme, and even some comedy bits from the show, mixed with songs. Steer clear of Clyde Crashcup, and you'll be fine! CD

Titles include "Love Van", "Mi Luna De Miel", "Cornelio", "Con Lo Que Tiene Atras", and "Oye Corazon". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice little collaboration between saxophonist Hank Crawford and guitarist Calvin Newborn – a record that turns out to be one of the best from both players for the time! Crawford's managed to shake off some of the hoke of his earlier records – and although his sound here isn't earth-shattering, it's a lot fresher than it might be – with a laidback use of the alto that's augmented by some especially nice Fender Rhodes, as part of Hank's growing talents on the keyboard. Crawford also arranged and produced, but Newborn still gets in plenty of space too – using some bluesier licks to bring in an earthier tone, while still also staying in the smoother feel of the record. Titles include a remake of "Breezin", plus "Centerpiece", "Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You", "I Can't Stand It", "I Had A Dream", and "Frame For The Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Feturing Dorothy Norwood. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Tremendous work from saxophonist Paul Gonsalves – one of his rare UK sessions from the 60s, all of which show that he had a fantastic sound that went way beyond his more famous work with Duke Ellington! The style here is tight, hip, and very grooving – work by a quartet that features Gonsalves on tenor, plus Pat Smythe on piano, Kenny Napper on bass, and Ronnie Stevenson on drums – all hitting a soulful hardbop style that's very much like the best Tubby Hayes records from the time! Gonsalves' tone is incredible – with that raspy, almost flatted mode that he used with Ellington – and it really stretches out here with plenty of room for creativity, in a way that makes us wonder why nobody ever got this one issued over on our side of the Atlantic. Titles include "Boom Jackie Boom Chick", "Village Blues", "Poor Butterfly", "Blue PG", and "Taboo". CD

Mary Halvorson on guitar, Reuben Radding on double bass, and Nate Wooley on trumpet. CD

A wonderful set, and one that's definitely filled with spirits – most particularly from the tenor of Kidd Jordan, which has all this subtle power behind it, at a level that really gives proof to Jordan's many years on the freer side of the jazz spectrum! The trio here also features Alvin Fielder on drums and percussion, and Joel Futterman on piano, Indian flute, and curved soprano sax – but throughout the proceedings, which are freely improvised, the tenor of Jordan seems to be the real anchor in sound – an element that can match the modes of the other players, but also provide some direction too. Titles include "Start Stop", "Run Drop", "Start Continue", "Ripples, and "Double Strike". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

A soul jazz gem from drummer Alvin Queen – one of the overlooked treasures on his own Nilva Records label from the 80s! The set's a monster all the way through – a cut above so many other sides like this from the time, and put together with a sock-solid energy that almost recalls earlier brilliance on labels like Blue Note or Prestige! Queen's at the head of the group on drums – pushing the lineup with Blakey-like intensity, yet in a slightly looser, more open feel overall – especially when it comes to the structure of the solos. Players include Manny Boyd on saxes, Terence Blanchard on trumpet, Robin Eubanks on trombone, John Hicks on piano, and Ray Drummond on bass – the last of whom produced the record with a very jazz-sensitive ear! Titles include "Hassan", "Europia", "Jammin Uptown", "After Liberation", and "Mind Wine". CD also features the bonus track "Hear Me Drummin". CD

Guitarist Sal Salvador made few albums as a leader during his day – but all of them are a treat, especially this one! The set's a mid 50s outing that features Sal's guitar in a quartet with Eddie Costa on piano and vibes – and grooving in a lightly swinging style that has some traces of east coast chamber jazz of the time, but which also displays Salvador's unique fascination with tone, sound, shape, and color! Salvador has a way of approaching the electric guitar that's like few other players in jazz – sometimes coming on full swing, other times laying back and letting the strings and their sounds shape the progression of tunes on the set. Titles include "Salaman", "I Love You", "Handful Of Stars", "Frivolous Sal", "Tangerine", "You Could Swing For That", and "All The Things You Are". CD

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Helio Alves on piano, John Patitucci and Nilson Matta on bass, and Al Foster, Duduka DaFonseca, and Paulo Braga on drums. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most modern moments from Don Elliott in the 50s – a twin-trumpet album that's awash in counterpoint experiments of the time! Trumpeter Rusty Dedrick joins Don in the frontline – working together in tight head arrangements that have a strong chamber feel to them, but then opening up into more fluidly expressive solos that are the main strength of the set. Other players include Mundell Lowe on guitar, Eddie Safranski on bass, and Don Lamond on drums – as well as Dick Hyman, who handled all the arrangements and wrote a good number of the tunes! Titles include "Mine", "Vampire Till Ready", "Your Own Iron", "Dominick Seventh", "The Bull Speaks", and "Henry's Mambo". CD

A fantastic bit of late 60's funk, and a surprisingly slammin' record from Dizzy! The album's got tight, hard, choppy funk arrangements from Ed Bland – who went onto to do some great work at the Perception label – and the group features James Moody blowing hard lean funky solos right next to Diz, in the way that he'd do on some of his own funk work from the same time. The record is wonderful all the way through – killer heavy drums, heavy electric bass, searing sax solos from Diz and Moody – all produced with a mad mad full-on funk sound that will make your jaw drop! Titles include "Blue Chuchifrito", "Chicken Giblets", "Rutabega Pie", "The Fly Fox", "Stomped & Wasted" and "Casbah Melon". LP, Vinyl record album

Tremendous work from saxophonist Paul Gonsalves – one of his rare UK sessions from the 60s, all of which show that he had a fantastic sound that went way beyond his more famous work with Duke Ellington! The style here is tight, hip, and very grooving – work by a quartet that features Gonsalves on tenor, plus Pat Smythe on piano, Kenny Napper on bass, and Ronnie Stevenson on drums – all hitting a soulful hardbop style that's very much like the best Tubby Hayes records from the time! Gonsalves' tone is incredible – with that raspy, almost flatted mode that he used with Ellington – and it really stretches out here with plenty of room for creativity, in a way that makes us wonder why nobody ever got this one issued over on our side of the Atlantic. Titles include "Boom Jackie Boom Chick", "Village Blues", "Poor Butterfly", "Blue PG", and "Taboo". Getting' Together is a great hard edged jazz album featuring Wynton Kelly, Jimmy Cobb, Nat Adderley, and Sam Jones lay down a nice soulful groove with a deep bottom, and Gonsalves plays with warmth and imagination throughout. The set includes two of Babs Gonzales' great compositions: "Low Gravy" and "Gettin' Together". CD

A really great record – and one that's hardly what you'd guess from the title! Sure, the Cleopatra movie was a giant hit in the 60s – but it also gave the chance for some jazzmen to explore more exotic territory – as was also the case with material from Spartacus and Lawrence Of Arabia! Tenorist Paul Gonsalves plays a nice batch of soul jazz takes on Cleopatra – and he brings his gutsy solo style into play with a set of groovy arrangements of "Egyptian" tunes, both from the score of the film and from the pen of players on the session. And speaking of players, Dick Hyman's on organ, and he gives the album a nice nice groovy sound that works very well with Gonsalves' sharp-edged tenor. Titles include "Caesar & Cleopatra Theme", "Bluz For Liz", "Cleo's Asp", "Cleopatra's Lament", and "Action In Alexandria". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best small-group sessions recorded by Paul Gonsalves – a session with a clear Ellington orientation, as you'd expect from a lineup that includes Johnny Hodges, Jimmy Jones, Ray Nance, and Oliver Jackson. Tracks have a much more relaxed and open-ended feeling than some of Duke's work – giving Hodges, Nance, and Gonsalves plenty of room to open up on their solos. Titles include "The Lineup", "Chocataw", "DA Blues", and "Way Way Back". CD

A great small combo set from tenorist Paul Gonsalves – one of his best albums away from Duke Ellington, and a record that really opens up with his tremendous tone on the tenor! The group's a great small combo, with more of a soul jazz groove than usual for Paul – Nat Adderley on cornet, Wynton Kelly on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums – all players who really help Gonsalves find the right sort of vibe! The set includes two of Babs Gonzales' great compositions – "Low Gravy" and "Gettin Together" – and other titles include "Walkin", "Hard Groove", "J&B Blues", and "Yesterdays". LP, Vinyl record album

Paul Gonsalves tells it the way it is – but in a hiply swinging sort of way that showcases his rising star as a leader in the 60s! The groove here is freed up from some of the earlier cliches in Gonsalves' work with larger groups – leaving a lot more room for his great sense of tone and timing, and creating some wonderful new rhythms for him to open up on. Bits of Ellingtonia are mixed with groovier 60s rhythms – played by a group that also includes Johnny Hodges on tenor, Ray Nance and Rolf Ericson on trumpet, and Walter Bishop Jr. on piano. Titles include a nice 11 minute long version of "Tell It The Way It Is", plus "Impulsive", "Body & Soul", and "Rapscallion in Rab's Canyon". LP, Vinyl record album

A great spinoff session from the Duke Ellington group – cool small combo material with Clark Terry on trumpet, Paul Gonsalves on tenor, and Jimmy Woode on bass – almost similar to the players' work for Chess/Argo at the same time! CD

Mary Halvorson on guitar. CD

Mary Halvorson on guitar, Jon Irabagon on alto saxophone, John Hebert on bass, Ches Smith on drums, Susan Alcorn on pedal steel guitar, Ingrid Laubrock on tenor saxophone, Jacob Garchik on trombone, and Jonathan Finlayson on trumpet. CD

Features Jonathan Finlayson on trumpet, Ingrid Laubrock on tenor sax, Jacob Garchik on trombone, and others! CD

One of Slide Hampton's first albums – and a massively hard-wailing set that will make any doubters sit up and take notice! The set really packs a punch – as Slide leads a hip group that features Freddie Hubbard, Richard Williams, Bernard McKinney, and George Coleman through some tightly woven arrangements that manage to swing with the grace of small combo work, yet wail with the intensity of a big band. Great solos pop out all over the set – and there's a soul jazz groove that makes the album sound like a classic Prestige session. Titles include "Asseveration", "Hi Fly", "Sister Salvation", and "A Little Night Music". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

The title tells the whole tale of the album – as pianist Jackson plays jazzy versions of themes from films that include "Never On A Sunday", "A Summer Place", "From Here To Eternity", "The High & The Mighty", "Exodus", "Return To Peyton Place", and "High Noon". A number of tracks are piano solos, and others feature backings by bassist Al McKibbon and drummer Frank Capp. LP, Vinyl record album

A great setting for guitarist Calvin Keys – one that has the famous Black Jazz funk artist of the 70s working with the younger energy of the Wide Hive Ensemble! The set's got a similar vibe to the recent Wide Hive album that featured Keys in the group – but this time around, Calvin's solos are much more prominent, and carved up with that hard-edged tone we've always loved so much in his music! The tunes are all pretty fresh – and include originals by Keys and others from Wide Hive members Gregory Howe and Matt Montgomery – really perfect settings for Calvin's wonderful work on his instrument, heard here at a level that's tighter than on most recent recordings. Tracks include "Telegraph Blues", "Shaw-Neeq", "The Hernia", "Touch", "You Know The Game", "Electric Keys", and "Backyard". LP, Vinyl record album

No need to be cautious here – as the album's the sort you can jump into right away – thanks to some wicked grooves from legendary guitarist Calvin Keys! Calvin's had a great revival in recent years, but this album's the stuff that first put him on the map – a brilliant early date for the Black Jazz label, done in a unique blend of spiritual and soul jazz modes! Keys' guitar has a sharper focus here than on his other 70s set for the label – and he's working with some beautifully complex arrangements, played by a group that includes Charles Owens on tenor, soprano sax, and flute – plus Kirk Lightsey on electric piano, Henry Franklin on bass, Oscar Brashear on trumpet, Owen Marshall on percussion, and Ndugu Chancler on drums. Most titles are originals – and tunes include the nice groover "Aunt Lovey", plus "Tradewinds", "Night Cry", "Renaissance", and "Efflugence". LP, Vinyl record album

A stone classic on the Black Jazz label – and one of the most unique guitar albums ever! We're not sure what the title meant originally – but over the past few decades, it's come to stand for some heavy heavy guitar work from the legendary Calvin Keys – a record that's really stood the test of the time, continually rediscovered by new generations of diggers! Keys has a very unique touch here – a mix of open chords and tighter lines – beautifully wrapping up a history of soul jazz guitar that stretches back to the early 60s – then propelling things forward with loads of righteous 70s spiritual jazz energy. The set also features loads of sweet keyboards – played by Larry Nash, and mixed with flute and "hose-a-phone" from Owen Marshall – set to grooves from Lawrence Evans on bass and Bob Braye on drums. A stone classic from the Black Jazz label – and titles include "Gee Gee", "BK.", "BE", and "Shawn-Neeq". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

This was an installation piece at the US Custom House in New York City as part of a show called "Custom & Culture" in 1979. The liner notes indicate that "the wire was extended 80 feet through the oval of the Rotunda and was driven by one pure wave oscillator". There was no manipulation of the wire –"the wire played itself". CD

... CD