Ryan Kisor, Brad Goode, and John McNeil on trumpet, Andy Laverne on piano, Steve LaSpina on bass, and Matt Wilson on drums. CD

An unreleased 70s session from keyboardist Andy LaVerne – and a set that features a mighty hip assemblage of musicians! Stan Getz is on two of the album's tracks – soaring out in a way that's maybe more in his Captain Marvel mode, than some of his straighter work that was emerging at the time – a quality that possibly comes from the group's great work from guitarist John Abercrombie, who's got a really explosive variation of his usual chromatic style – served up here on both acoustic and electric guitars, and electric mandolin too. Bass is from Eddie Gomez and drums are from Billy Hart – save for two tracks that also include additional bass from Jon Burr and additional drums from Victor Jones – and LaVerne himself plays acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, and minimoog – on titles that include "Come To Me", "Cappaqua", "Hymn For Her", "Get Back To Me", "Metropolis", "Dreamboat", and "Empty Shells". CD

Pianist Andy Laverne has some strong help on horns here – Alex Sipiagin on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Jerry Bergonzi on tenor sax – both working together to give the album a very strong sound! The tunes are all originals by Laverne, and filled with the right sort of color to bring out the best in Alex and Jerry – players who really complement each other with their sense of phrasing. Laverne's chord structure is also a key part of the album's sound – given a nice bump by the bass of Mike Richmond and drums of Jason Tiemann – who keep things crisp and crackling, and really encourage the colors of the horns to ring out. Titles include "Noteification", "It's All Good", "Waltz King", "Bluestrain", "Resolute Pursuit", and "Two In One". CD

Andy LaVerne on piano, Steve LaSpina on bass, and Anton Fig on drums. CD

A beautiful combination of piano and vibes – the former from Andy LaVerne, the latter from Dick Sisto – working here in very open space, and without any accompaniment at all! The tunes have a gently resonant approach – one that seems to echo the room in which the pair are portrayed on the cover – set up in a space that allows them to thoughtfully interact with each other, one instrument never overwhelming the other as they find just the right balance of color and timing! Titles include "Gloria's Step", "Israel", "Waltz For Debby", "Who Can I Turn To", "Nardis", and "Funkalerro" – and clearly the pair are drawing a lot of inspiration here from the great Bill Evans! CD

A spot-on set from pianist Andy Laverne – all original material, penned by Andy himself, and underscored here by some excellent work on tenor sax from Ben Solomon! Solomon's got a richness to his tone that's great – a slightly dark edge that seems to bring out the same in Laverne's piano – as the pair work with tight rhythm accompaniment from Jason Tiemann on drums and Mike Richmond on bass – a pair who use a light touch, but in a very effective way – often gently swinging, but letting the piano and tenor really set the tone! Titles include "Corean", "Solace", "Bassline", "Tune For Tyner", "Flipside", and "Wistful Thinking". CD

John Abercrombie on guitar and Andy LaVerne on piano. CD

Andy LaVerne on piano. Tracks include "Sweet And Lovely", "Yesterdays", "Beautiful Love", "Turn Out The Stars", "I Loves You Porgy", and the original "Stan Getz In Chappaqua". CD

Hard driving work by Ted Curson! Jubilant Power is a pretty apt title for the set – played with a celebratory fire – combining the freer loft-style playing of his late 70s American work, with some of the tighter grooving rhythmic approaches of his early 70s sides in France. Chris Woods, a frequent partner from the Paris years, is in the group on alto and flute, cutting lines that match Curson's as well recallung the tenor of Bill Barron during the 60s. Other players include Andy Laverne and Jim McNeely on piano, Nick Brignola on alto sax and flute, Bob Merigliano on drums and Sam Jacobs on conga. Excellent stuff! Titles include "Marjo", "Song Of The Lonely", "Reava's Waltz", "Airi's Tune", "Searchin For The Blues" and "Ted's Tempo". LP, Vinyl record album

A compelling 70s set from reedman Eddie Daniels – a lot darker than some of his smoother jazz sides to come! There's a feel here that's almost in the CTI camp, but a bit spacier overall – as Daniels' work on flutes, tenor, and clarinet comes into play nicely with Fender Rhodes and string ensemble keyboard work from Andy Laverne – hero of a few key indie dates of the decade, and still sounding great here. Rhythm is from Rick Laird on bass and Billy Mintz on drums – players who can alternately space out and kick things up when needed – and the album's a nice reminder that Daniels could sometimes be gently expressive without being too sleepy. Titles include "Sway", "The Path", "Brief Encounter", and "Ligia". CD

Joshua Douglas Smith, Rich Perry, & Rick Margitza on tenor saxophone, Andy LaVerne on piano, Steve LaSpina on bass, and Billy Drummond on drums. CD

A compelling 70s set from reedman Eddie Daniels – a lot darker than some of his smoother jazz sides to come! There's a feel here that's almost in the CTI camp, but a bit spacier overall – as Daniels' work on flutes, tenor, and clarinet comes into play nicely with Fender Rhodes and string ensemble keyboard work from Andy Laverne – hero of a few key indie dates of the decade, and still sounding great here. Rhythm is from Rick Laird on bass and Billy Mintz on drums – players who can alternately space out and kick things up when needed – and the album's a nice reminder that Daniels could sometimes be gently expressive without being too sleepy. Titles include "Sway", "The Path", "Brief Encounter", and "Ligia". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible electric work from Stan Getz – one of his few sessions of this type from the 70s, and a doozy! The album follows heavily on the heels of Getz's brilliant Captain Marvel set – mixing together electric rhythms and some wonderfully open-minded blowing, in a sound that shows that Stan was still truly growing as an artist during this time. The double LP setting of the album makes for some great long tracks – really stretching out with Stan blowing in that strange and wonderful mix of Coltrane and Ben Webster he had going at the time, and featuring some nice keyboard work by Andy Laverne. Rhythm is by Billy Hart, Mike Richmond, and Efrain Toro – and titles include "Sabra", "Pretty City", "Another World", "Sum Sum", and "Blue Serge". LP, Vinyl record album

A real classic from Japanese guitarist Ryo Kawasaki – a sweet batch of Japanese fusion tracks, with lots of nice work on guitar, keyboards, and reeds! Like a lot of Ryo's other albums from the time, the record blends together jazzy riffing with some smoother R&B touches – but still manages to keep things nice and hard overall, especially on the best tracks – a vibe that's more CTI than some of the later Japanese fusion of the 70s! The lineup includes Sam Morrison on tenor and soprano sax, Andy Laverne on piano and keyboards, and Phil Clendininn on a bit of extra Arp – and titles include the great slow funk number "On The Dot", plus "Montevideo", "Good Night John", and "El Diablo". CD

Mike Richmond is plucking the cello on the front of the cover – and within, he uses the instrument in a wonderfully fluid, jazzy style – really living up to the legacy of earlier work on the cello in jazz by artists like Ron Carter, Sam Jones, or Eldee Young! The group is nice and lean, with Andy Laverne on piano, Jay Anderson on bass, and Anthony Pinciotti on drums – and the cello is recorded very high up in the mix, with a lot more texture on the strings than you might expect – and certainly a very different sound than the use of the instrument in classical music or string quartet settings! Titles include a fair bit of Bill Evans numbers – versions of "Bill's Hit Tune", "Orbit", "Turn Out The Star", "B Minor Waltz", and "Waltz For Debbie" – and a nice take on "You Must Believe In Spring". CD

Piano tributes to the great Bill Evans by a host of other greats that include Herbie Hancock, Mccoy Tyner, Chick Corea, John Lewis, Teddy Wilon, Denny Zeitlin, Dave McKenna, George Shearing, Joanne Brackeen, Andy LaVerne, Richie Beirach, Dave Frishberg, and Warren Bernhardt. CD

Music from Randy Newman, Marc Cohn, Aimee Mann, Fred Schneider, Joe Ely, Ringo Starr with Stevie Nicks, Beckley/Lamm/Wilson, Laverne Baker, Steve Forbert, Peter Wolf And the Houseparty 5, Jennifer Trynin, Al Kooper, Victoria Williams, Marshall Crenshaw, Brian Wilson, Jellyfish, Bill Lloyd, Ron Sexsmith, Adrian Belew, Richard Barone, the Roches with Mark Johnson), John Cowan, and Jimmy Webb. CD