An excellent Japanese-only release – Art Farmer blows flugelhorn with backing by the Great Jazz Trio of Hank Jones on piano, Eddie Gomez on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums – with a bit of additional strings arranged by Masahiko Satoh! LP, Vinyl record album

A great large group project from arranger Manny Albam – one that teams him up with "jazz greats" of the east coast scene. Manny's working here with a set of players who are well-chosen for their ability to work strongly in an ensemble, yet also break out with strong solo work when the moment comes – and the lineup includes Gerry Mulligan, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Phil Woods, Bob Brookmeyer, and Art Farmer – with rhythm by the trio of Hank Jones, Milt Hinton, and Osie Johnson. CD

Sergio Mendes is definitely a swinger – especially on this jazz-based session that was recorded before his famous work with Brasil 66! This album was recorded in New York, at a time when Mendes was one of the hottest things brewing in the bossa scene in Brazil – and apart from the great Antonio Carlos Jobim on guitar, many of the other players are American jazz musicians – including Art Farmer on flugelhorn, Phil Woods on alto sax, and Hubert Laws on flute – all adding in some nice jazzy elements to the tunes! The music is all instrumental, and a great mix of jazz and bossa that really lets you hear the young Sergio's skills on piano. Titles include "Maria Moita", "Sambinha Bossa Nova", "The Dreamer", "Primavera", "Favela", and "Pau Brazil". CD

Rare work from the team of Gigi Gryce and Donald Byrd – material recorded during their Jazz Lab sessions for Columbia Records in the 50s, but unissued at the time! The duo are pure genius together – able to open up with all the modern jazz currents that altoist Gryce was bringing to his writing and arranging, yet still swing with all the sense of soul that you'd know from later work from the famous trumpeter Byrd! The blend is great – kind of like all the best 50s modern jazz ideas rolled into one – a record with plenty of new ideas, but a rock-solid swing to match the best on Blue Note or Prestige – driven strongly by the rhythm trio of Hank Jones on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. Gryce is especially nice – maybe a bit more biting than on some of his earlier records with Art Farmer, and a hell of a soloist throughout. Titles include "Exhibit A", "Capri", "Splittin", "Byrd In Hand", "Ergo The Blues", and "Passade". LP, Vinyl record album

Really great work from Art Farmer – one of a handful of records from the mid 60s that have the trumpeter picking up a slightly sharper edge than before – a nice contrast to some of his more spacious albums on labels like Argo or Atlantic! The vibe here is almost a small group take on the Jazztet sound that Art created with Benny Golson – but a bit more organic overall, thanks to a tight rhythm trio that features Cedar Walton on piano, Walter Booker on bass, and Jimmy Roker on drums – who almost give the record a Prestige Records sort of vibe. The great Jimmy Heath plays sublime tenor in the lead – and turns out to be a perfect partner for Art, helping hit a different sound than his material with Golson – and although the tunes are mostly the jazz hits promised in the title, they get some really fresh readings here – as the pair make magic on tunes that include "Take Five", "I Remember Clifford", "Watermelon Man", "Song For My Father", "Sidewinder", "Moanin", and "Gemini". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime late 90s work from the great Art Farmer – blowing here on flugelhorn with superb backing from the European Jazz Trio – a combo who are perfect at unlocking those lyrical lines that can make Farmer's best work so great! The trio features Marc Van Roon on piano, Frans Van Der Hoeven on bass, and Roy Dackus on drums – players with this easygoing groove that's warmed up nicely by the presence of Art's horn as he blows those concise, well-executed and compressed notes that make his solos a masterpiece of effective yet understated expression. Titles include "Sweet Sweep", "Plein Soleil", "Hello", "Che Voule Questa Musika Stasera", "In Your Own Sweet Way", and "Waltz". CD

A trio of albums from one of our favorite trumpeters on the European scene! First up is Portrait – a set that stands as a tribute to trumpeter Dusko Goykovich's 70 years on this planet – and a record that features him in a variety of settings too! Other players include Ferdinand Povel on flute and tenor, Tony Lakatos on tenor, Steve Gut on trumpet, Isla Eckinger and Ray Drummond on basses, Abraham Burton on alto, and Kenny Barron and Tommy Flanagan on pianos – on titles that include "Recado Bossa Nova", "Balkan Blue", "Adriatica", "One For Klook", and "Inga". Next is Swinging Macedonia – a legendary German session from the 60s – and a record that really showcases the unusual criss-crossing of modes that was going on in the European scene at the time! There's a very strong MPS vibe here – as trumpeter Dusko Goykovich leads a swinging sextet that includes Nathan Davis on flute, soprano, and tenor – blowing some tremendously soulful reed lines – plus incredible rhythms from Mal Waldron on piano, Peter Trunk on bass, and Cees See on drums. The record's an attempt to bring traditional Macedonian rhythms into a jazz perspective – but with players like these, it swings in a way any Macedonian album never could – damn soulful, and with a great exotic vibe. Davis is especially great, and plays in a soaring modal vein that's similar to his work on his classic MPS sides, and on the records he cut in America in the early 70s. The album's a beautiful session that often get's overlooked because it blends it with the Enja catalog – but it's really more of a record that belongs in an MPS reissue series, and is a great lost groover that's waiting to be rediscovered by the Dusty Groove crowd. Titles include "Macedonia", "Old Fisherman's Daughter", "Jumbo Uganda", "Bem Basha", "Saga Se karame", and "The Nights Of Skopje". Brandenberg Concert features one of the greatest trumpeters on the European scene of the past few decades – heard here in a completely sublime setting! Dusko Goykovich has played in many styles and many ways, but hasn't ever done a date with full strings before – a long-overdue placement for his wonderful tone on trumpet – shimmering out front of a larger ensemble, in the manner of classic "with strings" dates by Dizzy Gillespie or Art Farmer! Altoist Peter King arranged the album – and titles are all originals by Dusko, some of which you might know from earlier records – reworked here beautifully for the new setting. King also solos on a handful of tracks too – a rich voice that provides a nice balance with Dusko's trumpet. Strings are never overdone, and the album's always got a nice swing from a core rhythm trio that features Renato Chicco on piano. Titles include "Good Old Days", "Handful O Soul", "Danca Comigo", "St Germain Des Pres", "Adriatica", "In My Dreams", and "I Miss You So". CD

Genius work from one of the most solid groups in 60s jazz – the quintet co-led by trumpeter Clark Terry and trombonist Bob Brookmeyer – a legendary ensemble that drew on the best talents of both players, but grew into something greater! Brookmeyer's playing valve trombone throughout on the tunes – played in a fluid, trumpety way that matches perfectly with Terry's own phrasing – and which almost creates a sense of counterpoint on the head arrangements, yet which never falls into styles that are too academic or modern. There's a fluid easy grace here that's really surprising – with none of Terry's gutbuckety tricks or Brookmeyer's too experimental moments – and overall, the group have a solid, soulful quality that almost reminds us of the Art Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet, or of some of Farmer's other key recordings of the 60s. Rhythm is by the trio of Roger Kellaway on piano, Bill Crow on bass, and Dave Bailey on drums – and the album features 10 numbers in all, including "Tete A Tete", "Pretty Girl", "Blue China", "Blindman, Blindman", "Sometime Ago", "Hymn", "Step right Up", "Weep" and "Straight No Chaser". LP, Vinyl record album