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2 early soul sides by the woman who later went on to marry Lester Bowie, and sing jazz vocals with the Art Ensemble Of Chicago. Both tracks have Fontella's raw hard soul sound firmly in place, with the kind of groove that was stolen from her to bigger fame by Aretha Franklin. 7-inch, Vinyl record

The rarest of all of Art Blakey's percussion group projects – and quite possibly the best, too! The session features Blakey at the head of a strong mix of jazz and percussion players – with Art Taylor and Philly Joe Jones on the regular drum kit, Donald Byrd on trumpet and Ray Bryant on piano, and a host of assorted percussion work by the likes of Ray Barretto, Sabu Martinez, Victor Gonzalez, Julio Martinez, and others. The resultant sound is incredible – very full, rich, and earthy – and done in a way that interweaves African and Latin percussion styles with straighter American jazz! A few cuts have chanting by Blakey and Sabu – and titles on this first volume include "The Feast", "Mirage", "Lamento Africano", and "Aghano". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent live set by the Jazz Messengers – recorded in Paris in 1958, but with a hard heavy groove that's right up there with their best Blue Note work. The group at this time – Blakey, Bobby Timmons, Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, and Jymie Merritt – plays hard, heavy, and straight ahead, with no other interference from outside players – and the track list is a batch of classic Jazz Messenger standards, stretched out a bit longer than usual, with plenty of solo space! Titles include "Moanin", "Justice", "Whisper Not", "Blues March", and "I Remember Clifford". CD

An incredible early experimental album from Art Blakey – one of the first to feature him in expanded percussion format! Side one of the album features the extended "Drum Suite" – a set of 3 tracks ("The Sacrifice", "Cubano Chant", and "Oscalypso") that has Blakey and Jo Jones on drums, joined by Sabu Martinez on bongos and Charles Wright on tympani and gong. Ray Bryant snakes some soulful piano through the set and Oscar Pettiford is on bass and cello – and the overall feeling of the side is similar to some of Blakey's work in the format for Blue Note – like the albums Afro-Drum Orgy or Holiday for Percussion. Side two has straight hard bop, played by Blakey's 1957 combo that included Jackie McLean and Bill Hardman – and the group grooves hard on a classic reading of "Nica's Tempo", plus the cuts "D's Dilemma" and "Just For Marty". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer early album by Art Blakey and his first incarnation of The Messengers – recorded before Horace Silver left the group, and a rare non-Blue Note outing done for Columbia Records! The ensemble here features Donald Byrd on trumpet, Hank Mobley on tenor, and Doug Watkins on bass – alongside Silver's piano and Blakey's thundering work on drums – and the album is virtually a blueprint for the sound of hardbop in years to come – focused and intense, but still with plenty of room for individual solo expression! Tracks include a classic reading of "Nica's Dream", plus Horace Silver's great "Ecaroh", and Mobley's own "Infra-Rae" and "Hank's Symphony". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Art Blakey's best non-Blue Note albums of the 60s – a hard-wailing live set that fully exploits the best talents of the six-piece version of the Jazz Messengers! The group here is that tremendous sextet that featured Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Wayne Shorter on tenor, and Cedar Walton on piano – all working with Blakey to rework the earlier mode from his quintet years – in a way that actually allowed for a bit more lyricism and introspection! Titles include Cedar Walton's original "Ugetsu", Curtis Fuller's "Time Off", and Wayne Shorter's great "One By One", "Ping Pong", and "On the Ginza". LP, Vinyl record album

Work Of Art is a great batch of material that Art Farmer recorded for Prestige in the early fifties. This is way before he got hyper-lyrical, and his playing is raw and hard on a bunch of Quincy Jones arrangements, including the savage cut "Mau-Mau", which features a very early use of the electric bass, driving drumming by Sonny Johnson, and a savage Afro groove. This cut alone is worth the price of the album, and deserves to be a club classic. Warm Valley is a wonderfully-titled set for Art Farmer – working here in a warm valley of sound, and blowing in that open, spacious tone that marked so much of his best later work! The group's a quartet – with Fred Hersh on piano, Ray Drummund on bass, and Akira Tana on drums – all sort of nicely sticking in the back and letting Art take center stage on his round, well-crafted fluegelhorn solos. Titles include "Eclypso", "And Now There's You", "Three Little Words", "Warm Valley", and "Sad To Say". CD

Landmark work by one of the greatest jazz outfits of the early 60s! Art Farmer and Benny Golson were both known as well-composed players during the 50s – strongly soulful, but often with a fine sense of arrangement that usually tended towards the lyrical side of things. With this group, though, they turned that approach towards a heavier sounding style of jazz – tightly stepping soul jazz, in the manner that was being explored at the time by Cannonball Adderley, Art Blakey, and others – presented by Farmer and Golson with a bit more groove and a wonderful kick at the bottom! This album's the first the group cut together – and apart from trumpet by Farmer and tenor by Golson, it also features Curtis Fuller on trombone, McCoy Tyner on piano, Addison Farmer (brother of Art) on bass, and Lex Humphries on drums. Includes the massive original recording of "Killer Joe", which went onto become one of the most recorded jazz standards ever, plus the tracks "Blues March", "Mox Nix", "Park Avenue Petite", and "I Remember Clifford". Perfect tone, perfect groove, and a perfect sound all the way through! LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful album that we'd rank as one of Freddie Hubbard's greatest recordings ever – a truly sublime set that's quite different than his Blue Note work of the 60s, and which really shows him emerging as a major talent on the trumpet! The set features a core sextet of key players – the legendary John Gilmore on tenor sax, making a rare appearance here away from the Sun Ra Arkestra – plus Curtis Fuller on trombone, Tommy Flanagan on piano, Art Davis on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums – the last three of whom provide a soulful, almost spiritual rhythm to the record – elevating Freddie's horn to tremendous heights, possibly for the first time in his career. All tracks are nice and long – and titles include the Hubbard originals "Bob's Place", "Happy Times", and "The 7th Day", all of which roll along on a groove that's not what you'd expect – plus versions of "Summertime" and "Caravan". CD

The "trip" here is a mellow one – not the soaring, spacey style you might expect in a long line of drug-reference titles for Art Pepper albums – but that difference is a-ok with us, because Art's really hitting some great new territory here, thanks to a hip trio that includes George Cables on piano! Tracks are long and stretched out – but in a way that's gently exploratory, and focused on a really warm sense of tone – in a mode that we might liken slightly to Stan Getz at his best moments from the same period, particularly the groove he developed in his post-Sweet Rain years. Other members of the quartet include David Williams on bass and Elvin Jones on drums – and tracks include "The Trip", "Sweet Love Of Mine", "A Song For Richard", "Red Car", and "The Summer Knows". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime solo piano work from Art Tatum – on titles that include "The Way You Look Tonight", "There's A Small Hotel", "Dancing In The Dark", "You Go To My head", and "After You've Gone". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic stuff – and still sounding pretty fresh today! This is the first e.p. of tracks from Art of Noise, a groundbreaking set of sound collage tracks that mixes samples, beats, and dada instrumentation into a groove that definitely set the tone for the next 10 years. The record includes the original mix of their spacey stepper "Moments In Love", plus the hard funky "Beat Box", and the cuts "Comes & Goes", "The Army Now", and "Battle". LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual little record from Art Blakey – a live set recorded at the Lighthouse in 1966, with a band that includes the surprising lineup of Keith Jarrett on piano and Chuck Mangione on trumpet! If you're surprised at the mix of players, and figure that they won't groove with Blakey's soulful approach – don't worry, as Art's still strongly at the helm, and manages to get incredibly tight performances out of both of them – really forging them strongly into a Jazz Messengers groove! The group also features Frank Mitchell on tenor and Reggie Johnson on bass – and Mangione wrote a number of the tracks for the album, including "Buttercorn Lady", a nice funky soul jazz groover, "Recuerdo", with a bit of a Latin feel, and "Between Races", a charger in typical Jazz Messengers style! LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully hard-storming set – and a record that not only firmly put the Jazz Messengers on the map, but also set a whole new standard for live jazz recording! The group here is the early version of the Messengers – almost co-led by drummer Art Blakey with pianist Horace Silver – and featuring Clifford Brown on trumpet, just a few months before his early death – plus Lou Donaldson on alto and Curley Russell on bass. The presence of alto instead of tenor makes the sound slightly different than later incarnations of the group – and the overall approach is one that virtually defines the shift from straight bop to hardbop in the 50s – a mode that both Blakey and Silver were key in creating. Tracks include "Split Kick", "Quicksilver", "Mayreh", and "A Night In Tunisia". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully hard-storming set – and a record that not only firmly put the Jazz Messengers on the map, but also set a whole new standard for live jazz recording! The group here is the early version of the Messengers – almost co-led by drummer Art Blakey with pianist Horace Silver – and featuring Clifford Brown on trumpet, just a few months before his early death – plus Lou Donaldson on alto and Curley Russell on bass. The presence of alto instead of tenor makes the sound slightly different than later incarnations of the group – and the overall approach is one that virtually defines the shift from straight bop to hardbop in the 50s – a mode that both Blakey and Silver were key in creating. Tracks include "Wee Dot", "Quicksilver" (alternate), "Now's The Time", and "Confirmation". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing album that has Art Blakey completely reinventing himself for the 70s! Blakey shifts from straight hardbop to kind of a modal soul jazz groove, touched with some of the electric playing of the younger jazz generation, but not enough to qualify as fusion or funk. Instead, he's working with some great younger players – like Carter Jefferson, Woody Shaw, and Michael Howell – hitting a groove that reminds us of some of the best underground soul jazz on labels like Muse or Strata East. Includes the amazing long groovers "Mission Eternal" and "Chant For Bu", a famous Tribe Called Quest sample – plus new electric piano versions of "Moanin" and "Along Came Betty", both of which feature vocals by Jon Hendricks. CD

An amazing album that has Art Blakey completely reinventing himself for the 70s! Blakey shifts from straight hardbop to kind of a modal soul jazz groove, touched with some of the electric playing of the younger jazz generation, but not enough to qualify as fusion or funk. Instead, he's working with some great younger players – like Carter Jefferson, Woody Shaw, and Michael Howell – hitting a groove that reminds us of some of the best underground soul jazz on labels like Muse or Strata East. Includes the amazing long groovers "Mission Eternal" and "Chant For Bu", a famous Tribe Called Quest sample – plus new electric piano versions of "Moanin" and "Along Came Betty", both of which feature vocals by Jon Hendricks. LP, Vinyl record album

An essential Art Farmer session from the mid 50s – and a magnificent batch of hardbop tracks that we'd rank with some of our favorite work on Blue Note! The group is incredibly strong – with Hank Mobley on tenor, Kenny Drew on piano, Addison Farmer on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – all coming together with a magical in-the-pocket groove that persists on nearly every track. Farmer's still at a formative stage here – and he's going for a much harder sound than usual, with an excellent tone and extremely well calculated solos throughout. Mobley's at his best from this period, and his playing puts this session more in the tightly executed Blue Note camp (ala some of the Horace Silver late 50s recordings), than it does the Prestige/New Jazz blowing session mode. The whole thing's great – and titles include "Ad-Dis-Un", "By Myself", "Farmer's Market", "With Prestige", and "Wailin' With Hank". CD

A great overseas album by Art Farmer – done with a driving Latin-tinged feel and a mellifluous groove that really shows the best side of Art's playing! The set was recorded while Art was living in Vienna, and the group features Jimmy Heath on soulful tenor, soprano sax, and flute, plus some great piano work by Fritz Pauer. Jimmy Woode's in the rhythm section, giving the set the light dancing feel he brought to his best work for MPS – and the album's got a lot of drive, especially on cuts like Heath's "The Gap Sealer" or "Cascavelo", another great original from the session. Other tracks include "The Day After", "Con Fab", and "Cocodrilo". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet funky album from Art Farmer– an artist we don't normally associate with 70s funk, but who does a really great job on this CTI session! Art's working here in the frontline with Yusef Lateef on reeds – another unlikely candidate for a record like this – and the pair get some strong backing from the band of Dave Matthews, who manages to provide just the right blend of tight arrangements and jazz funk, so that each player gets plenty of room to soar, but the whole album sticks in a nice smooth groove on the rhythms! Includes a soaring version of Chick Corea's "Spain", a slow funk take on Chris Kenner's "Something You Got", and the cuts "Flute Song", "Hombre Del Sol", "Sauhade", and "Sandu". LP, Vinyl record album

A great batch of material that Art Farmer recorded for Prestige in the early fifties. This is way before he got hyper-lyrical, and his playing is raw and hard on a bunch of Quincy Jones arrangements, including the savage cut "Mau-Mau", which features a very early use of the electric bass, driving drumming by Sonny Johnson, and a savage Afro groove. This cut alone is worth the price of the album, and deserves to be a club classic. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best albums ever by this crack soul jazz combo – the mighty Jazztet, an early 60s group led by Art Farmer and Benny Golson! The set was recorded in Chicago, and it features the group hard-grooving through some really well-arranged numbers – lively tunes with a snapping, in-the-pocket kind of groove, played with a lot more soul than you'd expect from either Golson or Farmer's solo albums. The rest of the group's great, too – and features Cedar Walton on piano, Tom McIntosh on trombone, and Albert Heath on drums. A few tracks are nice and long, and titles include "Farmer's Market", "Junction", "November Afternoon", and "Shutterbug". CD

A brilliant pairing from the 50s hardbop years at Prestige – the tight trombone of Bennie Green, and the sweet trumpet of Art Farmer – both captured here at an early point when they had plenty of edge! The match is a great one – given the trumpet-like phrasing that often made Green stand apart from some of his contemporaries – and at some level, Bennie's even more punctuated, and with more bite than Farmer – leaving Art to warm things up a bit with his mighty fluid solos! Rhythms are nice and tight – just what both players need – and the group features Cliff Smalls on piano, Addison Farmer on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – on titles that include "Skycoach", "Let's Stretch", "Cliff Dweller", "My Blue Heaven", and "Gone With The Wind". LP, Vinyl record album

Lionel Hampton on vibes, Art Tatum on piano, and Buddy Rich on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Nona Hendryx at the height of her 80s glory – looking mighty fierce in a fencing costume on the cover! As with her previous set, this one's done with heavy help from Material – who bring in a beat heavy sound that's kind of a mainstream variation on the underground New York groove they'd had a few years before. Francois K helps a bit on the mixing, and you can definitely hear some of his playful touches – the sorts of sounds that helped a record like this build a bridge between the clubs and the streets, from Danceteria to the mainstream! Musicians include Bernie Worrell on keyboards and Bill Laswell on bass and tapes – and titles include "To The Bone", "Electricity", "I Sweat", "Soft Targets", "I Want You", "Ghost Love", and "The Life". LP, Vinyl record album

Nona Hendryx at the height of her 80s glory – looking mighty fierce in a fencing costume on the cover! As with her previous set, this one's done with heavy help from Material – who bring in a beat heavy sound that's kind of a mainstream variation on the underground New York groove they'd had a few years before. Francois K helps a bit on the mixing, and you can definitely hear some of his playful touches – the sorts of sounds that helped a record like this build a bridge between the clubs and the streets, from Danceteria to the mainstream! Musicians include Bernie Worrell on keyboards and Bill Laswell on bass and tapes – and titles include "To The Bone", "Electricity", "I Sweat", "Soft Targets", "I Want You", "Ghost Love", and "The Life". LP, Vinyl record album

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Wonderful Capitol Records material from Art Tatum! LP, Vinyl record album

The "perfect match" here is the accordion of Art Van Damme and the guitar of Johnny Smith, who's sitting in with the usual group to add a bit of a groove. In the right setting, Van Damme's accordion is sublime – and working here with guitar, vibes, bass, and drums, his sound is great – swinging groovily along with a very clean edge. Titles include "Valse Hot", "Satan's Doll", "Bluesey", "Tangee", "Nicollet Avenue Breakdown", and "Tickle Toe". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice 2LP set that collects material recorded on January 3, 1958 – originally issued as 2 separate LPs, The Big Sound and Groove Blues, but collected here together in its entirety, along with a good set of notes! The album's classic Ammons, playing in a laidback open-ended blowing session, with other strong Prestige players – like Coltrane, Jerome Richardson, Paul Quinichette, Art Taylor, and Mal Waldron, who always seems to be the driving force between most Prestige sides like this. Titles include "Groove Blues", "Jug Handle", "Cheek To Cheek", "Blue Hymn", "The Real McCoy", and "That's All". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare meeting of the Art Ensemble Of Chicago and the late pianist Don Pullen – recorded at the Frankfurt Jazz Festival in 1991, and easily one of the group's greatest sessions from this period! There's a freely creative spirit here that reminds us a lot of the Art Ensemble's best European performances of years back – especially on the 20 minute opening reading of "People In Sorrow", which has an ethereal sound built up from percussion, in a way that's almost more haunting than the original. Pullen's piano takes on a bit more presence on the tracks "Song For Atala" and "Fundamental Destiny" – both of which show the skill for more tightly arranged horn parts that the Ensemble picked up during the 80s – but still delivered here with enough loose, spontaneous energy to stand apart from some of their studio work of the decade. Pullen delivers a strong pulse on the latter track especially – and continues into a straighter, soaring jazz groove on "Odwalla/The Theme", which closes the set. Lester Bowie plays trumpet, Joseph Jarman and Roscoe Mitchell are on woodwinds and percussion, Malachi Favors on bass, Don Moye on Sun percussion, and Don Pullen on piano. CD

Brilliant work! Would music ever be this great again? We're hard pressed to think so. Trevor Horn, fresh from his vamped-up work with Yes, hits the beat box with the Dudley, Horn, and Jeczalik team, and comes up with these crossover instrumental tunes that took a hip hop groove to the next level, shoved together sheets of sound and noises, and probably influenced the sound of 95% of TV commercials in the 90s! 7-inch, Vinyl record

An unusual little record from Art Blakey – a live set recorded at the Lighthouse in 1966, with a band that includes the surprising lineup of Keith Jarrett on piano and Chuck Mangione on trumpet! If you're surprised at the mix of players, and figure that they won't groove with Blakey's soulful approach – don't worry, as Art's still strongly at the helm, and manages to get incredibly tight performances out of both of them – really forging them strongly into a Jazz Messengers groove! The group also features Frank Mitchell on tenor and Reggie Johnson on bass – and Mangione wrote a number of the tracks for the album, including "Buttercorn Lady", a nice funky soul jazz groover, "Recuerdo", with a bit of a Latin feel, and "Between Races", a charger in typical Jazz Messengers style! CD

One of the best non-Blue Note sessions from Art Blakey in the 60s – a really searing set that features the sextet lineup of the Jazz Messengers – a group that's filled with legends who include Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Reggie Workman on bass, and Cedar Walton on piano! The sextet format really pushes the energy of the group – and allows for even more wonderful horn interplay than before – while still allowing for lots of solo space for individual voices. Tracks are long and open, with a bouncing lyrical groove that's more soaring than some of the heavy-hitting earlier albums from Blakey, but no less pleasing – and possibly even a bit more soulful! Titles include "Sweet N Sour", "This Is For Albert", "Skylark", and "Thermo" – plus two more alternate takes. CD

A rare Jubilee Records album from Art Blakey – one of his non-Blue Note sets from the late 50s, cut during the year of 1957 – a time when the Jazz Messengers were hopping around a lot of different labels! This version of the group is searing and soulful – and features Johnny Griffin on tenor, Bill Hardman on trumpet, Sam Dockery on piano, and Spanky DeBrest on bass – plus the unusual addition of Sabu Martinez on conga, rocking and rollicking alongside Blakey's drums in an amazing way! The set's quite different than some of Art's "with percussion" dates for Blue Note – as Sabu's congas kind of just set an extra fire to the hardbop groove – giving it a slight Latin flavor, but more than anything, just getting in a wicked edge that really cooks up the session. Griffin is great, as always, and the album features four long tracks "Woddyn You", "Sakeena", "Shorty", and "Dawn On The Desert". CD

Sublime 70s material from Art Blakey – a double-length set that pulls together most of the tracks from the albums Buhania and Anthenagain, and also throws in a previously unreleased number too! Blakey's groove at this point in his career is quite different than the Jazz Messengers style of the 60s – equally soulful, yet in very fresh ways – really stretching out to embrace the sounds and players of the new generation – with Woody Shaw's trumpet and Carter Jefferson's tenor making some especially strong appearances – and some really standout electric piano work from Cedar Walton, which shapes the sound of the set wonderfully. Jon Hendricks turns in some beautiful vocals on versions of "Moanin" and "Along Came Betty" – and other tracks include the famous "Mission Eternal", sampled by Tribe Called Quest – plus "Without A Song", "Gertrude's Bounce", "Siempre Mi Amor", "One For Trane", "Fantasy In D", and "Chant For Bu". CD

One of Art Blakey's first true moments of genius! This transitional version of the Jazz Messengers included two parts – Lee Morgan and Bobby Timmons – of the holy Morgan/Shorter/Timmons trilogy, and it's also got the added bonus of Benny Golson on tenor, who was at the height of his power at this point. The record really shines in ways that few Blakey albums shone since his days with Horace Silver – in that it's a forum for fresh new writing, most importantly Golson's landmark compositions "Blues March" and "Along Came Betty", and Timmons' instant classic "Moanin". The whole album's wonderful, though, and Golson's edgey modernism adds a strong dimension to the group's usual soulful romping groove! (And in fact, as a tribute to the group's success, the album was initially named Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, but quickly retitled Moanin in this version, after the big hit single!) CD

A really unusual live set from the great Art Blakey – his only album for the United Artists label, but one that continues the tradition of the expanded group style he was starting to use at Blue Note! The lineup here is a sextet, one that's got even more power than the Jazz Messengers as a quintet – a group that bridges generations with older Messengers Wayne Shorter on tenor and Jymie Merritt on bass – alongside rising talents Curtis Fuller on trombone, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and Cedar Walton on piano – the last of whom leaves a key mark on the group's sound, through his mix of soulful groove and lyrical inflections! There's maybe even more searing energy here than on the previous live Blue Note albums from Blake. This first volume includes the version of "Three Blind Mice" that was sampled years ago by Gang Starr, plus the cuts "Plexis", "Children Of The Night", "Up Jumped Spring", and "Blue Moon". CD

An amazing album that has Art Blakey completely reinventing himself for the 70s! Blakey shifts from straight hardbop to kind of a modal soul jazz groove, touched with some of the electric playing of the younger jazz generation, but not enough to qualify as fusion or funk. Instead, he's working with some great younger players – like Carter Jefferson, Woody Shaw, and Michael Howell – hitting a groove that reminds us of some of the best underground soul jazz on labels like Muse or Strata East. Includes the amazing long groovers "Mission Eternal" and "Chant For Bu", a famous Tribe Called Quest sample – plus new electric piano versions of "Moanin" and "Along Came Betty", both of which feature vocals by Jon Hendricks. LP, Vinyl record album

Two Art Blakey killers – packaged in a single set! First up is New York Scene – overlooked genius from Art Blakey's 80s years – a time when he was recording for a variety of smaller labels, but turning out work that was every bit as fresh and vibrant as his sides from the 60s and 70s! As always with the Jazz Messengers, the group's filled with up-and-coming jazz talents that really make the record great – trumpet from Terence Blanchard, tenor from Jean Toussaint, alto from Donald Harrison, piano from Mulgrew Miller, and bass from Lonnie Plaxico – all players who leave their own imprint strongly on the record, yet still fall into line with the core groove supplied by Blakey's drums. Titles include Blanchard's "Oh By The Way", Harrison's "Controversy", and Miller's "Falafel" – all wonderfully soulful numbers – plus a "Ballad Medley", and a version of "Tenderly". Live At Kimballs is a smoking club set – recorded with Terence Blanchard on trumpet, Donald Harrison on alto, Jean Toussaint on tenor, and Mulgrew Miller on piano! The group's got a great soulful swing, and titles include "Jody", "second Thoughts", "Dr Jeckyl", "You & The Night & The Music", and "Old Folks". CD

A really unusual live set from the great Art Blakey – his only album for the United Artists label, but one that continues the tradition of the expanded group style he was starting to use at Blue Note! The lineup here is a sextet, one that's got even more power than the Jazz Messengers as a quintet – a group that bridges generations with older Messengers Wayne Shorter on tenor and Jymie Merritt on bass – alongside rising talents Curtis Fuller on trombone, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and Cedar Walton on piano – the last of whom leaves a key mark on the group's sound, through his mix of soulful groove and lyrical inflections! There's maybe even more searing energy here than on the previous live Blue Note albums from Blakey – and titles include "Plexis", "Up Jumped Spring", "That Old Feeling", and "Three Blind Mice". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those landmark meetings of mighty talents that sounds even better on record than it does on paper – as the set somehow finds this really special space that's completely between all the best early 70s modes of both Terry Riley and John Cale! Cale was really coming into his own at the time as a solo act – creating amazing records after leaving the Velvet Underground, but also still tied to the deeper art scene from which he emerged. Riley was on the way to becoming one of the most popular of the more modern composers – thanks to a nod from The Who, and a big audience for his wonderfully trippy records on Columbia. The label allowed the pair to create this really special music here – sounds that borrow from Riley's minimalism, while also having some of the darkness of Cale's own compositions – and coming across with this jagged, almost modal sort of approach that's really great. Cale only sings on one song, and the rest of the set is instrumental – as Riley plays piano, organ, and soprano sax – and Cale joins in on bass, guitar, viola, and harpsichord. The two of them groove together in these totally cool tracks that build and build, with minimal lines repeating over and over in endlessly fascinating groove – in a way that touches on a weirdly funky mode! The cut "Ides Of March" has the potential to be dancefloor groover in the jazz dance scene, and there's lots of other great tracks like "Church of Anthrax", "The Protege", and "The Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles". CD

An extremely great session from Eddie Costa – one of the best of the all-great Mode sessions from 1957! In what is an odd meeting of players, especially for the label, Eddie's piano and vibes meet up with Art Farmer's trumpet, the alto of Phil Woods, bass of Teddy Kotick, and drums of Paul Motian – all of whom work together with the fluidity and soulfulness of some of the best Prestige sessions of the time. The horn work is tremendous – and it's hard to remember Woods sounding this great on other albums of the time, really cutting an edge next to Farmer's trumpet – which also has an incredible tone for the album, right up there with his Farmer's Market record. Titles include "Big Ben", "Blues Plus Eight", "Stretch In F", and "Get Out Of The Road". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful album of understated brilliance – one of Art Farmer's early shifts into the sublime, and an easily-blown batch of trumpet tracks that always takes our breath away! There's a sense of relaxed freedom here that's really tremendous – a difference from some of Farmer's more arranged, or more hard-blown moments of the 50s – and a real move into notes that are airier and more open – almost effortless at times, and played like nobody else! The group's a quartet – with Tommy Flanagan on piano, Tommy Williams on bass, and Albert Heath on drums – and the tracks are all in the four to five minute range, with Art crafting lyrically soulful lines over the top. Titles include "Who Cares", "Out Of The Past", "Younger Than Springtime", "That Ole Devil Called Love", and "Goodbye Old Girl". LP, Vinyl record album

An essential Art Farmer session from the mid 50s – and a magnificent batch of hardbop tracks that we'd rank with some of our favorite work on Blue Note! The group is incredibly strong – with Hank Mobley on tenor, Kenny Drew on piano, Addison Farmer on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – all coming together with a magical in-the-pocket groove that persists on nearly every track. Farmer's still at a formative stage here – and he's going for a much harder sound than usual, with an excellent tone and extremely well calculated solos throughout. Mobley's at his best from this period, and his playing puts this session more in the tightly executed Blue Note camp (ala some of the Horace Silver late 50s recordings), than it does the Prestige/New Jazz blowing session mode. The whole thing's great – and titles include "Ad-Dis-Un", "By Myself", "Farmer's Market", "With Prestige", and "Wailin' With Hank". CD

One of the best albums ever by this crack soul jazz combo – the mighty Jazztet, an early 60s group led by Art Farmer and Benny Golson! The set was recorded in Chicago, and it features the group hard-grooving through some really well-arranged numbers – lively tunes with a snapping, in-the-pocket kind of groove, played with a lot more soul than you'd expect from either Golson or Farmer's solo albums. The rest of the group's great, too – and features Cedar Walton on piano, Tom McIntosh on trombone, and Albert Heath on drums. A few tracks are nice and long, and titles include "Farmer's Market", "Junction", "November Afternoon", and "Shutterbug". LP, Vinyl record album

Landmark work by one of the greatest jazz outfits of the early 60s! Art Farmer and Benny Golson were both known as well-composed players during the 50s – strongly soulful, but often with a fine sense of arrangement that usually tended towards the lyrical side of things. With this group, though, they turned that approach towards a heavier sounding style of jazz – tightly stepping soul jazz, in the manner that was being explored at the time by Cannonball Adderley, Art Blakey, and others – presented by Farmer and Golson with a bit more groove and a wonderful kick at the bottom! This album's the first the group cut together – and apart from trumpet by Farmer and tenor by Golson, it also features Curtis Fuller on trombone, McCoy Tyner on piano, Addison Farmer (brother of Art) on bass, and Lex Humphries on drums. Includes the massive original recording of "Killer Joe", which went onto become one of the most recorded jazz standards ever, plus the tracks "Blues March", "Mox Nix", "Park Avenue Petite", and "I Remember Clifford". Perfect tone, perfect groove, and a perfect sound all the way through! CD

Great stuff by Art Pepper – originally issued only on tape, and kind of lost in his catalog – and like many albums of his 50s work released after the fact, this one almost blows away some of his best known records! The material was recorded in 1957, and was only ever issued on pre-recorded tape by the Omega Tape Company, so it's one of the rarest 50s sessions by Pepper. The set's got a harder groove than most of his record on Contemporary – which is great with us, because we can finally hear the emotion and tone that Pepper is always credited with, but which doesn't always show up on record. The group's a small one, with Ben Tucker on bass, Chuck Flores on drums, and the late LA bopper Carl Perkins on piano. Titles include "Surf Ride", "Begin The Beguine", "Holiday Flight", "Webb City", and "Too Close For Comfort". CD also features 2 previously unissued bonus tracks – "Blues Rock" and "Rock Blues". CD

Beautiful late work from Art Pepper – and a set that definitely lives up to the samba promised in its name! The groove here is a bit more fluid than usual for Art at this time in his career – and that's saying a lot, given the open-ended style of his Galaxy and Contemporary work – and in a way, it's the rhythm section that really seems to drive the record – George Cables on piano, Michael Formanek on bass, and Eddie Marshall on drums – really stretching out on the album's long, live tracks to give Pepper plenty of dancing rhythms underneath his alto lines. The set features two great Brazilian-tinged groovers – "Samba Mom Mom" and a version of "Blue Bossa" – plus "Art Meets Mr Beautiful" and "Here's That Rainy Day". CD

The "trip" here is a mellow one – not the soaring, spacey style you might expect in a long line of drug-reference titles for Art Pepper albums – but that difference is a-ok with us, because Art's really hitting some great new territory here, thanks to a hip trio that includes George Cables on piano! Tracks are long and stretched out – but in a way that's gently exploratory, and focused on a really warm sense of tone – in a mode that we might liken slightly to Stan Getz at his best moments from the same period, particularly the groove he developed in his post-Sweet Rain years. Other members of the quartet include David Williams on bass and Elvin Jones on drums – and tracks include "The Trip", "Sweet Love Of Mine", "Song For Richard", "Red Car", and "The Summer Knows". CD features 1 bonus track! CD

Amazing work by one of the greatest lost soul bands of the late 60s! As the name would imply, Art and the group are a gospel outfit – but when they worked on Capitol, they got some great hip production that put them in an LA pop soul groove, similar to Friends of Distinction or other mixed vocal groups of the time. The tracks are not really so religious as they are spiritual, and the album's got a wonderfully progressive sound to it – very righteous, with none of the cliches you'd expect. These guys are a bit like the Staple Singers, but to our ears, they've got a style that's even fresher, and usually a lot tighter. Tracks include "My Possessions", "I've Made Up My Mind", "Go For What You Know", "Why? (Am I Treated So Bad)", "Face The Day", and "Land Of Freedom". LP, Vinyl record album

Features work by Ahmad Jamal, Benny Golson & Art Farmer Jazztet, Al Grey, Lorez Alexandria, Buddy Rich, James Moody, Roland Kirk, and others! LP, Vinyl record album

A hard-swinging cooker from Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers – recorded during the landmark year of 1957 – when Blakey's group was open to recording for a number of different labels, in a number of different settings! The set was originally done for the west coast stalwart Pacific Jazz, but it's got a sound that's much more in the hardbop mode of the New York scene – all the fire and intensity that Blakey first cooked up for Blue Note, cast out with a slight sense of openness here in the less iconic setting. Players include Jackie McLean on alto, Bill Hardman on trumpet, and Sam Dockery on piano – and the album's right up there with Vik/RCA, Savoy, and Chess material they cut at the time. Tracks include "Touche", "Sam's Tune", "Once Upon A Groove", and "Wake Up". CD

A really unusual live set from the great Art Blakey – his only album for the United Artists label, but one that continues the tradition of the expanded group style he was starting to use at Blue Note! The lineup here is a sextet, one that's got even more power than the Jazz Messengers as a quintet – a group that bridges generations with older Messengers Wayne Shorter on tenor and Jymie Merritt on bass – alongside rising talents Curtis Fuller on trombone, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and Cedar Walton on piano – the last of whom leaves a key mark on the group's sound, through his mix of soulful groove and lyrical inflections! There's maybe even more searing energy here than on the previous live Blue Note albums from Blakey – and titles include "Plexis", "Up Jumped Spring", "That Old Feeling", and "Three Blind Mice". LP, Vinyl record album

We'll be the first to admit that the piano and compositions of John Lewis can sometimes be a bit stiff and academic – but that's definitely not the case on this great little record! The album features interpretations of Lewis' work by the great Farmer/Golson Jazztet – and is a pretty sweet batch of tracks that adds a lot of the emotion and soul that's usually missing from Lewis' music. Cedar Walton's playing the piano parts, which probably helps the groove a bit, and the group's tight hard sound puts in a "bottom" that you'd hardly hear when listening to John Lewis with the MJQ. In fact, Lewis isn't even on the record – just billed in the title because he contributed the compositions – classics that include "Odds Against Tomorrow", "Bel", "Milano", and "New York 19". 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 nice little set that's got way more to offer than you might guess from its simple title! Sure the set's bebop, and sure it's live – but it's played with a sense of depth, color, and tone that go far beyond a simple "let's go back to the days of Bird and Diz" that you might think. Al Haig's piano work here is especially nice – fluid and flowing, in that great mode that he hit during his later years – and which provides a nice contrast to straighter bop work on the keys. The reed work by Pete King on alto and Art Themen on soprano and tenor is more than just bop soloing too – often more intimately expressive, and occasionally trying for new ideas that sometimes work, and sometimes falter a bit – but bring a nice edge to the set. Titles include "Laura", "Bag's Groove", "Loverman", "Birk's Works", and "Night In Tunisia". CD

2CDs worth of classic work by Milt Jackson! CD one features 14 tracks from Milt's Atlantic years – recorded with players that include Kenny Burrell, Connie Kay, John Lewis, Frank Wess, and John Coltrane, lifted from a number of different records, and including the titles "Bag's New Groove", "Plenty Plenty Soul", "Cylinder", "Sandra's Blues", and "Ghana". CD two features the album Soul Brothers – featuring Milt in the company of Ray Charles, who gives the set much more of a soulful feel than some of Milt's other records. Titles on that set include "Blue Funk", "Cosmic Ray", "Soul Brothers", and "How Long Blues". CD

A lost funky treasure – never issued before! For those not in the know, The Pazant Brothers (Ed & Al) were a duo of funky hornmen that first came to fame working with Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers – and then moved onto cut some great funky records of their own in the 70s. The pair formed a very tight group that had a killer funky sound – one that we'd easily rank right up there with the JBs and The Meters for hard, raw, power – but sadly, they only ever recorded one full album and a handful of singles – which is why this previously unissued concert is even more of an important treat! We have no idea what the folks at MOMA were thinking when they invited the Pazants down to get their groove in gear – but whatever the case, this CD is totally great! Forget the silly cover – which is way too cold and modern to get at the heart of the grooves – and forget the location too, because the tracks on the set sound like they were cut at some smoky club in Harlem, not in the colder midtown setting of MOMA. The whole thing's totally great – a massive batch of instrumental funk that leaves us to wonder why the heck this thing was never issued at the time. Titles include "Groovin", "Skunk Juice", "P Soul", "Fly Vines", "Work Song", "Momma Momma", "We Got More Soul", "Clabber Biscuits", and "Greasy Greens". Totally great! CD

Two different slices of Art Blakey – served up here in a 3CD set! Moanin isn't the Blue Note album of the same name, but a fantastic live set from 1968 – recorded after Blakey's classic Blue Note years, but with a group of fantastic players that includes a young Billy Harper on tenor, Ronnie Matthews on piano, and Julian Priester on trombone. Harper alone is worth the price of the CD – as his firey solos are great, and the whole album's an excellent peek at his early career! There's a sense of open freedom here that's quite different than the earlier Jazz Messengers groove – and this European date is a great complement to the better-known US live recording with the same group from the time. The set features a number of nice long tracks – like Slide Hampton's "Slide's Delight", Billy Harper's "Blues For Eros", Bobby Timmons' "Moanin", and the Jazz Messengers' standard "You Don't Know What Love Is". Sesjun Radio Shows 1 is fantastic radio performances from one of our favorite stretches of the legendary Jazz Messengers group – a time when the lineup featured a young Bobby Watson on alto and Valery Ponomarev on trumpet – two players who'd grow into fantastic leaders on their own, but who here help bring a lot of new life to the group! Watson is especially wonderful – contributing a few key compositions, and that soaring spirit in his horn, which really helped usher in a whole new generation for Blakey's group. James Williams is on piano too, and we actually love his work in this group more than on his later sets as a leader – and remaining players include David Schnitter on tenor on the first six tracks, and Billy Pierce on the horn on the remaining two – and either Dennis Irwin or Charles Fambrough on bass. Art's still the rock-solid core of the group – a tremendous leader who always gets fantastic performances out of young players – and titles include "ETA", "Dr J", "Free For All", "Along Came Betty", "ETA", and "Evaline". Sesjun Radio Shows 2 is live work from the great Art Blakey – a set that features two different performances from two really great groups! The first two cuts are from 1980 – from a time when the Jazz Messengers features up and coming 80s giants Bobby Watson on alto, Valery Ponomarev on trumpet, Billy Pierce on tenor, James Williams on piano, and Charles Fambrough on bass – all young musicians who'd evolve into leaders on their own in a few short years after these recordings, but who really sparkle here under Blakey's leadership! The cuts feature a great take on the Williams tune "1977 AD", and a long version of the Jazz Messengers standard "Blues March". The last four tracks feature a slightly later group – still with Fambrough on bass, but including wonderful tenor and soprano sax work from Jean Toussaint, plus trumpet from Terence Blanchard, alto from Donald Harrison, and piano from Johnny O'Neal – an equally great lineup, but in a completely different way. Titles include a great take on the Fambrough tune "Little Man" – plus "Polka Dots & Moonbeams" and "Moanin". CD

A landmark album – even if it was the only session that Cannonball Adderley ever cut for Blue Note! The album was recorded at a time when Adderley was working with Miles Davis – and as such, the session features a group that includes Miles, blowing trumpet in a cool tone that's a perfect offset to Cannonball's more soulful style on alto sax – also different than the sound of his brother Nat, who was Adderley's more frequent partner on records. The rest of the group includes Hank Jones on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Art Blakey on drums – and like John Coltrane's Blue Train, the record's more of an "special session" than the usual Blue Note album, but the strength of the players make it one of the more memorable records of its day! Titles include "Somethin' Else", "One For Daddy-O", "Autumn Leaves", "Love For Sale", and a nice moody take on "Dancing In The Dark". LP, Vinyl record album

Hardbop albums don't get any better than this – and although drummer Dave Bailey only recorded for a brief stretch as a leader, this session's one that shows that he was a heck of a force to contend with! The record's got an intensity that easily rivals the best by Art Blakey over at Blue Note during the early 60s – but Dave's also got a slightly looser groove too – a bit more sense of humanity, and one that allows for really organic interplay between the players. There's a slight soul jazz undercurrent – especially in the piano lines of Billy Gardner – and other players in the quintet include Bill Hardman on trumpet, Frank Haynes on tenor, and Ben Tucker on bass. The group wails on an early version of Tucker's classic "Comin' Home Baby", plus other great originals like "Coffee Walk", "Lady Iris B", and "Two Feet In the Gutter". A old favorite on the south side of Chicago! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most classic Blue Note sessions ever – and for good reason too! From the cover, to the title, to the hardbopping grooves of the set, this Sonny Clark late 50s smoker is one of the label's best – as pianist Clark is working here at the height of his powers – leading an all-star group that includes Art Farmer on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Hank Mobley on tenor, Wilbur Ware on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums – all coming together magically on open-ended tunes that tighten up from the blowing session format, and really send the groove home! Plus, Sonny's writing is also great – as the set's got a number of great originals by Clark – and titles include "Bootin' It", "Sonny's Mood", "Shoutin On A Riff", and "Dial S For Sonny" – plus a bonus alternate take of the cut "Bootin' It"! CD

A beautiful album that more than lives up to its evocative title – an early session from John Coltrane, filled with long tracks that slide along brilliantly! As with many other classic Prestige albums from Trane, backing is by the trio of Red Garland piano, Paul Chambers bass, and Art Taylor drums – all holding back nicely when Coltrane opens up on his solos, but also coloring the tunes with soulful lyricism in a masterful understatement. The sound is about as classic as you can get during these early years in The Great One's career – and titles include "Traneing In", "Slow Dance", "Soft Lights & Sweet Music", and "Bass Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning piece of jazz history from the young Miles Davis – and a record that's got maybe one of his coolest covers ever! The 10" release was Miles third for Blue Note – and fetaures a smoking quartet with Horace Silver on piano and Art Blakey on drums – giving Miles almost a Jazz Messengers sort of punch, which creates this beautiful groove underneath his well-phrased solos! And while some of this work was later issued in other Blue Note album formats, there's a punch and sharpness to this 10" format that can't be denied – on titles that include "Lazy Susan", "Take-Off", "The Leap", and "Weirdo". LP, Vinyl record album

Arguably one of the greatest concept albums of the 80s – and the only really strong full length album cut by Frankie Goes To Hollywood! At the time of the set, the group was riding high on the success and controversy of their singles "Relax" and "Two Tribes" – but in the ambitious ZTT mode, sought to expand their sound way past familiar hits, and into a realm of sonic exploration that rivaled that of labelmates Art Of Noise. Don't get us wrong, because the Frankie of this album is still very much in groove-oriented territory – but they also let Horn take over with some more striking tunes that are both longer and shorter than the usual pop track – offsetting the vocal numbers on the record with a rich tapestry of musical backdrops that also more firmly forward the group's social and sexual leanings. The album features surprising covers of "War", "Do You Know The Way To San Jose", and "Born To Run" – plus the hits "Relax" and "Two Tribes", and the original numbers "Welcome To the Pleasure Dome", "Krisco Kisses", "The Ballad Of 32", "Wish The Lads Were Here", "Black Night White Light", "The Only Star In Heaven", "The Power Of Love", and "Bang". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best by Red Garland for Prestige – a totally cooking record that features some great added conga work from Ray Barretto! Ray's presence really helps the record live up to its Latin-styled title – and Garland's usual trio with Paul Chambers on bass and Art Taylor on drums seems to get a whole new life from the added percussion – really stepping things up with a bit more of a groove than usual! The title cut – "Manteca" – is an 8 minute jam that's gone onto become a real jazz dance classic – and other tracks include "Exactly Like You", "S'Wonderful", and "Mort's Report". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful small combo session from tenorist Benny Golson – one of a few key albums like this from the early years! Although Golson is perhaps best known as a lively arranger in the modern idiom, he's also a kick-ass tenor player when he wants to be – and on this classic, he definitely wants to be! Unlike some of Golson's more tightly arranged records of the early years, this date is a deeply gutsy soul jazz session – support from a group that includes Ray Bryant on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, Art Blakey on drums, and Curtis Fuller on trombone – all sliding into long tracks that have plenty of room for solos! The whole thing's a bit like the more spontaneous side of the Jazz Messengers groove – and titles include "The Stroller", "Drumboogie", "My Blues House", and a beautiful version of "Yesterdays". CD

A wonderful album from guitarist Jim Hall – different than some of his other work, and with a slightly harder edge! The unique session has him playing in an MPS 60s mode – more straight-on than some of his more airy moments – with a sound and tone that still recalls his work with Paul Desmond or Art Farmer, but a more direct approach, and an occasional groove as well! The trio's as unique as the record – the great Jimmy Woode on bass and drums from Daniel Humair – and titles include "Blue Joe", "Romaine", "Young One For Debra", "Body & Soul", and a great version of "Up Up & Away", which soars to the sky in a way you'd never expect from Jim! LP, Vinyl record album

A really wonderful soundtrack, for a very gripping film! Synanon, for those not in the know, was a famous west coast drug treatment center in the 60s – well known for its work with musicians like Joe Pass, Art Pepper, and others. The hospital is the setting for this dramatic film that starred Chuck Connors, Edmund O'Brien, and Stella Stevens – and it features a very hip soundtrack by Neal Hefti, on a par with his best jazzy work of the 60s! The tunes have a swinging approach – with some nice use of organ, drawn out in a spare thin tone that snakes through the best numbers with a sexy ease. The mood changes nicely from track to track – but keeps a groovy pace that makes the soundtrack a lot fresher than you might think, given the topic of the film. Titles include "Zankie", "Main Street", "Blues For Hopper", "Hope", "Tonight's The Night", and "Open House". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark session that features two of the greatest tenor talents to emerge from the rich Chicago scene of the 50s! Jordan was well-known to jazz fans, or would be within a few years – but Gilmore's rarely heard in this sort of setting, as most of his recording career was spent in the company of Sun Ra's Arkestra. The record features the duo in a twin-tenor frontline, with backing by Horace Silver, Curly Russell, and Art Blakey. Ostensibly a blowing session, but much tighter than you'd expect – and with a hard heavy Blue Note groove. Titles include "Evil Eye", "Status Quo", "Bo-Till", and "Blue Lights". CD features the bonus track "Let It Stand". CD

A landmark session that features two of the greatest tenor talents to emerge from the rich Chicago scene of the 50s! Jordan was well-known to jazz fans, or would be within a few years – but Gilmore's rarely heard in this sort of setting, as most of his recording career was spent in the company of Sun Ra's Arkestra. The record features the duo in a twin-tenor frontline, with backing by Horace Silver, Curly Russell, and Art Blakey. Ostensibly a blowing session, but much tighter than you'd expect – and with a hard heavy Blue Note groove. Titles include "Evil Eye", "Status Quo", "Bo-Till", and "Blue Lights". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark session that features two of the greatest tenor talents to emerge from the rich Chicago scene of the 50s! Jordan was well-known to jazz fans, or would be within a few years – but Gilmore's rarely heard in this sort of setting, as most of his recording career was spent in the company of Sun Ra's Arkestra. The record features the duo in a twin-tenor frontline, with backing by Horace Silver, Curly Russell, and Art Blakey. Ostensibly a blowing session, but much tighter than you'd expect – and with a hard heavy Blue Note groove. Titles include "Evil Eye", "Status Quo", "Bo-Till", and "Blue Lights". CD features the bonus track "Let It Stand". CD

A hell of a record from the young Roland Kirk – one of his first for Mercury Records, and the start of a great run of genius in the 60s! Kirk is mindblowing here – playing tenor, flute, manzello, and stritch – often at the same time, as pictured on the cover – a mode that's no gimmick at all, but which instead shows this wonderfully sophisticated understanding of sound and resonances between the reed instruments! And as always with Kirk, there's a strong current of soul in the music too – emphasized here by backing work from players who include Richard Wyands or Hank Jones on piano, Art Davis or Wendell Marshall on bass, and the great Charlie Persip on drums. Titles include the sublime modal number "We Free Kings" – plus "Three For The Festival", "The Haunted Melody", "You Did It You Did It", "Sack Full Of Soul", and "Moon Song". LP, Vinyl record album

A Japanese live date from pianist Junior Mance – and a record that's an overlooked gem in his catalog from the 80s! The set was recorded in a small club in Tokyo, and there's this great groove to the whole thing – almost more back in the soul jazz roots in which Mance was launched in the 60s, but with longer cuts that show some of the increasing sophistication in his style, but all without ever losing the groove! A good part of that is the rhythm team here – superb work from bassist Martin Rivera, next to the drums of Rudy Lawless – on titles that include "Something", "Smokey Blues", "Small Fry", "Emily", "No Greater Love", and "Summertime". CD

Features Ella Fitzgerald on vocal performances of "April In Paris", "Party Blues", and "Every Day I Have The Blues" – with Count Basie backing. Also features a jam session version of "Billie's Bounce" – with Art Blakey, Charles Mingus, Tal Farlow, Zoot Sims, and others – and a solo piano take on "Lady Fair" by George Wallington. LP, Vinyl record album

A killer set of hardbop from the legendary Hank Mobley – recorded during the initial Mobley run at Blue Note, and a keen document of his amazing power on the tenor sax! The album's got a tightness that's almost impossible to believe – a summation of all the best bop trends of the 50s, rolled into a freewheeling and soulful expression, guided by Mobley's always-sharp ear for a groove. The group's great too – and Art Blakey is on drums, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and a young young Freddie Hubbard plays trumpet. All tracks are nice and long, with a firey hardbop sound, deeply held in place by Mobley's soulful tone on the tenor! Titles include "My Groove Your Move", "Baptist Beat", and "The Breakdown". CD features one more bonus track! CD

A killer set of hardbop from the legendary Hank Mobley – recorded during the initial Mobley run at Blue Note, and a keen document of his amazing power on the tenor sax! The album's got a tightness that's almost impossible to believe – a summation of all the best bop trends of the 50s, rolled into a freewheeling and soulful expression, guided by Mobley's always-sharp ear for a groove. The group's great too – and Art Blakey is on drums, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and a young young Freddie Hubbard plays trumpet. All tracks are nice and long, with a firey hardbop sound, deeply held in place by Mobley's soulful tone on the tenor! Titles include "My Groove Your Move", "Baptist Beat", and "The Breakdown". CD

A beautiful pairing of the baritone of Gerry Mulligan and the trumpet of Art Farmer – brought together wonderfully in this piano-less session that has both players effortlessly carving lines in the open space of the studio. Rhythm is by the team of Bill Crow on bass and Dave Bailey on drums – both of whom snap along a harder groove than you'll hear on most of Mulligan's mid 50s work – making for a set that's got as much going on at the bottom as it does at the top, in a way that allows Gerry and Art to concentrate on lyrical interplay while the rhythms open up. Titles include "Utter Chaos", "Blueport", "What Is There To Say", "Festive Minor", and "As Catch Can". LP, Vinyl record album