A beautiful album of spiritual soul and Brazilian influenced jazz from Azar Lawrence – and a pretty rare one we're thrilled to have! Lawrence is a stellar sax player with a sound that's a bit like Gary Bartz, which means that he fits in perfectly with the Fantasy-era Prestige Records sound – but the sounds on this set are uncommonly rich and globally influenced. The set's predominantly acoustic, with lots of modal grooves in kind of a Strata East vein – and angular post-Coltrane playing that's very similar to Bartz's work on the Libra album from his early days. Players include Raul De Souza on trombone, Ron Carter on bass, Billy Hart on drums, Dom Salvador, who is really allowed to shine on piano on a few tracks, and drummer & percussionist Guilherme Franco, who brings a world of wonderful percussion on a couple of numbers. Titles include "Highway", "From The Point of Love", "Novo Ano", and "From The Point Of Light". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of Miles noisiest, freest playing from the 70s – recorded live at Carnegie Hall in 1974, and originally issued only in Japan – most likely because the album was so darn noisy, Columbia was scared to release it to the American market! As with other Davis gems from this time, the group is as adventurous as Miles himself – a really great lineup with Dave Liebman and Azar Lawrence on reeds, plus rhythm from Michael Henderson on bass, Al Foster on drums, and Mtume on percussion – all matched by three searing electric guitarists – Reggie Lucas, Pete Cosey, and Dominique Gaumont – who duel back and forth in monster solos that run all over the place during the set! Titles include "Moja", "Wili", "Tatu", and "Nine". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of Miles noisiest, freest playing from the 70s – recorded live at Carnegie Hall in 1974, and originally issued only in Japan – most likely because the album was so darn noisy, Columbia was scared to release it to the American market! As with other Davis gems from this time, the group is as adventurous as Miles himself – a really great lineup with Dave Liebman and Azar Lawrence on reeds, plus rhythm from Michael Henderson on bass, Al Foster on drums, and Mtume on percussion – all matched by three searing electric guitarists – Reggie Lucas, Pete Cosey, and Dominique Gaumont – who duel back and forth in monster solos that run all over the place during the set! Titles include "Moja", "Wili", "Tatu", and "Nine". LP, Vinyl record album

A bundle of soul from Freddie Hubbard – one that has him blowing beautifully over full arrangements from Bert DeCoteux – the 70s super-soul maestro who really brings a new sound to Hubbard's music! The style's a bit smoother than other Freddie albums of the time, but still really great – a wonderful plenty of his well-timed, well-punctuated work on trumpet with warm grooves supplied by Bert – filled with instrumentation that includes David T Walker on guitar, Ernie Watts on sax and flute, Azar Lawrence on tenor, David Garfield on keyboards, and even Dorothy Ashby on flute. Titles include "Portrait Of Jenny", "Rainy Day Song", "Bundle Of Joy", "From Now On", "From Behind", and "Rahsaan". CD

One of the few rare albums cut by Japanese guitarist Ryo Kawasaki and his groundbreaking Golden Dragon group during the early 80s – a record that mixes some of the groove-oriented currents of his previous work with elements that are maybe more far-reaching and fusion-styled too! There's plenty of great guitar on the record – as you'd expect from Ryo – and the set also has reedman Azar Lawrence and percussionist Nana Vasconcelos – each of whom add their talents to some of the album's best cuts! Highlights include the soulful vocal track "Looking Around You", the spacey jammer "Quasar Infection", and the straight ahead "Maximillian" – plus other tracks that include "Little Tree", "Jamiko", and "Midnight Fire Engine". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare Polish live material from two great groups – McCoy Tyner on piano with Azar Lawrence on tenor and soprano sax, playing the long "Walk Spirit Talk Spirit" – and Stan Getz on tenor in a quartet with Billy Hart on drums and Albert Dailey on piano – performing "La Fiesta" and "Desafinado". LP, Vinyl record album

The mighty drummer Elvin Jones is working here with a very hip group – in a mode that's maybe a nice extension of his Blue Note material at the start of the 70s, in a style that shows that he definitely still has all of his groove! As with those records, there's a key reedman in place here – the young Steve Grossman, whose sharp lines are balanced with round basswork from David Williams, and excellent guitar from Roland Prince – who almost sets these chromatic fires along the way! There's also plenty of strong guest help – reeds from Frank Foster, Joe Farrell, and Azar Lawrence, piano from Kenny Barron, and percussion from the great Candido. Titles include "Haresah", "Someone's Rocking My Jazzboat", "Agenda", "Anti Calypso", and "My Lover". CD

With Muhal Richard Abrams, Carl Allen, Kenny Barron, Joe Bonner, Anthony Braxton, Ron Carter, Joe Chambers, Paul Chambers, Ray Drummond, Frank Foster, Kenny Garrett, Onaje Allen Gumbs, Slide Hampton, Herbie Hancock, Billy Harper, Louis Hayes, Joe Henderson, Stafford James, Victor Jones, Azar Lawrence, Peter Leitch, Victor Lewis, Kirk Lightsey, Ronnie Matthews, Cecil McBee, Rene McLean, Eddie Moore, Frank Stazier, Neil Swainson, Steve Turre, Tony Water, Larry Young Original recordings produced by Michael Cuscuna, Woody Shaw & Don Sickler. CD

Beautifully spiritual jazz from the post-Coltrane generation – a wealth of righteous grooves from the early 70s – brought together in one mighty collection! If you dig the work of Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane, and other giants on Impulse Records, this is a great way to dig even deeper – and hear the way their late 60s legacy inspired other musicians to new heights in their own music – sounds that hit a new level of freedom in jazz, yet which are still filled with enough swing and soul to avoid some of the more avant modes of the free jazz scene! If that description sounds a bit obtuse, then just plug into the collection, and let the music do its thing – as it's got a very powerful vibe throughout – the kind of inspirational, socially conscious work that flourished best during the 70s – and which is finally getting its due all these many years later. The package is new territory for Ace/BGP, but they've done a great job as usual – picking key tracks from the era, and coming up with detailed notes on each of the long tracks. Titles include "Free Angela" by Bayete, "Bridge Into The New Age" by Azar Lawrence, "Tress Cun De O La" by Joe Henderson, "Ebony Queen" by McCoy Tyner, "Peace" by Idris Muhammad, "Mother Of The Future" by Norman Connors, "Brown Warm & Wintry" by Jack DeJohnette, "I've Known Rivers" by Gary Bartz, and "Fire" by Joe Henderson & Alice Coltrane. CD

Righteous jazz, but with a bit of a funky twist too – a great selection of classics from the years when 60s soul jazz was reaching out with a new sense of pride and power, and finding a way embrace all of the musical changes that were coming its way! The music here is often by artists who might have been playing straighter standards, or bluesy organ numbers a few years before – but who here are set fire by the changes of the 60s – both at a musical level, and a political one – the latter in ways that resonate strongly even in the instrumental passages on the set! The title is a reference to a famous quote by Eldridge Cleaver, used often by The Black Panthers – and the set begins with Joe Henderson's number of the same name, "If You're Not Part Of The Solution You're Part Of The Problem" – and follows with "Let's Make Peace & Stop The War" by Funk Inc, "Bitches Brew" by Eddie Jefferson, "HNIC" by Harold Vick, "Tawhid" by Johnny Lytle, "John Coltrane" by Clifford Jordan, "Celestial Bodies" by Catalyst, "Warriors Of Peace" by Azar Lawrence, "Africans Unite" by Gary Bartz NTU Troop, and "Black Feeling" by Johnny Hammond Smith. All tracks are nice and long – and the set has a great mix of spiritual ideals with a few funky currents. CD

A massive tribute to this overlooked west coast pianist of the postwar years – an overstuffed set that features unreleased recordings, rare albums, and lots of other unusual material from the archives of the great Joe Castro! The set follows on the very illuminating Lush Life package from Sunnyside a few years back – and like that box, this one showcases just how many things Joe had going on at the time – even if he only got a chance to issued a rare few records as a leader! CD1 features a series of mid 50s trio recordings done in LA – with work from Paul Chambers, Leroy Vinnegar, and Red Mitchell on bass – plus Philly Joe Jones, Lawrence Marable, and Jimmy Pratt on drums. CD2 isn't Joe at all – but features his own recordings of a very young Paul Bley on piano (1956!), plus singer Flo Handy with backings from pianist George Handy. CD3 returns to the Castro catalog – and offers up the Atlantic album Mood Jazz, with arrangements from Neal Hefti and Ray Ellis – plus six more bonus tracks too. CD4 features another Atlantic album – the great Groove Funk Soul – again with unissued bonus tracks. CD5 features rare trio material, done for Joe's tiny Clover Records imprint – an unusual group with Teddy Kotick on bass and Paul Motian on drums – recorded in New York in 1965. CD6 features even more unusual material from the Clover vaults – a few more with the same trio - plus performances from Teddy Edwards and Bill Holman on tenor, Gabe Balthazar on flute and alto, Al Porcino on trumpet, and Bill Hood on baritone – plus orchestrations, tenor, and oboe from Bob Cooper. As with the previous box, the set is a stunning picture of this overlooked piano genius – filled with treasures in many different flavors! CD