Definitely something tasty from the Super Jazz Trio – a rare Japanese-only effort that has the combo joined by the mighty Art Farmer! Art plays flugelhorn on the date, and fits in wonderfully alongside the piano of Tommy Flanagan, bass of Reggie Workman, and drums of Joe Chambers – a group who often have slight edge to their playing, which seems to bring out the same in Farmer as well. Most numbers are standards, but taken in a nicely loose way – and there's a relaxed feeling to the session that's a nice change from some of the too-tight sessions of this type from the time. Titles include "Here's That Rainy Day", "Au Privave", "Blame It On My Youth", "My Heart Skips A Beat", and "Stablemates". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublimely spiritual work from trombonist Charles Greenlee – a player who's best remembered for work as a sideman with Archie Shepp, but who really sparkles as a leader on this rare Japanese set! The vibe here is totally great – a righteous approach to soul jazz that rivals the best work of the Strata East scene in the US, but which is carried off with the poise and power of some of the best mid 70s Japanese-only dates of this type – clearly a great deal of respect and freedom given to Greenlee in the studio, but also some good help in putting together the record in as solid a way as possible. Jean Carn makes a great appearance singing on 3 tracks here – with a quality that's even more righteous than her work with Doug Carn on Black Jazz – and one more number features the great Joe Lee Wilson on vocals too. Players include Hubert Eaves and Art Matthews on piano, Charles Sullivan on trumpet, Archie Shepp on tenor and soprano, Buster Williams on bass, and either Charlie Persip or Beaver Harris on drums – and titles include "I Know About The Life", "He's Gone", "Steam", "Someday", "Crusificado", and "Miss Barbara". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublimely spiritual work from trombonist Charles Greenlee – a player who's best remembered for work as a sideman with Archie Shepp, but who really sparkles as a leader on this rare Japanese set! The vibe here is totally great – a righteous approach to soul jazz that rivals the best work of the Strata East scene in the US, but which is carried off with the poise and power of some of the best mid 70s Japanese-only dates of this type – clearly a great deal of respect and freedom given to Greenlee in the studio, but also some good help in putting together the record in as solid a way as possible. Jean Carn makes a great appearance singing on 3 tracks here – with a quality that's even more righteous than her work with Doug Carn on Black Jazz – and one more number features the great Joe Lee Wilson on vocals too. Players include Hubert Eaves and Art Matthews on piano, Charles Sullivan on trumpet, Archie Shepp on tenor and soprano, Buster Williams on bass, and either Charlie Persip or Beaver Harris on drums – and titles include "I Know About The Life", "He's Gone", "Steam", "Someday", "Crusificado", and "Miss Barbara". LP, Vinyl record album

The cover's a bit soft-looking, but the record's got plenty of depth – one of Kenny Drew's classic Japanese trio sessions for the 80s – recorded for the Baystate label with Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums! The scope of Drew's sound is really amazing – a late further flowering of the already-compelling sound that set him apart from so many other pianists of the 50s – handled here with a mature majesty that really keeps our interest throughout. Titles include "Dream", "Fantasia", "Flight Of Fancy", and "Wishing Hoping". CD

A Japanese-only session from Freddie Hubbard – recorded during the trumpeter's back-to-basics period during the early 80s – with excellent backing by a quintet that includes Ricky Ford on tenor, Kenny Barron on piano, Joe Chambers on drums, and Cecil McBee on bass. The sound is open and fluid – relatively traditional, but with a nicely deep sense of spirit – almost in the manner of some of the recordings older giants were making over at Columbia at the end of the 70s. Most of the set is mellow, and Freddie often plays with a muted horn – soling in a semi-Milesish way on the ballads, with kind of a sparkling floating quality to his tone. Titles include "My Romance", "The Rose Tattoo", "Time After Time", and "Embraceable You". CD

A very unusual session for Carmen McRae – a live recording that features only her vocals and piano, on spare readings of a number of sophisticated songs that ably demonstrate the class and care she was bringing to her work at the time! The approach is quite different from some of the smoother, more soul-based records that McRae was cutting in the 70s – a very laidback, late nite sort of date that takes us right back to Carmen's earliest years on record – but with a 60s' worth of hipness thrown into the mix. She's still got some sense of poise on the tunes, but also brings up a slightly earthy undercurrent at points too – a relaxed, mature vibe that really fits the intimacy of the record. Titles include "The Last Time For Love", "More Than You Know", "I Can't Escape From You", "I Could Have Told You", "Please Be Kind", and "Supper Time". CD

A fantastic loft jazz session from the great reedman Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre – working here at a time when his genius was really unbridled, and his work on tenor was taking off even more strongly than on some of his early contributions to the AACM scene in Chicago! The set marks a much-needed example of Kalaparusha at work during a time when he was not that well-recorded – the set lies between his two early Delmark albums and his Japanese record on Baystate – and the whole thing is every bit as tremendous as you might expect, and a fantastic demonstration not only of the spiritual, soulful energy that made McIntyre so special, but also the way that his time on the New York scene was maybe bringing a sense of resonance there with earlier Chicago spirits. The group is great – with a young Malachi Thompson on trumpet, Alvin Fiedler on drums, and Milton Suggs on electric bass – an instrument that creates some pulsations that really hold the whole thing together – on three long improvisations that make up the album. CD