Blue in the main style of his early years at Riverside – working in an all-star group (the "Big 6" in the title), with players that include Johnny Griffin, Curtis Fuller, Wynton Kelly, Wilbur Ware, and Philly Joe Jones. Blue's leadership isn't that strong – but fortunately, the others (particularly Griffin, Ware, and Jones) gel together strongly with or without him, making the set crackle with the soulful energy of some of the best Jazzland/Riverside hardbop sides from the time. Tracks include "Sir John", "Blues March", "Big Six", and "Jamph". CD

Blue in the main style of his early years at Riverside – working in an all-star group (the "Big 6" in the title), with players that include Johnny Griffin, Curtis Fuller, Wynton Kelly, Wilbur Ware, and Philly Joe Jones. Blue's leadership isn't that strong – but fortunately, the others (particularly Griffin, Ware, and Jones) gel together strongly with or without him, making the set crackle with the soulful energy of some of the best Jazzland/Riverside hardbop sides from the time. Tracks include "Sir John", "Blues March", "Big Six", and "Jamph". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet soulful work from trumpeter Blue Mitchell – a set that has him working with a slightly large group of players, but in a style that's always very much in the groove! There's a nice electric undercurrent to the record throughout – sometimes in the instrumentation from other players, sometimes in the overall way the grooves are put together – which gives the record a quality that's almost like a funky soundtrack at the best moments! The lineup is a bit weird, too – with Joe Sample on keyboards, Freddy Robinson on guitar, Herman Riley on tenor and flute, and even John Mayall on harmonica – playing with a vamping funky edge on a few tunes! The title track – "Blues Blues" – is a great little jazzy break number, and other tracks include "Granite & Concrete", "Casa Blues", and "I Didn't Ask To Be". LP, Vinyl record album

Genius work from trumpeter Blue Mitchell – one of his most solid sides as a leader from the 60s, and a well-deserved treasure in the Blue Note catalog! The album's quite different than the straight soul jazz of Blue's early days on Riverside – or the more arranged dates of the late 60s – and it features him moving in a soulful, lyrical, modal style – quite similar to Horace Silver in conception, but with a fresh execution that's mighty nice – and which marks Mitchell as one of the fresher trumpet voices of his generation! The whole group's great, too – and the lineup includes Junior Cook on tenor, Blue's old band mate from Horace Silver's group – plus Harold Mabern on piano, who really helps shape the sound of the record, Gene Taylor on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. Tracks include gems from Mitchell, Jimmy Heath, and Tom McIntosh – titles that include "Bring It Home To Me", "Blues 3 For 1", "Port Rico Rock", and "Ginger Bread Boy". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Blue Mitchell's hippest funky sets of the 70s – an unusual little record that mixes a bit of funky harmonica with his own soulful trumpet! The approach definitely echoes a bit of the "blues" in the title – but the groove is much more straightforward and funky – that hard-edged approach that shows up on the best electric Mainstream sessions of the time, with a bad-stepping bottom that moves along nicely throughout! Harmonica's handled by Don Bailey, and other players include Joe Sample on keyboards, Herman Riley on tenor, Freddie Robinson on guitar, and Ray Pounds on drums. Cuts are all nice and long, quite open overall, and almost more relaxed than some of Blue's other Mainstream sessions – and titles include "Graffiti Blues", "Yeah Ya Right", "Express", "Asso Kam", and "Dorado". CD

Sweet electric 70s funk from Blue Mitchell – blowing here in some of the hippest arrangements of his career! Blue's trumpet alone is always pretty darn great, but for this album he's working with arranger Dave Matthews – who gives the tunes fierce groove that mixes vamping guitars with snapping drums – sort of picking up the groove that Matthews forged with James Brown, but allowing for a lot freer jazz interplay! The guitars are often recorded in a cool way that has them sounding a bit "watery" alongside the rhythms – so much so, you'd swear they were keyboards at times – and this approach sounds really great underneath Blue's tighter, harder, more punctuated solos over the top of the tracks. Additional support comes from horn players Joe Farrell and Seldon Powell – and titles include "Funk Walk", "Blue Funk", "Funny Bone", "Golden Feathered Bird", "Harmony Of The Underworld", and "Hot Stuff". CD

A slightly different record than usual for Blue – not as down-n-dirty and funky, but more "smooth as the wind" – with Blue blowing solos over larger arrangements by Tadd Dameron and Benny Golson, a small string group mixed with jazz and horn backings. Given the hipness of the arrangers, the session's still got a nice edge – and the choice of material takes it past the realm of stringy standards, into a more complex mode that shows a very different side of Blue. Titles include "Strollin", "A Blue Time", "For Heaven's Sake", "Peace", and "Smooth As The Wind". LP, Vinyl record album

The thing to do – is jam! Blue's sounding wonderful in this classic set for Blue Note – one of his best small group albums – recorded with a sound that's solidly in keeping with his lyrically melodic work in the Horace Silver group! The quintet features Chick Corea on piano – sounding incredibly subtle, and making us wish he'd recorded more sides like this – plus Junior Cook on tenor, nicely matching Blue as he did on so many albums from the time – and bass by Gene Taylor and drums by Al Foster. Titles include the hit soul jazzer "Fungii Mama", plus more introspective numbers like "Mona's Mood", "Chick's Tune", "Step Lightly", and "The Thing To Do". CD

Sweet soulful work from trumpeter Blue Mitchell – a set that has him working with a slightly large group of players, but in a style that's always very much in the groove! There's a nice electric undercurrent to the record throughout – sometimes in the instrumentation from other players, sometimes in the overall way the grooves are put together – which gives the record a quality that's almost like a funky soundtrack at the best moments! The lineup is a bit weird, too – with Joe Sample on keyboards, Freddy Robinson on guitar, Herman Riley on tenor and flute, and even John Mayall on harmonica – playing with a vamping funky edge on a few tunes! The title track – "Blues Blues" – is a great little jazzy break number, and other tracks include "Granite & Concrete", "Casa Blues", and "I Didn't Ask To Be". CD

A nice collection of hard bop sides cut by Blue Mitchell in the late 50s for Riverside, taken from the albums "Big Six", "Out Of The Blue", and "Blue Soul". All selections on here are recorded with an all-star personnel – including his Big Six band with Curtis Fuller, Johnny Griffin, Wynton Kelly, Wilbur Ware, and Philly Joe Jones; his quintet with Benny Golson, Paul Chambers, and Art Blakey; and a later sextet with Jimmy Heath, and Sam Jones. Titles include "Brother 'Ball", "There Will Never Be Another You", "Blues On My Mind", "It Could Happen To You", "When The Saints Go Marching In", "Top Shelf", and "Blue Soul". CD includes bonus track "Park Avenue Petite". CD

A wonderful album by Blue Mitchell – one that features some larger arrangements by Duke Pearson, and Blue's soulful trumpet soloing over the top! The use of Pearson is a great addition to the set – as it really sets Mitchell free to concentrate on the best shades, colors, and tones in his solos – allowing him to work in a sweeter, lyrical vein that we really like a lot! The format works surprisingly well for Blue, who could always be a great player, but sometimes faltered as a leader – which is why Pearson's guidance really seems to give the session new life. Titles include greatl versions of Chick Corea's wonderful compositions "Straight Up & Down" and "Tones For Joan's Bones", both with piano by Chick, plus a reading of trumpeter Dave Burns' seminal groover "Rigor Mortez"! CD

A strong early winner from Blue – recorded with an all-star group that includes Curtis Fuller, Jimmy Heath, Wynton Kelly, Sam Jones, and Philly Joe Jones. Mitchell's not necessarily the leader – Benny Golson and Jimmy Heath handled the arrangements – but the group overall is great, and the set has a nice mix of lyricality and hard bop groove. 9 numbers in all, including "Minor Vamp", "The Head", "Top Shelf", "Blue Soul", "The Way You Look Tonight", "Park Avenue Petite", "Polka Dots & Moonbeams", "Nica's Dream", and "Waverly Street". CD

A strong early winner from Blue – recorded with an all-star group that includes Curtis Fuller, Jimmy Heath, Wynton Kelly, Sam Jones, and Philly Joe Jones. Mitchell's not necessarily the leader – Benny Golson and Jimmy Heath handled the arrangements – but the group overall is great, and the set has a nice mix of lyricality and hard bop groove. 9 numbers in all, including "Minor Vamp", "The Head", "Top Shelf", "Blue Soul", "The Way You Look Tonight", "Park Avenue Petite", "Polka Dots & Moonbeams", "Nica's Dream", and "Waverly Street". Contains 3 bonus tracks; "Mirror Vamp (take one)", "Park Avenue Petite (take one)" and "Blue Soul (take two)". CD

An early session as a leader from trumpeter Blue Mitchell – recorded during his glory years with Horace Silver! Unlike his other records, which usually have him in the company of another horn player, this set's got him carrying the full horn solo load by himself – working in a quartet, and playing in a vein that reminds us of similar Art Farmer quartet sessions from the time. Wynton Kelly's backing him up on piano – in a group that also includes Sam Jones on bass and Roy Brooks on drums. Some of the titles are quite unique too – and include "Avars", "Kinda Vague", "Sir John", and "Sweet Pumpkin". CD

An early session as a leader from trumpeter Blue Mitchell – recorded during his glory years with Horace Silver! Unlike his other records, which usually have him in the company of another horn player, this set's got him carrying the full horn solo load by himself – working in a quartet, and playing in a vein that reminds us of similar Art Farmer quartet sessions from the time. Wynton Kelly's backing him up on piano – in a group that also includes Sam Jones on bass and Roy Brooks on drums. Some of the titles are quite unique too – and include "Avars", "Kinda Vague", "Sir John", and "Sweet Pumpkin". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic early work as a leader from this hip trumpeter! The set features the great albums Step Lightly, Thing To Do, Down With It, Boss Horn, Bring It Home To Me, and Heads Up – plus a few unissued tracks. CD

One of the first albums to really show Blue Mitchell's genius as a leader – recorded past the more formulaic bop modes of some of his other Riverside sessions, and handled with a lyrical edge that really gets at the best aspects of his playing. Of course, part of the reason for this is that Blue's in the company of some of his Horace Silver bandmates – including drummer Roy Brooks, tenorist Junior Cook, and bassist Gene Taylor – but even more than that, the presence of a young Cedar Walton on piano really makes the set sparkle, as does the choice of some extremely strong material – such as "The Cup Bearers" and "Capers", both written by that young and glowing jazz compositional lumiary, Tom McIntosh, and the tunes "Turquoise, written by Walton, and "Dingbat Blues", written by Charles Davis. Forgive the long sentence, but the quality of this one's best expressed in a single breath! CD

Nice hardbop from Blue Mitchell! He's heading up a quintet with Benny Golson, and Golson brings a tightness to the session that's missing from some of Blue's other Riverside albums. Art Blakey's on drums, and the bass position's held by either Sam Jones or Paul Chambers, both of which make for a nice solid bottom when paired with Blakey's playing. The record's got a great Golson compositon called "Blues On My Mind", plus "Boomerang", "Sweet Cakes", and "Missing You". CD

The thing to do – is jam! Blue's sounding wonderful in this classic set for Blue Note – one of his best small group albums – recorded with a sound that's solidly in keeping with his lyrically melodic work in the Horace Silver group! The quintet features Chick Corea on piano – sounding incredibly subtle, and making us wish he'd recorded more sides like this – plus Junior Cook on tenor, nicely matching Blue as he did on so many albums from the time – and bass by Gene Taylor and drums by Al Foster. Titles include the hit soul jazzer "Fungii Mama", plus more introspective numbers like "Mona's Mood", "Chick's Tune", "Step Lightly", and "The Thing To Do". CD

A real lost gem from the mid 70s – and one of the few albums ever recorded by the Harold Land/Blue Mitchell lineup! The group's got a warm fire that follows nicely off of Land's work with Bobby Hutcherson in the early 70s – but which also benefits from Mitchell's strongly flowing trumpet lines in the lead – and in a way, the set's almost got the feel of some of Mitchell's strong mid 60s sessions on Blue Note – soul jazz, but inflected with a lyrical sense of freedom that really leaps out on the solos. Other members of the group include Reggie Johnson on bass, Kirk Lightsey on piano, and Albert Heath on drums – and titles include "Mapenzi", "Blue Silver", "Everything's Changed" and "Inner Voice". CD

One of the greatest albums ever from Joni Mitchell – and maybe one of the most go-to records in her legendary catalog! The record set a new high mark for singer/songwriter material in the 70s – and there's an intimate, upfront quality here that's even more striking than Mitchell's early work – personal storytelling, with a slightly poetic vibe, set to spare acoustic backing that really makes the presence of the lyrics stand out even more. Well worth all the praise and attention the album's gotten for decades – with titles that include "All I Want", "My Old Man", "Little Green", "Carey", "Blue", "California", "This Flight Tonight", "River", "A Case Of You", and "The Last Time I Saw Richard". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest albums ever from Joni Mitchell – and maybe one of the most go-to records in her legendary catalog! The record set a new high mark for singer/songwriter material in the 70s – and there's an intimate, upfront quality here that's even more striking than Mitchell's early work – personal storytelling, with a slightly poetic vibe, set to spare acoustic backing that really makes the presence of the lyrics stand out even more. Well worth all the praise and attention the album's gotten for decades – with titles that include "All I Want", "My Old Man", "Little Green", "Carey", "Blue", "California", "This Flight Tonight", "River", "A Case Of You", and "The Last Time I Saw Richard". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest albums ever from Joni Mitchell – and maybe one of the most go-to records in her legendary catalog! The record set a new high mark for singer/songwriter material in the 70s – and there's an intimate, upfront quality here that's even more striking than Mitchell's early work – personal storytelling, with a slightly poetic vibe, set to spare acoustic backing that really makes the presence of the lyrics stand out even more. Well worth all the praise and attention the album's gotten for decades – with titles that include "All I Want", "My Old Man", "Little Green", "Carey", "Blue", "California", "This Flight Tonight", "River", "A Case Of You", and "The Last Time I Saw Richard". CD

One of the greatest albums ever from Joni Mitchell – and maybe one of the most go-to records in her legendary catalog! The record set a new high mark for singer/songwriter material in the 70s – and there's an intimate, upfront quality here that's even more striking than Mitchell's early work – personal storytelling, with a slightly poetic vibe, set to spare acoustic backing that really makes the presence of the lyrics stand out even more. Well worth all the praise and attention the album's gotten for decades – with titles that include "All I Want", "My Old Man", "Little Green", "Carey", "Blue", "California", "This Flight Tonight", "River", "A Case Of You", and "The Last Time I Saw Richard". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary European recording by the Jimi Hendrix Experience – done for French radio in 1967, with a lot better fidelity than some of their other overseas bootlegs of the time! The show was captured at the Olympia Theater – with Mitch Mitchell on drums and Noel Redding on bass – burning with Jimi's lead on "Hey Joe", "Fire", "The Wind Cries Mary", "Rock Me Baby", "Purple Haze", "Wild Thing", "Stone Free", "Red House", and "Catfish Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few full albums ever issued by McKinley Mitchell – a deep soul singer with an equal amount of blues in his approach – and this great raspy approach to a lyric that's somewhere in between ZZ Hill and Bobby Blue Bland! The date of the album is 1978, but the whole thing has a vibe that could be years earlier – a really classic southern soul approach, with backings by a sweet studio combo that's clearly getting some great directly from James Stroud, who also helped with production. Things are nicely laidback and under-polished – and Mitchell's wonderful voice really gets to shine on tracks that include "Open House At My House", "You're So Fine", "The Town I Live In", "You Know I've Tried", "Run To Love", "Dream Lover", "End Of The Rainbow", and "Follow The Wind". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible book from Nicole Mitchell – an artist that most know for her work as a jazz musician on flute, and a range of other musical projects – yet one who's developed into a cultural force far beyond music, as you'll see in this really groundbreaking literary project! The book works at so many different levels – part memoir, part scrapbook, part manifesto – as Mitchell mixes personal reflections with political statements, poetry, musical scores, photographs, and a variety of other writings – overflowing with the sorts of ideas that are only hinted at in some of her recent recordings, and which really come into much sharper focus here on the printed page! The hardcover volume is a unique blend of words and images – the latter of which are printed in blue and white, following the aesthetic of the cover – and given the mix of art and ideas, culture and knowledge, the whole thing rivals, if not beats, some of the printed work of Sun Ra from years back. 255 pages, hardcover, with blue and white images throughout. Book

A really wonderful collection of grooves that first came to light in the 90s – one that had the Blue Note label digging back in their catalog and completely re-thinking their approach to reissues – given the new popularity of jazz in the hip hop sample world! As you'd guess from the title, the music here is very strongly oriented in the mode of "breaks", or tracks that were sampled for later hip hop and club recordings – classic jazz tunes from the glory days of Blue Note that have gone onto live again, thanks to the keen ears and inventive work of more contemporary DJs and producers. After all these years, The Blue Breakbeats series still stands as one of the best illustrations of the funkier side of the label – and titles on this second volume include "Orange Peel" by Reuben Wilson, "Higga Boom" by Gene Harris, "Jasper Country Man" by Bobby Humphrey, "Good Humor Man" by Blue Mitchell, "Ain't It Funky Now" by Grant Green, "The Kumquat Kids" by Eddie Henderson, "The Phantom" by Duke Pearson, "Spinning Wheel" by Lonnie Smith, "Ummh" by Bobby Hutcherson, "The Worm" by Jimmy McGriff, "The Caterpiller" by Lou Donaldson, "Pot Belly" by Lou Donaldson, "Beale Street" by Donald Byrd, "Viva Tirado" by Gerald Wilson, and "Street Lady" by Donald Byrd. CD

Includes 36 tracks and features work with Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan, Duke Pearson, Freddie Roach, Renee Rosnes, Horace Silver, McCoy Tyner, Larry Young, Blue Mitchell, Grant Green, Andrew Hill, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, the Thad Jones - Mel Lewis Orchestra, and Pete La Roca. CD

One of our favorite Atlantic albums by the great Yusef Lateef – an incredible session that has him dipping back into his earlier exotic roots with those great reed styles of the early 60s – yet also hitting a mix of soul and funk like some of his other albums from the time! The sound is tremendous – wonderfully righteous, at a level that really set the tone for more ambitious soul jazz projects of the 70s by other artists – including the best of the soul jazz underground who were often as inspired by Lateef as they were by Coltrane! The group's great, too – and features Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Sonny Red on alto, Hugh Lawson on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Roy Brooks on drums – next to Yusef's own work on tenor, flute, bamboo flute, tamboura, and percussion. Titles include "Sun Dog", "Moon Cup", "Othelia", "Like It Is", and the groovy "Juba Juba". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great blend of two different sides of the genius Roscoe Mitchell – his ear for composition, and his strong legacy of solo performance too! The "Pieces" in the title of the set might make you think that Roscoe is delivering one of his ensemble creations from more recent years – but the performance on the record is very much a step back to his early work on the late 60s and 70s – those moments when Mitchell was often at his best exploring sonic space on his own – as he does here on a variety of woodwind and percussion instruments, used in varying ways throughout the recording! Titles include "Glide & Run", "Skip", "Hey", "Light Green", "Vast Horizons", "Let's Go There", "Moving Bell", "Click", and "Now The Color Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

More of what you buy Blue Note for – funky jazz tunes with a kick! This set pulls together 13 cuts from the label's classic late 60s/early 70s years – a time that was once lost to the sands of time, thanks to snobbery against use of electric instrumentation on the label, but which is now being rediscovered again, thanks to hip hoppers, the acid jazz crowd, and groovers worldwide! This great package features plenty of rare numbers that best sum up the funky side of Blue Note – including "Who Dun It" by Blue Mitchell, "Down Home Funk" by Groove Holmes, "Tic Tac Toe" by Candido, "Cissy Strut" by John Patton, "Ease Back" by Grant Green, "Bambu" by Reuben Wilson, "Family Affair" by Bobby Hutcherson, "Don't Knock My Love" by Ronnie Foster, "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothin" by Grant Green, "Cantaloupe Woman" by Grant Green, "If There's A Hell Below" by Lou Donaldson, and "Hunk O Funk" by Jack McDuff. CD

An overlooked gem from the sublime Artists House series of the 70s – a rare chance to hear Jim Hall in a really stripped-down setting! The record features spare duets between Hall's guitar and the acoustic bass of Red Mitchell – both players who worked together on the LA scene of the 50s, but who've matured tremendously here, and really know how to take advantage of a setting like this. Hall's well-pointed notes are always a treat in this sort of format, but Mitchell's also especially nice – playing with warmly-rounded tones that are really great. Titles include "Big Blues", "Waltz New", "Fly Me To The Moon", "Blue Dove", and "Osaka Express". LP, Vinyl record album

A sometimes-overlooked album in the career of Joni Mitchell – but a set that's every bit as great as the two huge hits that bracket it! Joni's really finding a great way forward, sounding more mature, and bringing some jazzier currents into her music – thanks in part to help from reedman Tom Scott and bassist Wilton Felder of The Crusaders – and a style of songwriting that's sometimes more fluid than before, and often a lot more biting too! Titles include "Woman Of Heart & Mind", "You Turn Me On I'm A Radio", "For The Roses", "Barbangrill", "Cold Blue Steel & Sweet Fire", "Let The Wind Carry Me", "Lesson In Survival", and "Judgement Of The Moon & Stars". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing dip into the archives of Joni Mitchell – one that features the Reprise Records label in the title, but which features all unissued material recorded at the same time as her bigger classics for Reprise! There's a wonderful blend of material here – some live tracks, some demo cuts, and some really unusual recordings that even include a few apartment tracks – all brought together in a lovely box that includes archival photos, ephemera, and a 40 page booklet of notes! The set features a 22 track Live At Carnegie Hall set from 1969, a 23 track BBC In Concert recording from 1970 (with duets with James Taylor), and a 23 track Live At Le Hibou Coffee House in 1968 – plus material from sessions for Song To A Seagull, Clouds, Blue, and Ladies Of The Canyon. There's also 4 songs and an interview from the Dick Cavett Show, 3 tracks for BBC Top Gear with the backing of John Cameron, material recorded at Jane Lurie's apartment and at Mitchell's own home, and even more live cuts too. 122 tracks in all – and a fantastic look at Joni Mitchell during her key creative years! CD

A nice collection, with some previously unissued tracks by Riverside's hippest trumpet players – all cuts that are exclusive to this album! Titles include "Optional" by Kenny Dorham, "Studio B" by Blue Mitchell, "Fluegelin The Blues" by Clark Terry, "Mammy Yokum" by Nat Adderley, and "Early Morning Mood" and "Soft Winds" by Chet Baker. LP, Vinyl record album

Very hip early stuff from Lou Donaldson – great early bop work for Blue Note! The set will open up a whole new side of Donaldson's playing if you only know his funky Blue Note sides of the late 60s – and in the company of players like Horace Silver, Blue Mitchell, and Art Blakey, he keeps his bop chops up nice and sharp! Tracks include "Down Home", "Sweet Juice", "The Best Things In Life Are Free", "Roccus", and "Lou's Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Early genius from Joni Mitchell – featuring "Chelsean Morning", "The Gallery", "The Fiddle & The Drum", "Songs To Aging Children Come", "Tin Angel", "I Don't Know Where I Stand", "Roses Blue", and the classic "Both Sides Now". LP, Vinyl record album

A sometimes-overlooked album in the career of Joni Mitchell – but a set that's every bit as great as the two huge hits that bracket it! Joni's really finding a great way forward, sounding more mature, and bringing some jazzier currents into her music – thanks in part to help from reedman Tom Scott and bassist Wilton Felder of The Crusaders – and a style of songwriting that's sometimes more fluid than before, and often a lot more biting too! Titles include "Woman Of Heart & Mind", "You Turn Me On I'm A Radio", "For The Roses", "Barbangrill", "Cold Blue Steel & Sweet Fire", "Let The Wind Carry Me", "Lesson In Survival", and "Judgement Of The Moon & Stars". LP, Vinyl record album

A key second chapter in the long and wonderful career of Joni Mitchell – a set that brings together the four albums she recorded for the Asylum label in the mid 70s – a post-Blue period that really had Joni opening up and exploring a lot in her music – including a jazzier side of the spectrum that never showed up as strongly before! First up is For The Roses – a sometimes-overlooked album in the career of Joni Mitchell – but a set that's every bit as great as the two huge hits that bracket it! Joni's really finding a great way forward, sounding more mature, and bringing some jazzier currents into her music – thanks in part to help from reedman Tom Scott and bassist Wilton Felder of The Crusaders – and a style of songwriting that's sometimes more fluid than before, and often a lot more biting too! Titles include "Woman Of Heart & Mind", "You Turn Me On I'm A Radio", "For The Roses", "Barbangrill", "Cold Blue Steel & Sweet Fire", "Let The Wind Carry Me", "Lesson In Survival", and "Judgement Of The Moon & Stars". Court & Spark is a key record in the second chapter of Joni Mitchell on record – a set that has both her vocals and her overall music style flowing with all these amazing touches you might not have heard a few years before – jazzier currents in her music that really set the album apart from earlier work in Joni's career! Mitchell responds to the music with soaring vocals that are completely wonderful, and nicely changed up in character from tune to tune – given backing by a host of great jazz and studio players who include Tom Scott on reeds and Joe Sample on keyboards! Titles include her classic version of "Twisted" – a redone version of the old Annie Ross track – plus the classic hit "Help Me", and "Just Like This Train", "Car On A Hill", "Court & Spark", "Down To You", "Free Man In Paris", and "People's Parties". Miles Of Aisles is the first-ever live album from Joni Mitchell – and a record that sounds a fair bit different than a concert set might have during the Reprise years – as Joni's got plenty of help from Tom Scott & The LA Express, who bring a tight yet intimate vibe to the proceedings! Joni's definitely a superstar at this point – as you might guess from the size of the amphitheater on the cover – but she's also got an even stronger ability to come across with a personal, pointed style – one that's very different than the overblown hype of so many other 70s live albums. The set includes a few tracks not yet on albums, and a nice mix of material – including the live version of "Big Yellow Taxi" that ended up as a hit single – and the cuts"You Turn Me On I'm A Radio", "Blue", "Woman Of Heart & Mind", "Both Sides Now", "Real Good For Free", "Jericho", "Circle Game", "Cactus Tree", "The Last Time I Saw Richard", "People's Parties", and "Woodstock". Hissing Of Summer Lawns is a further step forward in the career of Joni Mitchell – a record that not only continues the jazzier currents she explored in the 70s, but also brings in a whole bunch of different modes as well – so much so, it's almost as if Joni's daring anyone to still call her a folk singer with the album! The themes are wonderfully sophisticated, as is the songwriting – the king of material that would keep Mitchell strong for decades, while so many of her contemporaries faltered – as you'll hear on the tracks "In France They Kiss On Main Street", "Sweet Bird", "Shadows & Light", "The Boho Dance", "Don't Interrupt The Sorrow", "The Jungle Line", and "Edith & The Kingpin". CD

The first-ever live album from Joni Mitchell – and a record that sounds a fair bit different than a concert set might have during the Reprise years – as Joni's got plenty of help from Tom Scott & The LA Express, who bring a tight yet intimate vibe to the proceedings! Joni's definitely a superstar at this point – as you might guess from the size of the amphitheater on the cover – but she's also got an even stronger ability to come across with a personal, pointed style – one that's very different than the overblown hype of so many other 70s live albums. The set includes a few tracks not yet on albums, and a nice mix of material – including the live version of "Big Yellow Taxi" that ended up as a hit single – and the cuts"You Turn Me On I'm A Radio", "Blue", "Woman Of Heart & Mind", "Both Sides Now", "Real Good For Free", "Jericho", "Circle Game", "Cactus Tree", "The Last Time I Saw Richard", "People's Parties", and "Woodstock". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great blend of two different sides of the genius Roscoe Mitchell – his ear for composition, and his strong legacy of solo performance too! The "Pieces" in the title of the set might make you think that Roscoe is delivering one of his ensemble creations from more recent years – but the performance on the record is very much a step back to his early work on the late 60s and 70s – those moments when Mitchell was often at his best exploring sonic space on his own – as he does here on a variety of woodwind and percussion instruments, used in varying ways throughout the recording! Titles include "Glide & Run", "Skip", "Hey", "Light Green", "Vast Horizons", "Let's Go There", "Moving Bell", "Click", and "Now The Color Blue". CD

One of those Blue Note double LP collections issued in the 70s with the nearly generic sleeve art. Loads of great tunes here, recorded in a number of different formats from trio to quintet. As you can imagine, the sidemen are numerous, and include Blue Mitchell, Carmell Jones, Joe Henderson, Art Farmer, Hank Mobley, Art Blakey, Woody Shaw and many more. 14 tracks in all, including "Cookin At The Continental", "Song For My Father", "Strollin", "The Cape Verdean Blues", "Home Cookin", "Nica's Dream", "Opus De Funk", "You Gotta Take A Little Love", "Silver's Serenade", "Serenade To A Soul Sister", "Psychedelic Sally", "Nutville", "The Jody Grind" and "Peace". LP, Vinyl record album

A really wonderful collection of grooves that first came to light in the 90s – one that had the Blue Note label digging back in their catalog and completely re-thinking their approach to reissues – given the new popularity of jazz in the hip hop sample world! As you'd guess from the title, the music here is very strongly oriented in the mode of "breaks", or tracks that were sampled for later hip hop and club recordings – classic jazz tunes from the glory days of Blue Note that have gone onto live again, thanks to the keen ears and inventive work of more contemporary DJs and producers. After all these years, The Blue Breakbeats series still stands as one of the best illustrations of the funkier side of the label – and titles on this third volume "Howling for Judy" by Jeremy Steig, "Mystic Brew" by Ronnie Foster, "Get Out Of My Live Woman" by Joe Williams, "Soul" by Jackie McLean, "Put On Train" by Gene Harris & The Three Sounds, "Light My Fire" by Shirley Bassey, "Ode To Billie Joe" by Lou Donaldson, "You've Made Me So Very Happy" by Lou Rawls, "Walk Tall" by Cannonball Adderley, "Sho-Nuff Mellow" by Reuben Wilson, "Don't Call Me N*gger Whitey" by Gene Harris, "Blacks & Blues" by Bobbi Humprhey, "Dominoes" by Donald Byrd, "Ground Hog" by Duke Pearson, "Goin Down South" by Bobby Hutcherson, "Down Here On The Ground" by Grant Green, "It's Your Thing" by Lou Donaldson, and "Flat Backin" by Blue Mitchell. CD