A nicely understated session that was recorded in honor of Billy Strayhorn – who'd passed away a few months before the recording. The set features all classic Strayhorn compositions – played in new versions by Duke and a group that includes Clark Terry, Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Aaron Bell, and Jimmy Hamilton. The recording quality is great, and the sound of the album really makes old classics sparkle nicely once again! Titles include "UMMG", "Blood Count", "Boo Dah", "Rain Check", "Day Dream", "All Day Long", and "Lotus Blossom", done in a haunting solo piano version by Duke! CD

One of Ellington's greatest albums of the 60s – and a record tinged with Eastern themes and darkly angular modern arrangements. The group here features Ellington stalwarts Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney, Cootie Williams, Mercer Ellington, and Rufus Jones – and the players work together tightly to craft the suite of tracks based on Ellington's impressions of recent travels through the Mid and Far East during the 60s. Titles include "Tourist Point Of View", "Isfahan", "Depk", "Mount Harissa", "Amad", "Agra", and "Blue Pepper". Plus, the CD reissue features 4 alternate takes not on the LP! CD

Wonderful work from the best years of Artie Shaw – 165 tracks, with a huge amount of session details and notes! As with most Mosaic sets of 78rpm material, this might be the best way you'll ever find this material – a really complete collection of these tracks, along with very good information. CD

Includes songs by the Four Clefs, Cats And The Fiddle, Lewis Bronzeville Five, Four Vagabonds, tAristo-Kats, Deep River Boys, Bill Johnson & His Musical Notes, the Delta Rhythm Boys, and Steve Gibson and the Red Caps – 22 tracks total. CD

35 recordings from the late 30s through mid 40s over 2 LPs, presented here chronologically, with titles that include "GT Stomp", "Grand Terrace Shuffle", "Father Steps In", "Piano Man", "Riff Medley", "XYZ", "Number 19", "Tantalizing In Cuban", "Boogie Woogie On St Louis Blues", "Scoops-Carry's-Merry", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

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The "triple play" in the title refers to the fact that Johnny's working here with 3 different groups – all of them large ones, and stuffed with Ellington-esque players that include Ray Nance, Paul Gonsalves, Milt Hinton, Tiny Grimes, Hank Jones, Cat Anderson, Jimmy Hamilton, Harry Carney, and Billy Butler. Tracks are short, but there's a few nice ones that have the raw bite of Hodges' best work for Verve – with titles that include "Fur Piece", "Take Em Off Take Em Off (parts 1 & 2)", "Sir John", "On The Way Up", and "Wild Onions". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Hank's few non-trio sets as a leader – and a great set of hardbop tunes that features work by Donald Byrd, Jerome Richardson, Herbie Mann, and Kenny Clarke. The horns add in a lot more than you get on the usual Jones album – taking Hank's piano into firey territory that shows he can groove with the best of them! Titles include "Bluebird", "Hank's Pranks", "Alpha", "Wine & Brandy". LP, Vinyl record album

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Disc 1 is "Bird Lives" recorded live in 1973 and Disc 2 is "Home Free" recorded live in 1977. CD

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One of their early classics, and still one of the greatest groups with roots in the Chicago AACM scene! The lineup is wonderful – drums and percussion from the late Steve McCall, bass from Fred Hopkins, and alto, tenor, and flute from the always-amazing Henry Threadgill! The group do a wonderful job reworking older themes from Jelly Roll Morton and Scott Joplin – plus Threadgill's own "Paille Street" – a really amazing mix of eras and styles on one record. CD

A collection of big band recordings, mostly from 1946 and 1947, with one session from 1956. Notable sidemen include Kid Ory, Jack Teagarden, Vic Dickenson, Si Zentner, Lucky Thompson, and many more. LP, Vinyl record album

Early Bluebird Records material from label's glory days of 78rpm singles! LP, Vinyl record album

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Includes sessions from 1961 and 1962 which comprised the classic Desmond Blue album, with sidemen including Jim Hall, Milt Hinton, Gloria Agostini, and more. CD

Dave Douglas on trumpet, keyboards, and vocals – with Seamus Blake on saxophone, Chris Speed on saxophone and clarinet, Marc Ribot on guitar, Jamie Saft on keyboards, Brad Jones on bass, Joey Baron on drums, and Ikue Mori on percussion. CD

Warmly mellow work from Steve Eaton – a singer with a nicely laidback take on blue-eyed soul, served up in some lean arrangements with a nice jazzy vibe – all a nice change from some of the bigger, more commercial work of the period! The indie approach of the set gives the whole thing the feel of a record from a half decade before – as Steve unabashedly puts himself forward vocally, while also handling both acoustic and electric guitar, keyboards, piano, and more – with support from some equally easygoing session musicians too! Titles include the wonderfully groovy "Without Out" and "All In Love Say I" – plus "Got Me Moanin", "Rakin Leaves In The Wind", "Hurricanes & Tornadoes", "You're Not A Hero", "Friendly Stealer", and "Old Smart Big & Kind". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes 66 tracks on 3 CDs. Notable sidemen include Wallace Jones and Cootie Williams on trumpet, Rex Stewart on cornet, Tricky Sam Nanton and Lawrence Brown on trombone, Johnny Hodges on alto and soprano sax, Ben Webster on tenor sax, Fred Guy on guitar, Jimmy Blanton on bass, and Sonny Greer on drums. CD

Tracks include "Black & Tan Fantasy", "Creole Love Call", "Black Beauty", "Flaming Youth", "Cotton Club Stomp", and "Ring Dem Bells" – 22 tracks in all. CD

Volume 3 of a definitive collection of early Ellington tracks recorded between 1928 and 1934. CD

A number of sessions from the late 30s compiled here, with notable sidemen including Cootie Williams, Mezz Mezzrow, Johnny Hodges, Cozy Cole, Buster Bailey, Chu Berry, and many more. CD

Classic Hammond and alto from this legendary team – just about the only way you'll get their 60s work for RCA on CD! CD

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Oh how we love this album – and we think it may well be the best album ever from Charles Mingus! The set was recorded in that magical Mingus year of 1957, but oddly not released until 1962 – missing some of the initial frenzy of his discovery during the Atlantic and Columbia years. But the album's actually a treasure that predates the better-known latter sides – with a sharpness and intensity that Mingus hardly ever matched again! The group is one of his strongest ever – with Shafi Hadi on alto, Clarence Shaw on trumpet, Jimmy Knepper on trombone, and Bill Triglia on piano. There's a slight Latin vibe, as you might expect from the title – but it's very slight overall, and most of the tunes are in that sharply angular, fully expressive style that flowered most strongly for Mingus in the late 50s. There's not a wasted moment of music on the whole album – with tight solos and incredible rhythms that dominate every second of the extended tracks – and titles include "Dizzy Moods", "Flamingo", "Los Mariachis", "Ysabel's Tabel Dance", and "Tijuana Gift Shop". Plus, this 2CD set features a whopping 19 tracks added to the original album – with the bonus "A Colloquial Dream (aka Scenes In The City)", plus many alternates, breakdowns, and partial takes. A fitting tribute to this amazing album! CD

Features Count Basie on piano – with an appearance by Ben Webster on tenor, plus vocals by Jimmy Rushing. Tracks include "When I'm All Alone", "Small Black", "New Vine Street Blues", "Toby", "Somebody Stole My Gal", and "Moten Swing" – 22 tracks in all. CD

A great collection of late 40s work from this legendary guitarist – recorded in Rome, with Stephane Grappelli and the Hot Club! Titles include "Swing 42", "After You've Gone", "Minor Swing", "Beyond The Sea", "Brick Top", and "Heavy Artillery". CD

Fantastic work from Sonny Rollins – a strong batch of sessions from 1964, with work from Herbie Hancock on piano, Jim Hall on guitar, and Ron Carter on bass! The set includes unissued material from the year – and titles include "Django", "My Ship", "Three Little Words", "Night & Day", "When You Wish Upon A Star" and "Now's The Time". CD

A collection of recordings throughout 1934 and 1935, with notable sidemen including Bill Coleman, Floyd O'Brien, Mezz Mezzrow, Rudy Powell, Harry Dial, Al Casey, and Gene Sedric. LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of classics from this electronic duo – all brought together in a single set! First up is In A Wild Sanctuary – one of the best records ever from Beaver and Krause – largely because there's not so much noodling! This one features the pair on moog and organ, with help from Dave Grusin on piano, Milt Holland on percussion, Howard Roberts on guitar, and Bud Shank on reeds. The sound isn't jazz at all – but more a mix of spacey grooves and bubbling bits, with much more of a song-like structure than on other records. There's a few nice cuts here that almost hit a groove, and even when they don't, they still have a nice stripped down moogy sound that's very pleasing. Titles include "Spaced", "Salute To The Vanishing Bald Eagle", "People's Park", "Walking Green Algae Blues", and "Another Part Of Time". Gandharva is a cool mixture of rock and electronics – a perfect example of the Beaver & Krause team at their best! The ensemble on this one is bigger than usual, and the players includes jazz musicians like Mike Bloomfield, Gerry Mulligan, and Howard Roberts – but Beaver & Krause still play a lot of moog, though, and the songs are pretty groovy – although a little short. Side 2 was recorded at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Titles include "Soft/White", "Walkin By The River", "Walkin", "Nine Moons In Alaska", "Bright Shadows", and "Short Film For David". All Good Men is a higher concept album than usual for the team of Beaver & Krause – a record that still features plenty of cool moog and electronics by the pair, but which also has them teamed up with arranger Jimmie Haskell in a set of tunes that mixes older themes with original numbers! A fair bit of tracks here have vocals – either by Krause, or by female vocalists Cris Williamson, Adrienne Anderson, or Elisabeth Wilson – plus the "celestial choir" on a few tracks. There's a hearkening back here that's a bit confused at some moments – mixing Scott Joplin with the then-common apology to Native American mode – but things sound best on the original numbers, which have picked up a groove a bit more than before, and even have some nice warmer tones we really like. Titles include the spacey spinner "Between The Sun & The Rain", plus "Loves Of Col Evol", "Sweet Williams", "Bluebird Canyon Stomp", "Looking Back Now", "Child Of Morning Sun", and "All Good Men". CD

A great 80s collection of work from this legendary Texas group – second only to that of Bob Wills' for its influence on western swing and country music! The set features the complete Bluebird Records sessions from 1934, with great notes. LP, Vinyl record album

Warm, wonderful fusion work from David Diggs – a set that's got all the best energy of his classic 70s releases, but which also builds up the sound with a slightly larger group as well! The great Paul Jackson is in the lineup on guitar next to Diggs' keyboard work – and there's added saxes, trumpet, flute, and trombone from track to track – really helping to focus the tunes while filling them out – and almost giving the record the cooler class of a CTI sort of release! Titles include "Love's Inception", "Welcome To The Real World", "Bluebird", "Come On", "The Red Balloon", and "Cloud Shepherd". CD

Classic 30s Ellington for Bluebird – with Cootie Williams on trumpet, Juan Tizol on trombone, Johnny Hodges on alto and soprano sax, and Harry Carney on baritone and clarinet. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most brilliant moments of genius from Paul McCartney & Wings – and a set that has Paul working with the group in perfect album formation – able to craft enough songs that became hit singles, yet also fit the whole thing together in a superb sonic reality that made the whole thing even more wonderful as a full length record! The shift of moods, tones, and sounds are as varied as the choice of celebrities appearing with the group on the cover – and the interplay between Paul, Linda, and Denny Laine has really hit its stride – on titles that include one of our all-time Wings favorites, "Nineteen Hundred Eighty Five" – plus "Band On The Run", "Bluebird", "Jet", "Mrs Vanderbilt", "Let Me Roll It", "Mamunia", "No Words", and "Picasso's Last Words (Drink To Me)". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the songs "Billie's Bounce", "Now's The Time", "Moose The Mooche", "Yardbird Suite", "Chery!", "The Hymn", "Bird Of Paradise", "Klactoveesedstene", "Scrapple From The Apple", "Quasimado", "Bluebird", "Bird Gets The Worm", "Barbados", "Au-Leu-Cha", "Parker's Mood", "Steeplechase", "KoKo", "Big Foot", "Ornithology", and "Chasin' The Bird". CD

Rare live Art Pepper work – recorded at the Lighthouse in 1953, and one of the few chances you'll get to hear him stretch out on long tracks from the time! Features 11 minute versions of "Bluebird" and "Pennies From Heaven" – plus "Deep Purple" and "S'Wonderful". LP, Vinyl record album

Sam Most in two wonderful settings – a large group on half the record, then a smaller combo with David Schildkraut on tenor, Bob Dorough on piano, and Tommy Potter on bass! Sam plays clarinet throughout, but uses some of the phrasing he'd be more likely to employ with a saxophone – a practice that makes the album a great showcase for Most's really unique talents on his instrument. And although the title might make you think the whole thing's a bop rehash record, the arrangements are pretty darn inventive – and really help bring new life into tunes that include "Serpent's Tooth", "Celia", "Bluebird", "Strictly Confidential", and "In Walked Bud" – especially from Sam's solos, and the trumpet work of Doug Mettome. LP, Vinyl record album