Dave Scott has a wonderfully sensitive sound here – a quality that almost reflects the image on the front, which seems to have him listening to the trumpet he holds in his hands – a photo that really gets at the special sort of ear that Scott has for crafting these beautiful tones on his instrument! The music isn't familiar hardbop, even though the lineup might make you think that – but it's also not free jazz either – as Scott instead has this way of composing original material that's as much about the texture of the tunes as it is the individual voices, at a level that sounds especially strong as his instrument is matched with the tenor of Rich Perry and piano of Gary Versace – the latter of whom has a wonderfully diverse set of styles here. Other group members include Johannes Weidenmuller on bass and Mark Ferber on drums – and tunes, as mentioned, are all originals – with titles that include "KC Swingin", "Ralph Retired", "Song For Alice", "Indifference", and "Venus At Dusk". CD

The title tips you off to the unique sound of the session – no bass at all in the group – just the tenor of Scott Hamilton, piano of Dave McKenna, and drums of Jake Hanna! LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Swinging At The Copper Rail", "A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody", "Cocktails For Two", "Linger Awhile", "September In The Rain", "It All Depends On You", "April In Paris", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's brimming with original compositions from Dave Pietro – fresh tunes that are as strong as his own work as a leader on alto, and which share a similar balance of sound! Dave's got an ear for his horn that opens up some of the lighter, leaner sounds of the alto – yet he also blows with a nice edge too, in a quality that's underscored by some of the album's work on trumpet from Scott Wendholt, whose tone resonates with Pietro's in a really great way. The rhythm trio are rock-solid – with Steeplechase stalwarts Gary Versace on piano and Jay Anderson on bass, joined by the great Billy Drummond on drums. Titles include the Pietro originals "Essence", "Auriga", "The Talisman", "Alexandra", "Until The Day", and "Eternal Optimism" – and a nice take on "The Windmills Of Your Mind". CD

Dave Kikoski on piano, Seamus Blake on tenor saxophone, Scott Colley on bass, and Jeff Tain Watts on drums. CD

Dave Bass on piano, Keyrry Kashiwagi on on double bass, and Scott Gordon on drums joined by Barry Finnerty on guitar. CD

Scott Wendholt on trumpet, Dave Berkman on Fender Rhodes, Tony Scherr on bass, and Andy Watson on drums. CD

Excellent pre-Columbia work from trumpeter Don Ellis – a live date recorded with Tom Scott on saxes and Dave Mackay on piano – presented here in its entirety for the first time ever! The groove here is every bit as hard as on Ellis' funky classics for Columbia – but more acoustic overall, and bottomed with some great Latin percussion from Alan Estes on timbales and Chino Valdes on congas. Many tracks have a slightly exotic feel – a mode that uses conventional jazz instrumentation with slightly Eastern phrasing, in a way that sounds really great alongside the modal rhythms of the tunes. Titles include Scott's "With Respect To Coltrane" and "Blues For Hari" – plus "Slippin N Slidin", "Bali Dancer", "Sadness Shouldn't Go To Sleep", "It's A Snap", "The Squeeze", and "Turk's Works". CD

The second chapter of the legendary Pere Ubu – served up here in a box set that contains three full albums, plus a full record of rare material too! The core records – New Picnic Time, Song Of The Bailing Man, and Art Of Walking – show the group really stretching out after their initial burst of creativity in Cleveland during the early punk years – a reformed version of Pere Ubu, still strongly under the leadership of Dave Thomas and his amazing lyrical approach – with contributions from Red Krayola member Mayo Thompson on two records, and Anton Fier on one more. Scott Krauss and Tony Maimone provide some of those great rhythmic jumps and starts that the group did so well – and Allen Ravenstein adds in some great electronics as well. The last record in the set – Architectural Salvage – features rare material that includes "Humor Me (live)", "The Book Is On The Table", "Arabian Nights", "Lonesome Cowboy Dave", "Not Happy", and "Tribute To Miles". Deluxe bookback packaging, too – with nice notes and memorabilia! CD

Really fantastic work from the continuing version of Sun Ra's Arkestra led by Marshall Allen – and an album of rich sophistication that definitely shows the mature version of the group really finding their own sense of voice and spirit! There's a laidback take to the music that partly recalls some of the modes that the Arkestra had in their earlier days, when they were exploring some exotica currents mixed with more avant jazz inclinations – although the expression of the sound here is more focused and majestic, with slight string touches blending in with instrumentation of a more jazz-based mode – handled by Marshall Allen on alto and kora, Knoel Scott on tenor and baritone, Michael Ray and Cecil Brooks on trumpets, Dave Davis on trombone, Farid Barron on piano, Dave Hotep on guitar, and Tara Middleton on some mighty nice flute and violin. There's a richness to the sound that comes from all the other players involved in the proceedings – and titles include "Day Of The Living Sky", "Firefly", "Wish Upon A Star", "Chopin", "Marshall's Groove", and "Somebody Else's Idea". CD

With Dave Pietro on alto saxophone, clarinet, piccolo, flute, alto flute, and bass flute, Steve Wilson on alto and soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute, and alto flute, Rich Perry on tenor saxophone and flute, Donny McCaslin on tenor saxophone and clarinet. Scott Robinson on baritone saxophone, clarinet, and bass clarinet, Greg Gisbert, Augie Haas, Tony Kadleck, and Mike Rodriguez on trumpet and flugelhorn, Marshall Gilkes, Ryan Keberle, and Keith O'Quinn on trombone, George Flynn on bass trombone and contrabass trombone, Frank Kimbrough on piano, Gary Versace on accordion, Lage Lund on guitar, Jay Anderson on bass, Clarence Penn on drums, and Rogerio Boccato on percussion. CD

It might be a bit of a stretch to say that things were going mod in 1957 – as the London mod movement still had a few years to come – but modern jazz was certainly taking over the scene in the city, thanks to a huge rise of homegrown acts who were serving up their own response to American work on labels like Blue Note and Prestige! This set's full of some of the best to appear at the time – a great lineup of London players at their best – with cuts that include "Sputnik" by Dick Heckstall Smith, "Cheek To Cheek" by the Jazz Couriers, "Monkey Business" by Kenny Graham's Afro Cubists, "Cinders" by Vic Ash Plus Four, "Chelsea Bridge" by Derek Smith, "Four" by Tubby Hayes & Victor Feldman, "Headin North" by Johnny Keating, "Salt Air" by Dave Lee, "Act One Scene One" by Kenny Baker's Half Dozen, and "Pittsburgh Opener" by Ronnie Scott. As a bonus, the set also features a full CD of American artists who were also making Soho hop at the time – work by Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Miles Davis, and others. CD

Bring on the sun if it burns this strongly – as we're more than happy to get extra toasty in the light of such wonderful tracks as these! The set's a stunning look at the massive musical shift on the UK scene in the year of 1967 – a time when psych was certainly making its influence felt, but groups were also opening up in all these other sorts of ways too – really getting past the jaunty rhythms and catchy lyrics of a few years before – and instead somehow managing to make all these amazing things happen in just the space of a short 7" single! Some of the artists here are artists who were making more mainstream music a few years earlier, others are new acts that would soon become superstars, and a few more are genius groups who burst out strongly, then disappeared from view – all brought together in a great 3CD package, with 79 tracks in all, and very detailed notes. Artists include The Herd, Idle Race, Dave Davies, John Williams, Svensk, Universals, Australian Playboys, Tony Rivers, Great Uncle Fred, Artwoods, 23rd Turnoff, Vocal Point, Zombies, Nirvana UK, Lisa & Francesca, The Mirage, Virgin Sleep, Accent, Our Plastic Dream, David Bowie, Living Daylights, John's Children, Episode Six, Orange Bicycle, The Poets, Genesis, Crocheted Doughnut Ring, Piccadilly Line, Scott Henderson, Made In Sheffield, Caleb, and many others! CD

Abbey Lincoln in very familiar territory – working through a set of all-original compositions – self-penned tunes that are awash in dark moods and subdued emotions! The setting shows the full depths of Abbey's talents – and is a great reminder that she's not just an old jazz singer that you can trot into the studio for a record of dusted-off standards – but a continually growing, evolving talent – and one with a compositional pen that's as compelling as her instantly-recognizable voice! Instrumentation features guitars from Larry Campbell, accordion from Gil Goldstein, bass from Scott Colley, cello from Dave Eggar, and drums from Shawn Pelton – and Abbey wrote the words and music to all titles save one – a version of "Blue Monk", which features Thelonious' own music. Titles include "And It's Supposed To Be Love", "Should've Been", "Learning How To Listen", "Down Here Below", "The World Is Falling Down", "Throw It Away", and "The Music Is The Magic". CD

An unusual bit of club from Lee Garrett – a singer who's got a relatively rootsy sound overall, but who's working here with a set of smooth and and jazzy backings! Arrangements on the set are by Tom Sellers, who plays piano at the hed of a combo that includes Dave Grusin on synth, Tom Scott on saxes, Ernie Watts on flute and alto, George Bohannon on trombone, Lee Ritenour on guitar, and Harvey Mason on drums – all top-shelf fusion players who help bring a bit of polish to the set, in stark contrast to Lee's rougher vocals. The approach is almost a bit like some of Swamp Dogg's work for the clubs at the time – and titles include "How Can I Be A Man", "Heart Be Still", "You're My Everything", "Sad Sad Story", and "Stop That Wrong". LP, Vinyl record album

Jim Hall on guitar with Scott Colley, Charlie Haden, Dave Holland, Christian McBride, and George Mraz on bass. CD

Herrmann's original score to the film is pretty compelling – almost in the mode of some of his work for Hitchcock – and it's conducted here by Herrmann himself and by Dave Blume. The CD's got 2 especially noteworthy tracks – "Diary Of A Taxi Driver", which features a cool monologue by Robert DeNiro, and "Theme From Taxi Driver", which features alto sax work by Tom Scott. Other titles include "Betsy In A White Dress", "Sport & Iris", "The .44 Magnum Is A Monster", and "God's Lonely Man". CD

A great album from the early 70s – one that has Sergio and crew doing Brazilian tracks with a bit of an LA studio feel – one that takes their older bossa groove into even more soulful territory! Dave Grusin and Tom Scott did the arrangements, both in the best styles of their key early work – which means that things are tight, but never to slick or overpolished. The album's a real standout gem that links together 2 different period's of Sergio's career – and titles include wonderful versions of "Asa Branca" and "Zanzibar", plus a version of "Pais Tropical", done here in one of the best versions we've ever heard! Other tracks include "So Many People", "Gone Forever", "I Know You", "After Midnight", "Morro Velho" and "Tonga". LP, Vinyl record album

Steve Slagle on alto and soprano saxophone and flute, Scott Colley on bass, Lawrence Fields on piano, Roman Diaz on percussion, Bill Stewart on drums, with Dave Stryker on guitar. CD

Features Dave Douglas on trumpet, Joel hallany on trombone, and Scott Robinson on reeds. CD

Andrew Hill on piano, Scott Colley on bass, Nasheet Waits on drums, Aaron Stewart on tenor saxophone, John Savage on alto saxophone and flute, Marty Ehrlich on alto saxophone, flute, bass clarinet, and clarinet, Greg Tardy on tenor saxophone, bass clarinet and clarinet, JD Parron on baritone saxophone and bass clarinet, Bruce Staalens, Dave Balou, Laurie Frinck, and Ron Horton on trumpets, Charlie Gordon, Joe Fiedler, and Mike Fahn on trombones, and Jose D'Avila on tuba. CD

Maybe the greatest moment ever from Paul McCartney & Wings – a set that features killer hits and lesser-known gems – all woven into a fantastic 70s sonic tapestry! The production and presentation of the record are wonderful – the whole thing was virtually a pop art piece when it came out – and Paul's got a way of both being intimate and charming, and helping push the whole group with soaring energy that really made them huge at the time. The album's got great production – and also features guest work from Allen Toussaint, Tom Scott, and Dave Mason. Side one is a non-stop flow of pop genius – woven from the tunes "Venus & Mars", "Rock Show", "Love In Song", "You Cgave Me The Answer", "Magneto & Titanium Man", and "Letting Go" – and side two follows up with so many great surprises – including "Treat Her Gently Lonely Old People", "Medicine Jar", "Spirits Of Ancient Egypt", and "Listen To What The Man Said". LP, Vinyl record album

A monstrous bit of jazz funk from drummer Alphonse Mouzon – spacey tracks in a choppy style that reminds us a bit of some of the best European fusion albums from the period, but with a harder groove overall! Mini Moog and ARP trip out the sound throughout, but the underlying rhythms are nice and heavy. Lee Ritenour's on guitar, and he gets a lot of play on the record – but the main groove is Alphonse's heavy funky snakefoot! Al's drums and percussion are furiously frenetic, and he also plays a lot of keyboards – and other players include Tom Scott on tenor, Dave Grusin on clavinet, Victor Feldman on bongos and congas, and Charles Meeks on bass. A few tracks have vocals – by Marty McCall, Jackie Ward, and Caroline Willis – as well as Alphonse himself and the album's also got two very nice break-oriented tracks – "Snake Walk" and "New York City" – both with nice hard drums! Titles include a number of other good fusion groovers, like "Without A Reason", "Just Like the Sun", "Before You Leave", "Just Like The Sun", and "Mouzon Moves On". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that's not only a landmark in Jamaican music – but also a set that was to reggae what Curtis Mayfield's Superfly was to 70s soul! In other words, the set not only raised the bar for all the competition, it also ended up in a lot more record collections than most of them too – maybe in part because it was a soundtrack, as was Superfly – but also because it has this global power that makes it a defining album of the genre! Jimmy Cliff is obviously the mainman here, but there's help from other key players in the growing reggae scene – and titles include Jimmy's classic "You Can Get It If You Really Want", in two versions – plus two takes on "The Harder They Come", "Many Rivers To Cross", and "Sitting In Limbo" – plus "Sweet & Dandy" and "Pressure Drop" by The Maytals, "007" by Desmond Dekker, "Johnny Too Bad" by The Slicers, "Draw Your Brakes" by Scotty, and "Rivers Of Babylon" by The Melodians. In addition, you get another disc of bonus material, much of it recorded in the crucial years before the film's release, giving you a wonderful portrait of the Jamaican music scene at the time, a dozen and a half of the finest rocksteady and reggae jams of the day, including Desmond Dekker's "Israelites", The Ethiopians "Reggae Hit The Town", Dave & Ansel Collins "Double Barrel", Jimmy Cliff's "Let Your Yeah Be Yeah" and "Wonderful World, Beautiful People", The Maytals' "Do The Reggay" and "54-46 (That's My Number)", The Melodians "It's My Delight" and Eric Donaldson's "Cherry Oh Baby". 30 tracks in all on this awesome 2 disc set, packaged up nicely with notes by Dave Katz, photos from the film and full lyrics and track notations! CD

A pair of rare albums from reedman Noah Howard – back to back in a single set! First up is the Noah Howard Quartet album from 1966 – one of the most obscure albums on the ESP label in the 60s – and a brilliant early chapter in the career of reedman Noah Howard! Howard is maybe best known for his contributions to the European scene from the end of the 60s into the 70s – but here, he's already a stunning giant on the New York scene – blowing alto with a sound that's very much all his own, and which makes his performance here as both a soloist and leader a key part of the early ESP label legacy. The group is piano-less – a unique ensemble with Ric Colbeck on trumpet, Scotty Holt on bass, and Dave Grant on percussion – all unknown players, but great partners for Howard on the record – on titles that include "Henry's Street", "Apotheosis", "Apotheosis Extension I", and "And About Love". At Judson Hall features a brilliant live performance from the young Noah Howard – working here at a level that's very much on the most spiritual side of the ESP label spectrum, and which also shows the new level of inventive group structures that were coming into play on the New York scene at the time! The record's got a sense of soulful structure and individual freedom that's a bit like the classics of Archie Shepp at the time – as Howard blows alto alongside trumpeter Ric Colbeck, an unusual player who was also on his quartet studio session for the label. A young Dave Burrell makes a great appearance on piano, alongside the bass of Sirone, cello of Catherine Norris, and percussion of Bobby Kapp – as the group make their way through two side-long tracks, "This Place Called Earth" and "Homage To Coltrane". CD