A mighty tribute to the music of John Lee Hooker – a set that's got a nice batch of work from his important early years, and is especially heavy on Vee Jay Records material – and one that also includes tracks from his later recordings too! The first three CDs here are the meat of the package – as they feature studio work from the early Detroit years onwards, including some tracks recorded with Texas Slim and Delta John, and many more under Hooker's own name too. CD 4 is all live material, and includes a number of unissued tracks – and the final CD features collaborations with The Groundhogs, Canned Heat, Eddie Kirkland, BB King, and others. The whole thing's packaged in a beautiful book-style design – with 54 pages of rare photos and new liner notes – and even if you've got other John Lee Hooker material in your collection, there's still plenty here to love! 100 tracks in all – 8 previously unissued. CD

Features Billy Hart on drums – with Eddie Henderson on trumpet, Ralph Moore on tenor, Dave Liebman on soprano, Bill Frisell on guitar, Kenny Kirkland on piano, and Eddie Gomez or Buster Williams on bass! CD

Terumasa Hino's looking a bit cheesy on the cover of this one – but the record's hardly the slick 80s affair you might expect – and instead is a great session of ballads and more gentle numbers, recorded in the US with full string backings and a warmly sensitive approach to the music! There's a depth here that goes beyond most of Hino's other work of the decade – an approach to the tunes that reminds us a bit of Art Farmer or Freddie Hubbard in a similar setting – with warmly lyrical lines undercut with a slight hint of sadness – that "blue" reference in the title and cover image. Hino plays cornet with a core group that includes Jim Hall on guitar, Kenny Kirkland on piano, Eddie Gomez on bass, and Grady Tate on drums – plus a bit of vocals – and strings are arranged by David Nadian. Titles include "Greensleeves", "Black Orpheus", "Alone Alone & Alone", "Nature Boy", and "Lush Life". CD