A groundbreaking set from British pianist Keith Tippett – an album of completely improvised material, all-acoustic – and performed with a group that includes Julie Tippett on voice and guitar, Frank Perry on percussion, and Roy Babbington on bass. The album's got a really organic feel – not nearly as free as you might guess from the improvised nature of the work – and more with a fluid, earthy approach that's heavily concerned with sound and spirit, and which reminds us a lot of some of the more challenging early 70s work on Impulse Records. Instrumentation is all acoustic (although the set was oddly produced by Robert Fripp!) – and titles include "Song", "Dance", "Blues I", and "Woodcut". CD

Classic singers take on the sound of the season – in the kind of collection that really takes aim at those years when the world of Christmas records really started to explode! The tunes here mix some of the paternalistic voices of TV Christmas specials with some that are more in the world of jazz and rock – mixing things up in a nice way, and offering up plenty of classics along the way! Titles include "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" by Frank Sinatra, "Christmas Time All Over The World" by Sammy Davis Jr, "Let It Snow" by Dean Martin, "Winter Wonderland" by Paul Anka, "Christmas Night In Harlem" by Louis Armstrong, "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby, "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" by Perry Como, "The Christmas Song" by Mel Torme, "Baby It's Cold Outside" by Ray Charles & Betty Carter, "I'll Be Home For Christmas" by Frank Sinatra, and "Blue Christmas" by Elvis Presley. LP, Vinyl record album

Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet and vocals, Jimmy Powell and Phil Woods on alto saxophone, Billy Root and Marty Flax on baritone saxophone, Nelson Boyd and Paul West on bass, Rod Levitt on bass trombone, Charlie Persip on drums, Walter Davis Jr and Wynton Kelly on piano, Benny Golson, Billy Mitchell, and Ernie Wilkins on tenor saxophone, Al Grey, Frank Rehak, and Melba Liston on trombone, and Ermet Perry, Joe Gordon, Lee Morgan, and Quincy Jones on trumpet. CD

Rich Perry on tenor, Frank Kimbrough on piano, Jay Anderson on bass, and Billy Drummond on drums. 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

Billy Drewes on alto and soprano saxophone, flute, and clarinet, Dick Oatts on alto and soprano saxophone, flute, and piccolo flute, Ralph Lalama on tenor saxophone, clarinet and flute, Rich Perry on tenor saxophone and flute, Gary Smulyan on baritone saxophone, Douglas Purviance, Jason Jackson, John Mosca, and Luis Bonilla on trombone, Frank Greene, Nick Marchione, Scott Wendholt, and Terell Stafford on trumpet, John Clark on French horn, Jim McNeely and Michael Weiss on piano, Phil Palombi on bass, and John Riley on drums. CD

Featuring Greg Gisbert on flugelhorn, Rick Margitza and Rich Perry on tenor sax, Frank Kimbrough on piano, Ingrid Jensen on trumpet and flugelhorn, Tim Ries on soprano sax, Charles Pillow on alto sax, Ben Monder on guitar, and Scott Robinson on baritone sax . Tracks include "Hang Gliding", "Nocturne", "Dissolution", "Allegresse", "Journey Home", and "Sea Of Tranquility". CD

With Rich Perry and Tim Ries on reeds, Ingrid Jensen on trumpet, Ben Monder on guitar, Frank Kimbrough on piano, and others! CD

With Rich Perry and Tim Ries on reeds, Ingrid Jensen on trumpet, Ben Monder on guitar, Frank Kimbrough on piano, and others! CD

Billy Drewes and Dick Oatts on alto and soprano saxophone and flute, Gary Smulyan on baritone saxophone, Rich Perry on tenor saxophone and flute, Ralph Lalama on tenor saxophone, flute and clarinet, Frank Basile on bass clarinet, David Peel on French horn, Douglas Purviance on bass trombone, Luis Bonilla, Jason Jackson and John Mosca on trombone, Nick Marchione, Scott Wendholt, Tanya Darby, and Terell Stafford on trumpet and flugelhorn, Jim McNeely on piano, David Wong on bass, John Riley on drums, and Mike Truesdell on percussion. CD

Charles Pillow on alto saxophone, clarinet, piccolo flute, and flute, Steve Wilson on alto and soprano saxophone, clarinet, and flute, Scott Robinson on baritone saxophone, clarinet and bass clarinet, George Flynn on bass trombone and contrabass, Donny McCaslin on tenor saxophone and clarinet, Rich Perry on tenor saxophone and flute, Keith O'Quinn, Marshall Gilkes, and Ryan Keberle on trombone, Ingrid Jensen, Jason Carder, Laurie Frink, and Tony Kadleck on trumpet and flugelhorn, Gary Versace on accordion, Frank Kimbrough on piano, Ben Monder on guitar, Gonzalo Grau and Jon Wikan on cajon, handclaps, and percussion, Jay Anderson on bass, Clarence Penn on drums, with vocals from Luciana Souza. CD

A totally excellent album! Sure, Peter Nero could be one of the sleepier piano players of the 60s – but on this little gem, he's playing moog, and it sounds great! Nero's taking moog to the sweet soundtrack groovers "Midnight Cowboy" and "The Windmills Of Your Mind" – which both come out in a dark spooky style, and "Windmills" sounds especially great, as it begins with a moogy breakbeat that would make Perry-Kingsley weep! Moog's also heard on "Be In" and "Let the Sunshine In" from Hair – and the album also includes 4 other numbers from Galt MacDermot's funky musical, like "Aquarius", "Hair", and "Good Morning Starshine". Frank Hunter did the arrangments – and there's a lot of nice funk running through the LP! (Also issued under the title From Hair To Hollywood.) LP, Vinyl record album

Includes music from the Carpenters, Perry Como, BJ Thomas, Aretha Franklin, the Shirelles, the Drifters, Tom Jones, Gene McDaniels, Tommy Hunt, the Searchers, Bobby Vinton, Chuck Jackson, Dusty Springfield, Jack DeShannon, Cilla Black & more. CD