The first new studio recording by tenorist Fred Anderson since 1980 – and a set that shows just how much he'd grown in the intervening years! Here, Fred's newly alive with a younger Chicago group – a great quartet with Jim Baker on piano, Harrison Baker on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums – all players openly fluid to move with Anderson from swinging passages to freer ones – a beautiful balance of soul and experimentation, captured in a way that maybe links Fred more closely to Von Freeman than any other record in his career – yet which still captures all the AACM vitality in his music too. Titles include "Birdhouse", "Bernice", "Like Sonny", and "Waiting For Me". CD

The first new studio recording by tenorist Fred Anderson since 1980 – and a set that shows just how much he'd grown in the intervening years! Here, Fred's newly alive with a younger Chicago group – a great quartet with Jim Baker on piano, Harrison Baker on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums – all players openly fluid to move with Anderson from swinging passages to freer ones – a beautiful balance of soul and experimentation, captured in a way that maybe links Fred more closely to Von Freeman than any other record in his career – yet which still captures all the AACM vitality in his music too. Titles include "Birdhouse", "Bernice", "Like Sonny", and "Waiting For Me". CD

A fantastic live document of the genius of Chicago tenorist Fred Anderson – captured here with an excellent group that soar with the same boundless energy as their leader! Anderson is blowing at his very own Velvet Lounge club on the south side of the city – but he's hardly laidback and relaxed – as the energy here is beautifully tight, even as the songs are very freewheeling and stretched out – driven with great rhythm work by Tatsu Aoki on bass and Hamid Drake on drums, and topped with tremendous trumpet from guest Toshinori Kondo, who also adds in some great electronics too! Anderson is amazing – very much at that level that made him one of the great under-discovered giants on the Chicago scene, finally getting attention during this period of his career – and beautifully brought to life again on this recording that finally sees release twenty five years after its recording. Titles include "Analog Breakdown", "Era Of Rocks", and "Probability Distribution". CD

An amazing new setting for the flute of Nicole Mitchell – the ultra-cool Ice Crystal quartet, which features sublime interplay between Mitchell and vibist Jason Adasiewicz! The blend of vibes and flute is mindblowing – and used here with the sense of space, soul, and sound that you'd get in some of the best 60s "new thing" recordings – an aspect of avant expression that Nicole's never touched like this before – even given her already wide palette of far-reaching styles! Other moments have a more spiritual approach – especially when the deep tones of bassist Josh Abrams come into play a bit more, and seem to brign out a whole new side of the drums of Frank Rosaly. The whole thing's another feather in the cap of Mitchell – one of those players who really makes us proud to call ourselves Chicagoans – as do the other members of the group – and titles include "Yearning", "Today Today", "Diga Diga", "Expectation", "Sunday Afternoon", and "Fred Anderson" – which features a spoken word passage by Calvin Gantt. CD

Free jazz from the Norwegian scene – one of the more "out there" sides on the groundbreaking Jazzland label, and a compelling set by a group that features reed player Jorgen Munkeby. Munkeby's style has bits of Ayler, bits of Murray, bits of Fred Anderson, and bits of Mats Gustafsson – wrapped around the piano, bass, and drums of the quartet with a sound that's free, but also beautifully melodic. Titles include "Cellofan Eyes", "Firewalker", "Where Do You Go Christmas Eve?", "Sink", and "Shanghai Devil". CD