One of the greatest albums ever recorded by Guy Lafitte – a wickedly soulful set that's overflowing with Latin and modern touches! Lafitte's in the lead on tenor, backed by a group that features the groundbreaking George Arvanitas trio at its core, plus trombone from Sonny Grey and guitar from the great Jimmy Gourley. Arvanitas' group features some incredibly strong rhythm work from the team of Jacky Samson on bass and Charles Saudrais on drums – a pair that were one of the greatest bass/drum units working during the 60s on either side of the Atlantic – and equally well-suited to gently soulful moments as they were to full-on rhythmic romps! The album bristles with excitement from the word go – and features some surprising soul jazz groovers that have Arvanitas playing a bit of organ – as well as some great late nite numbers that really have Lafitte opening up on his horn. Titles include "Jambo", "Cote A Cote", "Jamaica", "African Night", and "Jamboree". CD

A rich testament to the strength of the Parisian traditional jazz scene in the early 70s – as key players Coleman and Lafitte work here with a quintet live at the Montreux jazz fest in 1973. Lafitte's tenor is always a treasure, warm and rich, but moody and edgey at the same time – like the best late work of Coleman Hawkins. The longish tracks on the set give him plenty of space to solo – and titles include "Sur Les Quais Du Vieux Paris", "L and L Blues", "Tour De Force", and "Montreux Jump". LP, Vinyl record album

With Cobb and Lafitte on tenor, Roland Hanna on piano, Jimmy Woode on bass, and Eddie Locke on drums performing "On Green Dolphin Street", "Climb Every Mountain", "I Got Rhythm", "Jumpin At The Woodside", and the Cobb originals "Blues Abrupt" and "Go Red Go". LP, Vinyl record album

A rich testament to the strength of the Parisian traditional jazz scene in the early 70s – as key players Coleman and Lafitte work here with a quintet live at the Montreux jazz fest in 1973. Lafitte's tenor is always a treasure, warm and rich, but moody and edgey at the same time – like the best late work of Coleman Hawkins. The longish tracks on the set give him plenty of space to solo – and titles include "Sur Les Quais Du Vieux Paris", "L and L Blues", "Tour De Force", and "Montreux Jump". CD

There was a special sort of magic in the larger groups on the French scene of the postwar years – a quality of playing and arrangement that wasn't the same as American big bands, and which instead brought in some really creative interplay between the instrumental elements in the lineup! It might be said that these groups were born after bop, and also carried some modern jazz ideas forward too – and that's definitely the case here, with work from pianist Andre Persiany – whose groups on the record are all pretty darn hip! As indicated by the title, there's some wonderful work from Guy Lafitte on tenor – a player who can move between familiar and modern modes with effortless ease – and other players inlcude Bill Jackson and Lucian Juanico on trumpets, Michel De Villers on baritone, Maurice Meunier and Jean Claude Fohenbach on tenors, and Teddy Hameline and Michel Attenoux on altos – players who move beautifully together under Persiany's leadership. A number of cuts are originals by the leader, and there's a number of Basie tunes, remade in a great way – as the 23 track CD pulls together material from three different 10" album releases, the last of which is Andre Persiany Joue Count Basie. Titles include "Halbe Funf", "Blue Organ", "T Bone Steak", "Beer Barrel Bounce", "Little Story", "Panorama", "Shorty George", "Two Cats & A Piece Of Lung", and "Just For Fun". CD