A killer set of searing soulful spiritual material from Oliver Nelson – and one of his best albums of the 70s! There's hardly anything "Swiss" in the music – save for the fact that it was recorded at the Montreux Jazz Fest – as the large ensemble recording has Nelson at the helm of a very hip group of musicians – really stretching out into territory that's more Strata East than any of his other work, especially on the title track! In addition to the tenor from Gato Barberi and alto from Eddie Vinson – both featured on the title – the set also features Charles Tolliver and Harry Beckett on trumpets, Bosko Petrovic on vibes, Na Na on barimbau, Bernard Purdie on drums, and Stanley Cowell on piano. Side one features the soaring "Swiss Suite" – an extended number done for the set – and side two has a bit more Nelson touches coming into play with the progressive lineup – on titles that include "Stolen Moments", "Black Brown & Beautiful", and "Blues & The Abstract Truth". CD

Rare live set by this lost British avant garde guitarist, recorded at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in 1971. Russell's backed by a quintet that includes Harry Beckett on trumpet, Tony Roberts on tenor, Alan Rushton on drums, and Daryl Runswick on bass. Great stuff, and very edgey. Tracks include "Tip-Roote", "Lapis", and "Blue Rain". CD

A near-perfect album from the great John Surman – recorded at the crossroads of the British jazz scene as it stepped into the 70s, and done with a fullness and focus that Surman hardly matched again! As with some of the other Deram sessions of the time, the album's overflowing with great players from the cream of the British new wave of jazz – including Barre Phillips on bass, Tony Oxley on drums, Alan Skidmore on tenor, Harry Beckett on trumpet, and John Taylor on piano – but despite strong work from the entire ensemble, Surman's work on baritone, soprano, and bass clarinet are a tremendous highlight here – poised between some of Eric Dolphy's most inventive modes on the instruments, and some of the greater changes to come in the European free scene of the 70s! There's a cohesiveness here that's really wonderful – a sound that's never too free, nor too overindulgent – but also not as tightly arranged as on work by some of Surman's contemporaries. Titles include "Caractacus", "Galata Bridge", "Premonition", and the long suite "Event". CD

Fantastic live recordings from the legendary New Jazz Orchestra of Neil Ardley – a key force that united the worlds of British avant jazz and rock at the start of the 70s – but with a style that leaned a lot more towards the world of the former overall! Many of these players are artists who helped forge a whole new voice for Brit jazz in the 60s, and some were then rising to work with prog groups on bigger labels too – yet they all come together here wonderfully under the direction of Ardley – a genius for balancing freedom and cohesion, individual ideas and group energy! The tunes explode with the same sort of bold colors as Neil's few classic albums of the period – and the first six tracks feature a large group with Derek Wadsworth and Mike Gibbs on trombones, Don Rendell and Dick Heckstall-Smith on reeds, Dave Greenslade on organ and electric piano, Frank Ricotti on vibes, and Harry Beckett, Ian Carr, and Henry Lowther on trumpets – while the last track features a smaller group with Rendell, Carr, and the unusual inclusion of Barry Guy on amplified bass and Keith Winter on electronics. All tracks are well-recorded, and pulled from the BBC vaults – and titles include "Stratusphunk", "Time Flowers", "Terre De Miel", "The Immortal Ninth", "Pendulum", and "Half Blue". CD

A fantastic longform composition from British jazz legend Graham Collier – presented here for the first time ever, and every bit as crucial as his Fontana albums from the late 60s! Here, Collier's at the helm of a large ensemble – with Harry Beckett as the key soloist on trumpet and flugelhorn, plus full backings from the larger Swedish Radio Jazz group – a lineup that's filled with all-star players who include Arne Domerus on alto, Lennart Aberg on tenor and soprano, Bertil Lovgren and Jan Allen on trumpets, Rune Gustafsson on guitar, and Bengt Hallberg on piano – all giants on the Swedish scene of the time, and perfectly realizing Collier's vision here! There's nice use of guitar in the group from Ed Speight, who also solos a fair bit – and there's electric bass at many points, which gives a great lilt to the music – presented here in five fantastic movements, overflowing with color and life – "Red Sky In The Morning", "Clear Moon", "Halo Round The Sun", "Red Sky At Night", and "Mackerel Sky". LP, Vinyl record album

3 incredible albums from the British jazz scene at the end of the 60s – all together in one 2CD package! Down Another Road is incredible work from one of England's greatest jazz talents – bassist Graham Collier, a player with an amazing ability to absorb a lot of the modern and progressive influences of his jazz generation – but all without succumbing to the same indulgences as them – a fact which resulted in a razor-sharp style that forged some of the freshest jazz ever to come out of the UK. This 1969 album is a masterpiece – filled with a modal groove and a strident searching theme, yet also as tight and grooving as most of the best Blue Note sessions from the same time. Harry Beckett's on trumpet, Nick Evans is on trombone, John Marshall plays drums, and Stan Sulzmann handles the reeds. Tracks include "Down Another Road", "Danish Blue", "The Barley Mow", and "Aberdeen Angus". Songs For My Father is a masterpiece of modernist soul jazz, with a sound that recalls the best late Blue Note work by Lee Morgan or Hank Mobley. Alan Wakeman's tenor is perfectly pitched, and searingly searching; Harry Beckett's trumpet is round, lyrical, and filled with soul; and the piano of John Taylor comps along in chunky modal grooves that make the whole album fall together brilliantly. Tracks include "Song One", "Song Two", "Song Three", etc – and they're all fantastic! Mosaics is a wonderfully searching session – filled with warm McCoy Tyner-esque modal moments, and searing post-Coltrane solos! The album comprises one long piece – Collier's "Mosaics" – performed live by a group that includes Alan Wakeman on tenor and soprano, Harry Beckett on trumpet, and Geoff Castle on piano. "Mosaics" has that amazing mid 60s Coltrane quality of going out in a spiritual kind of way – yet always returning to the groove, never getting too free, and always remaining firmly focused on the direction ahead. All players are great, and the record crackles with the intensity of a classic session on Impulse! CD

An album with a very colorful cover – which is a good indication of the sounds within from the great Graham Collier – music from that moment when his sense of composition and arranging were really opening up some strong new colors in British jazz! The set features a great group with two surprising players – guitarist Pierre Cavalli, whose lines make for some really wonderful elements to the mix of tones – and the great trumpeter Ted Curson, who's working here alongside more likely Collier bandmate Harry Beckett – both players at a key moment in their musical development! The lineup also features some fantastic reedwork too – tenor, bass, clarinet, and flute from Tony Roberts; oboe, soprano, and baritone from Karl Jenkins; and tenor, flute, and alto from Stan Sulzman – players who get some nice grounding from the twin trombones of Nick Evans and John Mumford. John Marshall is at the base of the sound on drums – and the set of all original numbers by Collier include "Indian Flower", "Across The River", "Indian Rock", "Backtrack", "Indian Summer", and "View From Hungerford Bridge". CD

A tremendous set from one of the best – and most under-recognized – groups of the British jazz rock scene at the end of the 60s! The group have an approach that mixes heavy blues-influenced jamming with some of the lighter, more lyrical touches that were showing up at the time – in a way that gives them a firmly grounded sound at one level, but also a slightly more sophisticated, contemplative approach – making the group almost a UK equivalent to the sound of the Steve Miller Band at the time. The jazzier tracks on the album feature work by some great straight British players – including Harry Beckett and Ray Warleigh – and the album's also got a few nice slightly funky cuts that are known for their breaks! Tracks include "The Dansette Kid", "Hickory", "Not Foolish, Not Wise", "Poor Mabel", "Believe In Me", "Don't Give Up", "Hickory", and "Tadpole". CD

A tremendous run of music from the great Keef Hartley – a British drummer who was maybe not the biggest name on the scene, but who created some wonderfully groovy music on the albums in this set! The records are a brilliant blend of jazz and rock elements, but in ways that are so different from so many other jazz rock records of the time – maybe in part because Hartley could always bring a lot of soul and a bit of funk to his drums, while still also keeping things in more of the rock side of the spectrum overall – yet opening the door to let in some key jazz musicians from session to session – including trumpeters Harry Beckett and Henry Lowther, reedmen Johnny Almond and Jimmy Jewell, and organist Wynder K Frog – just a few of the players who really give these records a special sort of vibe! It's a bit hard to peg the sound of the records in just a few words – in part because they each have their own flavor – but they're all great, not a weak one in the bunch – and the package features the full albums Halfbreed, Battle Of North West Six, Overdug, Time Is Near, Little Big Band, Seventy Second Brave, and Lancashire Hustler. PLUS, there's also 15 bonus tracks added to the set – mostly live, and some live in studio! CD

Very rare work from this legendary improvising orchestra – two different recordings from the first decade or so of the group's existence, at a time when they were hardly making any records at all! The first two long tracks are from a 1972 performances in Germany – and feature an early version of the group conducted by Buxton Orr, but with leader Barry Guy in strong formation – in a very large lineup that includes saxes from Evan Parker, Mike Osborne, Trevor Watts, and Alan Wakeman; trumpets from Kenny Wheeler, Harry Beckett, Mark Charig, and Dave Holdsworth; trombones from Paul Rutherford, Mike Gibbs, and Paul Nieman; guitar from Derek Bailey; piano from Howard Riley; percussion and drums from Paul Lytton and Tony Oxley; and more bass from Jeff Clyne and Chris Laurence. The players' ability to move in ways that are both cohesive and individual is breathtaking – on the long selections "Watts Parker Beckett To Me Mr Riley" and "Statements III". Next are two more tracks recorded in London in 1980 – one live, one studio – with some of the same players, but also the addition of Peter Brotzmann and Tony Coe on saxes, Philipp Wachsmann on violin, and John Stevens on percussion – on the tracks "Quasimode III" and "Appolysian". CD

A killer set of searing soulful spiritual material from Oliver Nelson – and one of his best albums of the 70s! There's hardly anything "Swiss" in the music – save for the fact that it was recorded at the Montreux Jazz Fest – as the large ensemble recording has Nelson at the helm of a very hip group of musicians – really stretching out into territory that's more Strata East than any of his other work, especially on the title track! In addition to the tenor from Gato Barberi and alto from Eddie Vinson – both featured on the title – the set also features Charles Tolliver and Harry Beckett on trumpets, Bosko Petrovic on vibes, Na Na on barimbau, Bernard Purdie on drums, and Stanley Cowell on piano. Side one features the soaring "Swiss Suite" – an extended number done for the set – and side two has a bit more Nelson touches coming into play with the progressive lineup – on titles that include "Stolen Moments", "Black Brown & Beautiful", and "Blues & The Abstract Truth". LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of amazing records from the UK jazz scene at the start of the 70s – all seminal sides from the legendary avant Turtle Records label! First up is Outback,early genius from British saxophonist Mike Osborne – his first session as a leader, recorded in the company of some of the greatest players on his scene! Osborne's got a strong vision here that's apparent from the first note of the set – a mixture of freedom and cohesive energy that resonates with the best modes of the ESP albums cut a few years before this one – stretching out with the new imagination that was setting the London jazz scene on fire at the start of the 70s. Osborne's alto is at the lead of a quintet that also includes Harry Beckett on trumpet, Chris McGregor on piano, Harry Miller on bass, and Louis Moholo on drums – and the sound is a mixture of some of the post-Blue Notes work of McGregor with bolder-blown trumpet/sax lines from Beckett and Osborne. The album features 2 long tracks – the stark, angular "So It Is", and the slower-building "Outback", which features some especially nice solos from Beckett. Next up is Flight – a complete classic from British pianist Howard Riley – exactly the sort of record that made him as important a new voice on the piano as Cecil Taylor in the US or Alexander Schlippenbach and Martial Solal on the European scene! The set's got the free, fiery vibe of some of Taylor's best work – but with even more inventive sounds from the whole trio – which also includes Barry Guy on bass and Tony Oxley on drums and amplified percussion – a tremendous lineup that's equally matched, and brilliant throughout! Riley is as wonderful as on his solo sessions – but he's almost even more incredible here for the way he balances things between all the players, and gives both Oxley and Guy some key space to make themselves known. Titles include "Cirrus", "Motion", "Flight", "For Lesley/For Sue", and "Forgotten Game". Last is Pause & Think Again – marvelous work from pianist Mike Taylor – maybe the greatest album we've ever heard from this under-recognized British genius, and a set that's got some of Taylor's most inventive writing and arrangements! The group's larger than some of Taylor's usual settings – and features John Surman on soprano sax, Stan Sulzmann on alto, Chris Pyne on trombone, and Kenny Wheeler on trumpet – all players who are arranged in this style that lets them break free in strongly voiced solos, while still also hewing to Mike's wonderful sense of color and tone – a mix of structure and individual creativity that's a bit like some of the early Surman work on Deram, or that label's music with some of his contemporaries. The group also features Chris Laurence on bass and Tony Levin on drums – and Norma Winstone adds in some heavenly vocalizations at points. Titles include "And Think Again", "White Magic", "Pause", "Interlude/Soft Winds", and "Awakening/Eye To Eye". Great package – a box with all three records in album-style covers, and a huge booklet of notes! CD

Not the earliest work of pianist Stan Tracey – but two wonderful albums from the 70s, both of which show his mighty talents in the space of a larger group! The Bracknell Connection is one of the greatest post-Landsdowne recordings by British pianist Stan Tracey – a killer large group session that's cut in the best tradition of his best 60s work! Unlike some of Tracey's other 70s sides, which can get a bit too free, this one still has a tight, sharp jazz focus – one that makes Tracey's off-beat playing sound far better than it does in a structure-less setting. The other players in the group are all quite strong too – and soloists include Harry Beckett on trumpet, Peter King on alto, and Art Themin on tenor and soprano. Titles include "Timespring", "Cuddly", and "Agitato Sympatico". Also features a previously unissued track – "Chiffik". Salisbury Suite is another great octet session from Tracey – one that's strongly graced by his tremendous work on piano – forceful, angular, and modern – yet without any of the excesses of some of his solo or trio work of the time! Tracey really seems to come into his own in a larger group recording – keeping his cool enough as a leader, and really setting the tone for the other players – pushing them into hip formation, but always getting them to swing as well. Players include Art Themen on tenor and soprano, Don Weller on tenor, Jeff Daly on alto, Harry Beckett on trumpet, and Malcolm Griffiths on trombone – and titles include "Peg Leg Bates", "Miff", and "Ballad For St Ed". CD

A seminal bit of work from Mike Westbrook – recorded back in the early years of his career, when he still had a pretty sharp edge! Like Westbrook's first few albums on Decca, this set features the British avant jazz maestro playing piano with a large ensemble of some of England's finest jazzmen – including Ray Warleigh, Alan Skidmore, Harry Beckett, Kenny Wheeler, Paul Rutehrford, and Harry Miller. Norma Winstone sings on a few tracks, bringing in her lovely voice in the way that she does on Westbrook's best albums – but overall, the set's a bit more out there and more avant than some of his earlier work, but still has the majestic cohesiveness that makes his work of the time so great. The work is one long piece, split into 9 segments. CD

One of the coolest, hippest collections you could ever hope to find – not just the usual mix of vintage soul or obvious jazz tracks, but a wealth of wonderful work we never would have discovered otherwise! Mr Thing digs even deeper for this third volume than the previous two – working with a range of rare 70s records that span a great range of underground genres – mixing funky soul with sound library instrumentals, obscure themes, jazzy bits, and more – really getting back to the best spirit of BBE compilations like this from a decade or so ago. The whole thing's wonderful – really illuminating and full of surprises – and tracks include "La Da Da" by Dynamic Concept, "One More Time" by Nu Sounds Express, "The Sweeney" by Woolwich Polytechnic School Concert Band, "Fire To The Galleon" by Smiling Hard, "Rings Within Rings" by Harry Beckett, "La Bimini" by Spunk, "Nature Boy" by Sharon Cash, "Candy" by Chuck Jackson, "Romantic Atitude" by John Fitch & Associates, "Crossroads" by Graham Walker Sound, "Do It Again" by Disco Orchestra, "Oriental Weekend" by James Asher, "Give A Damn" by The Internationals, and "Art The Grass" by Dum Dum. LP, Vinyl record album