A familiar concept, but an incredibly hip album – versions of tunes from the musical Gypsy, all played by an incredible group led by altoist Herb Geller! Geller could be a fantastically modern player when he wanted to be – and this album pushes him distinctly in that direction, as it has him working with a strong group of young players that includes Scott LaFaro on bass, Elvin Jones on drums, Hank Jones on piano, and Thad Jones on trumpet – kind of a "Jones Brothers Plus" album! The basic premise is that Geller and his group play tunes from the hit musical Gypsy – but they take those tunes and turn them on their head, creating tight little modern jazz gems, sparkling with creativity, and polished by some exceptional work by Geller and LaFaro! Barbara Long sings vocals on a few numbers, but the rest of the album's instrumental – and titles include "Cow Song", "Together", "Little Lamb", "Small World", and "Some People". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal piece of west coast bop from the mid 50s – featuring altoist Geller in group with wife Lorraine on piano, and either Curtis Counce or Leroy Vinnegar on bass, and either Larry Marable or Eldridge Freeman on drums. The groove's nice and hard, nice and stripped-down – and Geller proves himself to be a fantastic player with a soulful edge that sets him apart from most of his LA contemporaries. Titles include "Sweet Vinegar", "Love Is Like a Turtle", "Kahagon", "Breaking Through The Sound Barrier", and "Days I Never Knew". 12 tracks in all! CD

A gem of a record – easily one of Herb Geller's best! There's a bite to the record we really love – a quality in Geller's tone that really blows us away – and which has had us going back and re-evaluating his career after hearing this set. Part of the strength is the setting – a nicely dark vibe, typical to some of the other Jubilee jazz sessions of the time – played by a lineup that includes Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Harold Land on tenor, Lou Levy on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Lawrence Marable on bass – an ensemble that have a fuller punch than some of Geller's other groups in the 60s. The track's are easily grooving hardbop numbers – nearly all originals, and handled with a style that's much more New York oriented than you'd expect from Geller's west coast roots. Titles include "S'Pacific View", "The Fruit", "Marable Eyes", "Melrose & Sam", and "An Air For The Heir". CD

Key proof that older jazz greats just keep on growing greater in their later years – and a great reminder of the genius that is Herb Geller! The set's got a cover and a date that might make you a bit suspicious – but Geller's in amazing form throughout, and drawing from a breadth of playing that includes his 50s years on the LA scene, and some really important eye-opening experiences as part of the European scene of the 70s. Herb's playing both alto and soprano sax on the set – in a style that's as lightly dancing as it is freshly modern – perfectly blown with a crisp tone that instantly captivates, yet which is never domineering. There's a languid, flowing quality to Geller's playing that shows tremendous growth since the 50s – and which makes for a beautiful little album that delights with each new track, and which displays a depth that's far greater than you might expect from the cover! Titles include "Midnight Memories", "Stand Up Comic", "The Peacocks", "Stars In My Eyes", "Chromatic Cry", and "Isfahan". CD

One of the last albums that Chet Baker recorded – and a set that changes things up a bit from the smaller combo setting of most of his final decade! The set features some small group work, but also brings in larger orchestrations on a number of tracks – balancing the fragility of Baker's sound at the time, which we love – with some deeper tonal colors in the background. One track features a smaller group that includes Walter Norris on piano and John Schroeder on guitar – both of whom solo with Chet on some of the larger format works as well – one of which also features a nice alto appearance from Herb Geller. Titles include "I Fall In Love Too Easily", "Django", "Well You Needn't", "All Blues", "Summertime", "In Your Own Sweet Way", and "My Funny Valentine". LP, Vinyl record album

A great selection of material from the sometimes overlooked Dutch pianist Rein DeGraaf – a player who's been making great music since the 60s – and who's heard here on a series of recordings from 1972 up through 2002! We're not sure, but we think all the cuts on this set are exclusive to the album – and showcase the way that Rein can easily slide in with all-star hornmen – a quality that made him very much in-demand for accompanying overseas visitors on the Dutch scene – as you'll hear here, amidst reed work from players who include Charlie Rouse, Bud Shank, Ferdinand Povel, James Clay, Bob Cooper, Herb Geller, and Dexter Gordon! Rhythm players vary – although drummer Eric Ineke is on most numbers – and there's also a few beautiful duets as well. Titles include "Now Is The Time", "I Want To Be Happy", "Out Of Nowhere", "Eternal Triangle", "We'll Be Together Again", and "Days Of Wine & Roses". CD

Great early sides for Emarcy – most recorded on the LA scene in the 50s, with players who include Herb Geller on alto, Conte Candoli on trumpet, Bud Shank on flute and alto, Bob Cooper on tenor, and Bob Gordon on baritone sax! LP, Vinyl record album

Sidemen include Bob Enovoldson, Herbie Harper, Herb Geller, and Tony Terran. LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful set put together in memory of the brilliant German jazz trombone player and bandleader – including the incredible 1970 and 1971 sessions of the MPS Rhythm Combination & Brass – plus a number of beautiful bossa steeped material from 2005 that's among Herbolzheimer's final work as a leader! The "Sunshine" portion of the 2CD set features the great and rare Power Play and My Kind Of Sunshine material on CD for the first time ever – the latter originally a 2LP set on MPS that features some of the strongest work ever by Peter Herbolzheimer's legendary funky group for the label! This material is from 2 sessions from the group's early days – with lots of nice solo work by the likes of Dieter Reith, Herb Geller, Art Farmer, and Dusko Goykovich. Tracks are all long – and titles include "Senor Blues", "El Soul Condor", "My Kind Of Sunshine", "Timbales Calientes", "Sunflower Chant", "Twelve In Eight" and more. This rare classic material fills disc 1 and begins disc and disc 2 – and the remaining material is from the 2005 40 Years Of Bossa Nova program by Herbolzheimer and the BuJazzO Orchestra – lovely takes on bossa classics by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Djavan, Edu Lobo and more –n released here for the first time ever. Titles include "Upa Neguinho", "Con Alma", "A Felicidade", "No More Blues", "No Name Samba", "Fato Consumado" and more – plus bonus tracks "Mixolydian Highlander" and "Wenn Ich Dich Seh". CD

A rare session as a leader by trumpeter Jack Millman – one that's based around his own compositions, and which a large group of west coast players alongside some lesser-known 50s talents! Players include Fred Aguirre, Lin Halliday, Artie Anto, Mike Pacheco, Curtis Counce, Herb Geller, Jimmy Giuffre, Howard Roberts, and Don Friedman – playing arrangements of Millman tunes by Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, Jack Montrose, and Pete Rugolo. Tracks are short, but have wonderfully constructed horn passages – as well as some very nice use of Latin percussion – and titles include "Tom & Jerry", "Bolero De Mendez", "Groove Juice", "Pink Lady", "The Turk", and "Bambi". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty darn great record, and a lot more swinging than you'd expect! The basic theme is the Wizard Of Oz – but Shorty makes the tunes groove way way more than they ever did, and thanks to help from hip players like Jimmy Giuffre, Herb Geller, and Bud Shank, the tracks have loads of breakway moments that are nice and jazzy! In way, working in this sort of tightly restricted set was a great way to get Rogers out of his mid 50s slump – when he was writing himself into a corner with the same sort of chamber jazz numbers all the time. In this sort of album, he's already got the basic pattern – and is free to really open up the band and the charts with the sort of creativity that he began his career with. Titles include "The Jitterbug", "Over The Rainbow", "We're Off To See The Wizard", and "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first albums to ever bear the name of Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars – a well-chosen monikker for a record to feature the talents of leading 50s west coasters like Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, Bob Cooper, Shelly Manne, Milt Bernhardt, and Herb Geller. The format here is a bit more freewheeling than some other Lighthouse sessions – as the mood changes up from track to track – offering up some great Latin on a few tunes (one with Jack Costanzo and another with Carlos Vidal on percussion), a bit of R&B tenor wailing, and some more of the usual Four Brothers-styled horn lines. Titles include "Mambo Los Feliz", "Jazz Invention", "Witch Doctor", "Swing Shift", and "Viva Zapata No 1". LP, Vinyl record album

A dream band indeed – as the set features Maynard working with some excellent players who manage to come together tightly as a unit, then break out in really strong and hard-blown solos! Even in these early recordings, the style of the Ferguson group is firmly in place – incredible tightness, but a real respect for the soloists – and a power to kick it louder and larger than even in a small group setting. Players include Herb Geller, Al Cohn, Hank Jones, Budd Johnson, and Ernie Wilkins – and titles on this first volume include "Maynard The Fox", "The Wailing Boat", "Somebody Wants Me Down There", "Little Girl Kimbi", and "Button Nose". CD

A unique large group session from Art Pepper – one of his few this way as a leader, despite constant 50s presence as a sideman in big ensembles! Arrangements are by Marty Paich, who more than makes things swing – and there's a nice rhythm section dancing underneath a larger group – with Russ Freeman on piano, Joe Mondragon on bass and Mel Lewis on drums. Players in the fuller lineup include Jack Sheldon on trumpet, Herb Geller on alto, Bill Perkins on tenor, and Bob Enevoldsen on trombone and tenor – and titles are mostly modern numbers written by other jazzmen like Horace Silver, Denzil Best, Jimmy Giuffre, and Sonny Rollins. Titles include "Groovin High", "Move", "Four Brothers", "Anthropology", and "Airegin". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Jeri Southern's grooviest albums – thanks to jazzy backings from Marty Paich! The album's got that wonderfully full-fleshed sound that Paich could bring to a vocal date like this in the late 50s and early 60s – the same sort of perfect balance he brought to his work with Mel Torme, and which turns out to be a great fit for Jeri Southern's vocals as well! The group's slightly larger than his Dek-Tette – but features an equally great array of west coast hornmen who really shade in the tunes beautifully – including Don Fagerquist on trumpet, Bob Enevoldsen on trombone, Herb Geller on alto, and Georgie Auld on tenor. Yet despite the horn flourishes, Southern's vocals are always firmly in the lead – on titles that include "Lazy Bones", "Ridin High", "He Reminds Me Of You", "Porgy", "Warm Kiss", and "Isn't This A Lovely Day". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the last albums that Chet Baker recorded – and a set that changes things up a bit from the smaller combo setting of most of his final decade! The set features some small group work, but also brings in larger orchestrations on a number of tracks – balancing the fragility of Baker's sound at the time, which we love – with some deeper tonal colors in the background. One track features a smaller group that includes Walter Norris on piano and John Schroeder on guitar – both of whom solo with Chet on some of the larger format works as well – one of which also features a nice alto appearance from Herb Geller. Titles include "I Fall In Love Too Easily", "Django", "Well You Needn't", "All Blues", "Summertime", "In Your Own Sweet Way", and "My Funny Valentine". CD

Early 50's quartet material recorded with Gerry Mulligan and Stan Getz – plus a few sextet tracks with Russ Freeman and Herb Geller. 14 tracks total. CD

They sure got the title right on this one – as the album's a mad mix of sitar music and electronics! The set was recorded in Germany in the 70s, and it features Okko Bekker on both the moog and sitar – playing in a small group with Herb Geller on flute, and some extra guitar work on a number of tracks – all of which makes for a very spacey sound, one that's as trippy as it is groovy. A number of the cuts on the album are originals – and the best numbers have a gentle funky approach that's perfect for the style – moog coming off in waves of sound, the sitar dancing around lightly, the whole thing coming off as one hookah-blowing wall of music! Titles include "Shivas Lullaby", "Santana", "East Indian Traffic", "Ganges Delta", and "A Day In The Life". LP, Vinyl record album

Maynard Ferguson's blowing full steam ahead here – working with an octet that's heavy on horn parts, but in a richly creative way! Ferguson nicely shows off some of his best influences from the 50s large group scene in LA – and gets some key help on the record from Bill Holman, who wrote almost all the tracks on the date, and no doubt arranged most of the material too. Holman's horn isn't heard on the set, but other players are equally great – and include Bob Gordon on baritone, Georgie Auld on tenor, Herb Geller on alto, Milt Bernhart on trombone, and Conte Candoli on trumpet – supported by a rhythm section that features Ian Bernhard on piano, Red Callender on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums. As usual for the Emarcy years, Maynard plays a host of instruments – trumpet, bass trumpet, and valve trombone – and titles include "20 Rue De Madrid", "Super G", "Yeah", "What Was Her Name", "My New Flame", and "Inter-Space". LP, Vinyl record album