An all acoustic set with Stanley Clarke on bass, Al Di Meola on guitar, and Jean-Luc Ponty on violin. CD

A seminal side from the French scene of the 60s – a landmark trio with Humair on drums, Louiss on organ, and Ponty on violin – playing some very free, very groovy grooves! Titles include "Bag's Groove", "That's All", "Carol's Garden", and "Sonnymoon For Two". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the hippest of Jean Luc Ponty's mainstream efforts from the 70s – a tightly jamming album that's made even better by plenty of keyboards from Patrice Rushen! Rushen's sound really brings a warmer, more soulful groove to the record – stretching out with flowing solos that remind us a lot of her own early work for Prestige, placed here as a nice contrast to the heavy guitar work of Darryl Stuermer and the sometimes-frenetic work on violin by Ponty. Tracks have a definite rock fusion approach, but still offer up enough jazzy moments – and titles include "Is Once Enough", "Renaissance", "Aurora (parts 1 & 2)", "Passenger Of The Dark", and "Lost Forest". LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "New Country", "Gardens Of Babylon", "Once Upon A Dream", "Tarantula", and the four part suite "Imaginary Voyage". CD

With Daryl Stuermer on guitar, Allan Zavod on keyboards and piano, Tom Fowler on bass, and Mark Craney on percussion. LP, Vinyl record album

Trippy electric fusion from the west coast – a record that features Ponty, who was working with Zappa at the time, playing a set of electric jazz takes on Zappa tunes – with lots of added help from George Duke, who was also working with Zappa too! The set's almost a "birth of fusion" one – with Zappa arrangements that are clearly in a jazz-rock mode – and lots of electric bass, electric piano, and electric violin in the set. Tracks are long, and riff-heavy – and other players include Ernie Watts, Wilton Felder, Buell Neidlinger, and Ian Underwood. Titles include "America Drinks & Goes Home", "Music For Electric Violin & Low Budget Orchestra", "King Kong", and "Twenty Small Cigars". LP, Vinyl record album

A really beautiful early album from the legendary Jean-Luc Ponty – a set that's maybe more straight jazz than some of his later work, and which also represents a pivotal shift in the use of the violin in jazz! Ponty's phrasing here is very different than previous players who handled the instrument in such a setting – almost more informed by a saxophone than earlier instrumentalists – often with notes that are not nearly as sweet as others, and heard to perfection in the company of this quartet! The whole group is great – Wolfgang Dauner on acoustic piano, also straighter than in later years – plus Niels Henning Orsted Pederson on bass, and Daniel Humair on drums. Titles include "Sunday Walk", "Cat Coach", "Suite For Claudia", and "Carole's Garden". LP, Vinyl record album

A really beautiful early album from the legendary Jean-Luc Ponty – a set that's maybe more straight jazz than some of his later work, and which also represents a pivotal shift in the use of the violin in jazz! Ponty's phrasing here is very different than previous players who handled the instrument in such a setting – almost more informed by a saxophone than earlier instrumentalists – often with notes that are not nearly as sweet as others, and heard to perfection in the company of this quartet! The whole group is great – Wolfgang Dauner on acoustic piano, also straighter than in later years – plus Niels Henning Orsted Pederson on bass, and Daniel Humair on drums. Titles include "Sunday Walk", "Cat Coach", "Suite For Claudia", and "Carole's Garden". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Two older greats from the MPS label scene of the 70s – coming together here in a later set that shows a wonderful maturation of their talents! Both Jean-Luc Ponty and Wolfgang Dauner had an early talent to stun the ears with great use of electronics – but both musicians are all-acoustic here, and really sounding wonderful in a set of extended duets recorded at the Bern Jazz Festival! Dauner's got a stunning ear for the full range of tones and colors in the piano – almost as if he inherited a new sonic spectrum from his early electronic experiments, then turned them back to straighter jazz – in modes that also have Ponty following suit with these long-flowing lines that remind us how great he can be in just the right mode. Each player gets one solo track, but the record is mostly duet material – and titles include "Suite For Claudia", "Once Upon A Dream", "Pamukkale", "Sketch Up & Downer", "Hong Kong Fu", and "Two Thousand One Years Ago". CD

Two older greats from the MPS label scene of the 70s – coming together here in a later set that shows a wonderful maturation of their talents! Both Jean-Luc Ponty and Wolfgang Dauner had an early talent to stun the ears with great use of electronics – but both musicians are all-acoustic here, and really sounding wonderful in a set of extended duets recorded at the Bern Jazz Festival! Dauner's got a stunning ear for the full range of tones and colors in the piano – almost as if he inherited a new sonic spectrum from his early electronic experiments, then turned them back to straighter jazz – in modes that also have Ponty following suit with these long-flowing lines that remind us how great he can be in just the right mode. Each player gets one solo track, but the record is mostly duet material – and titles include "Suite For Claudia", "Once Upon A Dream", "Pamukkale", "Sketch Up & Downer", "Hong Kong Fu", and "Two Thousand One Years Ago". LP, Vinyl record album

With Alan Zavod on keyboards, Joaquin Lievano and Jamie Glaser on guitars, Ralphe Armstrong on basss, and Casey Scheuerell on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

An album that really lives up to its title – as the mighty Jean Luc Ponty mixes together keyboards and electric violin in a really cosmic style – pushing forward both his music and the sound of 70s fusion at the same time – and with the sort of rock-solid approach that always helped his records find a much bigger audience than standard jazz albums at the time! The violin was nothing new in jazz by the time of this set – but in the hands of Jean-Luc, it really takes off in a different way – more keyboard-styled in the structure of the riffs, balanced here with additional keyboards from Allan Zavod, next to more guitar, bass, and percussion – but always in a way that's never too rock-jamming overall. Titles include "Ethereal Mood", "Fake Paradise", "Puppets Dance", "Cosmic Messenger", "Art Of Happiness", and "Egocentric Molecules". LP, Vinyl record album

A great double-header – one that features 2 classic Jean-Luc Ponty albums from the 60s! Record one presents the album King Kong – an album that features Ponty, who was working with Frank Zappa at the time, playing a set of electric jazz takes on Zappa tunes – with lots of added help from George Duke, who was also working with Zappa too! The set's almost a "birth of fusion" one – with Zappa arrangements that are clearly in a jazz-rock mode – and lots of electric bass, electric piano, and electric violin in the set. Tracks are long, and riff-heavy – and other players include Ernie Watts, Wilton Felder, Buell Neidlinger, and Ian Underwood. Titles include "America Drinks & Goes Home", "Music For Electric Violin & Low Budget Orchestra", "King Kong", and "Twenty Small Cigars". Record two features The Jean Luc Ponty Experience With The George Duke Trio – a much better album than you'd expect, without any of the noodling of the players' later albums! At the time of this set, Duke and Ponty are breaking out of the hippie weirdness of the Zappa records, and get a bit more serious – working through some long, extended modal grooves that rank with the best MPS work by either player. Duke's on electric piano, ringing out in a weird spacy sound, and Ponty's violin is mostly restrained, used to cast waves of sound over the top of the tracks, in a way that works well with Duke's soulful resonant approach. Titles include "Foosh", "Cantaloupe Island", and "Starlight Starbright". LP, Vinyl record album

The mighty Jean Luc Ponty in all his 70s glory – taking the violin from the realm of more staid European jazz roots, and using it to rival some of the bigger fusion soloists of the decade! Ponty's key here is the way he uses the electrified instrument almost like a keyboard – spinning out these nicely-building waves of sound that can also alternate with more dynamic solo moments too – supported here by a sweet electric group that features Joaquin Lievano and Jamie Glaser on guitars, Allan Zavod on keyboards, and Ralphe Armstrong on bass. Tracks are nice and long – and titles include "Aurora (parts 1 & 2)", "Imaginary Voyage (parts 3 & 4)", "Mirage", "No Strings Attached", and "Egocentric Molecules". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Saxophonist Dave Rempis and drummer Tim Daisy are no musical strangers to each other, having played together often on many different recordings – yet here, the duo seem almost reborn – opening up all sorts of amazing sounds in the company of violinist Mark Feldman – whose sense of sound throughout is really incredible! This isn't jazz violin, ala Jean-Luc Ponty or Stephane Grappelli – as Feldman uses his instrument more as a sonic engine, to generate unusual sounds of all different types – which are then amplified and echoed by Daisy and Rempis on their instruments, which includes added percussion from Tim, and a mixture of alto, tenor, and baritone from Dave! The set features two long, mindblowing improvisations, both recorded at Elastic Arts – "Ostro" and "Bora". CD

Chick Corea on piano and keyboards, Stanley Clarke on bass, Lenny White on drums, Jean-Luc Ponty on violin, and Frank Gambale on guitars. CD

Features George Duke on keyboards, Jean-Luc Ponty on violin, and Jack Bruce on bass – and titles include Frank's classic "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow" – plus "Nanook Rubs It", "Father O'Blivion", "Cosmik Debris", "Exentrifugal Forz", "Stink Foot", and "Apostrophe". LP, Vinyl record album

Features George Duke on keyboards, Jean-Luc Ponty on violin, and Jack Bruce on bass – and titles include Frank's classic "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow" – plus "Nanook Rubs It", "Father O'Blivion", "Cosmik Debris", "Exentrifugal Forz", "Stink Foot", and "Apostrophe". CD

One of Frank Zappa's biggest-selling albums of the early 70s and it's also one of his best ever! Over-Nite Sensation finds Zappa's leftfield weirdness and sly social satire at play within adventurous, but accessible arrangements. It's got some early fusiony bits paired with heavy drums and muscular rock riffs – and it's a hell of a great sound! The songs themselves are sharp, too. If forced to make a list of favorite Zappa songs, it'd certainly include "Camarillo Brillo", which kicks this record off – and other titles include "I'm The Slime", "Montana", "Dinah-Moe Humm", "Zomby Woof", and "Dirty Love". Features keyboards from George Duke and violin from Jean Luc Ponty – plus horns by Ian Underwood, Sal Marquez, Tom Fowler and Bruce Fowler – plus percussion by Ruth Underwood and amazing drums by Ralph Humphrey. CD

One of Frank Zappa's biggest-selling albums of the early 70s and it's also one of his best ever! Over-Nite Sensation finds Zappa's leftfield weirdness and sly social satire at play within adventurous, but accessible arrangements. It's got some early fusiony rock bits paired with heavy drums and muscular rock riffs – and it's a hell of a great sound! The songs themselves are sharp here, too. If forced to make a list of favorite Zappa songs, it'd certainly include "Camarillo Brillo", which kicks this record off – and other titles include "I'm The Slime", "Montana", "Dinah-Moe Humm", "Zomby Woof", and "Dirty Love". Features keyboards from George Duke and violin from Jean Luc Ponty – plus horns by Ian Underwood, Sal Marquez, Tom Fowler and Bruce Fowler – plus percussion by Ruth Underwood and amazing drums by Ralph Humphrey. LP, Vinyl record album

Duets between ex-Coltrane drummer Rashied Ali and avant violinist Leroy Jenkins. Jenkins has a haunting ability to generate a wide range of sounds on the violin – pushing him past the usual snoozy jazz violinists of his generation (like Jean-Luc Ponty), and which make him a perfect sound-sensitive foil for a percussionist like Ali. The record has 4 long tracks – "The Past", "It's For You", "The Stomp", and "Swift Are The Winds Of Life". LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Ned Doheny, Jean-Luc Ponty, John Tropea, Alan Parsons Project, Vangelis, Paul Davidson, Henry Mancini, Lalo Schifrin, and Wojciech Kilar. LP, Vinyl record album

A big change of sorts for Mahavishnu Orchestra – a record that has the group actually acting like the larger ensemble promised in their name! Although their first few efforts were smaller combo affairs, this set has the group completely transformed – with only John McLaughlin's guitar remaining from the original lineup – joined by a host of other jazz and orchestra players – including Jean-Luc Ponty on electric violin, bringing in a much more spacey sound than before, and Narada Michael Walden on drums, percussion, and a bit of vocals. The sound's often less jamming than the power-fusion of the group's start – and much more in the meditative space you'd guess from their name – although still with a good degree of jazz influences as well. Mike Gibbs did the orchestrations, and Michael Tilson Thomas conducts – and titles include "Power Of Love", "Hymn To Him", "Wings Of Karma", and "Smile Of The Beyond". LP, Vinyl record album

Hipper than usual for a violin jazz album – a nice open-ended jam session – with work by Stuff Smith, Stephane Grappelli, Sven Asmussen, and Jean-Luc Ponty – over a rhythm section with Kenny Drew on piano, Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Alex Riel on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Given that Chick Corea first got his start working in the New York Latin scene back in the 60s, the album's a bit of a return to his roots – even if the general theme here is Spanish, and not Afro-Cuban! The Corea Spanish Heart here is cast in some darker, more contemplative tones than more traditional Latin sides – but it borrows a wonderful array of modes from genres past – including bits of strings, percussion, and an overall more ambitious approach that sometimes shows up in Chick's piano work, or in the general construction of the tunes. The double-length set features a wide variety of Spanish-influenced numbers – played by Corea on acoustic piano and a variety of keyboards, with other players who include Don Alias, Jean Luc Ponty, Stanley Clarke, and Steve Gadd. Titles inclu de "Love Castle", "The Gardens", "Night Streets", "The Hilltop", "Armando's Rhumba", "Prelude To El Bozo", "Spanish Fantasy", and "My Spanish Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

Re-edits of Paul Simon and Jean-Luc Ponty. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Features George Duke on keyboards, Jean-Luc Ponty on violin, and Jack Bruce on bass – and titles include Frank's classic "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow" – plus "Nanook Rubs It", "Father O'Blivion", "Cosmik Debris", "Exentrifugal Forz", "Stink Foot", and "Apostrophe". CD

One of Frank Zappa's biggest-selling albums of the early 70s and it's also one of his best ever! Over-Nite Sensation finds Zappa's leftfield weirdness and sly social satire at play within adventurous, but accessible arrangements. It's got some early fusiony rock bits paired with heavy drums and muscular rock riffs – and it's a hell of a great sound! The songs themselves are sharp here, too. If forced to make a list of favorite Zappa songs, it'd certainly include "Camarillo Brillo", which kicks this record off – and other titles include "I'm The Slime", "Montana", "Dinah-Moe Humm", "Zomby Woof", and "Dirty Love". Features keyboards from George Duke and violin from Jean Luc Ponty – plus horns by Ian Underwood, Sal Marquez, Tom Fowler and Bruce Fowler – plus percussion by Ruth Underwood and amazing drums by Ralph Humphrey. CD