Definitely some mystical adventures here from Jean-Luc Ponty – one of the few artists on the violin who can make it come up with sounds like this – weird cool and spacey elements that sound great next to the album's use of organ, keyboard, and Fender Rhodes! The album features two long tracks – "Mystical Adventures" and "Final Truth" – both building nicely on straightforward themes which are then extrapolated by the fusiony solos – never too jamming or intense, but moving with a nice sense of progression, too. The album also features two shorter, catchier numbers – a compelling cover of Stevie Wonder's "As", plus "Rhythms Of Hope". LP, Vinyl record album

Jean Luc Ponty is in very tight formation here – continuing that nice shift to sparer grooves he made at the start of the 80s – when the more cluttered fusion modes of the 70s seemed a bit outdated! Most of the music here comes from keyboards and violin – usually in ways that are never too jamming, and which often hit a spacious kind of groove that mixes equal parts rock and jazz with a few newer soul influences. Guests include Chick Corea and George Benson, but most of the music is by Ponty himself – and titles include "Open Mind", "Watching Birds", "Solitude", "Modern Times Blues", "Orbital Encounters", and "Intuition". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of 80s albums from the fusion master – back to back in a single set! On Open Mind, Jean Luc Ponty is in very tight formation – continuing that nice shift to sparer grooves he made at the start of the 80s – when the more cluttered fusion modes of the 70s seemed a bit outdated! Most of the music here comes from keyboards and violin – usually in ways that are never too jamming, and which often hit a spacious kind of groove that mixes equal parts rock and jazz with a few newer soul influences. Guests include Chick Corea and George Benson, but most of the music is by Ponty himself – and titles include "Open Mind", "Watching Birds", "Solitude", "Modern Times Blues", "Orbital Encounters", and "Intuition". Fables is almost a back-to-basics album for jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty – one that has him kicking things up with a bit more heavy fusion than on some of his other 80s records – almost jamming at times, and at least returning to some of the energy he had back in the 70s! Most of the record features a core group with Scott Henderson on guitar, Baron Browne on bass, and Rayford Griffin on drums – and Ponty's playing a few different electric violins, plus a bit of keyboards – on tracks that include "Radioactive Legacy", "Perpetual Rondo", "Cat's Tales", "In The Kingdom Of Peace", "Infinite Pursuit", and "Elephants In Love". CD

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". CD

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

More unusual than you'd expect – thanks to some electric piano from Maurice Vander and guitar from Philippe Catherine! Titles include "Valerie", "Golden Green", "Bowing Bowing", and "Memorial Jam For Stuff Smith". LP, Vinyl record album

More unusual than you'd expect – thanks to some electric piano from Maurice Vander and guitar from Philippe Catherine! Titles include "Valerie", "Golden Green", "Bowing Bowing", and "Memorial Jam For Stuff Smith". 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

A pair of late 70s albums from electric jazz maestro Jean Luc Ponty – back to back in a single package! First up is Aurora – 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". Cosmic Messenger is 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". CD

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

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

Far-reaching sounds from The Flock – a group who were maybe one of the best American acts at the end of the 60s to blend trippy rock with the big new wave of jazz fusion! These guys definitely use horns in a way that link them to the chunky groove of early work by Chicago or Blood Sweat & Tears – but they're also clearly going for a more long-haired vibe, too – especially when they open up on some acoustic stringed instrumentation – such as 12-string guitar or violin, both of which are handled by Jerry Goodman in a really great way! These instruments really shape some of the sound of the set – especially the violin when it's used in these freewheeling passages that might give Jean-Luc Ponty a run for his money – but there's also a core, tight soulful sound that balances things out nicely – as does some of the heavy drums and fuzzy guitar! Titles include "Clown", "I Am The Tall Tree", "Store Bought Store Thought", and "Truth" – plus a very cool funky cover of The Kinks' "Tired Of Waiting". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most soulful sets we've ever heard from the mighty Ron Trent – a full length set that's a fantastic summation of all the genius he's given us on singles over the past decade or so – and a record that marks a real maturation in Ron's music! Make no mistake, Trent was always a cut above most club music talents – working with an understanding of deeper, older currents that always showed up in his tracks, but which really take root and flower here – partly through collaborations with members of Azymuth, Jean-Luc Ponty, Khruangbin, and other guests – but with a sense of unity that's definitely Ron's own! This isn't simple house or club – but a rich palette of cosmic vision – on titles that include "On My Way Home", "Warm", "Cool Water", "Cycle Of Many", "Admira", "Melt Into You", "Flos Potentia", and "Sphere". This package brings together all the tracks from the LP in a very cool mix by the legendary Francois K – and adds in 5 bonus tracks too! 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

One of the most soulful sets we've ever heard from the mighty Ron Trent – a full length set that's a fantastic summation of all the genius he's given us on singles over the past decade or so – and a record that marks a real maturation in Ron's music! Make no mistake, Trent was always a cut above most club music talents – working with an understanding of deeper, older currents that always showed up in his tracks, but which really take root and flower here – partly through collaborations with members of Azymuth, Jean-Luc Ponty, Khruangbin, and other guests – but with a sense of unity that's definitely Ron's own! This isn't simple house or club – but a rich palette of cosmic vision – on titles that include "On My Way Home", "Warm", "Cool Water", "Cycle Of Many", "Admira", "Melt Into You", "Flos Potentia", and "Sphere". 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". LP, Vinyl record album