... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

An album dedicated to the great Django Reinhardt – but one that also comes across with plenty of west coast touches! The format is somewhat Django-esque – with lead guitar work from Joe Pass, plus rhythm guitar support from John Pisano – creating some of the guitar interplay you'd have in a gypsy swing record – but the groove's also a bit more modern than some of Django's classics, and there's a lighter, breezier approach here that's very much in the mode of other Pass records from the 60s – at least the small group ones! Tracks include "Django", "For Django", "Fluer D'Ennui", "Django's Castle", and "Nuages". LP, Vinyl record album

Double-length magic from Joe Pass – with lots of long tracks! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

This album's got a very telling title – as Joe's guitar is working here with bigger arrangements by Bob Florence, backings that go for a mod 60s sound! Florence uses a range of instrumentation on the set, plus some occasional vocal choruses, all in a mode that's got some very nice mid 60s LA touches, of the sort you'd hear on records for A&M! Titles include "The Phoenix Love Theme", "Dindi", "Nowhere Man", "A Summer Song", "Moment To Moment", "It Was A Very Good Year", "Sweet September", and "Are You There With Another Girl". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite albums by guitarist Joe Pass, rather spare, featuring Joe in a very intimate setting – guitar with little other backing, save for light percussion, and some occasional instrumentation, like vibes or organ. The mood is very gentle, which is perfect for Pass' light touch on the strings – and the selection of tracks makes for a lovely blend of modes that show Joe at his expressive best. Titles include "Luciana", "You & Me", "The Gentle Rain", "Some Time Ago", "Nobody Else But Me", and "Where Was I". LP, Vinyl record album

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A landmark record in the west coast jazz scene – not only for the music, but for its understanding of addiction on the scene! The album brings together a set of jazz players currently spending their time at Synanon – the Santa Monica-based program of drug rehabilitation that was working some incredible magic with longtime addicts in the early 60s. Synanon had been a temporary home to more than a few great players over the years, and this set brings together some of its lesser-known residents – one of whom was guitarist Joe Pass, who would rise from the session as a real success, and go onto record heavily after this record. The rest of the group includes Dave Allan on trumpet, Ronald Clark on bass, Arnold Ross on piano, Candy Latson on bongos, Bill Crawford on drums, and Greg Dykes on baritone sax. Tracks are pretty long, and more solo based than the usual Pacific Jazz sides – and titles include "CED", "Aaron's Song", "Projections", "Stay Loose", "Hang Tough", and "Last Call For Coffee". LP, Vinyl record album

Solo guitar by Joe Pass – a beautiful little album that's a perfect showcase for the new sensitivity in his music during his years at Pablo records! The Joe Pass heard here is light years away from the guitar player who made a few gimmicky records a decade before – and this album has Joe coming across with a gentle, but sophisticated approach to his instrument that we never would have expected in the past! Titles include "Night & Day", "My Old Flame", "Here's That Rainy Day", "Sweet Lorraine", "All The Things You Are", and "Round Midnight". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A trio date, and one that features a bit of organ from Oscar Peterson! Ttiles include "Jobim", "Riff Blues", "Blues For Dennis", and "Sunny". CD

The Concord label gave guitarist Herb Ellis some of his greatest moments of the 70s – like this early cooker with guitarist Joe Pass – recorded live at the Concord Jazz Festival that gave the label its name! The 1973 performance has both players really opening up – never overwhelming each other, but driving with energy right from the start, then spacing out their own territory strongly on the solos. Backing is from bassist Ray Brown and drummer Jake Hanna – but the record leaves lots of room for guitar throughout – with tones and moments from both players that are a real surprise. Titles include "Seven Come Eleven", "Prelude To A Kiss", "Perdido", "Easy Living", and "Concord Blues". CD

Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass return to the studio just a few years after their initial meeting – once again to work in a stripped-down duet format that's completely sublime! The spare setting is one that Ella never got in the older days – and there's an intimacy here that almost makes it like we're hearing a new singer entirely – one who's not surging over bigger band arrangements, but laying back and singing in a mode that's almost more torchy than we could have ever expected. Pass' guitar is acoustic, and gentle – and titles include "All Too Soon", "One Note Samba", "Rain", "You Took Advantage Of Me", "That Old Feeling", "I've Got The World On A String", and "Nature Boy". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful late duo set from Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass – who'd worked together on a number of terrific sets in the 70s & 80s – always with an excellent, intuitive communication – which culminated in the lovely Easy Living in the early 80s! Here they work with material largely culled from the Broadway and film music canons – some of quite well known if not acknowledged standards, and others that are are little more obscure. A real late charmer from Ella & Joe! Includes "My Ship", "Don't Be That Way", "My Man", "Don't Worry 'Bout Me", "Easy Living", "Days Of WineAnd Roses", "I Want A Little Girl", "I'm Making Believe", "On A Slow Boat To China", "Love For Sale" and more. This remastered 2011 edition has 2 bonus tracks: "Don't Be That Way (Take 3, Alternate)" and "Love For Sale (Take 1, Alternate)". CD

Solo guitar by Joe Pass – a beautiful little album that's a perfect showcase for the new sensitivity in his music during his years at Pablo records! The Joe Pass heard here is light years away from the guitar player who made a few gimmicky records a decade before – and this album has Joe coming across with a gentle, but sophisticated approach to his instrument that we never would have expected in the past! Titles include "Blues For Basie", "Blues For OP", "Misty", "Grooveyard", "Giant Steps", "Five Hundred Miles High", and "Limehouse Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Just duets between Pass on guitar and Pedersen on bass – on titles that include "Have You Met Miss Jones", "95 Blues", "Tricotism", "Old Folks", and "Quiet Nights". LP, Vinyl record album

A tight trio recording – with Niels Orsted Henning Pedersen on bass and Joe Pass on guitar – recreating the drum-less trio style that Oscar Peterson used in the 50s – but on longer tracks that spin out nicely! Titles include "Chicago Blues", "Blues Etude", "Easy Listening Blues", "Come Sunday", and "Secret Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Nice, mellow, and very groovy! Joe Pass plays here with the piano and organ of Clare Fischer, who's always one of our favorites – a player who manages to turn any session into something more than it appears at face value – thanks to a strong sense of craft and cleverness! Clare's touch here is a bit gentler than on some of his later sides – but it's a very welcome one nonetheless – and provides a perfect setting for Joe's lean lines on guitar – strung out with a near-perfect tone, and backed by either Albert Stinson or Ralph Pena on bass, and Colin Bailey or Larry Bunker on drums. Titles include "Catch Me", "Walkin Up", "No Cover No Minimum", "Summertime", and "Just Friends". LP, Vinyl record album

A strong little set from the upstate scene that circled around PM Records in the mid 70s – one headed up by sax player Pat Labarbera, and which features Gene Perla on bass, Joe Labarbera on drums, and either Richie Beirach or Don Thompson on piano! Pat plays tenor, soprano, and flute – and at times, he's going for the harder-jamming PM sound – with those sharp edges in the rhythms you'd expect from Perla and Labarbera – but at others, he kicks back and blows with surprising soulfulness that brings some great lyrical moments to the set – this sense of soul that we really love. Titles include "Little Lady", "Cellar Muse", "Pass It On", "Up Loose", and "Princess Road". CD

Four albums from the breakout years of Jerry Reed – all collected here in a single CD set! First up is When You're Hot – the record that firmly catapulted Jerry Reed to the top – a set that draws on all his years of lyrical wit and razor-sharp guitar work – served up with some surprisingly funky touches too! That upbeat chugging groove that Jerry began on "Guitar Man" is in place on many tracks here – although there's also a few ballads that balance things out nicely, and some instrumental moments too. Titles include the hit "When You're Hot You're Hot", "Thank You Girl", "Turned On", "My Kinda Love", "Big Daddy", "Amos Moses", and "I'll Be Around". Ko Ko Joe is completely charming work from the great Jerry Reed – a set that often has him continuing that almost-swamp rock mode of his previous album – but also showing some deeper currents on the lyrical tip as well! There's a nice range of songs – maybe as Chet Atkins was trying to match the fuller range of expression that Jerry was capable of – and titles include the great "Another Puff" – plus "Early Morning Rain", "Framed", "You'll Never Walk Alone", and "Seasons Of My Mind". On Smell The Flowers, Jerry Reed steps up to the production helm, working alongside Chet Atkins – at a level that really pushes the singer/guitarist on all his many musical fronts! The album's got some of those great catchy, groovy numbers that always set Reed apart from the rest – and his guitar work graces most numbers in a really great way – sometimes shading alongside the vocals, sometimes right out front in bolder solo moments. Titles include "Pave Your Way Into Tomorrow", "Endless Miles Of Highway", "Take It Easy", "Don't Get Heavy", "Smell The Flowers", "It Ain't Home But It Ain't Bad", and "Don't Let The Good Life Pass You By". Me & Chet is a really wonderful collaboration with the great Chet Atkins – the producer who first recognized Jerry's genius for RCA, and who shares the instrumental spotlight here in a flurry of great guitar numbers! Chet's in one channel, Jerry's in the other – and the guitar interplay is fantastic, and easily some of the best Atkins material from the time – with all the dynamic sound of his earlier work. Titles include "Jerry's Breakdown", "Mystery Train", "Serenade To Summertime", "Limehouse Blues", and "The Mad Russian". CD

Features Joe Pass on guitar, Tommy Flanagan on piano, Al McKibbon on bass, and Mickey Roker on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Two of LA's leading soul jazz luminaries – playing head to head in an interesting session that mixes lines on piano and organ! McCann gives the set a good rollicking rhythm, and Holmes' increasing skill on the Hammond makes the set blow out over the top – and the pair get backing by Joe Pass on guitar, Ron Jefferson on drums, and the enigmatic Joe Splink on tenor, who we're sure is a more famous player, working here uncredited due to contract restrictions. The tracks are all originals by Les –a nd titles include "Black Groove", "Me & Groove", "Comin Through The Apple", "Carma", and "Somethin Special", which grooves for over 9 minutes! LP, Vinyl record album

Freddie Hubbard's very much in a back-to-basics mode at this point in his career – and what better place to go back to basics than at the Pablo label, where Freddie's working in an acoustic mode with the Oscar Peterson combo! The style is a far cry from Hubbard's electric records of the 70s – but the tunes still have a nicely spacious feel that shows lessons learned at CTI – a style that makes Peterson sound a bit hipper than usual, and which definitely has Freddie as the boss of the set. Other players include Joe Pass on guitar, Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Martin Drew on drums – and tracks include "All Blues", "Thermo", "Weaver Of Dreams", "Portrait Of Jenny", and "Tippin". CD

With Jimmy Heath and Harold Vick on tenor and soprano sax, Joe Pass on guitar, and Cedar Walton on piano. Titles include "Sleeves", "Sudden Death", "Back To Bologna", and "The Weasel". LP, Vinyl record album

A quartet session that has Les playing with Leroy Vinnegar on bass, Ron Jefferson on drums, and Joe Pass on guitar. Pass' guitar opens the group up nicely – expanding Les a bit past some of the gospel drenched work of earlier yesr. Tracks include "Maichen", "Bernie's Tune", "So What", "On Time", and "Fondue". LP, Vinyl record album

The title sounds a bit ambitious, but the album's actually a great intimate date from Carmen McRae – a beautifully-recorded small combo performance – caught live at Donte's in LA, with a sound that hearkens back to some of Carmen's best work of the 50s! The format is spare and simple – backing by a quartet that features Joe Pass on guitar, Jimmy Rowles on piano, Chuck Domanico on bass, and Chuck Flores on drums – all grooving with a light and lively touch behind Carmen's wonderful vocals – served up here with a lot more freedom than she was getting on most of her studio dates from the time. The "great American songbook" is really just a catch-all for a very wide variety of work included on the record – and the album's hardly the staid "songbook" sort of album you'd guess from the title. Instead, Carmen really opens herself up to a lot of great tunes, from classic to contemporary – with titles that include "Three Little Words", "Glad To Be Unhappy", "The Ballad Of Thelonious Monk", "Behind The Face", "Sunday", "Day By Day", "If The Moon Turns Green", "At Long Last Love", and "A Song For You". LP, Vinyl record album

A great album by Lee Morgan – and one not to pass up! The Rumproller often gets too easily lumped next to The Sidewinder – because of an obvious title and cover similarity to that hit record – but like that one, the album's far more than jazz cliche – and shows Lee Morgan to be one of the greatest jazz musicians of the 60s. The set starts off with the title cut, "The Rumproller" – hard-wailing soul bop, in the manner of Lee's most popular work – but then it easily flows into more sensitive material that has a freer, lyrical feel – like the great original tune "Eclipso" and Wayne Shorter's "Edda" – both of which are superb. Lee is astounding, as always, on trumpet – and the rest of the group includes the great Ronnie Matthews on piano, plus Joe Henderson, Victor Sproles, and Billy Higgins. LP, Vinyl record album

With Toots Thielemans on harmonica, Joe Pass on guitar, and Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass. Nice long tracks, too! LP, Vinyl record album

A relatively laidback set from Oscar Peterson – just the kind of record we need to remind us of his strengths on the mellower side of the spectrum! The recording's a live one – done in LA in 1986 – and Peterson still brings a gentle vamp to most numbers, but also has an open, lyrical quality too – stretching out in a quartet with Joe Pass on guitar, Dave Young on bass, and Martin Drew on drums. The recording quality has Oscar most up front in the mix – which is great at the gentler moments – and titles include "Soft Winds", "Love Ballade", "Cool Walk", and "On The Trail". CD

A really cool concept for a record from Bud Shank – one that has the reedman on some nicely moody flute, with backing from a group that features Joe Pass on guitar! The record's a key entry in that short 60s genre of folk-meets-jazz – and Shank brings some great tones to bear on the set! LP, Vinyl record album

Way more than just a Gershwin Songbook sort of record – thanks to some tremendous blowing here by Zoot Sims, who's mellowed nicely with age, and comes up with a wonderful sound for the record! It may just be us, but there seems to be a lot more soul in Zoot's horn than ever before – more humanity, and a sort of pausing, almost faltering approach to the tunes that takes them way past their overdone versions. The rest of the group includes Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass, George Mraz, and Grady Tate – but the Sims' sound is the main star of the set – and it's really wonderful! Titles include "The Man I Love", "Embraceable You", "Summertime", "Isn't It A Pity", "I've Got A Crush On You", and "Oh Lady Be Good". LP, Vinyl record album

Less of a standard Duke Ellington tribute than you might expect – as trumpeter Clark Terry works here in some wonderfully loose formation – on tunes that are more of an extrapolation of Ellington ideals than simple copycat versions! The lineup features some especially great piano from Jack Wilson and guitar from Joe Pass – both players who work with a relatively airy tone here, which suits Terry's muted horn well. Other players include Ray Brown on bass and Frank Severino on drums – and titles include "Echoes Of Harlem", "Passion Flower", "Sophisticated Lady", "I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart", and "Come Sunday". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet and jazzy little session from Carmen McRae – an overlooked batch of groovy tunes recorded with small combo backing – with a hip vibe that's a bit different than some of her other 70s work! The sound's pretty soulful overall, and takes off nicely from Carmen's best moments on Atlantic a few years before – mixing in just a bit of electricity to keep things sounding a bit 70s-styled without losing any of Carmen's talent for interpreting a tune. The group features Joe Pass on guitar and Larry Bunker on vibes – and titles include Blossom Dearie numbers "Hey John" and "Inside A Silent Tear", plus "All The Things You Are", "The Right To Love", "Where Are The Words", "It Takes A Whole Lot Of Human Feeling", and "Imagination". LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal work from the man credited with the invention of bossa nova! Way back in the early 50s, Bud Shank cut some albums for Pacific Jazz in LA with guitarist Laurindo Almeida. These records mixed together Shank's flute and sax with lively guitar stylings by Almeida – and in many accounts, the recordings are quoted as being a seminal influence on the bossa scene in late 50s Brazil. No surprise, then, that when bossa broke in the US, Pacific Jazz took Shank back in the studio to cut more side in the same style – which is what you'll get on this excellent 2CD set! The work here ranges from 1962 to 1965 – and it features Shank playing in a number of groups: one with Clare Fisher piano, Larry Bunker vibes, and Milt Holland percussion; one with Fisher on piano and organ, Bunker on vibes, and Joe Pass on guitar; one with Joao Donato on piano and Rosinha De Valenca on guitar; and one with De Valenca on guitar and Sergio Mendes on piano. The 2CD set features 28 tracks in all – all pure stripped-down bossa jazz at its finest. Shank's a hell of a reed player – and the format gives him one of the best platforms to blow of his career. Titles include "Sambou Sambou", "Elizete", "Um Abraco No Bonfa", "Gostoso", "Joao", "Serenidade", "Silk Stop", "Sausalito", "Illusao", "Caminho De Casa", "Otem A Note", "Wistful Samba", "O Barquinho", and "Samba Guapo". CD

A set that really lives up to its title – thanks to some mighty bluesy playing from all players involved! The core of the album's a lot more relaxed than the usual Pablo date – long, stretched-out tracks that are simply titled "Alternate One", "Alternate Two", and so on – played by a rhythm section that features Oscar Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on bass, Joe Pass on guitar, and Bobby Durham on drums – topped with trumpet and flugelhorn work from Clark Terry, Freddie Hubbard, and Dizzy Gillespie! The set also features two more standard tracks – but still very open and bluesy – versions of "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams" and a "Ballad Medley". CD

A great little date – one that's presented here with a really classic sense of jazz vocal recording, but oddly the kind of record that Sarah Vaughn hardly ever got to make back in the 50s! The setting is spare and simple – backing by a quartet that includes Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass, Ray Brown, and Louis Bellson – but all players are nicely relaxed here, and never too uptight, or trying to over-express their place in the lineup – and instead step forward gently, quietly, to match Sarah's wonderfully mature vocals on the record. Titles include "Easy Living", "You're Blase", "More Than You Know", "Teach Me Tonight", "Body & Soul", "How Long Has This Been Going On", and "Midnight Sun". LP, Vinyl record album

This might be the first time we've ever heard tenorist Ken Fower with a Hammond organ in the mix – and it makes for a great change that really opens up the colors in his horn! Ken's always had a strong sense of tone, and we love his acoustic records – but this time around, Brian Charette handles the Hammond with a very groovy vibe – one that takes Ken back into 60s soul jazz territory, yet without any copycat cliche modes at all – kind of a sweet blend of Fowser's strong sense of writing and rhythm, just given a nice kick by the organ, which also handles the basslines too. The rest of the group is great as well – with Joe Magnarelli on trumpet, Steve Davis on trombone, Ed Cherry on guitar, and Willie Jones III on some nicely snapping drums. Titles include "No Filter", "On My Way", "Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors", "Samba For Joe Bim", "Knights Of The Round", "Fowser Time", and "Don't Let Life Pass You By". CD

A great album by Lee Morgan – and one not to pass up! The Rumproller often gets too easily lumped next to The Sidewinder – because of an obvious title and cover similarity to that hit record – but like that one, the album's far more than jazz cliche – and shows Lee Morgan to be one of the greatest jazz musicians of the 60s. The set starts off with the title cut, "The Rumproller" – hard-wailing soul bop, in the manner of Lee's most popular work – but then it easily flows into more sensitive material that has a freer, lyrical feel – like the great original tune "Eclipso" and Wayne Shorter's "Edda" – both of which are superb. Lee is astounding, as always, on trumpet – and the rest of the group includes the great Ronnie Matthews on piano, plus Joe Henderson, Victor Sproles, and Billy Higgins. LP, Vinyl record album

A classic straight session by Joe Henderson – cut during his early years, when he was breaking out of the box with a heck of a lot of fire! Kenny Dorham's subdued lyricism complements Joe's impassioned playing over the angular, yet still-swinging rythm section of Andrew Hill, Eddie Kahn and Pete La Roca. The track "Pedro's Time" reflects Joe's fascination with Latin-flavored pieces (as evidenced by Joe's previous effort Page One, and his work on Dorham's Una Mas), while pieces like "Teeter Totter", "Our Thing" and "Back Road" play with time and structure in subtle ways. CD includes a bonus alternate take of "Teeter Totter (alternate take)". CD

Amazing sounds from three great improvisers – two of whom we've known and loved for years, one of whom we're just beginning to discover! The trio features Ken Vandermark on tenor and clarinet, Joe McPhee on soprano sax and pocket trumpet, and Susan Alcorn on pedal steel guitar – the last of which is an instrument that's used in very different, very unconventional ways – more like a subtle sonic element, but still with some musical qualities – which then seems to create the same sort of balance in McPhee and Vandermark, both of whom are more fragile, more sensitive here than we've heard them in years! There's still a few more fully-blown passages, but the real beauty of the record lies in the more subtle sonic interplay, which is magical throughout. Titles include "Invitation To A Dream", "The Eyes Of Memory", "Rise & Rise", "Every Season Has Its Reason", and "I Am Because You Are". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite Latin soul albums ever – a rollicking mix of upbeat party tracks, gentle ballads, and more – all handled with the undeniable magic that is Joe Bataan at his best! The album kicks off with the fantastic groover "Subway Joe" – a hilarious tune about Joe trying to find a seat on the subway – and it rolls into killers like "Nuevo Jala Jala", "Juanito", "Ponte En Algo", and the wonderfully emotive "Special Girl". There's a really wonderful quality to all the tunes – honest, open, and done with instrumentation that includes lots of dark passages, yet which also continues to flower in hope! A landmark, and a record that delights us again and again over the years! LP, Vinyl record album

Includes "We Will Be Together", "Like Alice", "HNIC", "Willow Weep For Me", "Passion Dance", "Speak Like A Child", "Ode To Trane", "Love Dance" and "Taxi". CD

A deeply personal project by William Parker in honor of his own Uncle Joe and Aunt Lee – his Bronx dwelling family, paid tribute to with an excellent, timeless soul jazz organ set – we should all by so treasured by uber-talented, passionate kin! Parker holds down the on bass with stellar Cooper-Moore organ grooves, Darryl Foster on tenor and Gerald Cleaver on drums. Titles include "Uncle Joe's Spirit House", "Jacques Groove, "Ennio's Tag", "Document For LJ", "The Struggle", "Oasis" and more. CD

Spacey album of keyboard duets between Joe Chambers and the great Larry Young. Recorded shortly before Larry passed away, this album features him and Chambers on a number of different piano and synthesizers, and Chambers playing drums on a few tracks while Larry grooves on organ. Very free, with little of the rhythmic pulse that you'd find in Larry's other late work. Cuts include "Message from Mars", "Rock Pile", "The Orge", and "Mind Rain". LP, Vinyl record album

Astounding work from pianist Andrew Hill – a rare session that was recorded for Blue Note in 1969, and issued here for the first time! The work has an extremely ambitious approach – with Hill leading a 9 piece group that includes Woody Shaw, Dizzy Reece, Julian Priester on trombone, Joe Farrell, Lenny White, and Ron Carter. The tracks are all originals – written with a style that retains some of the modern edges of Hill's earlier Blue Note work, but which also shows him opening up and blossoming into more of a spiritualist jazz style. The larger group have an incredibly unified approach, and Farrell's solos in particular really break out with some wonderful moments – helping Hill to realize the soulful modern sound that he was reaching for in his writing, a style that easily makes this one of his most compelling albums! Really really great stuff – finally restored from tapes that had languished for years because of inferior quality. And the material's never been issued before – not even by Mosaic – with titles that include "The Brown Queen", "Cascade", "Yesterday's Tomorrow", "Sideways", "Passing Ships", and "Noon Tide". CD

A very hip trio, one that features three of the greatest female improvisers of the past 30 years – Joelle Leandre on bass, Myra Melford on piano, and Nicole Mitchell on flute, alto flute, and piccolo! The work is maybe more often in the territory of Leandre and Melford's earlier material – tied more strongly to a legacy of European free jazz – but the presence of Mitchell really opens up the sound with a lot of spiritual vibes, and unlocks a quality that's always there in Joelle's basswork, but doesn't always come to the forefront this beautifully! Melford brings some subtle darkness to the record – in keeping with her beautifully understated approach, and strong sense of space – and titles include "Compassion", "Emptiness", "Welcome", "Patience", "Humility", "Honesty", and "Courage". CD

Amazing sounds from three great improvisers – two of whom we've known and loved for years, one of whom we're just beginning to discover! The trio features Ken Vandermark on tenor and clarinet, Joe McPhee on soprano sax and pocket trumpet, and Susan Alcorn on pedal steel guitar – the last of which is an instrument that's used in very different, very unconventional ways – more like a subtle sonic element, but still with some musical qualities – which then seems to create the same sort of balance in McPhee and Vandermark, both of whom are more fragile, more sensitive here than we've heard them in years! There's still a few more fully-blown passages, but the real beauty of the record lies in the more subtle sonic interplay, which is magical throughout. Titles include "Invitation To A Dream", "The Eyes Of Memory", "Rise & Rise", "Every Season Has Its Reason", and "I Am Because You Are". CD

A spacey album of keyboard duets between Joe Chambers and the great Larry Young! The album was recorded shortly before Larry passed away, and it features him and Chambers on a number of different keyboards – electric, acoustic, and organ – plus additional drums by Chambers on a few tracks. The overall sound is very spare – much more laidback than the hard-jamming fusion of Larry's Arista years, and a wonderful coda to Young's career. Titles include "Message from Mars", "Rock Pile", "The Orge", and "Mind Rain". LP, Vinyl record album

A set dedicated to the legendary drummer Sunny Murray – who passed just a few days before the recording of this live set, and who also gave the world a fantastic album with Big Chief as the title – but a record that's very much in the best sort of spirit you might expect from the great Joe McPhee and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love! If anything, McPhee seems to have grown even more as a musician in recent years – really re-igniting our interest every time we get a chance to hear him, and definitely following that upsurge of intensity on the long title improvisation on this set – beginning with really soulful work on tenor, as Nilssen-Love then comes in with very strong support on drums once Joe turns on the heat! The set also features two shorter numbers, but both equally wonderful and with a new sort of energy – "A Fantasy For Lester" and "Knox". CD

A very hip trio, one that features three of the greatest female improvisers of the past 30 years – Joelle Leandre on bass, Myra Melford on piano, and Nicole Mitchell on flute, alto flute, and piccolo! The work is maybe more often in the territory of Leandre and Melford's earlier material – tied more strongly to a legacy of European free jazz – but the presence of Mitchell really opens up the sound with a lot of spiritual vibes, and unlocks a quality that's always there in Joelle's basswork, but doesn't always come to the forefront this beautifully! Melford brings some subtle darkness to the record – in keeping with her beautifully understated approach, and strong sense of space – and titles include "Compassion", "Emptiness", "Welcome", "Patience", "Humility", "Honesty", and "Courage". CD

Forget the novelty sound of the title, and get ready to discover a great country singer who should have been huge – the really wonderful Joe Carson, whose ability to inflect a tune reminds us of prime Lefty Frizzell or Webb Pierce at their best! These tracks are tight, focused, and never overdone – first recorded for Mercury, then Liberty Records – and all done in a respectful way that really puts Joe's fantastic vocals right out front – a clear, clean sound that's deeply personal without ever going into too-emotional territory – a careful country balance that few singers ever managed to hit this well. Carson never hit big fame, but this set's all-star material all the way through – first in a 50s honky tonk mode, then in a richer 60s style – but all without ever sounding too commercial at all. Hats off to Bear Family for giving us such a great discovery, and presenting it with their usual great notes and package – a total of 33 titles that include "I Gotta Get Drunk", "I Don't Have A Contract With You", "Crazy Dream", "Don't Enter", "I'm Not Allergic To Love", "I'll Never Love No One But You", "Three Little Words Too Late", "Passion & Pride", "Love Transfusion", "Release Me", "Be A Good Girl", "Fort Worth Jail", and "The Last Song I'm Ever Gonna Sing". CD

A really fantastic album from tenorist Eric Alexander – a player we've always loved, but who really seems to be opening up some new sides in his music in the past few years! As you'd guess from the title, the album's in a classic "with strings" mode – Eric's tenor out front soloing, with support from a familiar core trio that includes David Hazeltine on piano, John Webber on bass, and Joe Farnsworth on drums – all augmented by these really beautiful string passages from Dave Rivello – an arranger we're not sure we've heard before, but who does a tremendous job here – couching the strong tenor lines with a sensitivity that reminds of of classic 60s charts from Torrie Zito. There's a mature, open quality to the whole thing that's really wonderful – a new sophisticated side of Alexander's music, and one that we love from the very first note. Titles include "Dreamsville", "Gently", "Lonely Woman", "Some Other Time", "Slow Hot Wind", and "The Thrill Is Gone". CD

Billy Eckstine gets a new lease on life – working here with great backings from the Count Basie band, in a mode that's a bit like some of Billy's own large ensemble recordings of the mid 40s! The sound is a bit more Basie-inflected than before, but that also unlocks some great swinging, soulful currents in Eckstine's vocals – modes that maybe weren't coming through as strongly in some of his pop material of the time, but which are right at home in the company of the Count! The material's great, too – darker, more brooding tunes – of the sort that Joe Williams might sing with the group – and the balance of presentation often gives equal time to vocals and instrumental passages in the spotlight. Titles include "Blues The Mother Of Sin", "Lonesome Lover Blues", "Drifting", "I Want A Little Girl", and "Song Of The Wanderer". CD

Less of a jazz effort than some of Lowe's other albums of the time – with a focus on the compositional work of Alec Wilder, featuring 12 new tunes written specially for the album, jazzy, but also with some more expansive soundtrack touches. Players include Lowe, Joe Wilder, Don Hammond, Milt Hinton, and Trigger Alpert – and titles include "Pop What's A Passacaglia", "Let's Get Together & Cry", "She Never Wore Makeup", "Suggestion For Bored Dancers", and "No Plans". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty ambitious album from easy arranger Claus Ogerman – a hell of a talent, and the man who provided backings for some of our favorite albums! The album's kind of a "jazz meets orchestra" affair – done in the mode of some of Ogerman's backdrops for artists with a soloist as the lead act – but flipped around this time, although with some definite help from famous guests along the way! Key solos come from Joe Sample on Fender Rhodes, George Benson on guitar, Michael Brecker on tenor sax, and David Sanborn on alto – all sliding in and out of the lush string backings arranged by Ogerman – some of his best of the decade, with sweeping finish on the top, but a surprising degree of soul that bubbles forth as things move on. Tracks include "Night Will Fall", "A Sketch Of Eden", and "Time Passed Autumn", in 3 parts. LP, Vinyl record album

Iggy Pop may have left The Stooges behind, but he's lost none of his edge – and really finds a new level of solo greatness on this sublime classic from the 70s! The set was produced by David Bowie, who also plays piano on the set – and has Carlos Alamar adding in some guitar – and the overall sound has that raw Berlin mode you might find on some of he headiest tracks on Heroes – kind of "Joe The Lion" meets the gritty truth of Iggy's Detroit! The title cut is maybe the best-known Iggy Pop tune ever – used in countless films and commercials – but the whole thing's great, and a brilliant new focus for Mr Pop's genius. Titles include "Lust For Life", "The Passenger", "Some Weird Sin", "Neighborhood Threat", "Success", "Fall In Love With Me", and "Turn Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

As pure a distillation of McCoy Tyner's lyrical vision as one could ever hope for – a brilliant early standout session for the pianist as a leader! McCoy is backed up here by the energetic drumming of Elvin Jones – with whom he shares a natural empathy from their many years together under Coltrane – as well as the incomparable bass of Ron Carter, and the spirited tenor of Joe Henderson – both players who make the quartet date explode with a fresh sense of imagination – the kind of work that has McCoy stepping out strongly from the shadows of The Great One, into a hip space of his own. The set glistens with 5 Tyner originals – including "Passion Dance", "Four By Five", "Contemplation" and "Search for Peace" – all of which point towards new directions in the post-Coltrane years! CD

Billy Eckstine gets a new lease on life – working here with great backings from the Count Basie band, in a mode that's a bit like some of Billy's own large ensemble recordings of the mid 40s! The sound is a bit more Basie-inflected than before, but that also unlocks some great swinging, soulful currents in Eckstine's vocals – modes that maybe weren't coming through as strongly in some of his pop material of the time, but which are right at home in the company of the Count! The material's great, too – darker, more brooding tunes – of the sort that Joe Williams might sing with the group – and the balance of presentation often gives equal time to vocals and instrumental passages in the spotlight. Titles include "Blues The Mother Of Sin", "Lonesome Lover Blues", "Drifting", "I Want A Little Girl", and "Song Of The Wanderer". CD