An inspirational tome from trumpet great and Jazz At Lincoln Center artistic director Wynton Marsalis, with co-author and historian Geoffrey C. Ward – delivering the positive message of America's definitive music! Marsalis draws from lessons learned from a lifetime in jazz music and details ways such wisdom can translate to and elevate the lives of all of us in whatever we do – as well as provide inside stories of his own career and relationships with generations of great musicians. Softcover edition is 185 pages, with some black and white images. Book

A seminal work in the development of the American jazz avant garde, and one of the most "out" records that Kenton (or Capitol) ever released! The whole album is based around two startling compositions by Robert Graettinger – "This Modern World" and "City Of Glass" – and both are chilling longform works in a distinctly modern idiom. The notes don't list the players in Kenton's group, but given the vintage of the album, you can be sure the band is one of his best. LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal album that defined the fresh sound of a whole new generation in jazz – that "third stream" movement that was different from the cool jazz of the west coast, and the fire of New York! The style here follows that same mix of jazz and higher-concept elements you'd hear on other Modern Jazz Quartet albums for Atlantic – but the music is expanded here with some great help from outside parties too. The Jimmy Giuffre trio join the quartet on most of side one – adding in Jimmy's snakey clarinet and Jim Hall's fluid guitar lines for a really fresh take on the MJQ groove. The remainder of the album brings in the Beaux Arts String Quartet – who shade in the mix of vibes and piano with these dark strains that are really beautiful – and bring even more drama than usual to the music. Titles include "Da Capo", "Fine", "Exposure", "Sketch", and "Conversation". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary overview of jazz on the Italian scene at the start of the 60s – a great document of the new modes that was really setting the work of Italian jazz musicians apart from those in other parts of Europe – working with fresh ideas and a new conception that's completely sublime! The work here often has a great balance between structure and individual voice – and many numbers feature strong soloists who'd go on to great fame in a variety of settings – already graced here with talents that seem greater than their young years. Trumpeter Enrico Rava leads things off in a quartet with pianist Maurizio Lama, on a version of the tune "Line For Lyons" – and Lama follows with a trio reading of his own "Tema For Franco". Trumpeter Sergio Fanni is joined by the great Eraldo Volante on tenor and baritone on the tunes "Duo" and "Circeo". Later soundtrack artist Piero Umiliani serves up his "Picolla Suite Americana" – followed by the Modern Jazz Gang of saxophonist Sandro Brugnolini (with later sound library giants Enzo Scoppa and Cicci Santucci), on the tracks "The Drum Is A Tramp" and "Blue Mirria". Trombonist Dino Piana delivers the tune "Tempo Di Febbraio" with help from the great Gianni Basso on tenor – and the set also features a reading of "Bag's Groove" with Giorgio Azzolini on bass, Piano on trombone, and Attilio Donadio on alto. LP, Vinyl record album

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An album with a sepia-toned, industrial-looking cover – but a set that's full of life and organic color throughout – jazzy grooves with plenty of warmth, and a sound that's right up there with the best of the Italian soundtrack scene of the early 70s! That's maybe no surprise, as the instrumentation here includes work from the legendary I Marc 4 combo, plus some occasional wordless vocals from I Cantori Modern – interpreting the compositions of Rino De Fillippi in a blend of fast rhythms, groovy instrumentation, and sensuous colors that are completely sublime! The whole thing's great – very similar to some of the best Alessandro Alessandroni sound library albums – and titles include "Montaggio A Catena", "Agraria", "Calcolatore Elettronico", "Benessere Industriale", and "Complesso Tessile". LP, Vinyl record album

Nothing dusty, and not really any vibes either – but a hell of a great little record, filled with previously unreleased jazz tracks from the 60s! The music's made by the team of trumpeter Hans Kennel and saxman Bruno Spoerri – the latter of whom you might know from sound library recordings, but who's working here with Kennel in a tight, soulful approach to modern jazz – one that recalls the best work by other European teams of their generation – especially the Basso-Valdambrini and Santucci Scoppa groups from the Italian scene! Spoerri and Kennel hail from Switzerland, and the recordings here were produced for radio in Zurich, but with a clean, lean sound that's much more like commercially released jazz albums from the European scene of the 60s – again, particularly some of the rare gems from Italian labels. The rhythm sections are nice and tight on all tracks, and a few numbers feature Spoerri on his own as a leader – with titles that include "Mr Blue Note", "Dusty Vibes", "When Will The Blues Leave", "Septet Piece", "Ballad On A Row", "Eleven Beat Blues", and "Hadaka No Shima". CD

Brilliant work from Austrian saxophonist Hans Koller – one of his most striking sessions of the 60s, and an incredibly rare one too! The material here was originally recorded for a sound library session, but is 60s modern jazz at its best – with Koller on tenor, working in a quartet that includes Fritz Pauer on piano. Most tunes have an angular, rhythmic sort of feel – dancing out in a groove that's often missing from some of Koller's other work – in a style that seems to really push him on his solos, getting the most out of his incredible tone and phrasing, without succumbing to any sort of overdone experimentalism. Titles include "Mingus Privat", "Hommage A Soulages", "Ruth", "Call Me Eric", "Ronnie & Anne", and "Don't Forget Oscar". CD

An amazing sonic portrait of the modern city – one created on the early 70s Italian scene, but lost to the shifting sands of time, due to its release as a sound library-only album! We've heard Maria Teresa Luciani on a few other records of this nature – but this one may well be her greatest – music that's beyond categorization in the way it presents its subject – not really jazz or soundtrack styles at all, but also not some sort of too-modern compositional idiom either. Instead, the whole thing seems to make some sort of honest, organic sense – as it presents differing aspects of the city, both residential and commercial, public and private – often with a sense of darkness in the immediate approach, but also with a current of hope at times too. Titles include "Public Gardens", "Modern Residential Complex", "Supermarket", "Poor Neighborhoods", "Power Station", "Traffic", and "International Airport". LP, Vinyl record album

A very hip group – handling some very hip material! There's a wonderful blend of instrumentation here – offbeat sax lines over cool vibes – all vamped along nicely by a tight piano-led rhythm section – all wrapped around jazz-based versions of tunes from Brecht & Weil's Mahaganny! The combo's a lesser-known one from the European modern scene of the 60s – and features sound library legend Bruno Spoerri on alto, tenor, and baritone sax – plus Ueli Staub on vibes, Martin Hugelshofer on piano, Felix Rogner on bass, and Rolf Banninger on drums! Spoerri re-arranged most of the tunes in the set – and then contributed his own, as well – and the whole thing's got a wonderfully offbeat feel that's as playful as it is modern – the kind of cool, crisp, creative jazz you'd always imagine from the European scene of the 60s – but hardly ever hear executed this perfectly. Titles include "Grundung Der Stadt Mahagonny", "Alabama Song", "Ach Bedenken Sie Herr Jakob Schmidt", "Metronome", "Lunatic Moon", and "Jaywalker". CD

Orgone's been killing it in the more sprawling reaches of the live funk scene for a number of years – pulling together a far reaching mastery of funk & soul styles into a pretty heavy groove – but here they flip that for a diverse batch of exclusive instrumentals! Killion Vaults is not a dusty batch of leftover material, it's an eclectic batch of funk instros cut at the group's KillionSound facilities in North Hollywood, somewhat modeled after classic sound library records. The group works in spacey flourishes, bits of distortion, fuzzed out psych soul and more – great stuff from one of our favorite modern Cali groups! Titles include "Dramatic Times", "The Score", "Interloper", "Waiting", "Dead Reckoning", "Cruel Intentions", "Faith Keep Rolling" and more. CD

A really cool collection of work from Polish sound library talent Henryk Debich – all 70s material that was designed to evoke the feel of the modern city – including many tracks that were issued in a special cassette series for daily commuters! The material was recorded at the Polish Radio studios, and mixes groovy 70s elements with fuller orchestrations – some disco rhythms at points, mellower soundtrack touches at others – keyboards often stepping out strongly from the fuller arrangements in a way that's a bit like Italian or UK sound library material at the same time! Titles include "UFO", "Obsydian", "Marmyszka", "City", "Choral I Final", and "Perforowany Parmezan". CD features four bonus tracks too! CD

The sound of industry, circa 1969 Italy – which means that everything sounds a heck of a lot groovier than you might expect! Soundtrack genius Alessandro Alessandroni handled the album – and it's completely fantastic right from the very first note – nothing like an industrial album, nor even some of the peppier "industry themed" sound library sets of the European postwar theme – and instead, the music is full of jazzy elements and cool wordless vocals – especially those scatting styles you'd know from Alessandroni's work with I Cantori Modern! Tremendous throughout – and quite possibly one of the grooviest albums the composer has ever given us. Titles include "Moto Blues", "Dialogando", "Circolazione", "Basso Regime", "Vie Motrici", "Escursione", and "Numero Uno". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful early electronic works by Tod Dockstader – with a turgid sound that's very reminiscent of some of the early French Musique Concrete recordings from the 50s. Waves of sound collide and clash, opening up dark modern soundscapes that seem to point towards an outside referent – but which end up collapsing under the weight of the machine! Titles include "Piece 1", "Piece 2", "Piece 3", etc. LP, Vinyl record album

Remi Gassman and Oskar Sala each present pieces of modern electronic music in this hard to find LP for Westminster, very much in the style that was in vogue in New York in the 50s and early 60s. Gassman performs his "Electronic Music For the Ballet Electronics", which has a spare spooky sound, and Sala gives us "Five Improvisations On Magnetic Tape" – which are a bunch of short electronic tracks with a fragile, yet noisy feel to them. As the back of the record says "If anyone cares, this record has a dynamic range of 51 dB. Its lowest frequency is 15.4 cycles per second, its highest fundamental 3951 cps, the highest harmonis or overtone 15806 cps. It can blow out speakers, traumatize cats and arouse the landlord." LP, Vinyl record album

You gotta love a record with song titles like "Marijuana", "Drugstore", and "Hurrycane" – and we can definitely promise that the overall sound definitely matches those trippy references! The record's one of the most obscure Italian sound library sets from the time – and really has a feel that's more like an offbeat jazz album overall – never too outside, but definitely modern – with very strong passages from the saxophone, flute, and trumpet players in the group – who work nicely alongside some sweet organ and guitar, which provide some excellent psychedelic touches! Tony Iglio himself handles the Hammond – and wrote and arranged all the tunes – and in addition to the three mentioned above, other titles include "Jungla", "Yatagan", "Yellow Drops", "Soft Cream", and "Velvet". CD

A double-barreled gem from the UK sound library world of the 70s – two different themes, both of them groovy! Side one features Big Business numbers by Keith Mansfield – not industrial themes, but the kind of slinky, jazzy material that would have been perfect for that world where 70s businessmen were letting their hair get a big shaggy, loosening their ties, and starting to mix a bit of weed with their afternoon cocktails! There's loads of great electric touches – some might nice basslines, riffing guitars, and keyboards – all topped with nicely colorful horns – and titles include "Clean Air", "Tycoon", "Hot Property", "Whistle Stop Tour", "Power Complex", and "Sleeping Giant (parts 1 & 2)". Mansfield handles most of side two – with some help from Alan Hawkshaw and David Snell – and the theme is Wind Of Change, a set of bold statements for the modern documentary film! The music is often a bit brassier, but has some nicely groovy moments – and titles include "Motorail Express", "Road & Rail", "Quality Fair", "Summer Location", and "World In Action". LP, Vinyl record album

A really weird and wonderful collection of work – hardly the airplane music you'd guess from the title, and certainly not in the territory of Brian Eno's Music For Airports – but instead some obscure sound library material from the 70s scene in Egypt! There's a mix of modern and ancient instrumentation going on that's really wonderful – exotic reeds over funky drums, soaring strings next to sweet keyboards – all with a level that's a nicely different take on territory that European sound library artists were exploring during the decade! Things are often funkier than we might expect – almost in the territory of some of the more groove-heavy Salah Ragab records – and titles include "Reem", "Rehala", "Walad Wa Bint", "Ayni Betrif", "Less Al Thulatha", "Daa Al Omr Ya Waladay", "Sypathique", "Baya", "Ta'Er Al Layl", "Al Quina Al Za'Ef", and "Al Dawama". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes selections by Kale-Roger and Rochereau with OK Jazz Orchestra, Bantous De La Capitale, Ahamano's Guitar Band, Broadway Dance Band, Dele Ojo & His Star Brothers Band, SE Rogers, Miss Smodern, Leribe, John Mwale, Peter Tsotsi, Nachil Pilchen, Equater Soul Band, Dick Ngoye, Yaseen Mohamed, Salim Abdulla, Cuban Marimba Band, M Makhuwele, Frida Sonka, and Alemanyo Eshirtay Group. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the grooviest racing soundtracks we've ever heard – a set that's a lot more funky than some of the better-known racetrack film scores that were coming into the racks during the late 60s! The vibe here is almost a bit like some of the sound library material of Alessandro Alessandroni – lots of great melodic elements, wrapped around rhythms that are nice and slinky on the slower moments, and downright funky on the faster ones – mostly instrumental, but with just a bit of vocals at points from I Cantori Moderni – that very cool harmony group that Alessandroni used on many recordings. The instrumentation is never too complex, and the focus feels more small combo than some of the larger orchestrations on Italian scores at the time – served up here in an assortment of 17 tracks from the film! LP, Vinyl record album