An excellent album of bossa jazz from the great Lalo Schifrin – recorded at a time when he was working in the group of Dizzy Gillespie, and picking up a few great touches from that scene too! The combo is super-sharp – with the great Leo Wright on alto and flute – blowing these great solos that are worth the price of the album alone – next to Lalo's piano, the bass of Chris White, and drums of Rudy Collins – plus two more percussionists too! Titles include "Apito No Samba", "Poema Do Adeus", "Chora Tua Tristeza", "Boato", "Bossa Em New York", and "Patinho Feio". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautifully spiritual jazz from the post-Coltrane generation – a wealth of righteous grooves from the early 70s – brought together in one mighty collection! If you dig the work of Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane, and other giants on Impulse Records, this is a great way to dig even deeper – and hear the way their late 60s legacy inspired other musicians to new heights in their own music – sounds that hit a new level of freedom in jazz, yet which are still filled with enough swing and soul to avoid some of the more avant modes of the free jazz scene! If that description sounds a bit obtuse, then just plug into the collection, and let the music do its thing – as it's got a very powerful vibe throughout – the kind of inspirational, socially conscious work that flourished best during the 70s – and which is finally getting its due all these many years later. The package is new territory for Ace/BGP, but they've done a great job as usual – picking key tracks from the era, and coming up with detailed notes on each of the long tracks. Titles include "Free Angela" by Bayete, "Bridge Into The New Age" by Azar Lawrence, "Tress Cun De O La" by Joe Henderson, "Ebony Queen" by McCoy Tyner, "Peace" by Idris Muhammad, "Mother Of The Future" by Norman Connors, "Brown Warm & Wintry" by Jack DeJohnette, "I've Known Rivers" by Gary Bartz, and "Fire" by Joe Henderson & Alice Coltrane. CD

With tracks by Now School, Jazzy Grooves, Jon Shaft, Headshock featuring Fantasy, Bedroom Boys, Fuzion, and Jazz Not Jazz. LP, Vinyl record album

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One of the most unusual recordings we've ever heard from legendary drummer Art Blakey – not a Jazz Messengers session, but a rare Parisian performance by a quintet billed as the New Jazz Men! The lineup is fantastic – Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Nathan Davis on tenor, Jaki Byard on piano, and Reggie Workman on bass – players who express more modern intentions at times than some of Blakey's usual lineups – and who definitely earn the "new jazz" of their name – as they stretch out here on three long tracks that are superbly recorded by French radio ORTF! Hubbard is tremendous – really finding himself at this point in his career, and full of new phrasing and amazing sounds that really blow us away – and Davis is a real treat in this setting, which is every bit as great as his key overseas recordings of the period. Titles include a side-long version of "Crisis" – plus long readings of "The Hub" and "Blue Moon" – all wonderful! LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "South Rampart Street Parade," "I've Been Working on The Railroad," "Stardust," and "Cabaret." CD

Maybe one of the best-known sessions from the excellent Dutch pianist Rein De Graaff – a set that earns its title by recording in New York – and using a really fantastic lineup that features Tom Harrell on trumpet and flugelhorn, Ronnie Cuber on baritone, Sam Jones on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums! The sound is classic hardbop all the way through, with a vibe that wasn't often showing up on jazz records at the time – with even more of an edge than some of Rein's overseas sessions, and maybe the bold, soulful vibe that only the Beehive label was capturing so well during this period! Cuber is tremendous – we love to hear him open on up a date like this – and the young Harrell is fantastic too. Titles include "Wail", "Solar", "81st & 1st", "Fifty Six", and "A Monk's Dream". CD

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Bill Evans' first album as a leader – and a well-titled set that went onto transform the sound of the piano in jazz! The session isn't as lyrically free as some of Evans' later classics, but already has an undeniably fresh approach to the keys – one that's modern, yet never academic – fluid, but never flowery – pure genius of economy and understatement, while also at the same time opening bold new worlds in sound. The trio features drummer Paul Motian and bassist Teddy Kotick, and titles include the classics "Five" and "Waltz For Debby", the latter of which is performed solo by Evans – plus tracks that include "Displacement", "I Love You", "My Romance", "No Cover, No Minimum", and "Our Delight". CD

Includes the albums New Jazz Conceptions, Everybody Digs Bill Evans, The Ivory Hunters, Portrait In Jazz, Explorations, Sunday At The Village Vanguard, Waltz For Debby, Undercurrent, Moon Beams, Interplay, Empathy, and How My Heart Sings. CD

2 wonderful late 50s sessions from arranger Gil Evans – both of which we'd rank right up there with his best work with Miles Davis, or the albums under his own name for Impulse in the 60s! The first half of the CD is from the album New Bottle Old Wine – a record of swinging modern backdrops, used to showcase both the solo talents of a young Cannonball Adderley, and the dynamic energy of Evans himself! Cannon's sharp-edged early tone is a really great sound for the record – far more modern than you might expect from later funk and soul sides of the 60s – and perfectly poised next to Gil's larger back drops to reignite a host of older tunes with new energy! And while the titles are familiar, the readings certainly are not – as the Evans pen has really changed things up beautifully – as you'll hear on numbers that include "St Louis Blues", "King Porter Stomp", "Willow Tree", "Struttin' With Some Barbeque", "Lester Leaps In", "Round About Midnight", "Manteca", and "Bird Feathers". Great Jazz Standards is equally great, a fantastic lost set from Evans – and one that features Mingus trumpeter Johnny Coles as the lead soloist in front of Evans-led modern groups that include players like Elvin Jones, Ray Crawford, Steve Lacy, Budd Johnson, Rod Levitt, and Chuck Wayne. Despite the "standards" in the title, most of these numbers are modern tunes from the 50s – like "Joy Spring", "Ballad Of The Sad Young Men", "Django", "Straight No Chaser", and "Chant Of The Weed" – all given Evans' unique style of arrangement, tweaked up a few notches to give them a really edgey quality. Coles is clearly standing in for Miles here, but the format works well overall! CD features 15 tracks in all, including some newly-improved versions of a few tracks, correcting mistakes in the original records! CD

During the immediate postwar years, Hans Koller was one of the first European jazz artists to emerge with a talent rich enough to challenge his older American counterparts. He was extremely fortunate to have made a number of recordings during the 50s, but most of them have been out of print for quite some time. This great little 10" features one great session – featuring Koller next to other great German players like Jutta Hipp and Albert Manglesdorf, in a tight quintet session that has a nice hard simple groove. Koller's tenor has a sharp crisp quality that works well next to Hipp's warmer piano stylings – and the set features some nice tracks like "Unter Den Linden", "Four Roses In An Iceblock", and a great version of "All The Things You Are". LP, Vinyl record album

How can we even begin to describe the genius of Lambert Hendricks and Ross? The group was a jazz vocal supergroup that merged three talents that had already made a big name in the bebop vocalese field – Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks, and the lovely Annie Ross – and the project was an attempt to completely work the emerging vocalese style onto a full-blown jazz group. This album wasn't their first – but it was the first to really break them with the masses, and it's a vocal jazz classic if there ever was one. Backings are by the Ike Isaacs Trio, plus Harry Edison on trumpet – and titles include "Moanin", "Twisted", "Cloudburst", "Everybody's Boppin", and "Sermonette". LP, Vinyl record album

How can we even begin to describe the genius of Lambert Hendricks and Ross? The group was a jazz vocal supergroup that merged three talents that had already made a big name in the bebop vocalese field – Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks, and the lovely Annie Ross – and the project was an attempt to completely work the emerging vocalese style onto a full-blown jazz group. Previously, the singers had only sung vocal solos for one instrument – but with a trio of players, they were suddenly able to take over the solos of all the frontline instruments in a group, such as the piano, trumpet, and tenor solos in their incredible version of "Home Cookin". That track alone is a perfect summation of the group's genius – as it offers a true vocal interplay, with words in place of notes and changes, and opens the already great soul jazz classic into a whole new level of meaning and wonder. It also helps that that track, like most of the ones on this CD, features excellent rhythm backing by Gildo Mahones, Ike Isaacs, and Walt Bolden, plus the occasional alto solo by Pony Poindexter. Their Columbia work's always been their best – and this CD brings together all 3 LPs (Hottest Group In Jazz, Sing Ellington, and the amazing High Flying), plus 7 previously unissued tracks! There's a whopping 39 cuts in all – and the set's one of the best jazz vocal CDs you could ever buy! CD

Wes Montgomery's first album as a leader – a relatively obscure set that has him playing in a trio with Indianapolis bandmates Mel Rhyne on organ and Paul Parker on drums – a mode that strongly recalls Montgomery's roots in the Indy scene at the time! If you only know the later, famous Wes Montgomery with bigger charts, you'll be surprised to hear him here in a cooking little combo – the kind of group that made Mel Rhyne a local Hammond hero in Indy, although it seemed to take decades for him to get any sort of larger recognition. The groove is straight and simple, but the real charm is Wes' chromatic lines on guitar – already quite distinctive among his contemporaries, and allowed ample room to express their voice in this setting. Titles include "Ecorah", "Missile Blues", "Too Late Now", "Jingles", and "Whisper Not". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best of the Wildflower series of freeform loft jazz sessions – and a record that features a side of work apiece by both Sunny Murray and Roscoe Mitchell. Murray leads his Untouchable Factor group, with David Murray, Byard Lancaster, Khan Jamal, and Fred Hopkins – and the group plays Murray's extended piece "Something's Cookin". The other side of the record features Roscoe leading a trio with Jerome Cooper and Don Moye, on the decidedly more moody "Chant". LP, Vinyl record album

Not traditional New Orleans music, but a side each from these more contemporary ensembles! Side one features the New Orleans Saxophone Ensemble – a sax quartet with Earl Turbington, Tony Dagradi, Fred Kemp, and Roger Lewis – and side two features the Improvisational Arts Quintet – a great group with Kidd Jordan on soprano and tenor! CD

Includes the tracks "Bucket Got A Hole In It", "Joshua Fit De Battle Of Jericho", "Tiger Rag", "Creole Bo Bo", "Eh La Bas", "The Worlds's Jazz Crazy, Lawdy So Am I", "Bil Bailey Won't You Please Come Home", and "Farewell To Storyville". Nice Jim Flora artwork too! 78 RPM, Vinyl record

Includes tracks by Gigi Gryce, Mal Waldron, Yusef Lateef, Ron Carter, Jon Eardley, Jimmy Forrest, Lem Winchester, Eric Dolphy, and others – 15 tracks total. CD

A seminal set of righteous underground poetry – a key bridge between the earlier work of Langston Hughes and some of the bigger spoken sides of the 70s by artists like Gil Scott-Heron or Wanda Robinson! As the title promises, there's a definite undercurrent of jazz in the work – but mostly in the subject matter of the poems, or in the riffing way the readers approach the material – since there's really no instrumentation at all to accompany the voices. There's a few names on here that you might recognize, but there's a lot more that you won't – and that makes the album a key look at this under-documented 60s scene. Titles include "Elvin Jones Gretch Freak" by David Henderson, "The Jackal Headed Cowboy" by Ishmael Reed, "Poem To Americans" by Gerald Jackson, "Poem To Ernie Henry" by Gloria Tropp, "Listening To Sonny Rollins at the 5 Spot" by Paul Blackburn, "African Memories" by Joel Oppenheimer, and "Autumn 1964" by Peter LaFarge. LP, Vinyl record album

A huge legacy of lost jazz from the British scene – underground work from small labels, local combos, and even a few school bands – all brought together here in a collection that has a very similar vibe to some of the Spiritual Jazz compilations on the Jazzman label! These aren't half-baked tracks by youngsters – or cuts that are rare for rare's sake – and instead stand together as a tremendous musical legacy that we never would have discovered otherwise, since most of these records never made it to the US – and barely even circulated in England! The track selection is superb – really wonderful numbers that move between modal jazz, spiritual styles, electric elements, and even a few touches of vocals – and the notes are as illuminating as the music, and really tell the story of this overlooked legacy of jazz. Titles include "Martini Sweet" by Joy, "High Street/Saturday" by Billy Jenkins with The Voice Of God Collective, "Sixes & Severns" by Nottingham Jazz Orchestra, "Trent Park Song" by Quincicasm, "Cameo" by Poliphony, "Drumsong (one)" by Lori Vambe, "Danielle & The Holly Tree" by Edge, "The Bistro Kid" by Frank Evans, "We Three Kings" by Indian Highway, and "Death Is Near" by London Jazz Four with Syndenham School. CD

Seminal work from the New York avant scene of the mid 70s – an important series of recordings done by Alan Douglas, and sides that initially broke the creative spirit of the scene to a much wider audience! There's a loose, openly creative spirit to these recordings that's a marked change from the intensity of the New York avant recordings of the 70s – a maturity, and confidence, that's come from some of the players' previous work in avant scenes in Chicago, St Louis, and elsewhere – coming together in New York's limelight with some really amazing energy! This 3CD set brings together tracks from all 5 volumes of the original LPs – over 3 hours' of music, with work by players who include Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre and David Murray on tenors; Ken McIntyre, Marion Brown, Oliver Lake, Jimmy Lyons, and Byard Lancaster on alto saxes; Randy Weston, Anthony Davis, and Sonelius Smith on piano; Ted Daniel, Leo Smith, and Olu Dara on trumpet; Khan Jamal on vibes, George Lewis on trombone, Jerome cooper on percussion, and many others too! CD

With Jamey Aebersold on piano, Rufus Reid on bass, and Jonathan Higgins on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

A quartet date with Bill Smith on clarinet, Chris Brubeck on electric bass, Randy Jones on drums and Russell Gloyd conducting the Montreal International Jazz Festival Orchestra. Tracks include "Summer Music", "Koto Song", "Lullaby", "Take The A Train" and "New Wine". CD

Arranged and conducted by John Carisi. LP, Vinyl record album

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With Giovanni Ceccarelli on piano, Mauro Battisti on bass, and Carlo Battisti on drums. CD

Gerry Mulligan with Paul Desmond, the University Of Illinois Orchestra with Gerry Mulligan & Al Belleto, Freddy Gray & Loyola Stage University Band. CD

Jaco Pastorius on electric bass, Hiram Bullock on electric guitar, Kenwood Dennard on drums, Alex Foster & Buth Thomas on saxophones, Jerry Gonzalez on trumpet & conga, Delmar Brown on synthesizer & Michael Gerber on acoustic piano. CD

The title here is interesting – given that Matthew Shipp's been giving us new concepts in jazz piano for decades – yet there also is a way that this set differs from some of Shipp's classic recordings – maybe in part because it seems to hew to older piano trio traditions at times, especially the modern generation of Monk and Herbie Nichols – while also really expanding the sound, thanks to the inventive contributions of all three musicians – not just Shipp on piano, but also Michael Bisio on bass and Newman Taylor Baker on drums! Titles include "The Function", "Primal Poem", "Sea Song", "Brain Work", "Coherent System", and "Tone IQ". CD

Kitty White's first album for Mercury – a sublime set recorded right at the height of Mercury's jazz years – and done in a personal, unfettered style that's really great – right up there with more famous albums for the label by Dinah Washington or Sarah Vaughan from the same time. Backing is by a small combo that includes Gerald Wiggins on piano, Barney Kessel on guitar, Red Callender on bass, and Chico Hamilton on drums – plus some especially nice tenor sax work from Georgie Auld, who cuts in nicely next to Kitty's dark-hued vocals. Titles include "Skylark", "So Many Beautiful Men", "If You Were Mine", "Among My Souvenirs", "Softly", "Out Of This World", and "See Saw". LP, Vinyl record album

Features Pierre Dorge on guitar and Tibetan conch trumpet–with Kasaper Transberg and Gunnar Halle on trumpet, Morten Carlsen and Jakob Mygind onsaxophones, Kenneth Agerholm on trombone, Irene Becker on piano and synthesizer, Thommy Andersson on bass, Martin Andersen on drums, and Ayi Solomon on percussion. CD

Japanese guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi and reedman Kaoru Abe definitely take a new direction here – working together in a mindblowing 40 minute improvisation that really seems to set the scene for countless other experiments to come! Abe blows alto with a really fantastic edge – freewheeling and raspy, matched by work on electric guitar from Takayanagi – who seems to preface a whole history of Japanese noise in years to come with his performance here. The whole thing was recorded in 1970, but is completely fresh all these many years later – and the album features one long track, titled "Mass Projection". CD

The second album by this groundbreaking producer – and every bit as jazzy as his first! The record's a real treat if you dig some of the jazz-influenced work that's been coming out on labels like Compost, or some of the more abstract jazzy bits in mixed by Gilles Peterson. In fact, Peterson's been a pretty big supporter of Wesseltoft's work – and his "new conception of jazz" is perfect stuff for the Talking Loud conception of 21st Century Soul. Titles include "You Might Say", "Green Light", "Flimmer", "Breen n Glue", and "Eve Nin". CD

Features Marty Erlich on clarinets/flute/sax, Baikida Carroll on trumpet/flugelhorn, Frank Lacy on trombone, Michael Formanek on bass, Mike Nock on piano, and Pheeroan ak Laff and Steve Johns on drums. CD

A very cool group – with Herbie Mann on flute, Joe Puma on guitar, Mat Matthews on accordion, and Whitey Mitchell on bass – all making just the right kind of dreamy, exotic sounds you'd expect from such instrumentation! Titles include "Adam's Theme", "Blue Chips", "Minors Not Allowed", "Early Morning Blues", and "Skylark". LP, Vinyl record album

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A stunning 70s set by the New York Jazz Quartet – a group you might not recognize immediately by name, but which features some key all-star players – a lineup that includes Frank Wess on flutes and saxes, Roland Hanna on piano, George Mraz on bass, and Richard Pratt on drums! Wess is especially amazing – very different than his reedman styles of earlier decades – both in small combos and larger ensembles, with an especially strong sensitivity on the flute – an instrument he always played famously, but which he really seems to feel here – with energy that really augments the sorts of warmth and lyricism that Hanna can bring to the piano when he's at his best. Plus, there's this deeper core of rhythm at some points, which really seems to give both Roland and Frank a vibe that really does them better than usual – on titles that include "Tee Piece", "Surge", "Placitude", "87th Street", and "Big Bad Henry". LP, Vinyl record album

Jimmy Heath on saxophone, Kenny Barron on piano, Donald Byrd on trumpet, Ray Drummon on bass and Al Heath on drums. CD

Conducted by Gunther Schuller. LP, Vinyl record album

New York's a mighty big place, but it's got a nicely intimate feel in this 60s set from the Dave Brubeck Quartet – one of the combo's overlooked gems from their years on Columbia! The music is all from the TV show Mr Broadway, but there's hardly a showtune feel to the set – and instead, the groove is almost in a hip Henry Mancini sort of mode, but delivered with a smaller combo feel. Tracks are somewhat shorter than the usual Brubeck outing, and balanced nicely between upbeat tracks and more sensitive ones – the former with some well-cut lines by Paul Desmond on alto sax, the latter often with a bit more piano from Dave. The rest of the group includes Gene Wright on bass and Joe Morello on drums – and titles include "Mr Broadway", "Broadway Bossa Nova", "Sixth Sense", "Something To Sing About", "Spring In Central Park", "Lonely Mr Broadway", "Winter Ballad", "Upstage Rhumba", and "Summer On The Sound". CD

A very apt title – as Jackie McLean sits in for a soulful session with the Great Jazz Trio of Hank Jones, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams – all "old bottles" at this point in their career, but working together beautifully to brew some very mellow "new wine"! The album's easily one of the best in the trio's run of the time – as Jackie's alto sax really helps flesh things out a bit more than usual – and moves the album past the trio sound of their other records. McLean gets plenty of space to do his thing on the longer tracks – and the piano of Jones, bass of Carter, and drums of Williams have a solid, soulful approach that's really wonderful. Titles include 2 McLean originals titled "Appointment In Ghana Again" and "Little Melonae Again", both remakes of older tunes – plus "Confirmation", "Bein Green", and "Round Midnight". CD

A very apt title – as Jackie McLean sits in for a soulful session with the Great Jazz Trio of Hank Jones, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams – all "old bottles" at this point in their career, but working together beautifully to brew some very mellow "new wine"! The album's easily one of the best in the trio's run of the time – as Jackie's alto sax really helps flesh things out a bit more than usual – and moves the album past the trio sound of their other records. McLean gets plenty of space to do his thing on the longer tracks – and the piano of Jones, bass of Carter, and drums of Williams have a solid, soulful approach that's really wonderful. Titles include 2 McLean originals titled "Appointment In Ghana Again" and "Little Melonae Again", both remakes of older tunes – plus "Confirmation", "Bein Green", and "Round Midnight". CD

A very groovy selection of tracks from the New York scene of the 60s – mostly tunes pulled from the Prestige and Milestone labels, and a mixture of soul jazz, modal jazz, and early funky jazz! There's a nicely gritty feel to the set – artists trying to really find a new way to express themselves, but always in a soulful style – not avant garde, but pushing forward with fresh rhythms, inventive instrumentation, and some mighty nice soulos throughout! The package features 13 tracks in all – with plenty rare numbers – and titles that include "Cantaloupe Woman" by George Braith, "The Village Caller" by Johnny Lytle, "Ca'Purange (Jungle Soul)" by Gene Ammons, "Love Theme From Spartacus" by Yusef Lateef, "Brother John" by Cannonball Adderley, "Muscle Soul" by Phil Upchurch, "Eastern Blues" by Gary Bartz, and the completely fantastic "Nuther'n Like Thuther'n" by Willis Jackson – worth the price of the CD alone! CD

Featuring The Boswell Sisters, Mildred Bailey, The Three Peppers, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, The Andrews Sisters, and more. CD

A wealth of great tracks that all feature altoist Earl Bostic, organist Richard Groove Holmes and guitarist Joe Pass! The first 7 cuts are from Bostic's excellent LP Jazz As I Feel It – one of his only few true jazz sessions! Bostic's tone has always been a favorite for us – and in this rare small combo jazz session you get to hear the the above mentioned titans with rhythm backing by Jimmy Bond, Shelly Manne and Charles Blackwell! The tracks are longer than usual for Bostic – and his edgey alto playing really sounds marvelous! Titles include "Don't Do It Please", "Hunt & Peck", "Fast Track", "Ten Out", and "Telstar Drive". The rest of the tracks are from Bostic's A New Sound LP from later in '63 – in which Bostic leads the crew on lesser known jazz numbers from the pens of Johnny Pate, Herbie Mann, Joe Puma and others, plus some Bostic originals. This one features some really dynamic solo work from Holmes and Pass! Al McKibbon is on bass and Earl Palmer hits the drums. Titles include "Karen", "Woodchuck", "Blues For The Ivy Leagues", "Nita", "Empathy", "Wednesday's Child" and "Inquiry". 73 minutes of music! CD

Music from the Dixieland Jug Blowers, Johnny Dodds' Washboard Band, Johnny Dodds Trio and Orchestra, and the Jimmie Noone Trio – 23 tracks total. CD

Small group selections from three key players of the big band era. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the songs "Shake It And Break It", "Just A Little While To Stay Here", "Indy Blues", "The Bucket's Got A Hole In It", "St. Louis Blues", "I Ain't Got Nobody", "Rip 'em Up Joe", and "Down On The Farm". LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique little record – one that has Louis Armstrong playing and telling the story of his music! CD

Third volume in a series that has Louis Armstrong playing and telling the story of his music! CD

Includes the songs "Second Line", "Look What You Missed", "Panama", "Too Late", "We'll Meet Again", "Dooky's Doing His Dance", "Bugle Call Rag", "Walk Thru The Streets Of The City", "Maryland, My Maryland", "Dr. Jazz", "Libestraum", and "San". CD

A killer live set by Les McCann – a rare 60s outing that moves past his more familiar trio format, and adds some horn players to the mix! The change is wonderful – as the set features work from Blue Mitchell on trumpet, and both Stanley Turrentine and Frank Haines on tenor – players who work with Les on longer tracks that really pick up an even stronger 60s soul jazz vibe than before – while McCann handles piano with his core group that includes Herbie Lewis on bass and Ron Jefferson on drums. The set feels much more like a Blue Note title than some of Les McCann's other Pacific Jazz material of the early 60s – and titles include "Cha Cha Twist", "Chip Monck", and "Maxie's Changes". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those great obscure moments in the Prestige Records catalog of the 60s – a record by a really obscure local group, and not just another set in the studio by one of the bigger names of the time! The combo hail from Cinnicinnatti, and feature Curtis Peagler on tenor and alto sax – a player who'd become famous decades later under his own name, but who's already a hell of a sharp talent in this group. William Kelly plays this amazing instrument called a normaphone – a valve trombone in the shape of a saxophone, and which has a deep brass sound to it – which makes for a very unique quality throughout the set! William Brown plays piano, Lee Tucker is on bass, and Wilbur Jackson is on drums – and the group really live up to the promise of their name – in this mix of new sounds and gutbuckety soul – on titles that include "Kelley's Line", "Hapnin's", "Right Down Front", "Ros-Al", and "Along Came Cheryl". LP, Vinyl record album

A hard and heavy side from Buddy, and true to his reputation and the title of the LP, he comes out swinging! The set features a top notch mid 60s group, and from the sound of the numbers on this set, ol' Buddy did need to hand out any of his famous lectures on the bus afterwards, with some crisp soloing and great ensemble playing. 8 tracks in all, including "Basically Blues", "The Critics Choice", "My Man's Gone Now", "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" and "Sister Sadie". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet funky jazz from pianist Gene Russell – one of the hippest albums he ever recorded! Russell's a pianist with a wonderfully fluid touch – used here to near perfection in a small combo date that really stands out from most of his other albums – just the kind of effort we'd have to expect at the time, given that Gene was the head of the Black Jazz label! The sound is acoustic, but has a definite sense of electricity to Russell's phrasing on the piano – a bit like work from Vince Guaraldi from the time, when he was shifting between acoustic and electric – as if the latter instrument held on and helped shape the acoustic sound. The rest of the group features Henry Franklin on bass, Steve Glover on drums, and Tony William on congas – and the groove is kind of a soulful extrapolation of a core piano trio vibe – 60s soul jazz taken to hipper 70s territory. Titles include a great cover of "Listen Here", plus "Black Orchid", "Hitting the Jug", "Making Bread", and a version of "Silver's Serenade". CD

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A glittering constellation of groundbreaking jazz from the contemporary UK scene – a world of jazz that's changed dramatically over the past decade or so, with huge new advances in sound and styles in a range of different directions! The changes going on are a bit like some of those that have taken place in our city too – musicians who embrace jazz ideals at the core, but who are also open to so many musical modes that have developed in recent decades – so that the core performance is often blended with production elements, editing, and other touches – all in a way that has the music strongly reborn for a whole new generation! If you're worried about tricks or gimmicks that might get in the way of the music, don't be – because the depth of soul and sense of spirit on these tracks is wonderful – as you might know if you've been digging releases from some of these artists in our racks of late. And as usual, Soul Jazz have done a superb job – both with song selection and overall presentation – making the whole thing a complete delight! Titles include "Candace Of Meroe" by Theon Cross, "Pokus One" by Pokus, "Walrus" by Emma-Jean Thackray, "90 Degrees" by Yazmin Lacey, "Communication Control" by Hector Plimmer, "Long Way Home (live at the Crypt)" by Ill Considered, "Ancient World" by Nat Birchall, "Moonlight Woman" by Ruby Rushton, "Thunder Perfect" by Cromagnon Band, "Tanner's Tango" by Joe Armon Jones & Maxwell Owin, "Odyssey" by Levitation Orchestra, "Mosaic" by The Expansions, "When The World Was One" by Matthew Halsall, "Dimmsdale" by Ebi Soda, "Red Planet" by Chip Wickham, "Kito's Theme" by Ishmael Ensemble, "Yellow Ochre (part 1)" by Vels Trio, and "Mirrors" by Seed Ensemble. CD

A glittering constellation of groundbreaking jazz from the contemporary UK scene – a world of jazz that's changed dramatically over the past decade or so, with huge new advances in sound and styles in a range of different directions! The changes going on are a bit like some of those that have taken place in our city too – musicians who embrace jazz ideals at the core, but who are also open to so many musical modes that have developed in recent decades – so that the core performance is often blended with production elements, editing, and other touches – all in a way that has the music strongly reborn for a whole new generation! If you're worried about tricks or gimmicks that might get in the way of the music, don't be – because the depth of soul and sense of spirit on these tracks is wonderful – as you might know if you've been digging releases from some of these artists in our racks of late. And as usual, Soul Jazz have done a superb job – both with song selection and overall presentation – making the whole thing a complete delight! Titles include "Candace Of Meroe" by Theon Cross, "Pokus One" by Pokus, "Walrus" by Emma-Jean Thackray, "90 Degrees" by Yazmin Lacey, "Communication Control" by Hector Plimmer, "Long Way Home (live at the Crypt)" by Ill Considered, "Ancient World" by Nat Birchall, "Moonlight Woman" by Ruby Rushton, "Thunder Perfect" by Cromagnon Band, "Tanner's Tango" by Joe Armon Jones & Maxwell Owin, "Odyssey" by Levitation Orchestra, "Mosaic" by The Expansions, "When The World Was One" by Matthew Halsall, "Dimmsdale" by Ebi Soda, "Red Planet" by Chip Wickham, "Kito's Theme" by Ishmael Ensemble, "Yellow Ochre (part 1)" by Vels Trio, and "Mirrors" by Seed Ensemble. LP, Vinyl record album