... LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant late work from Bill Evans – his last set of recordings from the Village Vanguard – recorded in the summer of 1980, nearly two decades after his first famous albums at the club! Evans here is a wealth of imagination – really stretching out in relaxed, fluid formation – gentler than before, but also with a deeper sense of feeling too – and getting some great support from trio members Marc Johnson on bass and Joe Labarbera on drums. Tracks mostly hover around the five minute range – but there's some key longer numbers too – and the whole thing's a perfect example of why live Bill Evans is often some of the best Bill Evans you can find! 58 tracks on 6CDs, packaged with a booklet – and titles include "Nardis", "Knight For Mary F", "Emily", "Minha", "My Romance/Five", "But Not For Me", "Bill's Hit Tune", "I Do It For Your Love", "Quiet Now", "Days Of Wine & Roses", "Your Story", "Tiffany", and "Re Person I Knew". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing music from Jeff Parker – sounds that we always knew were part of his core, but which have maybe taken most of his career to emerge! This album follows beautifully from Jeff's previous album for International Anthem – and like that one, it's an explosion of new and old ideas at once – jazz elements with soul currents, all put together with a complexity that lives up to Parker's long legacy in music, but which also has an organic appeal that makes the whole thing come together with effortless ease! There's plenty of sophistication in the sound, but it also sneaks in with lots of grooves that Jeff never had before – including some funky currents that come from Parker's work on keyboards, drums, and samples in addition to his usual guitar – and added drums from Jamire Williams and Makaya McCraven. Titles include "Lydian Etc", "Build A Nest", "Del Rio", "3 For L", "Fusion Swirl", "After The Rain", and "Max Brown". CD

Mindblowing music from Jeff Parker – sounds that we always knew were part of his core, but which have maybe taken most of his career to emerge! This album follows beautifully from Jeff's previous album for International Anthem – and like that one, it's an explosion of new and old ideas at once – jazz elements with soul currents, all put together with a complexity that lives up to Parker's long legacy in music, but which also has an organic appeal that makes the whole thing come together with effortless ease! There's plenty of sophistication in the sound, but it also sneaks in with lots of grooves that Jeff never had before – including some funky currents that come from Parker's work on keyboards, drums, and samples in addition to his usual guitar – and added drums from Jamire Williams and Makaya McCraven. Titles include "Lydian Etc", "Build A Nest", "Del Rio", "3 For L", "Fusion Swirl", "After The Rain", and "Max Brown". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary pairing of two amazing artists – a once-in-a-lifetime performance from Caetano Veloso and David Byrne (and we don't mean that as a Talking Heads pun, either!) The album's got a stripped-down, acoustic feel that really lets both singers open up and dominate the proceedings – Caetano at first, in a presentation of some of his own songs – then Byrne on some of his music – all in an instrumental setting that features guitars from both singers, plus cello from Jacques Morelenbaum, and percussion from Mauro Refosco – starting from gentle spareness to more focused energy, a bit like the style used by Byrne in Stop Making Sense, yet still acoustic overall. The singers come together as the set moves on – clearly comfortable in a warm friendship – and titles include "Sampa", "Coracao Vagabundo", "Mahata", "The Revolution", "And She Was", "She Only Sleeps", "Life During Wartime", "Road To Nowhere", "Um Canto De Afoxe Para Bloco De Ile", "Terra", "Nothing But Flowers", and "Heaven". CD

"Time's Encomium" is an extended work for synthesizer recorded at the Columbia-Princeton Music Center – and it's got some cool processed sounds that have a nice early computer music approach to them. A bit arty, but not without its darker moments! LP, Vinyl record album

The second album recorded by Cuban vocal legend Ibrahim Ferrer in the wake of the Buena Vista Social Club phenomenon – and maybe the best! Ferrer's vocals are superb throughout – and the production is relatively stripped down, and never too intrusive – even when producer Ry Cooder is getting some time on the tracks on guitar. To our ears, the best musical element may be the bassist Cachaito – whose rock-solid lines ground everything perfectly – on titles that include "No Tiene Telarana", "Naufragio", "Fuiste Cruel", "Boquinene", "Boliviana", and "Hay Que Entrarle A Palos A Ese". This new version features fresh mastering by Ry Cooder, a shifted song order, and unreleased tracks that include "Ojos Malvados", "Me Voy Pa Sibanicu", "Mujer", and "Ven Conmigo Guajira". CD

One of their best ones, and a tight set of Ellington tracks that works perfectly with their multi-horn style. Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill, Bamiet Bluiett, and David Murray split up the arrangements, and the tracks include "Lush Life", "Come Sunday", "Prelude To A Kiss", and 2 different versions of "Take The A Train". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

A amazing single from guitarist Jeff Parker – sounds that both resonate with his long legacy of music, but which also really represent his strong new wave of growth in recent years! The tune has this kind of blocky groove – chunks of warm sound building up into a compelling rhythm, while Jeff solos beautifully over the top at the start – then more horns come into the mix and open up the tune with a beautiful array of colors and tones! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A beautiful record from tenorist Joshua Redman – and quite different than some of his other recent sets too – as the album has a core jazz trio augmented by work from the Brooklyn Rider string quartet! The album's not the traditional string quartet set, and it's also not a "with strings" jazz date either – as the rhythmic conception is quite unique, at a level that also really seems to set Redman free on his tenor – as he moves up and down alongside the bass of Scott Colley and drums of Satoshi Takeishi, while the quartet almost provide an additional pulse in the middle – this liquid sort of flow that comes from the arrangements of Patrick Zimmerli, who also composed the whole album too. A really wonderful meeting of sounds and ideas – with titles that include "Sun On Sand", "Starbursts & Haloes", "Through Mist", "Soft Focus", "Dark White", and "Between Dog & Wolf". CD

... CD

... CD

Amazing early work from this key minimalist – including two spoken/tape pieces, "It's Gonna Rain" and "Come Out" – plus "Piano Phase", and the incredible "Clapping Music". CD

A landmark early recording from Morton Subotnick – and a piece of music that really pushed analogue electronics forward from the previous academic generation! Subtonick's style here is much more freewheeling – with almost an improvisational feel at times – sounds and noises that are quite bracing at times, mixed with more subtle elements from time to time. Like Subotnick's Silver Apples Of The Moon, the album features one long composition – stretched out into many shades and spaces, with poetic inspiration that definitely comes through in the music – even though it's quite dark and spooky at times! LP, Vinyl record album