A pivotal session from the late 60s – one that has Jackie McLean pulling things back a bit from his "new thing" period, and turning towards the spiritual soulful groove that would characterize his early 70s work! The album bristles with excitement – still very much informed by a knowledge of the space explored during Jackie's avant years, but never quite willing to go to that space – especially if it means sacrificing the soulful swing of the set! The group's filled with young soulful modernists – including Woody Shaw on trumpet, Lamont Johnson on piano, Scott Holt on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – and Jackie himself seems to be working out a whole new phase of his career with each new track – showing that even when he was at his "new thing" best, he was still ready to move on! Tremendous stuff, and one of our favorite Blue Notes from the time – and one of the most soulful too! Titles include "Floogeh", "Message From Trane", "Toyland", and "Boo Ann's Grind". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal session from the late 60s – one that has Jackie McLean pulling things back a bit from his "new thing" period, and turning towards the spiritual soulful groove that would characterize his early 70s work! The album bristles with excitement – still very much informed by a knowledge of the space explored during Jackie's avant years, but never quite willing to go to that space – especially if it means sacrificing the soulful swing of the set! The group's filled with young soulful modernists – including Woody Shaw on trumpet, Lamont Johnson on piano, Scott Holt on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – and Jackie himself seems to be working out a whole new phase of his career with each new track – showing that even when he was at his "new thing" best, he was still ready to move on! Tremendous stuff, and one of our favorite Blue Notes from the time – and one of the most soulful too! Titles include "Floogeh", "Message From Trane", "Toyland", and "Boo Ann's Grind". CD

A pivotal session from the late 60s – one that has Jackie McLean pulling things back a bit from his "new thing" period, and turning towards the spiritual soulful groove that would characterize his early 70s work! The album bristles with excitement – still very much informed by a knowledge of the space explored during Jackie's avant years, but never quite willing to go to that space – especially if it means sacrificing the soulful swing of the set! The group's filled with young soulful modernists – including Woody Shaw on trumpet, Lamont Johnson on piano, Scott Holt on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – and Jackie himself seems to be working out a whole new phase of his career with each new track – showing that even when he was at his "new thing" best, he was still ready to move on! Tremendous stuff, and one of our favorite Blue Notes from the time – and one of the most soulful too! Titles include "Floogeh", "Message From Trane", "Toyland", and "Boo Ann's Grind". CD

A pivotal session from the late 60s – one that has Jackie McLean pulling things back a bit from his "new thing" period, and turning towards the spiritual soulful groove that would characterize his early 70s work! The album bristles with excitement – still very much informed by a knowledge of the space explored during Jackie's avant years, but never quite willing to go to that space – especially if it means sacrificing the soulful swing of the set! The group's filled with young soulful modernists – including Woody Shaw on trumpet, Lamont Johnson on piano, Scott Holt on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – and Jackie himself seems to be working out a whole new phase of his career with each new track – showing that even when he was at his "new thing" best, he was still ready to move on! Tremendous stuff, and one of our favorite Blue Notes from the time – and one of the most soulful too! Titles include "Floogeh", "Message From Trane", "Toyland", and "Boo Ann's Grind". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive set of rhythms from the legendary Roots Radics – one that's definitely got the dubby elements you'd expect from the title, but which also showcases the kind of rock-solid instrumentation the group always had at the core! The sound is almost effortless here – the kind of spare but brilliant music that only a few studio groups could do this well – with guitar from Eric Lamont, bass from Errol holt, keyboards from Steely Johnson, and all these fantastic echoey drums from Lincoln Valentine Scott – all produced to perfection by Henry Junjo Lawes. The whole thing's great – a mindbending trip through sound and space – with titles that include "Young Banana Dub", "Headlamp Dub", "Dub In Flames", "Confessions Of A Dub Engineer", "Young Gal Dub", and "Carry On Dubbing". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal album from altoist Jackie McLean – and a set that serves as a key bridge between his mid 60s avant work in the "new thing" scene, and the deeper, spiritual sounds he'd play in years to come! There's a sense of balance here that grabs us right from the start – especially on the album's leadoff track "Soul" – written by Grachan Moncur, and featuring this very hip, very righteous spoken passage from Barbara Simmons – kind of a discourse on the idiom of the title! The group features key McLean associates – a young Woody Shaw on trumpet, plus Moncur on trombone, Lamont Johnson on piano, Scotty Holt on bass, and Rashied Ali on drums – and titles include "Soul", "Big Ben's Voice", "Conversion Point", and "Erdu" – plus an alternate take of "Big Ben's Voice"! CD

Previously-unissued live work from the great Jackie McLean – working here on very long tracks recorded by the Left Bank Society in Baltimore right at a time when he was making tremendous sounds on Blue Note – with Lamont Johnson on piano, Scotty Holt on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums! LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of rare albums from reedman Noah Howard – back to back in a single set! First up is the Noah Howard Quartet album from 1966 – one of the most obscure albums on the ESP label in the 60s – and a brilliant early chapter in the career of reedman Noah Howard! Howard is maybe best known for his contributions to the European scene from the end of the 60s into the 70s – but here, he's already a stunning giant on the New York scene – blowing alto with a sound that's very much all his own, and which makes his performance here as both a soloist and leader a key part of the early ESP label legacy. The group is piano-less – a unique ensemble with Ric Colbeck on trumpet, Scotty Holt on bass, and Dave Grant on percussion – all unknown players, but great partners for Howard on the record – on titles that include "Henry's Street", "Apotheosis", "Apotheosis Extension I", and "And About Love". At Judson Hall features a brilliant live performance from the young Noah Howard – working here at a level that's very much on the most spiritual side of the ESP label spectrum, and which also shows the new level of inventive group structures that were coming into play on the New York scene at the time! The record's got a sense of soulful structure and individual freedom that's a bit like the classics of Archie Shepp at the time – as Howard blows alto alongside trumpeter Ric Colbeck, an unusual player who was also on his quartet studio session for the label. A young Dave Burrell makes a great appearance on piano, alongside the bass of Sirone, cello of Catherine Norris, and percussion of Bobby Kapp – as the group make their way through two side-long tracks, "This Place Called Earth" and "Homage To Coltrane". CD

A rare 60s session from Jackie McLean – a date recorded at the Left Bank in Baltimore in 1966 – Jackie blowing alto with Lamont Johnson on piano, Scotty Holt on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. Titles include "Little Melonae", "Melody For Melonae", "Dr Jackle", and "Closing". LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous live session from 1969 – a bit rough on the recording quality, but completely wonderful in terms of playing! The unique date features Woody Shaw playing in a group with Art Blakey – a few years before Shaw formally joined the Jazz Messengers, and in a looser, freer mode that's got all the best hallmarks of the groundbreaking New Jersey scene of the time! Blakey's usual tightness as a drummer is really let up for the set – which features him cascading and withdrawing as fits the needs of the players – breaking down the structure of the tunes to allow for very long solo work by Shaw, tenorist Carlos Garnett, and pianist George Cables. Scotty Holt keeps some massively soulful time on bass, and Garnett's searing solo work is worth the price of the album alone – almost topping the best of his own recordings from later, more famous years. Titles include a reading of "Night In Tunisia", plus the fantastic "Original Theme" by Shaw. And as we say, the recording quality's a bit rough, but the solo work is great! CD

Features Steve Wilson on alto and Bruce Barth on piano. CD

Scott Wendholt on trumpet, Dave Berkman on Fender Rhodes, Tony Scherr on bass, and Andy Watson on drums. CD

With tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene, trombonist Alan Ferber and trumpeters Scott Wendholt, Tim Hagans and Clay Jenkins. CD

Tim Ries on tenor and soprano saxophone, Scott Wendholt on trumpet, Ben Monder on guitar, Scott Colley on bass, and Billy Drummond on drums. CD

Billy Drewes on alto and soprano saxophone, flute, and clarinet, Dick Oatts on alto and soprano saxophone, flute, and piccolo flute, Ralph Lalama on tenor saxophone, clarinet and flute, Rich Perry on tenor saxophone and flute, Gary Smulyan on baritone saxophone, Douglas Purviance, Jason Jackson, John Mosca, and Luis Bonilla on trombone, Frank Greene, Nick Marchione, Scott Wendholt, and Terell Stafford on trumpet, John Clark on French horn, Jim McNeely and Michael Weiss on piano, Phil Palombi on bass, and John Riley on drums. CD

Don Braden on tenor sax and flute – with Scott Wendholt on trumpet and flugelhorn, Steve Wilson on alto, Noah Bless on trombone, Darrell Grant on piano, Christian McBride on bass, and Carl Allen on drums. CD

A set that's brimming with original compositions from Dave Pietro – fresh tunes that are as strong as his own work as a leader on alto, and which share a similar balance of sound! Dave's got an ear for his horn that opens up some of the lighter, leaner sounds of the alto – yet he also blows with a nice edge too, in a quality that's underscored by some of the album's work on trumpet from Scott Wendholt, whose tone resonates with Pietro's in a really great way. The rhythm trio are rock-solid – with Steeplechase stalwarts Gary Versace on piano and Jay Anderson on bass, joined by the great Billy Drummond on drums. Titles include the Pietro originals "Essence", "Auriga", "The Talisman", "Alexandra", "Until The Day", and "Eternal Optimism" – and a nice take on "The Windmills Of Your Mind". CD

Billy Drewes and Dick Oatts on alto and soprano saxophone and flute, Gary Smulyan on baritone saxophone, Rich Perry on tenor saxophone and flute, Ralph Lalama on tenor saxophone, flute and clarinet, Frank Basile on bass clarinet, David Peel on French horn, Douglas Purviance on bass trombone, Luis Bonilla, Jason Jackson and John Mosca on trombone, Nick Marchione, Scott Wendholt, Tanya Darby, and Terell Stafford on trumpet and flugelhorn, Jim McNeely on piano, David Wong on bass, John Riley on drums, and Mike Truesdell on percussion. CD

Jonathan Kreisberg on guitar, Scott Wendholt on trumpet, Aaron Goldberg on piano and Fender Rhodes, Matt Penman on bass, and Anthony Pinciotti on drums. CD

With Lew Soloff, Randy Brecker, Ryan Kisor, and Scott Wendholt on trumpet. CD

Solid, soulful work from Vincent Herring – blowing here wonderfully on alto and soprano sax, with a sense of feeling and creative energy that really makes him one of the key players of his generation! The proceedings are relatively straight, but they're also totally great – open, honest expression that's a nice update of 70s indie jazz modes – held together tightly by a rhythm section that includes Mulgrew Miller on piano, Ira Coleman on bass, and Billy Drummond on drums on most of the records – or Keven Hays, Dwayne Burno, and Carl Allen on a few remaining selections. Wallace Roney plays trumpet on the first set of tracks – Scott Wendholt on the others – and the whole album has a sharp-edged quintet format with an occasional bite, often rolling out in the kind of upbeat lines that usually make Herring sound best. Titles include "Sound Check", "August Afternoon", "Dawnbird", "Dr Jamie", "Toku Do", and "The Dark Side Of Dewey". CD