With Ole Kock Hansen on piano, Bo Stief on bass, and Alex Riel on drums. Titles include "Set Call", "Old Folks", "I Got Rhythm", and "Sunday". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive collection of music from the Steeplechase label – spiritual sounds from back in the day, and a side of the label's legacy that's only gotten the right sort of appreciation in more recent years! Steeplechase was a European company, and their biggest claim to fame was recordings of American musicians overseas – especially Dexter Gordon – but the label also had a fantastic ear for more soulful currents on the American underground, and not only managed to capture some less-recorded artists, but also give some bigger names a freer space to express the more spiritual side of their styles! The set is a sublime set of work from the post-Coltrane years – tunes that are modal, soulful, and occasionally slightly funky – served up in a set of completely uplifting music, all supported by the usual excellent Jazzman attention to detail and thorough liner notes. Titles include "The Time Of This World Is At Hand" by Billy Gault, "Tipe Tizwe" by Jim McNeely, "Aida" by Rene McLean, "Dark Warrior" by Khan Jamal, "Naima" by Michael Carvin, "Magwaza" by Johnny Dyani with John Tchicai & Dudu Pukwana, "Ode To St Cecile" by Mary Lou Williams, "Jean Marie" by Sam Jones, "Miss Priss" by Ken McIntyre, and "De I Comahlee Ah" by Jackie McLean & Michael Carvin. CD

Piano, tenor, and nothing else at all – the former played by Nicki Adams, the latter by Michael Eaton – at a level that's very different than any sort of old school duets of this nature! Neither player is pulling back at all – there's less of the sense of "you go first, then me" here – because the instruments roll together with a shared sense of fluidity, tone, and color - still allowing for solos, but working with a unified richness that's the most beautiful aspect of the album! The set brings this unique approach to great versions of the Wayne Shorter tunes "The Sorcerer" and "Iris" – plus original material that includes "No One", "Blues For Bern", and "Phenomenology". CD

Piano, tenor, and nothing else at all – the former played by Nicki Adams, the latter by Michael Eaton – at a level that's very different than any sort of old school duets of this nature! Neither player is pulling back at all – there's less of the sense of "you go first, then me" here – because the instruments roll together with a shared sense of fluidity, tone, and color - still allowing for solos, but working with a unified richness that's the most beautiful aspect of the album! The set brings this unique approach to great versions of the Wayne Shorter tunes "The Sorcerer" and "Iris" – plus original material that includes "No One", "Blues For Bern", and "Phenomenology". CD

Guitarist Craig Bann has a wonderfully rich tone – one that leaps from the record at the very first note, and continues to charm throughout the session – on both upbeat tunes and mellow moments too! Brann handles his chords with a sense of color that's as strong as the masters of the electric guitar in the 50s and 60s – but also works with this really unique edge too – maybe a special sense of tuning, or maybe just his phrasing – all at a level that makes his performance here really stand out from a more traditional guitar trio session. The rest of the group really matches his energy in a fantastic way – Rudy Royston leaping into the fray on drums, and Nick Morrison providing a richness on bass – on titles that include "Irv's Nerve", "Inverso", "A Waltz & A Prayer", "Some Day", and "Victurus". CD

Features Bley on piano, Marc Johnson on bass, and Jeff Williams on drums – and all tunes are Carla Bley compositions! CD

Bassist Paul Brusger heads up this quartet, but the group's got strong contributions on all its four corners – tremendous baritone work from Gary Smulyan, who's becoming one of our favorite contemporary players on the instrument – plus soulful piano from Mike Ledonne, and just the right sort of swing from the great Louis Hayes! The players come together with a freshness that's noteworthy – really standing apart from even their other recent recordings – quite possibly due to the fact that every tune on the set (save one) is an original composition by Brusger, a writer with a really old school way of balancing lyricism and soul – a compositional strength that almost takes us back to Horace Silver or Duke Pearson. Titles include "In A Minor Funk", "When Will You Ever Learn", "All But One", "Bringin Home The Silver", "Waiting For The Next Trane", and "Andrea's Delight". CD

George Cables on piano, Jay Anderson on bass, and Albert Heath on drums. CD

A real gem of an album – the kind of spiritual 70s soul jazzer that we never tire of putting on the turntable! Drummer Michael Carvin heads a great group that features Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet, Sonny Fortune on alto and soprano, and Ron Burton on piano – and the ensemble grooves in a way that reminds us a lot more of recordings on Strata East from the time, than some of the snoozier sides on Steeplechase. The record fits nicely in with some of the few recordings of this nature on the label – work by Billy Gault and Rene McLean – and the album's worth it alone for Fortune's incredible post-Coltrane solos. Tracks include "The Camel", "MC Blues", "Kwebena's Blues", and "Osun". CD features a few bonus alternate takes, too. CD

Brian Charette wields the Hammond B3 here in a really wonderful way – sometimes using the instrument with a full force that really drives the rest of the group, other times hitting more spacious lines that bring in all these great colors from the horn players on the set – a lineup that includes Itai Kriss on flute, Mike DiRubbo on alto, Kenny Brooks on tenor, and Karel Ruzicka on bass clarinet! Alongside the drums of Brian Fishler, the horns are used almost like a mini-ensemble – filling in next to the organ in the way you might hear on some of the hipper charts used with Jack McDuff at the end of the 60s – although Brian's approach is very much his own. The set includes lots of tasty original tunes – including "Silver Lining", "As If To Say", "Fried Birds", "Elephant Memory", "Power From The Air", "Want", and "Frenzy". CD

A well-done live set, with the kind of extended tracks that really let trumpeter Buck Clayton shine – working here with fellow trumpeter Emmett Berry, plus Earle Warren on alto, Buddy Tate on tenor, and Dicky Wells on trombone! LP, Vinyl record album

Junior Cook on tenor sax, Mickey Tucker on piano Wayne Dockery on bass, and Leroy Williams on drums. Tracks include "Cedar's Blues", "I Should Have Known", "This Is The Place To Be", "Cup Bearer", and "Over The Rainbow". CD

Ronnie Cuber on baritone sax – with Geoff Keezer on piano, Chip Jackson on bass, and Ben Perowsky on drums. CD

A European session, with Davis on tenor, Thomas Clausen on piano, Bo Steif on bass, and Alex Riel on drums. Titles include "Locks", "Wave", "Bye Bye Blackbird", and "Out Of Nowhere". LP, Vinyl record album

This is definitely one case where you should definitely not judge a book by its cover – as the shabby snapshot look of the front is hardly a representation of the richness of the sound within – beautifully spare duet work between pianist Garry Dial and bassist Jay Anderson, both captured with a sonic quality that really gets at the subtle elements of their interaction! The mood is very open and spacious – compositions by Dial, but handled with a very personal sense of improvisation and interaction – on titles that include "Dasha's Dance", "I Dare You", "Basic Sadness", "Man With A Plan", and "Drunk With Love". CD

A great title for this one – as the album's got a dark edge that's quite different than some of Kenny Drew's earlier work – the start of a great run of recordings for Steeplechase Records on the European scene of the 70s – and a demonstration of Drew's real powers when he can really open up and run! The trio date has a wonderfully full sort of feel – those long flowing lines that Kenny was already doing well back in the 50s, but given a bit more of a spiritual vibe here at times – thanks in part to the sensitive rhythms of Albert Tootie Heath, and the surprisingly creative bass work of Niels Henning Orsted Pederson – even more compelling here than usual! Titles include "Run Away", "Dark Beauty", "All Blues", and "Summer Nights". LP, Vinyl record album

A late 70s classic from South African bassist Johnny Dyani – and an album that reunites him with Dudu Pukwana, the saxophonist in their original group The Blue Notes! The album also features John Tchicai on both alto and soprano sax, as well as added guitar from Afredo Do Nascimento, plus some added percussion. Tunes have a nice rhythmic feel, but the solos are also quite raw and searing – really blowing open the whole thing, in the manner of some of the post-Blue Notes early 70s work by Pukwana, Dyanai, and sadly departed bandmate Mongezi Feza. Titles include "Heart With Minor's Face", "Magwaza", "Eyomzi", "Mbiza", and "Radebe". CD also features 4 bonus alternate takes! CD

Lost genius from Dexter Gordon's initial years in Europe – a set that has him still stretching out in familiar Scandinavian modes, but with a slightly tighter sound too! The group's notable in that it features trumpeter Rolf Ericson – whose horn really adds a lot to the frontline, and has a surprisingly strong talent for matching Gordon's beautifully-blown longform solo modes! Rhythm is from the trio of Lars Sjosten on piano, Sture Nordin on bass, and Per Hulten on drums – and titles include "All The Things You Are", "Darn That Dream", "Straight No Chaser",and "I Remember You". CD

Lost genius from Dexter Gordon's initial years in Europe – a set that has him still stretching out in familiar Scandinavian modes, but with a slightly tighter sound too! The group's notable in that it features trumpeter Rolf Ericson – whose horn really adds a lot to the frontline, and has a surprisingly strong talent for matching Gordon's beautifully-blown longform solo modes! Rhythm is from the trio of Lars Sjosten on piano, Sture Nordin on bass, and Per Hulten on drums – and titles include "All The Things You Are", "Darn That Dream", "Straight No Chaser",and "I Remember You". LP, Vinyl record album

With Tete Montoliu on piano, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Alex Riel on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Dexter Gordon soars on tenor in this great 1964 date with Tete Montoliu on piano, Benny Nielsen on bass, and Alex Riel on drums – and he also vocalizes a bit on a version of the Benny Green tune "I Want To Blow Now" – next to other tunes that include long takes on "Body & Soul", "Satin Doll", and "King Neptune". Dex also introduces the set with a bit of patter too! LP, Vinyl record album

Not as striking as the word "Monster" in the title might make you think – but a nicely laidback European session, one that has Dexter blowing freely, with only bass and drum accompaniment. Tracks are mostly pretty long, and titles include "Tanya", "Born To Be Blue", "Nursery Blues", "Green Dolphin Street", and "Lullaby For A Monster". CD