Oliver Lake on alto saxophone, Donal Fox on piano, Kenyatta Beasley on trumpet, Belden Bullock on contrabass, Neil Clarke on congas, Eileen Folson on cello, Maxine Roach on viola, and Ashley Horne, Regina Carter, and Sandra Billingslea on violin. CD

This album was recorded live in 1962 at the Second Fret club in Philadelphia. It's a nice set where he plays some Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly and Jimmie Rodgers tunes as well as some others. The recording is good – you can tell it was in an intimate setting – and his voice is strong and the guitar playing tight; he switches between a folksy sound and more of a blues mode. Tracks include "Cool Water", "Hobo's Lullaby", "Boll Weevil", "How Long Blues", "Mule Skinner Blues", and "Rock Island Line". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked group from the Chicago scene of the early century – a group made up of very familiar names from the world of free improvisation in the city, but coming together here with a slightly different vibe! The real difference is the use of electric elements at times – both electronics from Fred Lonberg-Holm and Nate McBride, plus acoustic bass from McBride, who switches between that instrument and acoustic! The electronics are sometimes used in an abstract way to fill in space, and not dominate the sound – which then lets the tenor and clarinet work of Ken Vandermark snake out in some really cool ways, while Tim Daisy is also sometimes a bit more rhythmic than usual on drums. Titles include "Multi Chrome", "MES", "Straw", "Theater Piece", and "Lens". CD

Never-issued live work from one of our favorite groups ever headed by baritone modernist Gerry Mulligan – his wonderful quartet with Art Farmer on trumpet! The mix of Farmer and Mulligan is fantastic here – on long tunes that stretch out even more than their studio performances of the period – and, like those, given great piano-less accompaniment from the great team of Bill Crow on bass and Dave Bailey on drums! Farmer is wonderful throughout – young and a bit more raspy than later years, maybe in part because he's on trumpet instead of flugelhorn – and his pairing really brings out a more relaxed, almost soulful side of Gerry at times. On two tracks, Mulligan switches his horn for a piano – equally great on versions of "Spring Is Sprung" and "I Can't Get Started" – next to other long tracks that include "Blueport", "What Is There To Say", "Just In Time", and "News From Blueport". CD

A stunning set from saxophonist Jowee Omicil – dedicated to a slave uprising in 18th Century Haiti, but served up with a righteous vibe that's very progressive and 70s overall! The music is spiritual, but also very loose and avant – as Omicil switches between woodwinds and trumpet, and works with lean backing from Fender Rhodes, bass, and drums! The vibe is almost like that of vintage AACM projects – with a spontaneously creative approach that's very organic, and very personal – and Omicil has a great way of picking just the right instrument at just the right moment to shift the mood and really illuminate the music. Titles include "Call To Warzone", "AmBusKad", "KaLaLou Free", "Trace", "Bashquiat Intro", and "Spirit Yo Bak". CD

A stunning set from saxophonist Jowee Omicil – dedicated to a slave uprising in 18th Century Haiti, but served up with a righteous vibe that's very progressive and 70s overall! The music is spiritual, but also very loose and avant – as Omicil switches between woodwinds and trumpet, and works with lean backing from Fender Rhodes, bass, and drums! The vibe is almost like that of vintage AACM projects – with a spontaneously creative approach that's very organic, and very personal – and Omicil has a great way of picking just the right instrument at just the right moment to shift the mood and really illuminate the music. Titles include "Call To Warzone", "AmBusKad", "KaLaLou Free", "Trace", "Bashquiat Intro", and "Spirit Yo Bak". LP, Vinyl record album

The first post-EPMD album from either of the brothers from Brentwood LI. As you'd expect, bottom heavy beats and the classic E-Double slow rolling flow. Includes "Payback II", "Stay Real", "Imma Gitz Mine", "Hostile", "Safe Sex", "Hittin' Switches", "The Hype", "The Ill Sh!t" and "Swing It Over Here". CD

Joe McPhee plays here with a Hammond organ trio – a setting that partially gets him back to the soulful sound of his roots, but which still keeps things in the freer mode of later years too! Joe starts out the performance with some wonderful solo work on pocket trumpet – played with these offbeat notes and inventive phrasing that might only be matched by Don Cherry's work on the instrument. The drums from Steve Noble come into the mix slowly, while the Hammond from Alexander Hawkins rolls in on these bold waves of sound – almost more forceful than any organ player of the headiest 70s years – spurred on by some rolling bass from John Edwards. Hammond dominates for the rest of side one – but then Joe switches to tenor, and gets some intimate, soulful space – before the organ comes rolling into the mix again! The 2CD set includes the 37+ minute "Spontaneous Combustion" on Disc One and the more than twice as long (77+ minutes) "Spontaneous Combustion 2" on Disc Two! CD

Three albums in one package! First up is TTT – a great later date from tenor genius JR Monterose – a set that's deceptively simple at the outset, but which has JR playing with all of those wonderfully sharp lines and well-chosen phrases of earlier years! Monterose is a real unsung talent on his instrument – a player who never went too far out on most recordings, but managed to pack an incredible amount of ideas into each solo – a bit like Sonny Rollins at his most inventive, but with a raspier tone that's got to be heard to be fully appreciated. This set features Monterose continuing his genius in a live setting – working in a Danish club in 1988 with a quartet that includes Hod O'Brien on piano, Guffy Pallesen on bass, and Jesper Elen on drums. The titles are all familiar ones, but the solos are the sort of thing that make you fully appreciate jazz at its best – the kind of phrasing, timing, and tone that true giants like Monterose bring to their best work. Tracks include "All The Things You Are", "What's New", "Central Park West", "Airegin", and "You Don't Know What Love Is". Next is Alive In Amsterdam – some of the rawest work ever from this under-recorded tenor genius – a late 60s Dutch set that's very different than both the famous blue album by JR Monterose, and his later comeback material too! Here, the bulk of the record is just JR on tenor with percussion accompaniment – the drums of Han Bennink on side one, then added percussion from three other players alongside Bennink on side two – while JR switches to a very cool electrified, amplified version of the tenor! His tone and texture are wonderful right from the start – as he and Bennink deliver fantastic duet performances of "I Remember Clifford" and "Sonnymoon For Two" – before joining with the other percussionists on the extended "Reborn" on side two – a very well-titled number, given JR's sound! Last is Body & Soul – an extremely rare set – recorded in 1970 in Holland, and featuring the tenor of JR Monterose in quintet with Jon Eardley on trumpet, Rien De Graaff on piano, Henk Haverhoek on bass, and Pierre Courbois on drums. The set's a key lost chapter in the career of this enigmatic tenor player – as it's got a sound that reaches back to his few hardbop recordings from the 50s, but also shows that Monterose had grown a lot as a soloist in the past decade, inserting a lot more freeness to his style, possibly an influence from 60s modernists like Coltrane or Ayler. The Dutch rhythm of the set works quite well for the nature of the materials – and Courbois' drums are especially compelling, nicely held back here from some of their more over-the-top tendencies, but adding in a lot of complicated fills and rhythmic changes underneath the sax solos. Titles include "Short Bridge", "Old Folks", "For Hank", "Just Blues", and "Body & Soul". CD

A great 60s moment not just for reedman Charles Lloyd, but also for pianist Keith Jarrett – who was a key part of Charles' group for a few years at the time – and who really opens up on this classic set! Tracks are long and very open – reaching in a spiritual sort of way with definite Coltrane overtones, yet also showing that more complexly rhythmic mode that made Lloyd a standout in previous groups before he was a leader – a quality that's really augmented by the presence of Jack DeJohnette on drums! Lloyd plays both tenor and flute – and Jarrett switches to soprano sax on one number! Titles include"Journey Within", "Love No 3", "Memphis Green" and "Lonesome Child". CD

A great 60s moment not just for reedman Charles Lloyd, but also for pianist Keith Jarrett – who was a key part of Charles' group for a few years at the time – and who really opens up on this classic set! Tracks are long and very open – reaching in a spiritual sort of way with definite Coltrane overtones, yet also showing that more complexly rhythmic mode that made Lloyd a standout in previous groups before he was a leader – a quality that's really augmented by the presence of Jack DeJohnette on drums! Lloyd plays both tenor and flute – and Jarrett switches to soprano sax on one number! Titles include"Journey Within", "Love No 3", "Memphis Green" and "Lonesome Child". LP, Vinyl record album

The Topics have a fantastic female lead singer, one who makes this really righteous magic happen on "God & You" as other harmonies come into play too – stepping out with a spiritual current, but in a secular setting – all wrapped together with organ and a beautifully bubbling midtempo groove! "At Last It's Over" is mighty nice too – a tune that bubbles up with some a nice burst of horns, switches a male singer into the lead, and continues with a similarly soaring spirit! 7-inch, Vinyl record