A rare self-released set by an obscure group of German improvisers – one who definitely deliver the "total music" promised in their name, given the fullness of the sound on each of the album's side-long tracks! We're not sure we've encountered most of these players in other settings, and they work together here with a quality that's almost a few years ahead of its time – more in the freedom of the mid 70s FMP recordings, particularly the larger groups – as the TMA is a septet, with Andreas Boje on trombone, Wilfried Eichorn on tenor and bass clarinet, Hans Jorgen Hussong on baritone and soprano, Erich Schroder on viola, Helmut Zimmer on piano, Matthias Boje on bass, and Ruti Thielmann on drums. Hussong is listed as the composer, but the music is very free and open – building quickly to improvised intensity, on the two long titles "Walpurgisnacht" and "Incubus Succubus Pestilentia". CD also features a bonus "Improvisation" from 1988 – by a smaller trio lineup with Matthias Boje on bass, Willi Schneider on drums, and Hans Jorg Hussong on baritone, tenor, and alto. CD

Post-Mingus work from reedman George Adams and pianist Don Pullen – three albums in a single set! Decisions is one of those key records that has George Adams and Don Pullen reinventing expectations of jazz for the 80s – both musicians with plenty of ear for the outside, but also coming back home with a well-rounded, deeply-rooted approach that's crucial in taking the American jazz legacy another step forward! Like some of their similar contemporaries, who could also be avant at times, and straight at others – Adams and Pullen have no concern with setting themselves in one camp or another – and not only flesh out the spirit of the record with both of those aspects of their playing, but also have some surprisingly bluesy undercurrents at times. The group features George Adams on tenor, Don Pullen on piano, Cameron Brown on bass, and Dannie Richmond on drums – and titles include "Decisions", "Triple Over Time", "I Could Really For You", "Message Urgent", and "Trees & Grass & Things". Life Line is a strong outing from this key post-Mingus collaboration – and a record that really shows both Don Pullen and George Adams really coming into their own! Pullen's piano can have plenty of edges, as can Adams' tenor – but there's also some warmer, lyrical moments that really round things out – kind of a balance between righteous energy and deeper quietude that the musicians might have learned during their time with Charles Mingus – taken to a logical small group extension here. Adams also plays a bit of flute, which is especially nice – and the group also includes Cameron Brown on bass and Dannie Richmond on drums. Titles include "The Great Escape Or Run John Henry Run", "Seriously Speaking", "Soft Seas", and "Protection". Live At Montmartre is solidly soaring work from tenorist George Adams – recording live here with pianist Don Pullen, one of his best musical partners during the 80s! The album's got a bit more of a bite than some of the pair's studio sessions – a bit straighter overall, but recorded with a nice degree of energy, and some long tracks that really let both players open up nicely – in a combo that also features John Scofield on guitar, Cameron Brown on bass, and Dannie Richmond on drums. The inclusion of Scofield's guitar changes up the group's sound in a nice way – adding in some more chromatic elements that really stand out – and titles include "IJ", "Flame Games", "Song Everlasting", and "Forever Lovers". CD

Demonic sounds, but surprisingly sweet as well – done with this easy-flowing style that's really wonderful – and much more similar to the seductive sound library work of Alessandro Alessandroni, than to some of the starker, darker horror of the time! There's definitely some spooky passages, but they're almost always warmed up in really nice ways – both with keyboards, and with these wordless vocals from the lovely Giulia De Mutiis, who drifts through the record like some sexy ghost. Her vocals almost give the whole thing a more dream-like feel at times – not too atmospheric, but with clouds of sweet sounds that blow through the space in a wonderful way. Titles include "Demon Night II", "Demon Arise", "Dark Dreamer", "Devil's Nightmare", and "Erotic Demon". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A sparkling Christmas set from Mary J Blige – one that takes full advantage of those wonderful vocals, and lets them loose on a whole host of Holiday tunes! The album's on Verve, and has a feel that's a lot more classic than some of Mary's other work – a vibe that's somewhere between contemporary R&B and the older vocal jazz you'd hear on Christmas favorites from years past – an approach that comes through strongly in Mary's choice of tunes. Most of the numbers are favorite standards from the Holiday season, given a special Blige twist – arranged by David Foster, and titles include "Little Drummer Boy", "My Favorite Things", "This Christmas", "The Christmas Song", "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer", "Do You Hear What I Hear", "The First Noel", and "Petit Papa Noel". CD

A sparkling Christmas set from Mary J Blige – one that takes full advantage of those wonderful vocals, and lets them loose on a whole host of Holiday tunes! The album's on Verve, and has a feel that's a lot more classic than some of Mary's other work – a vibe that's somewhere between contemporary R&B and the older vocal jazz you'd hear on Christmas favorites from years past – an approach that comes through strongly in Mary's choice of tunes. Most of the numbers are favorite standards from the Holiday season, given a special Blige twist – arranged by David Foster, and titles include "Little Drummer Boy", "My Favorite Things", "This Christmas", "The Christmas Song", "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer", "Do You Hear What I Hear", "The First Noel", and "Petit Papa Noel". LP, Vinyl record album

A seasonal classic from the legendary Stax Records – a set of all instrumental Holiday tunes, played by Booker T & The MGs! The album was recorded at the height of the group's early fame – and features a simple, straightforward groove that features plenty of Hammond from Booker T – plus tight grooves from Steve Cropper on guitar, Donald Duck Dunn on bass, and Al Jackson on drums – all of whom cook up some Memphis soul instrumental takes on seasonal favorites – in a mode that easily makes the record one of the hippest Christmas sides from the time! The whole thing's great – almost like a lost Booker T album overall – and titles include "Blue Christmas", "We Three Kings", "Winter Wonderland", "Silver Bells", and "Merry Christmas Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

A warm set of solo tracks from pianist Dave Brubeck – a record that's a fair bit different than the early material you might know from the jazz legend, with a very personal, intimate quality that really fits the spirit of the season! Dave's work on the keys isn't nearly as modern as in the early days – and there's a nice dose of sentiment that really matches the right Holiday flavor for the material – a set list that includes "Away In A Manger", "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", "To Us Is Given", "Run Run Run To Bethlehem", "Jingle Bells", "The Christmas Song", and "What Child Is This". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A wild bit of electronics meets jazz – performed by Bruce Ditmas on moog and ARP, with additional percussion and vocals by Joan La Barbara, and trumpet by Enrico Rava! The sound is very wild and over the top – with a lot more noise than jazz overall, despite the other players on the set – and Ditmas gets a very hip sound from his assorted banks of modulators! Tracks include "Face To Face To Face", "Terminal Velocity", "Tactics Of Despair", and "Aeray Dust". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic piece of minimalist magic from Julius Eastman – a lesser-known composer of the 70s, but one we'd rank right up there with Steve Reich, given the beauty of this work! The CD features one long piece – "Femenine" – which builds slowly out of small passages of music, repeated on piano, vibes, woodwinds, and light strings – all at a level that reminds us of Reich's Music For 18 Musicians, but predates that work by a number of years! As with that composition, there's a stunning amount of lightness and color in the music – these beautiful bursts of tone and life that come through as the music folds into and over itself – and the vibes are especially beautiful, and really give the work a lot of character. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Danny Elfman really hits new heights on his score for this twisted Tim Burton holiday classic – bringing back some of his strong ear for lyrics, forged during his Oingo Boingo years – and making for a record that's filled with catchy tunes that have really helped keep the film alive over the years! There's some nice instrumentals thrown into the mix too, of the sort that had been helping Elfman rise as a soundtrack star from the late 80s onward – and tracks include "This Is Halloween", "Town Meeting Song", "What Is This", "Sally's Song", "Poor Jack", "Kidnap The Sandy Claws", "Jack's Lament", and "Nabbed". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful Holiday album that's stayed fresh for years – a date that was maybe done as a seasonal one-off for singer Ella Fitzgerald, but one that's gone on to become one of her best-selling records of all time! Ella's got a perfect style to interpret these numbers – upbeat and swinging, very much as promised in the title – with a quality that makes the tunes move, and avoids some of the too-blue and more melancholy modes that can sometimes get in the way of making a Christmas jazz vocal album work this well! Fitzgerald has great arrangements here – working with Frank DeVol and Russ Garcia – on a set of lightly jazzy versions of Christmas favorites like "Sleigh Ride", "Jingle Bells", "Winter Wonderland", "White Christmas", "Frosty The Snowman", and one of the best versions of "What Are You Doing New Years Eve" ever recorded! LP, Vinyl record album

A lost chapter in the legendary legacy of music from the team of Serge Gainsbourg and Jean-Claude Vannier – the pair who created Serge's fantastic Melody Nelson album, and also did the funky soundtracks for the films Cannabis, La Horse, and Sex Shop! This set is every bit as groovy as those classics, but has been lost for years – because the master tapes were reportedly lost, and have only just recently been discovered – which makes the whole thing a 21st Century treasure from these two 60s maestros! The music is great – funky at times, jazzy at others – with elements that include tablas and sitar, funky bass, fuzzy guitar, heavy drums, and sweet clavinet – all used with that mindblowing melange that Vannier could cook up in the studio – so that even some of the familiar elements come out sounding very fresh and new. The film was also issued under the names Road To Kathmandu and The Pleasure Pit – and titles include "Opium Den", "Overdose", "Flower Child", "The Pleasure Pit", "Cache Cache", "Fallen Rainbow", and the tune "Colin Maillard" – a great funky number that's done in both vocal and instrumental versions. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A late live date with Getz on tenor, Kenny Barron on piano, Rufus Reid on bass, Victor Lewis on drums! CD

Fantastic work from Stan Getz! The sound here is wonderful – moody late 70s Getz, with some especially soulful moments on the mellow tracks too – that kind of spun-out blowing that we first started finding in Stan's career right around the Sweet Rain album, and which continued to show up beautifully on 70s albums like this! Joanne Brackeen plays some great piano in the quartet – including some electric keys too – and other players include Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass and Billy Hart on drums. CD

A special album that brings together some of the best moments from the People Time and Anniversary albums – easily the greatest late work by tenor sax legend Stan Getz, working strongly alongside pianist Kenny Barron – who really brought a new sort of depth to Stan's sound! Two thirds of the tracks just feature Stan's tenor and Kenny's piano – a beautifully spare sound – and the other third features added bass from Rufus Reid and drums from Victor Lewis – still relatively subtle, so that Getz and Barron hold the lead at most moments. Titles include "Soul Eyes", "I'm Okay", "First Song", "I Can't Get Started", "Blood Count", and "People Time". CD