A pivotal album not just in the career of Quincy Jones, but in the development of the CTI Records sound as well – as this all-star effort is a perfect blend of all the hippest currents that were cooking up in the scene at the time! At one level, the record has Quincy taking back some of the sophisticated currents he was developing in soundtrack work of the 60s, but moving back to jazz – more groove than before, and more of a sense of space and timing – which is carried off by an excellent lineup that features plenty of electric piano from Bob James, plus work from Hubert Laws on flute, Eric Gale on guitar, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and Toots Thielemans on guitar and harmonica. There's also added soulful vocals at a few points too – more chorus than lyrics, at a level that hints at the jazz/soul crossovers that Quincy would do in the 70s – on a set of tracks that's completely sublime, with titles that include "Killer Joe", "Dead End", "Walking In Space", and "Love & Peace". CD

A pivotal album not just in the career of Quincy Jones, but in the development of the CTI Records sound as well – as this all-star effort is a perfect blend of all the hippest currents that were cooking up in the scene at the time! At one level, the record has Quincy taking back some of the sophisticated currents he was developing in soundtrack work of the 60s, but moving back to jazz – more groove than before, and more of a sense of space and timing – which is carried off by an excellent lineup that features plenty of electric piano from Bob James, plus work from Hubert Laws on flute, Eric Gale on guitar, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and Toots Thielemans on guitar and harmonica. There's also added soulful vocals at a few points too – more chorus than lyrics, at a level that hints at the jazz/soul crossovers that Quincy would do in the 70s – on a set of tracks that's completely sublime, with titles that include "Killer Joe", "Dead End", "Walking In Space", and "Love & Peace". LP, Vinyl record album

With Toots Thielemans, Kenny Werner, Scott Colley, Mark Feldman, Cafe, and Adam Nussbaum. CD

A late session from Jaco Pastorius – one that features the famous bassist at the helm of his Word Of Mouth big band, recorded live in Tokyo with a very full and funky sound! Players in the group include Bob Mintzer on saxes, Don Alias on percussion, Randy Brecker on trumpet, Peter Erskine on drums, and Toots Thielemans on harmonica – plus an array of brass and woodwind players who expand the core sound tremendously. The overall style is more in a funky fusion mode than some of Jaco's other albums – and titles include "The Chicken", "Liberty City", "Invitation", "Soul Intro", "Reza", and "Fannie Mae". LP, Vinyl record album

With Randy Brecker on trumpet, Bob Mintzer on saxophone, Peter Erskine on drums and percussion, Othello Moineaux on steel drums, and Don Alias on percussion – plus special guest Toots Thielemans on harmonica. CD

A nice little collection of early work by Zoot – all dates from 1950, and featuring material that was originally issued by Prestige on 10" or 7" eps! The package brings together a huge amount of tracks – 15 in all – and players include Gerald Wiggins, Pierre Michelot, Lee Konitz, Lars Gullin, Dick Hyman, Jimmy Woode, and Toots Thielemans. Titles include "Slingin Hash", "You Go To My Head", "Tickletoe", "Yellow Duck", "Dedicated To Lee", and "Linger Awhile". LP, Vinyl record album

Early Quincy Jones jazz tunes – played by a legendary crew of musicians – led in separate spots by Benny Bailey, Nat Adderly, Coleman Hawkins, Lucky Thompson and Toots Thielemans! The tunes are from the Late 50s/early 60s era when young Quincy was being groomed to be another Duke Ellington (boy, if the world only knew!) The sessions were cut in Sweden with a rotation of Swedish players, plus American Joe Harris on drums on some tracks – and some of the work originally appeared on a Benny Bailey album for Argo, as well as on a Roy Haynes set for Mercury. The material is a batch of mostly clean-toned, bop-learned jazz, with some leisurely paced bluesy arrangements in spots. Tracks include "The Golden Touch", "Jones Beach", "Tiem Midnight Sun Never Sets", "Fallen Feathers", "Sister Sadie", "On The Sunny Side Of The Street", "That Old Black Magic", "I Remember You" and more. CD

With special guests Shirley Horn on vocals and Toots Thielemans on harmonica. CD

A really beautiful early album from Baden Powell, and a really unique one as well – as the set features some guest work from harmonica player Mauricio Einhorn – a very jazzy talent who was a bit like the Toots Thielemans of Brazil at the time! The combination of harmonica and acoustic guitar is great – and production is handled by Roberto Quartin – the sonic maestro who really manages to bring a lot out of this very special meeting of talents. The small combo features bass from Edison Lobo and drums from Chico Batera – and titles include "A Chuva", "Pro Forma", "Tempo Feliz", "Deixa", and "Apelo". CD

A rare jazz treasure from the European scene of the early 70s – killer material from a wealth of American artists and local talents – all done as special sessions for Dutch radio, and never issued to the public on record! Despite the radio origins of the music, the sound here is tremendous – easily on a par with the best MPS sessions of the time – which is no surprise, given that many of the artists here worked in similar circles! The first half of the set features the trio of pianist Louis Van Dyke augmented with guests who include Mark Murphy, Helen Merrill, Eddie Jefferson, Toots Thielemans, Herb Geller, and Dave Pike – all stepping out into the spotlight while Van Dyke's combo backs them up with lively grooves that are often heavy on bossa influences! The second half features larger orchestrations from The Metropole Orchestra – a soaring big band who groove wonderfully, often in support of vocals from Murphy or Greetje Kauffeld, but also featuring instrumental solos from European players Ack Van Rooyen, Piet Nordijk, Ferdinand Povel, and others. The whole set is worth it alone for the vocals of Murphy – because the record easily stands as some of his best work ever from this decade – and given how great Mark was at the time, that's really saying a lot! Small group titles include "Children Of The Sun", "So What", "Love Sick", "Sao Paulo", "Con Alma", "Seventh Day", and "Falling In Love With Love" – and bigger group numbers include "Out Of This World", "My Shining Hour", "Let's Fall In Love", "Get Happy", "I'll Wind", "This Time The Dream's On Me", "Paper Moon", "One For My Baby", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", and "That Old Black Magic". 37 tracks in all! CD