Two important improvising trios come together head to head in the transatlantic brilliance of Okka Disk Records in the 90s – recorded in a very unusual way that lets you clearly hear all the contributions of the members of the group! In the left channel stands AALY – a searing lineup of Mats Gustafsson on alto and tenor, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, and Kjell Nordeson on drums – and in the right channel stands DKV, with Ken Vandermark on tenor and bass clarinet, Kent Kessler on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums – a mighty meeting of musicians who are really at the top of their improvising game! Rather than come on head-to-head, it's amazing to hear the way that these well-matched trios open up to each other – especially the bassists and drummers, who are maybe less familiar in this setting than Vandermark and Gustafsson, who were an instantly amazing musical pair. The set begins with the original "Left To Right", then the group makes real magic over the course of 51 minutes, in a piece that offers variations on Albert Ayler's "Angels" and Don Cherry's "Awake Nu". CD

One of the few French groups to record for BYG during the legendary years – and a very free jazz showcase for the tenor talents of the great Philppe Mate. The record has kind of a post-ESP feel, with cello, piano, and tenor interacting freely – and fiercely – in a manner that would inform a lot of the European improvised material of the next decade. The album features 2 long tracks - "Acting No 4" and "Acting No 13". LP, Vinyl record album

Pepper Adams is easily one of the hippest players you'll ever hear on the baritone sax – an artist who changed in great ways over the decades, and always seemed to deliver something special when he got a chance to record as a leader! That's definitely the case here – as Adams stretches out on these really long tracks – blowing his horn with the kind of longform imagination that you might hear on a tenor performance of this nature by Dexter Gordon or Johnny Griffin – on a rare Canadian live date with backing from the trio of pianist Tommy Banks! Banks is a great player – with a nice raw edge that really brings a lot out of Adams – and titles are all very long, with versions of "Patrice", "Oleo", "Civilization & Its Discontents", and "Three & One". CD features bonus tracks "Stella By Starlight" and "Time On My Hands". CD

Steve Arguelles on drums and percussion, Christy Doran on electric guitar and effects, and Robert Dick on piccolo flute, flute, bass flute, f-bass flute, and contrabass flute. CD

Beautiful work from pianist Geri Allen – a set that features the musician both with her trio, and with a larger nonet that was put together as part of her winning the 1996 Jazzpar prize – as well as a set that features some great late work from trumpeter Johnny Coles! The first half of the record features the trio – a wonderfully warm group that includes Palle Danielsson on bass and Lenny White on drums – really stretching out on the titles "Feed The Fire" and "A Beautiful Friendship". Then, Johnny Coles joins the trio – and gets a great solo space on a version of "Old Folks" – before the larger group comes in, still with Coles up front in the lead on flugelhorn. Those large group titles include "Smooth Attitudes", "Some Aspects Of Water", and "Skin". CD

Features warm Brazilian rhythms from Trio Da Paz! CD

Stephen Anderson on piano, Jeffry Eckels on bass, and Ross Pederson on drums, joined by Andrew Van Tassel on alto saxophone. CD

Ab Baars on clarinet and tenor saxophone, Wilbert De Joode on double bass, and Martin Van Duynhoven on drums and percussion. CD

An obscure trio from the early 60s, but one who play with plenty of soul jazz in their sound – thanks to some mighty heavy work on the keys of the piano from leader Red Bahnik! Red's got this sharp attack and inherently rhythmic sound that would have been right at home on early 60s Prestige Records – alongside piano gems from artists like Bobby Timmons or John Wright – yet the groove also isn't just copping American styles of the time, as they've got an unusual inflection to their rhythms – maybe some blocker styles that carve things out with a unique spirit, especially given the spacious echo used in the recording. Titles include the long originals "Fata Morgana Altamira" and "Santander" – plus "Fish This Week", "The Uptown", "Sister Sadie", and "Vacushna". CD

A wonderful 70s session from one of Brazil's greatest drummers! Milton Banana is a maestro on the drum kit – with a skill that was forged in the heat (or cool!) of the bossa era, and which stayed plenty tight into the 70s, when he began adding a bit more variation to his standard piano trio format. This set features Banana working with slight touches of other instrumentation – including electric piano, cuica, and some cool jazzy vocals on occasional tracks – and the groove of the set is a nice meeting of 70s electric jazz and 60s bossa pulse, still pretty darn fresh today! Titles include "Propagas", "Oi Compadre", "Olho Por Olho", "Coisa Da Antiga", "Ilha De Mare", "Tigresa", "Eu Sou Bicho Homem", and "Saco De Feijao". CD

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Features Bill Lundwall on drums and John Gillis on bass. LP, Vinyl record album

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A rare early session from the lovely Elsie Bianchi – best known for her classic 60s sides on Saba/MPS, heard here in a very similar format! The set features Elsie working with her combo from the Swiss Atlantis nightclub in the early 60s – and was originally issued as a limited-number 10" LP, used only as a promotional item by the club! As on her classic Sweetest Sound album, Elsie sings on a number of tunes – always in English, and in a laidback and mellow way that sounds wonderfully sweet next to her work on piano. The rest of the group includes a bit of clarinet next to the bass and drums – and on a few tracks, Elsie's even overdubbed with a bit of accordion as well! Titles include the originals "Atlantis Blues" and "Baron Lazar" – plus versions of "I Got It Bad", "You're Driving Me Crazy", "Stormy Weather", "After You've Gone", and "No Moon At All". CD

A really unusual slice of work from pianist Elsie Bianchi – not just because the tracks here have never been heard before, but also because they feature Elsie playing some Hammond, in addition to her usual piano – and the recording was also made in Atlanta, and not some of the European locales that Bianchi normally played! The tunes are often in a soulfully swinging vibe – so that even when they're numbers from an older generation, they get a cool small club combo treatment – very late 60s, with Elsie at the keys, Peter Brunner on drums – and Siro Bianchi on both bass, and some great tenor and flute! When Elsie plays the organ, she handles the bass – so Siro steps in on those tunes with very groovy work on reeds – and as usual for Bianchi, she also sings a bit too – although a good part of the set is instrumental. The material here was recorded in a Georgia nightclub in 1968, and the tapes sat in storage for years – but this late side of Bianchi's 60s career really comes to light strongly – on titles that include "Canalla", "Take Five", "Now's The Time", "Swingin Shepherd Blues", "Things Ain't What They Used To Be", and "Alice In Wonderland". CD

One of the boldest statements on record from trombonist Jeb Bishop – and a really great reminder of his key contributions to the Chicago avant scene at the start of the century! Jeb's a master of subtle shape and sound on his instrument, but he can also play with a fiercer frenzy – which is definitely the case here, and he moves between a trio and quartet lineup – alongside Kent Kessler on bass, Tim Mulvenna on drums, and Jeff Parker on guitar! The match of Parker and Bishop happens on four of the album's seven tracks, and has an especially strong resonance – tuneful at times, fuzzier at others – although the trio tracks are pretty darn incredible, and have us really remembering the greatness of Kessler and Mulvenna too. Titles include "Mirror Image", "The Umbrella", "Piggly Wiggly", "Pond", and "Flex Time". CD

Amazing spiritual jazz treasure – the only album ever issued by this obscure avant trio from the Cleveland scene – a group that includes a young Abdul Wadud on bass and cello! The style is nicely loose and open, but also very different than the sound of the AACM at the time – almost more with the slowly building style that would dominate in the loft jazz years, even though these guys were years ahead of that moment. In addition to Wadud – then known as Ron DeVaughn – the group also features Joseph Phillips/Yusuf Mumin on alto, and Hasan Adbur Shahid on percussion. Both players are amazing – Shahid can go from full intensity to spacious sonic territory at a level that matches Sunny Murray – and Mumin's alto can cry plaintively some moments, and come on with the ferocity of a tenor the next. Wadud is wonderful, too – balancing plucked and bowed moments with the quality that we love on later recordings – already very well-formed here, at a time when he was attending Oberlin College. The album's one that really lives up to the promise of its cover and group name – and titles include "Birth Life & Death", "In Light Of Blackness", "Final Expression", "Opening Prayer", and "Al Nisa". LP, Vinyl record album

Michael Blake on saxophones, Ben Allison on bass, and Jeff Ballard on drums. CD

Rob Brown on alto saxophone, Daniel Levin on cello, and Satoshi Takeishi on percussion. CD

The first-ever album from vibist Gary Burton – a very young player at the time of recording, but one who's definitely worth the "new vibe man" promised in the title! The style here is maybe a bit more conventionally swinging than some of Burton's records from later years – a trio setting with Gene Cherico on bass and the great Joe Morello on drums – but both rhythm players are already pretty hip with their timings, and really push Burton into spacious, chromatic territory that's completely sublime – a sound that already marks the musician as really bringing something fresh to his instrument. Titles include "Joy Spring", "Over The Rainbow", "Like Someone In Love", "Minor Blues", "Out Waltz", "So Many Things", "Sir John", and "You Stepped Out Of A Dream". CD