Notable sidemen include Herb Ellis, Oscar Peterson, and Teddy Wilson. Features some rare bonus tracks too! CD

Great lost work by Buddy DeFranco – rare Verve sides recorded with Sonny Clark that show a whole new side of the clarinetist! Forget what you might think about his playing – because these tracks have a tight swinging boppish groove, and Clark's piano work makes the whole thing move nicely, without some of the hoke of other DeFranco sessions. The set (now out of print) has a total of 5LPs, and is filled with mostly master takes, plus a few unreleased tracks. Titles include "Cable Car", "Monogram", "Mine", "Titoro", "Sonny's Idea", "Cooking The Blues", and "Minor Incident". Great stuff! LP, Vinyl record album

Some nice groovy moments here that really define the group – including the extended "Electric Flute Thing" and a nice take on "I Can't Keep From Crying". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing record – one of the best on Motown's short-lived Workshop Jazz subsidiary! The album is the first to feature Roy Brooks as a leader – and the super-hip drummer from Detroit really knows what to do with the opportunity! He's working here with a hip group that includes members of the Horace Silver quintet – including Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Junior Cook on tenor, and Gene Taylor on bass – as well as Detroit contemporaries George Bohannon on trombone and Hugh Lawson on piano. The overall style of the record is quite different from Brooks' work with Silver – and has a much more open-ended feeling emotionally – an early hint at the qualities that Roy would unveil on his rare indie sides at the start of the 70s. The tracks are a mix of soul jazz numbers and others with a rougher-hewn sense of modernism – almost like the excellent work coming out of Chicago during the early 60s, from artists like Gene Shaw or the MJT+3. All the players are at their best, and the album features some of the nicest tenor work we've ever heard from Cook. Titles include "Soulsphere", "Soulin", "Homestretch", "Passin The Buck", and "My Secret Passion". LP, Vinyl record album

About as classic as you can get for the Brown/Roach group – recorded at Basin Street with a group that includes Richie Powell on piano, Sonny Rollins on tenor, and George Morrow on bass. Tracks are tight and in that firey hardbop mode the pair pioneered – and titles include "Gertrude's Bounce", "Powell's Prances", "Time", "The Scene Is Clean", and "I'll Remember April". Most notable is the work by Powell on the record – as Bud's brother really shines here, turning out some great original compositions, and arranging the group with tight precision! Plus, the CD reissue features 4 bonus tracks – including alternates of some tunes on the record, and a few breakdowns. CD

Brilliant work by the team of Clifford Brown and Max Roach – a seminal hardbop album that was one of the few to bridge the east and west coast scenes! The set was recorded in LA under the joint leadership of Brown and Roach – and features the classic quintet lineup that included Harold Land on tenor, Richie Powell (Bud's brother!) on piano, and George Morrow on bass. The mix of Roach's heavy full-on drumming and Brown's lyrical beauty is beyond compare – and Land's angular and sensitive tenor lines provide a perfect link between the two. Titles include classics like "Parisian Thoroughfare", "The Blues Walk", "Daahoud", "Jordu", and "Joy Spring". CD

An unusual Japanese-only album – one that features some of the best tracks from the Bass Hit album for Verve, plus other material too! Side two is all from Bass Hit – and features some great jazzy larger backings from Marty Paich – and side one features work from a smaller group, with Jerome Richardson on flute, Oscar Peterson on piano and organ, and Herb Ellis on guitar. That side also features the fantastic "Solo For Unaccompanied Bass" – a revolutionary track for the time! LP, Vinyl record album

Overlooked genius from pianist Dave Burrell – an artist whose talents never cease to amaze us! The album is one of a few key sets that Burrell recorded on the Paris scene at the end of the 60s – and it's got a visionary style that's somewhat free, yet also guided by a shared energy that unites the work of the players wonderfully. There's a sense of composition here that's spread out in the mood of the tracks – one that almost gives you the feeling that Burrell was directing all players from the piano, yet also letting them open up with their own ideas over the course of the longer tracks. Roscoe Mitchell, Alan Silva, and Don Moye all play on the set – and titles include "After Love part 1 – Questions & Answers", "After Love part 2 – Random", and "My March". CD

Not "blues" like you might expect from the title – but a hip batch of tracks that has guitarist Kenny Burrell soloing over these great large arrangements by Don Sebesky – playing in a warmly chromatic mode that's similar to the work that Wes Montgomery also cut with Sebesky, but with that special sense of rasp and color that's Kenny's own! The tracks all have a nicely angular quality – Burrell taking care of the frontline solos with ease, and Sebesky letting the band fall behind him in broad washes of color, tone, and mood – blue-tinged, but hardly blues at all, save for a few chromatic hues that appear from time to time. Titles include "Sausalito Nights", "Were You There", "Burning Spear", "Angel Eyes", "The Preacher", and "The Common Ground". CD

Features unreleased bonus material! Includes Phil Woods on alto and clarinet, Ron Carter on bass, Grady Tate on drums, Mike Maineri on vibes, and Richard Wyands on piano. CD

A standout session from guitar giant Kenny Burrell – and a set that's maybe one of his most modern albums of the 60s! The record features backings from arranger Gil Evans – most famous for his work with Miles Davis, and working here in a style that's nicely different with Kenny – less overwhelming in his approach to the charts, with a mode that still really lets Burrell dominate, and maybe even sets him free from the role of rhythm, so that he can really show off some of the more sophisticated sides of his playing! The album's one of a handful that have Burrell working this way from the time – and as on the others, there's sometimes a quality that's even more soulful than some of his records with smaller groups – a real surprise, but a great one too. The group features an excellent array of top-shelf musicians – including Johnny Coles on trumpet, Lee Konitz on alto, Steve Lacy on soprano, and Richie Kamuca on tenor – and titles include "Lotus Land", "Downstairs", "Moon & Sand", "Terrace Theme", "Greensleeves", and "Loie". LP, Vinyl record album

A hip live date from Kenny Burrell – and a record that really showcases his amazing tone in a stripped-down trio setting! Burrell has a way of mixing chromatic chords with leaner lines that's simply breathtaking – qualities that really come out in the intimate space of the Village Vanguard, where Kenny is just working with accompaniment from the bass of Richard Davis and drums of the great Roy Haynes! The rhythms here are quite gentle, almost spare at times – and always touched with Haynes' great sense of lyricism – and Kenny's guitar lines are right out front, really dominating the set and freely flowing with plenty of warm chromatic hues, and styles that echo a bit more modernism than we've heard in other work of his from the late 50s! Titles include "Well You Needn't", "Trio", "All Night Long", and "Soft Winds". LP, Vinyl record album

A surprisingly great meeting between Kenny Burrell and Jimmy Smith – and a set that's one of Jimmy's standout small combo sessions for Verve! The feel here is much more Jimmy Smith at Blue Note than some of the bigger group Verve dates of the 60s – and Kenny Burrell's sensitive guitar lines provide wonderful company for Smith on the date – shading in his Hammond lines with a nice sense of color, in ways that really fit the late nite setting of the record. Other players on the date include either Bill English or Mel Lewis on drums, George Duvivier or Milt Hinton on bass, Vince Gambella on guitar, and Art Marotti on percussion – and titles include "Kenny's Sound", "Blues For Del", "Blue Bash", "Travelin", and "Soft Winds". LP, Vinyl record album

A really back to basics album from trumpeter Don Cherry – or maybe a set that goes back to basics that Don didn't even have, given that most folks initially heard him in the freewheeling group of Ornette Coleman! The album's straighter than his work with Ornette, and also different than his 70s experiments with world cultures and fusion – as the record has a tight, acoustic vibe – Cherry blowing these great solos on pocket trumpet, in the company of a swinging lineup that also features James Clay on tenor, Charlie Haden on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums! The lack of piano is definitely a nod to Don's roots, and there's certainly an open vibe to the record at times – but things are mostly straight and swinging, in a way that opens up another level in Cherry's long and varied career. Titles include "Art Deco", 'When Will The Blues Leave", "Body & Soul", "Bemsha Swing", "Maffy", "Folk Medley", "The Blessing", "Passing", "I've Grown Accustomed To Your Face", and "Compute". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best albums that Al Cohn and Zoot Sims ever cut together – and that's saying a lot, given the strength of their collaborations during the 50s and 60s! The set's got a nice small group feeling, and is a bit more open and relaxed than some of their RCA material – still in the sharp, thoughtful mode that marked both Cohn and Sims' sessions – but also a bit more earthy, too – possibly because they've got Mose Allison in the combo on piano. The album includes the incredible spare sax-only track "Improvisation For Unaccompanied Saxophones", which is an extremely haunting track that sounds unlike anything the pair had ever done together – and other titles have the full quintet playing, tunes that include "The Opener", "The Note" and "You N Me". CD

A rare moment in the major label spotlight for George Coleman – an early 90s session for Verve, and one that should have gotten him the same sort of ongoing recognition as contemporary sessions at the label by JJ Johnson, Randy Weston, and Joe Henderson! The format here is spare, but nicely varied – with Coleman on a tenor, soprano, and alto saxes alongside a trio of Harold Mabern on piano, Ray Drummond on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. With a rhythm section that strong, you could almost throw just about any player up against them and get something great – but Coleman's also really pushing to the forefront of the tunes on most numbers, blowing with a deep voice and strong sound that almost recalls some of the work that Eric Alexander did in later years with Mabern. Titles include "Old Folks", "Lush Life", "Conrad", "My Romance", "You Mean So Much To Me", and "The Sheik Of Araby". CD

One of Alice Coltrane's most adventurous albums – a beautiful blend of organ, harp, percussion, and strings – much of which are transcribed for the album by Ornette Coleman! The most haunting aspect of the album is Alice's work on organ – spare, jagged, with a nascent soulful quality that's quite different from her piano work on other Impulse albums. The strings provide a sheet of sound – a shimmering backdrop to support Alice's work on the keys – moving forward tentatively, but growing in energy as the album progresses through a host of Eastern spiritual influences. Alice is way past jazz at this point – moving towards the new level of consciousness hinted at in the title, growing majestically on tracks that include "Oh Allah", "Sita Ram", "Hare Krishna", "Universal Consciousness", and "The Ankh of Amen-Ra". CD

One of the most modern performances from Verve's recording of the 1957 Newport Festival – and one of the most obscure, too! Side one features a hip trio with Eddie Costa on piano, plus Rolf Kuhn on clarinet and Dick Johnson on alto – both unusual horn players to feature with Eddie! Side two features three tracks by the Mat Mathews quartet with Hank Jones on piano – and three more by an unusual group that has Don Elliott on mellophone and vibes, with Bill Evans on piano! LP, Vinyl record album

An early gem from Johnny Dankworth – the hard-swinging British arranger who'd release some great work on these shores in the 60s! The record is slightly unusual in that all of the arrangements (and most compositions) are by Dankworth, but half of them are played by the Laurie Monk Quartet and Dickie Hawdon Quintet – and not Johnny's own group! The larger Dankworth ensemble is full on horns, and heavy on rhythm – a tightly-swinging large group that's one of the best manifestations of the big band in the post-swing era of the time. Monk's group has a smaller, intimate feel that's heavy on Laurie's trombone and Johnny Dankworth's alto – and Dickie Hawdon's combo features some great sax work from Dankworth himself. Titles include "One For Janet", "Somerset Morn", "Horoscope", "Somebody Loves Me", "Export Blues", and "Magenta Midget". LP, Vinyl record album

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A wonderful collection of Blossom's excellent early vocal work for Verve – some of the sweetest, grooviest jazz singing recorded at the time – in a style that other singers didn't pick up for years! Most tracks feature warmly jazz small combo backing – with Blossom's light and magical vocals at the top of the mix, tippling nicely through 16 tracks that include "L'etang", "Dearie's Blues", "Manhattan", "The Party's Over", "Bang Goes The Drum", "Little Jazz Bird", "Let Me Love You", "They Say It's Spring", and "Rhode Island Is Famous For You". CD

A really fantastic album from the young Blossom Dearie – and in a way, a record that kind of sets the tone for all the greatness to come in future recordings! Here, Blossom is already breaking from standard jazz vocal modes – using some of the hipness she'd picked up in France to really further the amazing sense of phrasing that makes her so different from just about anyone else – in a way that's subtle, but which really sounds a heck of a lot different than Verve recordings by artists like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, or any other of their vocalists of the 50s. The group's a small one, but has a fresh sense of arrangement – as Dearie's piano is at the lead of a combo that features Mundell Lowe on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and Ed Thigpen on drums – all hip enough players to really get her sense of rhythm and timing. Titles include a sublime early version of "Once Upon A Summertime" – plus "Moonlight Saving Time", "Doop Doo De Doop (A Doodlin Song)", "It Amazes Me", "We're Together", "Love Is Here To Stay", "Teach Me Tonight", and "Down With Love". CD

Buddy DeFranco plays tunes associated with Artie Shaw – but in a completely different way than before – with a wider-open swing for the 50s! The work here is all small combo, not big band – and there's a free-flowing groove that's totally great – a sound that carries echoes of the earlier years, but which comes across with that modern inflection to swing that made Buddy's years at Verve so great. Few players could come up with a balance of modes as great as this – and DeFranco's clarinet is caught alongside trumpet from Ray Linn, guitar from Barney Kessel, and piano and harpsichord from Jimmy Rowles! CD

A wickedly funky album from Joao Donato – quite different than his earlier bossa sessions, and recorded in LA with a sweet jazzy bounce! The album's overflowing with great keyboard work – and Joao plays both piano and organ, in a group that includes percussion from Emil Richards, who also produced the set with this mad skittish edge that's awash in crazy and off-kilter rhythms! Deodato helped a bit with the arrangements, too – and the album's got an electric feel that's somewhat similar to Deodato's own work on CTI, but a lot more messed up – and with that sense of odd instrumental placement that we love so much in Donato's classic Quem E Quem album! Tracks are all pretty darn great – and titles include "Mosquito", "Bambu", "Cade Jodel", "Lunar Tune", and "The Frog", nicely done here in a funky version! LP, Vinyl record album

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A great collection – 42 tracks in all, with a really great range of material! Includes work with Woody herman, George Shearing, and Sarah Vaughan. CD

One of Harry's hippest for Verve – recorded with a soulful group that includes Jimmy Forrest on tenor, Freddie Green on guitar, Jimmy Jones on piano, and Charlie Persip on drums. Tracks are long and easily swinging – but with more edge than usual, making the set feel more like one on Prestige's Swingville imprint than the usual Verve set. Titles include "Short Coat", "Impressario", and "Ill Wind". CD

2 great sessions that pair trumpeter Harry Edison and drummer Buddy Rich – each of them a bit unique! The first 4 tracks on the set are from the album Wailing Buddy Rich – all numbers that not only features the trumpet of Eidson, but also some exceptional work from altoist Sonny Criss – heard here in a really unique format that has all players stretching out with plenty of space! The four numbers all have that relaxed jam session mode of Verve at its best – with rhythm from Jimmy Rowles on piano and John Simmons on bass, on tracks that include "The Two Mothers", "A Smooth One", "Broadway", and "Blues In The Closet (aka Sonny & Sweets)". Next up is the full set list from Buddy & Sweets – a bit shorter than the first in the format of the tracks, but a nicely swinging set that opens up with the best Verve approach of the 50s! The group features Jimmy Rowles on piano, Barney Kessel on guitar, and John Simmons on bass – working with Rich to provide some nice backdrops for Edison's well-chosen solo work. Titles include "All Sweets", "Easy Does It", "Now's The Time", and "Barney's Bugle" – an original by Rich that runs for nearly 10 minutes. CD

Easy-going Verve swing at its best – the kind of small group session that let a player like Harry "Sweets" Edison shine in a way that he didn't always get to do in a larger group! For this set, Edison's joined by Ben Webster on tenor sax, Barney Kessel on guitar, Jimmy Rowles on piano, Alvin Stoller on drums and Joe Mondragon on bass – in a format that features tunes that are a bit shorter than on some of the other Verve swing sides of the time, but still very much with a relaxed and open-ended feel. Titles include several Edison originals – including "Hollering At The Watkins", "Used To Be Basie", "Studio Call", "Opus 711", "K.M. Blues", and "Walkin With Sweets". LP, Vinyl record album

Features work from Oscar Peterson on piano and Jo Jones on drums – and titles include "Love For Sale", "Dale's Wail", "Oscar's Arrangement", "Echoes Of Harlem", and "Feeling A Draft". LP, Vinyl record album

Short tracks with a spare swinging groove – featuring the trumpet of Eldridge, with backing by Ronnie Ball on piano, Benny Moten on bass, and Edward Locke on drums. The focus is on Eldridge's lightly playful trumpet style – and tracks include "Song Of the Islands", "Bossa Nova", "The Way You Look Tonight", "I've Got A Crush On You", "Misty", and "Easy Living". CD

A classic pairing of postwar trumpets – those of Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge, each given plenty of space to speak their piece here in the best Verve all-star tradition! The group's great too – with Herb Ellis on guitar, Oscar Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Louis Bellson on drums. The album's got some sweet stretched out tracks that feature the two trumpet giants really opening up! CD

A UK two-fer that brings together two classic 50s sessions by the pair! First up is Trumpet Battle – and before you ask, the cover doesn't feature pictures of these guys whacking each other over their heads with trumpets! Instead, the set's one of those Verve relaxed jam session ones – with long tracks that let the two main soloists work out against each other, not really battling, but trading lines like the confident leaders they are. Rhythm is by Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis, Louis Bellson, and Ray Brown – and tracks include "Sometimes I'm Happy", "I've Found A New Baby", "I Can't Get Started", and a long "Ballad Medley", which has the trumpeters taking a track at a time, switching off one to one. Next is Trumpet Kings – in which Diz and Roy come together in a nice blend of two traditions – blowing in a relaxed mode that's less of the "battle" you might expect from the title – and more of a friendly exchange of solos, recorded in the open and laidback style of Verve at the time. The group features Oscar Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and Louis Bellson on drums – and Dizzy himself even vocalizes a bit on the set! Tracks are mostly longish, with plenty of solo space, and the the album features 5 tracks that include "Blue Moon", "Limehouse Blues", "Trumpet Blues", "Algo Bueno", and "Pretty Eyed Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

Duke Ellington makes a rare Verve appearance on this classic album – and works strongly in the mode of earlier sides recorded for the label by Johnny Hodges! There's a relaxed, small group feel going on here – one that's a bit different than some of the tighter Ellington work on Columbia during the 50s, and which almost paves the way for some of the more intimate piano sides that Duke would record during the 60s. In a way, Hodges is almost at the lead – given how comfortable he is here in a Verve setting – and other players include Harry Edison on trumpet, Les Spann on guitar, Sam Jones on bass, and Jo Jones on drums. The real charm, as always, is Hodges' solos, lean, mean, raspy, and soulful – and titles include "Weary Blues", "Royal Garden Blues", "Loveless Love", "St Louis Blues", and "Wabash Blues". CD

Duke Ellington makes a rare Verve appearance on this classic album – and works strongly in the mode of earlier sides recorded for the label by Johnny Hodges! There's a relaxed, small group feel going on here – one that's a bit different than some of the tighter Ellington work on Columbia during the 50s, and which almost paves the way for some of the more intimate piano sides that Duke would record during the 60s. In a way, Hodges is almost at the lead – given how comfortable he is here in a Verve setting – and other players include Harry Edison on trumpet, Les Spann on guitar, Sam Jones on bass, and Jo Jones on drums. The real charm, as always, is Hodges' solos, lean, mean, raspy, and soulful – and titles include "Weary Blues", "Royal Garden Blues", "Loveless Love", "St Louis Blues", and "Wabash Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A great summation of the decades-long genius of Brian Eno – served up here in tracks that were chosen to accompany the documentary on the man and his music, in a lineup that also includes a few key collaborations and even some unreleased titles too! The set brings together early vocal numbers with more experimental tracks and key ambient moments – with contributions from David Byrne, Roger Eno, John Cale, Fred Again, Cluster, and Daniel Lanois – all artists who are clearly in Eno's playhouse here, and not the other way around! The unreleased tracks are "Lighthouse #429", "All I Remember", and a live Acropolis version of "By This River", done with Roger Eno – next to other tracks that include "Emerald & Lime", "Hardly Me", "Regiment", "There Were Bells", "Motion In Field", "Spinning Away", "C'Mon", "Sky Saw", "The Secret Place", and "Ho Renomo". CD

Tremendous work from Bill Evans – one of his rare non-trio sides of the 60s – and a stunning batch of tunes with backings from the mighty Claus Ogerman! Most of the tunes here are of classical origin, but they're recast by Evans and Ogerman with almost a soundtrack sensitivity – Bill's piano up front, moving spaciously at very much its own pace – none of the too-virtuoso styles of other 60s jazz-meets-classical players. And Ogerman's backings are also great too – hardly ever strong, and more just light shading amidst the notes of Bill's piano – beautifully sliding in to bring a nice level of warm to the tunes. Titles include a sublime reading of "Pavane", plus the tracks "Granadas", "Time Remembered", "Blue Interlude", "Elegy", and "My Bells". CD

Tremendous work from Bill Evans – one of his rare non-trio sides of the 60s – and a stunning batch of tunes with backings from the mighty Claus Ogerman! Most of the tunes here are of classical origin, but they're recast by Evans and Ogerman with almost a soundtrack sensitivity – Bill's piano up front, moving spaciously at very much its own pace – none of the too-virtuoso styles of other 60s jazz-meets-classical players. And Ogerman's backings are also great too – hardly ever strong, and more just light shading amidst the notes of Bill's piano – beautifully sliding in to bring a nice level of warm to the tunes. Titles include a sublime reading of "Pavane", plus the tracks "Granadas", "Time Remembered", "Blue Interlude", "Elegy", and "My Bells". LP, Vinyl record album

Bill Evans meets Bill Evans – in a uniquely-styled session that features overdubbed solo lines from Bill, creating a multi-piano sound that's really great! The approach sounds gimmicky, but it's not – and Evans carries all the sensitivity you might expect from the title and image on the cover – a personal, up-close style that's nicely free from piano solo cliches, given the extra work of the overdubs. There's a nicely rhythmic feel to most numbers, and the piano lines often work in chromatic counterpoint to create a warmly sparkling quality to the set. Titles include "Round About Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Theme From Spartacus", "Stella By Starlight", and "NYC's No Lark". LP, Vinyl record album

Bill Evans is working with a really wonderful trio here – one that features Gary Peacock on bass and Paul Motian on drums – both budding young modernists who help Evans reach some new sounds on the set! The record starts out with a groove that's perhaps more inside than you'd expect – but it then quickly moves into the sort of sensitively-played numbers that really made Evans a key force in jazz during the early 60s – supported by equally personal work from Peacock and Motian, who both clearly feel free to move beyond common piano trio cliches. Tracks include "Dancing In The Dark", "Always", "Little Lulu", "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", "Everything Happens To Me", and "For Heaven's Sake". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic Verve Records material from Bill Evans – a set that follows the no-nonsense trio style of his Riverside material, but which definitely shows the evolving Evans style of the 60s! The group here is a nicely mellow one – bassist Chuck Israels, whose sound is tremendous – and drummer Larry Bunker – a player you might know from percussion work on other albums, which seems to give him a very sensitive touch on the drum kit here! Both players have a dancing quality that goes far beyond strict rhythmic timekeeping – and this approach opens up Evans' solos in to a freer mode than on some of his early 60s sets. The result is a wonderful album that really transforms the tunes – as you'll hear on the set of tracks that include "Round Midnight", "Israel", "Elsa", and "How My Heart Sings". LP, Vinyl record album

A magnificent follow up to the Undercurrent album from the team of Bill Evans and Jim Hall – and like that one, a set that features amazing interplay between piano and guitar! Hall's guitar has never sounded better – and in the airy company of Evans, it takes on many of the same qualities as on his famous late 50s recordings in the Jimmy Guiffre trio. Bill's work is great too – almost more tonally focused than before, with perfectly chosen notes that resonate beautifully in this very spare space. Titles include "Jazz Samba", "All Across The City", "Angel Face", and "Turn Out The Stars". CD

The cover co-credits Bill Evans and Shelly Manne as the leader of the set – and that distinction's an important one – as the record has a slightly different feel than some of Bill's other 60s work for Verve! The sound is often a bit stronger, somewhat bolder – and although Manne's not a monster on the drums, he does have a way of directing the tunes that's a bit different than some of Evans' other piano-led albums. Bass is by Monty Budwig, who's nicely sensitive to the talents of both players – and there's almost an equally-weighted melodic feel to all three elements of the trio – which really rounds out the record nicely. Titles include "The Washington Twist", "Danny Boy", "Let's Go Back To The Waltz", "With A Song In My Heart", "Goodbye", and "I Believe In You". LP, Vinyl record album

An open-ended live date from Bill Evans – recorded at the auspicious venue of Town Hall, but recorded with a warmth that matches Evans' smaller club sessions of the 60s! The sound here is possibly a bit more focused and direct than some of the moodier, mellower Evans live records – well pointed at the start, but then moving into some gentler chromatic modes as the set moves on – all with gentle accompaniment from Chuck Israels on bass and Arnold Wise on drums. Titles include trio versions of "I Should Care", "Spring Is Here", "Who Can I Turn To" and "Make Someone Happy" – then Evans takes a 13 minute solo turn, dedicating a suite to the memory of his father! LP, Vinyl record album

Nice two-fer that brings together 2 spare, open sets from Bill Evans, in a nice trio with Gary Peacock & Paul Motian on the first and paired with guitarist Jim Hall on the second. All his partners compliment his style nicely, and there's a beautiful moody quality that makes these sides seem as if they were recorded much closer than 2 and a half years that seperated them. The first Lp in the set is a reissue of the excellent Trio '64 and the second is a reissue of the second meeting of Evans & Hall, Intermodulation. The trio side includes "Dancing In The Dark", "Always", "Little Lulu", and "For Heaven's Sake", and the duets include "Jazz Samba", "All Across The City", "Angel Face", and "Turn Out The Stars". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Bill Evans' most beautiful albums from the time – and one that features the fantastic team of Jeremy Steig and Eddie Gomez, who were cutting some beautiful records for other labels at the time. Steig's flute later got very silly, but at this point, he's got a raw stripped-down sound that works perfectly with Gomez's warm, slightly funky basslines – making for a slightly soulful approach that really transforms the session. Evans is no slouch either – and the youthful company makes him play some of his best bits in years – on titles that include "Time Out For Chris", "So What", "Spartacus Love Theme", and "Autumn Leaves". LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "Autumn Leaves", "Little Girl Blue", "Meteor", "Yesterdays", "Cherokee", "Out Of Nowhere", and "Stella By Starlight" – 16 cuts in all. CD

Tal Farlow was one of the all-time greats of jazz guitar during the 50s, and an album like this captures him at his finest! The set's a no-nonsense batch of tracks that features Tal with a trio that includes Eddie Costa on piano and Vinnie Burke on bass – a wonderfully understated lineup that lets Farlow's guitar take plenty of lead space! Tunes are mostly familiar, but it's Tal's tone that rocks the record – as he's both once raw with the strings, and lightly melodic with his playing. Great stuff, and with the tracks "Yesterdays", "Chuckles", "Anything Goes", "Isn't It Romantic", and "How About You". CD

An amazing album by the great guitarist Eddie Fisher – and completely unlike his later funk records! Eddie plays stripped down jazz with a small combo that includes organ by Robert Selby, bass by Paul Jackson, and some rhythm guitar by Phil Westmoreland – and the twin-guitar approach creates this super-dope style that's light years ahead of its time, with a sophistication that points the way to later mid 70s work on labels like CTI and Kudu! Eddie's guitar work is an incredible exercise in spareness and soulfulness – best heard on the fantastic "Third Cup", a long drawn-out jazz stepper that's got to be heard to be believed. The cut's been a favorite on the Chicago jazz stepper's scene for years – and it alone is worth the price of the album. However, the record features some other wonderful stuff – like a sublime version of "Shadow Of Your Smile" that runs for a bubbling 12 minutes – plus the originals "Shut Up", "Scorched Earth", and "Two By Two". LP, Vinyl record album

A great small combo set from Ella Fitzgerald – and a record that maybe has a bit more bite than some of her Songbook sessions from the time! The combo's a great one – with excellent piano from Lou Levy, balanced with guitar work from Herb Ellis – a pair whose chromatic contributions really resonate wonderfully with the vocal range of Ella – especially as the singer is hitting that 60s stretch when she seemed to find an even more expressive tone than in earlier years! Other players include Joe Mondragon on bass and Gus Johnson on drums – no other players at all, a nice lean set – and titles include "Night In Tunisia", "Cry Me A River", "This Year's Kisses", "Music Goes Round & Round", "Clap Hands Here Comes Charlie", "My Reverie", and "You're My Thrill". LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "Anything Goes", "Too Darn Hot", "All Of You", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "Let's Do It", and "Just One Of Those Things" – 16 tracks total. CD

Quite a popular live album from Ella – recorded in Berlin at the height of the cold war years – featuring a famous recording of "Mack The Knife" that almost blew away Bobby Darin's hit with the cut! The album's nicely free of some of the stodginess of some of Ella's Songbook albums from the same time – with light and jazzy backing by a group that includes Jim Hall, Paul Smith, Wilfred Middlebrooks, and Gus Johnson. Titles include "Mack The Knife", "How High The Moon", "Too Darn Hot", "Gone With The Wind", "Misty", and "Summertime". Features bonus tracks not on the original album! CD

A beautiful classic from mid 60s Verve – and the kind of a session that we wouldn't have expected to come off so well! In a style they were using with older artists at the time, Verve brought Ella and Duke into the studio together – with Duke's band and compositions providing the structure of the set, and Ella handling vocals. The tunes are mostly Ellington classics, but they provide a nice change of pace for the Fitzgerald of the 60s – taking Ella into more sophisticated territory on some darker themes that really surprised us. Players are all of the Ellington stalwarts of the time – and titles include "Imagine My Frustration", "Duke's Place", "What Am I Here For", "Azure", "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing", "Passion Flower", and "Something To Live For". CD

Sweet arrangements by Nelson Riddle – on 3CDs' worth of tunes by George & Ira Gershwin! CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

A classic vocal set from Ella – filled with standards from the Rodgers & Hart songbook! LP, Vinyl record album

An album that's often overlooked amidst some of the bigger "songbook" Verve sessions by Ella Fitzgerald – yet a really special record that shows off a side of Ella that's not ever captured this well on other records! The record was also initially billed as tied into the book and film Let No Man Write My Epitaph – but there's nothing soundtrack-like at all about the performance, as Fitzgerald works with only backing from pianist Paul Smith – a player who sounds wonderful next to the singer, and brings just the right sort of inflections to open up Ella's vocals for the date! There's a spare quality that's completely captivating – proof that Fitzgerald was a hell of a jazz singer at the core, even when her star was rising on the international scene – maybe even more compelling without any large arrangements at all, as she takes on superb material that includes versions of "Misty", "Black Coffee", "Angel Eyes", "I Cried For You", "Who's Sorry Now", "September Song", "Then You've Never Been Blue", and "Reach For Tomorrow". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice little Verve session that breaks from the usual format – especially the "Songbooks" one – and features Ella in LA with small group backing by Jim Hall, Lou Levy, Wilfred Middlebrooks, and Gus Johnson. The set was recorded live at the Crescendo – in a jazzily swinging mode that's a bit looser than some of Ella's other Verve sessions, but which still demonstrates some nice control on the vocals. Titles include "Mr Paganini", "Stairway To The Stars", "Air Mail Special", "Blue Moon", "This Could Be The Start Of Something Big", and "Just In Time". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice pairing of Ella Fitzgerald and Nelson Riddle – done away from the Songbook series, with titles that include "I'm Gonna Go Fishing", "The Gentleman Is A Dope", "Mean To Me", "I Won't Dance", "Love Me Or Leave Me", and "What Am I Here For". LP, Vinyl record album

Ella gets some great jazzy backings from Marty Paich – on titles that include "Little White Lies", "You Hit The Spot", "Little Jazz", "720 In the Books", "Knock Me A Kiss", and "My Kinda Love". LP, Vinyl record album