Titles include "Wild Night", "Like A Cannonball", "Old Old Woodstock", "Tupelo Honey", "When That Evening Sun Goes Down", and "Moonshine Whiskey". CD

Titles include "Wild Night", "Like A Cannonball", "Old Old Woodstock", "Tupelo Honey", "When That Evening Sun Goes Down", and "Moonshine Whiskey". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest albums to ever sum up the genius of Lou Rawls in the 60s – a brilliant live set put together with the talents of David Axelrod! The record perfectly captures the easy-going soul of Rawls in the early years – a natural approach to his music that made him one of the best singers of his genre at the time, and which comes out especially strong in the album's upbeat monologues, which are often delivered by Lou with musical accompaniment, then leap strongly into the lyrics of a tune. Backing is by a small jazzy combo that includes Herb Ellis on guitar and the great rhythm team of Jimmy Bond on bass and Earl Palmer on drums – both of whom bring a nice little groove to most of the album's numbers. Titles include "Street Corner Hustler's Blues/World Of Trouble", "Southside Blues/Tobacco Road", "The Shadow of Your Smile", "In The Evening When The Sun Goes Down", "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good", and "The Girl From Ipanema". LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "Oceanus", "Blue Sun", "New Moon", "Beneath An Evening Sky", "Prince & The Sage", and "Nimbus". Features work by Jan Garbarek, Eberhard Weber, Kenny Wheeler, and Eddie Gomez. CD

Amazing music from Laurance Vanay – actually a recording name for Jacqueline Thibault, a hell of a great keyboardist but an artist the label thought would be better off billed as a man! The sound here is halfway between the spacey experiments of Brian Eno and Cluster, and some of the more ambitious sound library work of the time – particularly those rare moments when prog artist got to do some studio work! Thibault's keyboards are wonderful – lots of Fender Rhodes mixed with Hammond and early synth – usually spun out at an instrumental level that has the tunes building slowly in these really great layers of sound – almost like a Popol Vuh soundtrack, but a lot more tuneful too. There's a fragile complexity that really makes the music special – and unlike anything we've ever heard from the European scene of the time – and titles include "Alone In The Rain", "Evening Colours", "Forgotten Moments", "Twin Cities", "Eyes Closed On The Way", "Sunshine In My Heart", and "Underwater Light Reflection". CD features a huge amount of bonus tracks – includign "Mamie"," Mop", and "Fausse Fn" – plus alternate takes of songs on the album. CD

The great Bud Shank was a real master of many reed forms in the 50s – maybe even in a way that set the scene for Yusef Lateef and Roland Kirk's experiments to come! Here, he blows flute alongside the oboe of Bob Cooper – who's best known as a tenorist – and the pair craft some very cool west coast sounds, all arranged by Cooper! Other players include Howard Roberts on bass and Don Prell on bass – and there's some added work from a small string group, almost tying the thing to some of the Fred Katz experiments of the time. Titles include "Gypsy In My Soul", "In The Blue Of The Evening", "Tequila Time", "I Can't Get Started", "Blues For Delilah", "Sunset & Wine", and "What'll I Do". LP, Vinyl record album

Two albums on one CD – Autumn In New York is a record that features Stafford's sentimental vocals wrapped up warmly in backings from Paul Weston – string-heavy at times, but in a really dreamy way that works perfectly for Jo's blue-tinged vocals. The album's got a great sense of love lost and longing – and titles include "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "If I Loved You", "Almost Like Being In Love", "Through The Years", "Sometimes I'm Happy", "Haunted Heart", and "Some Enchanted Evening". Starring Jo Stafford includes the songs "Serenade Of The Bells", "No Other Love", "The Gentleman Is A Dope", "Red River Valley", and "A Sunday Kind Of Love". CD

The full length debut of the Yancey Boys – Frank Nitt & Illa J – the former of the venerable duo Frank N Dank, the latter J Dilla's rhyme centric younger brother – who come together with the dual purpose of keeping J Dilla's production pedigree alive, and to simply deliver timeless, top notch Detroit hip hop! Production is provided by J Dilla's archive – and a pretty impressive roster of Dilla friends and collaborators take part as guests – include Common, Talib Kweli, Posdnuos of De La Soul, Dank, Rhettmatic, Eric Roberson, Guilty Simpson, J Roc and others. Titles include "Dilltro" with Dank, "Fisherman" feat Vice, J Rocc & Detroit Serious, "Flowers" with Kweli, Niko Grey & Rhettmatic, "Without Wings", "Beautiful" with Posdnuos, "Quicksand" with Slimkid3 & Niko Gray", "The Throwaway", "This Evening" and more. CD

The full length debut of the Yancey Boys – Frank Nitt & Illa J – the former of the venerable duo Frank N Dank, the latter J Dilla's rhyme centric younger brother – who come together with the dual purpose of keeping J Dilla's production pedigree alive, and to simply deliver timeless, top notch Detroit hip hop! Production is provided by J Dilla's archive – and a pretty impressive roster of Dilla friends and collaborators take part as guests – include Common, Talib Kweli, Posdnuos of De La Soul, Dank, Rhettmatic, Eric Roberson, Guilty Simpson, J Roc and others. Titles include "Dilltro" with Dank, "Fisherman" feat Vice, J Rocc & Detroit Serious, "Flowers" with Kweli, Niko Grey & Rhettmatic, "Without Wings", "Beautiful" with Posdnuos, "Quicksand" with Slimkid3 & Niko Gray", "The Throwaway", "This Evening" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful Japanese publication, one that looks at the long legacy of bars and coffee shops that focus on presenting quality jazz vinyl with high end sound systems – really amazing spots that are presented here in a special edition with full text in English! As with other issues of the magazine, this one looks at some key spots in Tokyo and beyond – focusing on the history and identity of each, and really getting at the way the owners use their passion for jazz to create a unique space to listen, relax, chat, and enjoy the evening. We're huge fans of these record bars – and after flipping through this issue, you may well be calling your travel agent to go over and make the visit yourself! Book

Great solo piano work from Abdullah Ibrahim – and a set that's put together a bit differently than some of his other records of this nature! Often, solo Ibrahim sides are quite long and extended – but this time around, most of the tracks are quite short – some around three minutes, some almost only 60 seconds – making for a really fresh approach to the solo piano genre, and one that almost has Abdullah painting these wonderful little pictures in sound! The brevity of the tunes is no reflection of their depth – as Ibrahim really packs a lot into the small space focusing his ideas wonderfully, and moving through some dark themes that really hold us in rapt attention throughout. Titles include "Jabulani", "Mamma", "Bayana Children Of Africa", "In The Evening", "Ocean & The River", "Blue Bolero", "For Coltrane", "Dust", "Tookah", and "Blues For A Hip King". CD

A standout set from trombonist Altin Sencalar – a player who seems to get better and better with each new record, not just for the soulful sound on his instrument, but also for his work as both a leader and writer of fresh new tunes! The record's got the tightness we love on the best Posi-tone label releases – and also features a slightly larger group too, with work from Diego Rivera on tenor, Markus Howell on alto and soprano, Anthony Hervey on trumpet, and Michael Dease on baritone – players who shift strongly between the solo work you'd know from their own albums as leaders, and a strong ensemble to color in Sencalar's tunes. Rhythms are great, too – and include work from Art Hirihara on piano, Paul Reyas Bueno on bass, and Rudy Royston on drums – with occasional Latin currents from percussionist Pete Rodriguez. Titles include "Nuevo Dia", "The Sunday Affair", "Awareness", "Pocket Of Clave", "Blue Evening", "It's Easy", and "More Than One Answer". CD

A pair of crucial Cecil Taylor sessions from the 60s – both of which show the free-thinking pianist working amidst some larger arrangements! First up are three tracks from the Gil Evans album Into The Hot – all tunes written by Cecil Taylor – a very bold move for Evans, given Taylor's strongly out reputation even at this point in his career – and possibly even more bold, given that Taylor's on the tracks playing piano, alongside players who include Archie Shepp on tenor, Jimmy Lyons on alto, Henry Grimes on bass, and Sunny Murray on drums – plus work on one track from Ted Curson on trumpet and Roswell Rudd on trombone. The material's fantastic, and is a key part of Taylor's work at the time, and shows a very different setting for his piano – a bit of tension with the larger Evans group, in a way that's almost more compelling than his own early dates as a leader – on the titles "Pots", "Bulbs", and "Mixed". Next is the Unit Structures album – one of a rare few albums done by pianist Cecil Taylor for the Blue Note label in the 60s – some of the most outside work recorded for the imprint at the time! The word "structures" here is perhaps a bit misplaced – as the work has a strong sense of freedom with the soloists – who operate based on a system of energy and impulses described by Taylor in the notes, at a level that's maybe one of his most inventive, ambitious expressions of the decade! The whole lineup is great – with especially strong horn work from Eddie Gale on trumpet, Jimmy Lyons on alto, and Ken McIntyre on alto, oboe, and bass clarinet – and Taylor's piano gets accompaniment from two groundbreaking bassists – Henry Grimes and Alan Silva – plus drums from Andrew Cyrille. Given the lineup, and the format, the whole thing almost feels more like one of the BYG/Actuel avant sessions than Blue Note in the 60s – and titles include "Steps", "Enter Evening (Soft Line Structure)", "Unit Structure/As Of A Now/Section", and "Tales (8 Whisps)". CD

Vic Mensa's a very different artist than on his previous record – a rapper who's taken the long years between the two sets to undergo a personal and spiritual rebirth, with results that come through instantly on the tracks on this set! There's an urgency that Vic never had before – partly inspired by the political changes in the country from 2020 onward, but also viewed with a maturity that puts aside some of his own personal needs for a larger agenda – one that's got a lot more pride and positivity than you might guess from the somewhat stylized image on the cover. Common joins Vic for a great look at Chicago past on "Southside Story" – and other tracks include "Sunset On The Low End", "Lvln Up", "Victor", "Rumors", "Weeping Poets", "Blue Eyes", "Sunday Evening", "Strawberry Louis Vuitton", "14 Days", "Eastside Girl", and "Blessings". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked gem from Mel Torme's years at Verve – an album dedicated to the music of Duke Ellington and Count Basie, set to some very upbeat, jazzy backings from Johnny Mandel! The album's quite swinging at points – and given the choice of material, Mel really breaks from the familiar – stretching out nicely to reach the spirit of the famous leaders, but always with that tremendous sense of tone! Titles include "Down For Double", "I'm Gonna Go Fishin", "I Like The Sunrise", "Reminiscing In Tempo", "Oh What A Night For Love", and "In The Evening". LP, Vinyl record album