For Afrika, South African expatriate bassist Johnny Dyani enlarged his group to a septet from the quartet formation he had used on prior Steeplechase recordings and, in the process, shifted gears slightly from the deeper, beautifully bitter songs that had been his forte (such as "House Arrest" on Mbizo) to a somewhat lighter fare, replete with catchy, skipping melodies and funky electric bass. Something of the township feel, so basic to his work, was also lost by replacing Dudu Pukwana with veteran saxman Charles Davis and by the odd inclusion of steel drums which supply a lilting quality.

Guitarist John Scofield contributed all nine originals on this album and teams up with up-and-coming tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano, bassist Dennis Irwin and drummer Bill Stewart for a set of consistently stimulating music. The interesting blend between Scofield and Lovano, the consistently inventive solos, and the unpredictable material - which falls loosely into the post-bop area but is really unclassifiable - make this a CD worth listening to several times.

It's not the first time guitarist Alex Machacek has composed around drum improvisation—he did that with three tracks on [sic], his 2006 breakout record and first for Abstract Logix—but he's taken the concept even farther on 24 Tales. It's also not the only release to use, as its basis, a 51-minute drum improvisation by Marco Minneman—Machacek's band mate in keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson's Ukz, which debuted in 2009 with the Radiation (Globe Music) EP. Guitarist Mike Keneally, touch guitarist Trey Gunn, and Mars Hollow bassist/guitarist Kerry Chicoine were all given Minneman's metrically and polyrhythmically challenging solo as part of the drummer's Normalizer 2 project as well, but 24 Tales sets the bar incredibly high for everyone else; a true fusion masterpiece that actually surpasses [sic]'s remarkably deep composition and stunning performance.

Satchmo Serenades was originally comprised of sessions recorded between 1949 and 1951. It's a pleasant collection of ballads and midtempo romantic tunes, highlighted by the instrumental sections where Armstrong glides with the lush arrangements. When Satchmo serenades, his voice is a little too rough and sly to be truly seductive, but it's nevertheless charming, and while this album is hardly a significant work in his catalog, it's still enjoyable for the Armstrong fan looking for mid-period ballads.

A good 1988 compilation of past Abercrombie selections on various ECM releases, spotlighting his versatility and proficiency. Songs featuring his fluid guitar in introspective, mainstream, and free contexts, as well as playing everything from New Age-tinged originals to covers of standards, are presented.

The Dutch-German Groove Jazz band Appleton takes a bow with its latest programme to perhaps the greatest pop icons of all time: The Beatles. In refined and improvised jazz arrangements centred around a three-piece horn section and singers Caroll Vanwelden from the Netherlands and Barbara Drennan from England, the band presents its very own selection of Beatles classics without, however, diluting or straying too far from the originals.

Love, Strings and Jobim is a 1966 album by various Brazilian artists who play new Brazilian songs by various composers. Because Antonio Carlos Jobim is pictured on the cover and mentioned in the title, he has been and continues to be credited to be the performing artist on the album. Jobim does not appear on the album except as a composer. The original Brazilian title of this album is "Tom Jobim Apresenta" and it appeared on the Elenco label.

This vocal quartet originally started life as an extension of jazz band the Hi-Lo’s. From that prominent '50s band came Don Shelton, who decided to form Singers Unlimited after the Hi-Lo’s broke up in 1964. After retreating to Chicago, Illinois, where he worked on a series of television commercials, he enlisted fellow Hi-Lo’s veteran Gene Puerling of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to join him in the city in 1967. The group was formed along with Len Dresslar and Bonnie Herman, with the express intention of recording commercials in the doo wop/vocal group idiom. Shelton’s connections in the industry ensured the group was able to exploit the market successfully, and lucrative work rolled in…

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. This is a good introduction to the remarkable Lars Gullin, a masterful baritone sax player, writer, arranger, and a key figure in Sweden's jazz scene. Lars Gullin Swings (East-West, 1958) feature Swedish baritone master Lars Gullin improvising with an all-star cast of jazz compatriots. Whether he is performing in a quartet, quintet, sextet, octet or big band setting, the Mulligan-influenced Gullin wails throughout. Gullin’s tone on the “big horn” is light and agile; his solos flow with a wealth of unending invention. These albums are extremely rare and if you were lucky enough to find them, would carry a very hefty price tag on the collector's market.

A symphonic experience - a symbiosis between jazz and classic: the first lady of the hammond organ and her jazz trio meet the German philharmonic orchestra. Taking Jimmy Smith's famous work with orchestra and conductor Lalo Schifrin to the next level.

Part of Verve's Diva Series, this Sarah Vaughan collection is by no means a definitive look at her career. It is, however, a nice overview featuring a healthy slice of some of her best tracks. Included here are such popular recordings as "How High the Moon," "I Want to Be Happy," and "Misty." While most die-hard collectors will already own these tracks, listeners looking for a truthful introduction to Vaughan's mellow vocal style could do worse than this.

If you are making a shortlist of the best jazz singers, Carmen McRae had better be right at the top. She had a distinctive voice, able to do heartbreaking and lighthearted equally as thrillingly. She had an unerring sense of melody and her phrasing is a thing of beauty. This collection covers her work in the mid-'50s for Decca both with small groups and larger orchestras. She shines on swinging tracks like "Comes Love," "Falling in Love With Love," and "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket" and won't leave a dry eye in the house with her deeply emotional ballad singing.

Si intitola “Verso Sud” il nuovo album dal vivo di Musica Nuda, il duo voce e contrabbasso composto da Petra Magoni e Ferruccio Spinetti. Il disco è testimonianza del concerto tenutosi a fine 2016 al Teatro Comunale di Vicenza; un evento unico creato appositamente per il Festival delle Tradizioni. “Verso Sud” è un viaggio nel sud musicale dell'Italia e del mondo in puro stile Musica Nuda e cioè “Istinto” e “Libertà”, sia nello scegliere il repertorio, sia nel modo di interpretarlo, con leggerezza ma mai senza rispetto. “Speriamo lo amiate come lo amiamo noi perché è la fotografia di un concerto sincero e appassionato, di un viaggio entusiasmante verso…Sud!” Petra & Ferruccio.

Why aren't there more recordings like Fly Away Little Bird? Perhaps it's because there aren't more musicians of this stature. The studio reunion of the legendarily experimental Jimmy Giuffre 3 in 1992 was reissued in 2002 on the French Sunnyside label and is a radical departure from anything the trio had done in the past. These studio apparitions of the band are their most seamlessly accessible while being wildly exploratory. In addition to the consummate improvisations and compositions by Giuffre (title track, a redone "Tumbleweed"), the tender meditations by Steve Swallow ("Fits" and "Starts"), and the bottom-register contrapuntal improves by Paul Bley ("Qualude"), this is a trio recording that uses standards such as "Lover Man," a radically and gorgeously reworked "I Can't Get Started," "Sweet and Lovely," and "All the Things You Are" to state hidden textural possibilities inside chromatic harmony. There is never the notion of restraint in the slow, easy, and proactive way these compositions are approached.

One of the corner stones of our record collection. A real jazz funk gem that we never stopped listening since 1981. Featuring the cream of 70's musicians like Herbie Hancock, Lee Ritenour and Jerry Hey, this intense album is a must have for every jazz funk collector. Don't miss out Freddie Hubbard's great flugelhorn solo on our favorite piece " By All Means ".