In her first major recording as leader, keyboardist and composer Rebecca Nash's presents her Atlas group on 'Peaceful King', which interlaces a panoply of strands - rock, drum-and-bass, '70s fusion, soul-jazz and electronica, alongside singer-songwriter influences - into a widening landscape of beauty of wonder. The regular line-up of longtime associates Nick Malcolm (trumpet) and Matt Fisher (drums) plus Thomas Seminar Ford (electric guitar) and Chris Mapp (electric bass, electronics) is augmented here on three numbers by the rich, intuitive vocals of Sara Colman.

This intimate recording by guitarist John Abercrombie and clarinetist John Ruocco is reminiscent of the famous recordings from the 1960s by Jimmy Giuffre with Jim Hall. A contemporary take on chamber jazz, it comes from a similar heritage but in a different musical context, more introverted, lyrical and half a century more modern. Guitarist John Abercrombie is well-known for his recordings as leader and as a sideman for ECM but his partner in this project is a less-familiar name. The American tenor saxophonist and clarinettist John Ruocco has been closely associated with the Belgian jazz scene and he is director of the Dutch Jazz Orchestra and he has directed The Den Haag Conservatory big band for a number of years.

Always unique and uncompromising, John Abercrombie gained a good deal of his popularity from his solo playing. Not the virtuoso of his primary influences – Django Reinhardt, Tal Farlow and Jim Hall – Abercrombie is much more the introvert. He often bypasses traditional techniques to pursue experimental sounds and rhythms. Along with Ralph Towner, whom he has recorded with before (see Sargasso Sea), Abercrombie makes excellent use of space within both his compositions and solos. Upon the first listen there may not appear to be very much here; however, this music needs to be absorbed over several listens to appreciate Abercrombie's brilliance.

In the '80s, Windham Hill Records had a reputation for being a new age label. Windham Hill was the home of major new age artists like Liz Story and George Winston; arguably, the company was to new age what Fania was to salsa, Blue Note was to jazz, and Def Jam was to rap; in other words, it wasn't the only player but was definitely a major player. However, not every instrumentalist who recorded for Windham Hill in the '80s provided new age. Post-bop/fusion keyboardist Billy Childs was never new age, and electric bassist Michael Manring was equally jazz-oriented. Unusual Weather, his first Windham Hill release, isn't straight-ahead bop – Manring isn't pretending to be Ray Brown or Paul Chambers. It is, however, a fusion/pop-jazz effort that often underscores Manring's appreciation of the late Jaco Pastorius.

The old Rit is back! His smiling, swaggering guitar-playing alter ego has resurfaced, and he's invited all his friends over for a tumultuous jam, including George Duke, Marcus Miller, and Peter Erskine. Red-hot organist Joey DeFrancesco brings the Wes Montgomery out of Ritenour on the corner of "78th & 3rd," and a killer overhaul of Dave Grusin's movie theme "Three Days of the Condor," re-titled "Condor," is a reminder that Rit was kicking the smooth jazz before they had a name for it.

George Benson - San Francisco, 1972 (1996) {Giants Of Jazz CD 53284}
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© 1972, 1996 Giants Of Jazz | CD 53284 | Immortal Concerts Series
Jazz / Fusion / Contemporary Jazz / Crossover Jazz / Guitar

From a vintage year in music. Things are cooking on this recording with Benson, George Duvivier, Mickey Tucker and Al Harewood. I'm not an expert on Benson, but these guys are fairly shedding it up on this live material. Not just the casual swing I'm used to with Benson's jazz guitar, this is a good selection of tunes from a time when there WAS no time limit on songs. People went with and where the inspiration took. Only 2 of the 7 songs are under 10 minutes and Love for Sale is 14 minutes long. I think you will find this a fairly inspired recording. Nice drum solo on Oleo with an excited crowd laughing and cheering him on. Exciting piano work too. Sound quality seems to vary a little between numbers.

A rare, unreleased verson of The Tony Williams Lifetime album, Turn It Over. Expanded, remixed, and remastered by Bill Laswell from the original Polydor master tapes. This unabridged version of the complete album includes 4 unreleased cuts, and 5 longer unedited versions from album sessions - which was intended as a double LP but only released as an editied single LP. Cover art by Russell Mills, liner notes by John Szwed. Thanks to Bill Laswell for rescuing, and finally giving a proper mastering to match William's original intentions, to this most seminal, groundbreaking recording, mixing jazz, rock, prog and metal years ahead of virtually everyone else!

A masterpiece from Gene Harris an album that’s probably been his biggest influence on the sound of soul in the 21st Century, and for good reason too! The set moves way beyond both Harris’ acoustic piano roots in the Three Sounds, and his other electric sides of the 70s into sublime spacey territory that’s wrapped up in soul – as much a pinnacle of his musical vision as early 70s records were for Herbie Hancock or George Duke! The vibe here is a bit between the looser styles of Duke’s MPS recordings, and the tighter grooves of the Mizell generation and arrangements are by Harris, Harvey Mason, and Jerry Peters, the latter of whom really adds some great elements to the record.

Jeff Parker's second session as a leader, The Relatives, surprises by taking easygoing mainstream flavors and, stirring with spice, manages to honor the forms while tweaking them. Parker's regular rhythm section, Chris Lopes on bass and NY-Chicago drum machine Chad Taylor on percussion, keep the momentum crisp. Parker's earnest and deliberate delivery plays off space, often adding the right pinch of Grant Green.

Following on from Michal Martyniuk’s 2018 debut release "Nothing To Prove", Michal has assembled a similar group of musicians to present "Resonate". With a blend of brand new works recorded in Poland plus unreleased tracks featuring his New Zealand based band, "Resonate" shows the width and breadth of this young pianist and composer’s writing abilities. "Resonate" is yet another showcase of Martyniuk’s maturity both as a composer and pianist, framed beautifully by a team of musicians who understand his approach and concept.

The Falcon and the Snowman is an album of original music for the soundtrack of the Orion Pictures film of the same title, composed and co-produced by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays. The music is performed by the Pat Metheny Group with occasional orchestrations for strings. The exceptions are a male chorus featuring a young alto which bookends the album and "This Is Not America," a collaboration with David Bowie, credited as producer and co-composer, who performs lyrics for an arrangement of the theme heard in the track "Chris."