Al Casey, who will always be best known as Fats Waller's guitarist, makes one of his few appearances as a bandleader on the CD reissue of his Swingville album. Casey, in a quintet with Rudy Powell (who doubles on alto and clarinet) and pianist Herman Foster, sticks to blues and standards, with several of the latter taken from Waller's songbook. The music consistently swings and it is a rare pleasure to hear Casey getting the opportunity to stretch out on acoustic guitar. Two previously unreleased numbers ("Gut Soul" and "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter") augment the original program.

This promising debut showcases the prodigious talents of Argentinean trumpet player Diego Urcola to excellent effect. With his warm, even-handed tone and precise attack, Urcola's sound is unique, and he brings a sophisticated, contemporary flair to his take on Latin jazz with Argentine roots. The album opens with a nod to Argentine musical genius Astor Piazzolla on the Urcola-penned "Blues for Astor." Juan Dargenton's mournful bandoneon channels Piazzolla's avant-garde tangos perfectly before Urcola leads the ensemble into a heavily swinging session of straightforward blowing.

Carla Bley - Appearing Nightly (2008) {WATT–ECM 1725516 rec 2006}
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© 2008 Watt Works / ECM Records | WATT/33 / 172 5516
Jazz / Modern Big Band / Progressive Jazz / Piano

As is made all but plain by the title, Appearing Nightly is a live outing recorded by Carla Bley's big band over two nights at New Morning in Paris in the summer of 2006. Of course we've heard Bley's large group in live settings many times over the years, but in this case it's been five years since we've heard them at all – at least on a recording. Her last outing with a large ensemble was in 2003 for the pre-election year political album Looking for America.

Avid Jazz presents four classic Buddy De Franco albums plus, including original LP liner notes on a finely re-mastered double CD.
“Buddy De Franco”; “The Artistry of Buddy De Franco”; “Mr. Clarinet”; “Pretty Moods” plus selections from “Jazz Tones”.
Reading the original liner notes from all our classic Buddy De Franco selections one strand of opinion stands out head and shoulders above all others. Since 1945 when he started his long run of Poll Winners victories in Metronome and Downbeat magazines, he had become the new kid on the block a.k.a. Mr Clarinet! All the notes refer to there being only two really fully recognisable giants of the jazz clarinet up to the emergence of Buddy De Franco…

Mose Allison - Mose Allison (1957) {2007 Prestige Remastered}
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© 1957, 2007 Prestige / Concord / Universal | 0888072240025
Jazz / Hard Bop / Jazz Blues / Vocal Jazz / Piano

Mose Allison can interpret a familiar blues song in such a way that it becomes an exciting, new song. I never get tired of him. This two-LP set has the complete contents of Mose Allison's first two albums: Back Country Suite and Local Color. The former session is dominated by the interesting ten-song "Back Country Suite" but is most memorable for Allison's brief vocals on "Young Man Blues" (here called "Blue Blues") and "One Room Country Shack."

Two of singer Chris Connor's finest Atlantic albums are reissued in full on this single CD. The laid-back yet coolly emotional jazz singer is heard backed by top-notch rhythm sections (with either Ralph Sharon or Stan Free being the pianist/arranger) and occasional horns (trumpeter Joe Wilder, flutist Sam Most, tenors Al Cohn and Lucky Thompson, flutist Bobby Jaspar and Al Epstein on English horn and bass clarinet) adding some short solos. Connor (then around 30) was in her prime, and her renditions of such songs as "Poor Little Rich Girl," "Lonely Town," "I'm Shooting High," "Moonlight in Vermont," and even "Johnny One Note" are memorable and sometimes haunting.

In the late '60s, many jazz artists were ignoring the rock and soul hits of the day – when called upon to interpret popular songs, they stuck to their favorite Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and Irving Berlin standards and didn't see Beatles or Marvin Gaye hits as vehicles for jazz improvisation. But there were some jazz artists who didn't feel that way; Grant Green, Herbie Mann, and Charles Earland – just to give three examples – saw no reason why rock and soul tunes couldn't receive instrumental jazz makeovers. And on 1969, Gazor Szabo puts a jazz spin on popular songs of the 1960s, including "Walk Away Renee" (a major hit for the Left Banke), the Beatles' "In My Life," and Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now".

Anthony Braxton & Jacqueline Kerrod - Duo (Bologna) 2018 (2020) {I dischi di angelica}
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© 2020 i dischi di angelica | IDA039
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Contemporary Classical / Improvised Music / Saxophone / Harp

Anthony Braxton, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and a true giant of creative music, in 50 years of career had never played in a duo with a harp; and that's exactly what happened at the AngelicA Festival in 2018. Expressing himself through a wide range of mediums, from solos to large orchestras to multimedia projects, and drawing inspiration from a wide range of influences, from John Coltrane to Karlheinz Stockhausen, Anthony Braxton has created a unique music system which celebrates the concept of global creativity and shared humanity. Harpist Jacqueline Kerrod, of South-African origins, has performed as part of prestigious classic-contemporary line-ups such as Modern Ensemble and Talea Ensemble.

Miles Davis - Live In Den Haag (1960) {Lone Hill Jazz ‎LHJ10206 rel 2005}
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© 1960, 2005 Lone Hill Jazz ‎| LHJ10206
Jazz / Hard Bop / Modal Music / Trumpet

Great live material from one of the most important pairings in modern jazz – recorded during the last months that John Coltrane was working with the Miles Davis Quintet! Recorded at the Kurhaus, Scheveningen, Den Haag, The Netherlands, April 9, 1960. Includes the complete concert plus rare radio and TV broadcasts by Miles & Coltrane from 1955 to 1959. Featuring John Coltrane, Wynton Kelly, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb & Philly Joe Jones. Includes booklet with comprehensive liner notes.

Catching the Sun is one among many similar-sounding but highly popular albums by premier fusion ensemble Spyro Gyra. The group's songs usually contained catchy melodies, prominent backbeats, and some room for improvisational expression, although it was limited and required quick bursts rather than expansive statements. They were and still are near the top in the light jazz and fusion field.

For this sextet/septet session, flugelhornist Clark Terry mostly drew his personnel from the big band that he occasionally fronted during the mid-'70s. Of special interest is getting a chance to hear tenor-saxophonist Ernie Wilkins (better-known as an arranger) stretching out as a soloist; Terry's other sidemen include pianist Ronnie Mathews, bassist Victor Sproeles, and drummer Ed Soph, with guest spots for pianist Walter Bishop and guitarist Roland Prince. The repertoire is particularly strong with classic ballads such as "Misty" and "Autumn Leaves," alternating with Terry's three colorful originals: "One Foot in the Gutter," "Zip Co-Ed" and "Globetrotter." This excellent LP is long overdue to be reissued on CD.

At 91 years old, Dave recorded peerless takes on best-known children's songs, beloved standards, and originals as a gift to his grandchildren and as his last studio recording. His playing, ingenuity and integrity, all hallmarks of great Brubeck recordings, are abundantly apparent on this album.