Luther Allison seemed to be on a roll when he died in 1998. He was back home after many years in Europe, and was winning awards and making a good living. This, his debut album, was cut in 1969 when he was 30 years old. He sang as if barely able to keep a lid on his emotion, and the elegance and precision of his guitar playing belied the fact that he had only been playing the instrument for a few years. If this debut can be faulted it's only in that it relies too heavily on overfamiliar standards like "Little Red Rooster," "Five Long Years," "Dust My Broom," "Sky Is Crying," and "Every Night About This Time." The CD reissue has been expanded with alternate takes and bonus cuts.

Great Britain’s BGO Records found a couple of nearly forgotten gems to compile in this grand two-fer from guitarist Joe Pass’ solo catalog. This set contains his amazing 12 String Guitar album (the first 12 tracks) issued in 1963, with bonus tracks from a 1964 session included. Pass played an acoustic 12-string, of course, and was accompanied by John Pisano on rhythm guitar, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Larry Bunker. Each cut is a beautiful modern jazz reading of popular movie themes of the day, from “Lawrence of Arabia” and “How the West Was Won” to the more delicate “Love Theme of Tom Jones” (not the singer) and the taut rhythmic intensity and ultimate beauty of “Carnaval” from the film Black Orpheus, offering listeners solid evidence of his bossa and samba chops. Every track here is a winner…

For the 1963 album Goin' Away, Lightnin' Hopkins was backed by a spare rhythm section – bassist Leonard Gaskin and drummer Herb Lovelle – who managed to follow his ramshackle, instinctual sense of rhythm quite dexterously, giving Hopkins' skeletal guitar playing some muscle. Still, the spotlight remains Hopkins, who is in fine form here. There are no real classics here, but everything is solid, particularly "Stranger Here" and "You Better Stop Her," making it worth investigation by serious fans of Hopkins' classic material.

Eric Kloss - Sky Shadows / In The Land Of The Giants (1968-69) {1999 Prestige Remaster}
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© 1999 Prestige / Fantasy | PRCD-24217-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

For this 1969 release, saxophonist Eric Kloss, exclusively on alto for the date, is joined by tenor veteran Booker Ervin, allowing the 20-year-old Kloss to demonstrate he can readily go toe to toe with the Texan's big, blustery sound, as well as work in a more impressionistic vein. The rhythm section of drummer Alan Dawson and bassist Richard Davis is effective, although Davis is not quite up to his customary brilliance.

First released in 1969, after guitarist Jimmy Dawkins had served a long apprenticeship as a sideman in the Chicago electric blues scene, Fast Fingers remains one of the finest pure electric blues albums of its era. Dawkins proves to be a solid songwriter and an able singer, although the best moments on the album invariably come when he tears off a casually perfect, deeply soulful, but never showy electric solo. Highlights include the stomping instrumental "Triple Trebles," featuring an outstanding Dawkins solo over a funky horn-driven rhythm, and the mellow, laid-back opener, "It Serves Me Right to Suffer."

Decades before Corey Harris, Guy Davis, and Keb' Mo' wed the Delta blues to various folk forms, there was Taj Mahal. Almost from the very beginning, Mahal provided audiences with connections to a plethora of blues styles. Further, he offered hard evidence connecting American blues to folk styles from other nations, particularly, but not limited to, those from the West Indies and various African countries, bridging gaps, highlighting similarities, and establishing links between many experiences of the African diaspora…

Karlheinz Stockhausen - Text-CD 20 - Brief ein Heinrich 1969, 2 Interviews 1970 (2008) {Stockhausen-Verlag}
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© 2008 Stockhausen-Verlag | Stockhausen Text-CD 20
Classical / Avant-Garde / Experimental / 20th Century / Spoken Word

Since January 2007 the Stockhausen-Verlag is releasing Text-CDs of a new series: lectures which Stockhausen has given since 1952. The edition is limited to 300 copies per release. He wrote and spoke these lectures in German. Most of them are supplemented with musical examples.

Bill Evans Trio - Waltz For Debby (1961) {OJC Remasters Complete Series rel 2010, item 12of33}
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© 1961, 2010 Riverside / Concord | 0888072323261
Jazz / Modal Music / Post Bop / Piano

An extension of the popular Original Jazz Classics series (est. 1982), the new OJC Remasters releases reveal the sonic benefits of 24-bit remastering-a technology that didn't exist when these titles were originally issued on compact disc. The addition of newly-written liner notes further enhances the illuminating quality of the OJC Remasters reissues. "Each of the recordings in this series is an all-time jazz classic," says Nick Phillips, Vice President of Jazz and Catalog A&R at Concord Music Group and producer of the series.

Barney Kessel - Kessel's Kit (1969) {2015 Japan Jazz Collection 1000 Columbia-RCA Series SICJ 100}
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© 1969, 2015 RCA / Sony Music Japan | SICJ 100
Jazz / Bop / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Soul Jazz / Groove / Guitar

Reissue with the latest remastering. Comes with liner notes. One of Barney Kessel's greatest albums ever – a rare Italian-only session that has a sparkly Brazilian groove! The record was recorded in Rome in 1970, and it's got Kessel's guitar fronting a combo with organ and some very tight percussion – all dancing around in a fast samba mode that's different from virtually anything else he ever recorded – very groovy, very upbeat, and very much what you might expect when the talents of a west coast guitar giant meets the best of the Italian studio scene of the time! There's loads of original tracks on the set – like "Freeway", "Lison", "BJ's Samba", and "On the Riviera" – and the whole thing has a breezy dancing feel that's really wonderful!

The Jazztet - At Birdhouse (1961) {Argo-Verve 2002 Mini LP 24-bit Remaster}
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© 1961, 2002 Argo / Verve | 589 762-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Trumpet / Saxophone

The Jazztet were only in existence for a brief time (1959-1962, not counting the later reunions), but with a flurry of recording activity they left a valuable legacy. By the time of they made their fourth album, co-leaders Art Farmer and Benny Golson were the only remaining original members, but the presence of underrated trombonist Tom McIntosh (who is appreciated more for his compositions than his playing ability, since he stopped performing in 1969), Cedar Walton, bassist Thomas Williams, and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath are a welcome presence. These live performances are from a 1961 engagement at the Birdhouse in Chicago.

First released in 1967, O Bidú is Jorge Ben's fifth full-length album. It is in many ways a typical album for Ben in the '60s, full of sweet, sincere, and mainly upbeat songs, with the music mixing samba with elements of bossa nova, swing, pop, and soul. Compared to many other works by Ben, the string and horn sections are used very sparsely. The tone of the album is set right from the start with the catchy opening track "Amor de Carnaval," one of the best songs Ben has ever written. "Frases," with its soft groove and neat lyrics, and "Toda Colorida" are two other highlights on this highly enjoyable album, whose only real flaw is its brief playing time (only just over 31 minutes).

Steve Lacy - School Days (1960-1963) {Emanem 5016 rel 2011}
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© 1960-63, 2011 Martin Davidson (Emanem) | 5016
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone

Seminal work from Steve Lacy – a set that was recorded in the early 60s, but not issued until the mid 70s – when it quickly became one of THE key records for understanding Lacy's sound and style! The set's based on the work of Thelonious Monk – and like Lacy's early Prestige album, Reflections, it features these wonderful angular extrapolations on Monk's modern ideals – really taken to the next level, and in a way that's even more far-reaching than Lacy's previous recordings of Monk. The group here is a key part of the album's strength – with Lacy on soprano sax, Roswell Rudd on trombone, Henry Grimes on bass, and Dennis Charles on drums – and titles include "Bye Ya", "Monk's Mood", "Brilliant Corners", and "Skippy".