Intermittently on the road as an acoustic duo between gaps in the schedules of their respective ultra-hip fusion bands, Larry Coryell and Steve Khan managed to record several shows and then panned the tape stream to find the nuggets for posterity. There are choices that might have been made out of the fashions of the day, such as the version of Chick Corea's "Spain" that opens the album's first side. Thankfully there are also selections that are here because both guitarists must have realized they were playing magnificently.

John Abercrombie Quartet: Up and Coming Starting the new year with, if not precisely a bang, a nevertheless unforgettable record whose strength lies in pristine lyricism, nuanced group interplay and writing that capitalizes on the entire quartet's appreciation of subtlety over gymnastics and refined lyricism over angularity, John Abercrombie's Up and Coming—ECM's first release of the year—is also founded strongly on the concept of relationship.

John Abercrombie's 1989 release UPON A TIME is, as the subtitle points out, an album of duets, mostly with bassist Mel Graves and drummer George Marsh. While bass and drum solos are often the punchlines of musical jokes, Graves and Marsh are skilled players with enough good taste to keep the flashiness to an interesting minimum. As for guitarist Abercrombie, his playing is typically brilliant, whether picking out the traditional melody of "My Scottish Heart" or moving into a more impressionistic sonic arena in tracks like "In the Woods" or "Chuck Man Rivers." Earthier and more expressly jazz-based than many releases on the ECM-affiliated New Albion label, UPON A TIME is a satisfying, richly rewarding album.

Animato is not so much John Abercrombie's date simply because his name is listed first alphabetically. It is much more the music of Vince Mendoza, who composed six of the eight selections, and whose work on synthesizer is the dominant voice on this set of ethereal progressive instrumental music. Drummer Jon Christensen takes no backseat in urging the music forward with a subtle presence that represents a distinct primal and tribal jazz element. What electric guitarist Abercrombie does is link with Mendoza, merging his own synthesized blends of earth, sky and space to create beautiful textures and soundscapes in tandem with Mendoza's conceptual arrangements and expanded color palates.

Remastered by Mike Milchner at SonicVision. Larry Coryell is one of the greatest guitarists ever to walk the face of the earth, but he remains somewhat underappreciated—witness the fact that this, his second solo album, has never been released on CD until this Real Gone reissue! 1969’s Coryell offers an intriguing blend of improvised and arranged pieces, with an all-star cast that includes Ron Carter, Bernard Purdie, Albert Stinson (“The Jam with Albert” is perhaps the highlight of the entire album), Chuck Rainey, and Free Spirits bandmate Jim Pepper. Jimi Hendrix is definitely an influence on this jazz-rock gem, but Coryell takes his axe in directions only known to him; at this time, only John McLaughlin (with whom Coryell would shortly cut the one-off Spaces) could rival him in the fusion field.

This debut album from Gottlieb is one of the great hidden gems of jazz fusion. It is intricate and funky, bright and colorful all at the same time. All the instrumenalists are virtuosos, and if you happen to be a drummer, you'll be in awe of the mastery of Danny Gottlieb, who hails from the early incarnation of the Pat Metheny Group and Mahavishnu.

Larry Coryells Last Swing With Ireland contains guitarist Larry Coryell’s final studio outing recorded in Dublin during May 2016. Coryell was in town working at The Sugar Club with his hand-picked local rhythm section of Dave Redmond (bass) and Kevin Brady (drums). Incidentally, Angel Air promise a release of a live performance at the club by the trio sometime later this year.

Traffic continues the CBW tradition of blending virtuosic original compositions with immaculately conceived interpretations of jazz and classic rock standards. Original songs on Traffic include go-for-the-throat throwdowns like “Judith Loves Jazz,” “Door #3” and “Overruled,” while covers of Thelonious Monk’s “Misterioso” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Manic Depression” are also featured.

A plaintive, leisurely journey from Collin Walcott, North American pioneer in the art of the jazz sitar and ECM visionary whose life ended all too soon at the age 39. To anyone put off by this summary, I cannot stress enough the soulfulness of his playing. Walcott, who studied with the inimitable Ravi Shankar, does not treat his instrument as a mere substitute. Rather, he awakens the sitar to a whole new method of understanding, constructing a viable world around it rather than simply tossing it into the mix as a gimmick or afterthought.

Trumpeter Kenny Wheeler and his sidemen on this quintet CD (guitarist John Abercrombie, pianist John Taylor, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Peter Erskine) had all worked together previously in different settings. Their familiarity with each other's playing came in handy for the frequently intuitive session which consists of explorations of six of Wheeler's complex but often-melodic originals (including "The Widow in the Window," "Hotel Le Hot" and the lengthy "Ana"). Kenny Wheeler's music occupies its own unique area between post bop and free jazz and virtually all of his recordings are recommended to adventurous listeners, including this one.

As part of ECM'0bs Old & New Masters series of box sets, John Abercrombie's The First Quartet collects three albums recorded for the label between 1978 and 1980. Two titles, 1979's Abercrombie Quartet and 1981's M, have been unavailable for decades. By the guitarist's own admission, this band represents the guitarist's first time as a "proper" bandleader. His earlier dates on ECM had been co-led sessions (Timeless, Gateway, Sargasso Sea), a solo album (Characters), and sideman gigs (Jack DeJohnette's New Directions, David Liebman's Lookout Farm, etc.). These three dates also represent an important foundation for Abercrombie as a composer.

Recorded live at The Manhattan Center in New York on October 17, 1998 and produced by Rob Walls & Paul Siegel for Hudson Music, Ltd., under exclusive license to Stretch Records, Inc., this innovative quartet comes together with a wallop. Each of the foursome is an experienced leader, and each artist meets the criteria of Chick Corea’s Stretch label. The session is adventuresome, modern, and of high quality.

Larry Coryell will always be best known for arguably being the first fusion guitarist, but his career has been quite wide-ranging ever since the late '60s. On Shining Hour , he mostly sticks to jazz standards other than his own "Floyd Gets a Gig" and Brian Torff's "Apathy Rains." Several of the selections are identified with Miles Davis including "Nefertiti" and "The Sorcerer" but there are also hard swinging versions of "All the Things You Are" and "My Shining Hour." Coryell, whose playing works well in this (for him) rare setting although he is not really a boppish improviser, interacts with pianist Kenny Barron (who sometimes takes solo honors), bassist Buster Williams and drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith.