Recorded in 1972, a decade removed from the last of Horace Silver's classic quintet recordings, In Pursuit of the 27th Man has never been regarded as one of the pianist's prime releases, which likely explains why Blue Note took this long to make it available on CD. But the album, which moves gracefully between quartet performances featuring vibraphonist David Friedman and quintet numbers featuring the young Brecker brothers (Randy on trumpet and Michael on tenor saxophone), has its distinctive charms. While maintaining the crispness and sense of adventure with which he has always signed his music, Silver and bands ease through some of his most appealing melodies. Songs such as Weldon Irvine's "Liberated Brother" have the early '70s written all over them, but even in those cases their light-handed lyricism and boppish vitality keep them fresh. Friedman's idiosyncratic sound adds a sense of mystery to the music, which, with Bob Cranshaw on electric bass and Mickey Roker on drums, never lacks for a solid and soulful center.

Covering prime early recordings from 1956-1960 and one mid-'80s cut, Blue Note's The Best of Jimmy Smith offers up a fine introduction to the trailblazing jazz organist. Smith's Blue Note sessions not only introduced the world to the complex solo possibilities of the Hammond B3 organ, but simultaneously ushered in the soul-jazz era of the '60s, spawning a wealth of fine imitators in the process. Before delving into more commercial terrain on Verve in the late '60s, Smith cut a ton of jam-session dates for Blue Note, often with the help of hard bop luminaries like trumpeter Lee Morgan, alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson, tenor saxophonists Tina Brooks and Stanley Turrentine, and drummers Art Blakey and Donald Bailey. All are heard here on classic cuts like "The Sermon," "Back at the Chicken Shack," and "The Jumpin' Blues," with Smith regular Turrentine and a young Morgan availing themselves in especially fine form. For his part, Smith eats up the scenery on all the sides here, taking his solo to particularly impressive heights on a fleetly swinging rendition of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home".

What you see is what you get, an excellent little compilation of the various faces of soul-jazz as presented by the Verve label with their amazing array of artists from Hugh Masekela to Willie Bobo and Herbie Mann on the one hand, and Dizzy Gillespie, Jon Hendricks (in an outstanding reading of Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man") the Heath Brothers, and Teddy Edwards on the other. The track list is wonderfully varied, too: there's a smoking version of Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island" by Masekela, a pair by Jimmy Smith, and a big band – a new entry by the acid jazz group the James Taylor Quartet, but they get it deep; and Wynton Kelly goes deep into soul and blues with "Escapade." Anyway you cut it, it comes out great.

Soul Jazz Records’ new album ‘Kaleidoscope – New Spirits Known and Unknown’ brings together many of the ground-breaking artists involved in the new jazz scene that has developed in the UK over the last few years. Featured artists include Matthew Halsall, Yazmin Lacey, Ill Considered, Tenderlonious, Theon Cross, Emma-Jean Thackray and many, many more in this ground-breaking release.

Lured out of retirement by bassist Ray Brown after taking extensive time off from the road, pianist Gene Harris recorded extensively from the mid-'80s until shortly before his untimely death in early 2000. This is the second Resonance CD to come from a 1996 engagement at London's Pizza Express, features the pianist with a group of European musicians (Scottish guitarist Jim Mullen plus two Englishmen, bassist Andrew Clyendert and drummer Martin Drew, the latter of whom worked extensively with Oscar Peterson). While they had not played together prior to this engagement, they are very much on the same wavelength. "Sweet Georgia Brown" opens softly, with Mullen showing a funky touch, but as the piece develops Harris takes hold with his driving soulful technique…

“This album will be part of the everlasting impact the Tribe collective had on our culture, on our hope and possibilities.” Herb Boyd. Strut and Art Yard present the first compilation bringing together the modern era recordings of Tribe, Detroit’s acclaimed independent jazz collective.

A new work joins the impressive discography of one of Germany's most distinguished jazz musicians. Together with Italian organist Renato Chicco and first-call drummer Jorge Rossy, Johannes Enders presents his trio MicroOrganisms, whose latest live LP was recorded in Graz in 2022 and released on his own label 'Ammerton'. Powerful, dynamic, lyrical and upbeat, the best jazz through and through in organ trio format!

Perhaps no other instrument in jazz boasts such a classic and beloved status as the Hammond B3 organ. On stage it sits like a majestic relic from jazz's distant past, a slightly odd Rube Goldberg machine whose spinning speakers produce a saturated, unmistakable sound imbuing every performance with it's own recognizable style. That style has set deep roots in American music including, of course, jazz and blues, but it has also provided undeniable contributions to pop, funk and soul. So it should really be no surprise that organist Pat Bianchi would choose a program of Stevie Wonder's music for his second Savant Records release.

Broadening his musical palette, Grant Green detoured into a number of "theme" sessions in 1962 - the light Latin jazz of The Latin Bit; the country & western standards of Goin' West; and the best of the bunch, the old-time gospel album Feelin' the Spirit. For Feelin' the Spirit, Green takes five traditional, public-domain African-American spirituals (plus the CD bonus track "Deep River") and gives them convincing jazz treatments in a quartet-plus-tambourine setting. Green's light touch and clear tone match very well with the reverent material, and pianist Herbie Hancock is tremendous in support, serving the needs of the music and nailing the bright gospel style perfectly. Similarly, Green's playing never gets too complicated or loses sight of the melodies, yet he never runs short of ideas - which goes to show that Feelin' the Spirit is indeed a labor of love…

One of the great alto saxophonists, Cannonball Adderley had an exuberant and happy sound that communicated immediately to listeners. His intelligent presentation of his music (often explaining what he and his musicians were going to play) helped make him one of the most popular of all jazzmen.

Released in 1999 for Fantasy's Legends of Acid Jazz series, this CD unites two of Houston Person's classic Prestige sessions, 1968's Soul Dance and 1970s Truth!, on a single 78-minute CD. Soul Dance is heard in its entirety, but because the CD didn't have enough room to hold everything from Truth!, the track "If I Ruled the World" ended up being sacrificed. The personnel on the sessions differs - while Soul Dance employed organist Billy Gardner, guitarist Boogaloo Joe Jones, and drummer Frankie Jones, Truth! united Person with Frankie Jones, guitarist Billy Butler, electric bassist Bob Bushnell, and percussionist Buddy Caldwell. But the albums are fairly similar in their outlook. Both of them are quite accessible, and both emphasize Person's strong points: funky boogaloos, gritty blues, standards, and sentimental ballads…

This languid, seductive gem may well be Grant Green's greatest moment on record. Right from the opening bars of the classic title cut, Idle Moments is immediately ingratiating and accessible, featuring some of Green's most stylish straight jazz playing. Whether he's running warm (pianist Duke Pearson's "Idle Moments"), cool (the Modern Jazz Quartet's "Django"), or a bit more up-tempo (Pearson's "Nomad," his own "Jean de Fleur"), Green treats the material with the graceful elegance that was the hallmark of his best hard bop sessions, and that quality achieves its fullest expression here. He's helped by an ensemble that, as a sextet, is slightly larger and fuller-sounding than usual, and there's plenty of room for solo explorations on the four extended pieces…

Jazz bagpipes? The one master is Rufus Harley, who does about all that can be done with that unpromising instrument. After all, once one blows a note, the sound is sustained until the air empties out. This well-conceived sampler draws its music from Harley's Atlantic albums (Scotch & Soul, Bagpipe Blues, and Deuces Wild), plus his guest spot on a Herbie Mann album. Harley, who also is heard playing a bit of soprano, tenor, and flute, performs such numbers as "Feeling Good" and "Pipin' the Blues," the latter teaming him with altoist Sonny Stitt. This sampler is worth exploring.

Everybody has literal and figurative homes. There are the physical places where heads are laid at night and then there are the feelings, people, activities, or spaces that provide a feeling of the comfort of home. Gregory Lewis has found a musical home delving into the Hammond organ and the music of the great composer/pianist Thelonious Monk, a practice that has allowed him opportunities to play with extraordinary musicians and visit amazing places, and his new recording Organ Monk Going Home brings all of these aspects to bear.