Second Time Around: Thelonious Monk - "Criss-Cross"
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Thelonious Monk's second album for Columbia is full of joyous playing and an ever-growing connection between the jazz master and his new quartet.
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Country Blues: Mose Allison - "Creek Bank"
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An early Prestige LP from Mose Allison's long career has a couple of his best-known vocal tracks as well as some stellar instrumentals that show off his vast skills as a modern jazz pianist.
Read MoreDynamic Duo: Cannonball Adderley & John Coltrane - "Cannonball & Coltrane"
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A re-release of an LP from 1959, Cannonball & Coltrane finds the two legendary players teaming up at a time when they were both part of the Miles Davis Sextet. The result is an exciting and historical example of late '50s hard bop at it's very best.
Read MoreDon't Look Back: The Modern Jazz Quartet - "Lonely Woman"
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Lonely Woman is the last of a string of classic studio records from The Modern Jazz Quartet, a record that shows off the group's talents as both composers and outstanding musical talents.
Read MoreKeepin' It Real: Thelonious Monk - "Monk's Dream"
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Thelonious Monk shows off his new quartet (featuring the great Charlie Rouse) on his Columbia Records debut, an album that left little doubt that the legendary talent still had much to offer the jazz world as it moved into the 1960s.
Read MoreBrazilian Excursion: Wayne Shorter - "Native Dancer"
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Wayne Shorter teams up with legendary Brazilian vocalist Milton Nascimento to create an alluring album that blends the sounds of jazz with the musical stylings of Nascimento's native Brazil.
Read MoreSecond Time Around: Randy Weston - "African Cookbook"
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African Cookbook is the 1973 commercial release of an album Randy Weston recorded in 1964 that he originally had to release on his own due to a lack of interest from any record labels. It's an excellent advanced hard bop LP that shows off the full range of Weston's musicianship, compositional skills, and talent as a bandleader.
Read MoreBobby Hutcherson 1941-2016
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The jazz world lost one of the last living legends from the golden age of jazz when Bobby Hutcherson left us at the age of 75. Here are four live performances that I've been going back to this past week as a reminder of what a giant talent Hutcherson was as both a composer and a performer.
Read MoreThe Swing And The Cool: "Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster"
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The cool jazz maestro Gerry Mulligan and the legendary tenor Ben Webster team up for an album that ranks as a highlight of both of their long and distinguished discographies.
Read MoreSnap Crackle: Roy Haynes Quartet - "Out Of The Afternoon"
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Roy Haynes steps out of his usual role as a master sideman to lead an exciting and adventurous session that features the outsized talents of Roland Kirk. It's an under-appreciated gem of a record from jazz's golden age that also showcases the playing of Tommy Flanagan and Henry Grimes.
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