Snap Crackle: Roy Haynes Quartet - "Out Of The Afternoon"

Snap Crackle: Roy Haynes Quartet - "Out Of The Afternoon"

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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Space Bop: Elvin Jones - "Genesis"

Space Bop: Elvin Jones - "Genesis"

Genesis is a fantastic piece of spacey post bop jazz featuring a fiery piano-less quintet with a talented three horn frontline. The music is a gorgeous mix of the soulfulness of hard bop with the freer styles of the avant-garde, and Jones anchors the whole affair with the type of inventive playing on the skins that has made him a legend. 

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Feel The Spirit: McCoy Tyner - "Enlightenment"

Feel The Spirit: McCoy Tyner - "Enlightenment"

By the time Enlightenment was released in 1973, McCoy Tyner had already been all over the jazz scene in the 1960s, before making the move to Milestone records 1972. With Milestone he would release a string of outstanding records, the earliest of which (including Enlightenment) would play an important part in cementing his status as one of the giants of jazz piano.

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Old Songs Made New: Charles Mingus - "Pre-Bird"

Old Songs Made New: Charles Mingus - "Pre-Bird"

For many years I figured Pre-Bird was a compilation of early recordings by Mingus, made in the years before he hit the big time on his own. Man, was I ever wrong on that one. The wonderful music on the album was recorded in 1960 and is every bit as fantastic as one would expect from Mingus during this period of his illustrious career.

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Wayne's Brains: Wayne Shorter - "Schizophrenia"

Wayne's Brains: Wayne Shorter - "Schizophrenia"

During his time with Miles, Shorter recorded a series of albums for Blue Note that were all outstanding and some are even considered stone-cold classics (Speak No EvilJuJuAdam's Apple). Towards the end of this run of recordings came Schizophrenia in 1967, a fantastic record that shows off the "two" sides of Shorter - his straight ahead compositions, along with those that moved more into the free jazz and post bop realms. 

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A Spiritual Journey: Pharoah Sanders - "Summun Bukmun Umyun (Deaf Dumb Blind)"

A Spiritual Journey: Pharoah Sanders - "Summun Bukmun Umyun (Deaf Dumb Blind)"

In 1969 Sanders released Karma, a highly accesible album that brought him widespread praise and commercial success. This was in no small part helped along by the presence of vocalist Leon Thomas, who certainly helped the recording find an audience with the hippie culture of the late 1960's who were accustomed to lyrical content in their music. Summun Bukmun Umyun (Deaf Dumb Blind) was not nearly as accessible to non-jazz fans - even many jazz fans must have been puzzled by it - and as such it is not nearly as well known.

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Freddie Hubbard - "A Little Night Music"

Freddie Hubbard - "A Little Night Music"

A Little Night Music was recorded live in 1981 at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco, although it wouldn't see an official release until nearly two years later in 1983. The recording date is significant, as it follows a period of lackluster attempts at commercial recordings by Hubbard for Columbia, none of which can possibly be looked upon as highlights of his long and distinguised discography. Night Music marks a return to "genuine" jazz music for him, and the joy of reuniting with a couple of his former Blue Note cohorts in front of an appreciative audience is clear in his strong playing.

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