Larry Coryell, along with colleague John McLaughlin, nearly single-handedly redefined the technique and sound of jazz guitar. A true eclectic, armed with a brilliant technique, Larry is comfortable in nearly every style, covering almost every base from the most decibel-heavy, distortion-laden electric work to the most delicate, soothing, intricate lines on acoustic guitar. On this best-of anthology, Coryell's crackling up-tempo bursts and rough-hewn energy give this music a vividness and infectious enthusiasm that should appeal to a wide spectrum of the guitarist's jazz and fusion fans.

After a long absence from recording Andy Bey returned to the studio for his HighNote debut in 2013 and the result, The World According to Andy Bey won a prestigious Academie Charles Cros Coups de Coeur Jazz Award and was a Grammy finalist. Insiders have always known about Andy Bey. Given his limited output of studio recordings, live performances were the source of Bey's reputation. Aretha Franklin has recalled the nights when Andy worked the Village in New York: Soon as I finished my gig I'd run over to hear him. Andy never got the recognition he deserved.

In 1968, at a Washington D.C. gig, Etta Jones teamed up with tenor saxophonist, Houston Person and his trio and decided to from a partnership that lasted over 30 years. Together they set a new gold standard by which all subsequent instrumental / vocal duos were judged. Etta received a Grammy nomination in 1980 and again in 2001 for ETTA JONES SINGS LADY DAY. Etta left US that year but through her HighNote legacy, her voice, talent and joie de vivre live on. This notable live recording finds her together with Houston and his organ trio in concert at NY's one-time jazz Mecca, Salt Peanuts. It contains a cache of previously unavailable treasures - vocals of course, but their is a liberal sprinkling of instrumentals by Houston and the organ trio as well. No one in the legion of Houston & Etta fans will want to miss this fine disc.

It has been quite a journey for Tom Harrell after commencing his professional career playing trumpet in Stan Kenton's band in 1969. He recorded his first album as a leader in 1976 and currently has 30 albums under his belt including "Moving Picture." It has been written that Tom has participated in 260 recordings but they may include arranging as well which is another (sometimes overlooked) facet of his prodigious talent. Since signing with HighNote Records in 2007 Tom has been working primarily with a quintet but kept things fresh with a quartet recording,"Trip," a two-bass sextet on "Colors Of A Dream" and the critically acclaimed "First Impresssions" which featured a nearly classical chamber ensemble playing the music of Debussy and Ravel. With "Moving Picture" Tom leads a quartet where he is the only horn, giving his legions of fans the pleasure of hearing more of his solo work backed by this venerable jazz format.

Few people would fit the ‘jazz hero’ mold less than Tom Harrell, whose modesty and lack of pretense is in direct inverse proportion to his talent. And yet, Harrell is revered, not for playing fast, high or loudly, but for his supremacy at fashioning astonishingly beautiful aural shapes with a tone of immense gentleness and depth. Many listeners may be familiar with his compositions, while many will have remembered his fine work in the 70's alongside Bob Berg in Horace Silver's band, and a decade later with Phil Woods. His essence, however, is most apparent in the small groups that he leads. Harrell is featured here with saxophonist Mark Turner in his ‘experimental’ quartet, called simply TRIP.

Don Braden may be best known for his work with television funnyman Bill Cosby, but his musical talents go far beyond this arena. Having replaced Branford Marsalis in Wynton's combo and having appeared with Betty Carter, Roy Haynes, Dr Lonnie Smith, Art Farmer, Freddie Hubbard, Tony Williams and the Mingus Big Band it is clear that his abilities on the tenor sax are formidable. Braden is smooth and has killer chops, George Colligan plays supportive piano, and Cecil Brooks III has a propulsive style on drums which nicely compliments Joris Teepe's big robust bass sound. But the hero of the date is Braden himself. Whether lingering effortlessly on ballads or burning down the town, Braden's playing is a model of tasteful energy and disciplined brilliance.

Jazz artists from Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Ahmad Jamal, Miles, even Coltrane all relied on Tin Pan Alley, Broadway and the then current pop tunes as a basis for much of their most enduring recordings. To hear such respected jazz artists as those presented here re-casting songs written by the Fab Four, is evidence, if any is needed, that as popular composers, Lennon, McCartney and Harrison can probably be considered as leading voices in the New Pop Standard repertoire.

Legendary jazz writer Nat Hentoff wrote in a lengthy article about Jeremy Pelt in the Wall Street Journal, "It is the beat of Jeremy Pelt's heart... that underscores the future of jazz." High praise indeed but Pelt lives up to it on every gig and with every new recording. FACE FORWARD, JEREMY is a multi-textured, thought provoking release which incorporates a sparing use of electronica along with unexpected acoustic instruments such as the cello and harp. The result is a wildly imaginative sonic landscape that exists in it's own time and space as defined by the artist and the leader himself.

Pianist Larry Willis has had an important and distinguished 40 year career in jazz. Since making his recording debut of Jackie McLean's landmark 1965 album RIGHT NOW!, the New York-born Willis has played everything from free jazz to fusion to rock (he was a member of Blood, Sweat and Tears in the 70's), while performing as a valued sideman with such jazz titans as Dizzy Gillespie, Lee Morgan, Cannonball Adderley, Art Blakey and Woody Shaw. That versatility is highlighted on Larry's latest HighNote recording which finds him once again in the company of bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Billy Drummond. Also in attendance that day in the Rudy Van Gelder studio was, Eric Alexander, one of the busiest tenor men in jazz, lending his talents to the proceedings. Willis leads the group through a series of standards, originals, jazz classics and offers a new, jazz take on Gene Roddenberry's "Theme from Star Trek".

After decades in the music business, it's clear that David "Fathead" Newman has become one of the premier tenor players in a number of genres ranging from soul, funk, straight-ahead and post-bop jazz. His latest recordings for HighNote displays his formidable triple-threat skills on tenor sax, alto sax and flute. Newman's sultry tenor speaks volumes with his smooth and subtle phrasing, blowing masterfully with excellent accompaniment from keyboard great Cedar Walton and the legendary trombonist Curtis Fuller who gives the ensemble sound a pleasing new depth. Newman's playing remains at once forceful and delicate, noon-day bright and crepuscular, straight-forward and recondite and shows the many facets of both the man and the musician.

Writing about Mary Stallings the New York Times declared that perhaps the best jazz singer singing today is a woman almost everybody seems to have missed. Bay Area jazz lovers chuckled ruefully over yet another blast of East Coast parochialism, long recognizing Ms. Stallings as a singular jazz treasure. For her latest High Note outing, here is Mary Stallings, enjoying her recording resurgence, singing with such confidence, poise and authority that every tune feels like a custom-tailored garment expertly made for her fine-grained tone, relaxed phrasing and supple sense of swing.

Heralded for years as one of the rising stars in jazz, Jeremy Pelt has earned accolades for his staggering virtuosity, which has elicited comparisons to trumpet icons like Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard, as well as for his studious, cerebral approach to the music. While he's clearly the man in charge here, Soul is very much a band-focused release, with all five members of the group heard distinctively and insistently throughout.

Jeremy Pelt stands as a strikingly unique musician, his work consistently sleek and polished yet bristling with the spirit of invention flourishing in a lean, modernist language influenced by classic bebop phraseology. He delivers his lines with authority and economy, the pinpoint accuracy of his tone well-suited to the heightened elegance of his delivery. With pianist Simona Premazzi laying down the changes and Ben Allison's bass lines, Jeremy is joined by the twin drums of Billy Drummond and Victor Lewis for a session of originals, standards and music by Wayne Shorter and Clifford Jordan.

NEA Jazz Master Cedar Walton has enjoyed an up-tempo career, which never seems to slow down. As a composer, Cedar is one of the finest in jazz whose works have been widely recorded with many now being recognized as jazz standards. For his latest HighNote recording, Walton returns to his favored quintet format with poll-winning trombonist Steve Turre adding his luxurious, velvet tone to Vincent Herring's saxophone sound.

Cedar Walton has been a steady contributor to the language of modern jazz for more than fifty years and he hasn't lost a step when it comes to delivering a rewarding listening experience. With saxophonist Vincent Herring, Buster Williams on bass and Willie Jones III on drums Cedar offers a program of standards, jazz tunes and also revisits a few of his own originals from his most fertile compositional period, all recorded at the famed Rudy Van Gelder Recording Studio.

For it's 10th anniversary release, the Black Art Jazz Collective (BAJC), hailed by DownBeat Magazine as "a powerhouse of contemporary jazz talent," offers ten exciting and unique works that speak to both artistic freedom and musical sensibility relative to the tenor of our times. The band features an all-star line-up, including founding members Wayne Escoffery, Jeremy Pelt, James Burton III, Xavier Davis and Johnathan Blake who are joined by current members Victor Gould, Rashaan Carter and Mark Whitfield Jr. Wayne Escoffery tells us, "I formed Black Art Jazz Collective as an ensemble of African American musicians, celebrating Black culture and the origins of the music through original compositions with unapologetic pride."

Any attempt to explain or describe Thelonious Monk's music would be useless. His genius lay in his ability to transcend categorization and create a new musical landscape with each composition. Here are eleven artists exploring Monk's sound-world and commenting on, reinventing and even enhancing the composer's works via their own creativity. With performances by Frank Morgan, Larry Coryell, Houston Person, Arthur Blythe, Larry Willis and others this is one Monk anthology you will return to over and over.