Kirk Whalum, one of the greatest living saxophonists of our time, decorated with 7 Grammy nominations and world-wide acclaim, pays tribute to the amazing legacy of Kenny Edmonds, known to the world as the groundbreaking R&B artist, Babyface. The songbook includes many of the greatest modern R&B songs of the last decade, including #1 hits 'I'll Make Love to You', 'Exhale', 'Can We Talk', 'Breathe Again', and 'When Can I See You'. This event album is destined to be the breakout instrumental of 2005-2006. Rendezvous. 2005.

Vinyl LP pressing. In 1968, Don Cherry had already established himself as one of the leading voices of the avant-garde. Having pioneered free jazz as a member of Ornette Coleman's classic quartet, and with a high profile collaboration with John Coltrane under his belt, the globetrotting jazz trumpeter settled in Sweden with his partner Moki and her daughter Neneh. There, he assembled a group of Swedish musicians and led a series of weekly workshops at the ABF, or Workers' Educational Association, from February to April of 1968, with lessons on extended forms of improvisation including breathing, drones, Turkish rhythms, overtones, silence, natural voices, and Indian scales. That summer, saxophonist and recording engineer Goran Freese-who later recorded Don's classic Organic Music Society and Eternal Now LPs-invited Don, members of his two working bands, and a Turkish drummer to his summer house in Kummelnas, just outside of Stockholm, for a series of rehearsals and jam sessions that put the prior months' workshops into practice. Long relegated to the status of a mysterious footnote in Don's sessionography, tapes from this session, as well as one professionally mixed tape intended for release, were recently found in the vaults of the Swedish Jazz Archive, and the lost Summer House Sessions are finally available over fifty years after they were recorded.

Two-time Grammy nominee Johnathan Butler is one of the most unique tlaents in music. His guitar playing is distinctive and brilliant. His voice is rich and thrilling. His live performance are joyous and moving. Features guest stars Gerald Albright, Rick Braun, Dave Koz and blues artist Johnny Lang.

Formed in 1956 by Joe Sample (piano), Stix Hooper (drums), Wilton Felder (saxophone), and Wayne Henderson (trombone) - buddies from an early age out of Houston, Texas - The Jazz Crusaders had all been schooled in local centres of prayer. They first performed together at one of the city's Creole churches, where they began to define their sound. The blend of Jazz, Blues and Soul which the young quartet developed throughout this formative period remained their default style during their early career. Having tried a number of short-lived names such as The Swingsters and The Nite Hawks, the founding members relocated to Los Angeles. On arrival, they stayed with family and friends, often sharing one room between them with a couple of mattresses on the floor. After changing their name to The Jazz Crusaders in 1961 (a nod to jazz great Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers), the group signed with Pacific Jazz Records, a label with whom they would remain throughout the 1960s. Fronted by a two man horn section featuring trombone and tenor sax, the group's sound was by now rooted in hard bop, with a nod still to R&B and soul. As The Jazz Crusaders, they released over a dozen albums before re-christening themselves The Crusaders in 1971, under which moniker they released a string of further albums in the jazz-fusion style, popular during the 1970s. This four disc boxset brings together the first eight albums by the Jazz Crusaders; all recorded for Pacific Jazz Records during the first half of the 1960s. Still held in huge esteem by Jazz critics and enthusiasts alike, this 4 CD collection, featuring over 5 hours of superb jazz, serves as both an ideal introduction to the Jazz Crusaders music, and as a welcome reminder of the group's majesty, musicianship and style for those already well versed.

Vinyl LP pressing. In the late 1960s, the American trumpet player and free jazz pioneer Don Cherry (1936-1995) and the Swedish visual artist and designer Moki Cherry (1943-2009) began a collaboration that imagined an alternative space for creative music, most succinctly expressed in Moki's aphorism "the stage is home and home is a stage." By 1972, they had given name to a concept that united Don's music, Moki's art, and their family life in rural Tagarp, Sweden into one holistic entity: Organic Music Theatre. Captured here is the historic first Organic Music Theatre performance from the 1972 Festival de jazz de Chateauvallon in the South of France, mastered from tapes recorded during it's original live broadcast on public TV. A life-affirming, multicultural patchwork of borrowed tunes suffused with the hallowed aura of Don's extensive global travels, the performance documents the moment he publicly jettisoned his identity as a jazz musician, and represents the start of his communal "mystical" period, later crystallized in recordings such as Organic Music Society, Relativity Suite, Brown Rice, and the soundtrack for Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain.

No one watching this dazzling 1997 show at the Paramount Center in Peekskill, NY could have guessed that it's star would be gone two years later. You'll hear how much the soul-jazz pioneer liked to stretch out on stage as he plays Inner City Blues; Wine light; Soulful Strut; Mr. Magic; Let It Flow (For Dr. J); Inside Moves; Sassy Stew, and more. Previously unreleased!

2018 release. On Seymour Reads the Constitution!, Brad Mehldau Trio performs three Mehldau originals combined with interpretations of pop songs (Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson), jazz tunes (Elmo Hope, Sam Rivers), and one work from the American songbook (Frederick Loewe's "Almost Like Being in Love"). Brad Mehldau moved to New York City and first came to prominence as a member of current label mate Joshua Redman's quartet in the 1990s before becoming a bandleader himself. His trio, which tours the world extensively, made eight acclaimed recordings for Warner Bros. The pianist's time with Nonesuch has been equally productive.

Kenny Garrett may have made it onto your radar playing for Ellington and Davis, but he's since made a name on his own, leading a variety of lineups in his takeover of the "post-bop" subgenre of jazz. Listen to him on this 2002 cut, where he'll make you one of his happy people.

Personnel: Gil Scott-Heron (vocals, flute, piano, bells); Horace Ott, Johnny Pate (conductor); Brian Jackson (vocals, flute, acoustic & electric pianos, bells); David Barnes (vocals, percussion); Hubert Laws (saxophone, piccolo, flute); David Spinozza, Burt Jones (guitar); Ron Carter (acoustic & electric basses); Gerry Jemmott (bass); Bernard Purdie (drums); Eddie Knowles, Charlie Saunders (congas, percussion).
Producer: Bob Thiele.
Compilation producer: John Snyder.
Engineers include: Bob Simpson, Ray Hall.
Recorded between 1970 and 1972. Includes liner notes by Tom Terrell.
Digitally remastered by Tom MacCluskey (1997, BMG Studios, New York, New York).

2015 archive album, a collection of never before released and exclusive tracks recorded by band member and engineer Alan Gauvin at the peak of Buddy's career in the mid-' 70s with his band Killer Force. This album is a must have for long-time fans and new aspiring drummers looking to study the sheer talent and wow-factor that has made Buddy "the greatest drummer of all time" for decades.

2019 release. Joshua Redman Quartet's Come What May is the first album in almost two decades from this group of musicians - the saxophonist and his longtime friends and colleagues pianist Aaron Goldberg, bassist Reuben Rogers, and drummer Gregory Hutchinson - and features seven Redman tunes. "Mr. Redman's place is secure as one of the most effusive and engaging tenor saxophonists in straight-ahead jazz," says the New York Times, and the Quartet is "well attuned to his language of elastic tenacity."

Released in 1995, Sarala marked it's time by generating a genuine enthusiasm for Mandingo music, encouraging many Western musicians to go to Mali and explore this music at it's very source. Fruit of the reunion of Hank Jones (an African-American musician and one of the most gifted pianists of his generation) and Cheick-Tidiane Seck (a reputed arranger, band-leader, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Mali) the album is a symbiosis - one of the spirit and the heart - of two genres.

Venue: La Grande Halle, La Villette, Paris, France - Date: 10th July 1991. Miles was renowned for never revisiting the past, even though many fans, critics and concert promoters always hoped that he would. Then, in July 1991, Miles went back, Miles arrived at Paris to play this special gig. It was simply advertised as "Miles and Friends" and neither the audience nor Miles' band had any idea on what they were about to witness. Playing with Miles was an amazing roll-call of past musical associates from the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s: Chick Corea, Bill Evans, Al Foster, Steve Grossman, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Darryl Jones, John McLaughlin, Jackie McLean, John Scofield and Joe Zawinul. Miles' band members were Kenny Garrett, Foley, Deron Johnson, Richard Patterson and Ricky Wellman. This is the final volume of the Miles Davis "Lost" series (double CD). This time it's a lost concert he recorded in Paris just 3 months before he died.

Big Train is the 4th release in Marsalis's unprecedented 8-CD series titled Swinging Into the 21st (this historic series features a release of new Marsalis music each month from April through September). Debuted with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in 1998 (also featured during a 1998 U.S. tour), Big Train is a remarkable musical journey, a significant new entry in Marsalis's compositional scope from jazz to classical and beyond.

Recorded live at The Greek Theater, Los Angeles, California. Personnel: Stanley Clarke (acoustic & electric basses); Najee (soprano, alto & tenor saxophones, flute, synthesizer); Deron Johnson (keyboards); Larry Carlton (acoustic & electric guitars); Billy Cobham (drums, percussion).

Ellis Marsalis's role in jazz is not just limited to his mastery of the piano; he is also a renowned jazz educator. Former pupils include (in addition to his sons) Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison, Harry Connick Jr.., among others. On this album, Ellis pays tribute to Duke Ellington on the year Duke's centennial. Features the original composition "Duke in Blue" which is Ellis poignant tribute to one of the most important figures in the history of American music. This will take listeners on a journey back to the roots of jazz.

Over the last fifteen years, pianist Eric Reed has been a mainstay on the jazz scene. Having toured the world with his group and recorded as both a leader and sideman on numerous projects, he constantly demonstrates the creativity that distinguishes him as one of the leading pianists of his generation.