Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Dizzy Gillespie was one jazz giant who loved to explore new areas of self-expression. He was not only an exciting performer; his melodic and harmonic inventions are legendary. He had a remarkable insight into the rhythmic aspects of jazz. He swung in a highly personal way. One of his most famous compositions is called Con Alma, and whether he played with or without a Latin accent his music was always played with soul. It was Dizzy who spearheaded the use of afro-Cuban rhythms in the jazz of the 1940's and 50's, and added another dimension to the rhythm of jazz in the 60's. As a sensitive jazz artist, he explored much of the contemporary scene and his interest and enthusiasm pointed the direction that many other musicians followed in their use of Brazilian rhythms. In his permanent group he featured the electric bass and utilizes many contemporary rhythms that are easy to dance to. In pursuing this direction of music further, Dizzy decided in these recordings to incorporate vocal and instrumental sounds which are usually associated with pop and soul music.

The Cannonball Adderley Quintet - Live In Montreal May 1975 / One of the Cannonball Adderley Quintet's final performances recorded in Montreal on May 3, 1975 three months before his untimely passing. The great Julian "Cannonball" Adderley rose to prominence in the hard-bop era of the 1950's and 60's. After a successful stint with Miles Davis's sextet, including being featured on the seminal Davis records 'Milestones' and 'Kind of Blue', Adderley formed his own quintet with brother Nat on trumpet and cornet, and soon became the driving force behind the soul-jazz movement of the 1960's and 70's. No one would have guessed that the 46-year-old DownBeat Jazz Hall of Famer was in the last few months of his life when he stepped on stage at Montreal's In Concert Club on May 3, 1975. And nothing about the performance suggests that the hard bop sax legend was anything but at the top of his game. The 6-track set includes the Grammy Hall of Fame inductee hit tune "Mercy Mercy Mercy, " with Adderley's brother Nat on trumpet. The lineup for the quintet here is Cannonball Adderley (alto and soprano sax); Nat Adderley (trumpet); Michael Wolff (piano); Roy McCurdy (drums, percussion) and Walter Booker (bass). Originally released in 1977 on Dobre Records this LP has been unavailable on vinyl for over 40 years and makes it's return pressed on 180-gram vinyl. Features liner notes by music historian Cary Ginell who wrote the book "Walk Tall: The Music and Life of Cannonball Adderley". Notes include interviews with quintet members Michael Wolff and Roy McCurdy.

Callen Radcliffe Tjader, Jr., the master of Latin rhythms, was born of Swedish descent in St. Louis on July 16, 1925. He first attracted national attention when he joined the Lionel Hampton band. Cal played and recorded with several of Dave Brubeck's groups, and led his own band for a brief period, before joining George Shearing in 1952. It was during the Shearing period that Cal developed what was to become a lifelong love affair with Latin music. In 1954, Cal reformed his band and began a highly successful touring and recording career that resulted in over fifty albums and hundreds of concerts. Probably more than any other non-Latin musician, Tjader helped to popularize the fusion of Latin and jazz tempos. In 1978 he recorded these 6 tracks at the infamous Filmways Wally Heider recording studios in Hollywood, California. At the session was an all-star band including Gary Foster and Kurt McGettrick on saxophones, Robb Fisher on bass and Latin music legends Ponco Sanchez on congas and Willie Bobo on timbales. The recording has been unavailable for many years and now makes it's return on CD and digital. Here's what the original album notes say about the session: The sound of the group remained authentically Latin, undiminished in explosive force. This album is characterized by it's searing brass and exciting percussions. The insistent beat energized Latin dancers, while the interplay of basic jazz elements raised it above just good dance music. The major goal of this recording was to retain the essential live flavor of the music and performers. Close-miking techniques were not used on this recording. Instead, four overhead microphones plus a direct input for the bass were employed to capture the sound of eleven musicians together with the correct acoustic perspective between instruments. Listening to the playback of the recording session was a rewarding experience for all involved.

Muddy Waters - Hollywood Blues Summit 1971 - A 1971 performance from Muddy Waters from one of the most important singer-songwriter/guitarists of the post-modern blues era - Rock and roll hall of fame inductee Muddy Waters is one of the most important singer-songwriter/guitarists of the post-modern blues era. His early 1960s touring of the UK inspired many British musicians including the Rolling Stones that took their name from his classic song, "Rollin' Stone". Over the '60s into the early 1970s Waters became an international force performing on various bills and artist pairings on club, concert hall and festival stages. This eight-song never before released set was recorded at the legendary Ash Grove club in Los Angeles over the Blue Summit weekend (with Freddie King and Lightnin' Hopkins) over July 27-August 1, 1971. The show was recorded not long before his infamous London sessions recordings. That album was one of his six Grammy winning Traditional Folk recordings throughout the '70s.

Chet Baker is highly regarded as one of jazz's greatest trumpet players recording numerous albums over his 35-year recording career. Recorded in in 1969, Albert's House features 11 instrumental compositions by Steve Allen who produced the recording session to assist Baker in restarting his career after a horrific dental injury in '68. The LP hasn't been in release for vinyl reissue for years.

For progressive bluegrass aficionados, Muleskinner Live - Original Television Soundtrack is something of a watershed event. Originally broadcast on public television in the late '70s, the documentary captured the bluegrass supergroup at the peak of it's powers in front of a live studio audience in Hollywood. Muleskinner's lineup was a knockout, boasting the talents of Clarence White, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, Bill Keith, and Richard Green, so it should come as little surprise that this live record is a powerhouse, illustrating everything that was right about progressive bluegrass. All nine songs that were originally aired on the TV program are here, along with four songs that were edited for broadcast. These tapes were often believed to be lost, so the availability of this reissue is quite a boon.