William Hooker has been recognized as one of the most innovative musicians and drummers of his generation, leading a variety of ensembles within the worlds of free jazz, experimental, and new music. Hooker's prior collaborators range from avant garde jazz musicians to indie rock legends like Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth. On his latest work, "Symphonie of Flowers", Hooker weaves three sections into a whole, or a "symphonie" of sorts. As he says, "the piece begins and ends with the drum... my instrument. It's rhythm and variations of timbre are the stabilizing element."

Sun Ra, the extraordinary, outlandish, and sometimes controversial pianist, is often described as an "acquired taste", with a massive and diverse catalog. This release is a good place to start for uninitiated or dismissive listeners. The album showcases Ra's grounding in the jazz tradition, with unique takes on standards like "Time After Time," "Easy to Love," and "But Not for Me". Not unordinary for Sun Ra, the recording process was informal; "Can This Be Love?" was recorded in his Chicago apartment in 1955; he is accompanied only by the great Wilbur Ware on bass. The other five tracks, which feature, among others, Ra's longtime associate John Gilmore on tenor saxophone, were recorded at the Choreographer's Workshop rehearsal space in 1962 and 1963. The album was mastered for vinyl by Dave Gardner at Infrasonic Mastering, and pressed on metallic gold color vinyl at Pallas Group in Germany.

Vinyl LP pressing. "Twelve days after Louis Armstrong died, his old friend Earl Hines recorded a solo tribute to the great trumpeter/vocalist. This album, one of three that Hines recorded in a two-day period, features eight songs associated with Satch including "Struttin' with Some Barbeque," "A Kiss to Build a Dream On," "Someday You'll Be Sorry" and two versions of Armstrong's theme "When It's Sleepy Time Down South." This set should be of particular interest to Earl Hines collectors for the pianist rarely performed most of these songs, and he gives fresh heartfelt renditions to the standards" (ORG Music / AMG). Available on vinyl for the first time in decades, the historic recordings were remastered for the format at Infrasonic Mastering and pressed at Pallas Group in Germany.

GREAT PARIS CONCERT

Vinyl LP pressing. Recorded in Copenhagen in September of 1964, Vibrations is the second album released by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler's quartet featuring Don Cherry, Gary Peacock and Sonny Murray. Originally issued by the Freedom label, it was also released under the alternate title, Ghosts. Previously out of print for decades, Vibrations has now been specially remastered for an audiophile-grade 180-gram vinyl pressing at Pallas in Germany courtesy of ORG Music.

Vinyl LP pressing. The Horn is an essential release for any Ben Webster fan! A real treat, the compelling 17-track 2LP affair is comprised of studio session tracks, along with their false starts, alternate takes, and outtakes. The first LP includes the album as originally released. The second LP contains outtakes from those same sessions. Webster absolutely shines throughout with an expert backing band featuring Clyde Hart, Charlie Drayton, Denzil Best and Oran "Hot Lips" Page. Remastered for vinyl from the original tapes at Infrasonic Mastering, ORG Music's deluxe reissue of The Horn showcases some of the best sounding Ben Webster audio around!

Here Swings The Judge is Milt Hinton's first LP as a band leader, and includes intimate, private recordings featuring Ben Webster on tenor saxophone before his departure to Europe in 1964. The remaining tracks consist of dynamic studio recordings produced by Harry Lim, and feature prominent players such as Jon Faddis and Budd Johnson. These sessions range from the swinging "Blue Skies,' to the slow, serene blues of "Blues for the Judge." This is truly an impressive collection of recordings from the group of early jazz musicians.

PERUGIA: LIVE AT MONTREUX 74

Us is a compilation of rare material from Sun Ra and his Arkestra, drawing from tapes recorded between 1963 and 1970, taken from both live and studio performances. The space-age jazz shaman conjures up a variety of styles and moods along the way. The album has been remastered, and pressed on audiophile-grade vinyl at Pallas in Germany.

Teamed up with pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Niels Pedersen and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath for a club date at Copenhagen's Montmartre in 1967, the great tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin really stretches out on four numbers: "The Man I Love," "Hush-A-Bye," "Blues for Harvey" and a memorable version of "The Masquerade Is Over." Griffin shows why he was early on billed as "the world's fastest tenor" although he also displays warmth on "Sophisticated Lady." A fine example of Griffin's underrated talents. The album was remastered for vinyl from original analog tapes by Bernie Grundman, and pressed on audiophile-grade vinyl at Pallas Group in Germany.

MAN I LOVE

TAKE THE A TRAIN

Dexter Gordon recorded dozens of albums and played hundreds of live shows, but none better than what's captured on this 1967 date at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen. Both Sides of Midnight marks Gordon's peak live recorded document, and a can't-miss opportunity for collectors and enthusiasts to get closer to the man and his music. The album was mastered from original analog tapes by Bernie Grundman and pressed on 180gram audiophile-

BASIN STREET BLUES

AN EVENING WITH ORNETTE COLEMAN 1