Miles Davis is backed up by two different groups on these songs taken from various 10-inch vinyl releases, recorded in 1951 and 1953 and released in 1956. The earlier session features Sonny Rollins on saxophone, Bennie Green on trombone, John Lewis on piano, bassist Percy Heath and drummer Roy Haynes. The 1953 session also features Lewis, with Zoot Sims, Al Cohn and Sonny Truitt joining Davis on the front line, backed by the rhythm section of bassist Leonard Gaskin and drummer Kenny Clarke.

This all-star session was put together by Down Beat magazine featuring the winners and runners-up from the magazine's critic's poll in 1957. While John Coltrane's name may leap out at you from the cover art, he only plays his tenor sax on half the songs here. On the remaining material Coltrane leads the orchestra, a new step for him at the time and a glimpse at an interesting early chapter of his history. And what an orchestra it was: composed of the best of the up-and-coming New York jazz scene, the other musicians in the Winner's Circle here include Donald Byrd on trumpet, Al Cohn on baritone sax, Eddie Costa on piano and vibes, Kenny Burrell on guitar, Oscar Pettiford on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums.

Recorded in 1956, "Tenor Conclave" lives up to its name, bringing together the mighty tenor saxes of John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, Al Cohn and Zoot Sims. All four play on all four tunes, backed by an equally impressive rhythm section of pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Taylor. This album would be re-released under Coltrane's name in 1962.

A rare outing for drummer Art Blakey performing with a big band. The 15-piece orchestra here gave Blakey the chance, or maybe the excuse, to pound his drums even louder and more aggressively than in his usual small-combo setting. Blakey preferred the freedom of small bands, but several of the musicians who worked with him on this album thought he was at his best drumming in a big band context. And some of the names in Blakey's band on this album? John Coltrane, Donald Byrd and Al Cohn, among many others.

This live concert album, recorded at two packed shows at Carnegie Hall in November 1956, contains the biographical narration that accompanied the music during the concerts, recited by Gilbert Millstein of The New York Times. Billie Holiday is backed by the Chico Hamilton Quintet featuring guitarist Kenny Burrell and two horn sections including Coleman Hawkins and Al Cohn on tenor sax and Roy Eldridge and Buck Clayton on trumpet.

Marilyn Moore was an American jazz singer during the 1950s. She recorded one solo album, "Moody Marilyn Moore". Her vocal style was similar to Billie Holiday's, and according to jazz critic Will Friedwald, Holiday and Moore were friends. She was the first wife of saxophonist Al Cohn and the mother of guitarist Joe Cohn.

This Billie Holiday album was recorded in March 1959 and released four months later, in July 1959, the same month Holiday died; after her death the album was renamed "Last Recording". Al Cohn on tenor sax and Milt Hinton on bass are among the several notable session musicians in Ray Ellis's Orchestra which provides horn-driven accompaniment on most of this material.

Al Cohn was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist Zoot Sims…