In 1979 Art Pepper was recorded at two sessions that yielded two fine albums, So In Love and the New York Album. There was more first-rate material recorded in those two sessions than would fit on two LPs so difficult choices had to be made as to what material not to include on the albums released at the time. Those choices were not necessarily made on the basis of the quality of the performances but with respect to such considerations as length and congruence of repertoire within an album.

New York Album is an album by saxophonist Art Pepper recorded in 1979 at the sessions that produced So in Love but not released on the Galaxy label until 1985. This classic lineup features Art Pepper on alto sax, Hank Jones on piano, Ron Carter on bass and Al Foster on drums.

Soultrane is one of the essential albums in John Coltrane’s career. Recorded during the first year of his Prestige contract, between his critical service in Thelonious Monk’s quartet and his return to the band of Miles Davis, it finds the tenor saxophonist displaying a new level of both technical and conceptual refinement, dispensing torrents of notes that annotator Ira Gitler famously dubbed "sheets of sound".

Lush Life is an album credited to jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1961 on Prestige Records, catalogue 7188. It is assembled from unissued results of three separate recording sessions at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey in 1957 and 1958. As Coltrane's fame grew during the 1960s long after he had stopped recording for the label, Prestige used unissued recordings to create new marketable albums without Coltrane's input or approval.

Altoist Jackie McLean's second session as a leader is reissued on this SACD. The music that he makes with trumpeter Donald Byrd, pianist Elmo Hope, bassist Doug Watkins and drummer Art Taylor is essentially hard bop with fairly simple (or in some cases nonexistent) melody statements preceding two romps through the "I Got Rhythm" chord changes, a pair of blues, a thinly disguised "Embraceable You" and a straightforward version of "A Foggy Day". Enjoyable if not really essential music from the up-and-coming altoist.

Wired is the third solo album by British guitarist Jeff Beck, originally released on Epic Records in 1976. An instrumental album, it peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. Of the album tracks, four are originals by Narada Michael Walden and one by Hammer. Max Middleton contributed the homage to Led Zeppelin, "Led Boots", and Beck chose to interpret the Charles Mingus ode to saxophonist Lester Young, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", from the classic 1959 jazz album Mingus Ah Um. These last two tracks have been long-time staples of Beck's performance repertoire.

Shelby Lynne has followed her own sometimes reckless, always adventuresome muse throughout her career. Just a Little Lovin' is her personal homage to the late, legendary Dusty Springfield. Nine of its ten cuts are inextricably linked to the late British vocalist whose sway Lynne came under years ago, but a chance conversation with Barry Manilow – of all people – led to the making of this record. Lynne doesn't attempt to sound like Springfield. She uses her own phrasing and rhythmic sensibility.

The Sound of Jazz brought together 32 leading musicians - a Who's Who of the swing era - including Count Basie, Lester Young, Ben Webster, Billie Holiday, Jo Jones and Coleman Hawkins; the Chicago style players of the same era, like Henry "Red" Allen, Vic Dickenson, and Pee Wee Russell; and younger 'modernist' musicians such as Gerry Mulligan, Thelonious Monk, and Jimmy Giuffre. These players played separately with their compatriots, but also joined to combine various styles in one group, such as Red Allen's group and the group backing Billie Holiday on "Fine and Mellow". This program was originally presented by "The Seven Lively Arts" on December 8, 1957 over CBS Television Sunday. This session is different music from the broadcast, as it was recorded for release by Columbia Records.

Maybe not exactly the first Dizzy that comes to mind when discussing jazz, this Jamaican-born, British-raised trumpeter overcame whatever burdens that nickname may have wrought to become a highly respected player in the New York scene. He enhanced that rep by recording some truly excellent albums for the Savoy, Blue Note and Prestige labels among others. His robust and passionate playing styles always seemed to inspire other musicians in his company. The contributions of the esteemed trio invited; pianist Walter Bishop, Jr., bassist Doug Watkins and drummer Art Taylor unilaterally match the front man's fire and bold approach to each tune.

5 by Monk by 5 is an album by the jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, recorded in 1959. It contains five of Monk's original compositions performed by a quintet. The Penguin Guide to Jazz described it as "A relatively little-known Monk session, but a very good one".

It's Like This is an album by American singer/songwriter Rickie Lee Jones, released in 2000. Like her 1991 album Pop Pop, this is a mixture of covers ranging from musical classics from the likes of Lerner and Lowe, Hoagy Carmichael and the Gershwin brothers, to classic rock from Steely Dan and Marvin Gaye. The album was nominated for a 2001 Best Pop Traditional Record Grammy Award.

Solace is the second studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, released on 29 June 1991, on Nettwerk in Canada and 28 January 1992, on Arista Records in the United States. It was the album that first made her a star in Canada, spawning the hit singles "The Path of Thorns (Terms)" and "Into the Fire" and being certified double platinum for sales of 200,000 copies in Canada.

This 1959 Verve record is a collaboration between Ellington and saxophonist Johnny Hodges. Hodges takes the lead on most of the tracks, backed by Ellington and Billy Strayhorn on piano and well-known jazz musicians like Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, Harry "Sweets" Edison and Jo Jones.

One of the most impressive and successful debut albums of all time, "August And Everything After" spent a remarkable 93 weeks on the charts and is certified 7 times platinum. Even before the album was released Counting Crows had filled in for Van Morrison at his induction to the Rock 'N' Roll Hall Of Fame, and before the album charted, they played on “Saturday Night Live”.

Nights of Ballads & Blues is the third album by the jazz pianist McCoy Tyner, released on the Impulse! label in 1963. It features performances by Tyner with Steve Davis and Lex Humphries. The jazz critic Harvey Pekar said in his August 29, 1963, review for Down Beat magazine, "Tyner's playing has many virtues, but one in particular is his tastefulness. There is nothing trivial about his music; he is, to quote an often used phrase, a 'musician's musician'."