With his ever-fresh and expansive musical outlook, Slide Hampton is the personification of the composer-arranger-instrumentalist in jazz. His composing and arranging prowess have long been sought by all manner of ensembles, from small groups to orchestras, student ensembles to professional bands. His superb trombone playing once elicited an ultimate seal of approval from the father of the modern jazz trombone and Hampton mentor, J.J. Johnson. From a backstage vantage point at a Kennedy Center performance, Johnson was overheard referring to a solo Slide performed as part of a tribute to Dizzy Gillespie as "one of the most articulate ever given on a trombone".

From 1951 Erwin Lehn conducted one of Germany’s leading swing big bands, the Radio Stuttgart Dance Orchestra. The band included top names from the international jazz scene, including American trombonists Bob Burgess (Stan Kenton and Woody Herman bands) and Donald Beightol (Oliver Nelson), Swedish trumpeter Rolf Ericson (Duke Ellington, Buddy Rich Sextet), German Saxophonist Joki Freund (Albert Mangelsdorff, Hans Koller), and Dutch trumpet great Ack Van Rooyen. Composed by either band saxophonist Bernd Rabe or Lehn, the vibrant pieces cover a wide range of contemporary jazz.

Romanian born trombonist, composer/arranger Peter Herbolzheimer led one of the most innovative, successful European big bands, Rhythm Combination & Brass. Composed of international stars, the band zeroed in on a big brassy sound, usually incorporating a single reed player – the great saxophonist Herb Geller. Recorded in early 1973, the album exemplifies RC&B’s playing during its early innovative period, when blues, gospel, bop and rock dominated.

From 1965 to 1981 Munich’s Domicile jazz club was a mecca for international jazz. This live 1971 album brings together that period's Who is Who of the German jazz scene.