Hank Jones, who has just turned 90, is still wowing audiences around the world with his elegant swing and "magic touch". The tradition of combining Hank Jones with an unexpected rhythm section continues in this wonderfully recorded hybrid SACD. The latest iteration of Jones' Great Jazz Trio includes veteran bassist George Mraz and explosive Billy Kilson who represents a new generation of jazz drummers. His sharp and powerful drumming is surely one of the highlights of this album.

No Borders focuses on classical pieces as a basis for improvisation, and, on the other hand, also contains a completely composed original composition by Beirach: "Steel Prayers", a piece for the victims of 9/11. To take classical pieces and open them for improvisation, without depriving them of their character, is also the basic principle in the cooperation with violinist Gregor Hübner.

Bob Kindred is a great tenor sax player who is consistently underrated and underexposed. Aside from some CDs released by a small audiophile label Mapleshade, it is not easy to find his leader albums in the market. Venus Records wanted to correct this situation and signed Kindred a few years ago and released this label debut album, Blue Moon.

Harold Mabern and his piano join together with George Mraz, bass, and Joe Farnsworth, drums, to compile a 10-track SACD full of jazz's favorite staples from Harold Arlen, Michael Leonard and many more. A great piano trio album full of driving swing feel, groove and dynamism.

John Haley "Zoot" Sims was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. This 1975 studio album featuring the music of George and Ira Gershwin.

One of the veteran American pianists who release new recordings from Venus Records regularly, Steve Kuhn has been admired and loved by jazz fans both in the U.S. and Japan. I Will Wait For You features recording of the music of Michel Legrand. The lyrical, romantic and memorable melodies written by the French composer — many of which have become part of the standard jazz repertoire — are brilliantly interpreted and performed by a superb trio that includes George Mraz on bass and Billy Drummond on drums. Kuhn and co. add a muscular, driving sense of swing to the faster tunes while digging deep emotionally on beautiful ballads. A wonderful piano trio release!

Milano, Paris, New York: Finding John Lewis is a superb piano trio album by Sir Roland Hanna Trio, dedicated to the classic pianist John Lewis. On this release, Hanna is joined by George Mraz on bass and Lewis Nash on drums. The music here is stylish and alluring.

Masterful piano playing meets elaborate vocal harmonies on this legendary 1971 release that teams up Oscar Peterson and his trio with jazz vocal group The Singers Unlimited. Peterson's trio mates on this session, bassist George Mraz and drummer Louis Hayes, feed off the languages of the two musical poles, whether in the swinging give and take of the opener, Sesame Street, or in the switch from the reverential choir intro to Peterson’s sparkling play on It Never Entered My Mind. It’s the same with the dreamy arrangement of The Shadow of Your Smile; in his role as delicate accompanist, Peterson narrows it down to the essentials. Two Brazilian excursions are highlighted: Antônio Carlos Jobim’s Children’s Game and Luis Bonfá‘s The Gentle Rain.

Throughout a career of a half-century and counting, Steve Kuhn has earned renown as one of the most lyrical and affecting pianists in jazz, with an unfailingly beautiful touch and a sophisticated sense of swing. This piano-trio release for Japanese Venus records, features George Mraz on bass and Pete LaRoca Sims on drums.

For Ted Rosenthal's second release on Venus, he dedicated the whole album to Helen Merrill — the exceptional singer who he has accompanied for more than ten years — by performing standars that are closely associated with her. The album starts with "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", a track Merrill made her own on her album with Clifford Brown on trumpet and Quincy Jones as arranger. Rosenthal's smart arrangements and gorgeous, lyrical playing are complemented perfectly by George Mraz on bass and Al Foster on drums. The close interaction between the trio is astounding.

This triple-album box set from jazz guitarist John Abercrombie and his classic quartet includes all three releases from the ensemble, recorded from 1978 to 1980, digitally remastered from the original analogue tapes.

The Kenny Barron Trio - Barron, George Mraz and Ben Riley sound perfectly relaxed and inspired at the same time. One can tell from this album that they enjoyed playing together very much. This is clearly one of Kenny Barron's best albums to date. The typically big, powerful sound of this Venus release adds to the value of this excellent album.

"Classic! (Live At Newport)" is Grammy-winning saxophonist Joe Lovano's 25th release for Blue Note, recorded in August 2005 at the Newport Jazz Festival. Lovano has dedicated the album to the memory of his legendary pianist, the late Hank Jones, who was 87 years old when this performance was captured. In addition to Jones, Lovano is backed here by bassist George Mraz and drummer Lewis Nash.

Joe Beck began his career as a highly sought-after studio guitarist in the early 70s. His clean jazz playing on electric guitar was his hallmark. His discography is well-worthy searching for. He was well-respected and played with artists such as John Abercrombie, Jimmy Bruno, Gill Evans, Don Sebesky, Bobby TImmons, and Paul Simon. This wonderful recording was made for Japanese Venus label, and dedicated to Frank Sinatra.

The golden trio of Richie Beirach, George Mraz and Billy Hart returns to Venus Records with another superb album. This is an eagerly awaited release because their previous output, Manhattan Reverie, was not only selected as Swing Journal Gold Disc but also won the magazine's 2006 Jazz Disc "Silver" Award. The trio goes back more than 30 years, and, as Beirach lives and teaches in Germany now, they seem to especially enjoy these 'reunion' recording sessions. Their exuberance is felt throughout the program which is dominated by four Miles Davis compositions and augmented by four standards and two classical tunes. This is another strong album by Beirach, and should not be missed by his fans.