Illinois Jacquet was "foremost of the WWII-era "Texas tenor titans", an influential figure in both jazz and R&B saxophone. "Swing's The Thing" is one of his first recordings. Recorded in Los Angeles in 1956, it features Illinois Jacquet on tenor sax, Roy Eldridge on trumpet, Jimmy Jones on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and Jo Jones on drums. These magical performances capture the genius that was Jacquet's playing, backed by a stellar ensemble.

The second of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard's two Impulse albums features the 25-year old in three separate settings. He is heard along with a tenor-saxophonist backed by strings ("Skylark," "I Got It Bad" and "Chocolate Shake" are all given beautiful treatments), with a 16-piece band and in a septet with Eric Dolphy and Wayne Shorter. This well-rounded and highly recommended showcase shows why Freddie Hubbard was considered the top trumpeter to emerge during the early '60s.

Whistle Stop is a jazz studio album by Kenny Dorham, featuring performances by acclaimed musicians Hank Mobley, Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. "In 1975", Blumenthal states in the CD liner notes, "five British critics picked Whistle Stop as one of 200 albums that belonged in a basic library of jazz recorded after World War II".

By the time Miles Davis recorded "The Musings Of Miles", he'd expanded and refined his approach to the bop idiom which had nurtured him, and the cool approach - which he'd championed. He learned to refine and edit his line, discovered what aspects of his style were derivative and which were truly his own, and, most importantly, zeroed in on his own signature sound and style of phrasing.

Workout is an album by jazz tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley released on the Blue Note label in 1962. It features performances by Mobley, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Grant Green and Philly Joe Jones. The album was identified by Scott Yanow in his Allmusic essay "Hard Bop" as one of 17 Essential Hard Bop Recordings.

The Hawk Flies High is a 1957 album by jazz tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins. Apart from Barry Galbraith and Jo Jones on guitar and drums, the line-up of his accompanying sextet had a bebop background, namely J.J. Johnson on trombone, Idrees Sulieman on trumpet, pianist Hank Jones, and Oscar Pettiford on bass.

Overshadowed throughout his life by his friends Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, Elmo Hope was a talented pianist and composer whose life was cut short by drugs. Originally released in 1956, Hope's superb album Informal Jazz is now available on SACD. Hope's solo spots are the best part of the record but some of the most well-known jazz artists of the time also guested, including tenor sax greats John Coltrane and Hank Mobley and trumpeter Donald Byrd.

Ike Quebec's timeless, big-toned tenor was a frequent visitor to Rudy Van Gelder's studio in the early sixties. But this album from December 1961 with spare, soulful backing from Grant Green, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones is his masterpiece. The leaner setting works perfectly, evoking an aura of relaxation and monumentality, with the deepest blue of accents.

Bebop pioneer Howard McGhee was in and out of prison on drug charges for a good part of the 1950s, so there isn't much on record representing that decade. In fact he hadn't been near the studio in two years prior to this 1955 recordings, hence the title. He was anything but rusty, though: McGhee sounds re-energized here, possibly due to the inspiring presence of session musicians like Sahib Shihab on baritone and alto sax and Duke Jordan on piano.

Jackie's Pal is a studio album by saxophonist Jackie McLean, his third issued recording for Prestige Records. It was recorded in 1956 and first released as PRLP 7068. In 1963, the album was reissued on the Prestige subsidiary label New Jazz Records, as NJ 8290, with a different cover and retitled "Steeplechase". The album features McLean in a quintet with trumpeter Bill Hardman, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones.

Art Pepper’s The Way it Was! was recorded for Contemporary between 1956-60, these seven tracks sat dormant in the label's vault until 1972. The album is built around four previously un-released tunes pairing Pepper with the tenor of Warne Marsh. Filling out the program are three incredible tracks from Pepper's masterpieces; Gettin' Together and Intensity (both 1960) plus Meets the Rhythm Section (1957), all of which were left off due to the timing limitations of vinyl. Supported by the likes of Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones, Wynton Kelly, Jimmy Cobb and Red Garland, their workouts on the standards “The Man I Love,” “Autumn Leaves” and especially “The Way You Look Tonight” establish a brilliant east-coast meets west-coast summit. Art's creamy alto more than holds it's own with some of New York's bop-elite, resulting in a masterpiece in its own right.

"Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet" is an album by Miles Davis, recorded in 1956 but not released until 1961 as PRLP 7200. Two sessions on May 11, 1956 and October 26 in the same year resulted in four albums: this one, "Relaxin' with The Miles Davis Quintet", "Workin' with The Miles Davis Quintet" and "Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet". This album centers on the improvisations of the quintet as well as the interactions between the members of the quintet.

This Blu-Ray Pure Audio edition features previously released alternate takes from 'Ultimate Blue Train'. Also an unreleased take of 'Lazy Bird' and an alternate of 'Blue Train' that was released only in Japan.

"Newk's Time" is Sonny Rollins' third album for Blue Note Records and was released in March 1959. This lesser-known album contains some great renditions of tunes by Miles Davis ("Tune Up"), Kenny Dorham ("Asiatic Raes"), and a couple Tin Pan Alley song interpretations. For fans of hard bop, and especially Sonny Rollins, this album is a 'must listen'.

When Wes Montgomery made his first amazing impact on the New York jazz scene at the end of the 1950s, a great many established stars actively sought to record with him. Milt Jackson was one of the few for whom the guitarist felt an equal affinity. For one thing, they shared a strong love for the blues; and Wes had learned, through years of playing with his brother Buddy, to value the vibes/guitar sound. To support this memorable meeting of thoroughly compatible jazz masters, Riverside assembled one of the most cohesive recording rhythm sections of its day: Wynton Kelly, Sam Jones, and Philly Joe Jones.