Violinist Svend Asmussen (who has had too few of his albums through the decades available in the U.S.) teams up with pianist John Lewis, bassist Jimmy Woode and drummer Sture Kalin on this 1962 session from Stockholm, Sweden. Most notable is the repertoire: six Lewis originals (including "Django") and Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman." Asmussen fits in well with Lewis and brings a solid sense of swing to the somewhat complex music.

Gerald Wilson's Pacific Jazz albums of the 1960s were arguably the most significant of his career. This CD reissues his second record of the period and has among its highlights the original version of "Viva Tirado" (a catchy number made into a surprise pop hit by El Chicano later in the decade) and a driving rendition of "MIlestones"; the other seven songs (six of which are Wilson's originals) are also quite enjoyable. Among the more notable soloists are trumpeter Carmell Jones, both Teddy Edwards and Harold Land on tenor, guitarist Joe Pass, and pianist Jack Wilson.

Those familiar with the dense, percussive style that pianist McCoy Tyner has cultivated since the 1970s onwards may be surprised by what they hear on Inception. Like Reaching Fourth and Nights of Ballads and Blues, this album gives listeners the chance to hear what a very young Tyner sounded like outside the confines of the classic John Coltrane quartet of the early '60s; it reveals a lyrical approach to jazz piano that seems a far cry from Tyner's mature style. The choice of material is fairly evenly split between modal pieces like "Inception" and more harmonically involved tunes like "Speak Low," and the pianist's treatment of both demonstrates the extent to which his early work was rooted in bebop…

Surfin' Safari Review by Richie Unterberger
The Beach Boys' debut album, recorded in an era in which little was expected of rock groups in the way of strong LP-length statements, is mostly thin and awkward in both the songwriting and production departments. The title track, their first true smash, is great, as is its flip side ("409"), which was not only a hit in its own right, but was the first vocal hot rod classic. "Surfin'," their debut single (and small national hit), is also good, and one of the few Beach Boys tracks that could be said to have a garage-like quality. Unfortunately, most of the other cuts (most of which are group originals) are substandard ditties, as Brian Wilson had a way to go before honing his compositional genius. It does, however, afford a glimpse of the group as they sounded when they were a true band in the studio, before most of their parts were played by session musicians. Two of the better cuts, "The Shift" and the instrumental "Moon Dawg," have a grittier-than-usual surf rock base that would flower on 1963 hits like "Surfin' U.S.A."[Surfin' Safari/Surfin' U.S.A, a Capitol two-fer CD, combines this and Surfin' U.S.A. onto one disc, with the addition of three rare bonus cuts from the same era.]

In 1963 Cannonball Adderley signed with the Capitol label, retaining the rights to some master tapes recorded earlier while he was with Riverside. This CD (a straight reissue of an earlier LP) therefore contains music much closer to the altoist's freewheeling Riverside period than to his R&Bish Capitol dates. Adderley's greatest band - his sextet with cornetist Nat Adderley, Yusef Lateef (on tenor, flute and oboe), pianist Joe Zawinul, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Louis Hayes - is featured on such exciting numbers as "Jessica's Day," Jones' "Unit 7," and "The Jive Samba." A special treat of this live date is hearing the leader's introductory words to several of the songs.

This is one of the best-known Hank Mobley recordings, and for good reason. Although none of his four originals ("Workout," "Uh Huh," "Smokin'," "Greasin' Easy") caught on, the fine saxophonist is in top form. He jams on the four tunes, plus "The Best Things in Life Are Free," with an all-star quintet of young modernists - guitarist Grant Green, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones - and shows that he was a much stronger player than his then-current boss Miles Davis seemed to think. This recommended CD reissue adds a version of "Three Coins in the Fountain" from the same date, originally released on Another Workout, to the original LP program.

This excellent live date from the Village Vanguard was the recording debut of the Adderley sextet, with Cannonball waxing eloquently and swingingly on alto, brother Nat charging ahead on cornet, and the versatile Yusef Lateef (who had joined the band only three weeks earlier) adding a bit of an edge on tenor, flute, and unusually for a jazz wind player, oboe on the odd, dirge-like "Syn-Anthesia." Also, this was the first recorded appearance of pianist Joe Zawinul - a little over three years since his arrival in America - in Cannonball's band. This group would be Zawinul's springboard to prominence in the jazz world, and readily apparent is how his compulsively funky mastery of bop and the blues had fused tightly with the Sam Jones/Louis Hayes rhythm section. Included is one of the earliest recordings of a Zawinul composition, "Scotch and Water," a happy, swinging blues.

Gospel Time, Ruth Brown's first and only gospel album, was recorded in 1963 in Nashville under Shelby Singleton's direction, using country musicians. Ray Stevens of "Ahab the Arab" fame plays organ. Vocal backgrounds are by the Milestone Singers. The most impressive cuts are "Closer Walk With Thee," with soulful guitar licks from Jerry Kennedy and Harold Bradley; "Peace in the Valley," with nice piano triplets by Harold "Pig" Robbins; the beautiful "Walk With Me"; and a fabulous version of "Milky White Way." Brown even tries her hand at preaching in a rocking version of "Morning Train." This is a surprisingly fine album.

Many straight-ahead bop musicians would never consider recording traditional folk songs from the British Isles, but that's exactly what Johnny Griffin does on The Kerry Dancers and Other Swinging Folk - and this Orrin Keepnews-produced album just happens to be one of his best releases of the 1960s. Joined by pianist Barry Harris, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Ben Riley, the big-toned Chicago tenor man turns his attention to four traditional folk melodies: "The Londonderry Air" (also known as "Danny Boy"), "Green Grow the Rushes" (a Scottish favorite), "The Kerry Dancers" (an Irish piece), and "Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair" - all of which work perfectly well in an acoustic jazz setting. Not everything on this album (which was recorded in late 1961 and early 1962) is a folk song from the British Isles; the other half of the album ranges from Griffin's moody "Oh, Now I See" to the John Coltrane-influenced "25 1/2 Daze"…

Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain is one of the oddest albums in Sinatra's catalog. Recorded in the summer of 1962 and available only in the U.K. for a number of years, the album consists of songs by British composers, performed with British musicians, and recorded in Britain, while Sinatra was on tour. As it happened, Sinatra was tired and worn out during the sessions, and arranger/conductor Robert Farnon had written a set of charts that were ambitious, lush, ornate, and sweeping. Although the arrangements are provocative – occasionally they are more interesting than the actual songs – Sinatra was simply not in good shape for the sessions, which is clear from his thin, straining singing. As such, Great Songs from Great Britain isn't much more than a curiosity.

Lightnin' Hopkins had a hard and fast approach to dealing with the abundance of record labels he recorded for during his career. The irascible bluesman would show up at the session in question but would refuse to play a note until he was paid his fee upfront. Once paid and satisfied, he'd unpack his stock set of boogie blues riffs and pretty much improvise songs on the spot until he'd fulfilled his agreed upon quota. Then he would leave. This system led to an awful lot of similarly constructed and executed throwaway tracks, but Hopkins had a special gift for personalizing the blues that came through in the best of these improvised songs, and a few gems always showed up in the process. This disc combines 1961's Walkin' This Road by Myself, which features Hopkins with drummer Spider Kilpatrick, harmonica player Billy Bizor, and pianist Buster Pickens, with 1963's solo acoustic Blues in My Bottle…

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee were the ultimate blues duo; McGhee's stylized singing and light, flickering guitar was wonderfully contrasted by Terry's sweeping, whirling harmonica solos and intense, country-tinged singing. They were in great form during the ten tunes featured on this live date. Sometimes, as on "Custard Pie" or "Barking Bull Dog," they're funny; at other times, they were prophetic, chilling, or moving. This is Piedmont blues at its best, and this disc's tremendous remastering provides a strong sonic framework.

Between 1957 and 1968, Ray Conniff had 28 albums in the American Top 40. He started out at Columbia Records as their home arranger, backing artists such as Rosemary Clooney, Johnny Mathis, and Johnnie Ray, with his orchestra and was eventually offered the chance to do his own record. We Wish You a Merry Christmas is packed with traditional holiday tunes that Conniff and his (25) Singers wove into a series of medleys. This album has a retro studio sound, which, upon listening, may conjure up images of Lawrence Welk singers strolling the stage, dressed in matching holiday garb. Sometimes melodramatic ("Ring Christmas Bells"), other times, bright and exuberant ("Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!"), it's good, clean fun for the whole family and a solid addition to any Christmas catalog.

Trombonist Slide Hampton, just 30 years old at the time of this octet session in Paris, had already developed into a forward-thinking arranger. Scoring a mix of standards and well-known jazz compositions for a group that included two trombones, two trumpets, tenor sax, baritone sax, bass, and drums, Hampton's stunning interpretation of "Exodus" (from the film of the same name) still sounds very fresh decades later. The brisk "Star Eyes" might suggest the so-called "cool" players of the 1950s, featuring excellent solos by trumpeter Richard Williams and bassist Butch Warren. Baritone saxophonist Jay Cameron shines in "Confirmation," while the leader explodes in a powerful rendition of "Moment's Notice".

Between May 17 and 25, 1962, Ray Charles, “The Genius”, returned to Paris for a series of memorable concerts. And he was at his peak, fronting his big band and accompanied by his Raelets led by a dazzling Margie Hendrix. This 3CD set prepared by Joël Dufour with the help of Michel Brillié and Gilles Pétard contains previously unreleased material and bonus tracks that include recordings made in Ray’s own studio, where he plays piano alongside his favourite artists, Percy Mayfield and Louis Jordan. And this set has a must: “Blue Stone” is a great instrumental with Ray playing alto, but he never recorded it in a studio. And you can listen to it here! Patrick FRÉMEAUX