Rhino continues with their admirable excavation of the Atlantic vaults with this, their second round of some of the label's '60s jazz highlights. In the spotlight are such instrumental heavyweights as Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Eddie Harris, Charles Mingus, Hank Crawford, and Yusef Lateef, and on the vocal end there's fine work by Betty Carter and Mose Allison. Yes, this album might have a tough time competing with similar collections from the Blue Note and Impulse! imprints. But then again, those labels would be hard-pressed to come up with a selection as varied as this: From the truly idiosyncratic Ellington musings of Kirk ("Creole Love Call") to a taste of Aquarius age jazz by Charles Lloyd ("Dreamweaver: Meditation/Dervish Dance"), this 14-track disc truly runs the '60s jazz gamut.

To celebrate the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Di of England, Oscar Peterson composed a ten-song suite that he performs on this album while accompanied by an unidentified string orchestra arranged by Rick Wilkins. Not too surprisingly Peterson (who doubles here on electric piano) proves to be a talented composer and, even if none of the individual pieces caught on (or was ever apparently recorded again by the pianist), the music on a whole is quite satisfying.

Tanganyika Strut is the last of the three 1958 Savoy recordings made by jazz musicians John Coltrane and Wilbur Harden. The album would be Harden's last as a leader. The sessions also produced a couple of alternate takes which can be found on some compilations, most notably the ones featuring the complete Savoy recordings made by Harden and Coltrane together, The Complete Mainstream 1958 Sessions (2009) and The Complete Savoy Sessions (1999).

Lalo Schifrin - Piano, Strings and Bossa Nova (1962) {Verve 589 763-2, Cardboard Sleeve rel 2002}
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© 1962, 2002 Verve / MGM | 589 763-2
Jazz / Bop / Latin Jazz / Bossa Nova / Piano

While he’s best known as a composer of music for films and television (the original MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE series), Lalo Schifrin is also a jazz pianist, once in the employ of iconic trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie in the late-1950s and early-‘60s. Released in 1962, BOSSA NOVA finds the Argentina-born Schifrin paying tribute to the Brazilian style with lush, elegant strings and his lyrical piano. There are bossa nova standards, three originals, and some songs by American composers given the romantic bossa treatment.

Kenny Cox - Introducing Kenny Cox and The Contemporary Jazz Quintet (1969) {Blue Note 85189 rel 2007}
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© 1968-69, 2007 Blue Note | 0946 3 85189 2 1
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Piano

Originally released in 1968, Introducing Kenny Cox and the Contemporary Jazz Quintet is the first recording by the storied and somewhat lesser known Detroit ensemble. Led by pianist Cox, the Contemporary Jazz Quintet featured saxophonist Leon Henderson (brother of Joe Henderson), trumpeter Charles Moore, bassist Ron Brooks, and drummer Danny Spencer. Interestingly, this group is perhaps best known for its connection to the legendary Detroit rock group the MC5 as both Moore and Henderson performed on the band's 1971 cut "Sister Anne."

Joseph Bonner - Triangle (1975) {Whynot WNCD79405 rel 2009}
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© 1975, 2009 Whynot / Candid | WNCD79405
Jazz / Post Bop / Piano Trio

A fine pianist who was originally heavily influenced by McCoy Tyner, Joe Bonner is an excellent interpreter of modal-based music and advanced hard bop. He studied music at Virginia State College and early on played with Roy Haynes (1970-1971), Freddie Hubbard (1971-1972), Pharoah Sanders (1972-1974), and Billy Harper (late '70s). Bonner, who recorded as a leader for Muse, Theresa, and most prominently Steeplechase, has been based in Colorado since the 1980s and remains a talented improviser.

Oscar Peterson - We Get Requests Again (2004) {Universal Japan UCCU-1040}
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© 2004 Universal Japan | UCCU-1040
Jazz / Bop / Mainstream Jazz / Piano

We Get Requests Again is a "best of" compilation of Oscar Peterson. It features a selection of Peterson's songs compiled and remastered by the renowned engineer Taizo Yano. This compilation was released exclusively in Japan.

Mary Lou Williams - Plays In London (1954) {Vogue–Legacy No. 05 rel 2013}
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© 1953-54, 2013 Vogue / Legacy / Sony Music | No. 05 / 88725443772-05
Jazz / Bop / Mainstream Jazz / Piano

Mary Lou Williams traveled to London, England in the winter 1953 and sometime in 1954 for these sessions, likely spaced about a year or so apart, with two different British rhythm sections, the common denominator throughout being bongo player Tony Scott. This Vogue album originally titled Mary Lou Williams Plays in London and issued in the U.S. on the GNP Crescendo label as In London, is back on Vogue as The London Sessions.

Gary Burton - Throb (1969) {2012 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27042}
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© 1969, 2012 Atlantic / Rhino / Warner Japan | WPCR-27042
Jazz / Post Bop / Vibes

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. Throb is dominated by bassist Steve Swallow’s wonderfully complex and idiosyncratic compositions, although the great composer/arranger Michael Gibbs contributes three tunes as well. Talk about an embarrassment of riches! The combination of Steve Swallow’s bass, Gary Burton’s vibes and Richard Greene’s violin gives the band a unique texture. Given the instrumentation, there is a lot of country music thrown into the mix. Jerry Hahn is the guitarist here and contributes the usual wankery common for the period, but Swallow makes good use of him in the arrangements. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I’d probably have to go for Steve Swallow’s hilarious Chickens, which is just what it sounds like..

Oscar Pettiford - Montmartre Blues (1960) {Black Lion BLCD760124 rel 1989}
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© 1959-60, 1989 Black Lion Records / Phonoco | BLCD760124
Jazz / Bop / Bebop / Bass

The great bassist Oscar Pettiford spent his last year playing in Europe before his unexpected death on September 8, 1960. Except for four songs cut in August, this CD contains Pettiford's final recordings. Teamed with a young group of Europeans (most impressive is pianist Jan Johansson and trumpeter Allan Botschinsky) who were clearly pleased to be playing with him, Pettiford has a fair amount of solo space on ten numbers with "Willow Weep for Me" being his feature. Five of the tunes are Pettiford originals including the title cut, "Laverne Walk" and his answer to Miles Davis' "So What" which he titled "Why Not? That's What!" This is a fine set of boppish music that makes one wonder what Oscar Pettiford might have accomplished in the 1960s had he lived.

Billy Taylor - Warming Up! (1961) {Milestone MCD 47103-2 rel 2004}
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© 1960-61, 2004 Milestone Records / Fantasy | MCD 47103-2
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Piano

Warming Up! collects two trio albums recorded by pianist Billy Taylor in 1960-1961, the first under the same title, the second Interlude. On the first 12 pieces he's joined by bassist Henry Grimes and drummer Ray Mosca, on the later 11, Doug Watkins takes Grimes' place. The similar setup and personnel mean that both albums flow together as a piece, though each carries a separate mood owing to the albums' different conceptions.

Gary Burton - Dreams So Real (1975) {ECM 1072}
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© 1975 ECM Records | ECM 1072 / 833 329-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Vibes

Performing the intricate music of Carla Bley is no mean feat, but if anyone is up for the challenge, it would be vibraphonist Gary Burton. Signifying a high watermark in his career in the mid-'70s, Dreams So Real teams Burton with his fellow professor at the Berklee College of Music Mick Goodrick, along with recently graduated student Pat Metheny. Add the peerless electric bass guitarist Steve Swallow and always proficient drummer Bob Moses, and you have the makings of a short-lived supergroup capable of playing Bley's memorable, melancholy music.

Eric Dolphy - The Complete Uppsala Concert (1961) {2CD Set, Jazz Door ‎JD 1253/54 rel 1993}
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© 1961, 1993 Jazz Door ‎| JD 1253/54
Jazz / Post-Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz

One of my pet theories is that one of the kickstarts for creative indigenous jazz in Europe was the tours undertaken there by Eric Dolphy as a leader (late summer 1961, summer 1964) and with John Coltrane (winter 1961) and Charles Mingus (summer 1964). The passage through the region of such an iconoclastic figure as Dolphy, particularly at these two hypercreative moments for him, must have had some effect on the local musicians who heard or, in some cases, played with him. Those tours were documented and are back in the forefront with a two-disc reissue of a Swedish concert from September 1961.

Dexter Gordon - Revelation (1974) {SteepleChase ‎SCCD 31373 rel 1995}
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© 1974, 1995 SteepleChase ‎| SCCD 31373
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Saxophone

Virtually all of tenor-saxophonist Dexter Gordon's SteepleChase recordings find him in prime form. This music, released for the first time in 1995, is a bit unusual in that Gordon (who usually played in a quartet) is joined by the fiery trumpeter Benny Bailey who has a particularly exciting solo on "At Ronnie 's." The obscure European rhythm section is fine in support of the two lead voices who, in addition to "At Ronnie's," perform Bill Barron's "Revelation," a couple of standards and a two-song ballad medley. Worth picking up.

Art Farmer Quartet - Interaction (1963) {2013 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27009}
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© 1963, 2013 Atlantic / Rhino / Warner Japan | WPCR-27009 / 8122-79694-7
Jazz / Cool / Hard Bop / Flugelhorn

An excellent session. Nothing unfamiliar or far out, but just great, straight-ahead playing from some of the most lyrical and thoughtful players in jazz. Anyone who appreciates Farmer and/or Hall should have this. The rhythm section of Steve Swallow and Walter Perkins couldn't be more attuned to the 2 leaders, and they really make the whole date cohesive; the title "Interaction" couldn't be more appropriate. Sound of this edition - the 24 bit Japanese edition - is fine - but not necessarily an improvement over earlier issues.