This is as close to Latin purist Mongo as we have heard in recent years, an eight-piece salsa band – including several members of the 1997 Tito Puente ensemble, like trumpeter Ray Vega, altoist Bobby Porcelli and tenorman Mitch Frohman – playing a brace of Mongo classics and Latin jazz pieces live before a hushed crowd in Seattle's Jazz Alley. There are no pop covers, one electric instrument (a bass), lots of extended jazz solos (Porcelli and Frohman really burn on the pioneering Afro-Cuban classic "Manteca"), and an unusual (for Mongo) emphasis on the timbales on many tracks, which shoves the rhythms closer to the salsified Puente manner.

No American rock group ever started with as much daring or musical promise as Blood, Sweat & Tears, or realized their potential more fully – and then blew it all as quickly. From their origins as a jazz-rock experiment that wowed critics and listeners, they went on – in a somewhat more pop vein – to sell almost six million records in three years, but ended up being dropped by their record label four years after that. Blood, Sweat & Tears started as an idea conceived by Al Kooper in July of 1967. An ex-member of the Blues Project, Kooper had been toying with the notion, growing out of his admiration for jazz bandleader Maynard Ferguson, of forming an electric rock band that would include horns and use jazz as the basis for their work. He planned to pursue this in London, but a series of New York shows involving some big-name friends didn't raise enough money to get him there. He did, however, find three players who wanted to work with him: bassist Jim Fielder, Blues Project guitarist Steve Katz, and drummer Bobby Colomby. Kooper agreed, as long as he was in charge musically. The horn section featured Fred Lipsius (saxophone), with Randy Brecker and Jerry Weiss on trumpets and flügelhorns, and Dick Halligan playing trombone. The new group was signed to Columbia Records, and the name "Blood, Sweat & Tears" came to Kooper after a jam at the Cafe au Go Go, where a cut on his hand left his organ keyboard covered in blood.

Blood, Sweat & Tears is a jazz-rock American music group. They are noted for their combination of brass and rock band instrumentation. The group recorded songs by rock/folk songwriters such as Laura Nyro, James Taylor, The Band and the Rolling Stones as well as Billie Holiday and Erik Satie. They also incorporated music from Thelonious Monk and Sergei Prokofiev into their arrangements.

Cosmic Messenger is more elegant, European-flavored jazz-rock from the French virtuoso Jean-Luc Ponty, and pretty much in the same mold as his previous Atlantic albums but with gradually tightening control over every parameter of performance. Ponty's analog-delay special effects on the title track are spectacular, and the album is loaded more than ever with revolving electronic arpeggios as Ponty's own involvement with the ARP synthesizer grows. But there is still plenty of his fluid, slippery electric violin soloing to be heard within the tight structures of these pieces, and the tunes themselves are often pretty good. In addition, this fusion express finds its way into the funk on "The Art of Happiness," and there are some tricky rhythmic experiments on some tunes.

A much-needed look at an overlooked side of the genius of Quincy Jones – not his jazz work, not his productions for famous soul artists, but instead his huge legacy of soundtrack material – a part of Q's career that really took off in the 60s! By the time he started working in films, Jones had already had a decade under his belt as one of the hippest arrangers, leaders, and composers in jazz – and the film business really respected those talents, and allowed Quincy to bring some really fresh styles into play – modes that really opened up the vibe of American cinema, and also paved the way for the funky styles of the 70s! As that decade approached, Jones left behind the cinema to take on some more higher-profile records of his own – but all the charms of those great albums can be found here at their roots – in this stunning collection of soundtrack material, some of which has never been on CD. The package is way more than just a sampler – and includes an album's worth of material from the films The Pawnbroker, Slender Thread, Mirage, The Deadly Affair, In The Heat Of The Night, In Cold Blood, Walk Don't Run, The Italian Job, Lost Man, and John & Mary – plus two versions of the love theme from The Getaway, and a bonus CD with 18 tracks – titled Q's highlights, and featuring tracks from his Mercury records – plus more by Billy Preston, Arthur Prysock, Bill Cosby, Shirley Horn, Letta Mbulu, Toots Thielemans, and others. Even features the "Sanford & Son" and "Ironside" themes!

[45th anniversary of debut, super luxurious celebration commemorative concert featuring all current and former members]
Complete recording of the debut 45th anniversary performance held at the Tokyo International Forum on October 21, 2023, as well as backyard interviews and documentary footage. Former members who have participated in music activities for 45 years have gathered together to create a video of a one-time gorgeous reunion-like festival between T-SQUARE, which still reigns at the top of its field, and the top artists who supported it! Discs 1 & 2 contain footage from this concert, and Disc 3 includes interviews with current and former members, backyard documentary footage, and rare footage.

The group soon landed a deal with Columbia Records, which enlisted producer David Rubinson to capture the band playing the Fillmore West in December; these tapes were shelved until Columbia/Legacy issued them in 1997 as Live at the Fillmore 1968. Prior to recording their first album in early 1969, Santana swapped Livingston and Malone for Michael Shrieve and Mike Carabello, adding percussionist José Chepitó Areas as well. This incarnation recorded the group's eponymous debut, then set out on tour, where they had a career-making appearance at the Woodstock festival in August 1969. That was the same month Santana appeared in the record stores, and it was a swift success, climbing its way to number four on Billboard's album charts during the course of its two-year run on the charts.

BJ 4 starts off promising with a flugelhorn solo from the great Art Farmer, but the music soon sinks into pure commercialism. Bob James' keyboards are always prominent, as are the rather mechanical rhythms churned out by bassist Gary King, drummer Steve Gadd, and percussionist Ralph MacDonald. Although there are some catchy moments, the six selections (which all clock in between almost five and almost seven minutes) never seem to travel anywhere. Farmer, flutist Hubert Laws and guitarist Eric Gale have short solos that are primarily used as props and for contrast before James takes back complete control. The occasional strings and woodwinds make the light funk music here seem a bit Muzaky, so this is one to skip.

For this intriguing club date, guitarist Pat Martino (who by the early 1970s had his own distinctive sound) really stretches out on two of his originals (including "Special Door," which clocks in at 17:43) and the pop song "Sunny." With keyboardist Ron Thomas, electric bassist Tyrone Brown and drummer Sherman Ferguson offering alert and forceful support, Martino performs music that falls between advanced hard bop, fusion and the avant-garde without really fitting into any of the genres.

How 'bout a little fusion to liven up your otherwise oppressively hopeless existence? And how did I only just find out earlier today that Bill Frisell plays on a bunch of The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull? Crazy. Discovering that made me want to hear maybe some more obscure Frisell stuff, which led me to Good Buddies. Features, among others, Frisell on guitar, and gratuitous nudity on the album cover.

Bob James H was released in 1980 on his Tappan Zee imprint during his great run that began with Touchdown in 1978. Its immediate predecessor is the One on One duet album with Earl Klugh. James recorded it in the same way he'd been making records since joining CTI in the early 1970s: with a large, all-star studio group paired with a couple of top-flight soloists. The former group included trumpeter Jon Faddis, Randy Brecker, and Eddie Daniels; the latter features Grover Washington, Jr., Hiram Bullock, Airto Moreira, and Buddy Williams. Of course, hovering over everything is James' trademark piano, full of lovely if rote grooves and fills. The music revolves around breezy, easy themes and colorations, where the new contemporary (later, "smooth") jazz met lithe cinematic-style orchestral themes with some neat and tidy funk overtones. "Brighton by the Sea," with a tough soprano solo by Washington is a great example. Airto's hand percussion plays counterpoint to Williams drums, Gary King's deep, fretless, funk bassline holds the groove and Grover moves right into it, and then soars above it.

SUPERB TRIPLE DISC SET OF LIVE BROADCAST RECORDINGS FROM THE 1970s Formed in 1967 as Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago shorted their name in 1969, and throughout the 1970s and 80s were a regular fixture on both single and album charts universally. One of the world's best-selling groups of all time, having sold more than 100 million records, in 1971, Chicago was the first rock act to sell out Carnegie Hall for a week. To date, Chicago has sold over 40 million units in the U.S., with 23 gold, 18 platinum, and eight multi-platinum albums. They have had five consecutive number-one LPs on the Billboard 200 and 20 top-ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1974 the group had seven albums, its entire catalogue at the time, on the US albums list simultaneously.

Soft Machine are an English rock and jazz band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966, named after the novel The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs.Australian poet, guitarist, singer, composer and performance artist Daevid Allen moved to Paris in 1960. Inspired by the emerging 'Beat Generation' of writer's works he'd discovered whilst working in a Melbourne bookshop he moved into a room in Paris's 'Beat Hotel' and spent time around the city's Latin Quarter. There, he rubbed shoulders with Terry Riley and William S. Burroughs, gaining free access to the area's jazz clubs. Influenced by the music philosophies of Sun Ra he formed the Daevid Allen Trio, a free-jazz outfit which performed in Burroughs' theatre pieces based on that writer's novel 'The Ticket That Exploded'.In 1961 Allen travelled to Canterbury, England, where he met 16 year-old Robert Wyatt (who was the son of his landlord). Their mutual interest in jazz resulted in a few gigs, in London in 1963, as the Daevid Allen Trio (with Hugh Hopper on bass and Mike Ratledge occasionally guesting on piano). Around the same time, Wyatt formed the Wilde Flowers with the Hopper brothers, Hugh and Brian Hopper, with Kevin Ayers on vocals.

In a career that took flight in 1985 with immediate commercial and critical acclaim, guitar virtuoso Stanley Jordan has consistently displayed a chameleonic musical persona of openness, imagination, versatility, respect and maverick daring. Be it bold reinventions of classical masterpieces or soulful explorations through pop-rock hits, to blazing straight ahead jazz.

The 1970s were banner years for Airto Moreira–not only because of his association with Chick Corea's Return to Forever and his work on wife Flora Purim's Milestone dates, but also, because of the generally superb work he did under Creed Taylor's supervision at CTI from 1972-74. One of the five-star gems that the Brazilian percussionist recorded for CTI was Fingers, which employs Purim on percussion and vocals, David Amaro on guitar, Hugo Fattoruso on keyboards and harmonica, Jorge Fattoruso on drums and Ringo Thielmann on electric bass. Produced by Taylor and recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's famous New Jersey studio, this LP demonstrates just how exciting and creative 1970s fusion could be.