A Prescription For The Blues represents a vibrant and masterfully executed late-career entry from the legendary jazz pianist and composer Horace Silver, released on Impulse! Records in 1997. Supported by a stellar quintet featuring virtuosic tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker, trumpeter Randy Brecker, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Louis Hayes, Silver delivers a classic display of hard bop inflected with his signature blues-drenched grooves, percussive piano comping, and infectious melodic hooks. Across nine original compositions and spirited arrangements, the ensemble navigates upbeat soulful stompers, reflective blues, and sophisticated rhythmic textures with flawless chemistry and dynamic energy. Recorded with pristine modern production values, the album captures the enduring vitality and creative genius of one of post-bop jazz's defining figures.

On this profoundly intimate, airy, and beautifully translucent 2010 studio album, veteran Norwegian double bassist Terje Gewelt delivers a sublime, high-fidelity masterclass in drumless acoustic interplay. Aptly titled Azure, this Resonant Music release presents a soothing, spacious blend of acoustic instrumentation heavily inspired by the coastal horizons of Gewelt's native Norway. Operating without a drummer, the record breathes freely, highlighting the exquisite textures of Gewelt’s rich, resonant upright bass alongside the articulate acoustic steel and nylon-string guitar work of Staffan William-Olsson and the warm, old-world coloring of Alfred Janson's accordion. The trio's exquisite sonic ecosystem is further enhanced by legendary Norwegian jazz vocalist Karin Krog, who lends her authoritative, deeply intelligent phrasing to three choice cuts. Flowing effortlessly through mesmerizing rubato landscapes, elegant bossa nova cadences ("Let Your Fingers Do the Talking"), and haunting traditional Norwegian motifs ("Vi skal ikkje sova bort sumarnatta"), this pristine acoustic session is an indispensable atmospheric treasure for modern chamber jazz collectors.

Two of trumpeter Art Farmer's earlier sessions as a leader are reissued on this CD in the OJC series. Farmer teams up with an all-star quintet (which includes tenor-saxophonist Sonny Rollins, pianist Horace Silver, bassist Percy Heath and drummer Kenny Clarke) for four songs and dominates a quartet (with pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Addison Farmer and drummer Herbie Lovelle) on six other tunes. Farmer's sound is lyrical even on the uptempo pieces and he is heard throughout in his early prime. Highlights include "Soft Shoe," "I'll Take Romance," "Autumn Nocturne" and an uptempo "Gone with the Wind." One should note that the programming differs from what is listed, with "Soft Shoe" (which should have been the opener) actually appearing fifth and the songs listed as appearing second through fifth moving up to first through fourth. Despite that flaw, the music is quite enjoyable and a must for 1950s bop collectors.

Avatar is a spectacularly expressive, historically monumental, and masterfully synchronized contemporary Afro-Cuban jazz and post-bop studio masterpiece engineered by the legendary Cuban virtuoso acoustic piano vanguard pioneer, brilliant composer, and producer monarch Gonzalo Rubalcaba, digitally preserved and released on compact disc in 2008 under the prestigious high-fidelity international preservation banner of Blue Note Records. Spanning over 65 minutes of breathtakingly intense, conceptually profound instrumental interactions across 7 expansive, long-form tracking alignments, this high-fidelity document serves as an absolute peak monument in late-2000s progressive avant-garde Latin jazz archaeology. Fronting a stellar, razor-sharp multi-generational quintet, this landmark studio session executes a fierce, forward-thinking sonic blueprint that seamlessly integrates Rubalcaba's legendary, lightning-fast polyrhythmic piano configurations and dense classical textures with explosive brass unisons, shape-shifting modern metric modulations, and complex modal interplay.

Complete 1952 Blue Note Sessions is a spectacularly expressive, historically monumental, and masterfully synchronized hard bop and bebop archival compilation masterpiece led by the legendary American alto saxophone vanguard pioneer and soulful blues stylist Lou Donaldson, digitally preserved and released on compact disc in 2002 under the specialized European historical reissue imprint The Jazz Factory. Spanning over 66 minutes of breathtakingly intense, conceptually profound instrumental interactions across 20 definitive tracking alignments, this high-fidelity document serves as an absolute peak monument in early-1950s Blue Note label archaeology. This comprehensive anthology captures the exact historical flashpoint where a young, fiercely swinging Donaldson—heavily inspired by Charlie Parker yet forging his own distinct, blues-drenched tonal vocabulary—helmed or supercharged a series of monumental New York sessions that laid down the structural bricks for the entire hard bop movement.

Milt Jackson Quartet is a spectacularly fluid, historically monumental, and masterfully synchronized hard bop studio masterpiece led by the legendary American vibraphone visionary Milt "Bags" Jackson, reissued on compact disc by the premier archival restoration imprint Original Jazz Classics. Spanning over 31 minutes of deeply adventurous, telepathic instrumental interaction across 6 timeless selections, this high-fidelity document serves as an absolute pinnacle statement in mid-1950s jazz archaeology. Originally recorded in May 1955 for Prestige Records and released in 1956, this unique studio session captures Jackson at a crucial evolutionary peak. By replacing John Lewis with hard bop pioneer Horace Silver, Jackson utilizes this brilliant quartet lineup to execute a fierce, liberating sonic blueprint that strips away the formal, chamber-like structures of the Modern Jazz Quartet, introducing a raw, soulful blues-oriented groove to frame his highly articulate, muscular melodicism.

The great jazz pianist, composer, and Blue Note legend Horace Silver only released one live album during his lifetime, but his quintets were always among the most reliably thrilling working bands in jazz, delivering high-energy, crowd-pleasing performances of Silver’s indelible compositions to fans around the world. In August 1965, Silver brought a powerhouse line-up to The Penthouse in Seattle with Woody Shaw on trumpet, Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone, Teddy Smith on bass, and Roger Humphries on drums. A newly discovered recording of those performances gets its first-ever release with Silver In Seattle: Live at the Penthouse featuring the band delivering uninhibited renditions of Silver classics including “Song For My Father,” “The Cape Verdean Blues,” “The Kicker,” and more.

Following a series of concert dates in Tokyo late in 1961 with his quintet, Horace Silver returned to the U.S. with his head full of the Japanese melodies he had heard during his visit, and using those as a springboard, he wrote four new pieces, which he then recorded at sessions held on July 13 and 14, 1962, along with a version of Ronnell Bright's little known ballad "Cherry Blossom." One would naturally assume the resulting LP would have a Japanese feel, but that really isn't the case. Using Latin rhythms and the blues as a base, Silver's Tokyo-influenced compositions fit right in with the subtle cross-cultural but very American hard bop he'd been doing all along. Using his usual quintet (Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Junior Cook on tenor sax, Gene Taylor on bass) with drummer Joe Harris (he is listed as John Harris, Jr. for this set) filling in for an ailing Roy Brooks), Silver's compositions have a light, airy feel, with plenty of space…

After the success of Song for My Father and its hit title cut, Horace Silver was moved to pay further tribute to his dad, not to mention connect with some of his roots. Silver's father was born in the island nation of Cape Verde (near West Africa) before emigrating to the United States, and that's the inspiration behind The Cape Verdean Blues. Not all of the tracks are directly influenced by the music of Cape Verde (though some do incorporate Silver's taste for light exoticism); however, there's a spirit of adventure that pervades the entire album, a sense of exploration that wouldn't have been quite the same with Silver's quintet of old. On average, the tracks are longer than usual, and the lineup - featuring tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson (a holdover from the Song for My Father sessions) and trumpeter Woody Shaw…

Recorded in 1972, a decade removed from the last of Horace Silver's classic quintet recordings, In Pursuit of the 27th Man has never been regarded as one of the pianist's prime releases, which likely explains why Blue Note took this long to make it available on CD. But the album, which moves gracefully between quartet performances featuring vibraphonist David Friedman and quintet numbers featuring the young Brecker brothers (Randy on trumpet and Michael on tenor saxophone), has its distinctive charms. While maintaining the crispness and sense of adventure with which he has always signed his music, Silver and bands ease through some of his most appealing melodies. Songs such as Weldon Irvine's "Liberated Brother" have the early '70s written all over them, but even in those cases their light-handed lyricism and boppish vitality keep them fresh. Friedman's idiosyncratic sound adds a sense of mystery to the music, which, with Bob Cranshaw on electric bass and Mickey Roker on drums, never lacks for a solid and soulful center.

Born September 2, 1928, Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva - later to be known as Horace Silver - was among the most accomplished American jazz pianists and composers of all time; coming out of the hard bop school of jazz, Silver was known for his distinctive playing style and pioneering compositional contributions to the form. Influenced by a wide range of musical styles, notably gospel, African music, and Latin American, Silver also later ventured into the soul-jazz genre. This 4CD collection features Horace Silver's eight finest Blue Note albums, made between 1952 and 1963, the first, and many would say most productive and challenging, decade of this masterful composer, performer and musician's career. Despite living a long and hugely influential life, Horace Silver sadly passed away on June 18th 2014, albeit at the age of 85 and of natural causes, having generally enjoyed good health until his final hour. This compilation serves as both an ideal starting point for those new to Horace Silver's music, and as a perfect reminder for those already familiar.