The music of Thelonious Monk has long attracted musicians as fertile ground for improvisation, but Italian pianist Renato Sellani approached it in a very different manner. Choosing nine of Monk's most popular works, he tackled them as piano solos, emphasizing their inherent (but often overlooked) lyricism rather than turn them into show pieces for flashy arrangements. As a result, the listener is rewarded with Sellani's journey through these very familiar tunes, as the pianist retains the humor within many of them (though it is a bit more subtle); he gets more frisky with a brief, flashy introduction to "Monk's Dream" before settling down. There are two takes of "Ruby, My Dear" which both merited inclusion, while a second take of "'Round Midnight" adds tenor saxophonist Gianni Basso and trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso as the session's sole guests for a dramatic trio performance…

A solid bop-based pianist, Eddie Higgins has never become a major name, but he has been well-respected by his fellow musicians for decades. After growing up in New England, he moved to Chicago, where he played in all types of situations before settling in to a long stint as the leader of the house trio at the London House (1957-1969). Higgins moved back to Massachusetts in 1970 and went on to freelance, often accompanying his wife, vocalist Meredith D'Ambrosio, and appearing at jazz parties and festivals. Eddie Higgins has led sessions of his own for Replica (1958), Vee-Jay (1960), Atlantic, and Sunnyside; back in 1960, he recorded as a sideman for Vee-Jay with Lee Morgan and Wayne Shorter.

Pianist Oscar Peterson and flugelhornist Clark Terry always made for a perfect matchup. Their duet set (one of five Peterson made during this period) is quite friendly, witty and hard-swinging. C.T. generally sets the joyous mood and on numbers such as "On a Slow Boat to China," "Shaw 'Nuff," "No Flugel Blues" and "Mack the Knife," the warm-toned flugelhornist shows that he was one of the few who could truly keep up with the remarkable pianist.

Other than two numbers cut for the Progressive label in Houston a couple years earlier (and thus far never reissued), this Atlantic session (put out as a Koch CD in 1999) was the recording debut for the remarkable Phineas Newborn. The 24-year-old pianist's playing on this trio/quartet date with bassist Oscar Pettiford and drummer Kenny Clarke (and occasionally guitarist Calvin Newborn) is virtuosic to say the least, on Oscar Peterson's level if not Art Tatum's. Newborn rips through the repertoire (which is highlighted by "Barbados," "Celia," "Daahoud," and "Afternoon in Paris"); try to tap your foot to "Celia" without breaking your ankle!

Pianist Oscar Peterson's final Pablo album (after a countless amount of appearances as both a leader and a sideman) features his quartet (which at the time included guitarist Joe Pass, bassist David Young and drummer Martin Drew) on the second of two CDs (along with Oscar Peterson Live) recorded during an engagement at Los Angeles's Westwood Playhouse in Nov. 1986. For the well-rounded set Peterson performs two of his originals, the blues "Soft Winds," a solo ballad medley and, as a climax, a burning version of "On the Trail."

On January 17, 1959, jazz immortal Erroll Garner took the stage of Boston’s Symphony Hall for a historic performance to a sold-out crowd. Recorded 11 months prior to the Dreamstreet sessions, which heralded Garner’s return after a lengthy battle for control over his catalog, Symphony Hall Concert is a previously unreleased compilation capturing the unparalleled genius of Garner’s live performances at the beginning of one of the most defining years of his life.

By now everyone has heard at least one of Antonio Carlos Jobim's beautiful compositions, if only his most famous ones, "Girl From Ipanema" or "Desafinado," playing poppishly in an elevator or mall somewhere. His work has been recorded by every combination of instrument and voice, including Sinatra's. What distinguishes this CD from hundreds of others is its inclusion of 11 relatively obscure Jobim tunes, and the way this classy trio succeeds in communicating the essence of his special gifts with a minimum of fuss and feathers. (One track is a Carlos Lyra composition, "Voce e Eu," which blends in nicely.) The arrangements are elegant, combining jazz and Brazilian rhythms to gently swing the melodies and highlight Jobim's lush harmonies…

A former member of Betty Carter's band, Green shows on this set that the word on him was correct; he's both an aggressive and sensitive stylist, able to rip through songs and make quick, yet correct chord changes. Yet he can also play a passionate ballad and not rush through it, instead developing and then completing his solos impressively.

There is plenty of diversity on this prime Dave Frishberg set. Four songs (including vocal versions of "Truckin'" and "&The Underdog") match Frishberg's piano with trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, tenor saxophonist Al Cohn, bassist Jim Hughart, and drummer Nick Ceroli. Frishberg takes "That Old Feeling," "You're a Lucky Guy" (which he sings), and "Cheerful Little Earful" as piano solos, and there are also three wonderful duets with Cohn. Only two of the ten songs were written by Frishberg, so the emphasis is on his talents as a pianist and singer rather than as a lyricist. Recommended.

This is a little-known and rather melancholy set, virtually Billy Strayhorn's only recording away from the world of Duke Ellington. The focus is totally on Strayhorn's piano throughout his interpretations of ten of his compositions (including "Lush Life," "Take the 'A' Train," and "Something to Live For"). Three selections have the Paris Blue Notes adding sparse wordless vocals, two other numbers add some quiet playing by the Paris String Quartet, and bassist Michel Goudret is on five of the ten selections (including one apiece with the strings and the voices). "Strange Feeling" and "Chelsea Bridge" are taken as unaccompanied piano solos. Of the ten songs, only "Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'" hints at happiness; otherwise, Strayhorn's melodic and concise playing is quite somber, peaceful in volume but filled with inner tension.

All the Things We Are is a bit unusual in the Dave Brubeck discography. The pianist is heard in a quartet with altoist Lee Konitz on "Like Someone in Love" and a brief "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," with avant-garde giant Anthony Braxton (also on alto) featured on "In Your Own Sweet Way," while both Konitz and Braxton team up for "All the Things You Are." In addition, the Brubeck Trio (with bassist Jack Six and drummer Alan Dawson) plays an exquisite and frequently exciting 21-minute, five-song "Jimmy Van Heusen Medley." A total success, this "experimental" Brubeck set is highly recommended.

Upon Duke Jordan's initial visit to Copenhagen, Denmark, followed by his decision to make the move as an expatriate permanent, he was tempted to stay by playing with some extraordinary Scandinavian rhythm sections. Bassist Mads Vinding, one of many skilled Danish jazz bassists, is here on the date performing in fine style. Drummer Ed Thigpen, who left the U.S. to take up permanent residence in Europe, was an even bigger influence in making Jordan's decision a good one, and is an equally skillful musical partner on this date. This is an expanded edition from the previous original issue on the Steeplechase label; a Japanese import with several alternate takes. It's an understated session for the most part, equal parts melancholy and hopeful, as one might expect with the trepidation of leaving home for new, unknown horizons to be discovered in a foreign land. The upbeat songs, as the modal, popping, tom-tom driven "No Problem" (from the movie soundtrack Les Liason Dangereuses) and the famous bop flag-waver "Jordu," bookend the CD.

The consistent pianist Mulgrew Miller leads his trio (which includes bassist Richie Good and drummer Tony Reedus) through a set dominated by his originals but also including "Body and Soul" and Michel Legrand's "Summer Me, Winter Me." The McCoy Tyner influence will probably always remain a significant part of Miller's style but he is such a powerful player in his own right that one really does not mind. His originals on this set range from the modal 6/4 piece "Somewhere Else" and the thoughtful "Dreamin'" to the melancholy "Carousel." As with all of Mulgrew Miller's releases thus far, this one is well worth picking up.

African Magic is a sweeping 24-part suite recorded live at the 11th and final Jazz Across the Border Festival in Germany in 2001 by the Abdullah Ibrahim Trio. Ibrahim's trio features acoustic bassist Belden Bullock and drummer Sipho Kunene distilling the melodic sounds of South Africa into a personal improvisation of jazz, religious, and traditional world music coupled with European classical and chamber music influences. Recurring cubistic style fragments of Ibrahim's multi-themed tone poem "Blue Bolero" are sequenced throughout this enchanting program and encourage listeners to participate in the invigorating rhythms that are abstract yet romantic…