Phil Ranelin: Collected Works 2003-19

Calvin Keys | Danny Grissett | Dayna Stephens | Don Littleton | Donald Bailey | Jinshi Ozaki | Kamasi Washington | Mahesh Balasooriya | Pablo Calagero | Pharoah Sanders

Trombonist Ranelin is best known as the co-founder of the Tribe label, one of the revered flagships of independent often...

Reviewed by Kevin Le Gendre in issue: October/2019

John Coltrane: The Complete Mainstream 1958 Sessions

Alvin Jackson | Art Taylor | Curtis Fuller | Doug Watkins | Howard Williams | John Coltrane | Louis Hayes | Tommy Flanagan | Wilbur Harden

The word ‘mainstream’ was just becoming popular in 1958 and, given its multiple nuances today, it seems more appropriate now...

Reviewed by Brian Priestley in issue: July/2013

Chris Dave & The Drumhedz

Bilal Oliver | Chris Dave | Isaiah Sharkey | James Poyser | Keyon Harrold | Pino Palladino | Stokley Carmichael

The presence of no fewer than 15 tracks on this long-awaited debut by one of the pivotal drummers in contemporary...

Reviewed by Kevin Le Gendre in issue: March/2018

The Printmakers: Westerly

James Maddren | Mark Lockheart | Mike Walker | Nikki Iles | Norma Winstone | Steve Watts

This long-awaited debut recording from The Printmakers could be looked on as a paean to musical friendships. Fittingly dedicated to...

Reviewed by Peter Quinn in issue: July/2015

Johnny Griffin: Four Classic Albums

The early material consists of Griffin’s three Blue Note albums and his first Riverside, presenting the virtuoso tenorman from Chicago...

Reviewed by Brian Priestley in issue: February/2020

Joey Calderazzo: Going Home

It is perhaps easy to overlook the career of Joey Calderazzo since he became an indispensable cog in the Branford...

Reviewed by Stuart Nicholson in issue: February/2017

Woody Shaw: The Complete Muse Sessions

Anthony Braxton | Arthur Blythe | Azar Lawrence | Billy Harper | Buster Williams | Carl Allen | Cecil McBee | Cedar Walton | Eddie Moore | Frank Foster

Even for someone so gifted, Woody Shaw could easily have slipped off the radar were it not for the sheer...

Reviewed by Roy Carr in issue: September/2013

Roy Haynes: Roy Haynes Modern Group

Barney Wilen | Henri Renaud | Jay Cameron | Jimmy Gourley | Jimmy Jones | Joe Benjamin | Roy Haynes

The process of reissuing material from the French labels Vogue and Swing through Sony began with the monumental 20CD set...

Reviewed by Brian Priestley in issue: June/2017

Barney Kessel: To Swing or Not to Swing

Al Hendrickson | Bill Perkins | Claude Williamson | Georgie Auld | Hampton Hawes | Harry ‘Sweets’ Edison | Irv Cottler | Jimmy Rowles | Kessel | Leroy Vinnegar

His nimble solos sound a little lightweight now, but in the early-1950s, with Kenny Burrell yet to reignite with Jimmy...

Reviewed by Jack Massarik in issue: August/2012

Dwight Trible: Mothership

Dwight Trible | John B. Williams | Kamasi Washington | Mark de Clive-Lowe | Ramses Rodriguez

LA-based vocalist Dwight Trible's career traverses collaborations with Kenny Garrett, Charles Lloyd and Pharoah Sanders on the one hand, J...

Reviewed by Peter Quinn in issue: May/2019