Archie Shepp: For Losers/Kwanza

Walter Booker | Jimmy Owens | Doris Troy | Bernard Purdie | Archie Shepp | Albert Winston | Joe Chambers | Mel Brown | Martin Banks | Robin Kenyatta

Although he went on to make some important records for a wide variety of labels, none more so than BYG,...

Reviewed by Kevin Le Gendre in issue: February/2012

Dan Tepfer: Goldberg Variations/Variations

A 29-year-old NY-based pianist with his own tastefully succinct improvs based on each of JS Bach's original 30 variations....

Reviewed by Selwyn Harris in issue: February/2012

Sonny Stitt: Now!/Salt & Pepper

Hank Jones | Al Lucas | Milt Hinton | Osie Johnson | Sonny Stitt | Paul Gonsalves

At last on CD, these sought-after albums were both recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's pad in Hackensack, the New Jersey...

Reviewed by Jack Massarik in issue: February/2012

Ahmad Jamal: Blue Moon

Manolo Badrena | Ahmad Jamal | Herlin Herlin | Reginald Veal

Ahmad Jamal is a significant figure in the evolution of jazz, or American classical music as he prefers to call...

Reviewed by Stuart Nicholson in issue: February/2012

Albert Ayler: Stockholm, Berlin 1966

Donald Ayler | Beaver Harris | William Folwell | Michel Samson | Albert Ayler

Recorded during Albert Ayler's two-week tour of Europe in 1966, this astonishing document gives the listener front row access to...

Reviewed by Edwin Pouncey in issue: February/2012

Aki Takase/Han Bennink: 2 For 2

Aki Takase | Han Bennink

Takase and Bennink reinvent the piano trio – by transforming it into a duo. This is really an essay into...

Reviewed by Duncan Heining in issue: February/2012

Oscar Peterson: Unmistakable

Not so much a re-release as a reprocess of solo Peterson, using digital technology to create the equivalent of an...

Reviewed by Alyn Shipton in issue: February/2012

Poncho Sanchez and Terence Blanchard: Chano y Dizzy!

Rob Hardt | Tony Banda | David Torres | George Ortiz | Joey De Leon Jr | Terence Blanchard | Ron Francis Blake | Francisco Torres | Poncho Sanchez

The eminently worthy idea is to celebrate the pioneers Pozo and Gillespie together, and the resultant album gets off to...

Reviewed by Brian Priestley in issue: February/2012

Johnny Hodges: Second Set

Next to Back to Back/Side by Side this three album set is the next most essential Hodges small group music...

Reviewed by Alyn Shipton in issue: February/2012

Joachim Kühn and the hr-Bigband: Out of the Desert Live at JazzFest Berlin

Majid Bekkas | Ramon Lopez | Joachim Kühn

In 2007 Kühn's collaboration with Moroccan oud player Majid Bekkas and the Spanish percussionist Ramon Lopez produced the critically acclaimed...

Reviewed by Stuart Nicholson in issue: February/2012