Sonny Criss: The Complete Imperial Sessions Jazz U.S.A./Go Man!/Plays Cole Porter/At The Crossroads

Sonny Criss | Ole Hansen | Buddy Woodson | Bill Woodson | Wynton Kelly | Barney Kessel | Leroy Vinnegar | Walter Perkins | Larry Bunker | Chuck Thompson

What at the time may have appeared like a desperate manoeuvre to distance themselves from accusations of being Bird copyists,...

Reviewed by Roy Carr in issue: August/2015

Johnny Hartman: Complete Bethlehem Sessions

Hartman has a completely undeserved reputation to me – he's frankly a frightful singer and this lengthy 2CD set proves...

Reviewed by Alyn Shipton in issue: August/2015

Billie Holiday: The Complete Commodore Recordings

Frankie Newton | Billie Holiday

A complete Commodore set by vocalist Billie Holiday was actually released by Universal in 1997, so is long out of...

Reviewed by Stuart Nicholson in issue: August/2015

Terence Blanchard & The E-Collective: Breathless

PJ Morton | Charles Altura | Fabian Almazan | Terence Blanchard | Oscar Seaton | Donald Ramsey | JRei Oliver

The same group gave a somewhat underwhelming performance at last year's Tampere Jazz Happening and though this recording is a...

Reviewed by Kevin Le Gendre in issue: August/2015

Trevor Watts & Veryan Weston: At Ad Libitum

Trevor Watts | Veryan Weston

The centrepiece of this live performance is a 22-minute improvisation called ‘The Unfinished Conversation’ – which is a pretty apt...

Reviewed by Daniel Spicer in issue: August/2015

Jimmy Heath: The Quota/Triple Threat/The Thumper/Really Big!

Jimmy Heath | Percy Heath | Freddie Hubbard | Wynton Kelly | Julius Watkins | Curtis Fuller | Nat Adderley | Albert ‘Tootie’ Heath | Paul Chambers | Cannonball Adderley

Jimmy Heath was three years younger than his bass playing brother Percy and nine years older than his drumming sibling...

Reviewed by Roy Carr in issue: August/2015

Mal Waldron: Complete Trio Recordings 1958-1960

Al Dreares | Mal Waldron | Albert Heath | Addison Farmer | Julian Euell | Jackie McLean | Kenny Dennis

As well as his composing, Waldron was known for his rather monochrome amalgam of Monk and Powell, often very effective...

Reviewed by Brian Priestley in issue: August/2015

Claudio Filippini Trio: Squaring The Circle

Luca Bulgarelli | Claudio Filipinni | Marcello Di Leonardo

About 12 months ago, Filippini released Breathing In Unison, which revealed the enormous strides in his playing since 2003's Love...

Reviewed by Stuart Nicholson in issue: August/2015

Benny Goodman/Rosemary Clooney: Date with the King

Clooney only sings (beautifully) on three tracks, but this sextet session is complemented by the soundtrack recordings for the BG...

Reviewed by Alyn Shipton in issue: August/2015

Frank Carlberg/Leo Genovese: Shadows and Reflections

A Monk enthusiast originally from Finland and an Argentinian on piano and classic keyboards give a quirkily trippy reading on...

Reviewed by Selwyn Harris in issue: August/2015