Nine soul-jazz cuts from the Blue Note vaults from between 1967 and 1970, all previously unreleased, alternate takes, or (in one case) only released on a single, by major figures [more]
This sampler CD has 11 ballads taken from the Muse catalog that the 32 Jazz label acquired in the mid-1990s. Unfortunately, the liner notes are sparse and the [more]
Jazz giants like Jack McDuff, Sonny Stitt, Kenny Burrell, and Bobby Hutcherson all contribute tracks and brush shoulders with jazz middleweights like Wallace [more]
This single CD (a 1998 reissue) has ten selections taken from the Muse and Landmark catalogs of the 1970s, '80s and early '90s. The ten selections all feature [more]
Like so many Jimmy McGriff albums, Main Squeeze percolates but never quite boils over. It's a collection of short, sharp and oh-so-sincere funk workouts performed with both style and [more]
The Mosaic Select treatment has deservedly been given to Big John Patton. There are those who argue that Patton's entire catalog should have been the subject of a [more]
If any label has the means to exploit its catalog, it's Rounder, and in its Perfect Ten series, the label picked ten of its best-known artists [more]
An excellent guitarist with a soulful sound and the ability to uplift any funky jazz date, Jimmy Ponder has appeared on many recordings during his long career, over 80 as a sideman and 15 as a leader. Ponder began playing guitar when he was 14 and considers Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell to be his two main early influences and Wes Montgomery later on. Offered a job with Charles Earland after having only played guitar three years, Ponder waited until he graduated from high school and then spent three years with the organist's group, recording several dates with Earland. He worked and recording with Lou Donaldson, Houston Person, Donald Byrd, Stanley Turrentine, and Jimmy McGriff and in the early '70s moved to New York (from Philadelphia), leading his own groups. Ponder has since recorded as a leader in the 1970s for Cadet, ABC/Impulse, TK, CBS, and Toshiba, in the '80s for Milestone, and in the '90s for Muse and HighNote. In the 21st century his albums included Ain't Misbehavin' (2000), Thumbs Up (2001), Alone (2003), What's New (2005), and Somebody's Child and Solo: Live at the Other Side, both released in 2007. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide