Verve Vinyl & CDs

Review: A standout 1958-1959 recording by Johnny Hodges, Side by Side marked his continued solo work after taking the bold decision to leave the legendary Duke Ellington Orchestra. This album harks back to the small-group sessions of the 1930s but with a twist as Ellington's absence on several tracks meant Billy Strayhorn stepped in on piano. Joining Hodges are jazz legends like Jo Jones, Roy Eldridge and Harry 'Sweets' Edison, who all add colour to the varied collection, which has been newly remastered for Verve's Acoustic Sounds Series. As a follow-up to 1959's Back to Back: Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges Play the Blues, it is another gem from the noted alto saxophonist.

Review: This session captures multi-instrumentalist Roland at a pivotal point in his career, shifting from Verve's jazz-centric domain to the broader, more commercially attuned Atlantic Records. This shift in label mirrors the album's approach, melding hard bop, r&b, pop and Latin influences into a refined yet emotionally charged recording. Stripped of excess, the interplay between piano, bass and drums offer a taut yet expressive foundation, allowing the lead instrument's voice to alternate between fiery intensity and delicate introspection. The album's compositions reflect the artist's expansive range, moving from simmering blues to modal explorations, each piece showcasing a unique facet of his musical identity. At its heart, a deeply affecting ballad stands out, its after-hours melancholy that hits all the right notes. In contrast, rhythm-driven pieces pulse with kinetic energy, bursting with sharp phrasing and infectious grooves. 'Fallout', tinged with bossa nova influence, juxtaposes playfulness with restraint, while 'Alfie' reimagines a beloved pop standard, reshaping its familiar contours into something bold and brassy. A vital document of an artist stretching his reach, bridging accessibility with deep musicianship. The balance of exuberance and restraint, structure and improvisation, makes it an engaging listen. For those that know it well, an underappreciated yet essential piece of his music catalogue.

Review: 1997's Slow Traffic to the Right found Bennie Maupin navigating between cerebral jazz and deep funk with style and ease. Though generally known for his abstract leanings and serious musical demeanour, here he showed a lighter side - not least because he is actually smiling on the album cover - while diving into grooves shaped by his time with Herbie Hancock's Headhunters. With help from rhythm masters like Mike Clark and Paul Jackson, Maupin swaps out ECM austerity for signature Oakland bounce, so tracks like 'It Remains to Be Seen' and 'You Know the Deal' excel with newfound swagger without abandoning his jazz roots. It's a compelling pivot into accessible, funky and smart jazz soul.

Review: Finally reissued for its 50th anniversary, Love In Us All is a cosmic, uncompromising statement from legendary jazz cat Pharoah Sanders. This vital piece of the free jazz canon was released as his final Impulse! album and starts with 'Love Is Everywhere' which radiates transcendent beauty with layered horns, cascading piano and a repeated vocal mantra evoking the spirit of Coltrane's seminal 'A Love Supreme'. The flip, For John' is raw, chaotic and a furious outpouring of free jazz energy. Long out of print but here remastered, this essential release showcases Sanders' vision in its most fearless, spiritual form.

Review: An uncompromising statement in the landscape of free jazz and released in 1968, the album's title track is an 18-minute tour de force. A relentless exorcism of sound driven by Shepp's feverish tenor sax and an army of percussionists, including Beaver Harris, Norman Connor, Ed Blackwell, Frank Charles and Dennis Charles. The piece never loses momentum, a hypnotic Afro-rhythmic foundation over which Shepp's saxophone howls, growls and shrieks with raw, untamed fury. The arrival of Martin Banks and Michael Zwerin's trumpets in the final minutes momentarily grounds the chaos before it collapses in exhaustion. The additional tracks take a more traditional approach, contrasting the firestorm of the title piece. Yet, Magic of Ju-Ju remains a defining moment in Shepp's career, marking his transition into deeper explorations of African heritage, gospel, blues and contemporary r&b. The album's title, drawn from Vietnam-era GI slang, hints at Shepp's engagement with the social and political turbulence of the time. Reissued as part of the Verve By Request series on 180-gram vinyl, this is a vital milestone in Shepp's radical, boundary-pushing career.

Review: Ben Webster and Associates marked the final collaboration between tenor saxophone legends Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins, with veteran Budd Johnson joining them. The album was originally released in 1959 and featured a lineup including trumpeter Roy Eldridge, guitarist Les Spann, pianist Jimmy Jones, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Jo Jones. It has many timeless standards like 'Time After Time' and Ellington's 'In a Mellow Tone' along with three original Webster compositions, all of which have been transferred from the original analogue tapes and remastered. The album served somewhat as a tribute to Lester Young, a tenor master from the same era who had died under a month before the session.