Don Amorth Continua

1931-1933 (1990). The first of three Don Redman Classics CDs consists of his orchestra's earliest sessions. Although Redman's big band never hit it as big as his former employers' (Fletcher Henderson and McKinney's Cotton Pickers), it was an impressive outfit, thanks to the leader's advanced arrangements. Among the key sidemen on these performances are trumpeters Red Allen (who is on the first two sessions) and Sidney DeParis, tenor saxophonist Robert Carroll, and pianist Horace Henderson. Highlights include "Chant of the Weed" (Redman's atmospheric theme song), "I Heard," "How'm I Doin'," and "Hot and Anxious." The main Don Redman CD to get…

Don Henley doesn't move fast because he can afford not to hurry. He can spend the better part of a decade waiting out a record contract, labor on a 90-minute Eagles reunion for maybe half a decade, then take another eight years before returning with Cass County, his first solo album in 15 years and only fifth overall. That's the mark of a man who takes his time, but all that chronology pales compared to the true journey Cass County represents: a return to Henley's country roots, whether they lie in the blissed-out, mellow sunshine of Southern California or the Texas home that provides this record with its name.

Coming as it did between two of Don Ellis' greatest records (Autumn and At Fillmore), New Don Ellis Band Goes Underground was a disappointment. The dozen concise performances are generally overarranged, the solos are too brief, and the melodies (with two exceptions) are not memorable. The ridiculously complex "Bulgarian Bulge" and "Eli's Coming" (which would soon join the repertoire of Maynard Ferguson) are the standouts, but the other R&B-oriented material, which often has so-so vocals by Patti Allen, is quite forgettable.

This album is Don Airey's debut solo album, released in 1989 and paying tribute to the dramatic 1986 K2 expedition that took the lives of 13 extraordinarily experienced climbers. Featuring beautifully orchestrated keyboard, guitar and drum parts all of which are played by friends from bands from Airey's past: Gary Moore, Cozy Powell and Colin Blunstone on vocals complete this Prog-Rock anthem of an album. 'K2 - Tales of Triumph and Tragedy' is a story told by music; intriguing and breathtaking.

One of the most obscure albums Covay cut, Funky Yo Yo slipped out in 1977 on the tiny Versatile label, with such little notice that it's even escaped getting listed in some discographies. It's a strange record, too, with production so sparse (and some dull muffle to the sound fidelity, though it's not a serious impediment) that one suspects these might be demos, or perhaps not even 1977 recordings. Yet in a way that very rootsy, stripped-down feel makes it appealing, particularly as it was appearing at a time when many fellow soul greats of Covay's generation were issuing bloated, hopeless attempts to jump on the disco bandwagon. Far from emulating Barry White, Covay sounds rather like Van Morrison on much of this material, though the similarity's probably coincidental. Particularly on the more bare-bones arrangements, these actually have a cool intimate feel, as if they're songwriter demos intended for pitches to '60s Atlantic recording artists.

In the late 1960s, the American trumpet player and free jazz pioneer Don Cherry and the Swedish visual artist and designer Moki Cherry began a collaboration that imagined an alternative space for creative music, most succinctly expressed in Moki’s aphorism “the stage is home and home is a stage.” By 1972, they had given name to a concept that united Don’s music, Moki’s art, and their family life in rural Tagårp, Sweden into one holistic entity: Organic Music Theatre. Captured here is the historic first Organic Music Theatre performance from the 1972 Festival de jazz de Chateauvallon in the South of France, mastered from tapes recorded during its original live broadcast on public TV. A life-affirming, multicultural patchwork of borrowed tunes suffused with the hallowed aura of Don’s extensive global travels, the performance documents the moment he publicly jettisoned his identity as a jazz musician…