Xrcd

Without a doubt, one of the five best jazz albums ever made is this 1956 masterpiece. Recorded in a single day at Rudy Van Gelder's living room/studio, Sonny Rollins earned his place as a legend with "Saxophone Colossus". Aided and abetted by powerhouse drummer Max Roach, pianist Tommy Flanagan, and bassist Doug Watkins, the quartet plays with the precision of a chamber orchestra, and swings just as hard. It's not very often that you hear an album where the musicians are so in tune with each other. From the breezy sway of "St. Thomas" to the final notes of "Blue 7", Rollins and company shows how it should be done. JVC has also added a bonus track. The XRCD remastered edition finally sounds as great (or better) than the original vinyl pressing. No serious jazz fan should be without a copy of this amazing album in their collection.

This rare Bill Evans trio set (with bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones) went unissued until the mid-'70s when the pianist decided that it was worth releasing as a fine example of bassist Chambers' work. Very much a spontaneous set (recorded after the rhythm section made part of a record accompanying trumpeter Chet Baker), the group runs through standards such as "You and the Night and the Music", "Green Dolphin Street" and two versions of "Woody 'N You." This out-of-print XRCD-2 reissue is a must for Bill Evans fans, superbly remastered with JVC's Extended Resolution Process.

Echoes Of A Note is the 1993 album by Japanese trumpeter Tiger Okoshi. Released by JVC, the album features Peter Erksine, Bela Fleck, Mike Stern, Jay Anderson and another person. Okoshi co-produced the album with Akira Taguchi when they were all in New York City in mid-March 1993. This disc is the XRCD edition.

Blue's Moods is a 1960 album by American jazz trumpeter Richard Mitchell, who was better known as Blue Mitchell. Originally released by Riverside Records, this is a remaster done in 1998 by Victor and is an XRCD pressing.

Duke's Big 4 is a 1973 album by Duke Ellington. It was his second to last album before he died in 1974. This was remastered and reissued in 1997 by JVC in the XRCD format.