Bob Katz

Though Jimmy Raney recorded under his own name as early as 1953, this 1956 set is regarded as his arrival as a leader. Raney is as fine an arranger as he is a guitarist. These eight tracks with Bob Brookmeyer on trombone (another fine arranger in a soloist's role) shine with the ease and fluidity of the best of the cool sessions recorded at the dawn of hard bop. One of the finest examples of the interplay between Raney and Brookmeyer occurs at the beginning of the album's second track, "How Long Has This Been Going On?," where the pair engage in a brief contrapuntal dialogue before Brookmeyer solos on the melody and Raney gently fills the space behind him by whispering his chords and fills through the trombonist's phrasing, before taking his own solo and slipping an inverted harmonic pattern on the tune's lyric line…

The First Decade by The Bob Mintzer Big Band is a collection from the leader's seven critically acclaimed big band albums on the DMP label. Bob Mintzer's unique writing and arranging for the big band led CD Review to call his band "the best big band ever".

Good '86 big band set led by tenor saxophonist and bass clarinetist Bob Mintzer, a fine player and arranger. These recordings are in a conventional format, with polished ensemble sections and good, occasionally great solos. They are well produced and mastered.

"Fasten Your Seat Belt!" Snuffy’s shrieked warning comes too late. He unleashes his liquid, lascivious guitar – sounding like a Frankenstein-monster version of ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons – and the sudden impact jerks you forward, and your head smashes through the glass coffee table on the floor in front of you. As you pluck crystal shards from your forehead and examine your neck for whiplash injuries, Snuffy and his band-mates show no mercy. A collection of alternate takes from their S/T debut + unreleased & live material.