Sanitize Tom Waits's vocal cords, take some of the rasp out of Dr. John's, put some muscle into Bobby Caldwell's, combine them and you'll have an approximation of the quality of Steve Tyrell's voice. Like his popular 1999 debut, "A New Standard", this is a meticulously recorded album featuring the great American songbook and some of the best jazz soloists alive, including trumpeter Clark Terry, harmonica player Toots Thielemans, and singer Jane Monheit, who plays Lucille Ball and Betty Carter against Tyrell's Red Skelton and Ray Charles on the classic duet "Baby It's Cold Outside".

"Happenings" is Bobby Hutcherson’s masterpiece. It features six Hutcherson originals and Herbie Hancock’s acclaimed “Maiden Voyage”. This star-studded session features Herbie Hancock on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass and Joe Chambers on drums. With its light and mellow tone, the album reached the top ten on Billboard’s Top Jazz albums.

"Gettin' Around" is an album by American jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon recorded in 1965 and released on the Blue Note label. The review in Billboard Magazine called Gordon's playing "cool and hot", especially praising his improvisations on "Heartaches". The support of the rhythm section was said to be "A-1 all the way".

"The Cape Verdean Blues" followed Song for My Father as another album by Horace Silver that was inspired by his father, who hailed from the island nation of Cape Verde. The Cape Verdean Blues featured the added contribution of legendary bop trombonist J.J. Johson, whom Silver had wanted to work with for quite some time leading up to this album.

"Idle Moments" is a 1963 jazz album, released in early 1965, by guitarist Grant Green. Released on Blue Note, it features performances by Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone, Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Blue Note in-house producer Duke Pearson on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Al Harewood on drums. The album contains some of Grant Green's most sublime playing, and the title track is full of elegant expressiveness that is thorougly enjoyable.

Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley had been recording for Blue Note for a decade when he made his excellent 1965 album A Caddy for Daddy featuring a first-class sextet with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums.

"Clubhouse", recorded in 1965 on a visit home to the US while Dexter Gordon was living and working in Europe, went unreleased for 14 years. It's possible that Blue Note felt the market was saturated with Gordon product in the mid 1960s; the problem certainly wasn't the music itself or the players. Finally unveiled in 1979, this is now considered one of Gordon's best albums, a lost treasure. The musicians on the session include Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Barry Harris on piano, Bob Cranshaw and Ben Tucker sharing bass duties and Billy Higgins on drums.

Celebrated jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan paved the way for the popularity of ‘60s soul-jazz with the release of his definitive classic "The Sidewinder". The title track and one of Morgan’s signature tunes exemplified the soul-jazz genre, later becoming a jazz standard. Recorded in 1963 at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio, the highly successful album would chart on both the Billboard 200 and Billboard’s Top R&B albums. Its provocative phrasing and innovative technique mesmerized audiences. The album includes the hard-bop tracks “Gary’s Notebook”, “Hocus-Pocus” and “Boy, What a Night”. An absolute essential.

Massimo Farao' is a wonderful Italian pianist who has played and recorded with Red Holloway, Albert "Tootie" Heath, Tony Scott, Franco Ambrosetti, Nat Adderley, Jeff Tain Watts, Jack DeJohnette and Chris Potter, among others. Farao's passionate style and stoic romanticism are very attractive along with the rich harmonies he creates.

It can be argued with some validity that one's overall movement through life is reflected in his creative endeavor, and Eric Alexander's strength and versatility on the saxophone can be viewed from this perspective. At this point in his career, Eric has certainly covered a lot of territory, both literally and figuratively. He himself has lost count of how many albums feature his playing; our guess is 100 or more. While he has garnered critical acclaim from every corner, what has mattered most has been to establish his own voice within the illustrious bop-based jazz tradition which is exactly what he does on his latest HighNote release. The close-knit ensemble of a band of regular buddies, coupled with the bass-clef contributions of the extraordinary Bob Cranshaw, make for a listening experience not soon forgotten.

"Delightfulee" features Lee Morgan performing both with a quintet and a big band, with arrangements by Oliver Nelson. Recorded on April 8 & May 27, 1966. The album was produced by Alfred Lion.

The Bridge is a studio album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, recorded in 1962. It was Rollins' first release following a three-year sabbatical and was his first album for RCA Victor. The saxophonist was joined by the musicians with whom he recorded for the next segment of his career: Jim Hall on guitar, Bob Cranshaw on double bass and Ben Riley on drums.

Celebrated jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan paved the way for the popularity of ‘60s soul-jazz with the release of his definitive classic The Sidewinder. The title track and one of Morgan’s signature tunes exemplified the soul-jazz genre, later becoming a jazz standard. Recorded in 1963 at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio, the highly successful album would chart on both the Billboard 200 and Billboard’s Top R&B albums. Its provocative phrasing and innovative technique mesmerized audiences. The album includes the hard-bop tracks “Gary’s Notebook”, “Hocus-Pocus” and “Boy, What a Night”. An absolute essential.

"The Gigolo" has no weak moments, featuring jazz aficionados Wayne Shorter, Harold Mabern, Bob Cranshaw and Billy Higgins. Produced by Alfred Lion. Recorded June 25 & July 1, 1965 at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Mike LeDonne has appeared on over 100 CDs as a sideman with so many jazz giants it is hard to keep count: Art Farmer, Clifford Jordan, Dizzy Gillespie, Stanley Turrentine, Milt Jackson, Christian McBride and others. LeDonne made his first recording as a leader on the B-3 for Savant in 2003 and has since added seven additional records to his discography on the label. To his regular band, The Groover Quartet (Eric Alexander, Peter Bernstein and Joe Farnsworth) Mike has added guests Jeremy Pelt on trumpet and the venerable bassist, Bob Cranshaw. With such an illustrious line-up there are few jazz combos that burn hotter, swing harder or generate more excitement than this all-star aggregation.