Billie Holiday co-wrote a song with her pianist -- then died before she could ever record it. Mal Waldron’s spare 1959 trio session for Bethlehem is both a memorial and a statement of purpose.
Jimmy Heath's 1960 Riverside date with all three Heath brothers, Clark Terry, and both Adderley brothers -- big band thinking scaled down to ten pieces.
Booker Ervin's 1964 Prestige standards date with Tommy Flanagan, Richard Davis, and Alan Dawson -- the hardest-blowing tenor in jazz at his most tender.
Sonny Clark's final Blue Note date as a leader — a hard bop masterclass recorded fourteen months before his death, featuring Tommy Turrentine, Charlie Rouse, a rare Ike Quebec guest spot, and a rhythm section that swings like it has nowhere else to be.
