This CD features three Skylark/Tampa EPs, one featuring The Lighthouse All Stars with Vivien Garry, one devoted to a jam session with Paul Nero, Maynard Ferguson, Sam Most, and others, and one by a Charlie Shavers led group.  Plus, the original "Big Boy" parts 1 and 2 are included

Bill Harris's 1988 CD features selections from the mid-1950's through the late 1980's, and ranges from blues to classical... or as Bill liked to call it, "..from Blues to Bach".

V.S.O.P. #129 CD GULF COAST JAZZ: WADE IN THE WATER

 The music on this CD is drawn from the second 1959 recording session of the group calling itself "The American Jazz Quintet", which featured Ellis Marsalis, Harold Battiste, Alvin Batiste, Ed Blackwell, and Richard Payne or Willam Swanson.  They were one of a very few and perhaps the only modern jazz group based in New Orleans.  The first session was released last year as Volume I (V.S.O.P. #125 CD).  The music included on this second CD release first appeared in the 1960's on an LP produced by Bumps Blackwell for release on his Famous Records label and this CD tracks the order of that program.  Unlike the selections on "Volume 1", which were largely original compositions, this program is comprised mostly of jazz arrangements of traditional gospel music and spirituals.  The group's original intent in making these recordings in 1959 was to create a program that traces the related origins of New Orleans jazz and modern jazz to the early spirituals of the Southern black gospel churches

 V.S.O.P. #128 CD  THE DOUG WEBB QUARTET: SETS THE STANDARD

This CD is a bit of a departure from the usual album that Doug Webb has recorded in the past. For this release, Doug wanted to record a set of standards, primarily ballads, so that he could exercise his improvisational abilities in a more lyrical direction. He also wanted to record on various horns from his vast collection, and take advantage of his facility with both E flat and B flat reed instruments. When Alan Broadbent was invited to perform at Ken Poston's series of concerts in May of  2014, the long awaited opportunity presented itself. Alan's wonderful talents as an arranger and composer are equaled only by his great ability as a pianist and accompanist. He was the perfect pianist to assist Doug in bringing his ideas to fruition. The location selected was Nolan Shaheed's Studio in Pasadena, with Putter Smith and Paul Kreibich invited to round out the rhythm section. Because of time constraints on Alan's stay in Los Angeles, no rehearsal time being available, it was settled that the selections to be performed and recorded would be familiar to all and no written parts would be used. This is a totally improvised set. The results are as excellent as the personnel involved.

 V.S.O.P. #127 CD  THE DAVID ANGEL BIG BAND:  CAMSHAFTS and BUTTERFLIES.  David Angel is one of the best-known unknown composers and arrangers in jazz today, having worked on the soundtracks for Bonanza, Laugh-In, The Streets of San Francisco, The Jerry Lewis show, Sonny & Cher, etc.  His unique composing and arranging style combines classical techniques with big band jazz arranging in a distinct and individualistic manner.  He is also a great though understated reed man.  Some of the finest Hollywood studio musicians have played his charts at his weekly rehearsals at Local 47.  This release features Bob Cooper, Bill Perkins, Jackie Kelso, and Bob Enevoldsen, among others, in sessions recorded in 1973 and 1975 at Sage and Sound. David regards this material as among his best in a long and musically rich career that has contributed some remarkable music

V.S.O.P.#126 CD Omega OSL 5 THE LIGHTHOUSE ALL STARS Plus Ten: JAZZ ROLLS ROYCE. This 1957 recording was commissioned for the 1957 UCLA Homecoming Show and Bob Cooper was called upon to compose and arrange the music to fit this occasion. The writing called for not just the Lighthouse All Stars, but ten additional musicians in order to fill out the sextet into a regular big band, with a view of preserving the sound of the smaller group in a larger ensemble. We have chosen to release this material in tribute to Howard Rumsey, who is being honored this year by the Los Angeles Jazz Institute. This is a remastered version.

V.S.O.P. #2154 CD Tampa 21 & 54 PLAS JOHNSON: BOP ME DADDY and DRUM STUFF. Recorded in  1955, 1956 and 1957 for Robert Scherman’s Tampa Records record label, these two albums showcase the tenor work of Plas Johnson in the context of a small group. Plas Johnson is best known today for his work with Henry Mancini and the many Capitol Records sessions he participated in. Throughout his earlier career, he was also quite active with independents, appearing frequently on sessions led or contracted by Rene Hall, or Ernie Freeman. Ultimately, Plas became one of the members of the loose knit group of first call rock & roll session men known as the “Wrecking Crew”. This CD features the style of tenor playing that was primarily the domain of such players as Lee Allen, Al Sears, Hal Singer, Sam Taylor, Jimmy Wright, Sil Austin and many others.

V.S.O.P. #125 CD GULF COAST JAZZ: VOLUME ONE . The group calling itself the American Jazz Quintet, and featuring Ellis Marsalis, Harold Battiste, Alvin Batiste, Ed Blackwell, and Richard Payne or Willam Swanson, was one of a few modern jazz groups based in New Orleans. While each had significant careers in music, they did not record often under this name, nor even together. In fact, apart from a 1956 recording, a 1962 session and a reunion recording in 1987 the recordings contained in this new CD may be the only other release of their unique and exciting music. These sessions were recorded in February, 1959 at Cosimo Recording Studio in New Orleans......

 This release is devoted to a fairly rare recording by Oscar Moore, made in 1957, in stereo, and only released on 7.5 ips, 2 track reel to reel tape.  By the mid-1950's when this recording was made, Oscar Moore's career was in decline but he still did studio work in Hollywood, from time to time.  He had previously spent 10 years with the Nat King Cole trio, at the height of it's popularity.  He had also worked with his brother Johnny Moore in Johnny' Moore's Three Blazers with Charles Brown, and had won awards for his instrument in Downbeat, Esquire and Metronome.   Some time after this recording, Oscar took up bricklaying as a full time career, and only recorded two or three more times during the remaining 24 years of his life. This CD features some very fine Oscar Moore playing, from his rarest period, which no fan of jazz guitar will want to miss!   

 The Valiants' first sides under that name were produced by Bumps Blackwell for Keen Records.  Their public appearances were often as the opening act for Sam Cooke, Johnny Guitar Watson, Young Jessie, and later Jan & Dean.   While the highest they charted was Number 43 on the R&B charts and Number 59 on the Billboard pop charts, they enjoyed much greater fame during the oldies radio revival shows of Art Laboe and Wolfman Jack throughout the 1960's.  The group was comprised of Billy Storm, (aka Billy Jones, aka Billy Fortune, aka Billy Spicer), Rip Spencer, Brice Coefield, and Chester Pipkin.  Billy Storm's great falsetto and tenor lead is probably most responsible for the group's enduring appeal.  They also had the distinction of recording the first released version of "Good Golly Miss Molly", recorded earlier by Little Richard but released later by Specialty.  This CD contains both the mastered release versions and the complete studio sessions from 1957 and 1958.