Les Spann presents an interesting case study in instrumentalists whose ability seems to dwarf their reputation. Spann was quite expert on flute and guitar (not a common pairing), and although his musicianship could combine the best parts of Frank Wess and Barney Kessel, Spann rarely recorded as a leader. Thank goodness that Gemini (OJC, 2001), his only surviving set, remains in Concord's digital catalog.

Spann recorded Gemini over two December 1960 days with bassist Sam Jones, pianist Tommy Flanagan, and Julius Watkins on French horn; Louis Hayes played drums one day and Albert "Tootie" Heath the other. During this same period, Spann was also working with two of the decades' best bandleaders, Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones. Gemini demonstrates why he was welcome in such stellar company.

The light, breezy sound of Spann's flute nicely complements "It Might As Well Be Spring" and this cheery, opening "Smile." On guitar, Spann picks sharp melodic and rhythmic threads out of Gillespie's "Con Alma" and his own "Q's Dues Blues," where Flanagan rolls the ivories through his fingers like a master magician. Flanagan rips off another hot flurry in Watkins' scampering jackrabbit "Blues For Gemini." Spann's original "Afterthought" proves to be anything but. Watkins' French horn and the leader's flute beautifully harmonize their individual sounds into the coolly reflective jazz-classical "third stream."

Spann also contributes flute and guitar to That's Right! by Nat Adderley & the Big Sax Section (OJC, 1993) and to Abbey Lincoln's star-studded Abbey Is Blue (Riverside, 2005).

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Through his own records and television and film soundtracks and scores, saxophonist Oliver Nelson created a body of work acclaimed for craftily original compositions and thoughtful, dynamic arrangements that shaped rhythmic and melodic sculptures. But Nelson's Main Stem, recorded in 1961 for Prestige and part of Concord's digital catalog, features Nelson's alto and tenor blowing down the house with trumpet fastballer Joe Newman from the Basie band. I'd never heard Nelson scream and wail this way before.

Main Stem opens with Duke Ellington's title track and closes with "Tangerine," but the four middle tunes are Nelson's. "J&B" slowly cooks a full-bodied brew, heady and satisfying, from which Nelson's sax and Newman's trumpet drink long, refreshing draughts, and yet rocks hard and funky like "Night Train." Nelson's flow of ideas in "Ho!," blown with the hurricane force of King Curtis, sounds torrential and voluminous. Conguero Ray Barretto earns his keep with perfectly rhythmic percussion on "Latino," which opens up a skyway for Nelson's sax to soar like a Latin Bird. (That title track may be Ellington's, but it sure swings like Basie.)

Nelson has other great titles in Concord's catalog, such as his debut Meet Oliver Nelson with Kenny Dorham (OJC, 1993) and Screamin' The Blues with Eric Dolphy (RVG Remasters, 2006). Concord's catalog includes another "Main Stem" release: Vibesman Terry Gibbs uses this same Ellington tune for the title track to his 1961 live album Dream Band, Vol. 4: Main Stem (Contemporary, 2002).

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Out Of Nowhere is a live date that Chet Baker recorded on Christmas Eve 1982 with a pickup group of local musicians at a small club in Tulsa, OK. The recording sounds a bit rough and the band is a little-known family affair -- Ted Adams on acoustic bass with sons Ron on electric bass and Frank on alto sax and flute, plus guitarist Frank Brown. But, Baker sounds interested and engaged throughout and the program includes tunes by Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, even if sometimes this 1991 Milestone set seems to come from out of nowhere.

Baker recorded several versions of "Out Of Nowhere" and felt loose enough during this performance to introduce his solo with the opening riff from "The Mexican Hat Dance," then conclude it with scalar runs that shine with Miles Davis' refined, reflective vision. Baker closes with "The Theme," the jaunty little melody that Davis wrote as closing music to wrap up a live set. "Au Privave" gallops through one of the few available recordings of a classically angular bebop steeplechase credited to Charlie Parker. Nobody else ever recorded this tune?

Other live recordings on Milestone include Milestone Jazzstars' In Concert, a 1978 performance by Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner, Ron Carter and Al Foster (1989);  All The Way Live by Jimmy Smith with Eddie Harris, recorded in 1981 ('96); and Fourmost Return by Smith with Stanley Turrentine, Kenny Burrell, and Grady Tate, recorded in 1990 NYC ('97).

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There isn't another album in Stan Getz's catalog quite like Early Stan. Available in the Digital catalog, it combines multiple sessions from 1949 through 1953 that featured the fledgling tenor saxophonist in various configurations with numerous musicians, most notably Jimmy Raney on guitar, Shorty Rogers on trumpet and Terry Gibbs on vibes, all spotlighted as featured soloists.

Even if Early Stan is an assorted bag of sessions and sidemen, everyone involved sounds devoted to the singular purpose of jamming through tunes written by Raney, Rogers, and Gibbs. Terry, Shorty and Stan jump through the swinging round of solos simply titled "T&S." Raney's bop guitar, escorted by Getz's courtly sax, darts nimbly through his kinetic tunes "Signal" and "Motion." Three takes of "Terry's Tune" construct an agility course for Gibbs' fluttering vibes to race through, and whoever subtitled "Cuddles (Speedway)" wasn't kidding. This breakneck sprint could make even an Indy car driver dizzy!

The poignant yet oblique, mysterious romanticism of "'Round Midnight" provides another great vehicle for Getz' to introduce and study the sturdy but gracefully elegant tenor sound that he would explore and refine, throughout his career, into his unique musical signature. The Prestige two-fer Stan Getz (1997) compiles another sampling of his early work; later highlights include the live Quintessence Volume 1 (Concord, 1991) and Volume 2 ('92) with Chet Baker.

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