In the mid-'60s, a distinctive postbop style evolved among the younger musicians associated with Blue Note, a new synthesis that managed to blend the cool spaciousness of Miles Davis's modal period, some of the fire of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and touches of the avant-garde's group interaction. Maiden Voyage is a masterpiece of the school, with Hancock's enduring compositions like "Maiden Voyage" and "Dolphin Dance" mingling creative tension and calm repose with strong melodies and airy, suspended harmonies that give form to his evocative sea imagery. Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard was at a creative peak, stretching his extraordinary technique to the limits in search of a Coltrane-like fluency on the heated "Eye of the Storm," while the underrated tenor saxophonist George Coleman adds a developed lyricism to the session. --Stuart Broomer (from Amazon.com)

 Along with Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell was one of bebop's two great pianists. Unlike Monk, whose brilliant primitivism transcended bebop and transformed jazz composition, Powell took the lessons of his jazz piano forebears--most notably Art Tatum--and applied them to the emerging small group style. Powell's own resulting style combined a rapid and fluid right hand with a moody, almost dissonant approach to chord work, and the combination proved thoroughly modern. The first of two similarly-titled albums, The Amazing Bud Powell is culled from a quintet and two trio dates recorded in 1949 and '51. Volume 1 is anchored by three versions of Powell's "Un Poco Loco," featuring bassist Curly Russell and drummer Max Roach, that demonstrate the composition's evolution. Among the album's other outstanding tracks are quintet versions of "Wail" and "Bouncing with Bud" featuring tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins and the great but rarely recorded trumpeter Fats Navarro. A whimsical trio version of Powell's "Parisian Thoroughfare"--best known as a vehicle for the Max Roach-Clifford Brown quintet--rounds out this superb collection. --Fred Goodman (From Amazon.com)

 1957 was a busy year for the pianist Sonny Clark. Aside from Cool Struttin', he also released six other LPs on Blue Note. His astounding output, however, was cut short due to his premature death in 1963. The highlight of Clark's prolific period must be Cool Struttin', a session featuring a virtual who's who of Blue Note's then-rising young crop of hard-bop stars. The recording opens with the aptly named title cut, as Clark's jaunty, forward-leaning piano drives the tune with crisp precision. The rest of the disc (this edition contains the Rodgers and Hart tune "Lover," which did not appear on the original release) is a sterling example of late-50s, finger-poppin' bop with the likes of trumpeter Art Farmer, saxophonist Jackie McClean, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones stretching out and digging in. --S. Duda (From Amazon.com)