These are Roscoe's early-'60s sides for the Vee-Jay label. (Import) ~ Hank Davis, All Music Guide

CD $24.68

This two-album Fantasy reissue is an anthology of the material the Staples recorded for Riverside between 1960 and 1963. For Riverside, the Staples recorded mostly gospel but the shouting was toned down a bit. A few modern-day "message" songs make their way into their repertoire as well, including Bob Dylan's "Masters of War." Not quite as cataclysmic as their Vee-Jay material but still essential. ~ Rob Bowman, All Music Guide

CD $11.38

This advanced hard bop session from 1960 was previously unreleased until it appeared on a Vee-Jay CD in 1994. Altoist Frank Strozier is heard with a Chicago-based trio comprised of pianist Billy Wallace, bassist Bill Lee and drummer Vernel Fournier. The CD really gives listeners two records in one because of the seven songs, all but one are heard in two versions and two of the pieces are heard three times. Strozier is in fine form, the obscure Billy Wallace (mistakenly called {$Wallace Wi...   [ read more ]

CD $9.48