Sonny Criss: The Complete Imperial Sessions (Blue Note, 2 CDs)
Criss was 50 when, cancer-stricken, he did a Hemingway with a gun in 1977 and shuffled off his mortal coil. He left a legacy of exceptional playing, among the rarest these mid-1950s small group sessions, previously available only on Japanese CDs. Covering three complete albums, Jazz USA, Go Man! and Plays Cole Porter, they catch one of the great bop altoists in spellbinding form. An impassioned, virtuosic preacher, he had a highly-charged vocal tone, impeccable swing and seemingly limitless ideas. With compatible colleagues, including pianists Sonny Clark and Kenny Drew, guitarist Barney Kessel and vibist Larry Bunker, he lays down some of the greatest work of his recorded career - and, like his inspiration, Parker, everything he did was drenched in the blues. Magnificent.
Oscar Peterson: Jazz Legends (BBC)
Peterson's later trios, of which this one with bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen and drummer Martin Drew became the exemplar, acquired a metronomic dazzle that epitomised nothing so much as a watch that swung. And that clockwork precision and vitality is all over this newly released BBC mid-80s recording from the Barbican. It's brilliant, of course; the standard of musicianship is awesome. But if jazz, as critic Whitney Balliett once said, is the sound of surprise, the most persuasive moments come from the breath-taking solos of Niels-Henning, with the bassist sounding like some free spirit momentarily uncaged. Other than that it's Peterson table d'hote, rather than a la carte. For his many fans, that's more than enough to guarantee satisfaction.