Guitarist Jim Hall is the sort of musician who displays such technical expertise, imaginative conception, and elegance of line and phrase that almost any recording of his is worth hearing. Still, Concierto ranks among the best albums of his superb catalog. For starters, the personnel here is a jazz lover's dream come true. Paul Desmond (saxophone), Chet Baker (trumpet), Roland Hanna (piano), Ron Carter (bass), and Steve Gadd (drums) are on board, creating -- along with Hall -- one of the highest profile lineups ever put to tape. Yet Concierto is not about star power and showboating. As subtle, nuanced, and considered as any of Hall's output, the ensemble playing here demonstrates great group sensitivity and interplay, giving precedence to mood and atmosphere over powerhouse soloing. Conductor and arranger Don Sebesky evinces a chamber ambience from the sextet on "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," the smoky "The Answer Is Yes," and the Hall centerpiece "Concierto de Aranjuez."© Anthony Tognazzini /TiVo

EPMD avoided the dreaded sophomore curse and kept its artistic momentum going on its second album, Unfinished Business. Once again, the duo triumphed by going against the flow -- when MCs ranging from Public Enemy to Sir Mix-A-Lot to N.W.A weren't hesitating to be abrasive and hyper, EPMD still had a sound that was decidedly relaxed by rap standards. For the most part, EPMD's lyrics aren't exactly profound -- boasting and attacking sucker MCs is still their favorite activity. However, Erick and Parrish do challenge themselves a bit lyrically on "You Had Too Much to Drink" (a warning against drunk driving) and "Please Listen to My Demo," which recalls the days when they were struggling. But regardless of subject matter, they keep things exciting by having such an appealing, captivating sound.© Alex Henderson /TiVo

Following on from 2021's Independence Day, Unfinished Business is the fourth studio album from London-born rapper Fredo. Continuing in the grounded, authentic tone on which he has built his name, the U.K. rap figurehead kicks things off with the nine-and-a-half-minute "My Story," an autobiographical monolith of the artist's turbulent life experiences. With 15 tracks including collaborations with Tiggs Da Author and Eric IV, the project saw release in August 2023.© David Crone /TiVo

Danny Gatton's album Unfinished Business rated #10 of the Top 100 albums of the 80s by Guitar World Magazine. On that album, he uses six different Fender and Gibson guitars and amps of 1963 vintage and earlier. The material is very diverse. Included is the Les Paul tribute "Cherokee," an eerie version of the Jackie Gleason theme "Melancholy Serenade" and an intricate construction around the Santo and Johnny standard "Sleepwalk," this album deserves the accolades it has received.© Tom Schulte /TiVo

Roughly as valuable as a half-price poster or mug, Unfinished Business is a glorified tour souvenir. 2002's The Best of Both Worlds, R. Kelly and Jay-Z's first collaborative record, was poor enough. The numbers tell you all you need to know: though that release had no trouble hitting gold status, Kelly's Happy People/U Saved Me outstripped its two and a half years of sales three times over in a matter of two months. So why did these two giants release a sequel to an obvious career lowlight? Unfinished Business' existence, in fact, is suspect in many ways. The press materials made a point to refer to these 11 songs as "previously unreleased," as opposed to "new," suggesting that they are leftovers from the same sessions that yielded The Best of Both Worlds. Further support for this speculation: the two records share much of the same personnel and recording locations, and the later release has even fewer bright spots than the initial one. More damning, perhaps, is that the release of Unfinished Business coincided with a tour that should've happened in 2002, had it not been for R. Kelly's belly splash into hot water, via an indictment on sex crimes. Two years after the indictment, Kelly's problems hadn't cooled down, but neither had his popularity. Touring with Jay-Z, the MC who carefully kept his distance from the situation, obviously became a possibility again at some point -- possibly after the supposed-to-be-retired Jigga witnessed the overwhelming support Kelly received from the fans. Touring in support of a record that's two years old -- and long forgotten -- is a silly proposition, so Jive and Roc-a-Fella (the two artists' labels) likely figured that they ought to capitalize on the development and patch this release together. Greed wins, fans lose. Can you really fault anyone for being paid millions to sleepwalk? Of course not, but you'd be less at fault for ignoring this slight release. Once you put it on, it's instantly evident that it's inconsequential in relation to everything else the artists have released before. Opener "The Return" wastes no time in deteriorating into a drone of background music, and the lack of positive features keeps flowing until the end of the final track.© Andy Kellman /TiVo

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This reissue combines two of the Blackbyrds' classic albums, City Life from 1975 and Unfinished Business from 1976, on a single 74-minute CD. To be sure, "classic" isn't a word that many jazz purists have used to describe the albums -- when Donald Byrd produced them, bop's hard-liners were denouncing the Clifford Brown-influenced trumpeter as a shameless sellout and insisting that he should have stuck to straight-ahead acoustic jazz. But then, the Blackbyrds weren't going after jazz purists -- their music was soul, funk, and disco with jazz overtones, and the people who bought their albums were more likely to be into Earth, Wind & Fire and Tower of Power than Sonny Stitt or Art Blakey. Unlike Stevie Wonder, Gil Scott-Heron, Marvin Gaye, the O'Jays, and Curtis Mayfield, the Blackbyrds didn't get into a lot of heavy sociopolitical messages; their forte was party music, and it is that escapist, feel-good mindset that defines the infectious hits "Happy Music" and "Rock Creek Park" (both from City Life) as well as memorable album tracks such as the mellow "Love So Fine" from City Life and the insistently funky "Party Land" from Unfinished Business. Calling this music escapist isn't saying that it's faceless or mechanical -- far from it. The Blackbyrds' party-time lyrics may not have been challenging, but musically, the band was creative, risk-taking, and distinctive. Even though they were primarily a soul/funk/disco outfit, the Blackbyrds came from jazz backgrounds -- and that jazz influence often works to their creative advantage on this excellent reissue.© Alex Henderson /TiVo