One of several records devoted to the music of Herbie Nichols that appeared independently in the mid-1990s, Duck Baker’s Spinning Song has been regarded as a milestone by guitarists ever since. Baker had made his reputation over the previous two decades as a master fingerstyle guitarist working mostly in folk, ragtime, and swing, but this was his first real entry into the world of jazz guitar, and his background gave him a unique approach to Herbie Nichols. The jazz press gave Spinning Song a warm reception, and Acoustic Guitar magazine proclaimed it "one of the best guitar records ever recorded — by anybody."

 “Nowadays a lot of people are giving Nichols’ music the attention it deserves, but only Duck Baker’s playing makes me feel Herbie in the room.” — the late Roswell Rudd

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The enigmatic pianist and composer Herbie Nichols (1919–63) has forever been one of Jazz’s insider figures. Though he was the composer of “Lady Sings the Blues” for Billie Holiday, Nichols' compositions were little known, circulated, or performed in his lifetime. Two records for Blue Note made from several 1955–56 trio sessions are the central repository for Nichols’ very personal original music. He died in obscurity, but in the 21^st century Herbie Nichols is rightly hailed for a profound and offbeat writing style comparable to that of his contemporary, Thelonious Monk.

Odyssey is the definitive compendium of the solo trumpet music of Bill Dixon (1925–2010). Known primarily for his small and large ensemble masterpieces of the decades between Intents and Purposes (1967) and Tapestries (2009), Dixon was continually evolving a remarkably nuanced and powerful solo music in the studio through these years. Small offerings of these gems were published relatively obscurely in the early 1980s in Italy, and a larger batch were hand selected by the composer for a 2-LP collection in 1985.

In 2000, Bill Dixon gathered the entirety of his oeuvre for solo trumpet into Odyssey, adding more than two hours of further solo pieces and a small number of additional duet recordings. The tracks were selected and sequenced by Mr. Dixon, who curated the entire project for release on his own label, Archive Edition. Veteran engineer Kevin Reeves (Capitol, Universal; Grammy-nominated also for Revenant projects) mastered from original tapes exclusively, achieving unprecedented clarity.

The recordings span 1970–92, made primarily in Dixon’s studio In Bennington, Vermont, with earlier examples from New York and a later solo performance from Israel. Also included are Dixon’s only released works for solo piano, the full set of “Relay” duets for his own piano and trumpet, an excerpt of the 1971 magnum opus “Summerdance”, featuring drummers Laurence Cook and David Moss, and one example of Dixon’s duets with keyboardist Leslie Winston.