We Travel the Spaceways (Remastered 2014) [feat. Marshall Allen, Phil Cohran, John Gilmore & Ronnie Boykins]

Featuring material that ranges from 1956 to 1961 while the band were based in Chicago, this album, originally released in 1966, offers alternate versions of live favorites, as well as recordings have also appeared on other albums. In this universe it'd be a stretch to call this a greatest-hits collection, but in an alternate universe it might be the case. With percussion, strings, and chants, this take of “Interplanetary Music” is the more upbeat version of this classic, while the similar-sounding “We Travel” leans the other way into dry-eyed sentimentality. “Eve” and “New Horizons” continue the exotica vibe, but briefly alternate it with Sun Ra-style swing, showing that the two styles can fit together. The brief “Tapestry from an Asteroid” is all swing and melody carried on trumpet. More in the crime-jazz vein is “Space Loneliness,” punctuated with a blues solo from John Gilmore. The set ends with the hard bop of “Velvet,” indicating more of where the band had been than where they were going. All of this is remastered using a 24-bit transfer that ensures that this music has never sounded better.