This is quite probably one of the best must-have releases in Avid's four classic albums catalogue. If you didn't cop Blue Note's original three-album set in 1997, then here's the opportunity to acquire it at a budget price and, as a bonus, it also includes the solitary set Nichols cut for Bethlehem. As with so many before and since, Nichols went virtually unnoticed during his short lifetime. These recordings amount to his entire discography and had it not been for Nichols spending almost an entire decade persuading Alfred Lion to afford him a total of just five days’ studio time over a two-year period, he probably wouldn't even have been remembered as a footnote! His lack of public recognition during his short career (leukemia claimed him, age 44) was arguably due to the fact that as both a highly-personalised pianist and composer Nichols didn't fall in behind the then-current crop of Bud Powell influenced practitioners, but was very much his own man with a wry sense of humour (‘Blue Chopsticks’ and ‘Cro-Magnon Nights’). If, along the way, he subconsciously refurbished the odd familiar lick or phrase, it immediately became part of his own unique musical vocabulary. Though I'm not trying to make direct comparisons, the shock of recognition when suddenly encountering Nichols is akin to the very first time one heard the likes of say Thelonious or Cecil. As fresh and modern today as when these were originally taped, one can appreciate why Herbie Nichols’ work now attracts a new generation of adventurous players. Don't miss out on this one.