Sound Library — CDs  

The incredible drums and Rhodes-heavy jazz dance album from composer Thom Janusz – made in collaboration with NYC dancer, choreographer and company leader Ronn Forella – possibly the funkest, best and hardest-to-find album ever released by the Hoctor label! Ostensibly a hip 70s dance instruction set composed by Janusz for Forella – a frequent collaborator who also worked with Bob Fosse (in case the cover photo doesn't make that clear) – the music manages to transcend the niche to say the very least! It's a killer jazz funk album in it's own right. The groove is massive in spots and has a slower cooking, instrumental soul style in others – fantastic drums and percussion, keys that range from thickly-layered to astral, some great wah wah guitar grooving and funky bass lines throughout. We knew this record by reputation only over the years – it's such a joy to actually spend some time with it and hear how richly earned that rep is! Includes "Memories Of Georgia", "Mithra Plane 2", "Hippo Mancy", "Sculptures", "Crystals" (the drum breaks heavy standout) and "Wild And Wonderful".

One of the coolest albums ever from the mighty Keith Mansfield – an arranger best known for his sound library work, but one who steps out beautifully here on a rare commercial album for CBS! The set's way more than just the batch of late 60s pop tunes that you might guess from the Beatles' reference in the title – as Keith really transforms most tunes with his hip approach to the grooves, and also manages to throw in a few gems of his own composition as well! The bottom of most numbers is plenty darn jaunty – funky at the best moments – and instrumentation includes some great Hammond and hard-edge piano lines that really send the tunes home. Titles include the killer "Soul Thing", used by Quentin Tarantino in Kill Bill, and "Boogaloo" – both originals by Mansfield – plus the tracks "Everlasting Love", "Whiter Shade Of Pale", "Moanin", "Walk On By", "Lovin Things", "Reach Out", "Rainbow Valley", and "Take Five". CD also features 8 bonus tracks that Keith arranged for Maynard Ferguson, Salena Jones, Love Affair and Alan Haven – including "Love For Sale", "Am I The Same Girl", "The Serpent", and "Soul Confusion".