Jazz — All Formats  

Sweet KPM funk from the 70s – a set that features the legendary "Big City Suite" from David Gold, plus 20 other groovers from rare KPM sound library albums of the time! Gold's suite is really great – a hip mix of keyboards, wah wah guitar, and strings – all wrapped together warmly in a portrait of a city from a variety of angles, in a variety of moods. The work's almost an update of 50s city-symphony albums, but is put together here with a much hipper 70s soundtrack mode – lots of subtle elements that really keep things interesting! Other tracks offer up a mix of jazz, soundtrack, and sound library funk – hand-picked from KPM classics like Jazzrock, Synthesis, Sounds Of The Times, Trendsetters, and other legendary albums – really packed in here with a huge amount of cuts that are totally great! Titles include "Good Vibrations" and "Trial Of Strength" by Keith Mansfield, "Testing Time" by David Lindup, "Four O'Clock Earthquake" and "Smokey Joe's Dilemma" by John Cameron, "Watchful Eye" by James Clarke, "Sunshine Special" and "Get Ready Get Set Fly" by Alan Hawkshaw, "Open Roads" by Nick Ingman, "Go Getter" by John Cameron, "City Airscape" and "City Police" by David Gold, and "Lap Of Honour" by Clive Hicks.

Soaring grooves from the legendary KPM Sound Library – a set of tunes that sparkles with all the charm and glamour of early 70s air travel! The title and cover really fit the spirit of the music here – as most of the tracks are upbeat and sky-flying – the sorts of numbers that go way beyond the sleepier side of easy listening, and really show the way that Easy maestros of the 70s were picking up plenty of funky elements in their music! There's no hard funk tracks here – as you might find on other sound library sets – but there's definitely an undercurrent of groove, thanks to some well-chosen rhythms, strong use of electric bass, and an overall sense of flow in most of the orchestrations – a feel that reminds us a lot of some of the excellent Brigade Mondaine compilations from a few years back. The package really offers up a different look than usual at KPM – and the tunes are as classy as anything we might have loved years ago, on the legendary Sound Library collections. Titles include "Sun Lover", "The Great Outdoors", "Husky Birdsong", and "Towards The Sun" by Keith Mansfield; "Holiday People", "Soft Memories", "Gentle Breeze", "Summer Dreams", "Summer Season", and "Friendly Faces" by James Clarke; "Paradise Found" by Dick Doerschuk, "Silk Stream" by David Gold, "Busy Spectacle" and "Fun In The Sun" by Neil Richardson, "Sunseekers" by David Lindup, and "A Tender Touch" by Steve Gray.