An EP release – but one that offers up a great standout moment in the career of Monday Michiru – and a record that has the power to knock away most other contemporary soul of the time! Monday's picking up a bit more of a clubby vibe than her earlier years – getting great help from Masters At Work on a remix of "Sunshine After The Rain" – which was one of our favorite tracks from the Jazz Brat album! She also serves up a uniquely rhythmic take on the Minnie Riperton classic "Lovin You" – alongside other good cuts that include "Love Flow", "Far To Go", "Where Is The Passion", and the instrumental track "Mermaid". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing album produced and arranged by legendary Philly mastermind Larry Gold – the cello player/writer/arranger for MFSB – and a key player in the best Philly soul of the last several decades! Don Cello & Friends features Gold as Don Cello – and the friends include Black Thought of the Roots, McFadden & Whitehead, Carol Riddick, Gerald Levert, Kindred The Family Soul, Jaguar Wright, Bunny Sigler and others. The goal for the set was not only to celebrate the depth and rich history of Philly soul with a variety of vocalists, but to draw a direct parallel with the best of today's scene. It succeeds at both masterfully. Gold's production and arranging is lush and sparkling – and the vocalists bring the very best of their games. Black Thought's rhymes on the lead off remake of "No Stoppin'", with McFadden & Whitehead, sets the stage perfectly – think the Roots on Curtom, and that's about half the picture! Much of the album carries more of a classic soul sheen – smooth and sparkling, with just enough grit for a nice edge! In the liner notes, Gold explains that he loves songs from "Gamble, Huff to Timbaland" – and this album is the perfect sonic encapsulation of that aesthetic! Possibly the best album yet with the relatively fledgling Beat Generation imprint – and a great signpost for the future of underground soul! 12 tracks including "Loving You" with Carol Riddick, "Dance" with Gerald Levert, "And I Hope" featuring Floetry, "Travelin'" with Kameelah Waheed, ""All That You Are" featuring Kindred, "Nothin'" with Jaguar Wright, "Just A Dream" with Erro, "Everybody" with Cristal Oliver, "Can I" with Bunny Sigler, and Larry Gold's "Outro". CD

Mayer Hawthorne's looking a bit cheesy on the cover, but sounding pretty darn great within – really sparkling with those mellow soul elements that have just gotten better and better with each new release, at a level that's a plenty strong musical answers to any of the haters out there! There's a warm glow to the set – a sense of heart-ful feelings that clearly inspire Mayer in his lyrics, and which really comes through on the slower-paced tracks on the set! Titles include "Standby", "Cream Interior", "Hawthorne Rides Again", "Without You", "Physical Touch", "The Pool", "Deeper Vibration", "Tell Me", "Deuce & A Quarter", "On The Floor", and "Sweet Temptation Woman". CD features the bonus track "Eyes Of Love". CD

A special set of all-instrumental tracks – culled together from the sessions that went into some of the previous editions of this mighty great series – including collaborations with Gary Bartz, Joao Donato, Marcus Valle, and Roy Ayers! As the title implies, the cuts here are all instrumental – some are stated as being exclusive to the set, and likely in variations on the vocal versions – all given that impeccable studio production work of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, who find a way to wrap together so many wonderful strands of music! The whole thing's funky, but there's plenty of jazz, soul, and Brazilian currents as well – on instrumental versions of titles that include "African Sounds", "Gravity", "Gotta Love Again", "Forever More", "Hey Lover", "Visions Of Love", "Aquarius", "Soulful & Unique", "A Gente Volta Amanha", "Nao Saia Da Praca", "Synchronized Vibration, "Day By Day", "Sunflowers", and "Quiera Bem". (Deep Funk, Neo Soul) CD

Hard to believe it's the 30th Anniversary for Incognito – but Bluey's been at it for that long, and to celebrate, he's having one hell of a party with this record! The album's got way more going on than even a regular Incognito set – even though those are plenty darn great – as Bluey's invited plenty of folks along for the celebration, a range of great singers who really open up the sound, and deepen the core jazzy grooves of the set! In addition to regular vocalists like Joy Rose, Tony Momrelle, and Maysa, the set also features work by Leon Ware, Chaka Khan, John-Christian Urich, Ursula Rucker, Vanessa Haynes, and Mario Biondi – the last of whom really brings a lot to the set, with that cool vocal approach used on his Schema albums. And as usual for Bluey, the sound is way more than just straight soul – with plenty of classic jazz funk elements, and a strong nod to the underground sounds of the British scene who've always fostered his music. Titles include "Line In The Sand", "1975", "Your Sun My Sky", "Put A Little Lovin In Your Heart", "All Of My Life", "Expresso Madureira", "Make Room For Love", "Lowdown", "Tell Me What To Do", and "The Winter Of My Springs". CD

Mayer Hawthorne's looking a bit cheesy on the cover, but sounding pretty darn great within – really sparkling with those mellow soul elements that have just gotten better and better with each new release, at a level that's a plenty strong musical answers to any of the haters out there! There's a warm glow to the set – a sense of heart-ful feelings that clearly inspire Mayer in his lyrics, and which really comes through on the slower-paced tracks on the set! Titles include "Standby", "Cream Interior", "Hawthorne Rides Again", "Without You", "Physical Touch", "The Pool", "Deeper Vibration", "Tell Me", "Deuce & A Quarter", "On The Floor", and "Sweet Temptation Woman". Features the bonus track "Eyes Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album