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 killer debut from Angelo Outlaw – an vibist who may well become one of the first great soulful talents on his instrument in many years – an artist who can easily become the Roy Ayers of his generation – thanks to an expansive sound that effortlessly blends together jazz, soul, and funk! Angelo plays vibes with a nicely tight combo – and there's vocals on a number of tracks, but a number of others are instrumental – and often use the vibes and a bit of flute as the main "voice", which hardly makes you miss the vocals at all! Production is great – handled by Eraserhood Sound with a very contemporary vibe – on titles that include "Speed Of Light", "Loose Reality", "Diamonds", "Free My Mind", "Silent Horizon", "Memories", "Time Traveler", and "Cosmic Storm". CD

Johnny Benavidez hits it right on the money here – serving up a set of laidback soul that feels like the classic material that would play big on the scene in East LA – music that's heartbreaking, but deep at the same time – graced with these very personal vocals from Johnny, and given just the right sort of backing from Cold Diamond & Mink! The whole thing is nice and easygoing – sweet soul, of the variety that you'd be more likely to hear from a harmony group, but with Benavidez giving a lead presence that's a bit like Joe Bataan in a similar mode – which makes for the kind of record that's perfect to put on late into the night, windows open, breeze blowing in, when you just want to kick back and turn down. Titles include "Playing The Fool", "Dedicated To You", "Somebody Cares", "Your Last Song", "Let's Get Together", "Do What You Wanna Do", "My Echo Shadow & Me", and "Tell Me That You Love Me". (Deep Funk, Neo Soul) CD

The Black Pumas went from underground status to much bigger fame in just a short span of time – and this smoking second album will definitely continue that nonstop rise to stardom! As before, the group are heavy on older references to funk and soul, but given a lean, contemporary spin in the production – handled by Adrian Quesada, with all the richness he's forged on countless other projects over the years – so that the grooves and instrumentation are right on the money, and augmented by these slight sonic surprises that really keep things interesting! The vocals seem even better than before – raw, raspy, and very powerful – on titles that include "Mrs Postman", "Gemini Sun", "Sauvignon", "Angel", "Hello", "Chronicles Of A Diamond", "Ice Cream", and "More Than A Love Song". (Deep Funk, Neo Soul) CD

David Boykin works here in a very different guise than his usual role as a saxophonist – stepping out here with a range of different singers, in a set of tracks that showcase a whole new side of his talents! The music is a mix of modern jazz vocals and contemporary soul modes – different depending on the singers, who shift from cut to cut – at a level that sometimes echoes June Tyson or Abbey Lincoln, other times reflects more contemporary work from the underground! As always with Boykin's CDs, the notes are a bit spare, so it's hard to tell who did what in terms of the music – but we can say that the set features vocals from Abeeku, Consuela Ivy-Vaughn, Dark Mery, Liz Mputu, and Ugochi – on titles that include "Listen Up", "She Was Screaming", "What The Afrofuture Say", "Slow Sweet Burn", "Conspiracy", and "Of My Voice". (Jazz, Neo Soul) CD

One of the most soul-based records we've ever heard from trombonist Jeff Bradshaw, and one of the best as well – a rock-solid set that really draws on all his many years of making music, and one that's put together with that effortless blend of jazz and soul that makes Bradshaw so unique! At some level, it's almost as if Jeff has perfectly adopted the mantle of jazzy soul from Wayne Henderson during that late 70s moment when Henderson was both working in The Crusaders and doing so much production work as well. But at another, Jeff's a clearly contemporary artist, and really speaks strongly to the best aspect of the neo soul scene – enforced here on collaborations with Eric Roberson, Raheem DeVaughn, Liz Vaughn, Mike Burton, and others. Titles include "How You Gonna Act Like That", "Make Some Time", "Carrie's Bread Pudding", "Young Broke & Brave", "Don't Wanna Wait", "The Maintenance Man", "Destiny", and "Dubai Voices". (Jazz, Neo Soul) CD

That's almost an Earth Wind & Fire-styled image on the cover – and the Brit Funk Association definitely live up to the spirit of that scene – which is maybe no surprise, given that group members have a legacy that goes way back for many years on the UK soul scene! There's a warmth to the record that's really timeless – an updating of classic 70s modes that's almost in the Incognito mode, but which is often jazzier at times, with some great focus on horn solos over the vocals – a bit like the mix of jazz, soul, and funk that Wayne Henderson brought to his classic production efforts back in the day! The group give a nod to one of those classics with a sweet cover of "Always There", and serve up a nice take on "Pick Up The Pieces" – alongside tracks that include "Freedom Dancin", "Driftin", "Snowfall", "Elevation", "Let It Flow", and "Take It In Stages". CD