Wicked funk from Japanese keyboardist Norio Maeda – also a hell of an arranger, too – as you'll hear on this superb set from the start of the 70s! The record's one of those key albums that took a 60s groovy Japanese sound much further into the future – giving the whole thing a sharper edge, with heavier drums – and using trippy guitar, weird flute lines, and keyboards to give the whole thing a vibe that's almost more blacksploitation or kung fu soundtrack than most of what Maeda had done before! Tracks are all pretty lively, and work together as a sweet set of grooves – almost with a funky Lalo Schifrin sort of vibe – and all the notes and titles are in Japanese, or else we'd have even more information to convey. (Jazz, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

Silly title – but a great album, with Cugie playing relatively straight Latin versions of 60s pop hits. A few of the tunes are a bit silly, but there's less of the goofiness that "caricatures" might imply. Titles include "Papa Loves Mambo", "Night Train", "Fly Me to The Moon", "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "Desafinado", "The Continental", "Witchcraft", and "I've Got The World On A String". (Latin, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

A short detour in the 60s career of Chet Baker – one that we sure like a heck of a lot! This side is one of a couple that were recorded as an answer to the big success of Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – with Chet's trumpet was backed by jaunty, brassy arrangements penned by Jack Nitzsche, and George Tipton. And while it might be easy to dismiss the tunes as copycat sound-a-likes, they're really not – as Nitszche brings in a much fuller groove to most of the numbers than Herb Alpert ever did – more of a sunny LA pop feel that has the whole group really gliding along on bold waves of sound all topped off by Baker's horn – sounding stronger and more confident here than on many of his other recordings of the 60s! Some numbers have a Latin undercurrent while others lean towards mainstream pop – a style that's bolder than A&M's approach to Tijuana – and one that explodes with some youthful LA energies! 12 tracks in all, including "Happiness Is", "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)", "The Phoenix Love Theme (Senza Fine)", "On The Street Where You Live", 'Armen's Theme", "You Baby" and "It's Too Late". LP, Vinyl record album

A great collaboration between Perez Prado and trumpeter Shorty Rogers – one in which Rogers' solos sparkle brilliantly over the top of Perez's tight Latin rhythms – all in a style that's as moody as it is evocative and rhythmic! Side one features the extended "Voodoo Suite" – a side-long track that builds nicely on rootsy Latin rhythms that are much freer than Prado's pop work of the 50s – and which features a growing jazz horizon at the edges, filled with players who include Bud Shank on alto and flute, Bob Cooper on tenor, Shelly Manne on drums, and Pete Candoli on trumpet – in a larger section underneath Shorty Rogers' solos. Side two features shorter tracks recorded a year later – a bit more in the standard Prado mode, but still with a really dynamic feel, and contributions from jazz players like Candoli and Rolf Erikson on trumpets, Willie Maiden on tenor, and Jay Hill on trombone. Titles include "Music Makers", "In The Mood", "St. James Infirmary", and "Jumpin At The Woodside". (Latin, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

Although the Anita Kerr singers were not often the swinginest group in town, this LP has them doing a nice selection of Bacharach material, including "What's New Pussycat?", "Are You There (with Another Girl)", and "Windows of the World". (Vocalists, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

Jazzy mambos from the king – and easily the most successful of Perez Prado's albums for RCA in the 50s! The album showcases the Latin mode that Prado crossed over big with on his hit "Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White" – a tune that almost single-handedly grabbed the energy and audiences of the late swing years, and grafted them onto the growing New York Latin scene of the time! Prado's got that great growl in his chants, as usual – pushing the band to even more rhythmic heights and brassy horn flourishes with his trademark calls – and titles include the classic "Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White", as well as tracks like "Tomcat Mambo", "Mambo Ala Kenton", "The High & The Mighty", "Marilyn Monroe Mambo", and "Skokiaan". (Latin, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest albums ever cut by guitarist Gabor Szabo – a set that also has him playing sitar as well! The album's got a sound that's as groovy as you'd expect from the title – a mix of Gabor's usual jazz modes, which are already pretty darn great, and some of the Indian music sounds that were bubbling under in the 60s – a wicked little blend that makes for an album we've treasured for years! Rhythms often hit that breezy Spellbinder mode of Gabor's Impulse years, but the addition of sitar and tablas makes for a great change too – one of the best chapters in Szabo's legendary 60s years. Bernard Pretty Purdie plays drums on all cuts, and titles include "Raga Doll", "Search for Nirvana", "Ravi", "Krishna", "Sophisticated Wheels", "Comin Back", "Summertime", "Mizrab", and "Walking On Nails". (Jazz, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

Essential compilation of Burt's original recordings on Kapp, from the mid 60's. The production's got vocal choruses, large orchestrations, and lots of cool tinkly piano – and the groove is 100% Bacharach, with lesser-known versions of tracks that were bit hits for other pop stars. A fair bit of the stuff's instrumental, but some tracks have voices singing lead. Our fave is the recording of "My Little Red Book", with great soul vocals by Tony Middleton – but there's loads of goodies like "Wives & Lovers", "Trains & Boats & Planes", "What's New Pussycat?", "Walk On By", and "24 Hours From Tulsa". LP, Vinyl record album