All Categories — CDs  

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Compositions by Richard Wernick, Gunther Schuller, Augusta Read Thomas, Ralph Shapey, Richard Brodhead, and Donald Martino.... read more

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2 Verve gems from Lee Konitz – back to back on one CD! Very Cool is a slightly different album than usual for Konitz – one that's got a bit harder edge, and which has Lee working in a group with a trumpet! The set's performed by a quintet that includes Konitz usual suspects Sal Mosca... read more

One of the greatest New York groups of the early 80s – and a key link in the post-disco, post-punk, and no wave scenes of the time! Konk had an incredible sound that featured a stripped down blend of bass, live percussion, and horns – all grooving together in a style that sat somewhere... read more

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Often overlooked amidst the bigger early albums by Kool & The Gang – but a totally solid record of funky stuff that's right up there with their best work! The band is super-tight at this point, grooving along in a hard drum, heavy bass, wah wah guitar frenzy – and even the vocals... read more

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A masterpiece of Turkish psychedelia – and quite possibly the greatest album ever from Turkish psychedelic maestro Erkin Koray – a mad blend of sounds that definitely lives up to its "elektronik" title! Most numbers feature a weird blend of electric guitar and baglama –... read more

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An older bandleader takes on sounds from two different groovy sources of the 70s – both of them great! Plays Michel Legrand has Andre Kostelanetz serving up some sweet versions of tunes from some of Legrand's famous soundtracks of the 60s and early 70s – most of them done with fairly... read more

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With Bill Frisell.... read more

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Sublimely soulful funk from Kudu – a very tight combo with a great mixture of classic grooves and modern influences. Vocalist/bassist Sylvia Gordon has a wonderful voice – warm and mellow, with a heck of a lot of soul, put forward with the utmost of confidence. The group behind her is... read more

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Neither pop nor fusion – but a great little record that reminds us why we love William Kurk so much! There's definitely some of the jazzy styles promised by the title, but they're mixed in with Kurk's inventive approach to soul music – warm instrumentation wrapped around compelling... read more

Hip work all around – 2 incredible albums from the mighty Charles Kynard! Afro-Disiac is the rarest of all Charles Kynard albums – and a real standout groover from the classic funk days of Prestige! The album's a really creative outing – with arrangements by Richard Fritz that... read more

Two excellent sides of funky Hammond jazz – courtesy of Charles Kynard, one of the greatest organists west of the Mississippi! Soul Brotherhood is one of Kynard's rarest sessions – and one of his best, too! The group on the album has a very tight lead line with David Newman, Blue... read more

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A 70s group, but one with a relatively traditional feel – a groove that definitely lives up to the charanga in their name, but which also features a bit more horns over the top! The mighty Art Webb is in the combo on flute – playing with that same sharp-edged, soulful sound that graced... read more

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Smoking salsa from La Protesta – a group who really benefits from the lead trumpet lines of Tony Pabon, who also sings on some of the record too! The group have a tight sound that's right on the money – a groove that's right up there with the best Fania salsa combos of the time, but... read more

A tasty bit of salsa with a modern charanga twist – a groove that's a fair bit like Tipica 73 at times, but a bit less standard! La Sensual really have a playful sense to their music – one that lets the mix of violin, flute, and piano leap around creatively – sometimes following... read more

A hit set from the end of the 80s – one that showed Patti still going strong in her third decade in soul music! The set's got a style that's decidedly more modern than some of the classic work we know from Patti – but her vocals are still very strongly in place, and if anything, the... read more

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Patti's first two solo albums – recorded after splitting with the group Labelle, moving into a more sophisticated Diva soul mode that kept her strong for years to come! The albums are a lot better than you might think, especially if you've experienced some of Patti's more cliched work –... read more

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Large Pro returns with the Main Source LP – not so much a throwback to his days with the group Main Source – but a pretty decent batch of harder hitting hip hop from a legendary beatmaker. The beats hit pretty hard, with some sampled guitar in the mix for some extra punch. Titles... read more

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A mad mix of spaced out jazz funk from Madlib – working here in a style closer to his benchmark Yesterday's New Quintet mode of forward looking band-based grooves – but also taking it even further and into deeper realms! The Last Electro-Acoustic Space Jazz & Percussion Ensemble... read more

Another vicious set of hammering, lovable skronk from Last Exit – the mighty mid 80s free group that featured Sonny Sharrock, Peter Brotzman, Bill Laswell and Shannon Jackson! This should certainly not come as a surprise, but the sound is as muscular as can be without exploding all over the... read more

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A later album from the Last Poets – recorded after their classic run in the 70s, but still pretty nice overall! The record's a bit of an unusual one, in that it shows a bit of the creeping "street" element that the Poets would absorb into their work after being dubbed as the "G... read more

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The title says it all – as Yusef Lateef works here in that wonderful mixture of hardbop, soul jazz, and Eastern stylings that he brought to all of his best early sessions as a leader! Lateef himself is playing tenor, flute, and oboe – which he uses to craft these eerie snakecharmer... read more

A real classic from Yusef Lateef – and like the rest of his best albums from the time, an incredible blend of hardbop, soul jazz, and some really wonderful exotic touches! Lateef plays a bit of oboe on the album – sounding really weird and snakey over laidback orientalist rhythms on... read more

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The number of dope female vocalists who've left the group they started with only to lose direction is many. Fortunately, Lauryn Hill is not one of them. Amazing production and lyrics that steer clear of all the jiggy nonsense. In our opinion, even after all the Grammy's, etc, still the classic... read more

A lavish, quite beautiful score by Angelo Lavagnino! The film concerns the love life of Paolina Bonaparte, the sister of Napoleon – so you can expect a lush, grand scale – but it's done with a delicate, lovely and intimate touch by Lavagnino. Really lovely stuff – with a string-h... read more

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A killer of a mid 70s album from Hector Lavoe – recording here as a solo act after his split from the Willie Colon group, but still with strong backings and musical supervision from Willie himself! The style here is very similar to the last few albums Lavoe recorded with Colon – a... read more

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A classic bit of 70s salsa gold from vocalist Hector Lavoe – a record done in close collaboration with Willie Colon, with whom Lavoe had worked on a great run of albums during the late 60s and early 70s! The set's got a slightly warmer and more straightforward feel than some of Willie's... read more

A tribute to the famous romantic singer Felipe Pierela – once known as the Bolero Star Of The Americas! Given Hector LaVoe's warmth and charisma at the time, he was a perfect choice for such a project – and working here with producer Willie Colon, Hector steps into an older mode of... read more

Brilliant recent work from Azar Lawrence – the first album in many years from this famous west coast reedman, and an excellent set that matches the soul and spirit of his sessions from the 70s! The group here is an all-star array of soul jazz heavyweights – Nate Morgan on piano, Henry... read more

A classic deep soul set from Eloise Laws – an early album recorded for Invictus Records, and done with stellar production from Brian Holland! The title cut's a monster, one of the best tracks on the label from the 70s – with some wonderfully spacey keyboards, funky drums and bass... read more

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