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An excellent record from Hiss Golden Messenger – who blend rootsy, but freewheeling instrumentation with artful, ambitious songwriting – and they're one of the most creative groups around making brilliantly original music that still hold true to southern folk and roots history The... read more

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2XLP 45rpm, 10 songs, including two brand new ones from his popular series Phantom... read more

A really great set of spiritually-tuned jazz from the team of bassist Eric Hochberg and drummer Andrew Potter – the latter of whom we love for his work in the Potter & Tillman team! This set was done a fair bit before that classic – and has a freewheeling, exploratory sound that... read more

Art Hodes in on piano and is joined by Max Kaminsky on trumpet, Ray Conniff on trombone, Rod Cless on clarinet, Jack Bland on guitar, Bob Haggard and Sid Jacobs on bass and Danny Alvin on drums. Tracks include "Doctor Jazz", "Yellow Dog Blues", "Changes Made", "Sl... read more

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Features Sidney Bechet on clarinet and Wild Bill Davison on trumpet!... read more

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Hodges leads a large group of Ellington players that includes Willie Cook, Clark Terry, Cat Anderson, Jimmy Hamilton, Harry Carney, Ray Nance, and Jimmy Woode. The overall sound has that Ellington-minus-Ellington, plus-Hoges feel of similar Verve sessions like these – with lots of nice... read more

Hodges blows out front in a set of shimmering Billy Strayhorn arrangements – conducted by Strayhorn himself, and featuring players that include Cat Anderson, Howard McGhee, Lawrence Brown, Jimmy Hamilton, Harry Carney, and Paul Gonsalves. The set's a bit more mellow than some of Hodges' more... read more

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Johnny Hodges works with some nice small group backing here – only just a bit of organ from Wild Bill Davis, plus more from Ray Jackson, a Hammond player we don't know at all – and other work by Kenny Burrell and Mundell Lowe on guitar, Wendell Marshall and Richard Davis on bass, and... read more

Straight ahead soul jazz traditionalism – with a lineup that includes Johnny Hodges; alto sax. Wild Bill Davis; organ. Kenny Burrell; guitar. Joe Wilder; trumpet. Osie Johnson or Ed Shaughnessy; drums. Features Davis' "Stolen Sweets", Hodges' "A & R Blues", "Lost... read more

An obscure one by this female trio – but also a pretty great batch of modern soul tunes! The title track on this one's very nice – a smooth soulful tune done in a style that's vaguely like First Choice, but with a bit less on the disco tip. Other tracks are pretty darn nice, too... read more

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Kelly Hogan makes a huge step up to Anti- – home to fellow traveler Neko Case and some of her heroes and heroines, from Mavis Staples and Bettye Lavette to Booker T and Tom Waits – and with I Like To Keep Myself In Pain, Kelly's made a better record for Anti- than any of them! If you'r... read more

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Amazing sounds from Roscoe Holcomb – a set recorded in the mid 70s, but one with a timeless quality that belies Holcomb's deep roots in eastern Kentucky! All tunes feature just a bit of guitar or banjo, and Holcomb's incredible vocals – inflected with a life's worth of rich experience... read more

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Beautiful Billie from the last years of her life. The material was recorded in 1956 and 1957 in Hollywood, featuring Barney Kessel, Ben Wesbster, Harry Edison, and Jimmy Rowles – all grooving nicely in small group formation. The tracks have a wonderfully fragile quality – and although... read more

An excellent collection of Billie's 30s work for Columbia Records – featuring 3LPs worth of material, represented with much better sound than the original 78 rpm release of the songs. Billie's in the company of a host of great jazzmen – including Count Basie, Lester Young, Teddy Wilson... read more

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Titles include "My Man", "Lover Man", "I Cover The Waterfront", "Them There Eyes", and "The Same Old Story".... read more

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A well-done collection of Billie's early work – featuring sides from the late 30s recorded for Brunswick, Vocalion, and Columbia – all laid out in Chronological order, with full details on the sessions! Titles include "Without Your Love", "This Year's Kisses", "... read more

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A pretty cool relic of Billie's private life – rehearsal material that has her sounding a bit less in control than usual – even somewhat tipsy at times! Jimmy Rowles is on piano and Artie Shapiro is on bass.... read more

A beautiful early 10" album by Billie Holiday – one that features a classic David Stone Martin cover, and a set of 8 tracks that capture the best of the Verve Holiday sound! Despite the title, the tunes are all studio recordings – done with small group players that include Joe... read more

A classic 2LP collection of Billie's older work for Columbia – early sides produced by John Hammond in the late 30s and early 40s. Titles include "It's A Sin To Tell A Lie", "Am I Blue", "God Bless The Child", "Mandy Is Two", "It's The Same Old... read more

Titles include "Miss Brown To You", "If You Were Mine", "What A Little Moonlight Can Do", "Billie's Blues", "I Cried For You", "I Must Have That Man", and "Easy Living".... read more

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About as classic as you can get for Billie Holiday on Verve – a wonderfully intimate small group session, recorded with top-shelf players and a smokey torchy mood! Billie's in her later years by the time of the set, but somehow singing with even more emotion and life – working with a... read more

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Classic Verve material. Billie sings in a warm relaxed setting, with great small combo backing, and piano by Mal Waldron. The record is one of the best we could recommend on the label – and it includes lots of nice tracks like "Everything Happens To Me", "I Wished On The... read more

Seminal 50s recordings from Billie Holiday!... read more

A nice collection that features one track by Billie Holiday with Paul Whiteman – plus work by Al Casey, Sid Catlett, Rex Stewart, and Sonny Greer.... read more

One of the rare few albums cut by 50s tenor star Joe Holiday – and a gem of a session that has him fronting a larger group, blowing lean well-cut solos on a number of very hip original tunes! The group's a large one, but the sound's still quite tight and swinging – a great follow-up to... read more

A wonderful early 70s avant garde side, and one of our favorite ECM recordings. Dave Holland leads a group with Circle bandmates Anthony Braxton and Barry Altschul, adding reedist Sam Rivers to the mix, with whom Holland was also working extensively at the time. Rivers' emotive, flowing approach... read more

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A beautiful early album by Loleatta, and one that was recorded shortly before the Hotlanta Sound turned into a stone disco groove. The record's proof that Loleatta was as great a soul singer as she was a disco diva, and the arrangements by Mike Terry do a great job of bringing out all the emotion... read more

Landmark club grooves from the great Loleatta Holloway! Loleatta is mixing up the sound a bit – working with a variety of arrangers and producers that include Bobby Womack, Norman Harris, Dan Hartman, and Tom Washington – but the overall sound is strong and clear, as dedicated to... read more

One of the first in a run of excellent mid 60s sides from tenor saxophonist Red Holloway – a very cooking player who's at the height of his powers on this hard-edged set! The date has Red in territory that's slightly more expanded than his dates with Jack McDuff – a quartet mode with... read more

Eddie's masterpiece LP of late sixties soul, with the classic "Hey There Lonely Girl", the title cut, and a lot of other great original compositions. The sound on here is perfect, and nearly every cut shines. There's almost no filler, and Eddie's voice is strong, beautiful, and has a... read more

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A funky holy grail – one of the rarest of the rare, and the only album ever cut by funky guitarist Carl "Sherlock" Holmes! Carl's work on the guitar is incredible – fast riffing and jazzy, with a style that's dirtier and messier than some of his 70s jazz funk contemporaries,... read more

A cover record – but a great one! Unlike some of the Pickwick knock-off albums from the time, this blacksploitation effort by Cecil Holmes is top-shelf all the way – as Cecil's one of the best funky bandleaders of the early 70s. The large group on the album features funky keyboards by... read more

Tasty small group work from Groove – with Mr Holmes himself on organ, and the great Larry Willis on electric piano – coming up with a twin electric organ/piano sound that's similar to the one that Groove used on his Comin On Home LP for Blue Note. The difference here is that things... read more

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With Houston Person on tenor and Ralph Dorsey on percussion and congas!... read more

A nice one from the days when Groove was playing with guitarist George Freeman! The core of the tracks on here feature a trio of Holmes, Freeman, and drummer Billy Jackson – and the trio knows how to cook nice and nicely, especially on the original cut "The Walrus", a groovy number... read more

One of the biggest hits of the 60s for Richard Groove Holmes – and for good reason too, given the title single of the record! After the success of Groove's version of "Misty" – originally issued in long form on the Soul Message album, but presented here as a shorter single... read more

A key album in the career of Richard Groove Holmes – his first session ever for Prestige Records, and the one that yielded the monster crossover hit version of "Misty"! The sound here is much leaner and cleaner than Groove in his Pacific Jazz years – a tight trio approach... read more

A straight LP by Groove, but nicely filled with solo work by Blue Mitchell, Harold Vick, and Gene Edwards – which keeps the set moving along at a good clip. Features a nice take on "Autumn Leaves", done in a tight uptempo jazzy stepping style – like Groove's famous version of... read more

A great little album – one that features Groove playing in front of larger arrangements from Chess Records soul maestro Richard Evans – in a style that has the swinging power of some of Evan's best soul and jazz work at the Chicago label, and which makes for a slightly different... read more

Great stuff from Groove – a tight, no-nonsense set of hard grooves featuring a quartet that includes Rusty Bryant, Billy Butler, and Herbie Lovelle. There's a strong bottom sound to the session – picking up from the Misty days, when Groove learned that he could take just about any... read more

Groovy set of soul jazz organ tracks that has Groove playing with a large-ish group that includes George Freeman, Tom Scott, Anthony Ortega, Wilton Felder, and Paul Humphrey. The set's not totally hard and funky, but it's got a nice soulful swinging groove, with a tight LA 60s sound to it. ... read more

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With Bob Mover on alto, Steve Hall on tenor, and Charles Ellison on trumpet – on titles that inlcude "Serenata", "Everything I Love", "The Lion's Eyes", and "The Unveiling/Blues For Maya".... read more

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Homeboy Sandman delivers a nicely gritty EP for Stones Throw – paying tribute not only to the legendary DJ Kool Herc in the title – and ultimately honoring blueprint, funky break beats era hip hop in general! Homeboy specifically names it after Kool Herc, but it's not a covers EP or... read more

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A brilliant early set from Honey Cone – and a perfect illustration of the way the trio really moved past simple girl group modes of the 60s! There's a bold, proud, righteous tone to the record right from the start – thanks to these soaringly soulful vocals from the girls, and these... read more

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A killer late 60s Chicago blues set from Earl Hooker – one of his best! Earl is one of the great blues slide guitarists, and his tone is captured so incredibly well here – songs recorded at Chicago's Sound Studios with impeccable players. Earl sings on "Anna Lee" and "Yo... read more

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John Lee Hooker takes a step or two into the bluesy soul sound of the early 60s on this sweet set on Vee Jay – while style flaunting his true blues pedigree really, really well! The grit of his voice is as heavily emotive and unshakable as ever – backed by a crack combo on drums,... read more

Plenty of Burnin from John Lee Hooker, and about as classic as you can get for his Vee Jay years – especially considering that the album starts out with Hooker's killer cut "Boom Boom" – a number that may well have set fire to a whole generation of British and American rockers!... read more

Fantastic stuff from John Lee Hooker, and a record that's unlike any other he's ever done! The groove is very hard and funky, with tight drumbreaks and excellent basslines that you'd hardly expect to find on an album by a blues artist – jamming around with a tight groove that really makes us... read more

A rootsy cover, and some rootsy blues to match – a fairly stripped down session from John Lee Hooker –- and one that mostly just features vocals and guitar, plus some occasional added guitar and piano! Most of the recordings here are from the early 50s, pulled together in a full LP at... read more

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About as pure as you can get for John Lee Hooker – a classic set of cuts for Chess, recorded with a feel that's almost folksy at times! The guitar has a raw edge that goes way back to the delta – and the overall approach is much more gritty than even some of Hooker's labelmates at the... read more

Great gritty sides from the mighty John Lee Hooker – material with a slightly obscure origin, but recorded in the late 50s, right in a stretch when he was cutting some of his classics! Hooker's guitar and vocals are center stage – both growling with a hell of a lot of soulful power... read more

Rough and raw blues from John Lee Hooker – recorded with plenty of emphasis on gritty guitar and vocals, backed by a nicely understated rhythm section! The overall feel is a bit rootsier than some of the other blues work coming out from Chicago labels at the time – and Hooker's right... read more

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An amazing album – and a really unique slice of the underground of jazz in the 60s! The session was put together in 1963 by Walt Dickerson, and was conceived as an attempt to draw attention to the incredible amount of great jazz players who were then currently serving time in prison for... read more

If the story is stripped down avant funk instrumentals with subtle stylistic twists and turns, it's a story worth telling – and that's what Clutchy Hopkins puts down on The Story Teller – an album that manages to be among his most raw and direct and his most adventurous at the same time!... read more

Lost jazzy score to this obscure 60s film – featuring nice nice work by Kenyon Hopkins, very much in the style of his other famous work from the time. Some tracks ahve a nice organy groove, others have nice spare jazz elements – and although the players aren't credited, we're sure the... read more

Quite an amazing little record – and one that definitely lives up to its title! The set's one of the most intimate ever recorded by Lightning Hopkins – done in a style that's equally folk as it is blues – with Hopkins playing guitar and singing, but in a very relaxed, laidback... read more

A really nice later set from legendary Texas blues titan Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins – done up for the Jewel label with a bit of the spark that was missing from the hit & miss work he did earlier in the decade for Bluesville! Blue Lightnin' also has a down and dirty style in spots,... read more

Lightnin Hopkins at his best – a set that rings out with all his bold electric tones on the guitar, yet which also has the moody, stripped-down feel of a blues recording from a few decades before! The electricity really does a lot to deepen the tone – both in the echo from Hopkins'... read more

One of our favorite of Lightnin's early 60s Bluesville records! Walking This Road By Myself is a nice little session with a rawer, back porch feel to it than some of his more polished up efforts for the label. Hopkins is on vocals and guitar, but he's not exactly walking all alone here –... read more

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Fantastic stuff – and a beautiful album of modal grooves that really deserves wider recognition! Horn plays alto and flute in a groovy west coast quintet with Emil Richards on vibes and Paul Moer on piano – and the overall feel is very similar to his stellar Something Blue album on the... read more

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Titles include "Lady Is A Tramp", "Love Of My Life", "Deed I Do", "Where Or When", and "Can't Help Lovin That Man".... read more

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A silly name and a very silly concept – but not a bad record over all! The set was recorded in Munich during the time of that city's heavy disco wave – and it features some pretty nice keyboard work, set to strings by the Munich Philharmonic. Most of the songs have some sort of... read more

One of the more obscure stars in the TK Records constellation – a one-off club project, featuring the writing and production talents of Oscar Llord, and the vocals of Bobby Bushe – hence the title! The set's got a rough take on the Miami disco style of the time – a bit less... read more