All Categories — LPs  

Buck plays tenor, with Kenny Barron on piano, Buster Williams on bass, and Billy Hart on drums! Titles include "Tokudo", "Oleo", "I'm Aquarius", and "SMY".... read more

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A classic deep soul set from ZZ Hill – done for the Mankind label, with production from Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Williams and Quin Ivy – recorded down at Muscle Shoals, with a sound that's one of the best that Hill ever received! There's a rootsy, personal feel to most of the... read more

Produced by Tommy Couch, with tracks that include ZZ's classic "Down Home Blues" – plus "Givin It Up For Your Love", "Woman Don't Go Astray", "When It Rains It Pours", and "Love Me".... read more

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One of the lasting classics on the Malaco label – and a key album in helping the company take control of the southern soul market in the 80s! ZZ Hill sounds just as great here as he did on earlier records – amazing vocally, with that trademark rasp that comes in at just the best... read more

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With Calvin Newborn on guitar, Carl Pruitt on bass, and Bill English on drums.... read more

Titles include "The Girl From Ipanema", "Frenesi", "Broadway", "At Sundown", "Runnin Wild", and "Louise".... read more

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One of Hino's sweeter fusion albums – still soulful enough, but done in a style that's more like CTI funk than some of his earlier albums. Leon Pendarvis handled the group and plays keyboards on the record – and other players include Steve Gadd, Bob James, John Tropea, Masabumi... read more

Rare work from female pianist Jutta Hipp – an artist who's probably known to most for her Blue Note sessions of the 50s, but who's heard here on some German recordings from younger years! Most of the material is live, but well-recorded – and even at this point, Hipp's touch on the... read more

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Finally!!! The notoriously elusive album that every digger spends hours combing the Easy Listening bins in search of. Of course, this one is in demand for the excellent sample cut "Harlem Hendoo", but it certainly isn't a one tracker thanks to composer Paul Griffin and arranger Teacho... read more

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

Swing session with small group backing by Billy Strayhorn, Jimmy Woode, Sonny Greer, and Clark Terry – and which features Johnny's warm tones soloing nicely on comfortable standards. All of side one is a "ballad medley", with a very Creamy sound, and titles that include "But... read more

A nice little 60s album by Johnny Hodges – one of the few post-Verve sessions that has him still playing in the hard swinging Ellingtonia small combo mode of the 50s! Players are all strong – and include Jimmy Jones, Cat Anderson, Ray Nance, Harry Carney, and Paul Gonsalves – and... read more

An excellent collection of early work recorded under Johnny Hodges' name in the early years – sessions from 1938 and 1939, issued here on LP format in the mid 50s under LP format, with a nice cover by William Steig! The tracks are a great assortment of small group numbers that focus on... read more

One of Hodges' best albums for Verve from the 60s – recorded with a great small combo that includes Grant Green on guitar, Grady Tate on drums, and Wild Bill Davis on organ. The sound's a lot hipper than you'd expect – with less of the corny organ work by Davis that can ruin a session... read more

Although we've always thought that Wild Bill Davis was a bit of a snoozer, these records that he made with Johnny Hodges are all pretty groovy, especially this one, which has Grant Green on guitar. The group plays a number of originals, with a solid soul jazz sound that borders on a Blue Note bag.... read more

An excellent album that features late 30s recordings by some of Duke Ellington's most famous sidemen! The groups on most of these are fairly similar – mostly small group sessions from the larger Ellington outfit – pulled out in ways that give a strong focus on the solo talents of the... 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

Selected Poems from Russell Hoke – on vinyl! The San Antonio troubadour reads his own work here – it literally is Hoke's Poetry here, and if you're down with the idiosyncractic folk music stylings of Russell – somewhat otherworldly but always true and tuneful, you should dig this... 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

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 very unusual concert from Billie Holiday – one that features narration by Gilbert Millstein, telling the story of Billie's life! The format is quite unusual – almost a live documentary, with the subject of the documentary there in person herself! Millstein narrates from the start,... 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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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

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

An obscure bit of boozy sad songs – proof that Holliday had a lot more to offer than just an extremely strong showing on Broadway. She's working here with arrangements by Glen Osser that sort of take off from the spirit of "The Party's Over" – sad and dreamy, but also with a... read more

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

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Features some lesser known work by James Williams on piano and Billy Pierce on tenor!... read more

This set is from a few years later than the first Beach Boys Song Book – and as such, features a groovier sound overall! There's still plenty of strings in the mix, but the arrangements from Mort Garson and Perry Botkin also show some of the growing love of sound used by the group –... 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

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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 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

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

Groove and Jug wail away in this classic set of tenor/organ tracks recorded for Pacific Jazz in the early 60s. The backing is spare, with only Gene Edwards on guitar and Leroy Henderson on drums, and tracks include "Morris The Minor", "Good Vibrations", "Hey You, What's... read more

Two of LA's leading soul jazz luminaries – playing head to head in an interesting session that mixes lines on piano and organ! McCann gives the set a good rollicking rhythm, and Holmes' increasing skill on the Hammond makes the set blow out over the top – and the pair get backing by... 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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The dizzyingly creative rhymer Homeboy Sandman's first full length for Stones Throw – an MC who makes no bones about his against the grain stylistic approach – and it's one of the rare hip hop albums of the past couple of years to benefit from sprawling list of producer credits! ... read more

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

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

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

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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

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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

The sweet, lovely and lush full length debut of Mary Hopkin for Apple Records! Mary's vocals are fragile and sweet, and Paul McCartney's production frames it like a pillow on the softer tunes – with light bits of acoustic guitar – and makes are sound like the queen of all natural on... 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