All Categories — LPs  

... read more

... read more

Includes tracks by Philippe Brun with his swing band and orchestra, Arthur Briggs & his orchestra, and Alix Combelle with his swing band, orchestra, and Le Jazz De Paris.... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

Killer groovers from trumpeter Bobby Bryant – with more than enough force in the rhythms to make the entire earth dance! The mighty Wayne Henderson's along for the set, helping Bobby out – making one of his first steps away from the Jazz Crusaders to produce another artist – and... read more

Ray Bryant's turning his heavy-hands version of the piano to a set of film themes here – grooving familiar numbers with a nice little soul jazz groove – but still also keeping a bit of a soundtrack feel! Richard Wess scored some larger arrangements for the record – providing a... read more

A killer album by soul jazz pianist Ray Bryant! The title track, "Slow Freight", is an amazing 10 minute groover that moves at a very slow pace (just like a freight train), and which features some very cool ad-lib talking by Paul Serrano – a pretty groovy touch that really adds a... read more

Great work from Ray – and very much in the formula of his best Cadet records! The formula is simple – stick in 2 great original groovers, and fill the record with a few other covers of pop and jazz standards. Thanks to Richard Evans, who produced the sessions for Cadet, the grooves... read more

One of Rusty Bryant's last albums for Prestige – recorded in that more-electric mode that graced the label's albums of the year 1973 – but in a style that's still pretty darn nice! The group's still a small combo – with Rusy on tenor and alto, plus with Hank Jones on electric... read more

Fantastic funky jazz from tenorman Rusty Bryant – one of the real standout titles in the classic early 70s Prestige jazz/funk years! Rusty leads a group that includes heavyweights like Charles Earland on organ, Virgil Jones on trumpet, Melvin Sparks on guitar, and Idris Muhammad on drums... read more

Fantastic funky jazz from tenorman Rusty Bryant – one of the real standout titles in the classic early 70s Prestige jazz/funk years! Rusty leads a group that includes heavyweights like Charles Earland on organ, Virgil Jones on trumpet, Melvin Sparks on guitar, and Idris Muhammad on drums... read more

... read more

One of the greatest albums ever from BT Express – tighter, smoother, and classier than the group's early funky disco sessions – and with a cosmic sound that shows them really growing at the time! The sound here steps off from both the group's own horn-heavy disco sides of the 70s, and... read more

The BT crew definitely take on a strong disco sound on this album, but their up-tempo soul still kicks it nice and live, and the record's got more solid moments than you might expect! Carlos Ward handled a lot of the arrangements and wrote a fair bit of the tunes – and tracks include "No... read more

These guys are still pretty darn great at this point – and the album's an updating of their uptempo funky club sound, one that still retains a lot of the best elements of earlier efforts. Horn arrangements are very strong, handled by Carlos Ward with a nice touch of jazz – and the... read more

An overlooked gem from Chico's mid 80s period – a record filled with strong and subtle songs, often backed by some nicely jazz-tinged arrangements from Cristovao Bastos! The album's not as revolutionary as some of Chico's earlier records, but it more than makes up for that with an incredibly... read more

If you've ever been wondering which album to get by Chico Buarque – this is it! The record's a stunning batch of sophisticated sides, done in collaboration with Roberto Menescal, and with help from Jobim and MPB4! The album builds on the style of Buarque's excellent late 60s songwriting,... read more

Titles include "Green Onions", "Judy", "Your Love", "Done Your Daddy Dirty", "The Circle", and "Hidden".... read more

... read more

... read more

The pre-Fleetwood Mac LP that Lindsay Buckingham & Stevie Nicks recorded. Ten tracks, including "Don't Let Me Down Again", "Crying In The Night", "Lola (My Love)", "Races Are Run", "Frozen Love", and an early version of "Crystal".... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

Easily one of our favorite albums by Tim Buckley – and a record that really opens up with some key jazzy touches! Buckley's still got his roots in folk here, and his vocals are yet to hit the extremes of Starsailor or Lorca – but there's also a new sense of inflection to the way he... read more

An exceptional early release from the tragic Tim Buckley – done with a really unique sound that mixes late 60s folk rock with some subtly jazzy overtones! The record features beautiful string arrangements from the legendary Jack Nitzsche, and some beautiful work on piano, harpsichord, and... read more

... read more

... read more

A hip early 70s album arranged and produced by Tony Hatch – not nearly as well known as his work with Jackie Trent or Petula Clark, but still pretty darn great nonetheless! Julie's got a style that's a bit less poppy than some of her predecessors – at least not in a 60s way – and... read more

Hipper than you might think, especially for Concord! Features percussion from Willie Bobo, guitar from Joe Diorio, trombone from Bob Brookmeyer, and Fender Rhodes from Arlette McCoy!... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

One of the great and enigmatic albums Sandy Bull cut for Vanguard in the early 60s, an odd combination of folk guitar, jazz improvisation and Eastern modal composition. The pieces are lengthy without getting too ponderous or losing their center, and Billy Higgins provides some sympathetic... read more

A spacey Patrick Adams/Greg Carmichael dance classic – and very much in the P&P disco mode! The record's filled with extended club cuts that have a lot of keyboards and electronics, and although the lyrics are a bit silly at times, the groove is rock solid – with that amazing funky... read more

Vernon was one of the better smooth soul arrangers of the 70s, and this album from 1975 is one of his better efforts as a solo artist after stints with such groups as The Delfonics, The Bar-Kays and The Stairsteps. The record features a tight batch of self-penned tunes that move between mellow... read more

Excellent smooth modern soul from Vernon Burch – perhaps with lyrics that are a bit corny at times, but also with some monster hooks that keep the songs grooving nicely! The record's got some of the better production you'll hear on Vernon's albums, and the best tracks have a smooth midtempo... read more

... read more

A very groovy little set – bongos, with lots of great spare moments – presented under the auspices of a percussion instruction record! Jack "Bongo" Burger was similar to Jack "Mr. Bongo" Costanza – that is, he was a west coast studio player who also made a... read more

A standout solo moment from the amazing Keni Burke – an artist who's come a long way from his youthful start in the 5 Stairsteps! Keni had recorded other adult work by the time of this early 80s set, but Changes is easily his best-remembered album – a masterpiece of 80s groove, all... read more

Surprisingly nice work! Like the rest of Solomon's post-Atlantic LPs, this one has a sound that's different than his classic work, but which also exposes a whole new side of his talent, and range of vocals that didn't always show up for Atlantic. Solomon arranged and produced here, and the sound... read more

One of our favorite albums ever from Solomon Burke – a great little set that draws on all of his deep soul roots for Atlantic, but also gets a little bit funky too! There's a growing maturity in Solomon's music here that we really love – a quality that gets past the churchy cliches,... read more

... read more

A beautiful tribute to New York from jazz arranger Ralph Burns – perhaps one of the best of that odd postwar genre – the LP-long salute to the Big Apple! This set's got an unusual approach – great instrumentation from Burns, on a par with his more famous jazz scoring of the 50s... read more

... read more

Not "blues" like you might expect from the title – but a hip batch of tracks that has Kenny soloing over arrangements by Don Sebesky, playing in a warmly chromatic mode that's similar to the work that Wes Montgomery also cut with Sebesky. The tracks all have a nicely angular... read more

Surprisingly wonderful work from Kenny! The album has Kenny's guitar set to arrangements by Gil Evans – who gives the session a modern edge that really sets it apart from other Burrell albums of the time. Kenny's freed to do his thing – wonderfully, we might add – and Gil paints... read more

... read more

A great title for this one – as the album's got a cool, laidback groove that's very much in a "night song" mode! Arrangements are by Don Sebesky – in that warm and fluid mode he was bringing to some of his best CTI sides at the time – and they push Kenny a bit more than... read more

A surprisingly great meeting between Kenny Burrell and Jimmy Smith – and a set that's one of Jimmy's standout small combo sessions for Verve! The feel here is much more Jimmy Smith at Blue Note than some of the bigger group Verve dates of the 60s – and Kenny Burrell's sensitive guitar... read more

Billed on the back as a "dynamic new singer", Marilyn's got a style that makes you feel like she's stepped off a stage – nice and swinging, with a bit of a showy approach, but relatively restrained overall. Arrangements have a nice bit of jazz, and were put together and conducted... read more

This was one of the biggest-selling jazz albums of all-time in Australia – so it's no surprise that it was issued in the US, although in a slightly shorter form than the original double LP. The session features Australia's biggest (and best) reed player, Don Burrows, and his classic 70's... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

One of Joe Bushkin's more jazz-oriented sessions – thanks to trumpet from Buck Clayton!... read more

A weird batch of groovy instrumental tracks and schmaltzy vocal ones, all composed as part of the score of this creepy 70's film about college that conducts experiments in contemporary sexual values. A very young Don Johnson sings lead vocals on the throwaway tracks "It's Not Over" and... read more

An overlooked gem from the revival years of Impulse Records – a set recorded in the mid 80s, but one that easily matches the soul and spirituality of the label's best work from the late 60s and early 70s! Pianist Henry Butler steps out here with a strong musical vision – one colored by... read more

Seminal work by one of our favorite soul singers of all time! Jerry first came to fame with The Impressions and on his own in the early 60s – singing dark moody easy tunes that well earned him the nickname of "Iceman". In the late 60s, though, he moved onto Mercury where he broke... read more

Amazing soul from one of the greats of the 60s! This album was one of the first that Jerry cut for Mercury – where he'd begun working with the young team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff to completely rework the earlier sound he'd forged at Vee Jay Records. The album's still got Jerry singing... read more

Killer stuff – as Jerry's getting the full early Philly treatment here, with arrangements by Thom Bell, Bobby Martin, and Roland Chambers, and production by a young Gamble and Huff! The sound isn't nearly as icy as the old Vee Jay days – but that's fine with us, as Jerry is nice and... read more

One of the albums in which Jerry Butler showcases the talents of a new generation of young Chicago soul talents – including Terry Callier, Donny Hathaway, Chuck Jackson (from The Independents, not the New York soul star), and his brother Billy Butler. Billy Butler had already scored big with... read more

Duets between Jerry Butler and Brenda Lee Eager – done as serious, adult oriented soul tracks, one side of the album in an optimistic "The Love We Have" setting, the other in a sadder "The Love We Had" setting – both of them handled in a mode that's far far different... read more

... read more

... read more

Titles include "Walkin Blues", "Get Out Of My Life Woman", "Mary Mary", "East West", "Two Trains Running", and "Work Song".... read more

... read more

If you read these pages often enough, you'll know that we're big fans of recordings made by American expatriot players while living in Europe during the 60's. The European rhythm sections often bring out new elements of their playing, and the interaction with European soloists hits modes that we... read more

Very early work from Charlie Byrd – a cool little record that has him playing at his home turf of the Showboat club in DC, and working with a group that includes a fair bit of horn players! The style's quite different than Byrd's better-known Brazilian work of the 60s, or his lusher large... read more

A collection that Milestone issued in 1973 that includes tracks from three of Byrd's early 60s Bossa Nova records – Latin Impressions, Bossa Nova Pelos Passaros and Once More/Charlie Byrd's Bossa Nova. Byrd and his unamplified guitar are joined by Keter Betts on bass and Bill Reichenbach on... read more

The Latin Impressions here are more Brazilian than Cuban – and maybe a bit Spanish, too – given the strong use of acoustic guitar from Charlie Byrd! The set's got a laidback, open feel – and Byrd's guitar work is mighty deft, yet without all the frills and flowers of some of the... read more

... read more

An unusual session – Byrd's acoustic guitar meets the cornet of Nat Adderley – along with electric bass from Joe Byrd, drums from Jonny Rae, and percussion from Depo Indetto!... read more

A landmark album – Donald Byrd's first session with producer Larry Mizell, the man who went on to forever change the face of jazz funk! After rumbling around for a few years attempting electric styles that really didn't fit his mode, Donald wisely hooked up with Larry, and hit a groove here... read more

An incredible album from Donald Byrd – hard, funky, and with more of an edge than most of his other Blue Note work! The sound on the album's incredibly sinister – really concerned with downward chord turns in moody rhythms – played with a real sense of soul by a frontline that... read more

Classic soul jazz material from trumpeter Donald Byrd – one of his most sinister (and most rare) albums for Blue Note! The group's a quintet, with frequent bandmate Pepper Adams on baritone, Duke Pearson on piano, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – all grooving with some of the tightness... read more

Smoking work from Donald Byrd – post-Blue Note, post-Larry Mizell, and with a modern funk groove that's still pretty darn tasty! Not one to rest on his laurels – which he could have easily done with endless Mizell-based recordings – Donald shifts his groove here towards more of a... read more

A tasty collection of goodies that Donald recorded with the great Larry Mizell during the early 70s. Certainly not his all-inclusive best, but some of our favorite material by this legendary soul jazz trumpeter. The tracks have a sparkling electric jazz funk sound, with amazing production that... read more

Donald Byrd's second foray into the "with voices" genre – done with the same arranging talents of Coleridge Perkinson, the lyrical modernist who made Donald's A New Perspective such a success! The group that plays with Byrd is excellent, and includes Freddie Roach, Herbie Hancock,... read more

One of Byrd's most fantastic records for Blue Note, and one of the three that he recorded with Sonny Red on alto sax. Byrd and Red work magnificently together, and the two of them play with a tightness and funkiness that's missing from a lot of their other records as leaders. Hank Mobley joins... read more

A classic album that mixes trumpet and voices in a swirling soulful sound that worked very well for Byrd's career! Byrd's sparkling trumpet fronts a tight septet that includes Hank Mobley, Herbie Hancock, and Kenny Burrell – and which is backed by arrangements by Coleridge Perkinson and Duke... read more

An incredible record that was one of the highest points of Donald Byrd's career! The album's the third one he cut with producer/arranger Larry Mizell – and of all Byrd's work with Mizell, this one's the funkiest, the tightest, the most soulful, and the most perfectly realized vision of the... read more

An essential bit of jazz funk from Donald Byrd and Larry Mizell! The groove's very similar to their classic Places & Spaces LP, and the record's got loads of cool spacey tracks with hot funky trumpet from Donald, and cool waves of synth and sound from Larry. The title cut's a great groover,... read more

A post-Blue Note effort, and Donald's changing things up a bit with his 125th Street Orchestra and Uptown Singers – funking along in a way you'd expect from the longwinded title! Byrd loostens up the smoother backgrounds of his recent Larry Mizell helmed work, and in their place are grooves... read more

Funky electric groove from Donald Byrd – a post Mizell effort that's still burning in a crisp groove similar to his classic 70s Blue Note work – one that's absolutely dripping with keys! Isaac Hayes produced this one, and also played a lot of those keyboards on the session with Byrd's... read more

A definite soul based session for Donald Byrd – and that's saying a lot here, because his previous decade's worth of work had all had some sort of R&B focus! The main force behind the set here is Isaac Hayes – who's producing, arranging, and playing most of the keyboards on the... read more

Wonderful work from the team of Donald Byrd and Gigi Gryce! Byrd is at his youthful best here – blowing with a soulful imagination that's surprising, given his young age, and honed to a modern edge by the arrangements of Gryce. Conversely, Gryce's tone on the alto is fantastic – less... read more

An interesting little session from ABC – recorded as sort of an educational record about jazz, directed by Creed Taylor – but also a session that comes off well in the jam session mode of some of the Savoy sets of the same time! Players are a varied lot – and include Donald Byrd,... read more

Titles include "Full Circle", "Sweet Mary", "Born To Rock N Roll", "Borrowing Time", and "Cowgirl In The Sand".... read more

... read more

One of the group's greatest moments – thanks in part to sweet Cali production from Gary Usher! Titles include "You Ain't Going Nowhere", "Hickory Wind", "Life In Prison", "Blue Canadian Rockies", "Pretty Boy Floyd", "You're Still On My... read more

... read more

A rare bit of David Byrne from the best years of the Talking Heads – tunes commissioned by Twyla Tharp for an offbeat piece of dance entitled The Catherine Wheel. A few of the tracks are vocals, and feature some of Byrne's most compelling lyrics from the time – and others are... read more

One of the best versions of the Hair soundtrack you'll find on moog! Robert Byrne's cut some fine albums in his time, but on this little gem, he really grooves it hard with Galt MacDermot's funky score – using all the cool changes in the songs to riff out some great work on the moog. There's... read more

... read more

... read more

A whole album of videogame songs – with references to Donky Kong, Ms Pac Man, and others!... read more