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A cool little book that's partly an introduction to jazz – but more like a cool collection of sidebars from longer articles – offering up interesting slices that really help you understand the music! The book is roughly chronological, but served up with lots of images and smaller text pieces – sometimes a focus on a specific artist, sometimes a smaller genre – often with additional notes off to the side that help illuminate things! The volume is unusual, but surprisingly helpful too – and even offers up some recommendations for CD listening as well. 276 pages, with color and black and white images.

Wow! The one-and-only album by Trinidadian combo Black Truth Rhythm Band – a completely incredible one at that – hypnotic Caribbean funky soul, jazz and wildly impressive musicianship all around by this group led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Oluko Imo. The record was made in the mid 70s era in which the Afro Funk sound was hitting it's peak – when African rhythms and James Brown style funk were being fused so furiously – but Black Truth Rhythm Band take a different approach, working more with sounds from African spectrum and the West Indies. It's really amazing stuff that takes unpredictable twists from stripped down rhythms, to jazzy guitars and cosmic synths – always with straight up brilliant playing by the group. A fusion of African rhythms, strains of Calypso and boundary free jazzy grooves that balance and exploratory sensibility with tight, irresistible rhythms. Soundway raises the bar once again! Titles include "Ifetayo", "You People", "Saved Musician", "Kilimanjaro", "Aspire", and "Umbala" – plus a bonus 7" single with the track "Imo".

Wow! The one-and-only album by Trinidadian combo Black Truth Rhythm Band – a completely incredible one at that – hypnotic Caribbean funky soul, jazz and wildly impressive musicianship all around by this group led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Oluko Imo. The record was made in the mid 70s era in which the Afro Funk sound was hitting it's peak – when African rhythms and James Brown style funk were being fused so furiously – but Black Truth Rhythm Band take a different approach, working more with sounds from African spectrum and the West Indies. It's really amazing stuff that takes unpredictable twists from stripped down rhythms, to jazzy guitars and cosmic synths – always with straight up brilliant playing by the group. A fusion of African rhythms, strains of Calypso and boundary free jazzy grooves that balance and exploratory sensibility with tight, irresistible rhythms. Soundway raises the bar once again! Titles include "Ifetayo", "You People", "Saved Musician", "Kilimanjaro", "Aspire", "Umbala" and the bonus track "Imo".

A cool 60s Capitol psych album – with organ from Tony Scott and flute from Paris Sheppard – and nice long tracks that include "I Just Thought Of The Moon", "The House Of Saturn", and "The Happening".

2 incredible soundtracks from Serge Gainsbourg – both of them from his best period of work! Cannabis is a tremendously funky set of tunes – and some real standout soundtrack material from the legendary Serge Gainsbourg! Serge is working here with some great help from Jean-Claude Vannier – the guiding force behind Melody Nelson – and Vannier brings some great grooves to the record, really going for those sexy riffs and breaks that make us love Gainsbourg's music so much! There's a bit of vocals, but the main focus is on the instrumentation – which shifts nicely from track to track, taking the themes in some very nice directions – all of them definitely up to the sexy standard of Serge. The score to Ce Sacre Grand Pere is included here as bonus work – and features tracks written by both Serge and Michel Colombier. The overall feel is more orchestral and traditionally soundtrack-styled, but there are a few really sly funky tracks that offer up Serge at his sexy best! The set's got 21 tracks in all, and titles include "Cannabis", "Jane Dans La Nuit", "Danger", "Avant De Mourir", "Cannabis-bis", "Piege", "I Want To Feel Crazy", "Le Deuxieme Homme", "Champetre Et Pop 1", "Nous Les Jericho", and "L'Herbe Tendre".

Rare work from British easy maestro Ron Goodwin – one of England's most important orchestral talents of the 50s and 60s! Disc one of the set features Goodwin's instrumental singles of the 50s – many of which were done in a style that's similar to some of Les Baxter's pre-exotica work for Capitol. Like Baxter, Goodwin came from a more traditional style of mood music, but was also willing to work in farther-reaching modes – and would pick up traces of some of the more ambitious easy styles of his time. The second disc features Goodwin's soundtrack work of later years – much of which was done in highly dramatic styles that often supported historical narratives, war stories, and other films of an epic nature. Together, the 2CD set makes for a great look at Goodwin's oft-neglected work – and is packaged with a great set of notes and a huge amount of tracks! Titles include "Concetta", "Red Cloak", "The Melba Waltz", "Messenger Boy", "Jet Journey", "Tropical Mirage", "Josita", "Wagon Train", "Aces High", "Departure", "Frenzy", "Decline & Fall", "Cafe Royal Waltz", "Return My Love", and "When Eagles Dare". 53 tracks in all!

Not the disco promised in the title – but a sweet batch of funky tracks from Japanese reedman Jiro Inagaki – easily one of his hippest albums of the 70s! Rhythms are super-tight – very much in the best mid 70s space of Fatback Band or Kool & The Gang – and carried off with some occasional trippy touches in the production, of the sort you'd know from other Japanese albums of this nature. The tunes are mostly instrumentals – focused on the jazzy grooves we'd expect from Jiro – but they often feature a bit of chorus vocals – probably just the musicians shouting out with joy alongside their sweet lead lines. Titles include a great cover of Ripple's "I Don't Know What It Is But It Sure Is Funky" – plus "Boogie Joe The Grinder", "Express", "Jungle Boogie", "Living For The City", "Outa Space", "Funky Stuff", and "Loose Booty". CD features the bonus track "Express", in a different mix.

Jazzy Bay Area hip hop from producer/MC double threat Kero One – an unabashedly rearward leaning hip hop head from the left coast – with skills on par with the Soul Providers, Lightheaded and others on the scene! It's no secret that we have eager ears for hip hop that's schooled in the Native Tongues tradition of jazz-based beats and mellow grooves – as well as the brighter, more sun-soaked west coast applications thereof – and Kero One doesn't disappoint! Tracks include "Give Thanks" feat Niamaj, "Musical Journey", "My Story", "In A Dream", "Ain't That Somethin?", "Tempted", "In All The Wrong Places", "Keep It Alive!", "The Cycle Repeats", "Fly Fly Away", "It's A New Day" and "Check The Blueprints".

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 lyricism, but in a bouncy, playful way that's light years from the usual! This time around, there's a slight echo of 80s ideals – not so much in the music, which still has lots of 70s warmth – but in the criss-crossing of modes, and in the way that acoustic and electric elements are used together to create a really full sound. Titles include "9 by 3", "Revenge Of Mega Man", "Star Of The Sky", "All Of The Time", "Moonrise", "2012", and "Dragon Force".

"It's not a sequel – there's never been anything like it." Finally, an awesome reissue of the classically groovy camp soundtrack to "king of the nudies" Russ Meyer's crazy non-sequel to Valley Of The Dolls – one of the greatest exploitation movies of all time! The music is almost unbelievably great for what was essentially supposed to be an X-rated cheapie (little did 20th Century Fox know) – with a wonderfully huge & string heavy score by composer Stu Phillips, insanely groovy, stomping mod rock from the Sandpipers, Strawberry Alarm Clock, and the film's busty real-life Playboy Bunny heroines the Carrie Nations/Kelly Affair! "This is MY happening, and IT FREAKS ME OUT!" Titles include the Carrie Nations tunes "Find It" and "Come With The Gentle People", the Strawberry Alarm Clock's "Incense & Peppermints" and "I'm Coming Home", the Sandpipers groovy "Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls Theme", and tons more.

A rich western score from Carlo Rustichelli – one that begins with a brooding intensity, then holds strongly in that mode throughout! There's a nice shift past usual western modes in the music – even with the presence of some acoustic guitar – and Bruno Nicolai conducts the music with a subtle use of strings, usually quiet and somewhat dark – with the occasional isolated instrument coming forth in a stronger voice. A few moments feature tracks with I Cantori Moderni – and titles include "Habanera Gitana", "Tema Della Solitudine", "Tema Di Jose", "Fandango", and "Morte De Jose".

Wicked work from Kaidi Tatham – some of the best we've heard in years, and filled with all the righteous energy we've always loved in his music! The setting is a bit more electric than some of his jazz-based sets – and there's a deep deep London vibe that runs throughout the set – that sparkling, spacious groove that so many of Tatham's contemporaries once forged this well, but hardly seem to reach with the same level of perfection! The album's only got five tracks – hence the title – but every one's a cracker – filled with snapping rhythms, soaring keyboards, and lots of cool spacey fusion touches. Everything's handled by Kaidi himself – and titles include "Dyno", "For All Love In Time", "Organic Juggernaut", "To My Surprise", and "Don't Hide Your Love".

Instrumental guitar great William Tyler's second album under his own name, and his first for indie powerhouse Merge Records – and it's an exceptionally beautiful piece of work from a player who's really just getting started! Tyler strikes a youthful presense, but he's actually been playing around a lot behind the scenes – as a studio and/or touring guitarist for Lambchop, Candi Staton, Charlie Louvin and others wise enough to record with producer Mark Nevers – who's works on this record, too. Tyler is definitely inspired by finger style folk guitarists from the mid 20th Century onward, but he's also got a hypnotic style that feels like it's inspired by more atmospheric country rock and rustic 70s soundtracks. Here he's mixing it all it into a brilliant style all his own, and it's SO good. Guest musicians include fellow youthful Nashville string genius Chris Scruggs, drummer Scott Martin, steel player Luke Schneider and Roy Agee on trombone. Includes "Country Of Illusion", "The Geography Of Nowhere", "Cadillac Desert", "We Can't Go Home Again", "A Portrait Of Sarah", "Hotel Catatonia", "The Last Residents Of Westfall" and "The World Set Free".

Chicago deep house player & producer Glenn Underground's deepest and most soul jazz-steeped effort to date! We really thought Glenn stepped up his game pretty decisively on the previous full length for his Strictly Jaz Unit label – and Forgotten Art is another major leap forward. This is modern instrumental club music at it's most soulful, jazz aware and able – the beats and rhythms drive the sound, but there's so much vibrant, live energy here – keys, horns and eclectic percussion in particular. Classic dance music from 70s jazz & disco to benchmark house influences flow in and out, but it's also profoundly contemporary without copping to current trends – in other words, it's straight up built to last. Nah, Glenn. . .we won't forget this one! Titles include "Strumming & Thinking", "Forgotten Art (Music)", "Safe At Home", "Robots & Bumblebees (A Tribute To Patrick Adams)", "Shiloh (A King's Return)", "Silent Pimp (Peace In My Place)", "Tabernacle", "What's Next" and "Peace For Nippon (Japan)",

A really stunning little record – way more than we expected – and our expectations were already pretty darn high! The album's contemporary – and features legendary Delfonics lead singer William Hart working with younger studio whiz Adrian Younge – who gives the whole thing the feel of some lost Delfonics tapes from the early 70s! Younge really unlocks the darkness that was always present in the group's music, but didn't always show up this well – that great sound they were hitting after the initial three LPs, when the themes got even stranger, and the trio moved way past simple love songs and pop hits. Hart's vocals are tremendous – instantly recognizable, and often supported by harmonies that keep them in just the right sort of old school focus – a sound that leaves us breathless throughout, and which makes for a really incredible album. Titles include "True Love", "To Be Your One", "Stand Up", "Party's Over", "Lover's Melody", "Life Never Ends", "Just Love", "So In Love With You", "Silently", and "Enemies".

Amazing work from the contemporary African underground – put together by the same folks who produced the Congotronics package! The focus this time around is the style dubbed Karindula – music based around an instrument that's essentially a giant banjo made out of an oil barrel, a goat skin, four strings, and an empty bag of powdered milk – often used in this sharp, staccato style that's very rhythmic, and which feels electric, even when acoustic – giving some of this music the same bold drive as Congotronics! The set is a great document of this up and coming style – and comes with a DVD of performances, and a CD of great music that includes "Beggars Banquet" by Bana Simba, "Kiyongo" by Bana Lupemba, "Mado Mado" by BBK, and "Banani Batawina Bena Ngoma" by Bena Ngoma.

Funky Afro Soul from Oz – the brilliant full length debut of Shaolin Afronauts! Flight Of The Ancients blasts off from the bedrock of 70s West Africa and Ethio funk influences, but their one of the rare few combos who pull it off without it feeling like a retread of past glories. Part of that success stems from their working really well in a number of modes – filtering classic funky soul and jazz funk influences with modern inventiveness and brilliant musicianship. Drums and congas bring the percussive heat with a great horn section of saxes, trumpets and bass clarinet, tight guitar grooves and heavy bass. A solid combo from the fertile Australian funk scene! Includes "Journey Through Time", "Rise With The Blind", "Flight Of The Ancients", "Shaolin Theme", "Kilimanjaro", "Shira", "The Quiet Lion" and "The Scarab".

Huge! Dark, heavy – an album of mythical proportions, and that's a lot to say for a mainstream LP! It would be hard to imagine the modern rock landscape without this album or group, who provided the template for so much music to follow, and the soundtrack to many bong-fueled excursions to the dark side! Includes "Black Sabbath", "The Wizard", "Wasp/Behind The Wall Of Sleep/Bassically/NIB", "Wicked World", and "A Bit Of Finger/Sleeping Village/Warning".

A brilliant tribute to the youthful talents of Barrington Levy – a set of sweetly soulful numbers that were mostly recorded when Levy was in his late teens! The package is overstuffed with goodness from these key Levy years – music that often moves through the groove with a really laidback vocal, yet still has this sharp bite underneath – that special mix that always made Barrington so great. And although young here, there's still a depth to his vocals that few other older acts can touch – a heartfelt, sometimes heartbreaking quality that really comes through. CD features a whopping 40 tracks in all – with titles that include "She Rob & Gorn", "Poor Man Style", "Rubber Man", "My Woman", "21 Girls Salute", "Collie Weed", "Bounty Hunter", "Walk 2000 Miles", "Mini Bus", "Black Hen Chicken", "Look Youthman", and "Wedding Ring".

A really stunning little record – way more than we expected – and our expectations were already pretty darn high! The album's contemporary – and features legendary Delfonics lead singer William Hart working with younger studio whiz Adrian Younge – who gives the whole thing the feel of some lost Delfonics tapes from the early 70s! Younge really unlocks the darkness that was always present in the group's music, but didn't always show up this well – that great sound they were hitting after the initial three LPs, when the themes got even stranger, and the trio moved way past simple love songs and pop hits. Hart's vocals are tremendous – instantly recognizable, and often supported by harmonies that keep them in just the right sort of old school focus – a sound that leaves us breathless throughout, and which makes for a really incredible album. Titles include "True Love", "To Be Your One", "Stand Up", "Party's Over", "Lover's Melody", "Life Never Ends", "Just Love", "So In Love With You", "Silently", and "Enemies".

The great second album from Ghana's K. Frimpong – backed by the group Vis-a-Vis (though billed in the title as his Cubano Fiestas) – a stunning blend of Ghanian Highlife music and rawer Afro Funk & soul! A few K. Frimpong numbers appeared on some of our favorite African compilations of the late 90s & 00s – but this original album from 1977 has remained rare. K. Frimpong sings and he's backed up by the fairly large Vis-A-Vis players, but they deliver a pretty tight groove – drums, congas and other percussion, trumpet and sax, some really soulful electric guitar, some piano, and occasional waves of spacey synth. Amazing stuff! Includes "Hwehwe Mu Na Yi Wo Mpena", "Asaase Yi So", "Awisa" and the side-long "Adama Nana (Medley)".

A low price, but a really great package – one that's overflowing with some of the best recent work from the mighty Schema Records! If you read these pages at all, you'll know we think that Schema's one of the greatest things going these days – a modern label, but one that's committed to the real jazz grooves of earlier years – the bossa, modal, and soul jazz styles of the 60s and 70s – played in a mixture of real instrumentation and just a bit of dancefloor production, with a sound that's instant classic on nearly every release! This package is a great introduction to the Schema label's genius, and even if you've got some of the tracks here on other releases, the set is a really great way to hear all this music in one place – kind of a "best of the best" that's totally great! Titles include "Bluesanova" by Gerardo Frisina, "Moon Vision" by Soulstance, "I knew The Way" by Invisible Session, "On A Clear Day" by Was A Bee, "Emotional Dancing" by S-Tone, "Stay (In Mood)" by Paolo Fedreghini & Marco Bianchi, "Afrolicious" by Dining Rooms, "Esquema Da Bossa" by Quintetto X, "Today's Sound" by Intensive Jazz Sextet, and "Dreaming Of The Past" by Rosario Giuliani Quartetto.

Titles include "I Love You 1000 Times", "I Love You Because", "Only You", "Harbor Lights", "Lovely", and "Heaven On Earth".