Sublime duets – just Haden's bass and the piano of Anderson – on titles that include "The Night We Called It A Day", "CC Blues", "Alone Together", and "I Hear A Rhapsody". LP, Vinyl record album

A great early set from singer Ernestine Anderson – material recorded in Sweden with a sound that's even more sweetly swinging than some of her American albums of the time! The backings on most tracks are by Harry Arnold – one of the hippest Swedish leaders of the time, and an arranger who's clearly got an ear for the more soulful side of Anderson's vocals – hardly the sort of icy Scandinavian sort of groove you might expect! And in a way, Ernestine seems to sound even better in this setting than back home – almost a bit more balanced, with a slight sort of poise that comes through nicely on the ballads. Titles include "Experiment", "Day Dream", "Did I Remember", "Ill Wind", and "My Man". Japanese pressing, with 16 tracks – more than US version! LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection of Ivie Anderson's famous vocal recordings with Duke Ellington's band! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Recorded live at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City, February 7-10, 1983. A HUGE amount of material! Includes the tracks "Say Hello", "Walk The Dog", "Violin Solo", "Closed Circuits", "For A Large And Changing Room", "Pictures Of It", "Language Of The Future", "Reverb", "If You Can't Talk About It, Point To It", "City Song", "Finnish Farmers", "Democratic Way", "Private Property", "Neon Duet", "Difficult Listening Hour", "So Happy Birthday", "Dance Of Electricity", "Sax Duet", "Born, Never Asked", "From The Air", "Beginning French", "Talkshow", "Cello Solo", "Blue Lagoon", "Stiff Neck", "Hothead", "Telephone Song", "Sweaters", "We've Got Four Big Clocks", "I Dreamed I Had To Take A Test", "Big Top", "It Was Up In The Mountains", "Big Science", "Red Map", "Strike", "False Documents", and many, many more! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual UK-only set from Ernestine Anderson – done at a time when she wasn't making many records over here in the US! Backings are from Johnnie Scott – who you might know from other great records of the time – and titles include nice versions of "On A Clear Day", "Feeling Good", "Tears Have To Fall", and "So Nice". LP, Vinyl record album

Ernestine works her way through a set of bluesy tunes with a spot of jazz – with backing by Ernie Wilkins orchestra, with players that include "Hank Jones, Tate Houston, Yusef Lateef, Ernie Royal, and Clark Terry. Titles include "My Kinda Love", "See See Rider", "All My Life", "Mound Bayou", "I'll Never Be The Same", and "Black Moonlight". Nice stuff, in the manner of her other albums on Mercury from the time! LP, Vinyl record album

A key moment in the career of vocalist Ernestine Anderson – a record that not only returned her to the public eye after a flurry of initial sides in the late 50s and early 60s, but which also finally helped Anderson find a sound that worked! The album's done with backing by the Monty Alexander trio – in a style that's bluesy and soul jazz inflected, but with a sweeter west coast sound – almost an early 80s equivalent of the groove explored by Lou Rawls or Ernie Andrews in LA during the mid 60s, but done with an even more relaxed, jazz-based approach here. The title track – "Never Make Your Move Too Soon" – was an instant standout that got Anderson play in many corners of the US – and other tracks are more familiar numbers, but done in a similar mode – with titles that include "Old Folks", "As Long As I Live", "Just One More Chance", "Poor Butterfly", and "My Shining Hour". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest albums to come from the New York underground of the early 80s – even if it was a relatively big "hit" on a major label! Laurie Anderson is in perfect form here – drawing on a strong tradition of avant garde performance, but without any of the indulgences that would mire down performance art in years to come. Instead, she's got a clean, clear style that's simply amazing – spoken passages that are poetic and pointed, but which also have a slight undercurrent of wit – a charming quality that never takes itself too seriously, even when the sounds and styles are somewhat dark. Instrumentation includes some great rhythm passages from David Van Tieghem, plus surprising performances from Rufus Harley on bagpipes and George Lewis on trombone. Titles include "From The Air", "Big Science", "O Superman", "Born Never Asked", "Walking & Falling", "Example #22", "Let X = X", and "It Tango". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Cinematic hip hop soul from Anderson.Paak named after a seaside city west of Los Angeles, CA – but it's not Malibu, it's the stunning follow up Oxnard – a little looser, more diverse, and ultimately just as impressive set from this still rising talent! The uber-impressive guest list including Kadhja Bonet, Norelle, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop, Dre, Pusha T, J Cole, Q-Tip and more but this is the sprawling Anderson.Paak show all the way, his distinctive blend of Cali sunshine and nighttime music and mood, his gritty-smooth voice so masterfully going back & forth from singing to rhyming, the production breathtaking from the stripped down beats, bass and vocals focused tracks to grander and more densely layered material. Includes "The Chase" with Kadja Bonet, "Headlow" feat Lowrell, "Tints" feat Kendrick Lamar, "Who R U", "6 Summers", "Saviers Road", "Smile/Petty", "Mansa Musa", "Brothers Keeper" feat Pusha T, "Anywhere" feat Snoop Dogg & Last Artful Dodgr, "Trippy" feat J Cole and "Cheers" feat Q-Tip – plus the bonus tracks "Sweet Chick" feat BJ The Chicago Kid and "Left To Right". LP, Vinyl record album

Features Dan Barrett on trombone, Ed Bickert on guitar, Scott Hamilton on tenor sax, Red Holloway on alto sax, Dave McKenna on piano, Jimmie Smith on drums, Warren Vache on cornet, Steve Wallace on bass, and Ernestine Anderson on vocals. LP, Vinyl record album

With Monty Alexander on piano and Jeff Hamilton on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

A rare meeting of two jazz generations – as trumpeter Cat Anderson joins the small combo of Charles Mingus for some very firey performances! The set's quite an unusual one – recorded live at the Philharmonie Berlin in 1972 – with a combo that includes both Anderson and Joseph Gardner on trumpet, Hamiet Bluiett on reeds, John Forster on piano, and Roy Brooks on drums – all with a searing sense of freedom that's unusual, even for Mingus albums of the time! Side one features the burning "Celia" – an older Mingus tune, but reworked here as a stunning vehicle for extended soloing – sometimes quite out, depending on the player. Side two features "Perdido", a familiar number, to be sure – but one that's opened up strongly by the group and their long-flowing solo styles – especially in the middle, which breaks down to almost free jazz entirely! LP, Vinyl record album

A beautifully unique take on the music of Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman – served up here by a trio that features Kirk Knuffke on cornet, Jay Anderson on bass, and Adam Nussbaum on drums! The tunes are all classic Cherry or Coleman compositions – but the performance here is very different, with a robust quality that comes not just from the deeper range of the cornet, but also from the bold work on drum and bass – which still keeps things in that rompingly rhythmic mode of the group that Cherry and Coleman had together, but maybe both a bit more open in terms of the groove – and more focused on the one lead solo instrument. Knuffke's really opened up the sound of others in the past – but this record might well be his greatest achievement so far – as you'll hear on titles that include "Roland Alphonso", "The Sphinx", "Jayne", "Song In D", "Mind & Time", "Cherryco", "Golden Heart", "Paris Ambulance Song", and "Angel Voice". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet jazzy keys from Mike Mandel – grooving here in a fuller jazz funk mode that's a bit like the best work of the 70s on Kudu Records! The approach is quite nice – with Mike handling all the electrics, and getting solo support from and array of jazzy players who include David Sanborn on alto, Gary Anderson on tenor, Darryl Thompson on guitar, and Wilbur Bascomb and John Lee on bass! The sound's a nice blend of funky and slick – and the album sports a great instrumental cover of Steely Dan's "Peg", as well as the original tunes "As Fine As You Are", "Pyramids", "Elephant & Castle", "Another Kind Of Spring", and "Jupiter Finger". LP, Vinyl record album

A real standout effort from ex-Animal Alan Price – not just because it was the soundtrack for a film in which he starred, but also because it features some of his hippest tracks to date! Price has a great post-60s feel here that's a bit like the territory Georgie Fame was hitting at the time – still with some elements of his rougher, R&B-inspired style of the previous decade – but served up with a newly sophisticated approach to rhythms and vocalizing that really stand out. The whole thing's pretty hard to characterize with a few simple labels, but there's a nice sense of depth and play going on – due partly, no doubt, to the freedom that Price was given with the music by director Lindsay Anderson. Titles include "O Lucky Man", "Pastoral", "Arrival", "Look Over Your Shoulder", "Justice", "My Home Town", "Changes", and "Sell Sell". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest Yes albums of the 70s – even if it isn't a Yes album at all! Instead, the set's a stunning solo project from bassist Chris Squire – and a record that shows just how much his talents were to the sound of Yes as a whole! The album's got a vibe that's very much like the best Yes records of the early days – including Fragile, Close To The Edge, and Yes – and the changes and sharpness of the tunes are mindblowing – driven strongly by Squire's bass, and filled with fantastic touches from Bill Bruford on drums, Patrick Moraz on keyboards, and some especially great work on saxes from Mel Collins – who you might know from work with King Crimson. Chris also sings, and sounds pretty darn wonderful – with a bit of processing that expands his voice a bit, almost in Jon Anderson modes. Titles include "Hold Out Your Hand", "You By My Side", "Silently Falling", "Safe", and "Lucky Seven". LP, Vinyl record album

A real gem from that key moment in Japanese fusion when some of the nation's best artists were hopping over to the American scene – cutting records like this, which often beat the American soul fusion scene at its own game – thanks to the help of a big array of all-star players! Masayoshi Takanaka plays guitar solos throughout, but also gets some help from Lee Ritenour on the electric strings – in a group that also has arrangements from Greg Adams of Tower Of Power, who brings in the rest of the TOP horns too – plus keyboards from Patrice Rushen, bass from Chuck Rainey, and drums from the great Harvey Mason – a rhythm combo that really keeps things groovy throughout. There's two vocal tracks on the set – which feature work from Jim Gilstrap, Maxi Anderson, and The Waters – on titles that include "Malibu", "ESP", "Sexy Dance", "Sundrops", "Good Bad Old Days", and the title track "Insatiable High". LP, Vinyl record album

A cool set from a percussionist who was both a figure in the more cutting-edge side of the New York downtown scene of the early 80s – and who had done some work for bigger groups as well! The album's one of the few under Van Tieghem's name – and features the artist on a huge amount of percussion instruments, both electric and acoustic – plus keyboards and a variety of objects. Peter Gordon co-produced, and plays saxes on the set – and the record's a nice one in the same territory of Laurie Anderson and David Byrne experiments on early 80s Warner. LP, Vinyl record album

The Vaqueros created music hundreds of miles from the ocean – working in the Twin Cities in the 60s – but that didn't stop them from creating some mighty nice surf numbers at the time, which were then mixed with more rocking numbers that sported a very cool female singer in the lead! That singer is Linda Anderson, who's almost got a rockabilly inspiration, but a few years too late – a style that makes for a really unique combination with the excellent surf-styled guitar work of the group – who shine equally well on their own when Linda's not in the lead! The tracks here were all unearthed from the Kay Bank archives – and titles include "Growing Pains", "69", "Don't You Dare", "80 Foot Wave", "Space Journey Ranger 7", "Birds & The Bees", "Island In Paradise", and "Soft Summer Rain". LP, Vinyl record album

The monumental first album from Yes – a group who were already onto something amazing with this set, and would only get better and better in years to come! The members had backgrounds in straighter, more conventional rock acts – but here, together, they unleash work with a wonderfully fresh sense of timing and structure – tunes that are still a bit shorter in comparison to later albums, but already full of the kind of complicated shifts and changes that instantly set Yes apart from the rest! And yet there's also a simple, honest approach too – not complexity for its own sake, as the group never find themselves in blind alleys or dead ends – and maintain this magical mix of elements that soars from track to track. The early lineup here features trademark vocals from Jon Anderson, alongside the bass of Chris Squire, guitars of Peter Banks, organ and piano of Tony Kaye, and drums of Bill Bruford – on titles that include "Harold Land", "Beyond & Before", "I See You", "Looking Around", "Sweetness", "Survival", and "Every Little Thing". LP, Vinyl record album

Features selections by Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, Time, Gang Of Four, Laurie Anderson, Ramones, Roxy Music, Pretenders, and others! LP, Vinyl record album

A great little collection that's maybe the opposite of the long-running tradition of "desert island discs" – in that the music here is hardly essential, but would be plenty of fun to hear if you were trapped alone with nowhere else to go! Think of the set as the darker side of exotica at the end of the 50s – a spot where tropical sounds mix with Latin rhythms and some rockish touches too – material from the years before surf guitars were really hitting the mainstream, but older modes were being infused with a bit of electricity and new modes of production – all in ways that make for some very cool cuts collected in the set! The package brings together rare singles from a variety of sources – and titles include "Jivaro" by Harvey Anderson, "Babalu" by Phyllis Branch, "The Lonely Sea" by Rick & Trisha, "Strictly Polynesian" by Davy Jones & The Dolphins, "Midnight" by Hank Levine, "Bongo Heat" by Coral & The South Seas, "Martinique" by Ty & Ed, "Atlantis" by Blue Bells, "Rumba Rhapsody" by Hector Cari & The Dancing Strings, "Ho Ba La La" by Dariel Kay, and "Miserlou" by Vitin Aviles Y Su Orquesta. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes work by Ray Price, Porter Wagoner, Marty Robbins, Linda Hopkins, Marty Robbins, John Anderson, and Clint Eastwood himself! LP, Vinyl record album

Ultra-hip soul from the 70s – a brilliant collection of underground tunes that represents some of the best of the decade's indie scene! The title says "modern", but the groove here is also pretty darn deep – as many of the tracks on the set have nice touches of southern soul, despite the smoother 70s production overall. Vocals are extremely heartfelt, and most tracks are in a mellow or midtempo pace – making for a really wonderful batch of tunes that moves away from the more uptempo and clubby sounds you might hear on other modern soul compilations. This special LP pressing brings together tracks from the CD series – a number of which were never issued on vinyl, even back in the day – and two unreleased tracks appear here for the first time ever! Titles include "Gotta Be Loved (part 2)" by Herman Davis, "Never Felt This Way Before" by The New Experience, "Go Away" by The Hestitations, "Momma Had A Baby" by Street People, "Do You Really Love Me" by Darondo, "I Don't Play Games" by Nightchill, "Just A Little Ugly" by Gail Anderson, "It's The Same Old Story" by Act 1, "Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right" by The Mayberry Movement, "Shake Off That Dream" by Eddie Billups & The CCCs, and "If There Were No You" by The Natural Resources. LP, Vinyl record album

An under-documented side of the British folk scene of the 70s – recordings made by producer Bill Leader for his small Trailer Records imprint – done in the spirit of Leader's better-known work for Topic and Transatlantic in the 60s, but with an overall feel that's surprisingly intimate for the time! Despite the "leave-taking" in the title, the sound here is extremely folksy – no string overdubs, psychedelic influences, or rock-based instrumentation – and instead a mostly acoustic, stripped-down style that's a real return to folk roots. Many tracks have a strong focus on the voice, with just a bit of added guitar or percussion – and we'll be honest in saying that we'd never heard most of these artists before this set! Titles include "Never The Same" and "To Make You Stay" by Lal Waterson, "Annachie Gordon" and "Annan Water" by Nic Jones, "Adieu To Judges & Juries" by Dorothy Elliott, "The Kid On The Mountain" by Alastair Anderson, "Jock O Hazeldean" by Dick Gaughan, and "Niel Gow's Lament For His Second Wife" by Aly Bain. LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic stuff, and proof that Rosemary Clooney was always one heck of a great singer – with strengths in jazz that you didn't always hear in her pop work! As you'd guess from the cover, Duke Ellington's leading the group on the album – and most of the tracks here are older Ellington standards, reworked with bold vocal lines from Clooney – in a way that's right up there with any of the usual singers with Ellington's band! Players include Clark Terry, Cat Anderson, Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, and Harry Carney – and titles include "I'm Checkin Out", "Mood Indigo", "Blue Rose", "Grievin", "Hey Baby", and "Passion Flower". LP, Vinyl record album

An important larger work from Duke Ellington – a suite of tracks that encompasses a range of styles and emotions in African-American expression! The work features some key guest work from Mahalia Jackson – singing here in a way that's different than other vocalists who worked with Duke in the 50s – much more steeped in a rootsy tradition. Group members include John Sanders, Harry Carney, Ray Nance, Quentin Jackson, and Cat Anderson – and the piece is divided into 6 sections, and includes the famous "Come Sunday" theme throughout most of the second half. LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent Duke Ellington work from the late 50s – written and recorded during a period in which he was reemerging with a stronger jazz vision than ever before! The set was written by Ellington and Strayhorn – and dedicated to the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario – but forget the Bard-inspired roots of the tracks, because the shimmering moods of the pieces is pure Ellington – with a richness of feeling that's totally great, and a sound that's wonderfully fresh, given that most of these numbers aren't overplayed Ellington compositions! Players include Cat Anderson and Clark Terry on trumpets, Paul Gonsalves on tenor, and Johnny Hodges on alto – and titles include "The Telecasters", "Circle Of Fourths", "Sonnet For Caesar", "Sonnet To Hank Cinq", and "Such Sweet Thunder". LP, Vinyl record album

These guys are known by some as the backing band of Anderson.Paak, but they're a hell of a group on their own – rock-solid right at the core, and able to effortlessly craft a sweet blend of funk and soul – yet also leave room for plenty of guests along the way! The musicianship here is fantastic – classic, yet very much their own – echoing the perfection of 70s studio work, but with a very contemporary vibe and a nicely up-close spirit –a sound that's perfect all the way through, and which makes a great accompaniment to guest work from TI, Shafiq Husayn, Daniel Caesar, Syd, Benny Sings, T Nava, Callum Connor, Conway, Westside Gunn, and even Anderson.Paak. The kind of record that's perfect for bumpin all summer long – with titles that include "Gidget", "Time", "Rene", "Shibuya", "Eternal Light", "The Rivington", "Beauty & Essex", and "On Sight". LP, Vinyl record album

Live material from Bob Marley & The Wailers – recorded in an obscure nightclub in our hometown of Chicago during the 70s, and quite a nice change from some of the bigger label releases of the time! The band has a loose, very spontaneous vibe – and there's a nice flow to the longer length of the tracks – served up with instrumentation from Earl Lindon on keyboards and organ, Al Anderson on guitar, Aston Family Man Barrett on bass, and Carlton Barrett on drums – with backing vocals from the I-Threes behind Bob's lead vocals! Titles include "Rebel Music", "Talkin Blues", "Concrete Jungle", "Natty Dread", "I Shot The Sherriff", "Slave Driver", and "Midnight Ravers". LP, Vinyl record album

A bit more of a high concept album than some of Wynton Marsalis' previous efforts – a set with a few more added horns on side one, and an extended suite on side two! The work definitely shows Wynton's increasing concern with jazz history – his desire to embrace, and sometimes represent, decades of past musical expression in his work – a real Lincoln Center sort of impulse, but one that still comes off relatively well here, and without as much hoke as you'd expect. Side one has Wynton working with regular pianist Marcus Roberts, plus Todd Williams on tenor and soprano sax and Wes Anderson on alto – and side two features a completely different group, much more in an older-styled jazz vein – with Michael White on clarinet, Danny Barker on banjo, Teddy Riley on trumpet, and Freddie Lonzo on trombone. Titles include "The Majesty Of The Blues", "Hickory Dickory Dock", and the expanded "New Orleans Function" suite. LP, Vinyl record album

A lost little cooker from Stitt and Green – recorded at a time when they were working together briefly, with backing by a Chicago organ trio that includes Bobby Buster on Hammond, Jo Diorio on guitar, and Dorel Anderson on drums. Tracks are short and fierce, but it's clear that Stitt can groove in a "blow the jukebox out" kind of way when he's in the right company – but still show enough of the impeccable care that he did with his straighter jazz albums on Roost and Verve. Titles include "Let's Play Chess", "Double Dip", "My Main Man", and "Broilin". LP, Vinyl record album

With Bennie Wallace on tenor, Ray Anderson on trombone, Dr John on piano and organ, John Scofield on guitar, and Bernard Purdie on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

A smoking live performance from Yes – heard here in all the glory of their Atlantic Records material at the start of the 70s! The lineup here is the stuff of legends – Jon Anderson on vocals, Chris Squire on bass, Steve Howe on guitar, Tony Kaye on keyboards, and Bill Bruford on drums – spinning out long takes on the two early classics "Yours Is No Disgrace" and "I've Seen All Good People" – both really shining moments for Anderson – plus a wonderful blend of "Clap/Classical Gas" – the latter of which has some nice work from Howe – and the group's complex gem "Perpetual Change". LP, Vinyl record album

The monumental first album from Yes – a group who were already onto something amazing with this set, and would only get better and better in years to come! The members had backgrounds in straighter, more conventional rock acts – but here, together, they unleash work with a wonderfully fresh sense of timing and structure – tunes that are still a bit shorter in comparison to later albums, but already full of the kind of complicated shifts and changes that instantly set Yes apart from the rest! And yet there's also a simple, honest approach too – not complexity for its own sake, as the group never find themselves in blind alleys or dead ends – and maintain this magical mix of elements that soars from track to track. The early lineup here features trademark vocals from Jon Anderson, alongside the bass of Chris Squire, guitars of Peter Banks, organ and piano of Tony Kaye, and drums of Bill Bruford – on titles that include "Harold Land", "Beyond & Before", "I See You", "Looking Around", "Sweetness", "Survival", and "Every Little Thing". LP, Vinyl record album

A real turning point in the career of Gene Ammons – a record that almost returns Ammons to his earthier roots, and in the process helps build up a whole new sound in soul jazz for the 60s! The "Jug" nickname in the title is kind of a joking way to help Ammons stand alongside "Miles", "Trane", "Diz", and other one-name monikered stars in jazz – but even without that gimmick (which somehow lasted for years), the album's got a depth that more than gets Gene back on top, thanks to a gritty soulfulness and good sense of feeling in the grooves! Players here include Richard Wyands on piano on most numbers – plus a rare appearance by Clarence "Sleepy" Anderson on 2 numbers – one on organ, one on piano. Rhythm is by Doug Watkins on bass and JC Heard on drums – and Ray Barretto makes one of his great soul jazz appearances on drums – rolling the groove along with a nice bit of bounce throughout! Titles include "Tangerine", "Ol Man River", "Easy To Love", "Seed Shack", "Miss Lucy", and "Namely You". LP, Vinyl record album

With Cat Anderson, Gene Goe, Blue Mitchell, and Jack Sheldon on trumpet; Britt Woodman, Jimmy Cleveland, Benny Powell, and Tricky Lofton on trombone; Marshal Royal, Lanny Morgan, Richie Kamuca, Don Menza, and Jack Nimitz on saxophone; Monty Budwig on bass, Dave Frishberg on piano, and Frank Capp on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing little record from Joe Byrd – an artist with roots in serious music, but who's serving things up here with a wild hippie aesthetic that makes the whole thing come across more like a "happening" than the usual sort of studio album – but in ways that also echo an earlier generation of Americanist composition too. The process of the record mimics some of Byrd's famous work in New York – and has a very collaborative feel overall, with elements of electronics, acoustics, and vocals coming together beautifully! There's some great tabla, harpsichord, moog, and organ on the record – plus more serious woodwinds and brass – and vocals from Victoria Bond, Susan De Lange, Christie Thompson, and Ernie Anderson – plus Joe himself. Titles include "Kalyani", "Moonsong Pelog", "You Can't Ever Come Down", "Gospel Music", "Nightmare Train", "Leisure World", and "The Elephant At The Door". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful work from Chic – a record that maybe didn't include any super-huge hits, but which is maybe even better because of that – a sometimes-overlooked gem that has the team of Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards in perfectly sharp formation! The group have already moved past disco, yet maintain that core funk that always makes their work so tremendous – rock-solid basslines from Edwards, ripping guitars from Rodgers, and unified vocals with help from Alfa Anderson and Luci Martin – who both really help the tunes soar! Titles include "Chip Off the Old Block", "Open Up", "26", "I Loved You More", "Real People", and "Rebels Are We". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent and oft-overlooked 50s session from Duke – recorded in Chicago as a one-off for the Bethlehem label, and done with a lush, rich sound that's really tremendous! The group's nicely restrained and very moody – playing here in a mellow late nite mode that offers a good focus on the best horn soloists in the group, yet which also really hangs together perfectly from the slow-moving and eerie tone of the rest of the group. Jimmy Grissom sings a bit on the set, and other players include Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Cat Anderson, and Ray Nance – on tracks that include "Day Dream", "Blues", "Frustration", "My Funny Valentine", and "Laura". LP, Vinyl record album

A great documentation of this rare live set from 1940 – one of the best slices of Ellington from the time! Johnny Hodges on alto sax, Duke Ellington on piano, Harry Carney on baritone sax & clarinet, Jimmy Blanton on bass, Otto Hardwick on alto sax & clarinet, Barney Bigard on tenor sax & clarinet, Sonny Greer on drums, Freddy Guy on guitar & whistle, Ben Webster on tenor sax, Juan Tizol, Lawrence Brown & Tricky Sam Nanton on trombones, Rex Stewart & Wallace Jones on trumpets, Ray Nance on trumpet, vibes & vocals & Herb Jeffries & Ivie Anderson on vocals. LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent and oft-overlooked 50s session from Duke – recorded in Chicago as a one-off for the Bethlehem label, and done with a lush, rich sound that's really tremendous! The group's nicely restrained and very moody – playing here in a mellow late nite mode that offers a good focus on the best horn soloists in the group, yet which also really hangs together perfectly from the slow-moving and eerie tone of the rest of the group. Jimmy Grissom sings a bit on the set, and other players include Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Cat Anderson, and Ray Nance – on tracks that include "Day Dream", "Blues", "Frustration", "My Funny Valentine", and "Laura". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful 60s album from Duke Ellington – one that features some of his more popular numbers, as you'd guess by the title – but captured in these sublime, sophisticated arrangements that really reflect the genius sound of his group during the later years! The tracks are familiar, and the arrangements are maybe never too way out – but they're also these mini-masterpieces in color and tone – carried off by a fantastic group of all-stars who've matured and grown as much as the Duke himself – Cootie Williams and Cat Anderson on trumpets, Lawrence Brown and Buster Cooper on trombones, Jimmy Hamilton on clarinet, Johnny Hodges on alto, Paul Gonsalves on tenor, and Harry Carney on piano. There's a darkness in Duke's piano that's maybe missing from earlier versions of this material – that great modern undercurrent of the late years – and titles include "Black & Tan Fantasy", "The Twitch", "Perdido", "Solitude", "The Mooche", "Creole Love Call", "Take The A Train", and "Sophisticated Lady". LP, Vinyl record album

True masterpieces from Duke Ellington – some of his greatest compositions, presented here in an early Columbia LP that offers up "uncut concert arrangements" – clearly grooming a new side of Duke for the long-playing audience! The recordings were made in 1950, with players who include Johnny Hodges and Paul Gonzalves on saxes, Ray Nance and Cat Anderson on trumpets, and Tyree Glenn and Quentin Jackson on trombones. The tracks include "Mood Indigo", "Sophisticated Lady", "The Tattooed Bride" and "Solitude". LP, Vinyl record album

A great bit of 70s electric work from Quincy – and probably his funkiest album ever! Quincy's really stepping out here from the straighter and spacier styles of earlier records – going for more of the dirty grooves he was cutting up for soundtrack albums, and hitting notes that were a lot more fitting for the blacksploitation era. The record includes the massive funky track cut "Hikky-Burr", which was the theme to the first Bill Cosby Show, and which has a sinister groove, and some wild shouted lyrics! Also features two more great themes – "Ironside" and "The Anderson Tapes" – both of which have a cool electric sound to them, and the nice title cut, which actually features Quincy on vocals! Other tracks include "Cast Your Fate To The Wind", "What's Going On", "Brown Ballad" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A holy grail of funky music – the one and only album ever cut by Marie Queenie Lyons, a heck of a hard soul singer who's best known for her rare funky 45s! The album is stunning – every bit as great as any of Marie's singles, and with an incredibly unified sound that should have made the album an instant soul classic as soon as it was released. Think Marva Whitney, Vicki Anderson, Lyn Collins, and other sock-soul divas – and you've only got part of the picture, as Marie really pushes things over the top, and enjoys some great raw production that really sends the whole thing home! Plus, some of the tracks on the set were written by a young Don Pullen, who supposedly also played on the record – in a rare funky appearance in his pre-avant jazz days. Includes a funky remake of "Fever", plus the cuts "I Don't Want Nobody To Have It But You", "Your Key Don't Fit Anymore", "You Used Me", "Daddy's House", "See & Don't See", "Your Thing Ain't No Good Without My Thing", "I Want My Freedom", and "Try Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Very open-ended work from Sonny Rollins – a set of live tracks recorded for use in the film Saxophone Colossus, with some nicely long tunes that really show Rollins' inventive solo approach in such a setting! The group here is a quintet – with the excellent Clifton Anderson on trombone, plus Mark Soskin on piano, Marvin Smitty Smith on drums, and Bob Cranshaw on electric bass – providing that unique bubbling pulse that Rollins used frequently in the 70s and 80s – something you might not have expected from years past, but which gave records like this a really signature sound, and showed that Sonny was still growing in the ways he experimented with styles. Titles include the 15 minute title track "G Man", plus "Kim" and "Don't Stop The Carnival". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible work from Lucky Thompson – very different than any of his more famous 50s work, and caught at a really great time in his career! The set was recorded at a time when Lucky had just returned from Europe, and had picked up the soprano sax in addition to his regular tenor. The soprano gave Lucky a lighter, freer, more exploratory soul-based sound that was really unique – a bit Dolphy-inspired at times, but with a more inside approach, as in the work of Nathan Davis – so that even on numbers that might seem staid at the outset, the sax work has an edgey quality that's really wonderful. The session features Tommy Flanagan on piano, Frank Anderson on organ, Wally Richardson on guitar, and either Oliver Jackson and Walter Perkins on drums – and titles include "I'll Be Around", "Star Eyes", "Poor Butterfly", "Kinfolks Corner", "Who Can I Turn To", and "Caressable". LP, Vinyl record album

Don't like getting your fingers dusty? No problem, the folks at Strictly Breaks work hard so you don't have to! The next installment in their now famous "as sampled by . . ." series, this compilation of 31 tracks and 3 drum breaks covers a gang of material used by Nas (well, his producers actually). Loads of classic soul, jazz and funk, and each track is notated as to which song it was used in. Includes Gong "Babooji", Chris Barber "Petit Fleur", Vicki Anderson "Land Of Milk & Honey", Ahmad Jamal "I Love Music", Joe Chambers "Mind Rain", Heath Brothers "Smilin Billy Suite Pt 2", Eddie Floyd "Check Me Out", 24 Carat Black "Mommas Coming", Japanese Hair "Dead End", Love Unlimited "I'll Move You No Mountain", Blue Jays "What Do You Want", Bob James "The Sponge" and The Soul Children "Move Over". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most comprehensive collections of work we've ever seen on Eddie Bo – a really well-done set that finally gets at the full range of his massive funky talents – including a host of rare singles done for a variety of other artists as well! Despite the dates in the title, most of the music here is from the 60s and 70s – music from those glorious years of New Orleans soul and funk – when it seemed like the Crescent City groove could never stop, thanks to the efforts of Eddie and some of his contemporaries! There's a massively heavy groove to most of the numbers here – an emphasis on the funkiest side of Eddie Bo's sound, especially when he's working in the studio with other singers in the lead – and even if you've got some other Eddie Bo reissues in your collection, there's plenty fresh stuff here that makes this one well worth owning. LP notes are great too – a full history of Eddie's long career and all its different chapters. 30 tracks in all – including "Funky Yeah" and "Shelly's Rubber Band" by Curley Moore & The Cool Ones, "What's Good To You (part 1)" and "The La La Man (part 1)" by Oliver Morgan, "Horse With A Freeze (part 1)" by Roy Ward, "Timber (parts 1 & 2)" by Candy Phillips, "Can I Be Your Main Squeeze" by Chuck Carbo, "I'm A Carpenter (part 1)" by David Robinson, "Garden Of Our Trees" by The Explosions, "Reborn" by Marilyn Barbarin, "Live It Up" by James K-Nine, "Mama Here Comes The Preacher" by Doug Anderson, ""Something You Got" by Barbara George" – and the tracks "Chained", "When The Fingers On The Funk", "Rubber Band", "Getting To The Middle", "Check Your Bucket", "Lover & Friend", "Can You Handle It", "Fallin In Love Again", "Gotta Have More", and "We Like Mambo" all by Eddie Bo. LP, Vinyl record album

A really great record from David Byrne – songs and spoken bits that were originally designed to be used in Robert Wilson's Civil Wars – but which work great on their own! Byrne is completely charming in the spoken bits – with a sense of dry wit mixed with humanism, not that different from Laurie Anderson at the time – and instrumentation features a range of reeds and trumpets, gently cascading with the rhythms of the tunes – but in a relatively subtle way. Tracks include the wonderful "Tree" – aka "Today Is An Important Occasion" – plus "In The Upper Room", "Sound Of Business", "Admiral Perry", "I Bid You Goodnight", "In The Future", "Where The Sun Never Goes Down", "Theadora Is Dozing", "Social Studies", "Winter", and "The Jungle Book". LP, Vinyl record album

A live set very much in classic Verve mode – produced by Benny himself, and recorded in Tokyo in 1977 with a group that includes Budd Johnson on tenor and soprano, Cecil Payne on baritone, Cat Anderson and Joe Newman on trumpet, Britt Woodman on trombone, Nat Pierce on piano, Mudell Lowe on guitar, George Duvivier on bass, and Harold Jones on drums. Tracks are long, and titles include "Them There Eyes", "It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing", and "Squatty Roo". LP, Vinyl record album

The cover looks cheesy, but the record's a great one for prog fans – a cool evolution of the early 70s mode into the more compressed style that Yes would hit with Trevor Horn, or Asia would unfurl in the 80s! The group features Terry Thomas on guitars and vocals, John Anderson on bass and vocals – often nicely doubled in a Jon Anderson way – with more guitars from Martin Smith, keyboards from Julian Colbeck, and drums from Steve Gadd – not the famous jazz drummer, but equally nice! There's a nice sense of compression in the production – almost 10CC – but the quirkiness of the songs also resonates with some of the Phil Manzanera solo work of the time. LP, Vinyl record album