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Post-Tropicalia work from Leno – a Brazilian singer who'd worked as part of a duo during the Jovem Guarda years, but who really sounds great here on his own! The style's a bit more straightforward rock than the Brazilian sound of a few years back – a bit fuzzy and compressed at times, yet still with a really strong edge, and light years from more mainstream American rock of the time. Many tracks were supposedly banned by the censors in Brazil at the time, although from today's perspective they've got a hard-rocking charm that's more innocent than anything else – a quality that makes the record ripe for rediscovery today! Lion productions have done a wonderful job with the notes and packaging (as usual!) – and titles include "Johnny McCartney", "Por Que Nao", "Lady Baby", "Deixo O Tempo Me Levar", "Peguei Uma Apolo", "Pobre Do Rei", "Sentando No Arco-Iris", and "Bis".

A lost treasure from Antiono Adolfo – keyboard player, arranger, and one of the greatest Brazilian talents of his generation! Adolfo's sound and style is contemporaneous with the best work of Marcos Valle, Edu Lobo, and others – and like them, he has an approach that mixes together jazz, MPB, baroque orchestrations, easy scoring, and a bit of funk – similar to the best work of the Blue Brazil generation on EMI/Odeon Records. The approach is one that's rarely been matched by any other artist – and it's a strong reason why Adolfo's records from this period are extremely sought after in the world of collectors. This beautiful album from 1970 has Adolfo working with the group A Brazuca – who bring some wonderful vocal harmonies to the set, mixing with strings, guitars, and some great electric piano work from Adolfo. Includes the breezy classic "Transamazonica", plus the cuts "Que Se Dane", "Atencao Atencao", "Claudia", "Panorama", "Tributo A Victor Manga", "Caminhada", "Grilopus No 1", and "Cotidiano".

A contemporary set, but one that sparkles with all the best brilliance of the 70s scene in Brazil – and that includes such heady company as Marcos Valle, Azymuth, and Joao Donato! As with all those artists at the time, Lucas Arruda has a groove that's strongly based on Fender Rhodes – warm keys that are underscored with some great acoustic percussion that gives the whole thing an earthy core at the bottom, and a vibe that's quite different than any American fusion of the time! The music is completely sublime throughout – very jazzy in its inflections, but also with a more freewheeling approach – as you'd hear on classic keys from Jose Roberto Bertrami. The set's got a bit of vocals, but really focuses on the keyboards – and titles include "Physis", "Rio Afternoon", "Batuque", "Alma Nova", "Sambadi", "Carnival", and a sweet cover of "Who's That Lady".

A contemporary set, but one that sparkles with all the best brilliance of the 70s scene in Brazil – and that includes such heady company as Marcos Valle, Azymuth, and Joao Donato! As with all those artists at the time, Lucas Arruda has a groove that's strongly based on Fender Rhodes – warm keys that are underscored with some great acoustic percussion that gives the whole thing an earthy core at the bottom, and a vibe that's quite different than any American fusion of the time! The music is completely sublime throughout – very jazzy in its inflections, but also with a more freewheeling approach – as you'd hear on classic keys from Jose Roberto Bertrami. The set's got a bit of vocals, but really focuses on the keyboards – and titles include "Physis", "Rio Afternoon", "Batuque", "Alma Nova", "Sambadi", "Carnival", and a sweet cover of "Who's That Lady".

A lost classic in the funky poetry mode of the 70s – and right up there with the best work from the time by the Last Poets, Jim Ingram, or Gil Scott Heron! Bama's got a rough-edged voice that works very well with the funkier backings of the set – handled by a team that includes Bernard Purdie on drums, Richard Tee on keyboards, and Cornell Dupree on guitar – and this rough vocal style also fits the themes of the tunes, which are still as political and righteous as other work in the genre, but a bit more down to earth as well. The music itself was arranged and composed by Jimmy Wizner and Billy Jackson – and titles include "Ghettos Of The Mind", "The Right To Be Wrong", "Nothingness", "Drunken Sister", "I Got Soul", "Welfare Slave", "Social Narcotics, and "Blackman, My Brother".

Bebo Best is at it again – creating new grooves with plenty of retro twists – a bit like some of the older Italian work we loved on the Irma La Douce label – and its cool blend of 50s and 60s elements! There's lots of jazzy flourishes over the tip, played by live instrumentation – and mixed with a hip blend of beats and samples that draw plenty of inspiration from 60s soundtracks and other instrumental modes of the time. A few tracks have vocals, but most are instrumental – and titles include "Soul Bossa Nova", "Anytime Swingers", "Oh Jeje", "Amarcord Jazz", "Baise Moi", and "A 100 Lounge Lizard".

17 tracks in all, including "Family Affair", "Love", "Steal Away", "No More Drama", "Testimony", "Dance For Me", "Flying Away", and "In The Meantime".

A long-overdue 3rd album by Sheree Brown – her first work since the early 80s, when she cut two landmark albums for Capitol! Sheree's an equally skilled vocalist and guitarist – and works in a territory informed by Minnie Riperton, Roy Ayers, Patrice Rushen, and Lesette Wilson – all of whom were predecessors and contemporaries to Sheree's original sound! And although there's been a span of 2 decades since we last heard from Sheree, she's hardly missed a beat – going for a sweetly seductive blend of soul and jazz that's totally great – wrapped up in a lean production style that's actually almost better than her Capitol work! Titles include "I Love You", "I'd Rather Be In Love With You", "Day Crazy", "I Just Don't Get It", "Why Oh Why", "Sometimes", "Mother Drum", and "When Water Flows".

With Roscoe Mitchell on reeds, Art Porter on alto, and Paul McKee on trombone.

The complete recordings done by John Coltrane for Bethlehem Records – mostly cut during December of 1957, and issued on the albums The Winner's Circle and Art Blakey Big Band! Both albums were a bit unusual for the label – in that The Winner's Circle was sort of a blowing/jam session type record, cut with some of the big poll winners of the year, but with shorter tracks than the usual Prestige-styled set of that nature. The lineup includes Donald Byrd, Al Cohn, Eddie Costa, Oscar Pettiford, and Philly Joe Jones – and Coltrane's a bit buried in the group, but gets out some nice licks from time to time. The second set of tracks was recorded for a unique big band session led by Art Blakey – featuring a core group with Coltrane, Donald Byrd, Walter Bishop Jr, and Wendell Marshall on some tracks – plus a larger lineup on a number of others. The CD brings together a whopping 27 tracks from these sessions, including some great alternate takes – and titles include "Midriff", "Tippin", "The Outer World", "The Kiss Of No Return", "Pristine Take", and "Oasis" – a previously unreleased track!

John Coltrane made plenty of great music during his late 50s time at the Prestige Records label – some of it under his own name, and a lot more while working with other leaders! This package presents the full recordings from that second half of Coltrane's Prestige performances – material recorded with Coltrane on tenor, under the leadership of Red Garland, Sonny Rollins, Tadd Dameron, Gene Ammons, and others – all packaged together beautifully, in the same sweet style as the Interplay and Fearless Leader box sets! There's a total of 43 long, soulfully-blown tracks on the set – alongside a heavy 72 page booklet that features full session details, a discography, rare photos, and even all the original artwork and notes from the records. Titles include "Two Bass Hit", "Weeja", "Gnid", "Soultrane", "Tenor Madness", "Our Delight", "One By One", "Blue Calypso", "The Real McCoy", "Ammon Joy", "Paul's Pal", "Two Sons", "Filide", "Clifford's Kappa", "Under Paris Skies", "Lazy Mae", "Birk's Works", and "Soul Junction".

The best work so far from Rosalia De Souza – a session that features production and guitar from bossa legend Roberto Menescal, and a sound that's deeper and even more classic than any of Rosalia's other work! Most of the instrumentation here is in an older acoustic mode – piano, percussion, and horns arranged by Menescal with that beautifully lighter than air style that he first pioneered in the 60s – an approach that lets Rosalia's vocals drift along on wonderfully gentle rhythms, and dominate the record even more than before. Given that the set's on Schema, there's still a nicely rhythmic component to most numbers – but overall, the record's a bold step forward even for the label – similar to the all-acoustic move made by Nicola Conte in his own recordings! Marcos Valle joins in on vocals on "Que Bandeira", and other tunes include "Onde Anda O Meu Amor", "Voz Da Lapa", "Jogo De Roda", "Rio De Janeiro", "Mar Amar", "Um Novo Dia", and "Vivo Sonhando".

Damn great work from Raheem DeVaughn – the full promise of his soulful sojourn in the underground mixtape scene! Raheem first got his start laying down vocals over beats and other folks' tracks on self-crafted CDs that changed hands covertly in the east coast scene – and that experience gave him plenty of time to grow and mature, quietly developing his sound to a point where he can really burst forth with power on a record like this! There's still a bit of the old mixtape feel going on here – a range of older musical influences that inform Raheem's tunes – and a personal, almost casual approach that has DeVaughn speaking intros to some tracks, almost as if he's spinning them out with a personal, conversational style. Yet the production is also much better than before too – quite warm, with some great beats and keys in the mix – proof that stepping out of the underground can often be a good thing for a soul artist. Titles include "Customer", "Hello Love", "Woman", "Love Drug", "Friday", "Can We Try Again", "Empty", "Four Letter Word", and "Woman I Desire". Includes guest appearances from Floetry, Big Boi, and Malik Yusef.

DJ Nu-Mark's Broken Sunlight – issued here on a USB Flash Drive that's shaped like a record needle – and features lots of bonus material! The USB itself just might be the coolest thing of its kind that we've ever seen! It's so well fabricated, if you look at it quickly enough, you're going to want to screw it onto your tone arm. That's not an exaggeration, either – it's a thing of beauty! The 1GB drive features the complete Broken Sunlight studio album plus the complete instrumentals and acapella versions, bonus beats, tour and in-studio photos, the cover images from the Broken Sunlight 10-inch series and more! Also includes the download link for the mini-film/video Nu-Conduit with live and behind the scenes footage. Amazing! Broken Sunlight album tracks include "Times Is Rough" with Tiron, "Tonight" with J-Live, M3 & Erica Dee, "Dumpin’ Em All" with Bumpy Knuckles, "Tropicalifornia" with Quantic, "When You Sleep" with Large Professor, "The Fever" with A-Skillz, "Don't Play Around" with Charles Bradley & Aloe Blacc and more.

A really warm and wonderful little record – one that features the collaborative talents of these four bossa nova giants, all coming together in a really relaxed, intimate setting! Although most of these artists didn't work together in the 60s, they all share a very similar spirit, and come together beautifully here – all four working together on the first and last track in the set, then splitting apart to work in smaller duos, and each take a track or two on their own. Instrumentation is mostly small combo, and warmly jazzy – and Valle, Lyra, Menescal, and Donato all handle the arrangements too – furthering the collaborative spirit of the set. Titles include "Balansamba", "Ate Quem Sabe", "Tereza Da Praia", "Ate O Fim", "Bewitched", "Sextante", "Gente", "Vagamente", "De Um Jeito Diferente", and "Ciume".

A killer album of soul jazz piano instrumentals – produced by James Brown! The Dee Felice Trio were a groovy combo from Cincinnati, and James Brown took a shine to them at some point in the late 60s. They backed James on one record, but their big moment was this album – which had James producing, and the group grooving nicely on some hard piano jammers! The sound's a lot more stripped-down than usual for James, but the groove is very nice! Includes an excellent funky version of "There Was A Time", a great cover of Marcos Valle's "Crickets Sing For Anamaria", and the tracks "Summer In The City", "In Heat", "Both Sides Now", and "Never". Darn hard to find, too!

A killer album of soul jazz piano instrumentals – produced by James Brown! The Dee Felice Trio were a groovy combo from Cincinnati, and James Brown took a shine to them at some point in the late 60s. They backed James on one record, but their big moment was this album – which had James producing, and the group grooving nicely on some hard piano jammers! The sound's a lot more stripped-down than usual for James, but the groove is very nice! Includes an excellent funky version of "There Was A Time", a great cover of Marcos Valle's "Crickets Sing For Anamaria", and the tracks "Summer In The City", "In Heat", "Both Sides Now", and "Never". Features 3 bonus tracks too – "Nightingale", "Little Liza Jane", and "There Was A Time (single version)".

An early 80s gem from Aretha Franklin – one of the best of her years at Arista Records, thanks to solid help in the studio from the mighty Arif Mardin! Mardin's in perfect form here – the same blend of older soul and jazzier, more sophisticated styles that he was also bringing to Chaka Khan at the time – although Franklin's arguably more deserving of his talents, given her long relationship with the producer! There's a full, mature feel here – one that really gets Aretha back in gear as a singer, and shows off her talents to a new generation in new ways – yet all without trying too hard for a crossover hit. Tunes include a few originals by Franklin, and titles include "Kind Of Man", "Whole Lot Of Me", "Love All The Hurt Away", "You Can't Always Get What You Want", "It's My Turn", "There's A Star For Everyone", and "Hold On I'm Coming".

Modern electronic grooves from Funkadiba – a duo that features the legendary Daniele Baldelli, the DJ reknowned for his contributions to the famous Cosmic nightclub! The styles here are definitely an update of that classic Cosmic groove – lots of spare, stark beats mixed with synth and keyboard parts – but usually handled with a slightly warmer feel overall – one that almost shifts back from the 80s roots to grab a bit more 70s funk too – which is mixed in with the rhythms to deepen the soul of the cuts nicely! Titles include "Dirty Sun", "Countdown", "I Must Feel Better", "Barabba Funk", "Funka Takin Over", and "Skippy & The Funky Boys".

A powerful set of free jazz that definitely lives up to its title – a hell-bent session of unbridled energy from this west coast quartet! Vinny Golia contributes some wonderful tenor, soprano sax, sopranino, and bass clarinet to the record – these deft, deep tones that really give the album a heck of a lot of soul – especially on some of the sparer moments, which have the spiritual feel of a 70s loft jazz session. Lisa Mezzacappa's basslines are often a key complement to Golia's reedwork – and the set also features some equally nice alto sax lines from Marco Eneidi, who definitely has the right feel for the record. Vijay Anderson completes the group on drums – and titles include "Lop-Sided Heels & Frayed Shoes", "Meteorites", "Inessential Melancholies", "Pendulum", "Deformities & Dischords", and "Everything Imaginable Can Be Dreamed".

A real standout in the early career of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard – a very unique session that has him working with some larger arrangements in the background – blowing these magical solos over the top, while still hitting a great edge with the rest of the musicians as well! There's a sound here that's unlike anything else we can think of – including other big band trumpet dates of the time – partly because the set features a fair bit of arrangements by Wayne Shorter – a very rare side of his talents, but one that's equally as soulful as his sublime small group albums of the time. The record has an undeniable depth right from the start – magical, mystical, and very soulful – with a group that includes Eric Dolphy and Wayne Shorter on saxes, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Cedar Walton on piano, and Reggie Workman on bass. Tracks include "Chocolate Shake", "Thermo", "Clarence's Place", and "Aries".

The rare second album by the Jongo Trio – a fantastic bossa group who mixed together vocals and keyboards with stunning magic! The trio's approach is similar to that of the more famous Tamba Trio – in that the three members groove on keyboards, bass, and percussion – while also harmonizing vocals in a soaring, airy style that really adds a lot to the set. This album's got the group using a bit of organ and electric piano in addition to their usual acoustic keys – making for a bossa style that's slightly electrified, with great results on the album's overall sound. The set includes a really great uptempo version of "Aguas De Marco", plus the tracks "Alo Feveiro", "Quem Vem La", "Cavaleiro De Aruanda", "Sandalia De Prata", "Bate Barriga", "Feitinha P'Ro Poeta", and "Duas Contas".

29 tracks in all, with quite a few guest appearances by rappers such as Keith Murray, Jay Z, Nas and others. Includes "Home Alone", "Did You Ever Think", "Ghetto Queen", "We Ride", "OnlyThe Loot Can Make Me Happy", "If I'm Wit You", "Half On A Baby", "What I Feel/Issues", "Reality", "Don't Put Me Out" and "I Believe I Can Fly".

19 tracks in all, including "TP-2", "R&B Thug", "The Greatest Sex", "Like A Real Freak", "Fiesta", "I Wish", "I Wish (rmx – To The Homies That We Lost)" and"Feelin' On Yo Booty".