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A cooker of a record from Lester Bowie – one that takes the earlier sound of the Brass Fantasy ensemble, and focuses it into a mode that shows his growing love of soul and funk! The set was issued on the the short-lived Venture imprint of Virgin – a surprisingly strong outlook for creative projects like this – and the vibe's quite different than the Brass Fantasy records cut for ECM – with almost a bit more soul at the bottom, and a compact sort of energy that really sends the ideas home. Players include Bowie, Stanton Davis, Malachi Thompson, and Sasul Siddik on trumpets – plus Steve Turre and Frank Lacy on trombones, Vincent Chancey on French horn, Bob Stewart on tuba, and Phil Wilson on drums. Titles include a surprisingly great remake of "Thriller" – plus "Vibe Waltz", "I Am With You", "Duke's Fantasy", "Personality", and "Twilight Dreams".

A lesser-known gem from The Sandpipers, and a record that really lives up to the "softly" in the title! There's a slight undercurrent of folk on some of the tunes here – bits of jangly acoustic guitar under the trio's harmony vocals – often with an undercurrent of darkness that's a bit different than some of their other records – as if the guitar is bringing out some earthier elements that really unlock the melancholy that's always been present in The Sandpipers' music. Nick DeCaro arranged two tracks on the set, but most of the backings are by Bob Thompson – and titles include "Softly", "A Reason To Believe", "Love Is Blue", "Back On The Street Again", "Jennifer Juniper", "All My Loving", and a wonderful version of the Paul Williams classic "To Put Up With You".

A great step forward for The Bamboos – still as funky as ever, but in a much greater range of styles than before! The core deep funk sound we've always loved is still burning away at the bottom – thanks to the ever-trusty grooves of Lance Ferguson and crew – but this time around, there's also a host of guests who really seem to shape the overall feel of the record – Aloe Blacc, Megan Washington, Klye Auldist, Daniel Merriweather, Bobby Flynn, and Ella Thompson – each bringing in their own great flavors, and creating a depth of sound that's mighty nice! Most of these guests are vocalists, but their shifting styles seems to spur the instrumentation onto new heights too – adapting to suit the mood, yet never in a way that's too frenetic to keep the album from being unified overall. Titles include "Where Does The Time Go", "What I Know", "I Got Burned", "Cut Me Down", "Midnight", "Medicine Man", "Window", and "Hello Stranger".

Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson more than live up to their title as the Mighty Two just as this heavy compilation more than lives up to the title of nothing but scorchers! Gibbs and ET showcase their mastery of all styles here, veering from hard and heavy roots to sweet lover's numbers and even a few bouncing tracks aimed a the dancehall! Top notch singers and dee jays are all featured over throbbing rhythms at the hands of Gibbs' Professionals crew, with 28 tracks in all, including "Two Sevens Clash" by Culture, "Babylon Too Rough" by Gregory Isaacs, "Cool Out Son" by Junior Murvin, "Boxing Around" and "No Man's Land" by Cornell Campbell, "Just Like A River" by the Mighty Diamonds, Left With A Broken Heart" by George Nooks, "Funeral" by Prince Alla,"Rockers A Nuh Crackers" by Glen Washington, "Jah Bring I Joy In The Morning" by Bobby Melody, "Burn Babylon" by Sylford Walker, "Keep On Knocking" by Jaco Miller, "Virgin Girl" by Eek-A-Mouse, "Hello Carol" by Enos McLeod, and "UptownTop Ranking" by Althea & Donna.

Obscure material from Dexter Gordon – some rare gems from his early 60s years at Blue Note – unissued back and in the day, but brought together for this sweet package at the start of the 80s! The album's great in that it shows Gordon really trying on some new things at the label – playing in a few modes that are less iconic than his classics, yet still really exciting because of that fact! A few tracks feature an unusual quintet with Tommy Turrentine on trumpet, Sir Charles Thompson on piano, and Willie Bobo on drums – and three more have Sonny Clark on piano and the great Dave Burns on trumpet, with rhythm by Ron Carter on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. One last track is a quartet number with Kenny Drew on piano – and titles include "Six Bits Jones", "Landslide", "Love Locked Out", "You Said It", and "Second Balcony Jump".

One of Bunny Wailer's last totally roots oriented sets, before he began dabbling a bit in dancehall, and a mighty one at that. Livingston gets help from a cast of heavyweights, like Horsemouth Wallace, Robbie Shakespeare, Chinna Smith, Erest Ranglin, Tommy McCook, Bobby Ellis, Deadly Headly Bennet and Sticky Thompson. This US pressing, issued 3 years after the original Jamaican release, features all 6 cuts from the original LP: "Let Him Go", "Love Fire", "Roots Radics Rockers Reggae", "Rockin Time", "Rockers" and "Wirly Girly", plus an additional track, "Cease Fire".