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A wild small label set from Chicago – recorded at home parties on a Sony tape recorder!

Nicely-structured performances between pianist Ran Blake and guitarist David Knife Fabris – done with plenty of free-thinking elements, including those bold-ringing tones that we've always loved in Blake's recordings – yet still based around some relatively tight song structures overall! Most numbers are relatively short, but benefit from that fact – as they let Fabris bring in a flurry of chromatic sounds from his instrument, and Blake hit those almost bell-like notes on the piano – often doing a lot with just a little. And the setting sometimes has one player handling all the work on a track, then shifting to the other on the next one – and coming together on duets on others. Titles include "Watch What Happens", "Desafinato", "My Cherie Amour", "Sontagism", "Driftwood", "In Pursuit", "Cry Wolf", and "Shlof Manyn Kind".

A great guitar session from late 60s Brazil – bossa at its core, but with some other groovy touches too! Guitarist Heraldo Do Monte plays light acoustic, in a style that's right up there with Luiz Bonfa or Baden Powell – but the overall setting of the album also gives a nod towards some of the more advanced changes going on in Brazilian instrumental music at the time – the first inkling of some of the Blue Brazil touches from EMI/Odeon, with a deeper sophistication in some of the arrangements than just straight bossa. A few moments are straight ahead, mixed with others that have a nice degree of darkness – and titles include "Teletema", "My Cherie Amour", "Recit De Cassard", "Que Maravilha", "Casa Forte", and "Moanin".

A lost gem from Donnie Elbert – and a record with some really unusual touches! The style here has a bit of the spareness of some of Stevie Wonder's work from the time, but it's also got a skittish kind of groove that seems to have picked up a bit of a Jamaican influence – all of which makes for a great setting that brings out the best in Donnie's paper-thin vocals. Unlike other records, which seem to overwhelm him sometimes, this one's got a floating feel that glides Donnie nicely along! Titles include "Stop In The Name Of Love", "My Cherie Amour", "I Wanna Be Where You Are", "Never Can Say Goodbye", and "We Got A Good Thing Going".

One of the coolest vocal groups of the late 60s – Germany's Gunter Kallmann Choir, presented here in a batch of tracks that includes some of their hippest tracks from the Polydor years! The group's sound is quite similar to that of the Horst Jankowski singers – a large ensemble of mixed male and female voices, often recorded with mod instrumental touches like electric bass, bubbling organ, funky flute, and sweet percussion – an approach that seems especially well-suited to the sorts of groovy 60s tunes presented in this package! Things are plenty sweet, but never sleepy at all – a cool blend of Anglo lyrics and German studio genius – on 24 cuts that include "Windmills Of Your Mind", "Daydream", "One Summer's Day", "Live For Life", "My Cherie Amour", "Wait Until Dark", "The Eyes Of Love", "A Time For Us", "Just A Dream", "Once In Each Life", and "The Colour Of My Love".

Our favorite album ever from Roland Kirk – and a beautiful mix of two different sides of his genius! Side one's got Roland doing these crazy takes on late 60's pop cuts like "My Cherie Amour" and "Say a Little Prayer", plus his own "songs", done with soulful vocals and a straight-on approach that shows him trying to break out of the avant jazz underground, and reach a wider audience with a spiritual message on tracks like "Search For The Reason Why" and "Spirits Up Above". If this description sounds like a mess, it's not – because this side of the album is one of Kirk's most brilliant statements ever about jazz, soul, love and freedom! Side two has Roland in a straighter vein – running through a tight live set from Newport 1968, handled with fire and imagination, the kind of boundless energy he always brought to his public appearances. Tracks on that set include "One Ton", "Three For The Festival", "Afro Blue", and some great remarks by Roland!

Wild stuff – and very different than Gary McFarland's earlier albums! Today was recorded late in Gary's career, and is has him moving a bit away from jazz – into a more sunshine pop feel – one that still retains plenty of the bossa and breezy elements of his Verve work, but which also features a bit more vocals and a cool and groovy style overall! Gary's singing on most tracks – not just in his wordless and whistling mode, but also taking some of the lyrics more directly – delivering them with a hauntingly-recorded quality that makes the whole thing sound beautifully moody. The core group is still quite jazzy – and features Hubert Laws, Curtis Fuller, and Grady Tate – plus some light cello, guitar, and even a bit of percussion by Airto. Titles include "Suzanne", "My Cherie Amour", "Sombras De Saudade", "Berimbau", "Desafinado", "I Will Wait For You", and the Beatles' beautiful tune "Because", done in a great breathy style! Moody and beautiful, and proof that McFarland was one of the 60s true pop geniuses!

A really beautiful batch of tracks from Charles McPherson – with a late 60s approach to soul jazz that reminds us of some of the work by Sonny Criss on Prestige, or of some of Cedar Walton's sessions from the same time. McPherson's moved way past his earlier bop roots here – stretching things with a hip group that includes Buster Williams, Roy Brooks, and Barry Harris – crafting tunes that point the way at soul jazz in the 70s, with a more complicated and sophisticated approach to rhythm, but still a firm commitment to swing! Titles include "Explorations", "Mish Mash Bash", "Opalescence", and "My Cherie Amour".

The debut album from Trudy Richards – and honestly, maybe the only one we've ever seen from her – but a cooker of a set, thanks to great Capitol arrangements from Billy May! May brings along the nice subdued brassy styles he'd use with Sinatra at the time – maybe a bit more careful about space in the company of Trudy, but a perfect sort of bounce when she really wants to open up. May's sense of compression and swing is perfect for the wide range of Richards' vocals – and really helps keep things strongly in a jazz mode, particularly the leaner late 50s style. Titles include "A Wonderful Guy", "As Long As I Live", "Do It Again", "Love Me", "All Of You", "There's Danger In Your Eyes Cherie", and "Can't Help Lovin Dat Man".

An incredible little record – and one that helped take the Capitol Records surf sound of the early 60s into much hipper territory for the 70s! The record is certainly a "surf symphony" – in that it features a larger orchestra conducted by Jan Rubini – set to groovier themes that have a leaner, cleaner, more "adult" sort of easy feel – but one that also bounces along with a fair bit of groove in the mix! The style is somewhere in the territory of Pat Williams at his hippest – but also has some slight rockish touches as well – stepping around the larger strings with a soundtracky mode that's totally great. Players on the record include Jim Gordon on drums and Lyle Ritz on bass – and Ritz's strong electric pulse at the bottom of the orchestrations really help keep things moving along nicely! The overall sound is tough to describe, but it's wonderful throughout – a really unique little record that's Capitol at its finest and hippest. Titles include versions of "Warmth Of The Sun", "Theme From A Summer Place", and "My Cherie Amour" – plus "The Last Thrill", "Green Water Sails", "The Promise Of Rain", and "Night Of The Lions".

Incredible work from a group who've definitely earned their name! Naming a group SOUL might be suicide for a band that can't carry off the groove – but these guys are funky monsters, with a real talent for a hard heavy sound that was rarely matched by other combos. The band have a great drummer, with a good talent for the funky break, but also a jazzy flourish that works well on SOUL's mellower numbers – and apart from the usual bass and guitar riffing, the album also features some great funky flute, in a mode that's similar to some of Jeremy Steig's excellent early work. Some tracks have vocals and some have instrumentals – but the whole album's great, and is an undisputed funky classic. Titles include "Can You Feel It", "Do What Ever You Want To Do", "Peace Of Mind", "Love, Peace & Power", and "My Cherie Amour".

Incredible work from a group who've definitely earned their name! Naming a group SOUL might be suicide for a band that can't carry off the groove – but these guys are funky monsters, with a real talent for a hard heavy sound that was rarely matched by other combos. The band have a great drummer, with a good talent for the funky break, but also a jazzy flourish that works well on SOUL's mellower numbers – and apart from the usual bass and guitar riffing, the album also features some great funky flute, in a mode that's similar to some of Jeremy Steig's excellent early work. Some tracks have vocals and some have instrumentals – and both albums are great! ACE put together both these masterpieces of heavy funky grooves and laid them back to back on one CD of super-heavy funky tracks. The set's a great deal, and both albums are winners all the way through! Tracks include "Down in the Ghetto", "Burning Spear", "Soul", "Tell it Like It Is", "Peace Of Mind", "My Cherie Amour", and "Sleeping Beauty".

A great set of Stevie's best tracks for Motown! 3 LPs deep, with 40 tracks in all, mostly from the late 60s, with a handful of numbers from the early 70s, including a few goodies that are getting tougher to find on wax. Includes "Hey Love", "Angie Girl", "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday", "Down To Earth", "I'd Cry", "Fingertips (part 2)", "Castles In The Sand", "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", "Nothing's Too Good For My Baby", "You Met Your Match", "Never Had A Dream Come True", "My Cherie Amour", "Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer", "If You Really Love me", "Something Out Of The Blue", "Do Yourself A Favor", "I'd Be Fool Right Now", "Thank You Love", "Ain't That Asking For Trouble", "A Place In The Sun" and loads more!

A really great, oft-overlooked album from the best period of Quincy Jones! This album is quite possibly Quincy's most farthest-reaching – as he works in an array of styles that really shows his growing genius in the studio – not just jazz and soundtrack modes, but more soul-based ones, handled with work from a great array of guest stars who really expand the sound. There's loads of nice bits – like a version of "My Cherie Amour", done with vocals by Leon Ware and Minnie Riperton; a new take on "Bluesette", redone with Toots Thielemans; and the original "Beautiful Black Girl", which features rapping by The Watts Prophets! Other tracks include "Paranoid", "Cry Baby", "Tryin To Find Out About You", and "Listen (What It Is)".

Funky LP from Monk, with nice tight electric bass playing, and groovy arrangements by Wayne Henderson, who also produced the LP. The record's got a nice mix of soul instrumentals and jazzy bits, with a similar feel to some of the other stuff on the Chisa label at the time. Tracks include "Big Boy", "Your Love", "Bluesette", "It's Never Too Late", "My Cherie Amour", and "The Lady", which was arranged by Hugh Masekela.

Excellent work by Smokey – recorded with a super-heavy vibe that's very different than his 60s work! The record has an amazingly large conception of arrangements – mostly handled by Smokey, and done in a complicated baroque harmony style that points forward towards his later Quiet Storm sound. Most tracks are covers, but they're redone fantastically – with better vocals than you could imagine! Titles include "What Love Has Joined Together", "My Cherie Amour", "If This World Were Mine", "This Guy's In Love", and "And I Love Her".

A sweet set of late 60s groovers – some of Stevie's best work for Motown, and proof that even at a young age, his talents were rich enough to warrant a second volume of greatest hits! Titles hardly need introduction – as the album includes classics like "Heaven Help Us All", "My Cherie Amour", "Shoo Be Doo Be Doo Da Day", "Signed Sealed Delivered", "For Once In My Life", "If You Really Love Me", and "Yester Me, Yester You, Yesterday".

Groovy takes on famous Stevie Wonder Tunes – all of them jazz-based, and played by some of the funkiest artists of the early 70s underground! The set's heavy on Hammond, Fender Rhodes, riffing guitar, and soulful sax – and cuts come from some of the best indie labels of the time – Groove Merchant, Mainstream, and even smaller imprints – all of whom were home to some pretty hip cats back in the day! The package has a sweet edge that really lives up to the high quality of the Return Of Jazz Funk series on P-Vine – kind of a summation of all the greatness the label's done in recent years, wrapped around the compositions of Stevie Wonder for extra impact. Titles include "Music Talk" by Paul Humphrey, "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" by Pete Yellin, "Superstition" by Charles Kynard, "My Cherie Amour" by Cal Green, "You've Got It Bad Girl" by Richard Groove Holmes, "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" by Tyrone Washington, "All In Love Is Fair" by Bubbha Thomas & The Lightmen, and "Super Woman" by O'Donel Levy.

A wonderful testament to songwriting mastery of Don Covay – one of greatest singing and songwriting double threats ever – and if you didn't already know that, this excellent compilation will set you straight! No tribute to Covay the songwriter would be complete without Aretha Franklin's "Chain Of Fools" – but the set actually goes a lot deeper, with straight-up classic soul treasures, raucous R&B, stirring vocal tunes, some funk and funky rock. The reach is impressive, with the aforementioned Aretha hit, plus songs recorded by Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Joe Tex, The Staple Singers, Wanda Jackson, The Wailers, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, Dee Clark, Connie Francis and more! 26 tracks in all, completed by a great set of notes: with "Three Time Loser" by Wilson Pickett, "You’re Good For Me" by Lena Horne, "Don't Drive Me Away" by Ben E King, the funky gem "Sookie Sookie" by Tina Britt, "She Said Yeah" by Joe Tex, "Watch The One Who Brings You The News" by Millie Jackson, "Long Tall Shorty" by The Graham Bond Originization, "Mon Cherie Au Revoir" by Arlene Smith and more.

Great French grooves from the 60s – a host of female-led rockers, most of which have a harder edge than you might expect! The mode here is similar to Paris pop that you might know from the "yeh yeh" generation, but the sound's a bit grittier too – proof that the garage reference in the title is well-placed, especially on the more guitar-heavy numbers! If you dig the sounds of France Gall or Francoise Hardy, you'll find plenty to love here – a treasure trove of rare tracks that includes "Le Restaurant Chinois" by Janny L, "Au Temps Des Princes Charmants" by Marjorie Noel, "Le Boa" by Clothilde, "Ma Moto" by Kathy, "Oh Dis Moi" by Les Princesses, "Un Petit Rien" by Tonia, "Une Question Qui Se Pose" by Evy, and "Mais Qui Que Quoi Donc Ou" by Les Cheries.