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The lyrically focused set in the 2 Stepping Stones compilations from DJ Krush – part remix album, part retrospective – featuring Company Flow, Black Thought & Malik B of the Roots, Mos Def, Aesop Rock, Zap Mama and others! Lyricism kind of finds Krush in his most hip hop reverent game, naturally – but he runs the gamut of possibilities within the genre. Krush never battles the MCs for track supremacy as many of the superstar producers of the day do. He's laying proper groundwork for the mic styles, yet still laying down his experimental funk signature – and the wide variety of vocalists gives him ample opportunity to show his unrivaled breadth! Tracks include "Only The Strong Survive (Bon mix)" feat CL Smooth, "Vision Of Art (Vib mix)" feat Company Flow, "Zen Approach (Cradle mix)" feat Black Thought, "Kill Switch (Beep mix)" feat Aesop Rock, "Song For John Walker (Sticky mix)" feat Anticon, "Danger Of Love (Gray-Sky mix)" feat Zap Mama, "Shinjiro (Harsh mix)" feat Mos Def and more.

A gem of a record from trumpeter Jeremy Pelt – and like some of his other brilliant albums, a set that really has him sparkling alongside some sweet Fender Rhodes! Pelt's trumpet has always been great – but here, in the company of keyboardist David Bryant, it really seems to find some rich new colors – almost as if the keys open up a layer of Pelt that's been hiding for years – set free to really soar and flow here. Bryant also plays some Hammond and clavinet as well, and other Fender Rhodes and keyboard work is by Frank LoCrasto – and the group also features Roxy Cross on soprano and tenor, Burniss Earl Travis on bass, Dana Hawkins on drums, and Jeffrey Haynes on percussion. Both Ra Re Valverde and Angela Roberts each sing on a track – and titles include "Reimagine The World", "Boom Bishop", "Butterfly Dreams", "Pieces Of A Dream", "Meditations On A Conversation We Had", and "Mystique".

A gem of a record from trumpeter Jeremy Pelt – and like some of his other brilliant albums, a set that really has him sparkling alongside some sweet Fender Rhodes! Pelt's trumpet has always been great – but here, in the company of keyboardist David Bryant, it really seems to find some rich new colors – almost as if the keys open up a layer of Pelt that's been hiding for years – set free to really soar and flow here. Bryant also plays some Hammond and clavinet as well, and other Fender Rhodes and keyboard work is by Frank LoCrasto – and the group also features Roxy Cross on soprano and tenor, Burniss Earl Travis on bass, Dana Hawkins on drums, and Jeffrey Haynes on percussion. Both Ra Re Valverde and Angela Roberts each sing on a track – and titles include "Reimagine The World", "Boom Bishop", "Butterfly Dreams", "Pieces Of A Dream", "Meditations On A Conversation We Had", and "Mystique".

DJ Mitsu takes on the legendary Black Jazz label from the 70s – and serves up a sublime mix of spiritual and funky jazz classics from some of the company's greatest records! Mitsu's one of the few cats we could trust with a project like this – and as with his Fender Rhodes mixes from a few years back, this one really respects the core essence of the tunes – yet also finds a way to make them flow beautifully into one another – a 28 track blend of magical music that stands as a great testament to the soulful, spiritual depth of the Black Jazz catalog! There's no tricks or gimmicks at all – just sweet sounds galore – and titles include "Listen Here" and "For Heaven's Sake" by Gene Russell, "Soft Spirit" and "Plastic Creek Stomp" by Henry Franklin, "Infant Eyes" and "Revelation" by Doug Carn, "Little Dance" and "Time & Space" by Rudolph Johnson, "Aunt Lovely" and "Shaw Neeq" by Calvin Keys, "Magic Wand Of Love" and "Maiden Voyage" by Kellee Patterson, "Mode For DD" and "Slinky" by The Awakening, "Trip One" and "Power House" by Chester Thompson and "Funky Mama Moose" by Roland Haynes.

Mellow modernism from Joe Puma – one of those guitarists who appeared on countless 50s sessions, then really seemed to disappear from records as the 60s wore on. This album's one of Puma's best – an easily swinging session that flows with warm group interplay, and which never seems to get bogged down in the traps that sometimes plagued sessions of this nature. Side one features a trio with Puma on guitar, Eddie Costa on vibes, and Oscar Pettiford on bass – a very good choice to accompany the other two – and side two features Puma and Pettiford, plus Bill Evans on piano and Paul Motian on drums. Titles include "Mother Of Earl", "Stablemates", "Ubas", and "Blues For Midge".

Quite possibly the greatest music that Nina Simone ever recorded – brought together beautifully in one compact yet complete set! Nina Simone recorded some great music before she hit the RCA label in the late 60s – but her time at that company really saw a flowering of her unique talents – a way of hitting a vibe that went way beyond familiar jazz vocals – stretching out into something more righteous, more powerful, and more moving than had ever been recorded before – a wealth of great sounds represented beautifully on the albums in this package! The set begins in familiar territory of her Philips Records years – jazz vocals, but with a folksy depth, and political undercurrent. Yet as things move on, the tunes open up, often get longer, and Simone's vocals get bold and powerful – sometimes with key help from a young Weldon Irvine – who wrote some of the best original tunes, and also worked with Nina on keyboards. The package features the full albums Nina Simone Sings The Blues, Silk & Soul, Nuff Said, Nina Simone & Piano, To Love Somebody, Black Gold, Here Comes The Sun, Emergency Ward, and It Is Finished – all in cool LP-styled sleeves, with a bonus booklet too!

The team of Paul Desmond and Jim Hall was one of the best ideas ever forged in American jazz of the 60s – and the icy pair are perfect company together on this album of bossa-inflected tracks with a very cool edge! The album allows Desmond's alto to take on a warmth and flowing quality it never had in the Dave Brubeck group – and Hall's guitar work, while a masterpiece of understatement, brings in just the right amount of ringing tone to echo out the brilliance of Desmond's ideas. Gene Wright and Connie Kay complete the group, and titles include "O Gato", "Samba Cantina", "Girl From East 9th", "Ship Without A Sail", and "Bossa Antigua". Plus, this excellent CD reissue features 2 bonus tracks – the groovy "Samba Cepeda" and an alternate take of "O Gato".

A really great second album from Chicago soul combo Brown's Bag – a set that's fuller, more focused, and more polished than their first – and which has the group breaking out big before an international audience! Ward Brown and company really hit a classic sound here – one that's built on the best mellow soul inspirations of the 70s, but which flows out with a leaner, cleaner, more contemporary sound – a great little groove built on straightforward rhythms, warm keyboards, and great vocals from Ward – singing here with a slightly raspy edge that takes us back to early vocals from Frankie Beverly. The best charm of the record is the way that it never tries to go too far – never tries to overstate its presence, nor resort to silly gimmicks – and instead retains a crucial focus on cutting a solid soul set, a lesson that many other groups could hope to follow! Titles include "More Than Friends", "Me Around", "You're Contagious", "You Touch My Heart", "Can't Let Go", and "Toss N Turn".

A later album from the Last Poets – recorded after their classic run in the 70s, but still pretty nice overall! The record's a bit of an unusual one, in that it shows a bit of the creeping "street" element that the Poets would absorb into their work after being dubbed as the "Godfathers Of Rap" during the early years of hip hop. The record's not really a hip hop set, but it's definitely got a bit more of a street soul vibe, thanks to Celluloid production from Bill Laswell – who certainly shows some of his association here with the hip hop related projects on the label. Laswell mixes in bits of street funk and electro with the Poets' older style of jazzoetry – and the lyrics are sometimes a bit more song-structured than before, with a few more choruses than in the earlier days of free-flowing lines. Titles include "Hold Fast", "What Will You Do", "Parting Company", and "This Is Your Life".

Stanley blows it sweet, mellow, and soulfully – in this wonderful post-CTI session from the 70s! The set features some swirling larger arrangements from Gene Page – done with a bit of the CTI sound lurking in the mix, but also a more complicated groove that almost takes on soundtrack-like proportions at times – a warmly-flowing groove that's lush without being soppy, and which really sets Turrentine up nicely for some sophisticated, mature solos on tenor. Stan's got some great company on the record – including Patrice Rushen on keyboards, David T Walker on guitar, and Freddie Hubbard on trumpet – and although the set's laidback, it's a lot more soulful than you might think – almost like a hip mellow soul set from the time, but with tenor instead of vocals. Includes covers of the Earth Wind & Fire tunes "Reasons" and "That's The Way Of The World", plus the tracks "Touching You", "T's Dream", and "Have You Ever Seen The Rain".