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A great overview of exotic music in all its forms – not just the familiar American variant of the postwar years, but also a strong look at Italian exotica too! The book was originally penned in Italian, and has a good ear for the kind of unusual soundtrack and sound library material that always get us going – but also brings those recordings into context with larger strands of exotica, both vocal and instrumental. There's plenty here to please soundtrack, jazz, and vocal fans too – and the book even features some listening suggestions at the end. 361 pages, softcover.

A really cool little album – recorded by Detroit vibist Jack Brokensha at the end of the 60s, working with a combo called the Baroqe-Adelics, whose instrumentation includes electric harpsichord and fuzzy guitar! The album's the kind of small label jazz side we treasure – and includes a mix of funky and groovy numbers with some straighter tracks that demonstrate Brokensha's vibes in a more conventional jazz context. Includes the great original groovers "Boogaloo", "Opus Barokus", "Twistrist", and "Priscilla" – plus versions of "My Favorite Things", "On Green Dolphin Street", and "Tast Of Honey".

Overlooked genius from Art Farmer – a less-remembered session from the early 80s, and one that features him in a hip quintet with the great Sahib Shihab! The feel here is as lyrical and laidback as some of Art's other work from the time, but the presence of Sahib on soprano and baritone brings a good sense of feeling to the record – one that almost sharper than usual for a Farmer session, and which seems to push the trumpeter more strongly than usual on the upbeat numbers. An added plus is the rhythm section – which features Kenny Drew on piano, Mads Vinding on bass, and Ed Thigpen on drums – all players who had plenty of time together on the Copehagen scene, and who work in an equally cohesive way here. Titles include "Arrival", "Blue Wail", "Context", "Back Door Beauty", and "Passport".

Don Gere's dusty, jangly soundtrack to the bikers and werewolves and satanists (oh my!) epic Werewolves On Wheels – a pretty great one with spare, post folk psych atmosphere, a little bit of groovy country rock, eerily percussive errata and choice soundbites from the flick! Finders Keepers has a knack for describing their great and obscure soundtrack and otherwise oddball discoveries that goes well beyond ours – they describe Don Gere as a "disjointed psych rock stoner" and the sound as "ritualistic commune country". We can't speak for Don's personality, but they pretty much nail the vibe! Most importantly, it works fine as trippy leftfield psychedelia and groovy country rock even without the crazy context of the movie – with a couple solid vocal tunes, fuzzed out instrumentals (particularly the "Ritual" tracks), sparer bits of tension and classic style B-movie biker elements. Includes "Werewolves On Wheels (Main Theme)", "Mount Shasta Home", "Ritual", "Ritual 2", "The Devil's Advocates", "One Foot In Heaven", "Burning Grass", "Tarot", "Tarot Trail", "Dust Bowl", "Ritual 3", "Werewolves On Wheels (End Theme)" and more.

A very groovy record with a very fitting title – especially once you hear the lyrics of the tunes! The Girls From Bahia are actually the Quarteto Em Cy – one of the best harmony groups of the bossa era, and famous for classic recordings on the Elenco label – but working here in a rare American context that has them singing in English with heavily accented voices! The overall setting's quite similar to their Brazilian classics – gentle bossa backings arranged by Oscar Castro Neves, who brings an airy feel to the set – and it's great to hear the girls singing here in English, in ways that link back to the older harmony groups that clearly inspired them. The whole thing's incredibly charming, and titles include "Surfing In Rio", "Tup A Tup", "The Face I Love", "Canto De Ossanha", "Image", "Useless Landscape", "Tears", "Voce", and "Pardon My English". CD also features the bonus tracks "Berimbau", "I Live To Love", and "Amaralina Beach".

Unusual material from Chico Hamilton – recorded around the same time as his groundbreaking work for Pacific Jazz – but for the smaller Crown/Modern label in LA! The format's a bit unusual, and changes a bit throughout the record – showing Chico's already-strong ear for creative formats that go way beyond conventional jazz. There are 2 numbers at the end of side 2 featuring Chico in the familiar chamber jazz lineup, with Fred Katz on cello and Paul Horn on reeds – "Crazy Cats" and "Lord Randall". The rest of the tracks feature the stringed instruments handling most of the melody, in a free floating style that's got the same "modern yet swinging" approach of some of Jimmy Giuffre's best late 50s recordings, which ultimately places it in a similar context to the chamber jazz numbers. Titles include "Porch Light", "Autumn Landscape", "Uyawda", "Lolly Pop", "Pluck It", "Katz Up", "Crazy Cats", and "Lord Randall".

A lost spiritual soul jazz classic – recorded in the early 80s, but with the feel of 70s independent work on labels like Strata East or Black Jazz! Pianist Nate Morgan's got a widely expansive vision – working here in a style that incorporates lots of blocky chords and modal grooves, set in context with a tight group that includes alto sax solos by Dadisi Komolafe. All tracks are originals, and the album's got a sweeping majestic feel that would have made it an enduring classic, had it been issued a decade earlier! Titles include "He Left Us A Song", "Journey Into Nigritia", "Morning Prayer", "Mother", and "Study in CT".

Under-exposed genius from the legendary Raymond Scott – a set of straighter jazz material from the late 40s, but all of it with Scott's undeniable sense of madness still very firmly in place! Most of the work here is small combo – played by either a quintet or sextet – and although the styles aren't as dramatic as in some of Raymond's better-known cartoon work, there's still an undeniably fluid, playful feel to the music! Instrumentation includes Scott on piano and celeste, plus trumpet, tenor, clarinet, bass, and drums – and some tracks even feature great early vocals from Dorothy Collins, who seems much madder than usual in the context of the combo! The work appears to have originally been issued by the Master and Audiovox labels – and titles include "Street Corner In Paris", "The Penguin", "By Heck", "Who", "Bird Life In The Bronx", "Curley Cue", "Somebody Loves Me", "Little Girl", "Ectoplasm", "Question Mark", and "Dedicatory Piece To The Crew & Passengers Of The First Experimental Rocket Express To The Moon".

Bootsy and Roger went all the way to the bank with this one – a classic electro funk groover without which, most of west coast late 80s/early 90s hip hop would not exist! The cut's a monster – and still sounds wonderful whatever the context.

A massive amount of rare Northern Soul cuts – almost all of them from the Heritage Records empire of producer Jerry Ross! There's plenty of Philly elements in the mix, but the set also shows Jerry's good ear for crossing over into other camps too – and some of these tunes also have a sound that would have been right at home in the Detroit scene of the late 60s. A few numbers are even rock/pop cuts, but still work very well in the context of the soul material – and the CD features 20 titles that include "Green Grow the Lilacs" by The Festivals, "Ain't Nothin' But A House Party" by The Showstoppers, "I Dig Everything About You" by The Mob, "You Gave Me Somebody To Love" by The Dreamlovers, "Loan Shark" by Chapter One, "I Get By Without You" by Kenny Gamble & Tommy Bell, "Baby Show It" by The Festivals, "Bok To Bach" by Father's Angels, "Eeny Meeny" by The Showstoppers, "Pick Up My Toys" by The Devonnes, "I've Been Hurt" by Bill Deal & The Rhondels, and "You Aint' Sayin' Nothin' New" by Virgil Henry.

Lost funk rock from Ballinjack – the rare self-titled set for Columbia that's arguably best remembered for being so massively sampled – but the group that deserves a more widely-credited legacy! The sound is a bit like Mandrill on the best cuts, with the band going hard on the funky drums with some great brassy movements, flute and guitars. Lots of deftly jazzy movements, too – standout flute and guitar moments throughout. Tracks include the famously sampled "Found a Child" and "Never Let 'Em Say" (believe us, you've heard these samples plenty, and it's cool to hear them in their original context. . .great stuff and little wonder they were so strongly utilized by hip hop production heavies), plus "Super Highway", Festival", "Telephone", "Ballin' The Jack", "Street People", "Carnival", and "Hold On".

A highly detailed, heavily researched biography of the great Oscar Micheaux – one of the first important African-American film directors, even though he's only finally getting his due in the mainstream during more recent years! Patrick McGilligan's handled previous books on Hitchock and George Cukor, so he's already got his game when it comes to telling the story of folks behind the films – but the great thing about his account of Micheaux is that it also includes great information on his pre-film years, and really sets the context that helped African-American cinema emerge. 402 pages, paperback, with some black and white images.

A great step forward for PJ Morton – an artist we've followed right from his start in the Neo Soul underground, and one who still sounds great here in the context of a much bigger label! The album's sure to get PJ plenty of exposure, yet it's still put together with that nicely crackling sort of energy that's always made his music so great – a mode that's sometimes a bit more funky than some of his male soul contemporaries, but in a way that's never gimmicky – and instead underscores all the earnest, honest vibe he brings to his lyrics. And Morton really maintains that slightly raspy quality in his vocals – a mode of singing that echoes classic eras without ever copying their style at all. The set features guest appearances from Stevie Wonder and Busta Rhymes – and titles include "Only One", "Never Get Over You", "Hard Enough", "Heavy", "Work It Out", "Trade It All", "First Sight",a nd "Motions".

We love Sly & Robbie – really we do. And while they were responsible for many of the toughest rhythms ever laid to wax, they did cut their share of material that hits nice and hard, but may not be as sublime as their finest and fattest. While on paper this Bill Laswell produced session that finds the Rhythm Twins meeting up with an all star cast including Rammellzee, Bernie Worrell, Henry Threadgill and D. St. among others, it somehow manages to result in a sum that's that's less than the combination of all the dope parts. But you could do a lot worse, and we're guessing if you heard any of these 6 tracks in a different context, you might well consider it the heat: "Fire", "Boops (Here to Go)", "Let's Rock", "Yes We Can Can", "Rhythm Killer" and "Bank Job".

Robert Walter's out of his usual jamband context here – and is working with a group of soul jazz masters, older players who helped define the jazz funk groove of the 70s, clearly a strong influence on Walter's keyboard style. The group features tenor by Red Holloway, drums by Harvey Mason, guitar by Phil Upchurch, and bass by Chuck Rainey – and the album's got a freewheeling soul jazz style that recalls some of the Prestige jazz funk of the 1972/73 era. Titles include "There Goes The Neighborhood", "Bread & Water", "Swap Meet", "Bakery Blues", and "4:00 Wash Up".

A 70s 2-fer that combines 2 albums recorded for Cadet in the mid 60s – one issued under Nelson's name, the other under Lou Donaldson's, but both featuring arrangements by Nelson. The Nelson LP is a pretty darn nice session in which Nelson is the lead soloist with a large group that includes Phil Woods, Jerome Richardson, Patti Brown, and Art Hoyle. Nelson plays tenor throughout, and the band has a very tight swing, in keeping with Nelson's incredible arranging style on albums like those he cut with Jimmy Smith. Tracks include "Daylie's Double", "Laz-ie Kate", "Teenie's Blues", and "Three Plus One". The Lou Donaldson LP is one of Lou's more unique sides of the 60s – as the album features him as the main soloist over arrangements by a group headed up by Oliver Nelson. As has been ably demonstrated on many sides on labels like Verve, Impulse, and Capitol – there's no better talent than Nelson for taking a strong soulful player, and putting him into a context that will let him solo at his best, and not be overwhelmed by the band. There's some nice organ in the group, and titles include "Tippin In", "Back Talk", "Huffin N Puffin", and "Ignant Oit".

Mirror Man is an all time Beefheart classic – fleshed out and made even more necessary in its late 90s release as Mirror Man Sessions! The long tracks find the band stretching out from their bluesy roots into the outer limits on the 4 main Mirror Man numbers "Tarotplane", "25th Century Quaker", "Mirror Man" and "Kandy Korn" – expansive, rugged blues skronk jams that are a simply a must! The sessions also produced tracks that were later issued on the Safe As Milk compilation, but really need to be experienced in context, as it is here. Other tracks include "Safe As Milk (Take 12)", "Beatle Bones & Smokin' Stones" and "Gimme Dat Harp Boy".

A smokin' hard bop side from a sort of amalgamation of players who played in and out of the Jazz Messengers around this time, but Philly Joe's sittin' in the drummers seat, so though the rhythms cook hard, that not quite as bombastic as Bu's. We've always loved Benny Golson, and though his playing was at it's most sublime in the Jazztet, he got to stretch out just a bit more and played with just a touch more fire in other contexts, like this session. Barry Harris is on piano, with Jymie Merritt and Philly Joe rounding out the rhythm section and Curtis Fuller joins Golson in the front line for a spry quintet setting. Six tracks: "Strut time", "Jubilation", "Symptoms", "Are You Real?", "Cry A Blue Tear" and "This Night".

Great stuff by the grooviest artist ever to play a harp! Dorothy Ashby had a unique soul jazz harp sound, and although the instrument she used is probably more thought of in terms of bedtime lullabies, she actually makes it swing nicely, and with a soulful sound that draws back to traditions of African stringed instruments. Ashby was part of the same scene as Yusef Lateef, and like Lateef, she managed to use odd instrumentation in new contexts, to get a very unique jazz sound. This set's got harp and flute in the lead, and features the tracks "Pawky", "Charmaine", "Jollity", and "Back Talk". Also reissued with the original cover art!

A weird soundtrack to what sounds like an even wierder movie – Stelvio Cipriani's synthy score for the 1988 flick La Notte Degli Squali – which starred a young Treat Williams as a shark hunter who takes on the mob! Lots of post disco (even though it's pretty late for this) synthy grooves in the score, but used largely in action-oriented, dramatic contexts! 22 sequences of the title theme.