With Oliver Lake on alto, soprano, and flute – plus Michael Gregory Jackson on guitar, Pheeroan Ak Laff on drums, Anthony Davis on piano, and Abdul Wadud on cello. LP, Vinyl record album

A great bit of southern funk from the 70s – upbeat, grooving, and with a really righteous sound! "People" is one of those cuts that just grabs you right away – a unique-sounding tune that's all the way out there – tightly riffing instrumentation topped with some slightly raspy vocals – all with an offbeat charm that almost reminds us of the first time we heard the 70s classics by Milton Wright! "Gregory Moore" is great too – a bit more laidback, and almost with the same horn patterns as the first track, but slower. 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

The third meeting of this world jazz ensemble, with Colin Walcott of Oregon on sitar, tabla and hammered dulcimer, Don Cherry on trumpet, organ and doussn'gouni and Nana Vasconcelos on berimbau and percussion. All three players have always had a very wide reaching approach to playing, even incorporating international elements in their less overtly "world music" projects, and this set finds them once again vibing well off each other. The tunes feature a wide open approach with improvised excursions on traditional and contemporary themes, with 7 tracks in all: "Goshakabuchi", "Hey Da Ba Doom", "Travel By Night", "Lullaby", "Trayra Boia", "Clicky Clacky" and "Inner Organs". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent work from Brit easy bandleader John Gregory – an assortment of 70s police and crime themes, played by a big band with a nice soundtrack-y finish! Nearly all the tunes are uptempo, and the feel of the record is very much in the same vein as Henry Mancini's Cop Show Themes album – although perhaps with a bit less electronics. Titles include "Cannon", "The Rockford Files", "Kojak", "Six Million Dollar Man" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent solo set as a leader from drummer Mel Lewis – one that reminds us that he can still cook very strongly away from his big band with trumpeter Thad Jones! The set has Lewis in different groupings with an excellent set of the friends mentioned in the title – a top-shelf lineup that includes Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Michael Brecker on tenor, Gregory Herbert on alto, Hank Jones on piano, and Ron Carter on bass – working their way through a mix of different material that really takes on some great new energy in Lewis' hands – that mix of swing and complexity he forged in the group with Jones, but maybe even more compelling here in a smaller combo format. Titles include "Windflower", "De Samba", "Ain't Nothin Nu", "A Child Is Born", and "Sho Nuff Did". LP, Vinyl record album

You may know Gregory Hines best as an actor and dancer – but he's also a surprisingly great soul singer, too – thanks to help here from Luther Vandross! Luther produced the set, wrote all the tunes, and also duets with Gregory on one track too – making the set a Vandross-stamped spectacular, and a record that's almost as great as his own 80s classics! Hines has a moderate vocal range, but a nice sense of expression in his lyrics – a way of delivering a line with the same sort of sophistication as his performances on screen – never overdone, and perfectly cast in some smooth grooves from Luther. Titles include "Love Doesn't Love You Anymore", "That Girl Wants To Dance With Me", "Gloria My Love", "This Is What I Believe", "There's Nothing Better Than Love", and "So Much Better Now". LP, Vinyl record album

A great setting for guitarist Calvin Keys – one that has the famous Black Jazz funk artist of the 70s working with the younger energy of the Wide Hive Ensemble! The set's got a similar vibe to the recent Wide Hive album that featured Keys in the group – but this time around, Calvin's solos are much more prominent, and carved up with that hard-edged tone we've always loved so much in his music! The tunes are all pretty fresh – and include originals by Keys and others from Wide Hive members Gregory Howe and Matt Montgomery – really perfect settings for Calvin's wonderful work on his instrument, heard here at a level that's tighter than on most recent recordings. Tracks include "Telegraph Blues", "Shaw-Neeq", "The Hernia", "Touch", "You Know The Game", "Electric Keys", and "Backyard". LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Robert Anderson, Delois Barrett Campbell, Irma Gwynn, Gladys Beamon Gregory, and Lucy Smith. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most fully-formed albums from The Fugs – still quite hippy dippy, but with a focus that's sometimes missing in their other work! And despite the somewhat major label placement of the set, there's arguably even more power here than on the group's earlier indie sides – thanks to strong use of the best elements that make up the tunes. There's still a great mix of styles going on – from Buddist chanting, to sing-song poetry, to some countrified rock – and the album's got enough room for playful detours, but always snaps back into some stronger song-based modes. Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso both make guest appearances, and titles include "Exorcising The Evil Spirits From The Pentagon October 21, 1967", "War Song", "Dover Beach", "Turn On/Tune In/Drop Out", "Wet Dream", "Hare Krishna", and "Aphrodite Mass". LP, Vinyl record album

Horace Silver's last record for Blue Note – and an amazing end to his decades of work for the legendary label! The set's a perfect summation of all the new directions that Horace took in the 70s – new territory that's deeply spiritual, and undeniably righteous – yet which also has a fully focused approach too – one that's showcased here wonderfully in an expansive suite of tracks with a really positive message! The "strings" in the title isn't really accurate – as the set's more of a large arrangement session that feels Strata East spiritual – done in collaboration with Wade Marcus, but with jazzier, more acoustic tones than most of Marcus' other music. In addition to Silver's piano, key core players include Tom Harrell on flugelhorn, Larry Schneider on tenor and soprano sax, Ron Carter on bass, and Al Foster on drums – who play beautifully together, with a very fluid vibe. The set also features some key vocal passages at points – sung by Brenda Alford, Chapman Roberts, Carol Lynn Maillard, and a young Gregory Hines – on titles that include "The Soul & Its Expression", "Self Portrait No 1", "The Conscious & Its Desire For Change", "Inner Feelings", "Expansion", and "The Creator Guides Us". LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Morgan Heritage & Marcia Griffiths, Benji Myaz, Freddie McGregor, Sanchez, Cocoa Tea, Richie Stephens, Junior Kelly, Fiona, Ambelique, Glen Washington, and Tanya Stephens. LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal work from Roger Troutman and Zapp – a killer batch of cuts that forever changed the sound of funk! The group's "wheeeeeeet/whomp!" sound is very firmly in place by the time of this release – and the sound here is even more electric than their debut – a groundbreaking style that went onto inspire countless acts of the electro generation, and a fair bit of hip hoppers too! Vocals are by Roger, Bad Bobby Glover, and Gregory Jackson – and Zapp's basslines really kick the whole thing into gear – as do the keyboards, too. Titles include "A Touch Of Jazz (Playin Kinda Ruff Part 2)", "Dance Floor", "Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing)", "Come On", "Do You Really Want An Answer", and "Playin Kinda Ruff". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Dick Gregory raps it proud and loud – in a set of recordings that features one side recorded on the east coast, and one on the west! Gregory's still very much a comedian at this point in his career, but already his work is peppered strongly with political elements – the kind of personal, earnest approach to his material that was years ahead of its time – and which went onto open the door for countless other comedians to come! Side one was recorded at The Blue Angel, and side two at The Hungry I. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes themes from "Route 66", "Tightrope", "The Roaring Twenties", "M Squad", and more! LP, Vinyl record album

Oregon open the door for a few friends to appear on the album – and in doing so, they also open themselves up as well – in a shifting set of tracks that sometimes features different groupings of the core musicians! The guests here are Bennie Wallace on tenor, Larry Karush on piano, and David Earl Johnson on congas and timbales – and the tracks move from longer to shorter, quintet to duo performances – all showing different aspects of the guitars of Ralph Towner, reeds of Paul McCandless, bass of Glen Moore, and sitar and percussion of Collin Walcott. Karush and Moore duet on piano on the beautiful "Love Over Time", Wallace and Walcott mix sitar and tenor on "First Thing In The Morning" – and other titles include "Time Remembered", "Interstate", "Timeless", "Love Over Time", and "Grazing Dreams". LP, Vinyl record album

Sharp-edged wit from a young Dick Gregory – and the kind of record that easily set the standard for countless comics to come! The tracks here are mostly free-form – still structured into a few routines, but also pretty easygoing and open – with more of the openly rapping sort of approach also used by Lenny Bruce and Mort Sahl at the time. Gregory's certainly got all the politics of the latter, focused into his own unique perspective – one that was a key force of change in the Civil Rights era. Titles include "The Congo Daily Tribune", "Comedians Of The 60s", "Thoughts On Outer Space", and "Not Poor Just Busted". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

A later effort from Isaacs, but still cool and smooth lover's rock, produced by Gussie Clarke. Includes "Private Beach Party", "Wish You Were Mine", "Feeling Irie", "No Rushings", "Better Plant Some Loving", "Special To Me", "Got To Be In Tune" and "Promise Is A Comfort". LP, Vinyl record album