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One of the most successful albums ever from guitarist Eric Gale – a laidback understated player whose mellow sound had a tremendous influence on mainstream jazz funk in the 70s! The album takes off from the late 60s CTI and Verve sessions by Wes Montgomery – and features Gale riffing out chromatically over tightly woven arrangements by Bob James, who also plays keyboards on the set. There's no standout funky numbers on the record, but it's got a great conception overall – with lots of dreamy grooves that sound very nice! Titles include "Forecast", "Tonsue Corte", "White Moth", "Cleopatra", and "Dindi".

Radio broadcasts from Chicago in 1967 – new stories that include the Great Snow of 1967, the Oak Lawn tornado, the unveiling of the Picasso statue, and more!

One hit wonders – but what a hit! "Reach Out Of The Darkness" was one of our fave tracks when we were just little kiddies – and now it's even better to like, because the heavy drum sound of the cut has been sampled, and we can own the record as beatheads without any embarrassment!

Duke Jordan never made many albums as a leader back in the 50s – but all of them are great, including this classic set on Savoy! As you'd guess from the title, the record features Jordan in two different settings – trio and quintet – the former of which features Percy Heath on bass and Art Blakey on drums, working in warmly soulful formation with Duke on the first half of the record. The second half brings in Cecil Payne on baritone and Eddie Bert on trombone – a whole new approach to the music, and one that really shows the depth of Jordan's under-documented arranging skills – which here are almost in the territory of Gigi Gryce or Benny Golson. Titles include "Flight To Jordan", "Cu-ba", "Two Loves", "Scotch Blues", "Sultry Eve", "Night In Tunisia", "Summertime", and "Forecast".

Laura Nyro's first album ever – originally issued by Verve/Forecast in the mid 60s, but brought back out on the market by Columbia, during the height of Nyro's early 70s fame for the label! Even at this early point, Nyro sounds wonderful – a fair bit more soulful than most other female pop singers of her time – with a fully-fleshed out approach to the vocals that's mature and sensitive, and almost a bit more confident at times than in later years. Arrangements are by Herb Bernstein, and almost have the same sort of sunny feel as The 5th Dimension in their famous covers of Nyro's tunes – again with more soul than we might have expected for the time. Titles include "Lazy Susan", "Stoney End", "Flim Flam Man", "Buy & Sell", "He's A Runner", "Billy's Blues", and "Wedding Bell Blues".

The second solo album by The Chef – a record that had hard time finding space outside the massive shadow of his first solo landmark Only Built 4 Cuban Linx – and like other Wu Tang solo albums of the era, there's a number of gems on here that really never had a chance to get over a bar set set so high. Titles include "Yae Yo", "Casablanca", the Pete Rock produced near classic "Sneakers", "Raw", "Pop S**t", My Favorite Dred", "Live From New York", "100 Rounds", "Power", and "Forecast".

One of the nice Prestige 2-fer's issued in the 70s collecting great hard bop sides by Art Farmer. While we really dig Art's contemplative playing on the Untied Artists and Argo sides, he's displaying a more fire-y approach on these sessions, recording alongside a number of other greats playing at the top of their form, including Hank Mobley, Horace Silver, Gigi Gryce, Kenny Drew, Wynton Kelly, and others. 17 tracks in all, recorded between July 1953 and November 1956: 'Soft Shoe:, "Confab In Tempo", "I'll Take Romance", "Wisteria", "Work Of Art", "Mau Mau", "Wildwood", "Evening In Paris", 'Elephant Walk", "A Night At Tony's", "Blue Concept", "Evening In Casablanca", "Forecast", "I've Never Been In Love Before", "Alone Together", "With Prestige" and "Farmer's Market".

A jazzy soul stunner Pete Belasco – the singer, producer and sole performer on his completely great third album – possibly the best we've heard from him to date! Pete's first album for Verve Forecast was a really strong effort, steeped in emotionally rich, though laidback soul with jazz-learned arrangements and atmosphere. His second album came a good half decade later, which found him moving deeper into a smoldering, resonant soul sound, appropriately titled Deeper. Lights On is the next step, and it's all the more incredible! Pete does everything here – penning the songs, handling the subtle, restrained instrumentation and the soulful falsetto singing. The man truly earns the comparisons to Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield. Timeless and totally real! Includes "I Ain't Doin It", "Lights On", "Rock It", "Down", "My Eyes", "Repay You", "Stubborn (Stay Focused)", "Later", "One", "Just Me", "Sweeter" and "Who's The Man". CD includes 2 bonus versions: "My Eyes (Organic Mix)" and "One (Organic Mix)".

Spacey soul from Columbia Nights – a duo with a wicked touch in the studio, and one that's mighty darn fresh overall! The record's in a crispy blend of mellow beats and stretched-out keys – yet it's also handled in ways that are nicely different than the norm – with a languid quality that's almost a 21st Century Shuggie Otis style – topped with soulful vocals from Sarai Abdul-Malik! The set's got none of the coldness or cliche that sometimes mar other projects of this nature – and although the album's more of an EP than a full record, it still packs plenty of punch. Titles include "Dawn", "As You Are", "Firmament", "In The Glow", "Forecast", and "Watercolors".

Not 80s hits, but a great collection of lesser-known gems from the left side of the soul spectrum – some cuts by bigger artists that sparkle even more strongly than their hits – mixed with work by some less common acts too – all served up in a double-length package that's filled with surprises! Most numbers have a boogie bounce or an 80s groove approach – nice and funky, but in a post-70s sort of style – and titles include "Hypnotized" by Scott White, "Don't Wanna Wait" by Lew Kirton, "Ladies Choice" by Stone City Band, "Joy" by Band Aka, "Sexy Sassy" by Bobby Nunn, "Don't Bust Yo Bubbles" by Muscle Shoals Horns, "My Simple Heart" by Carol Douglas, "Happy Days" by Forecast, "Let's Dance" by Tom Browne, "Don't Stop" by Shine, "Special Delivery" by Ann Fields, "Shout About It" by Lamont Dozier, "Love Follows" by Steven Dante, and "Stomp" by Moses Tyson.