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A frenetic stormer from the group of pianist Marc Riordan – a tight combo who work here with a great old school approach to modern jazz! There's a strong sense of unity to the group – a really well-conceived vision built around Riordan's wonderful piano lines – angular, well-stated, and with this mix of unusual notes that really recalls Herbie Nichols or Elmo Hope! Marc's got a way of playing that's incredibly inventive, yet somehow always "right" too – notes that shouldn't work together so way, especially as each new one is introduced – but which resonate together beautifully in a cohesively soulful sound. Other group members are equally strong – and include Peter Hanson on alto, Daniel Thatcher on bass, and Tim Daisy on drums – on titles that include "Little Dog", "Funometer", "Lesson Learned", "Binoculars", and "I'll Text You" – plus a version of Monk's "A Merrier Christmas".

A blend of jazz funk and rawer informed grooves from Harold Alexander – and actually a step into more polished vibes thanks to some Arif Mardin arrangements and a new home at Atlantic Records! Although some of the earlier records cut by reed player Harold Alexander may have been more accurately described with the title Raw Root, this one stands up a lot better today than we remembered it! It has a pretty tight electric sound, and good Atlantic soul grooves running through it – with Alexander on flutes & saxes, Joe Boner in on keyboards, Ricard Davis on bass and Brian Beaks on drums on the bulk of it, with altered personnel on "De Black Musician" and "Lady Euphoria" (which also include vocals by Tequila). Soulful backing vocals credited to Something Different and some guitar by Junior Hanson and some spacey synth by Billy Allessi. Other tracks include "Country Soul", "Raw Root", "New York Sister", and "Street Life".

Groovy girl pop from late 60s France – a treasure trove of under-discovered numbers from the lovely Clothilde! Clothilde's from the same vintage as France Gall and Francoise Hardy – but she's got a style that's a bit sweeter vocally, yet still set to the mod-styled backings that really make 60s French pop so great! Tunes are plenty groovy, with a few trippy touches from time to time – and most numbers have a bouncy groove that really keeps things interesting – especially when odd instrumentation creeps into the mix – like bits of musical saw, oddball percussion, and bells and whistles! Titles include "Fallait Pas Ecraser Lau Queue Du Chat", "La Chanson Bete Et Mechante", "Le Boa", " "Saperlipopette", "102-103", "La Ballade Du Bossu", "A Ora Sos'e", and "Qualcosa Che Non Va".

Mindblowing work from French film composer Francois De Roubaix – an artist who's perhaps gotten more credit in recent years for his electronic sounds, but who's featured here in a fantastic batch of vocal numbers too! Many of these tracks have that great messed-up funky style of the era of Gainsbourg, Jean-Claude Vannier, and Michel Colombier – bouncing bass, psyche-inspired instrumentation, and lots of weird production that trips things out in these subtle, wild ways. Vocals are sung by a host of different artists, and the styles vary up nicely too – but the whole thing's really unified with that sense of madness we've always loved in the instrumental work of De Roubaix! Titles include "Les Poupons" by Olivier & Louis De Funes, "Le Rapace" by Los Incas, "Loin" by Joanna Shimkus, "Just Be Cool" by Fire Exit, "Mon Ami Thia" by Serge Reggiani, "Chacun Son Homme" by Brigitte Bardot & Annie Giradot, "Pour Qui Pourqui" by Nicoletta, "My Sky Is Blue" by Alice Herald, "Un Peu Beaucoup Passionnement" by Vaea Sylvain, "La Ballade Du Heros" by Farid, and "Avec Des Cubes" by Chapi Et Chapo. 24 tracks in all – and some very copious notes!

One of Art Farmer's funkiest records – a great batch of slow electric numbers with a stretched out feel, and an almost Freddie Hubbard-like approach to the groove! Players include Eric Gale, Steve Gadd, Dave Grusin, and Jeremy Steig – and although the date of this one is late, the sound is in that prime 1972/1973 CTI mode! The album's only got 4 tracks – all long – and titles include "Crawl Space", "Siddhartha", "Petite Belle", and "Chanson".

Great stuff! This is the "alternate" version of Michel Legrand's great score to Les Demoiselles De Rochefort – and it's totally great all the way through! The whole thing's nice and jazzy, totally swinging, and has a groove that you don't get in some of Legrand's other work. We've been listening to this for years, and it's never dulled on us. Very groovy, very Frenchy, and very tough to find. Titles include "Chanson De Simon", "Les Rencontres", "Toujours Jamais", "De Dephine A Lancien", "Nous Voyageons De Ville en Ville", and "Marins, Amis, Amants, Ou Maris".

The music of the French New Wave – brought out beautifully in an overstuffed 3CD set! The late 50s shift in French cinema is arguably one of the most important film moments in the 20th century – and although the movies are best remembered for their directors, stars, and striking images – most of the films also had some pretty amazing music as well! In fact, we've always felt that the music was integral to the Nouvelle Vague – from famous jazz scores, to lovely lyrical passages, to bold orchestral arrangements that also ended up having a huge impact on wider European music as well. This package is the first we've ever seen to really dig deep into the New Wave – and it brings together 80 tracks from dozens of films – a really wide variety of music, provided by artists who include Michel Legrand, Georges Delerue, Paul Misraki, Pierre Jansen, Miles Davis, Maurice Jarre, Jean Constantin, Martial Solal, Michel Magne, Antoine Duhamel, Alain Romans, and others – from movies that include 400 Blows, Jules & Jim, Hiroshima Mon Amour, Les Bonnes Femmes, Une Femme Est Une Femme, Breathless, Weekend, Lola, Cleo De 5 A 7, Le Bonheur, Alphaville, and many others! Some films are represented by a few tracks, others by famous themes – and the package also features a booklet with notes in French and English too.

Classic bit of jazzy club tracks, and an album that virtually defines the Ariola modern soul style. Nice warm harmonies mix with smooth jazz-tinged arrangements for a good 70s modern dancefloor sound. Titles include "Rock Don't Stop", "Sing All Night", "Jack Be Nimble", "Magic Carpet Ride", and "Make It Happen".

The great first album from French pop psyce combo Le Systeme Crapoutchik – released in '69 – wonderful stuff from that great era in which the creative boundlessness of the psych era was fusing so well with catchier, more accessible pop around the world! While they employed styles that were well in use internationally in the late 60s, Le Systeme Crapoutchik still have a pretty unique vibe of their own. From spare, fairly spooky passages to hard-charging rock, always with great vocal harmonies. Includes the title track plus "La Chanson Des Amis", "L'Amour Avec Un Grande A", "Une Vie", "Premier Amour", "Chagrin D'Amour", ""C'est I'Hiver" and more.

A fairly lush soundtrack from Legrand – scored for a WWII period piece that starred Susan Sarandon! The album's got a fairly romantic feel overall, but is memorable for it's great theme – performed in a number of variations, and with haunting "Summer of 42"-styled piano tinkling over the larger string arrangements. Tracks include "Chanson Pour Noelle", "Paris Montage", "Late Dinner At Demeris", "Demeris' Party", and "Other Side Of Midnight".

Groovy girl pop from late 60s France – a treasure trove of under-discovered numbers from the lovely Clothilde! Clothilde's from the same vintage as France Gall and Francoise Hardy – but she's got a style that's a bit sweeter vocally, yet still set to the mod-styled backings that really make 60s French pop so great! Tunes are plenty groovy, with a few trippy touches from time to time – and most numbers have a bouncy groove that really keeps things interesting – especially when odd instrumentation creeps into the mix – like bits of musical saw, oddball percussion, and bells and whistles! Titles include "Fallait Pas Ecraser Lau Queue Du Chat", "La Chanson Bete Et Mechante", "Le Boa", " "Saperlipopette", "102-103", "La Ballade Du Bossu", "A Ora Sos'e", and "Qualcosa Che Non Va".

Stunning sounds from the team of Serge Gainsbourg and Michel Colombier – and maybe the most perfect example of why Gainsbourg soundtracks can be so great! First up is the duo's fab music for the film Le Pacha – a wonderful blend of trippy touches and more subtle jazzy moments, plus bits of electric sitar and bassy funk – shifting effortlessly from track to track to create a mad melange of musical grooves! Cuts include the classic "Requiem Pour Un Con", which is a funky gem – plus "Psychastenie", "Joss A La Calvados", "Un Noel 67", "Cadavres En Serie", "Batucada Meurtriere", and Brigitte Bardot singing "Harley Davidson"! Next is Vidoq – a handful of songs originally penned for a TV series in the 60s, and very unusual work from Serge! The tunes include two very offbeat vocal numbers, sung in this deep-voiced style – plus a few more serious instrumentals, but with a weird twist. Titles include "Le Mariage De Vidocq", "A Vous De Jouer", "L'Evasion", and "Chanson Du Forcat". Comment Trouvez-Vous Ma Soeur – or "how do you find my sister?" – seems like a perfect title for a film to feature music from Serge – and the music definitely follows suit! The movie's from 1964, so captures that pivotal time when Gainsbourg was shifting from classier French styles to groovy ones – both modes featured here in the instrumentals directed by Colombier, and on Serge's vocal reading of the title tune. Tracks include "Erotico Tico", "No Love For Daddy", "La Course Au Mariage", "Rendez Vous A L'Eglise", "Surboum Chez Ma Soeur", and "Quart D'Heure Americain".

Some of the most whimsical music ever penned by Michel Legrand – music for two animated films from the late 70s! First up is Legrand's excellent score for a Baron Munchausen film – handled with these surprisingly deep tones at times, yet still mixed with a sense of fable-like wonder, too – a bit like his landmark score for Peau D'Ane from a decade before. Like that one, there's some nice sing-song moments here, and some more serious elements that balance things out beautifully – and trust us, the whole thing is way better than any US animated scores that were coming out at the time! Titles include "Sur La Route De Trukesban", "Recit Du Baron", "Theme De L'Aventure", "Chanson De La Sirene", and the playful vocal tune "Chanson Du Baron". Next up is music scored for an early Smurfs film – a very odd setting for Legrand, but one that he still handles beautifully! There's a handful of serious tunes, mixed in with music that's a lot more playful and cartoony – including a number of strange vocal songs, sung in goofy voices. Titles include "Hyme Au Travail", "La Flute A Six Schtroumphs", "Le Ballet De Torchesac", "Le Roi E La Flute", and "La Fete". CD also features one cool bonus track – "Building A Bird House" – from a TV special called Michel's Mixed-Up Musical Bird!

A magical blend of 60s French pop – one of the best compilations of its type that we've ever heard! The tunes here are incredible – a wild mix of guitars, organ, noisy percussion, and some wonderfully catchy vocals that make you want to hop in a plane and head straight for the Left Bank! Way way better than any of those drippy and romantic "Paris is for Lovers" type compilations that are clogging up the bins – and a great look at the real deal in 60s Paris! Titles include "Une Chanson Pour Mon Amour" by Rika Zarai, "Un Trou Dans Ma Chaussure" by Gregory, "L'Antiquite" by Stone, "Psyche Rock" by Les Yper-Sound, "Ne Me Marchez Pas Sur Les Pieds" by Michel Polnareff, "Flower Power" by Alan Stivell, "D'Etre A Vous" by Marie Laforet, "Chante" by Ronnie Bird, and "N'Hesite Pas Quand L'Amour T'Appelle" by Katty Line. 22 tracks on 2LPs!

Beautiful stuff – and a totally sweet mix of Japanese wood flute and sweet 60s sounds – a blend that we've come to love in these older albums from shakuhachi player Minoru Muraoka! The style is totally great – the lead wood sound blended with tight arrangements that run the gamut from swinging jazz to more soundtrack-styled numbers – all set to tunes familiar from Western sources, but coming across with a really different vibe! Imagine Herbie Mann's 60s albums for Atlantic, retuned for the Japanese market – and you'll get part of the sound of this set. Titles include "Mas Que Nada", "Girl From Ipanema", "Right Now", "The In Crowd", "Chanson D'Orphee", "Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars", and "Caravan".

A secret world of 60s pop – long-lost treasures from the Paris scene! The package is one of 5 great volumes in the stellar Pop A Paris series – a much-needed look at the incredible work being done by 60s artists in the French scene – some of whom hit international fame, lots of others who were only the province of the lucky French listeners at the time. These guys know pop better than most – and the tunes are all wonderful vocal numbers with a really groovy sound – many in "jerk" or "psyche" modes, with loads of great instrumental touches! Titles include "Chanson Indienne" by France Gall, "J'Ai Des Problemes Decidement" by Violaine, "Le Grand Amour" by Nicoletta, "J'Ai Pas Eu Peur" by Pierre Doris, "C'Est La Mode" by Annie Philippe, "Ecoutez" by Elsa, "Mettez Une Cravate" by Peter Vann, "Le Saule Pleurer" by Michel Polnareff, and "L'Amour A Travers Et A Tort" by Anna St Clair.