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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".

Eric Alexander in a perfect setting – working here with a rock-solid group of familiar players who are perfect for his soulful tenor sound! The album's got a gentle, ballad-heavy approach – but even so, the groove is superb, and right in the pocket right from the start – with Harold Mabern on piano, John Webber on bass, and Joe Farnsworth on drums – a trio who've worked often with Alexander over the years, and really know the right sort of modes to bring out the fullest feeling in his horn! Eric himself just gets better and better with age – a player who was already great in the early years, but who seems to get an even deeper sense of feeling as he matures – doing more with less, and shading in some especially great sounds on the ballads in the set. Titles include "Dinner For One Please James", "I'm Glad There Is You", "Oh Girl", "Touching", "Gone Too Soon", and "September Of My Years".

A double-header to die for – two of the rarest albums from Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers – back to back on a single CD! First up is Saffron & Soul – one of the first albums from the legendary Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers – a wonderful little record that evenly blends together jazz, Latin, and soul music! There's a stronger soul jazz vibe here than on some later Pucho sets – partly due to the strong use of jazz in the rhythms, but also to the record's excellent horn work – not by the Pazant Brothers, but by Harold Alexander on tenor and flute, Claude Bartee on tenor, and Vicent McEwan on trumpet – all players who really make the record sparkle! The set's heavy on vibes too – a Pucho trademark, played here by Willie Bivins – and titles include the excellent "Soul Yamie", plus "Something Black", "The Groover", "Caravan", "Aye Ma Ma", and "What A Piece". Shuckin & Jivin is one of the most soulful albums ever recorded by Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers – a set that really shows the changing sound of Latin music in the late 60s – with some fresh vocals added to the group by Jackie Soul! Jackie only sings on a few cuts, but really brings in a raw Spanish Harlem vibe – one that gives the set a bit more of a Fania/Cotique sort of groove than usual – even when the group are leaping ahead on tight instrumentals – tunes that really sparkle with piano from Neal Creque, vibes from Willy Bivens, and tenor sax from Claude Bartee! Vocal gems include "Shuckin & Jivin", "CC Rider", and "You Are My Sunshine" – instrumental tracks include "Return To Me", "Swing Thing", "Maiden Voyage", and "How Insensitive".

A killer batch of funk from the RCA family of labels – long-neglected in the world of reissues, and finally stepping out with this ultra heavy set! The package does a really great job of pulling together disparate elements of funk from the RCA catalog – a bit of jazz vocals, electric fusion, cosmic soul, and rock breaks – all packed together in one nicely priced set that includes some really great surprises! Titles include "Plane Of Illusion" by Johnny Griffith, "Mama" by Esther Marrow, "No More Tears" by Loading Zone, "Afro Strut" by Nite Liters, "Save Me" by Nina Simone, "Tite Rope" by Harold Alexander, "Got To Get A Knutt" by New Birth, "This Is The Me Me" by Richard Groove Holmes & Brenda Jones, "What's Going On/Ain't No Sunshine" by Bernard Purdie, "Happiness Is Just Around The Bend" by Main Ingredient, and "We Getting Down" by Weldon Irvine. 16 tracks in all – and very nice!

A tribute the great Sammy Davis Jr – but a record that stands equally well as a tribute to the rich musical partnership between pianist Harold Mabern and tenorist Eric Alexander! The pair together have this bright, sparkling sound that never fails to please us – and it's one that's just perfect for this set of tunes from the Sammy D songbook – the kind of upbeat, positive numbers that really set him apart from other singers of his generation – handled here by Mabern and Alexander with a definite soulful swing! Of course, the remaining group members also help things move nicely – bassist John Webber and drummer Joe Farnsworth – both of whom are frequent partners of Mabern and Eric. Titles include "The People Tree", "Hey There", "As Long As She Needs Me", "I've Gotta Be Me", "Mr Lucky", and "Night Song".

15 jazzy groovers, with a sound and a feel that you haven't really heard in other comps before (except for the now hard-to-find Priceless classic.) Tight hard modal tracks, with lots of strident rolling piano lines, cool flute and sax solos, and free-wheeling rhythm sections. Cuts include "The Hipster" by Harold McNair, "Clean Up" by Harold Alexander, "JM Cobra" by Dan Seepers Soul, "Mr. Buzz" by The Flying Dutchmen, "Love for Sale" by Kanako Higuchi, "Orange Boom" by Jazz Hip Trio, and the great "Howlin' For Judy" by Jeremy Steig, a great Beastie Boys sample classic!

7 jazzy groovers, with a sound and a feel that you haven't really heard in other comps before (except for the now hard-to-find Priceless classic.) Tight hard modal tracks, with lots of strident rolling piano lines, cool flute and sax solos, and free-wheeling rhythm sections. Cuts include "The Hipster" by Harold McNair, "Clean Up" by Harold Alexander, ", "Orange Boom" by Jazz Hip Trio, and more,