Soundgarden's massive breakthrough – and a much-deserved one, too – a great moment for 90s rock! Soundgarden started out in the indie underground, but unlike SO many bands who were mined by the major labels only to find that the mainstream was no place for them, Soundgarden really belonged to the world at large. The BIG sound, heavy riffs and wailing vocals are rock godhood personified, but at their best – as they are on Superunknown – there's an artful integrity that's not to be overlooked. Includes "Let Me Drown", "My Wave", "Fell On Black Days", "Mailman", "Superunknown", "Head Down", "Black Hole Sun", "Spoonman", "Limo Wreck", "The Day I Tried To Live", "Kickstand", "Fresh Tendrils", "4th Of July", "Half", "Like Suicide" and "She Likes Surprises". CD

A landmark meeting of two talents! This rare session has the poet Langston Hughes reading his own jazz-based work, set to arrangements by Charles Mingus, with additional work by Horace Parlan. Hughes' voice is incredible – a bit frail, with a wispy integrity that really opens up his own writings. Hughes was always a big jazz listener, and his work in this respect is a perfect consummation of ideas that he'd always said were present in his work. Titles include "Could Be", "Testament", "Commercial Theater", "Consider Me", "Jump Monk", and "Weird Nightmare". CD

Alice Russell's neo classic funk soul style gets the remix treatment – a sprawling 2CD set with remixes by DJ Vadim, Mr Scruff, Kid Gusto, Clonious, J-Boogie, Shawn Lee, Ohmega Watts, Ticklah, The Heavy, DJ Day & Clutchy Hopkins, Yellowtail and others! Alice Russell is a surprising choice for this kind of remix project, given the depth of reverent soul in her voice, and the general old school modeled songs, but she's in the hands of producers who know how to craft a timeless club groove without sacrificing the soul – keeping the original integrity of the tunes in place while putting their personal stamp on the groove. 22 tracks on 2CDs: "Let us Be Loving" (Kidkanevil rmix), "Got The Hunger?" (DJ Vadim rmx), "All Alone" (Mocean Worker rmx), "Lights Went Out" (LJM rmx), "Two Steps" (Shawn Lee's 7 Inches Of Soul rmx), "All Alone" (DJ Day Meets Clutchy Hopkins remx., "Universe" (GRC's Quiet Carnival mix) and more. CD

Pure fantasticness from the great Kamasi Washington – a set that's much more compact than his sprawling Epic, but which has an equally wonderful vibe overall! The album features material that Washington performed at the Whitney Biennial – to accompany paintings by his sister – but the whole thing stands alone beautifully, with that free-flowing, always spiritual vibe that's made Washington one of the strongest young jazz talents to emerge in recent years! The music resonates strongly with the work of some of his key LA contemporaries – like Ronald Bruner Jr, Miles Mosley, Cameron Graves, and Thundercat – all of whom perform in the large ensemble – helping Kamasi's tenor soar to the skies on waves of collaborative joy. Washington composed, arranged, and even produced the record himself – and in some ways, the tightness of the performance makes the whole thing even more satisfying than Epic – as we hope you feel too, on titles that include "Desire", "Humility", "Truth", "Integrity", "Knowledge", and "Perspective". CD