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A really well-titled set from the legendary Phil Cohran – as the album's one of his most meditative efforts ever – a beautiful single piece, spun over the course of the entire album, with slow-changing instrumentation that's wonderfully seductive! Phil's in a near solo mode here – playing harp, cornet, zither, and his legendary frankiphone – with just a bit of guitar and keyboards to accompany his lead solos – making for a really warm, open space that shows Cohran at his most sensitive ever! The work runs for over 45 minutes, and is a great illustration of the space that Phil's been exploring strongly in more recent years.

A rare and beautiful treasure from Chicago's Phil Cohran and his legendary Artistic Heritage Ensemble – material recorded at the end of the 60s, but only issued here for the first time ever! The sound on the record is amazing – much deeper, and more forceful than anything else we've ever heard from Cohran – almost in Sun Ra Arkestra territory at times, given the group's out-there playing, and bold collective action! The lineup is similar to other Cohran recordings from the time – Phil on cornet, Henry Gibson on congas, Pete Cosey on guitar, Louis Satterfield on bass, Charles Williams on alto, Don Myrick on tenor, Charles Handy on trumpet, Willie Woods on trombone, and Aaron Dodd on tuba – a group that's a wonderful bridge between the two important Chicago generations headed by Sun Ra and Earth Wind & Fire. Armageddon is an extended piece, divided up into five different musical acts – conceived by Cohran in the late 50s, and recorded here in 1968 – with some great help from The Spencer Jackson Family on the leadoff track "Motherless Child". Other titles include "Creation Of The Beast", "The Warning", "The Window", and "Armageddon" – a clear reference to the power of the atom bomb!

Great lost work from the legendary Phil Cohran and his Artistic Heritage Ensemble – a composition that was recorded during the group's late 60s years on the Chicago scene – but which has never been released until now! The album stands beautifully alongside the group's self-titled classic and their tribute to Malcolm X – and like those amazing records, this one has a feel that's all its own – an exploration of Moorish elements in Spanish culture – which comes off as a Latin-inflected sound with African roots! The lineup here is similar to other Cohran classics – Donald Myrick on baritone sax, Charles James Williams on alto, Eugene Easton on tenor, Charles Handy on trumpet, Willie Woods on trombone, Aaron Dodd on tuba, Pete Cosey on guitar, Henry Gibson on congas, and Louis Satterfield on bass – a mix of musicians that includes members with Sun Ra and Earth Wind & Fire listed in their resumes! Cohran's vision in the suite is wonderful – and the music has all the depth and righteous energy of his self-titled record, but a bit more Latin fire too – a beautiful blend that really makes us appreciate his genius even more than before, and which finally gives us another record of his to love after all these years.

A brilliant tribute to the late Malcolm X – served up by Chicago's legendary Artistic Heritage Ensemble! The record's got an even farther-reaching sound than the group's self-titled effort – a flowing style that unfolds as their tribute to Malcolm rolls on – starting spare and earthy at first, then picking up a fuller, prouder, much more righteous groove as things really get going! As before, there's plenty of heavy percussion at the bottom of most tracks – topped by complicated horn passages that often verge on the exotic – and which have a tremendously captivating sound. The ensemble's led by the great Phil Cohran, who played with Sun Ra for a bit, and also plays cornet on the record – the rest of the group includes Charles Williams, Don Myrick, Louis Satterfield, Pete Cosey, Henry Gibson, Willie Woods, and Aaron Dodd – a lineup of players who also worked with Sun Ra, The Pharoahs, and Earth Wind & Fire! The LP's a suite of 4 tracks dedicated to Malcolm X, each capturing a period of his life, "Malcolm Little", "Detroit Red", "Malcolm X", and "El Hajj Malik El Shabazz".

An amazing lost recording from Kahil El'Zabar – and a Ritual Trio record to rival the great sessions cut for the Sound Aspects label in the 80s! As on some of those records, this one features Kahil's beautiful percussion blended with the bass work of Malachi Favors and trumpet of Lester Bowie – both players who step out here in ways that are even more soulful and spiritual than their performances with the Art Ensemble of Chicago! The tracks are very lean, organic, and build beautifully during the course of the recording – these thoughtfully-flowing numbers that are a perfect summation of the essence that Kahil was trying to get at with the Ritual Trio – almost a more spiritual, righteous take on the Great Black Music ideas forged by the AACM – taken to territory that was even more naturalistic than before. Favors' playing is amazing – and the recording is a perfect example of why his work on bass has always been so revolutionary – and Bowie is really at his best too, with none of the hoke that he could sometimes pick up in his later years. Titles include "Inner Sanctum", "Ju Ju Call", "In The Belly Of Now", "Dawning Of The Aware Ones", "The Ancestors Are Among Us", and "Celestial Dance".

It's hard to believe the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble is 35 years old – especially when Kahil El'Zabar looks so young on the cover, and when the group's sound is fresher than ever! The album's got a really beautiful, timeless sort of feel – spiritual jazz that few groups can play this well – balanced between El'Zabar's percussion and kalimba, the trumpet of Corey Wilkes, and the saxes of Ernest Dawkins – all key players in the Chicago scene, carrying on a rich tradition of AACM expression and other spiritual sounds. The album's wonderfully free from gimmicks – some of the most back to basics work we've heard from Kahil in years, and a great reminder of why we first fell in love with his music a few decades back – and the balance of the two horn players over percussion really creates a strong sense of power in the record – a bold vision that comes through beautifully! Titles include "Barundi", "Kari", "Oof", "All Blues", and "Ornette".

A spiritually-resonant set from vocalist Dwight Trible – one of the greatest jazz singers of the past few decades! Trible's got a depth that few others can match – a quality that takes us back to the glory days of Leon Thomas with Pharoah Sanders, or Joe Lee Wilson on the Paris scene of the 70s – but heard only on a handful of albums under his own name, plus work with the Build An Ark collective and Life Force Trio! Cosmic reminds us of everything we loved about Dwight's Living Water album a few years back, and this one may be even stronger – sung with a yearning, soaring, soul-shaking voice that's perfect for both the original material, and a few well-chosen classics. Trible is backed by a stellar group of musicians that includes John Beasley on piano and organ and George Harper on tenor sax – and titles include "Speak To Us Of Love", "I've Known Rivers", "In The Beginning GOD", "Love Is Forever", "Little Afrika", "Algeriangeles", "Hyku For Peace/Come Ye", "It's All About Love" and a glorious take on the Five Stairsteps soul classic "Ooh Child"!

A cooker of a record from Lester Bowie – one that takes the earlier sound of the Brass Fantasy ensemble, and focuses it into a mode that shows his growing love of soul and funk! The set was issued on the the short-lived Venture imprint of Virgin – a surprisingly strong outlook for creative projects like this – and the vibe's quite different than the Brass Fantasy records cut for ECM – with almost a bit more soul at the bottom, and a compact sort of energy that really sends the ideas home. Players include Bowie, Stanton Davis, Malachi Thompson, and Sasul Siddik on trumpets – plus Steve Turre and Frank Lacy on trombones, Vincent Chancey on French horn, Bob Stewart on tuba, and Phil Wilson on drums. Titles include a surprisingly great remake of "Thriller" – plus "Vibe Waltz", "I Am With You", "Duke's Fantasy", "Personality", and "Twilight Dreams".

A long-lost session from Chicago tenorist Fred Anderson – recorded in the early 90s, but only just released! The album's a treasure from a time when Anderson wasn't as well-documented as he's been in recent years – and it's got a beautifully open sort of sound – just a spare trio, with the great Malachi Favors on bass and Arajamu on drums. Anderson's tone is wonderful – deeply soulful, and almost more focused than on some other records – burning with a low flame intensity that reminds us of similar late 60s moments from Albert Ayler or Kalaparusha – points when they're more inside than usual, but in a great way. Favors' bass work is a treat, as always – and gets plenty of space to shine here – and in a way, it may well be the understated drums of Arajamu that make the whole session click so nicely. Titles include "Ode To Clifford Jordan", "Wandering", "Our Theme", "Saxoon", "Three On Two", "Bernice", "The Strut Time", and "Malachi's Tune".

A rare and beautiful treasure from Chicago's Phil Cohran and his legendary Artistic Heritage Ensemble – material recorded at the end of the 60s, but only issued here for the first time ever! The sound on the record is amazing – much deeper, and more forceful than anything else we've ever heard from Cohran – almost in Sun Ra Arkestra territory at times, given the group's out-there playing, and bold collective action! The lineup is similar to other Cohran recordings from the time – Phil on cornet, Henry Gibson on congas, Pete Cosey on guitar, Louis Satterfield on bass, Charles Williams on alto, Don Myrick on tenor, Charles Handy on trumpet, Willie Woods on trombone, and Aaron Dodd on tuba – a group that's a wonderful bridge between the two important Chicago generations headed by Sun Ra and Earth Wind & Fire. Armageddon is an extended piece, divided up into five different musical acts – conceived by Cohran in the late 50s, and recorded here in 1968 – with some great help from The Spencer Jackson Family on the leadoff track "Motherless Child". Other titles include "Creation Of The Beast", "The Warning", "The Window", and "Armageddon" – a clear reference to the power of the atom bomb!

Trumpeter Corey Wilkes and a great group pay homage to Miles Davis at Chicago's legendary Velvet Lounge in May of 2010! Miles' spirit and soul are in each note here, but the group doesn't set out to simply cover the material – these are fresh, yet deeply influenced perspectives. It kicks off with a slow-building take on the Jerome Kern-penned "Yesterdays" that feels like Miles' late 60s style, and it works really well. The pieces are each pretty spacious and it's great that way – you don't want 'em to end! Kevin Nabors is on tenor, Greg Spero on keys, Junius Paul on bass, Xavier Breaker on drums and Kahil El Zabar on percussion. Includes "Yesterdays", "It's About That Time", "Tutu" and "So What/In It's Right Place" – running 15 to 26+ minutes each.

A really well-titled set from the legendary Phil Cohran – as the album's one of his most meditative efforts ever – a beautiful single piece, spun over the course of the entire album, with slow-changing instrumentation that's wonderfully seductive! Phil's in a near solo mode here – playing harp, cornet, zither, and his legendary frankiphone – with just a bit of guitar and keyboards to accompany his lead solos – making for a really warm, open space that shows Cohran at his most sensitive ever! The work runs for over 45 minutes, and is a great illustration of the space that Phil's been exploring strongly in more recent years.

An all star hip hop project on Stones Throw – music by the core Quakers trio of Invada Records partners Katalyst & 7Stu7, plus a cat billed as Fuzzface (actually Geoff Barrow of Portishead) – featuring a sick lineup of guests including Guilty Simpson, Jonwayne, Aloe Blacc, Buff1, Diverse, Botty Brown, Phat Kat, Frank Nitty, MED, Prince Po, Finale and more! The Quakers set out with the simple goal of of making the kind of hip hop record they'd want to listen to, trends be damned . . .and it's damn good! Heavy beats and sinister bass lines are a common thread, but this a celebration of depth and diversity in the leftfield hip hop idiom – 41 fairly brief tracks that flow impeccably well and with standout rhymes from an impossibly strong roster of guests. Includes "Big Cat" with Synato Watts, "The Lo", "Sidewinder" with Buff1, "Dark City Lights" with Frank Nitty, "War Drums" feat Phat Kat & Guilty Simpson, "Rock My Soul" feat Prince Po, "Rock My Soul" feat Prince Po, "Sign Language" feat Aloe Blacc, "Oh Goodness" feat Finale and much more.