A tribute to Wes Montgomery, in case you can't guess by the title – with a number of tunes penned by Wes himself! Other players include Bob James on piano and keyboards, Dave Witham on Hammond B3, Harvey Mason on drums and percussion, and Alan Broadbent on piano. CD

Titles include "A Little Bumpin'", "Uptown", "Boss City", "San Juan Sunset", "Rio Funk", and "Pacific Nights". CD

With a mixture of US jazz and Brazilian players – including Dave Grusin, Bob James, Joao Bosco, Carlinhos Brown, and Caetano Veloso! Titles include "Night Rhythms", "Latin Lovers", "Rio Sol", "Humana", "Linda", and "New York/Brazil". CD

On The Line has a style that's a bit keyboard-heavy – in a way that seems to borrow from some of the 80s soundtrack work of the time, and which is clearly a nod to the success of the Lyle Mays/Pat Metheny sound that was breaking big on ECM. The move is a nice one for Lee on the best cuts – those that underplay the cheesier aspects of the style – and other players on the album are a batch of likely suspects that include Harvey Mason, Dave Grusin, Ernie Watts, and Steve Forman. Titles include "The Rit Variations", "Dolphin Dreams", "California Roll", "On The Line", "Tush", and "Heavenly Bodies". CD

On The Line has a style that's a bit keyboard-heavy – in a way that seems to borrow from some of the 80s soundtrack work of the time, and which is clearly a nod to the success of the Lyle Mays/Pat Metheny sound that was breaking big on ECM. The move is a nice one for Lee on the best cuts – those that underplay the cheesier aspects of the style – and other players on the album are a batch of likely suspects that include Harvey Mason, Dave Grusin, Ernie Watts, and Steve Forman. Titles include "The Rit Variations", "Dolphin Dreams", "California Roll", "On The Line", "Tush", and "Heavenly Bodies". CD

Funky, soulful, and completely sublime work from keyboardist Gene Harris – working here with some great help from Jerry Peters on arrangement and production – in a style that makes the album one of Harris' most compelling sets of the 70s! The backings are full, but tight too – and in addition to Gene's own sweet work on keyboards, the set's also got some massive drums from Harvey Mason and James Gadson – both of whom really help things crackle at the bottom! Other instrumental highlights include more keyboards from Jerry Peters, tenor from Azar Lawrence, and trombone from George Bohannon – plus guitar from Lee Ritenour too. There's a bit of vocals on the set – mostly a soul chorus sort of mode that works perfect with Peters' groovy arrangements – and titles include "Love For Sale", "Theme For Relana", "Rebop", "Zulu", and "Soft Cycles". CD

John Pisano joined by Gene Bertoncini, Dori Caymmi, Joe Diorio, Ted Greene, Lee Ritenour, and Phil Upchurch. CD

Lee Ritenour on guitar, Bob James on keyboards, Nathan East on bass, and Harvey Mason on drums. CD

Fourplay is Bob James, Nathan East, Chuck Loeb, and Harvey Mason – with guest work by Lee Ritenour, Larry Carlton, and Kirk Whalum. CD

One of the earliest of bassist Alphonso Johnson's funky fusion albums for Epic! Moonshadows is a nice little set of choppy grooves that recalls the best Herbie Hancock moments of the early 70s, plus some of the side projects of the Headhunters. Warmly funky, but with a nice edge – with a more jazz funk rooted sound than the later, slightly heavier Spellbound! The great group of players includes Patrice Rushen is on keyboards, Benny Maupin on reeds, Lee Ritenour on guitars, Airto Moriera on percussion, Gary Bartz on sax, plus Narada Michael Walden and Ndugu Chancler on drums. Tracks include "Stump", "Cosmoba Place", "Involuntary Bliss", "On The Case", "Amarteifio", "Pandora's Box" and the breezy "Up From The Cellar", which features vocals by Flora Purim! CD

A pair of overlooked female soul gems – back to back on a single CD! The first album is It Must Be Love – sweet late 70s modern soul from Alton McClain & Destiny – a great little female vocal trio with a sound that ranges from lightly funky with jazzy flourishes, to soaringly soulful! The group kind of follow in a tradition started by Honeycone and First Choice, and improved upon by The Emotions – and like that latter group, the girls move from the easier disco tracks that you'd normally expect, into a range of soulful styles that all come off equally well with their vocal technique. Webster Lewis handled some of the nice string arrangements – and players include Wah Wah Watson on guitar and Lee Ritenour on keys. titles include "Crazy Love", "Sweet Temptation", "Taking My Love For Granted", "My Empty Room", "Push & Pull", and "The Power Of Love". More Of You is one of the best records by this great little modern soul trio who should have gone onto bigger and better things. The session's got a strong mellow groove, typical of some of the non-hit soul coming out of labels like Polydor and Capitol at the end of the 70s – and tracks include "Stares & Whispers", "Love Waves", "More Of You", "99 1/2", "You Bring Me To My Morning Light", and "Thank Heaven For You". CD

Three wonderful albums from this legendary Brazilian singer – all presented in a single set! First up is Nothing Will Be As It Was Tomorrow – a record that's quite different from Flora's earlier work, but in a way that we find very compelling! The record was produced by Leon Ndugu Chancler, and it's got a smooth fusion sound that's kind of in a southern California R&B mode, played by a huge range of excellent Brazilian and west coast talents that include Patrice Rushen, Dorothy Ashby, Fred Jackson, Raul De Souza, Toninho Horta, and Airto. While this sound overwhelms the core of Flora's usual Brazilian jazz approach, it also expands some of the tracks to a great groove – with Flora's vocals on top, stretching out in a whole new way! Includes a great English language version of the Milton Nascimento classic "Nada Sera Como Antes", plus the cuts "You Love Me Only", "I'm Coming For Your Love", "Corre Nina", "Angels", "Bridges", and "Fairy Tale Song". Every Day Every Night is a beautifully soulful record from Flora Purim – still awash with touches from her Brazilian roots, but also done with a great 70s LA sound! Airto's helping Flora out on production, but the real hero here is Michel Colombier – who handles most of the arrangements and wrote a good deal of the tunes with Purim and Airto – mixing his own expansive studio talents with their organically-forged groove, in a way that makes the record a real standout from the California fusion scene of the 70s! Players include Randy Brecker, Lee Ritenour, George Duke, Herbie Hancock, Harvey Mason, and other jazz heavyweights – and titles include "The Hope", "I Just Don't Know", "In Brasil", "Blues Ballad", "Why I'm Alone", "Walking Away", and "Samba Michel". Carry On is one of Flora Purim's more R&B-sounding albums from the 70s, produced by George Duke with an appreciation for Flora's Brazilian jazz roots, but with a smoother sound that's in keeping with Duke's own work of the time! The combination is pretty sweet – a professional culmination of the mixture of fusion and Brazilian jazz that had been happening in the San Francisco scene during most of the 70s, and featuring many of the musicians who had helped make that groove so strong. Players include Airto, Sheila Escovedo, Joe Farrell, Ronnie Foster, Bobby Lyle, and Larry Williams – and tracks include "Niura Is Coming Back", "From The Lonely Afternoon", "Freeway Jam", "Beijo Partido", "Corine", and "Love Lock". Includes bonus tracks too – "Tango Blues" and "Sad Song". CD

The first 2 albums as a leader from keyboardist Patrice Rushen! Prelusion is a great set from Patrice – very different than her later R&B work from the 80s! The record's her first, and at the time, Patrice was much more of a jazz artist – working here with a cool west coast set of players (Joe Henderson on tenor, Hadley Caliman on alto and soprano, and Oscar Brashear on trumpet), playing a range of keyboards, from acoustic and electric piano, to ARP, and clavinet. The tracks are long, and have a wonderfully composed soul jazz vibe – feeling a heck of a lot like work on labels like Strata East, deeply dipping into a soulful bag that's solid and real, with no fakery or tricks to make the mood happen. Includes "Traverse", "Shortie's Portion", "7/73", and "Haw Right Now". Before The Dawn has Patrice working in a groove that's almost like that of Herbie Hancock at the time – using lots of electric piano, clavinet, and synth to craft some mighty fine jazz funk grooves. The group's a monster assemblage of Fantasy jazz players like Hubert Laws, Lee Ritenour, Hadley Caliman, and Harvey Mason – and the session crackles with a tight edge that you'll never find in any of Patrice's later work. Tracks are long, with lots of great spacey grooves, and titles include "Razzia", "Before The Dawn", "Kickin Back", and "Jubilation". Note: CD omits the track "Puttered Bopcorn" from Prelusion – due to space restrictions. CD

Features Chick Corea on piano, Gary Burton on vibes, and Lee Ritenour on guitar. CD

With Kenny Baron, Ron Carter, George Cables, Stanley Clarke, Jack DeJohnette, George Duke, Herbie Hancock, Louis Hayes, Dave Holland, Mark Levine, Harvey Mason, Airto Moreira, Julian Priester, Lee Ritenour, Woody Shaw, Lenny White, and others. CD