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Stunning funk from the great Dizzy Gillespie – light years away from his early bop recordings! The album's a slammin batch of 70s instrumentals – Dizzy's trumpet firmly in the lead over electric backings that have more than a bit of funk in them. The bass is the main driving factor of the tunes – played either by Phil Upchurch or Chuck Rainey – and the tracks bounce along with a fierce and righteous groove that also includes hard riffing on guitar and some sweet piano lines. Players include Mike Longo, James Moody, and Bernard Purdie – and tracks include "N'Bani", "Matrix", "Soul Kiss", "Ding A Ling", and "Alligator". Great stuff, and a crucial album in Dizzy's lost career! Damn funky, too.

A cool European set from Lee Konitz – quite different than some of his other material recorded overseas at the time, with a swinging, upbeat feel that's totally great! The group's a nonet – a large ensemble that features Lee on alto and soprano sax, with Ronnie Cuber on baritone, Kimmy Kneper on trombone, Red Rodney on trumpet, and Sam Burtis on bass trombone. The arrangements for the horns are really wonderful – kind of echoing an older west coast mode, but with lots of the new modernisms that Konitz picked up during the late 60s and 70s – forged into some beautiful tunes that sparkle with fresh changes, great solos, and a compelling dynamic energy. Rhythm is from Ben Aronov on electric and acoustic piano, Ray Drummond on bass, and Billy Hart on drums – and titles include "Moon Dreams", "April", "Who You", "Without A Song", "Times Lie", and "Matrix".

Amazing work from Sun Ra – record that really features a great range of sounds and styles, and a heck of a lot of soul as well! Ra plays some especially nice rocksichord on the set – that freaky, fuzzy keyboard that comes off sounding like a guitar, even though it's played with keys – and there's some spiritual undercurrents to the set that are different than some of Ra's other albums with the instrument – some deeply feeling rhythms and soulful, spiritual expressions that really belie the Space Is The Place generation in which the album was cut. A few recitations imbue the record with a bold sense of poetry, which seems to be carried through strongly in the instrumentation too – especially on John Gilmore's tenor lines, which almost have a Shepp-like quality at points. Other players include Marshal Allen and Danny Davis on alto, Ahk Tal Ebah on trumpet, Clifford Jarvis on drums, and Sly on electric guitar – and titles include "Song No 1", "There Is Change In The Air", "Antique Blacks", "Would I For All That Place", "Ridiculous I & The Cosmos Me", and "This Song Is Dedicated To Nature's God".