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Live material from the personal collection of Ginger Baker – his Baker Gurvitz Army, doing it live in Milan in the mid 70s! The Army came together a bit earlier in the 70s, featuring the most incredible and legendary drummer Baker with Paul and Adrian Gurvitz on guitar and bass, and vocalist Mr Snips. Titles include "Hearts On Fire", "People" "Night People", "White Room", "Mystery", "Thirsty For The Blues", "Neon Lights", "Inside of Me", "Memory Lane" and more.

One of the hippest albums that John Lewis ever recorded – and a set that's noteworthy for the presence of two European modernists! Most of the record features Lewis in a wonderful group with trobmonist Albert Mangelsdorff – who gets plenty of space here to play in his stepping, stuttering style – one of the more angular approaches to trombone in the 60s, and a nice contrast to the piano of Lewis. The group shared by both features Karl Theodor Geier on bass and Silvije Glojarnic on drums – and titles include "Animal Dance", "Set Em Up", "Monday In Milan", and "Why Are You Blue". But possibly even better than these sides is the album's one track by the amazing Zagreb Jazz Quartet – a group that features Bosko Petrovic on vibes, in a style that's somewhat inspired by the MJQ, but a fair bit darker too! The group play the wonderful "Ornaments" – awash in blue tones and richly chromatic vibes.

Louie Vega on Fania Records – a long-overdue match that really makes for some amazing sounds on this set! The pairing isn't that much of a surprise – given that Louie's done plenty to keep Latin music alive in the past few decades in the clubs – from his own Nuyorican Soul experiments, to some of the key remixes he's done for other artists. Yet this time around, there's something extra-special going on – not only a presentation of the Vega sound that's even tighter than before, but which has a way of pulling together a rich array of historical strands – and not just the salsa you might expect from Fania! Rootsy elements mix perfectly with tight club instrumentation – and the set features great guest work from Josh Milan, Lisa Fischer, Cindy Mizelle, and Anane – on cuts that include some very cool covers – including "Overtake Don Overtake Overtake", "Barbara Ann", "I Believe In Miracles", "Sodade", "I Dream A World", "Harlem River Drive", "Berimbau", and "Children Of The World". 2CD version features a massive 24 tracks – including some bonus remixes too!

Louie Vega on Fania Records – a long-overdue match that really makes for some amazing sounds on this set! The pairing isn't that much of a surprise – given that Louie's done plenty to keep Latin music alive in the past few decades in the clubs – from his own Nuyorican Soul experiments, to some of the key remixes he's done for other artists. Yet this time around, there's something extra-special going on – not only a presentation of the Vega sound that's even tighter than before, but which has a way of pulling together a rich array of historical strands – and not just the salsa you might expect from Fania! Rootsy elements mix perfectly with tight club instrumentation – and the set features great guest work from Josh Milan, Lisa Fischer, Cindy Mizelle, and Anane – on cuts that include some very cool covers – including "Overtake Don Overtake Overtake", "Barbara Ann", "I Believe In Miracles", "Sodade", "I Dream A World", "Harlem River Drive", "Berimbau", and "Children Of The World".

In the tradition of the excellent other compilations on the Cosmic Sounds label – this set features some killer jazz and funk gems from Yugoslavia, the kinds of tunes that we might have missed otherwise, thanks to the Iron Curtain! Finding the set's like discovering a pile of great records in the back of some dusty bookshop in a neighborhood you've never visited before – as each one's got a different groove, mixing together electric funk with big band swinging and small combo modal grooving. Titles include "Quo Vadis Samba" by Dusko Goykovich, "Balkan Express" by RTB Big Band, "Memory" by Misha Blam, "Emina" by Lala Kovacev, "Bags Groove" by Milan Stojanovic, and "String Em" by Bora Rokovic.

Spacey funk and electronic sound library grooves from the mid 70s to early 80s – great stuff with a focus on the neon lighted, pulsating synth enhanced sounds of a perceived future – and previously unreleased! It's earliest material in the set is a Bernard Estardy track from 1975 that feels like a real precursor to the later grooves to come – Moog heavy spaciness that's more akin to early 80s grooves – which this set is heavily steeped in – with material by Marc Monsen, John Fiddy & Sammy Burdson, Gunter Greffenius, James Saunders and many more. Electro disco theme music, dramatic synth sequences, space funk and synth sounds galore! Includes "Robotory" by John Fiddy & Sammy Burdson, "Evasion" by Claude Perraudin, "Jupiter" by Gaston Borreani, "A Chance To Win 1 & 2 (Edit)" by Milan Pilar, "Video Funk" by VDB Joel, "Hercules" by Chris Evans-Ironside, "Tic Tac Ring" by Bernard Estardy, "Space Race" by Sammy Burdson, "Point Of Impact" by Gunter Greffenius and more. 16 tracks in all.

A smashing selection of soulful tunes from the Hurst series – all contemporary numbers, all underground, with plenty of gems you've likely not heard before! As with the first volume, the ear for a great track is key to the set – a really well-chosen batch of tunes that goes past the obvious heavy-hitters in the Neo Soul scene, to present some key up and comers, as well as a few familiar talents in some new mixes. Titles include the excellent 12" gem "1960 What (Gerardo Frisina Cuban soul mix)" by Gregory Porter – plus "Hit The Devil" by Room 56, "Pay Day" by Milan Ring, "Be Free" by Moonchild, "I'm Waiting On You" by Michon Young, "I'll Take You There" by Boukou Groove, "Everything I Need (ext mix)" by Maz, "Renovation" by Jazz Collective, and "Freedom" by Gabriele Poso.

Spacey, funky, and wonderful! During the 60s and 70s, the Iron Curtain prevented most of us from hearing some of the fantastic sounds that were cooking in Eastern Europe – where obscure jazz funk combos were grooving away in styles that were very different than those heard in the US and Western Europe. There's no easy way to describe the music, because it was so varied and inventive – but this excellent set of 10 rare Czechoslovakian tracks should go a long way to filling in some of the gaps in this lost history! Many of the tracks on the set have a fantastically baroque sound – sort of a mix of MPS crossover styles, and David Axelrod-type "big picture" production ventures – and they begin with wild washes of sound that soon settle into a harder funky groove. Keyboards collide with voices mix with guitars punctuated by drums sealed with basslines – and the whole thing's chopped apart by some funky frenetic sax work. That's only part of the picture, though – and although we can't come up with the words to describe the set adequately, it's one of the freshest compilations we've heard in years, filled with excellent grooves to take our listening to a whole new level! Titles include "The Lost Sheep" by SHQ, "Proklamation" by Milan Svoboda, "The Third Eye" by The Keyboard Conclave, "The Earth" by Jiri Stivin, "Nijana" by Jana Koubkova, and "Life's Little Games" by Karel Ruzicka.

Spacey, funky, and wonderful! During the 60s and 70s, the Iron Curtain prevented most of us from hearing some of the fantastic sounds that were cooking in Eastern Europe – where obscure jazz funk combos were grooving away in styles that were very different than those heard in the US and Western Europe. There's no easy way to describe the music, because it was so varied and inventive – but this excellent set of 10 rare Czechoslovakian tracks should go a long way to filling in some of the gaps in this lost history! Many of the tracks on the set have a fantastically baroque sound – sort of a mix of MPS crossover styles, and David Axelrod-type "big picture" production ventures – and they begin with wild washes of sound that soon settle into a harder funky groove. Keyboards collide with voices mix with guitars punctuated by drums sealed with basslines – and the whole thing's chopped apart by some funky frenetic sax work. That's only part of the picture, though – and although we can't come up with the words to describe the set adequately, it's one of the freshest compilations we've heard in years, filled with excellent grooves to take our listening to a whole new level! Titles include "The Lost Sheep" by SHQ, "Proklamation" by Milan Svoboda, "The Third Eye" by The Keyboard Conclave, "The Earth" by Jiri Stivin, "Nijana" by Jana Koubkova, and "Life's Little Games" by Karel Ruzicka.

Excellent funky jazz work from Eastern Europe – very much in the spirit of recent compilations on the Jazzanova label, or similar sets on Cosmic Sounds. The album collects sublime material from the vaults of Supraphon, a hip Czech label that cut records so cool they're beyond description. The 8 tunes on the set are a mixture of Latin jazz, big band grooves, and funky electric fusion – but they all share a wonderfully fresh approach to arrangements, with modal bits hitting straighter jazz bits hitting choppy rhythmic grooving, in a blend so cool it'll have you digging through record shops for all things Czech. There's a lot of similar styles to some of the best 70s MPS work on the record – and you can also hear the influence of the music on some of the current European groove scene. Titles include "Presage" and "Wizard" by Jazz Q, "Memory" and "Dance For Two" by Gustav Brom, "Cubano Chant" by SHQ, "Dew Drop" by Kamil Hala & CZ Radio Jazz Orchestra, and "Wait For Me" by Milan Svoboda & Prague Big Band.

Disco Fever was quite a disease in the late 70s – especially contagious if you happened to be recording for Casablanca Records! In this case, it doesn't do too much damage to The Sylvers, who'd been moving that way already on their Capitol Records – and it does give them the chance to work here with Harold Faltermeyer, who handled all the arrangements on the record. All tracks are fast, done in the sing-song vocal mode that the group had been using on their pop hits from the mid 70s. The album was recorded in Munich, LA, and Milan – and titles include "Gimme Gimme Your Lovin", "Mahogany", "Dance Right Now", "I Feel So Good Tonight", and "Forever".

The rare second set from the Catch Up combo of the 70s – a cool German group with a very MPS-like groove – a nicely messed-up mix of funk and jazz elements, sorted out into a great new groove! The group's headed by bassist Milan Pilar – whose electric instrument really has a great way of bringing things up from the bottom – guiding the more freewheeling elements with a nice pulse that never lets the proceedings get too out of hand – but does allow for plenty of interplay between Herb Geller on alto and soprano sax, Ack Van Rooyen on trumpet, Max Greger Jr on piano, Rudi Wilfer on keyboards, and other group members on percussion. Things are pretty darn funky throughout – with a great sort of sound library groove – and titles include "Clown", "To Ali Cante", "End Of The Beginning Of The End", "Uru", "Bigosh", and "Birth Of The Second Life".

One of the more obscure reissues to come out on the great Rearward imprint – but an excellent lost session of piano jazz, recorded in Milan in 1969! Pianist Oscar Rocchi has a sweet soulful approach to the piano, with a tone that's almost slightly funky at times – partly in reflection to the strong bass work by Cornelio Dattoli, and tight drumming by Gianni Cazzola. The record almost reminds us of some of the excellent 70s Japanese trio recordings by American pianists – and the whole set has a nice warm quality that you wouldn't expect from a record titled Abstraction! Includes a version of Edu Lobo's "Cancao Do Amanhecer", plus "FBM Blues", "Moment Of Joy", "Ivory Isle", and "Remember Coltrane".

Spacey funk and electronic sound library grooves from the mid 70s to early 80s – great stuff with a focus on the neon lighted, pulsating synth enhanced sounds of a perceived future – and previously unreleased! It's earliest material in the set is a Bernard Estardy track from 1975 that feels like a real precursor to the later grooves to come – Moog heavy spaciness that's more akin to early 80s grooves – which this set is heavily steeped in – with material by Marc Monsen, John Fiddy & Sammy Burdson, Gunter Greffenius, James Saunders and many more. Electro disco theme music, dramatic synth sequences, space funk and synth sounds galore! Includes "Robotory" by John Fiddy & Sammy Burdson, "Evasion" by Claude Perraudin, "Jupiter" by Gaston Borreani, "A Chance To Win 1 & 2 (Edit)" by Milan Pilar, "Video Funk" by VDB Joel, "Hercules" by Chris Evans-Ironside, "Tic Tac Ring" by Bernard Estardy, "Space Race" by Sammy Burdson, "Point Of Impact" by Gunter Greffenius and more. 16 tracks in all.

A really cool set that showcases some of the best talents in the Czech jazz scene at the start of the 60s – a set that features a different soloist on every track – although core backings that link the whole thing together nicely, even as each number allows a strong sense of musical individuality! Most Czech players didn't get the same kind of exposure as other Eastern European jazz musicians – especially not at this early stage – so the set is a really wonderful representation of this near-lost scene, one that has some surprisingly modern touches – more than enough to link it to the best Polish jazz of the time! The set features work by Karel Velebny on vibes, Karel Krautgartner and Frantisek Navaratil on alto sax, Antonin Julina on guitar, Milan Ulirch on tenor, Jaromir Hnilicka on trumpet, and Artur Hollitzer on trombone – and titles include "One Window", "Two Marmots", "Lento", "Suite For Trumpet", "At The Fair Of Lisen", "You", and "Good People Haven't Died Out Yet".

Includes Beethoven's "Symphony No 1 In C Op 21" and the "Egmont Ouverture Op 84", plus Wagner's "Lohengrin, Prelude To Ackt III", "Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg, Prelude To Act I", and "Tannhauser, Overture & Venusberg Music".

Amazing stuff – and one of Chris Connor's greatest records for Atlantic! There's a depth to this set that passes some of her others from the time – partially because the album features a very hip set of tunes, written by Ornette Coleman, Norman Mapp, John Lewis, Peggy Lee, and others – and partially because the album has some sublime arrangements by Al Cohn that easily shift between darkness and swinging brilliance – all with that perfect sense of balance that Connor brought to her best sessions. Titles include "I'm Gonna Go Fishin", "Jump For Joy", "Night Bird", "Opportunity Please Knock", "Milano", "Day Dream", "Free Spirits", and a great version of "Lonely Woman"!

A great compendium of album and 45 cover art for always fun to look at, often horrible to listen to records released by actors, athletes and other celebrities! Feast upon the cover art for records by Don Johnson, Morton Downey Jr, The Chicago Bears, John Schneider, Alyssa Milano, Eddie Murphy, David Hasselhoff, The Brady Bunch, Ed McMahon, Goldie Hawn, Anthony Quinn, John Davidson, Mister Rogers and many more. Paperback, 127 pages.

Reel-y great grooves from Shawn Lee – perhaps his funkiest record in years, and one that has a definite cinematic feel too – as you might guess from the title! The style here is blacksploitation funk at its finest – stripped down to its best core elements, and served up by Lee with a lean, mean groove that shows that he really understands the roots of the genre – and knows how to get the sound just right – while still bringing in some of his own core touches too! As we've come to expect from Shawn, the beats are mighty nice – and the album's overflowing with breaks – plenty of funk to drive along the album's heavy keyboards and guitar riffs in the lead. Titles include "Boomwack", "The Definition Of Funk", "Big Ben", "Rocks On Rocks", "Soho Chase", "Straight To Video", "Piano Milano", "Daylight Robbery", and "Biker Chick".

Reel-y great grooves from Shawn Lee – perhaps his funkiest record in years, and one that has a definite cinematic feel too – as you might guess from the title! The style here is blacksploitation funk at its finest – stripped down to its best core elements, and served up by Lee with a lean, mean groove that shows that he really understands the roots of the genre – and knows how to get the sound just right – while still bringing in some of his own core touches too! As we've come to expect from Shawn, the beats are mighty nice – and the album's overflowing with breaks – plenty of funk to drive along the album's heavy keyboards and guitar riffs in the lead. Titles include "Boomwack", "The Definition Of Funk", "Big Ben", "Rocks On Rocks", "Soho Chase", "Straight To Video", "Piano Milano", "Daylight Robbery", and "Biker Chick".

Sweet jazzy grooves from this hip Italian duo – Enzo & Gianni Lo Greco, who've also recorded as Quintetto Lo Greco for Schema Records! The sound here is definitely in a Schema groove – lots of jazzy instrumentation on piano, sax, trumpet, and trombone – very much in the best 60s Italian jazz mode, but kicked up just a bit with some rhythms aimed at the dancefloor – never too over the top, and all acoustic all the way through – a club jazz groove that's perfect for anyone who also digs work on labels like DejaVu or Ricky Tick! There's a bit of vocals on the record – sung by guests Alice Ricciardi, Felix, Katharine Ruestow, Roxie Ray, and Dionne Charles – and titles include "Sam Blues", "Feelin Good", "Don't Cry", "Much More", "Broken Rose", "Iperbole", "Please Don't Go", "Sweet Love", "Changes", and "Goodbye".

A stone classic from the Modern Jazz Quartet – recorded back when the group still featured Kenny Clarke in its membership, but already with some of the more serious, somber tones that would mark the combo's more famous years! Tracks here are from a variety of sessions in 1953, 1954, and 1955 – and trace an evolution of the MJQ style from initial more composed renditions of bop and modern jazz, to some of the more ambitious colors and tones of the Lewis-penned songbook. Titles include longish readings of "Django" and "La Ronde Suite", plus "Milano", "But Not For Me", "The Queen's Fancy", and "Delaunay's Dilemma".

A stone classic from the Modern Jazz Quartet – recorded back when the group still featured Kenny Clarke in its membership, but already with some of the more serious, somber tones that would mark the combo's more famous years! Tracks here are from a variety of sessions in 1953, 1954, and 1955 – and trace an evolution of the MJQ style from initial more composed renditions of bop and modern jazz, to some of the more ambitious colors and tones of the Lewis-penned songbook. Titles include longish readings of "Django" and "La Ronde Suite", plus "Milano", "But Not For Me", "The Queen's Fancy", and "Delaunay's Dilemma".

A surprisingly nice album of straight ahead tenor tracks from David Murray – playing here in a quartet with guitarist Stanley Franks, drummer Andrew Cyrille, and the great Don Pullen, who plays organ on the session! The album's not exactly in the classic soul jazz organ/tenor mode – but it is one of the few that Murray ever recorded, and it's quite interesting to hear him in this sort of a format. Plus, it was also one of the few recorded during that magic year of 1991 – when DIW really seemed to be getting things right, turning out some of the few truly genius albums in the history of the label. Titles include "Milano Strut", "Black February", "At The Cafe Central", "In The Spirit", and "High Priest".

The essence of Duke Ellington – but in the hands of William Parker, it's a very different thing than you might expect! The group here is larger than usual for Parker – a great ensemble used in ways that definitely echo some of Ellington's more inventive scoring, especially his mature use of tone and color – yet both the solos and ensemble moments go way way farther than anything the Duke might have imagined – all the bold, righteous brilliance that we've come to love in Parker's own recordings – focused back on one of his greatest inspirations. The lineup is quite impressive – as musicians include Roy Campbell on trumpet, Ras Moshe on tenor and soprano, Rob Brown and Darius Jones on alto, Sabir Mateen on clarinet and tenor, Steve Swell on trombone, Dave Burrell on piano, Hamid Drake on drums, and Parker himself on bass – and titles include "Take The Coltrane", "Essence Of Sophisticated Lady/Sophisticated Lady", "Caravan", "Essence Of Ellington", "Take The A Train/Ebony Interlude", and "Portrait Of Louisiana".

Nice one! This is a groovy reissue of the soundtrack to Milano Violenta, written by Enrico Pieranunzi and Silvano Chimenti, and performed by the funky studio group Pulsar Music Ltd. The feel of the album is similar to that of some of the best tracks on the Stroboscopia comps – with lots of tight drums, rumbling basslines, and cool electric moments. The whole thing is very groovy all the way through – with no dead moments, and a good mix of cool themes that keeps changing all the time. Titles include "High Tension", "Subway", "Blue Funk", "Cat Theme", "Obsession", and "Dreamland".

Another compilation from Planet Mu, included artists are Pinch, Boxcutter, Benga, Milanese, MRK1, and others. The second, bonus CD is a mix by DJ Hatcha including artists from Planet Mu's roster.

Excellent funky and groovy tracks pulled from the catalog of the legendary Cinevox Records – home to some of Italy's greatest soundtrack work of the 60s and 70s! Sure, we've had some of the label's great stuff on single CDs – but this set pulls from a lot of soundtracks that haven't been reissued yet, and also includes a number of tracks that were never issued before at all! There's plenty of funky drums, fuzzy guitars, groovy organ, and lots of other nice bits in the set's 16 tracks – and the overall sound is a nice departure from some of the other Italian compilations. Titles include "Unknit" by Carlo Rustichelli, "2968" by Carlo Savina, "Up To Date" by Fred Bongusto, "5 Bambole Per La Luna D'Agosto" by Piero Umiliani, "Milano Rhythm & Blues" by Gianni Ferrio, "Serata Al Night" by Guido De Angelis, and "Il Dopolotta" by Piero Piccioni.

A wonderful Nino Rota score – composed around the same time as his better-known work for Fellini, but done for a film directed by Luchino Visconti! There's a great mix of darkness and light in the music – some playful themes mixed with moodier moments – set to instrumentation that includes organ, bandeon, violin, and sax – with occasional larger orchestrations as well, but always with that sense of intimacy that made Rota one of the first fresh composers on the European scene of the postwar years. If you dig Rota's work for Fellini, you'll find plenty here to love – on titles that include "Come Tu Vuoi", "Milano E Nadia", "Terra Lontana", "L'Amore Di Rocco", and "La Loro Storia".

Cop drama soundtrack funk from Italy – Gianni Marchetti's score for Milano – Il Clan Dei Calabresi from 1975 – work that mixes trademark Italian string accents and crime cinema sounds with funky 70s influences from the US blacksploitation ouvre and beyond! It's impressive how those international styles are melded here, and there are some really tripped out moments you'll recognize instantly if you've scene Tarantino's Kill Bill films a time or 2 (or 50)! Fantastic stuff! 18 sequences of the title theme.

Heavily percussive jamming from the Italian scene of the early 70s – an album done in collaboration with Italian soundtrack composer Luis Bacalov – who handled all the arrangements and orchestrations for the record! The core approach is a harder take on modes explored by Bacalov and contemporaries in their film scores – stark, bold sounds that have a bit of jazz and a bit of groove – played here with more force than on the usual soundtrack album, and in a way that often uses heavy guitars. The style's almost like that of Goblin scores, but without the keyboards – and while there's a bit of vocals on the record, the main focus is really on the instrumentation overall. Recorded as a soundtrack, but performed as an extended rock orchestra piece – with passages that include "Preludio", "Tema", "Canzona", and assorted "Variaziones".

The 5th volume in this great series is bigger than ever! Back when volume 1 first came out, the idea of modern bossa dancefloor tunes was a strange concept – now, thanks to the work of the Schema crew, in releases like this one, the groove is here to stay – and strongly! The set offers a 13 track overview of the best of recent years – mostly groups from Europe, and all firmly in the Schema Records style. Most tunes are remixed versions, and titles include "Mastered The Art (Jet Sounds rmx)" by Greyboy, "On Line" by Marcos Valle, "O Preguicoso" by Intuit, "Salsin" by Amalgamation Of Soundz, "Penso Ascoltando" by Mondomo, "Meu Samba (Nicola Conte's bossa ahead rmx)" by Eli Goulart & Banda Do Mato, "Puutarhassa (Milk Snickars ext version)" by Pekka Streng, "Good Morning As Usual (Senor Coconut rmx)" by Snooze, "Existentialism (Milano bossa mix)" by The Dining Rooms, "In The Mood For Bossa (alt)" by S-Tone Inc, "Dance Naked Under Palmtrees" by Mo Horizons, and "Honesty" by Soulstance. Plus, the CD version also features a bonus disc – with all 13 tunes mixed live by Luciano Cantone!

One of the only live albums we've ever seen from vocalist Monica Zetterlund – a small combo performance with a great sense of depth and personality! There's a range of work here that goes beyond most of Zetterlund's studio albums – a mix of material that almost makes the session a summation of her many years in music, with nice snippets of many different modes. Lyrics are in both English and Swedish – and Zetterlund speaks a fair bit to the audience too, always in Swedish – and backing is by the trio of pianist Lars Bagge. Titles include a great "Bossa Nova Medley", plus "Svart Vit Calypso", "Trubbel", "Milano", "It Could Happen To You", "Social Call", "The Second Time Around", "I Valet Och Kvalet", "As Time Goes By", and "Lil Darlin".