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Smoker is an obscure midwestern avant trumpeter – one with a fierce, free sound on this album, which almost has the intensity of an ESP or BYG session from the 60s. Smoker's trumpet is firmly in the lead, blowing hard free lines over rhythm work by drummer Phil Haynes and Ron Rohovit that is equally well matched. Titles include "Regent", "Specific Impulse", "Shramba", and "Phon Phun".

One of Yusef Lateef's funkier albums for Atlantic – and a record that features some great keyboard work from Kenny Barron! The liner notes indicate a current Lateef fascination with rhythm, and it tries to present this fascination in a way that implies a bigger intellectual approach to the music – but heck, this is just some pretty darn nice 70s jazz funk, and Lateef's angular reed work sounds very nice next to the smoother electric backdrops! In addition to Barron's keyboards, the record also features guitar from Billy Butler, drums from Al Foster, and percussion from Dom Um Romao – plus a bit of Arp from Dana McCurdy, which is mighty nice. Titles include "Hellbound", "The Improvisers", "Mystique", "Technological Homosapien", "Mushmouth", and "Mississippi Mud".

A travel-themed set from Patti Page – and a pretty darn great one at that! Patti nicely shakes off some of cliches here – working with full, jazzy backings, and often hitting sounds that are a bit more mature than on her familiar pop numbers – modes that nicely match the global scenes and locales featured in most of the tunes. And while the gimmick is a relatively common one for 50s vocal dates, the mix of worldly tunes really does wonders with Patti – making the set a real standout in her Mercury catalog. Titles include "Mississippi Mud", "South Of The Border", "Aautumn In Rome", "Just A Little Bit South Of North Carolina", "Basin Street Blues", "Let's Get Away From It All", and "Under Paris Skies".

Includes tracks by the Memphis Jug Band, Mississippi Sarah, Jack Kelly, Tommy Bradley, Gus Cannon, Jed Davenport, the Cincinnati Jug Band, and others.

Easily the greatest album ever recorded by the legendary Phil Ochs – a masterpiece of politics and power, filled with themes that still resonate strongly 40 years later! From the very first note of the set, Ochs expresses himself with a confidence, intelligence, and clear-headed vision that cannot be denied – a way of getting to the heart of the issues that matter, issues that were coming to a head back in the mid 60s, but which still lie largely unresolved to date – and have a nearly timeless quality here in the stripped-down guitar and vocals presentation of the album. This is the kind of set that made Elektra records one of the most chance-taking labels of the 60s, and it's far more than just a simple folk album – really one of the first bold moments of politics in 60s pop, and the harbinger of countless records to come. Titles include "I Ain't Marching Anymore", "Iron Lady", "Links On The Chain", "Hills Of West Virginia", "The Men Behind The Guns", "Here's To The State Of Mississippi", "In The Heat Of The Summer", and "That Was The President".

Sweet electric funk from Blue – recorded in a warm, largely arranged style that's reminiscent of the best Freddie Hubbard fusion work from the 70s – but which has an even tighter sound overall! The groove is great – kind of a Kudu Records vibe, and Blue's actually quite good in this format – stepping off with a bit more confidence than on his electric sides from Mainstream, and getting the benefit of some great tenor sax work from Harold Land on a few numbers! Mitchell's always one of those players who actually seems to stretch out more in a set where he's not the leader of a small combo – and his solos here are surprisingly strong, and filled with soul – as are those of Land and tenorist Herman Riley. Titles include "Sand Castles", "Ojos De Rojo", "Mississippi Jump", "As", "Square Business", and "Forget".

Nice 2LP set released in the 80s of some wonderful live sides recorded in San Francisco at the Jazz Workshop in 1964. Longtime Monk sideman Charlie Rouse is on tenor with Larry Gales and Ben Riley in the rhythm section, performing classic Monk material, 13 tracks in all: "Don't Blame Me", "Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are", "Well You Needn't", "Evidence (Justice)/Rhythm-a-ning", "Round About Midnight", "I'm Gettin' Sentimental Over You", "Bemsha Swing", "Memories Of You (Just You Just Me)", "Blue Monk", "Misterioso", "Hackensack", "Bright Mississippi" and "Epistrophy".

A much better record than you'd expect from the somewhat cheesy cover – one of Duke Pearson's funkiest sessions ever, and a hard swinging big band set with a great late 60s feel! The group is all-class all the way – with players that include Pearson, Bob Cranshaw, Mickey Roker, Marvin Stamm, Julian Priester, Frank Foster, and Jerry Dodgion – and the tracks are short, but with an expansive groove that takes this one way past regular big band jazz, and into the mode of some of the hipper European groups at the time. Includes the classic track "Groundhog", which has a nice funky break on it – plus the cuts "New Girl", "Bedouin", "New Time Shuffle", and "Mississippi Dip".

Sure, these guys are mostly a rock group – but they've got a talent for funky jamming and long grooves that's always made them a favorite with the crossover soul crowd. This best of collection is unfortunately missing the track "Long Red" – but it does include many other favorites, like "Mississippi Queen", "Nantucket Sleighride", "Crossroader", "Taunta", "King's Chorale", "Boys In The Band", and "Theme For An Imaginary Western".