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In case you've been thinking "they don't make 'em like that anymore", think again – because Jill Barber delivers a sweet set of vocal numbers that take us back to the best crossover years of the late 50s and early 60s! The style is jazz overall, but Barber works in a tightly syncopated style of singing that also has a keen ear for pop as well – a blend that's a bit like styles used by 60s singers like Connie Francis or Brenda Lee – particularly the latter, as there's sometimes a slight, very slight, twang in the vocals. But even better – something those 60s singers never gave us – all tunes here are originals by Jill, many co-written with Les Cooper, who does a beautiful job handling production and overall orchestrations with just the right vibe for the tunes. US release features more tracks than the original Canadian release – and titles include "Be My Man", "Never Quit Loving You", "Chances", "Tell Me", "Old Flame", "A Wish Under My Pillow", "If It Weren't For Loving You", and "All My Dreams".

A standout classic from one of the all-time overlooked greats – the sublime Mystic Merlin, a group who cut a handful of killers in the early 80s! The group's biggest claim to fame is a young Freddie Jackson on vocals – but they're honestly much more an ensemble act than a backup for a lead star – and have this wonderfully-crafted blend of soul, jazz, and funk that never lets up – a really sophisticated groove, yet one that still knows how to be straight ahead and funky too! This classic set is wonderful all the way through – far from cliche, and head and shoulders above most of their contemporaries – with a wonderful array of grooves that includes the killer cut "Mr Magician", plus "Your Love", "Rock The World", "Full Moon", "Back To Zero", "Mindreader", and "Love Is What You Need".

Gentle magic from singer Jimmy Scott – one of our favorite of his comeback recordings of recent years! The album features tracks that Jimmy Recorded over sessions done in 2000 and 2001 – working with a host of great jazz players like Eric Alexander, Joe Beck, Hank Crawford, David Newman, Grady Tate, and Cyrus Chestnut – all of whom bring a warm and mellow feel to the set, allowing Jimmy some good space to breeze around in understated brilliance. Titles include "Yesterday", "Those Who Were", "How Long Has This Been Going On", "Time On My Hands", and "If I Should Lose You".

Two soul classics from Jerry Butler! Moon River is an incredible album of sophisticated soul tunes – one that features Jerry's hit single of "Moon River", the first version of the song to chart after Mancini composed it – plus original tunes "I Found A Love" and "Butterfly", plus great renditions of "Where Do I Turn", "Lost Without You", "No End Or Time", "Couldn't Go To Sleep", and "The Challenge". Delicious Together features Jerry in a very big-selling set of soul duets with Betty Everett – some of the first male/female soul tracks recorded in the 60s, and the beginning of a sub-genre that would go on to become very popular. Titles include "Let It Be Me", "I Can't Stand It", "Fever", "Just Be True", "It's All Right", "Ain't That Loving You Baby", "The Way You Do The Things You Do", and "Our Day Will Come".

A great trumpeter in an excellent group – with Kenny Garrett on alto and flute, Kenny Barron on piano, Ray Drummond on bass, and Ralph Peterson on drums!

An incredible record – the kind of album that no fan of funky jazz should be without! This album is far and away one of the greatest ever cut by Brother Jack McDuff – and it's a baroquely complicated batch of funky jazz cuts that's still light years ahead of any other record! The tracks are much longer than you'll find on Jack's other work – and the group plays these lines that are laidback and trippy, yet which still have a tremendous amount of funk in them. Guitar sets the tone, spacing out over the drums of the great Joe Dukes; electric bass rumbles at all the low, dark spots; flute and tenor sax cut some sharp edges in the void; and the organ of Brother Jack comes in over the top, and soars with cosmic lines of sound! The album includes the monster cut "Oblighetto", sampled by Tribe Called Quest years back – plus other amazing groovers, like "Flat Backin", "Moon Rappin", and "Loose Foot".

Nickodemus logically follows up his warm and breezy Sun People album with the more cosmically-lit follow up Moon People – once again bringing a wealth of global influences and instrumentation to his unique style of spacey dancefloor soul! He's joined by the legendary Afrika Bambaata and other great vocal guests – including Sammy Ayala, Kissey Asplund and Kathrin DeBoer of Belleruche – which elevates the creative mix of beats and eclectic instrumentation quite nicely! That said, the instrumental backdrops are quite hypnotic on their own – cosmic soul beats and atmosherics flavored by flutes, Eastern string accents, horns, steel drums and much more – depending on the needs of the particular track. Includes "Under The Volcano" with Navegante, "Moon People" feat The Real Live Show, "Nights Of Balaur", "Alkebulan" feat Afrika Bambaata, "Peaceful Island Earth" feat Kathrin DeBoer, "The Nuyorican Express" feat Candela Allstars, "Mirage" with Kissey Asplund, "Conmigo (Hallex Remix)" feat Sammy Ayala, "Vino People" and more.

More groundbreaking work, for the time, especially for a studio date! Players include Joe Newman on trumpet, Urbie Green and Henderson Chambers on trombones, Lem Davis on alto, Julian Dash on tenor, Charlie Fowlkes on baritone, Sir Charles Thompson on piano, and Freddie Green on guitar! Additional players on "Jumpin At The Woodside" are Coleman Hawkins, Billy Kyle, and Milt Hinton. Other titles include "How Hi The Fi", "Blue Moon"and "Christopher Columbus".

Mind blowing work from Miles Davis – an album that moves far past even any of his most adventurous studio work! The album features a live set from 1969, recorded in Paris with Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland, and Jack DeJohnette – and the sound on here is crazy, and goes waaaay out – farther out than anything we've ever heard by Miles! At times, the tracks break down completely – and get very very noisy – sounding almost like a record by some 80s industrial group than by Miles in his early electric years! Corea goes crazy on the keyboards, and shows his avant side better than anywhere else we've ever seen – and the whole group is really tremendous overall. The album features two long tracks – "Double Image" and "Gemini".

A beautiful later set from Lorez Alexandria – produced by Houston Person, and put together with a sensitivity that really stands out! Although Lorez always sparkles on tunes that swing, she really rises to the occasion even more here on the ballads – really gentle tunes that are taken in a laidback, personal sort of way – sometimes stretching out to the 10 minute mark, and presented by Lorez in a way that's open, unhurried, and a far cry from the usual quick take on an evergreen standard. The group features the great Gildo Mahones on piano – plus Herman Riley on tenor, Grant Geissman on guitar, Andy Simpkins on bass, and Sherman Ferguson on drums. Mahones handled the arrangements – always a plus – and titles include "I Should Care", "Love Walked In", "I'll Never Stop Loving You", "No Moon At All", "All My Life", "For All We Know", and "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning".

Gentle-going genius from the later years of Satchmo's career – a session that has Louis on trumpet and vocals, backed by the Oscar Peterson Trio! Peterson's usual group with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown is expanded slightly for this outing – bringing in Louis Bellson on drums to syncopate the tunes a bit more strongly, and give them that gently swinging rhythm that always works well with Armstrong's style. The real surprise, though, is Louis' voice – which is simple, almost elegant at times – and free from some of the gimmicks of other 50s sessions, or the too-playful style of his better-known duets of the period. We really love his gentle, honest approach to the lyrics here – on tunes that include "I'll Never Be The Same", "Moon Song", "What's New", "There's No You", "You Go To My Head", "That Old Feeling", and "Let's Fall In Love". CD also features 4 bonus tracks – including "Let's Do It", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "Willow Weep For Me", and "Makin Whoopee".

Phase 4 ventures into nautically themed territory, and then casts the limelight on theater tunes on this two-fer reissue from Frank Chacksfield. The orchestra lays out smooth, string and brass laden arrangements of popular numbers with water themes, then reprises famous show tunes with a similar approach. 33 numbers in all, including "Ebb Tide", "How Deep Is The Ocean", "Stranger On The Shore", "Moon River", "Limelight", "In The Still Of The Night", "Smile", "Come Rain Or Come Shine" and "Here I Am".

A wonderful collaboration between vocalist Tom Lellis and guitarist Toninho Horta – a set that's easily one of the best that Lellis has ever recorded! We've always been big fans of Tom's work, and even though he's never fully gotten his due, he's a singer who's been working for decades – with a rich-toned, openly fluid style that's a lot like Mark Murphy at his best – but guided nicely by Lellis with some deeply personal expressions of his own. Horta's guitar really opens up his music a lot – and Toninho sings a bit on the record too – usually just a bit of backing vocals, but in the lead on a few numbers, with that sweetly cracking style he first brought to records in the 70s. The album's a real treasure from the Adventure Music label, and a set that really brings together some of the best aspects of the label's work. Titles include "Maybe September", "Dreamwalking", "Summertime", "I Love You", "Let's Face The Music & Dance", and "Fly Me To The Moon".

A killer full-length set from Fabio Nobile – an artist who's been making hip singles for a number of years, but who really sparkles in the space of an extended album! Fabio's groove is always warm and jazzy – a bit like some of the best moments from Italian contemporaries on Schema Records, but also touched with a wider range of influences too – Brazilian jazz, 70s fusion, and sunny vocal modes that really make the music shine! Instrumentation is often a mix of programmed rhythms and acoustic jazz elements – again, very much in a Schema mode – and there's a range of great vocalists on the record, wonderful singers who include Agata Leanza, Lorraine Bowen, Rosella Key, Lehan Gyn, and Tanya Michelle – each of whom has their own special touch for the tunes. Great stuff throughout – lively, positive, and a real delight – with titles that include "Day What A Day", "Zozoi", "Fly To The Moon", "Love Is Gone", "San Diego", "Always Love", "Didn't You Know", "D'Improvviso", "O Samba", "Back With You", and "Toto Mi Amor". CD also features 2 bonus tracks – "Always Love (Sunaga T Experience rmx)" and "Didn't You Know (Gerardo Frisina main mix)".

One of the greatest Sonny Rollins records ever! The set is a legendary batch of trio tracks that feature Sonny working in a format that is incredibly free for the time, and which show him as more of a modernist than a bopper – although his solos are still pretty darn fantastic from a bop perspective – stretching out in free, piano-less space – really cutting some amazing edges, and blown in tones we might never have expected from Rollins a few years before. The group is beautifully open ended – with Wilbur Ware on bass and Elvin Jones on drums, and both of them in their best mode of the late 50s. Titles include "Softly As In A Morning Sunset", "Sonny Moon For Two", and "Striver's Row". Great stuff, and one of the best sides that Blue Note ever cut!

One of Sonny's brilliant west coast sessions for Contemporary – records that shouldn't sparkle as much as they do, but which actually stand with his best work of the 50s! Sonny's blowing in front of a session of "leaders" that includes Hampton Hawes, Barney Kessel, Leroy Vinnegar, Shelly Manne, and Victor Feldman, who plays vibes on one track. Sonny's the real leader here, though – as his bold, proud tenor tone really takes front seat, carving lines that never get tired, bringing a sparkle into tunes like "You", "How High The Moon", "I've Found A New Baby", "The Song Is You", and "I've Told Ev'ry Little Star". Heck, even with songs like those, the album should be weak – but there's an undeniable magic that really makes it great! CD features 3 bonus tracks!

A wonderful set of unreleased Arthur Russell songs – great tunes that he cut in more of an eclectic singer-songwriter approach than some of his other work – emotionally upfront, understated material that is simply beautiful! The songs range from very stripped down and folksy on the earlier recordings – kind of like an East Village Townes Van Zandt (we s**t you not) with Arthur singing and playing acoustic guitar and occasionally his cello – with an intuitive, true understanding of folk and Americana at its most honest and direct, while still working in some avant flourishes. As the set and the years of recording progress, the accompaniment gets busier and more pop, soul and experimental sounds are filtered in – but the song-based approach carries all the way through. For a noted perfectionist and experimentalist, it's a really unfussy batch of material, and very rewarding. Highly recommended! Tracks include "Close My Eyes", "Goodbye Old Paint", "Maybe She", "Oh Fernanda Why", "Eli", "Habit Of You", "Janine", "Big Moon", "The Letter", "Your Motion Says", "Love Is Overtaking Me", "Planted A Thought", "Love Comes Back" and more.

Some of the best funky singles of recent years released on one CD! The Soul Fire label is probably the most dedicated flag waver around for the classic funk sound – producing limited edition funky 45s by classic artists and newbies working in a classic mode – artists like Sugarman Three, Lee Fields, and Detroit Sex Machines. Many of the singles are now out of print on vinyl forever – and they are collected here, and on Grazing In The Trash Volume 1, with both the a & b sides! Titles include "Don't Think. . .Do" and "Get Up In Your Hot Pants" by Bama & The Family, "Soul Dig Part 1" and "Soul Dig Part 2" by Soul Diggers, "Solid Funk" and "Funky Moon" by Sugarman Three, "Soul Dynamite" and "Ain't It Funky Now" by Lee Fields & The Explorers, "Funky Crawl" and "Rap It Together" by Detroit Sex Machines, "Get Down" and "Moon Mission" by Joseph Henry & The Soul Command, and "In The Raw" and "The Bastard" by Whitefield Brothers.

Tracks include "Ouach Estalini" & "Maniche Aadouk" by Cheb Mami, "Another Brown World" by Coil, "Some Morning When The Moon Was Blood" by Current 93, & "Dervish Ceremonial – Music Of The Mevlevi" by Les Archives Sonores Sub Rosa.

Excellent work from this jazzy Indian combo! Mukta mix together Indian rhythms and funky jazz – in a way that's unlike anything we've ever heard, but which draws a bit of an influence from the 60s funk of Ananda Shankar and the 70s Bollywood funky era. The focus on this album, though, is pretty darn jazzy – and the record's a wonderful east-meets-west recording, right up there with the classic MPS "Jazz Meets the World" sessions, or the legendary 60s recordings of Ahmed Abdul-Malik. The whole thing's fantastic – one of the freshest things you'll hear in a long time – and the jazz component of the music is as high as the Indian grooves. Titles include "Jade (parts 1 & 2)", "Slava", "Lyra", "Song For Yewa", "Lullaby For Nathan", "Crescent Moon", and "Elephant Dance".

We totally dig Basie's work from the mid 60s! He was working with Quincy Jones at the time – and Quince laid down some very soulful arrangements that used the best jazz elements of the Basie group to turn out some great pop instrumental tracks with a very groovy sound. This album's a perfect example of that format, as it features some great Basie sidemen, grooving nicely to Quincy's hip swinging arrangements of pop material like "Walk, Don't Run", "Fly Me To The Moon", "This Could Be The Start Of Something Big", and "One Mint Julep".

One of the most amazing, expansive albums ever recorded by Brother Jack McDuff – a session that we'd rank right up there with his classic Moon Rappin for Blue Note – and which has an equally stretched out feel! Although some of Jack's other albums for Cadet in the 70s have a bit more of a keyboard-centric feel, this album's heavy on Hammond all the way through – played by McDuff with sharp edges, soaring solos, and that amazing sense of timing that few other players could match! But possibly even more amazing is the group on the set – a hip batch of cats who include Phil Upchurch and Sam Jones on bass, Don Myrick and Dave Young on tenor and flute, Bobby Alston on trumpet, Marty Roberts on guitar, and Derf Reklaw on percussion – all working wonderfully with McDuff arrangements on some very long tunes! The double-length nature of the 2LP record really lets the group stretch out nicely – and there's a tremendous sense of energy throughout – almost a mode that matches Charles Earland's Leaving This Planet album. Titles include "Ain't No Sunshine", "Radiation", "The Prophet", "The Boiler", "Pressure Gauge", "The Heatin System", "Elmo Tucker", and "Lonesome Is The Night".

Thoughtfully-crafted work from Adam Rudolph's Moving Pictures – a group who draw partially from the global influences of Rudolph's past, but also come across with some more angular modern jazz touches! Players include Graham Haynes on cornet and flugelhorn, Ned Rothenberg on clarinet and flutes, and Hamid Drake on drums and percussion – and other members of the group bring in a host of more exotic instrumentation – including oud, tarija, bamboo flute, and cajon – in addition to Rudolph's own host of world percussion. Tracks are sometimes quite sort and thematic, at other times more long and ambitious – and titles include "Oshogbo", "The Violet Hour", "Mood", "A Vision Of Pure Delight", "Cousin Of The Moon", "Scintilla", "Happiness Road", "The Sphinx", and "Walking The Curve".

New and old Blue Note collide in this jam-packed 2CD set of tracks! Forget the "chillout" in the title, because a good portion of the set is real jazz from the old days, and the rest is newer material, based around the older ideals of the Blue Note idiom. Together, the music makes for a nice little package of tracks, shifting with ease from classic to future, stepping through a wider array of catalog than you might expect. Titles include "More Than This" by Charlie Hunter with Norah Jones, "Loungin" by Guru with Donald Byrd, "She's A Lady" by Patricia Barber, "Sun At Midnight" by Jason Moran, "Slow Bombing The World" by Marc Jordan, "Flute Down" by Karl Denson, "Off The Record" by Ronny Jordan, "Harvest Moon" by Cassandra Wilson, "God Bless The Child" by Stanley Turrentine, "Cantaloop (inst)" by US3, "Light My Fire" by Julie London, "Ashes" by Greg Osby, "Slow Drag" by Donald Byrd, "Soul Manifesto" by Rodney Jones, "Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky" by Lou Donaldson, and "It's Your Thing" by Grant Green. 24 tracks on 2CDs!

An incredible batch of hillbilly boogie tunes from the 50s, and a stray couple of honky tonk and outlaw jukebox gems from the 60s & 70s – a fantastic sampler of rockabilly and country nuggets put together by the saints at Bear Family – at an incredible price, to boot! The Bear Family label has been exhaustively compiling this kind of thing for decades now, God bless 'em, and they're celebrating their 33rd Anniversary with a series of CDs featuring 33 tunes for an unbelievably friendly price. A real gift to all of us who've shelled out hundreds of dollars for those completist Bear Family box sets over the years! Features fly-by-night obscurities, great stuff from cult heroes, rare ones by legends, and each and every track is a jewel. Includes an uptempo Cash style reading of "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" by Johnny Seay, the jarring "Border City Call Girl" by Ben Hewitt, "Big Family Trouble" by Skeets McDonald, "The Girl Can't Help It" by Rusty York, "The Fool" by Sanford Clark, "Houn' Dog" by Homer & Jethro, "All I Can Do Is Cry" by Johnny Bond, "Don't Stop Now" by Roy Hall, "Juke Joint Boogie" by Freddie Hart, "First Class Second Class Woman" by Eddie Cletro, "Candy & Women" by Bill Haley and tons more!

A nice one from one of Chicago's most underrated jazz men! Bobby Broom's been plying his trade here in the Windy City on guitar in small group combos for years, playing some of the finest post bop modern jazz we've heard, but he's made few recordings. This great disc captures him alongside Lonnie Smith, Ronnie Cuber and Idris Muhammad, about as near as you'll come today to the classic George Benson quartet that cut some burning sides for Columbia in the late 60s, and as you might hope, this session lives up to the promise of the lineup! The group grooves along nicely on renditions of standards like "Old Devil Moon" and "Peck A Sec", jazzy takes on pop tunes like "Superstition" and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" and Broom's originals"Dance For Osiris" and "Blues For Modern Man". 10 tracks in all.

2 late 60s sides by Groove Holmes – back to back on one CD! The Groover is a nice one from the days when Groove was playing with guitarist George Freeman! The core of the tracks on here feature a trio of Holmes, Freeman, and drummer Billy Jackson – and the trio knows how to cook nice and nicely, especially on the original cut "The Walrus", a groovy number written by Freeman, with his usual off-kilter approach. Other cuts include "My Scenery", "Blue Moon", and "I'll Remember April". That Healin Feelin is a tight, no-nonsense set of hard grooves featuring a quartet that includes Rusty Bryant, Billy Butler, and Herbie Lovelle. There's a strong bottom sound to the session – picking up from the Misty days, when Groove learned that he could take just about any track, and make it groove like a mofo! Because of this, the album's selections – "That Healin Feelin", "Irene Court", "Castle Rock", and "On a Clear Day" – all sound night and tight, as Groove would have delivered the tunes playing before one of his many well-attended audiences at the time!

One of the greatest Bobby Hutcherson albums for Blue Note – a classic session recorded in quartet form, with a style that seems to set a whole new standard for the vibes in modern jazz! The group here is sublime – Herbie Hancock on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – all working with Bobby in cool, blocky chords, with a sound that lies somewhere on the road to "out", but has more of a swing than Hutcherson's "new thing" recordings! The balance is a perfect one – exciting and fresh, but still always soulfully grooving – and titles include a sublime version of Herbie's "Maiden Voyage" – plus originals by Hutcherson that include "The Omen", "Aquarian Moon", "Rojo", and "Head Start".

One of the greatest Sonny Rollins records ever! The set is a legendary batch of trio tracks that feature Sonny working in a format that is incredibly free for the time, and which show him as more of a modernist than a bopper – although his solos are still pretty darn fantastic from a bop perspective – stretching out in free, piano-less space – really cutting some amazing edges, and blown in tones we might never have expected from Rollins a few years before. The group is beautifully open ended – with Wilbur Ware on bass and Elvin Jones on drums, and both of them in their best mode of the late 50s. This package features a reworked lineup of tracks from the LP – showing the true first volume of material – and adding in Donald Bailey on bass and Pete LaRoca on drums for a few tracks. Titles include "Night In Tunisia (afternoon take)", "Night In Tunisia (evening take)", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise", "Four", "Woody N You", and "Old Devil Moon".

An album and a half from Charlie Rouse – plus some great work by Seldon Powell too! First up is Rouse's Yeah album for Epic from 1961 – a fantastic (and rare) hardbop session from the early 60s! The album's quite different than some of the work Charlie Rouse cut with Monk's classic quartet at the time – more in a hardbop mode that takes us back to his late 50s sides for Prestige – but done with a new sense sharpness, and a bit more of a soul jazz influence overall! The group is great too – a quartet that includes Dave Bailey on drums, Billy Gardner on piano, and Peck Morrison on bass. The latter two were playing a lot with Lou Donaldson in the early 60s, and they bring a similar rhythmic flavor to this set as well – and although we've always loved Rouse's modernist tones with Monk, this session shows him as a true emotional genius, capable of laying down a tight solo that's right in the pocket! Titles include "Billy's Blues", "Lil Rousin", "Stella By Starlight", and "Rouse's Point". We Paid Our Dues is a really great little album – featuring some of the best small combo work by the both Charlie Rouse and Seldon Powell! The album is split into two parts – one part featuring work by Rouse with a trio that features Gildo Mahones on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. With Mahones leading the rhythm, the session's a lot more soulful than some of Rouse's other work – swinging with a lean mean sound that really returns his tenor style to some of its 50s power. The other group on the set features rare small combo work by Seldon Powell – an excellent tenor player who almost never got to work in small group settings. The rest of Powell's group includes Peck Morrison on bass, Denzil Best on drums, and Lloyd Mayers on piano. Both players are well suited to appear on the same record, and the split in personnel from track to track is less bracing than you might think. Titles include "Two For One", "Quarter Moon", "I Should Care", "Bowl Of Soul", and "For Lester".

Quite an obscure little record by singer Julie Wilson – the kind of a vocalist you'd expect to come off sounding all cool and icy, but who really puts an unexpected Billie Holiday sort of spin on things – this raspy sort of soul that's way different than some of the cheesecake singers of the time! Backings are by the Ellis Larkins trio, and the format is spare and simple – with Julie singing in a sad and bluesy mode – moving in a mostly mellow mode on most numbers, yet in a style that also really helps her inflect each individual note with a hell of a lot of personality! The album's a real overlooked treasure – and titles include "Fly Me To The Moon", "Love Look Away", "You're The Greatest", "Easy Come Easy Go", "Misty", and "The Party's Over".

An all-star tribute to the legendary Ella Fitzgerald – one that features a number of contemporary singers trying to recapture the magic of Ella's best work from the 50s and 60s! We'll be honest in saying that we were a bit suspicious of this one at first, but the quality is surprisingly strong – mostly in an acoustic, swinging, jazzy mode – with arrangements predominantly by Rob Mounsey, and most singers really doing their best to hit a Fitgerald sort of groove. It's interesting to hear some of these vocalists doing their best to match Ella's phrasing, on titles that include "Blues In The Night" by Ledisi, "The Lady Is A Tramp" by Queen Latifah, "A Tisket A Tasket" by Natalie Cole, "Lullaby Of Birdland" by Chaka Khan, "Angel Eyes" by KD Lang, "Reaching For The Moon" by Lizz Wright, "Someone To Watch Over Me" by Gladys Knight, "Do Nothin Till You Hear From Me" by Etta James, and "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" by Ella Fitzgerald & Stevie Wonder.

A key early appearance on record by Sonny Rollins – recorded here with Miles Davis and Jackie McLean in the landmark Dig session! The album's the stuff that 50s bop dreams are made of – a session that has up-and-coming modernists working in the new freedom of the long playing record, in a way that allows them to break past the shorter, more urgent sound of the 78rpm single! Rollins is young, but a surprisingly strong voice on the set – and Jackie McLean's alto is incredibly sharp at this point, with strong hints of the genius to come later in the decade. The rest of the lineup includes Walter Bishop on piano, Tommy Potter on bass, and Art Blakey on drums – and tracks include Miles' classic version of "It's Only A Paper Moon", plus "Denial", "Out Of The Blue", "Dig", and "Bluing". CD also features 2 bonus tracks – "Conception" and "My Old Flame".

Tracks include "Wonderful World, Beautiful People", "Viet Nam", "Time Will Tell", "I'm Gonna Use What I Got To Get What I Need", "Sitting In Limbo", "Many Rivers To Cross", "Wild World", "Come Into My Life", and "My Ancestors" by Jimmy Cliff; "Pied Piper", "Save Me", "One Woman", and "Cousin Of Mine" by Bob & Marcia; "Black & White", "Moon River", and "I've Been Trying" by Greyhound; "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "Unchained Melody", "You'll Never Walk Alone", and "Here Today, Gone Tommorrow" by Blue Haze, and "La La Always Stay" by Glen & Dave.

The first ever album from smoothly soulful jazz guitarist Norman Brown – produced by Norman Connors, and a really nice, tight set that stands up as a shining example of what smooth jazz could and should have been in the early 90s! The tight sound and the crisp, clean production is near perfect – and the performances bring genuine emotion and real soul. Players include Herman Jackson and Ziggy Linsey on keys, Paulinho DaCosta on percussion, Ronnie Laws on soprano sax and Chuck Morris on drums. Titles include "Stormin'", "Just Between Us", "East Meets West", "Love's Holiday", a nice take on the Stevie Wonder classic "Too High", "Something Just For You", "Here To Stay", "Moonlight Tonight", "Sweet Taste" and "Inside".

A very hip set from Bill Evans' second trio – the legendary lineup that featured Chuck Israels on bass and Paul Motian on drums! Both players bring Evans' sound to an even greater level of spaciousness – allowing for lyrical interplay that's completely amazing, and even furthers the promise of genius made by Bill on his first few albums – a bold step forward that really makes this album one of Evans' standout sets of the early 60s! Titles include an early reading of Evans' wonderful tune "Re: Person I Knew", plus "Very Early", "In Love In Vain", "Stairway To The Stars", "I Fall In Love Too Easily", "If You Could See Me Now", "It Might As Well Be Spring", and "Polka Dots & Moonbeams".

Grant Green's first-ever session as a leader – recorded by Blue Note in 1960, and not issued until now! The set features Green's guitar playing in a piano quartet, with rhythm by Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones – about as fine a backing trio as Green could hope to find. We're not sure why Blue Note didn't issue this material at the time – perhaps because they were trying to break Green as R&B-inflected soul jazz player, and this set had more of a straight jazz quality (like his Sunday Morning album) – but whatever the case, it's all here now, along with 2 other tracks from a 1961 session with Sonny Clark on piano. Titles include "Seepin", "Sonnymoon For Two", "Just Friends", "Woody N You", and an early recording of "Grant's First Stand".

Neither pop nor fusion – but a great little record that reminds us why we love William Kurk so much! There's definitely some of the jazzy styles promised by the title, but they're mixed in with Kurk's inventive approach to soul music – warm instrumentation wrapped around compelling lyricism, but in a bouncy, playful way that's light years from the usual! This time around, there's a slight echo of 80s ideals – not so much in the music, which still has lots of 70s warmth – but in the criss-crossing of modes, and in the way that acoustic and electric elements are used together to create a really full sound. Titles include "9 by 3", "Revenge Of Mega Man", "Star Of The Sky", "All Of The Time", "Moonrise", "2012", and "Dragon Force".

Singer Sarah Linhare's has Messages From The Future – delivered via this sweet little set of spacey future soul! Sarah's voice pulls you in pretty quickly, with genuine soul. The production is by Kenlo Craqnuques and a couple of guests, who all manage to blend soft, airy atmoshere with some fairly thick beats and other denser textures. The sounds work well together and the songs are memorable, so this one works out pretty darn well! Moonstarr produces a couple tracks, with additional guests Think Twice, Wayne Tennant & Anthony Pageot. Titles include "Grapefruit", "Sarinha", "Other Side", "Dirty Business", "No Question", "Step Up", "Move Along", " I Get Scared" and "Only Human".

Soulful brilliance from Woody Shaw – a searing live set that matches the power of earlier classics like Moontrane and Blackstone Legacy! The album's got Woody working with a heck of a great group – Carter Jefferson on tenor and soprano sax, Onaje Allan Gumbs on piano, Clint Houston on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums – all of whom come together with just the right mix of earthy grooving and spiritual searching that puts Woody in his best light. Jefferson is especially great – as it's his soaring work on reeds that really give the album a sense of spirit – but credit should also be giving to the well-knit rhythm team, whose ability to push out in flowing lines of power really raises the energy of the performance. Titles include "Stepping Stone", "In A Capricornian Way", "Seventh Avenue", and "Theme For Maxine". CD features 3 bonus tracks, 2 unissued – "Blues For Ball", "All Things Being Equal Are Not", and "Escape Velocity".

A incredible little set of grooves that lit up early 80s Italian club scene – bubbling electro pop, pulsing post disco, and cosmic soul tunes compiled by DJ Mooner – a batch of nuggets originally spun in the famous Discoteca Cosmic! The tunes were all on the playlists during the heyday of that famous Italian club – a great mix of spacey, uncommonly warm synth grooves and cosmic funk featuring the Rah Band, Chocolate Star, Heaven 17 and more! Some of the most atmospheric club friendly grooves of the time! 11 tracks on the CD: "Electric Fling" by the Rah Band, "Mystery Man Remix" by Clive Stevens & Brainchild, "Dance On The Groove (And Do The Funk)" by Love International, "Crash (Monner's edit)" by Doctor S Cat, "I'm Your Money" by Heaven 17, "Basic" by Memory Control 1, "Oriental" by Peru, "This Is Me" by Chris & Cosey, "The Pop" by Chocolate Star and more.

Cosmic grooves and spacey post disco compiled by Dompteur Mooner – a great third volume of the Elaste series from Compost Records! The soul if disco splintered in the cosmos in the early 80s, soaring strings giving way to funky synths, proto-techno programming and all around galactic feel in the clubs of Europe and pretty much all around the world – and this set pulls together the widest range yet! Definitely not disco in a conventional set, but spacey synth funk and influential club grooves from the early 80s underground that sounds great today! Includes "Take A Chance (Dompteur Mooner Edit)" by Queen Samantha, "Urth" by Mobius, "Beats of Love" by Nacht Und Nebel, "Allein (Original Version)" by Tabu, "Beuys Boys" by Pollyester, "Jamacia Running" by The Pool, "Powerslide" by Mythos, "Africa (Dub Mix)" by Key Of Dreams and more. 14 tracks on the CD version.

Troubadour folk from the 70s and into the early 80s – collected from rare privately issued records – the third set in the Wayfaring Strangers series from Numero! Lonesome Heroes is the male companion set to the equally excellent Ladies Of The Canyon compilation – and it features a haunting mix of spare, kind of eerily melodic vocal & guitar tunes, almost all of them by singer/songwriters who have remained largely unknown to this day. The melodies and chords are mostly on the tender, delicate side, and the voices range from gruff storytelling to sweeter singing. It really stands on its own really well in the Wayfaring Strangers series, too – the guitar playing is in service of the songs here, unlike the accomplished pickers & strummers on the Guitar Soli set, and the tunes aren't as airy as the Ladies From The Canyon material. Wonderful stuff, beatifully packages with great notes on the songs and artists, which should could go without saying, since this comes from the Numero Group! Titles include "Before" by Jim Schoenfeld, "It's So Profound" by Jim Ransom, "As I Walk" by Richard Smyrnios, "No Love Lost" by Tucker Zimmerman, "Hummingbird" by Kieran White, "The Tailor" by Jack Hardy, "Little Children" by George Cromarty, "Deep Night" by Tony Trosley, "Good Morning" by Tim Ward, "I Am The Moonlight" by John Villemonte, "O'Light" by Robb Kunkel and more. 17 tracks in all.

An excellent album of funky drumbreaks – cut by a drummer who's a legend among funk fans, but who hardly ever gets mentioned in history books of jazz. Les was a little known LA player, but he had a monster approach to the kit – and most of the few albums he cut are very in demand for fans of a good funky drum break. This one's a stellar session that mixes together straight funk with some strong choppy fusion numbers – and it was issued on the tiny Dobre label, which came out with some excellent obscure sides during the 70s. Raul De Souza's on trombone, Milcho Leview plays piano, and Robby Robinson plays plenty of nice electric keyboards. Includes the break-heavy tracks "Moondial" and "Funk It!", the jazz dance cut "Canned Heat Suite", the choppy funky "Bacchanal", and the great groover "Kaballa".

A really great album by Billy Eckstine – much more swinging and upbeat than some of his other 50s sessions, and with a strongly pronounced jazz flair overall! The album's supposedly recorded live in Vegas in the wee hours of the morning, and features Billy blowing a bit of trumpet as well as singing – all set to some nicely thumping orchestrations by Bobby Tucker, who really knows how to hit the right groove for this sort of a set. Titles include "Lady Luck", "Have A Song On Me", "Deed I Do", "Without A Song", "Moonlight In Vermont", and "Lush Life". CD features a huge amount of previously unissued bonus tracks – titles that include "Prelude To A Kiss", "Fools Rush In", "I Apologize", "Little Mama", "Prisoner Of Love", "Alright Okay You Win", and "In The Still Of The Night".

A slightly different take on the Modern Jazz Quartet sound of the early years – as the album features Milt Jackson's vibes in the company of MJQ bandmates Percy Heath and Connie Kay, but also includes Horace Silver on piano – in the spot normally reserved for John Lewis! The presence of Silver on piano gives a bit of a harder edge to the set, one that almost recalls some of Jackson's work on Blue Note in the early 50s, yet which is rounded out here by a few lighter and more lyrical touches on rhythm. The set includes a great reading of "Moonray", the Jackson original "Stonewall", and the tracks "Wonder Why", "I Should Care", and "My Funny Valentine".

A selection of tunes from the film Pete Kelly's Blues – a 20s tale of jazz and gangsters that starred and was directed by Jack "Dragnet" Webb! Given the setting of the film, the tunes often have a more traditional jazz bent to them – with backing from the orchestra of Harold Mooney that features a fair bit of Kansas City-styled jazz. Peggy and Ella's vocals are pure 50s Decca, though – and if anything, the album's a great chance to hear them singing in a slightly different setting, but with all the strength of their best work of the time. Peggy sings on about 2/3 of the album – on tracks that include "Sugar", "I Never Knew", "Somebody Loves Me", and "I'm Gonna Meet My Sweetie Now". Ella sings on the last third – on tracks that include "Ella Hums The Blues", "Pete Kelly's Blues", and "Hard Hearted Hannah".

We're always hard-pressed to define that certain something that makes Bruno Mars so great – that unusual quality that isn't quite soul, isn't quite pop, and which almost takes us back to some of our favorite crossover moments of the early 80s. Bruno's got this classic raspy voice, but instead of going for authentic old-school modes, he comes across even better with playful, tuneful melodies – just the sort of right grooves that balance out his integrity with his winking sense of wit – a blend that's really unique, and which other contemporary singers would do well to learn from! The album's a cracker all the way through – and titles include "Young Girls", "Locked Out Of Heaven", "Gorilla", "Show Me", "When I Was Your Man", "Moonshine", "Treasure", and "If I Knew".

A mammoth set by Jazzy Jeff – a tough mix of some of the biggest and some of the deepest true hip hop tracks from the early 90s through '03! Jazz does a terrific job of pickin' the tightest cuts, period – whether they were huge hits that reputations were built on like Cypress Hill's "How I Could Just Kill A Man", Tribe Called Quest's "Electric Relaxation", Beatnuts "Watch Out Now" or Pharcyde's "Drop", underground phenomena like I.N.I.'s "Square One", Wildchild's "Party Up" or Jaylib's "Official", or simply tried-and-true one shot classics like Blackmoon's "How Many Mcee's" or O.C.'s "Time's Up". Other tracks include Nas's incredible return-to-form triumph "Made You Look", Asheru's "Mood Swing", J-Live's "Braggin' Writes", Raekwon's "Ice Cream", Main Source's "Live At The Bar-B-Q" and more – all scratched up, beaten down, extended, edited or simply perfectly placed by the Jazzy Jeff!