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A wicked dip into Colombian music – focused around the work of two true giants of the scene! CD1 features 21 massive tracks from Fruko – one of the hardest-hitting artists working in Colombia in the 70s – often in a sound that starts out in New York salsa, but takes all these weird little twists and turns as it adapts to the local rhythms! Joe Arroyo's tracks start where Fruko's leave off – pushing the groove even more with a bolder, more confident Colombian style – still filled with some great jazzy riffs that you'd hear in salsa, but moving into some especially nice tropical touches too! The production on the material for both artists is great – often filled with some sweet studio tricks – and the booklet features notes on the artists, plus images of lots of vintage album covers too. 38 tracks in all – with tracks billed to each artist separately, or The Latin Brothers, La Verdad, or Afrosound – on titles that include "El Preso", "El Violento", "Tu Sufriras", "La Pintosa", "Ocho Dias", "El Esclavo, "Tifit Hayed", "San Juan De Puerto Rico", "Palenque", Pobre Naci, "El Son Del Caballo", "Baila Simon, "Musa Original", "Matigua", "Vuelve", "Son Apretao", and "En Barranquilla Me Quedo.

Easily one of the greatest new funk records of the 21st Century – and a set that goes way beyond some of the cliches that are currently gripping others in the deep funk underground! El Michels Affair have a cool, easygoing style to their music – one that's as much 70s jazz as it is 60s funk – and which makes for tunes that have a looser structure overall, which allows much more room for instrumental interplay, and the kind of sweet surprises that make the album so great! These guys have a real penchant for an unusual rhythm and interesting instrumental flair – and they borrow as much from 70s soundtracks and Latin albums as they do from the funky 45 era that clearly gave them their start. Totally fresh all the way through, and a record that delights us a lot more than we might have expected! Titles include "Detroit Twice", "El Pueblo Unido", "Behind The Blue Curtains", "Ocho Rios", "Hung Up On My Baby", "This Song's For You", and "Slide Show".

Sonny Stitt in a sweet electric funk mode – working here in a style that's almost more CTI/Kudu than the usual Cadet Records groove! Arrangements are by James Brown heavyweight Pee Wee Ellis – who also plays some moog on the set – and other players include Wilbur Bascomb on bass, Bernard Purdie on drums, and Patti Brown on electric piano! Titles include the classic "Slick Eddie", plus "Bachianas Brasilieras/Funky Interlude", "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Spanish Harlem", and "Ocho Rios".

Well-blown material from trumpeter Jonah Jones – recorded in a hip setting with the French group of Dave Pochonet for support! Dave's on drums, arrangements are by Andre Persiany, and the setting is pretty open and relaxed – nice small combo work that lets Jones blow in a really exploratory way – much more so than on his Capitol recordings of the 50s! Titles include "Barbecue For Jonah", "Swingin For Mary Lou", and "Stars Fell On Alabama".

One of the deepest digs we've ever seen into the rich array of grooves from Colombia – a double-length page that covers a much wider range of sounds than you might expect! Colombia's unusual amongst Latin American nations, in that it's got kind of a "crossroads" sort of role – a place where other South American sounds come into contact with music from North America, the Caribbean, and even Africa as well – resulting in some mighty heavy styles that are perfectly summed up on these 2CDs! The package is way more than just an armchair look at Colombia – and is heavy on the sorts of funk and offbeat grooves we've come to expect from the Analog Africa label – a key imprint in bringing the sounds of the globe to Anglo groove diggers like us. Rhythm is definitely at the core – as promised in the title – but the package also has plenty of great notes to help us understand the rich cultural history as well. Titles include "Calambre" by Conjunto Barbacoa, "Lumbalu" by Calixto Ochoa & Los Papaupas, "Schallcarri" by Grupo Abharca, "El Caterete" by Wganda Kenya, "Enyere Kumbara" by Julian Y Su Combo, "Wasamaye" by Wasamaye Rock Group, "Bajo El Troupillo Guajiro" by Sexteto Manaure, "Pegale A La Nalga" by Fuentes All Stars, "Juipiti" by Grupo Folclorico, "Shakalode" by Wganda Kenya, "Santana En Salsa" by Crecencio Camacho, "La Motilona" by Los Alegres Diablos, "Pajaro Madrugador" by Alfredo Gutierrez, "La Bulla" by Los Curramberos De Guayabal, "Busca La Careta" by Andres Landero, "La Cascada" by Pianonegro, "Eco En Stereo" by Sonora Dinamita, "La Veterana" by Peyo Torres, "Lluvia" by Sonora Tropical, and "Agoniza El Magadlena" by Ramiro Beltran. 32 tracks in all – and it comes in a great hardbound package with a 60-page booklet.

One of the deepest digs we've ever seen into the rich array of grooves from Colombia – a double-length page that covers a much wider range of sounds than you might expect! Colombia's unusual amongst Latin American nations, in that it's got kind of a "crossroads" sort of role – a place where other South American sounds come into contact with music from North America, the Caribbean, and even Africa as well – resulting in some mighty heavy styles that are perfectly summed up on this LP! The package is way more than just an armchair look at Colombia – and is heavy on the sorts of funk and offbeat grooves we've come to expect from the Analog Africa label – a key imprint in bringing the sounds of the globe to Anglo groove diggers like us. Rhythm is definitely at the core – as promised in the title – but the package also has plenty of great notes to help us understand the rich cultural history as well. Titles on this first volume of the vinyl include "Calambre" by Conjunto Barbacoa, "Lumbalu" by Calixto Ochoa & Los Papaupas, "Schallcarri" by Grupo Abharca, "El Caterete" by Wganda Kenya, "Enyere Kumbara" by Julian Y Su Combo, "Wasamaye" by Wasamaye Rock Group, "Bajo El Troupillo Guajiro" by Sexteto Manaure, "Pegale A La Nalga" by Fuentes All Stars, "Juipiti" by Grupo Folclorico, and "Shakalode" by Wganda Kenya.

Sublime bossa groovers from Italy! The first volume of this series was one of our favorite compilations that year it was released – and this second volume is equally as great! Schema groover Gerardo Frisina serves up a hand-picked batch of 16 tunes, mostly classic numbers from the late 60s and early 70s, pulled from the ranks of Italian soundtrack, jazz, and easy listening albums – all with a flair for making the bossa even groovier than it already is! Electric keyboards abound – and the rhythms run from dreamy to driving to slightly funky, always at the right pace for the material, and always making the set dance with delight! Titles include "Incontro All'Aereoporto" by Piero Piccioni, "Allora, Il Treno" by Bruno Nicolai & Edda Dell'Orso, "Avances" by Gerardo Frisina, "Wind" by Red Redford Sound System One, "Bossalonga" by Mustang, "Unreality Landscape" by Angel Pocho Gatti, "Susan Theme" by Daniele Patucchi, "Per Lei" by Stefano Torossi, and "Colpa Tua" by Giancarlo Gazzani.

Sublime bossa groovers from Italy! The first volume of this series was one of our favorite compilations that year it was released – and this second volume is equally as great! Schema groover Gerardo Frisina serves up a hand-picked batch of 16 tunes, mostly classic numbers from the late 60s and early 70s, pulled from the ranks of Italian soundtrack, jazz, and easy listening albums – all with a flair for making the bossa even groovier than it already is! Electric keyboards abound – and the rhythms run from dreamy to driving to slightly funky, always at the right pace for the material, and always making the set dance with delight! Titles include "Incontro All'Aereoporto" by Piero Piccioni, "Allora, Il Treno" by Bruno Nicolai & Edda Dell'Orso, "Avances" by Gerardo Frisina, "Wind" by Red Redford Sound System One, "Bossalonga" by Mustang, "Unreality Landscape" by Angel Pocho Gatti, "Susan Theme" by Daniele Patucchi, "Per Lei" by Stefano Torossi, and "Colpa Tua" by Giancarlo Gazzani.

One of the most beautiful albums we've ever heard from Toshiko Akioshi – a wonderfully sensitive trio session that's quite different than her more bop-oriented work of the 50s! The mid 60s album features a fair bit of tunes pulled from traditional and Japanese sources – a few of the lullabies hinted at in the title, and a few more tracks with some slightly Eastern-styled themes. Toshiko's piano, while bold at times, also has a sensitivity that hadn't often shown up in her work by this point – a new sort of gentleness that's open to light colors and tones that really flesh out the album beautifully. Bass is by Yasuo Arakawa and drums are by Kanji Harada – and that's a young Monday Michiru sitting on the piano on the cover (and the album was also one of the last to bill Toshiko as "Mariano", referring to Monday's father Charlie.) Titles include "Mari To Tonosama", "The March", "Angel's Lullaby", "Tuppen Och Honan", "London Bridge", "Cancion De Extremadura", "Kanchororin Bushi", "I Ken Pien Tan", and "Chocho".

Prime mid 50s work from Lucky Thompson – recorded in Paris with the group of drummer Dave Pochonet, and featuring tracks that are longer than usual for a Thompson session! Thompson is on tenor throughout – and the other players include either Henri Renaud or Martial Solal on piano, Michel De Villers on baritone and alto, and Fernand Verstraete on trumpet. There's a bit looser feel to the set than some of Thompson's tighter sides from the US – and titles include "Let's Try Again", "Stewin Up A Wig", "Fascinating Blues", "Home Free", and "One For The Boys & Us".