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Instrumental versions of the Sex Style LP, from yet another of Kool Keith's personalities. With "Don't Crush It", "Sly We Fly", "Plastic World", "Still The Best" and "Keep It Real. . .Represent".

A fantastic album from this great Detroit alto player, and one that has a lot of beautiful lyrical passages that push him way past his straight bebop stuff. Barry Harris plays piano with a sweet mellow vibe, and Clifford Jordan lays down some of his usual sharp tenor solos. The title track is one of the best versions of "Con Alma" we've ever heard, and the record also has nice takes on "Eronel", "Chasing the Bird", and "Dexter Rides Again".

An excellent album from Carmen McRae – one of her hippest records ever, and a great set of vocal gems that often gets overlooked! Arrangements are by Benny Carter, Shorty Rogers, and Oliver Nelson – and the album's got a swinging groovy style that pushes Carmen past her straighter jazz vocal roots – into some hiply sophisticated territory that really shows her growing as a singer in the 60s. The album kicks off with an amazing reading of Tommy Wolf's "I'm Always Drunk In San Francisco", done by Carmen in a way that makes you know she owns the song – and then it moves through a compelling blend of compositions that includes "My Very Own Person", "Ask Any Woman", "Boy, Do I Have A Surprise For You", and "Elusive Butterfly".

One of the last great records by Charles Mingus – a set of extremely compelling original compositions, played by a fresh group of younger players, plus a few older masters! The record's got a fire and sense of emotion that's missing from a number of other 70s Mingus sessions – and it's one of the few later albums we'd easily rank right up there with his late 50s and early 60s classics! Orchestrations were partially arranged and conducted with help from Sy Johnson – and soloists include James Moody and Bobby Jones on tenor, Charles McPherson on alto, Snookie Young and Lonnie Hillyer on trumpet, and Roland Hanna on piano. Titles include "The Shoes Of The Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers", "Adagio Ma Non Troppo", "The Chill of Death", and "The I Of Hurricane Sue". CD features the bonus track "Taurus In The Arena Of Life".