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One of the last live appearances by Louis Armstrong – presented here in a really charming little album, issued in a small pressing by The National Press Club! The album's a great document of all the Armstrong charms in one package – as Louis talks as much as he plays – telling stories and speaking about the music on the first half of the set. The second half then features material recorded after Armstrong's passing – with Tyree Glenn and Tommy Gwaltney keeping up the vibe, especially on some of the spoken passages where Glenn talks about Louis! The sound quality is a bit "broadcast"-styled at the start – and titles include "Rockin Chair", "Royal Garden Blues", "Love For Sale", "Crazy Rhythm", and "It's Alright With Me".

A soul jazz Latin classic – one that matches the searing tenor work of Eddie Lockjaw Davis with the hard-hitting conga of a young Ray Barretto! The core group of the set is a soul jazz one – with Lockjaw blowing over rhythm by Lloyd Mayers on piano, Larry Gales on bass, and Ben Riley on drums – plus a small added trumpet section on a few tracks. Ray comes into the mix with some really tight percussion on the bottom, aided by a few other players at times – kicking up the tunes and giving them a lot of fire – something that Davis seems to really respond to in his horn. Thanks should also be given to arranger Gil Lopez, who put together the overall sound of the set – and the album's a hard groover all the way through, filled with Latin jammers like "Wild Rice", "Jazz-a-Samba", "Guanco Lament", "Afro Jaws", and "Tin Tin Deo".

A wonderful session by Andrew Hill – recorded in 1968, but issued only briefly in 1981 – and out of print for years! The session is a key one in understanding Hill's work – as it's a bridge between the arch modernism of his early Blue Note sides, and the more soul-oriented playing of the Grass Roots album. The group features Joe Farrell and Charles Tolliver on horns – both of whom open up the sound at the same time they're giving it a nice bottom – and the rest of the combo includes Victor Sproles on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. The album's an enchanting one – lighter than earlier years, but still with a compelling vision that's all Hill's own. Titles include "Dance With Death", "Love Nocturne", "Black Sabbath", "Partitions", and "Fish N Rice". CD features a bonus alternate take of the title cut.

A smoking second album from Rebbie Jackson – a set that has Rebbie working with strong production help from two of the bigger aspects of the Columbia Records soul family in the 80s – Tito Jackson and Reggie Lucas, who each handle a handful of songs along with David Conley and Howie Rice. The album's got a bubbly, perky approach to soul – almost more catchy and beat-heavy than Jackson's debut for the label, with cuts that include "Reaction", "Ticket To Love", "Ain't No Way To Love", "Lessons In The Fine Art Of Love", "Always Wanting Something", "You Send The Rain Away", and "If You Don't Call". CD features loads of bonus tracks – including "You Send The Rain Away (single)", "Reaction (single)", "Reaction (ext dance)", "Reaction (dub)", "Reaction (inst)", "Ticket To Love (7" mix)", and "Ticket To Love (12" mix)".

Two great Memphis instrumental groups, back to back on one CD – in a smoking little live set that keeps the Stax Records sound strong – even away from the studio! The set's actually heavier on work by Booker T & The MGs than it is cuts by The Mar-Keys – as Book and crew handle seven out of the record's ten tracks – all with that sublime Hammond-heavy groove that makes them so great – and which takes on an even rawer sound here in the live setting! But The Mar-Keys are pretty sweet too – maybe a bit looser than on their singles – and we mean that in a good way. Booker T & The MGs play "Green Onions", "Hip Hug Her", "Tic Tac Toe", "Booker Lou", "Gimme Some Lovin", "Outrage", and "Red Beans & Rice" – and The Mar-Keys serve up "Last Night", "Grab This Thing", and "Philly Dog".

A killer set of funky jazz from veteran vibes man Billy Wooten – backed by mod funk masters Speedometer – live at the London's Jazz Café! The hour + set was captured back in 2003, and the players are in fantastic form, sounding like they've worked together for years. They totally roll with a funky vibe, too, not so much on the gritty side of the sound, but with a deft, controlled energy that's phenomenal. Wooten's vibes out from of guitar, sax trumpet, flute, keys, drums and percussion of the mighty Speedometer. We wish we were there! Titles include groovy takes "Open Up JB (Paarty)", plus "Sookie Sookie", "In The Rain", "In The Middle", "Steve's Song", plus Wooten's "Chicango (Chicago Land)", "Monkey Hips & Rice" and more.

Possibly the greatest installment so far in this wonderfully groovy series – a set of hard-swinging soul jazz tracks from the 60s – most of them the sort you might find blasting out of a jukebox in the backroom of some southside bar! Heavy Hammond, tremendous tenor, and gritty guitar lines abound – all upbeat and groovy, almost funky at times – served up in 2 or 3 minute installments from a batch of rare 45s! There's echoes here of the instrumental grooves that play big on the popcorn soul scene, but other work is more jazz-based overall – and although a few tunes have vocals, the biggest focus here is on instrumental numbers. Wonderful stuff throughout – and a collection we'll be playing for years! Titles include "Bash Dance" by Bobby Donaldson, "Arabian Jerk" by The Merits, "La La La La La" by Afro Blues Quintet, "Take Off Your Shoes (part 1)" by Booker T Averhart & The Mustangs, "Hung Over" by The Martinis, "Senor Blues" by Dee Clarke, "Sweet Bread" by Miles Grayson Trio, "All Around The World" by Chuck Higgins, "COD" by Albert King, "Fredrick's Dream" by Kenny Rice & Leo's Five, and "Tam-A-Rind" by Hank Jacobs & The TKOs.

Two groundbreaking collections in one cool package! Volume 3 is one of our favorite volumes in the London Is The Place For Me collection – and a brilliant batch of work that criss-crosses West African, West Indian, and postwar jazz styles! Most of the recordings here were done under the leadership of Ambrose Adekoya Campbell – a transplant to London from Lagos in the postwar year, and an artist who had a huge influence on the changing rhythms of his scene. Campbell mixed styles of his roots with those of the larger London community around him – in a way that let in more Latin and Caribbean influences to more traditional African styles – often using guitar in a high-life styled way, but also bringing in some key jazz phrasings as well. Titles include "We Have It In Africa", "Iku Koni Payin", "I Am A Stranger", "Lagos Mambo", "Ela Da Awa", "and "Calabar-O" by West African Rhythm Brothers; "The Wind In A Frolic" and "Unity" by Nigerian Union Rhythm Group; "Ibikunle Alakija" by Ayinde Bakare & His Meranda Orchestra; and "Late Ojo Davies" and "Geneva Conference" by West African Rhythm Stars. Volume 4 features a collection of incredible work from the postwar, post-colonial years in the UK! As with other volumes, there's an array of Carribean and African influences at work here – often highly rhythmic and performed with lots of percussion, but also served up in ways that has the original modes coming into contact with more contemporary UK styles! Most of the work here was recorded in London, but overflowing with global styles that include mentos, high life, calypso, Latin, and even a bit of jazz – played by an array of artists who all found new means of expression in the capital. Titles include "Mambo Indio" by Shake Keane, "Alphonso In Town" by Lord Kitchener, "Give Her The No 1" by Eric Hayden, "Khauleza" by Dorothy Masuka, "Chicken & Rice" by Young Tiger, "Egyptian Bint Al Cha Cha" by Ginger Johnson, "Don't You Go Away" by Cab Kaye, "Highlife Piccadilly" by The African Messengers, "Darling Don't Say No" by Nat Akins, "African Jazz Cha Cha" by Ginger Johnson, "Piccadilly Folk" by Lord Kitchener, and "Ilu Oyinbo Dara" by Victor Coker.

A host of songs that may be familiar to your ears – but in versions that pretty obscure! The collection follows wonderfully in the spirit of the unique first volume – and again offers up the original versions of songs that later went onto become big hits for other artists – often presented here as indie 45s that hardly made much noise upon original release, but which obviously harbored enough genius to lead to famous recordings in later years! Styles change up nicely – a bit of rock, soul, and other modes in the collection's mix of 24 tracks – and titles include "California Dreamin" by Barry McGuire, "Hush" by Billy Joe Royal, "Sorrow" by The McCoys, "I've Got My Mind Set On You (parts 1 & 2)" by James Ray, "Old Man Willis" by Tony Joe White, "You Got What It Takes" by Bobby Parker, "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" by Don Cherry, "Leavin It All Up To You" by Don & Dewey, "Sing In The Sunshine" by Hoyt Axton, "Mustang Sally" by Sir Mack Rice, "Mbube" by Solomon Linda's Original Evening Birds, and "Higher & Higher" by The Dells.

Massive early work from Hubert Laws – and a set that really shows some more the more Latin and soul sides of his talents! Tracks here have a tight punch throughout – with some great New York 60s rhythms that feature a young Chick (then called "Armando") Corea on piano, then a much more Latin-tinged player – vamping, stomping, and grooving alongside Hubert's lead lines on flute! The rest of the group includes Richard Davis on bass and Bobby Thomas on drums – and the tunes are as groovy as they sound – with titles that include "Bimbe Blue", "Miss Thing", "All Soul", and "Black Eyed Peas & Rice".

One of the sweetest little jazz funk albums of the early 70s – and a masterful blend of vibes, guitar, and organ from this legendary Indianapolis combo! The group are probably best known for their backing work behind Grant Green on some of his funky Blue Note sides – or for vibes player Billy Wooten, who leads the group, and has had a huge influence on his own these days – but even if you've never heard of them, the record will grab you right away – as it's got a sinister funky groove that few other groups could hope to match! There's a really unique blend of vibes, guitar, and organ going on here – and although the record does have a bit of vocals, the main focus here is on the instrumentation – which jams together in ways that are unlike most other funk combos of the time, including a good number of the group's contemporaries at Westbound! Sweet original tracks include "Monkey Hips 'n Rice", "Looking Through The Windows", and "Dark Clouds Risin", plus a stellar cover of "Slippin' Into Darkness".

Mad funky vibes from The Wooden Glass – a group led by vibist Billy Wooten – an obscure player in the history books, but one who has had a huge influence on 21st Century groove! Billy's got a hard style on the vibes that's like Bobby Hutcherson and Roy Ayers at their soulful best – working here with a tight combo that includes guitar and organ, very much in the mode of his classic work with the slightly more famous (although equally obscure) Indianapolis combo The Ninteenth Whole! The set's a live one, but it really cooks with a sweet electric feel – echoey, funky, and soulful – as tunes spin out in a staggering approach to the vibes that's unmatched by any record of its time. Billy was a huge influence on Madlib and the sound of Yesterday's New Quintet – and hearing this set, it's virtually a blueprint for that group's current work! Includes great covers of "In The Rain", "Day Dreaming", and "Love Is Here" – plus Wooten's excellent original tracks "Monkey Hips & Rice" and "Joy Ride".

Harmony soul heaven – a wealth of rare soul singles issued by the Mainstream Records family of labels in the 70s – most of which have never been on CD before! Mainstream's best remembered as a jazz imprint from the period, but they also turned out plenty of great soul too – and this collection focuses on their strong talents with male harmony groups, on a wealth of great numbers to rival the more famous names coming out on bigger labels at the time! Most tunes move at a mellow or midtempo pace, but there's a few fuller, funkier numbers too – and tracks include "Talk To The Rain" and "You're So Hard To Forget" by Spring, "Let's Fall In Love" by Spectrum, "That's When He Remembers" by The Preparations, "Has Love Been Here Before" by The Fabulous Determinations, "Come Back With Love (parts 1 & 2)" by Special Delivery, "Someday Somewhere" by The Dramatic Experience, "I Feel It" by Dramatics, "Stop & Think A Minute" by Charles Beverly, and "Love Looks So Good On You" by Larry Rice.

The keys are coral, and the sound is sublime – one of the greatest albums ever from pianist Walter Bishop Jr, and proof that he can really stretch out, given the right setting! The piano here is all acoustic, but there's an almost-electric vibe to the date – long, open tracks that sway and swell with some great spiritual energy – made even more wonderful by work from reedman Harold Vick, who plays tenor, flute, and soprano sax on the record – and makes it one of his best recordings ever! The reedwork alone is worth the price of admission – but the rhythms are also great too – a mix of soulful, modal, and some slight funky bits – handled by Reggie Johnson on bass, and either Idris Muhammad or Alan Benger on drums. Woody Shaw plays trumpet on some cuts, too – and titles include "Coral Keys", "Soul Turn Around", "Freedom Suite", "Track Down", "Waltz For Zweetie", and "Three Loves".

Brilliant 60s pop from the team of Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart – best known for their key early songwriting work for The Monkees, but a heck of a great duo on their own! Boyce & Hart have a sparkly, sunshiney sound that's very much a part of The Monkees generation – a beautiful post-folk, post-surf blend of styles, and one that's served up with all the warmth and charm that made The Monkees so great – yet also with some cool twists and turns that make a record like this so great – the kind of chance-taking that A&M sometimes allowed its artists to take at the time! Backings are super-groovy – arranged by Artie Butler and Don McGinis – and titles include "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite", "Teardrop City", "I Wanna Be Free", "The Countess", "Population", and "Two For The Price Of One" – a great cover of a Larry Williams & Johnny Watson soul tune! Features bonus mono single tunes – "The Ambushers", "Love Every Day", "Where Angels Go Trouble Follows", and "I Wanna Be Free".

Damn, is this a great record! The album's not only one of the best blacksploitation soundtracks ever recorded, it's also one of James Brown's funkiest outings of the early 70s! Nearly every cut's a winner, and James gets some very funky help from The JBs, who groove hard on the best instrumental cuts, plus Lyn Collins, who sings a sock version of "Mama Feelgood" that's worth the price of the record alone! Includes the classic "Down & Out in New York City", plus "Blind Man Can See It", "Sportin' Life", "The Boss", "Dirty Harri", and "Chase".

A positive, powerful set from the always-great Sheree Brown – a new recording, but one that sparkles just as much as her rare classics for Capitol Records at the start of the 80s! Like those gems, there's a blend of jazz and soul here that's really wonderful – a special sound that puts Sheree in the rare company of artists like Minnie Riperton or Patrice Rushen – able to embrace so many ideas at once, and turn them into a rich new groove of her own! Rushen actually helps out a bit on the record, as does Leon Ware – although the main production credits go to Brown herself, who only seems to have stepped up her game in these recent years. Great proof that the great ones still keep on keepin on, if given the chance – with titles that include "Messages From The Heart", "Time For The Party", "Just A Simple Love", "I Think I'm Gonna Pray", "Getting Started", "We Can Chance The World", and a bonus version of Minnie Riperton's "Inside My Love".

The genius of Leroy Burgess knows no bounds – as you'll hear on this fantastic set of rare club tracks! Leroy first got his start in the group Black Ivory, but by the end of the 70s he'd left the ensemble to become a producer – working on their own work, as well as records by a host of excellent underground club acts on the east coast. Burgess had a wonderful approach to the music – taking enough of a groove from disco to keep things moving, but using his roots in soul to keep things real. Warm and soulful groovers throughout – with titles that include "Let's Do It" and "Sweet Thing" by Convertion, "Over Like A Fat Rat" by Fonda Rae, "Mainline" and "Hustlin" by Black Ivory, "You Dazzle Me" by Dazzle, "Summertime" by High Frequency, "Fly Girl" by Intrique, "Weekend" by Class Action, "You Can Do It" by Dino Terrell, and "100%" by Caprice.

Majestic Motown from the 70s – an almost-overlooked record, but a surprisingly sophisticated gem that's well worth discovering again! The album's definitely soul at the core, but embraces so many other rich styles too – and at points, almost feels like some of the most ambitious material of the Cadet/Concept scene in Chicago – especially given the full orchestrations on the tracks, handled by Jimmy Haskell and Jerry Long! Leonard Caston's the real genius behind the record, though – and works here to provide great support for co-vocalist Carolyn Majors – who trades leads back and forth with him, and is sometimes showcased on tracks that really let her heavenly vocals take off! The whole thing's great – and titles include an early version of the cut "I'll Keep A Light In My Window", which was later recorded by other groups – plus "Child Of Love", "There's Fear", "Satisfied Mind", "Let There Be Love", "No One Will Know", and "Say You Love Me True". CD features loads of bonus tracks too – 9 more numbers that act as a great second chapter to the album – titles that include "Mother's Son", "What About The Price", "If I Can", "We're Together", "I've Got To Fly", "Don't Let", and "I'm Flying Your Sky".

Early 70s greatness from Don Cherry – a double album's worth of profoundly spiritual soundscapes paired with lots of weird effects – and a very laidback groove overall! Tracks are written by Cherry, Terry Riley, Pharoah Sanders, and Nana Vasconcelos – and include performances by Don on trumpet, voice, and harmonium. Lots of cool percussion elements by the group, with some tabla and other Indian instrumentation. Titles include "Elixir", "Relativity Suite (Parts 1 & 2)", "Terry's Tune", "Hope", "The Creator Has a Master Plan", and "Resa".

One of the greatest soundtracks ever written by one of the maddest composers we've ever heard! Although Francois DeRoubaix never gets as much fame as some of the other big French composers, his work from the late 60s and early 70s is completely insane – as you'll hear on this groovy gem from 1970! The album's got a stunning array of great tracks – from funky groovers, to moody 60s numbers, to oddly-instrumentated numbers that show DeRoubaix as sort of a late 60s Raymond Scott! The reissue includes great notes and photos – and a total of 22 tracks that include "Muricette's Song", "Judo", "Audition", "Les Poupons", "Repetition", "Footing", "Claquettes", "Piti Piti Pas", "Generique Debut", and "Ballet Du Reve".

An early recording by the great Malian singer Na Hawa Doumbia – made in Abidjan, Ivory Coast in 1982 – which finds her backed by guitar, keyboards and raw drums that starkly frame her voice in a great way! It's that voice that really carries this recording – it's piercing, emotional and beautiful – and the raw accompaniment serves her really well. The set has 4 long, hypnotic songs: titles include "Ko Ro Dia (A Mamaye Drame L'Inoubliable)", "Dan Te Dinye La", "Sanaya (A Sidi Konate Pour Tourjours)" and "Kungo Sogoni".

A soaring classic from The Emotions – thanks to some supreme help from the Earth Wind & Fire side of the soul spectrum! This set has the trio really sounding great – with Kalimba Productions by Maurice White and Charles Stepney – and a good deal of EWF help on the instrumentation as well! The girls break out of the rootsier style used on their earlier Stax recordings, and manage to fit perfectly with the jazzy tinges of the new grooves – and, along with Ramsey Lewis and EWF, the Emotions were part of a hugely successful trinity during the late 70s – one that took the indie soul roots of the Chicago scene and turned it into landmark big business for Columbia Records. The album's got a new approach to female group soul that would go onto shape R&B for years to come – and titles include "Flowers", "I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love", "We Go Through Changes", "Special Part", and "You've Got The Right To Know". CD features a bonus single version of "Flowers".

A cooking little album from guitarist George Freeman – his first album as a leader, recorded during a brief initial period of fame at the start of the 70s! The album's got a stripped-down, very groovy feel – one that takes off from some of Freeman's 60s work with Groove Holmes – but which puts George center stage, and allows for plenty of examples of his amazing tone and phrasing on the guitar! The core group is a trio – with Sonny Burke on organ and Billy Mitchell on drums – and Freeman's more famous brother Von joins in on tenor sax on a good portion of the tracks – playing in a soul jazz mode that's arguably better than that used on his Atlantic debut, recorded right around the same time. One more track features an even more unusual lineup – with Lester Lashley on trombone, Robert Pierce on organ, and Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre on tenor, making one of his few appearances on record of this type! But the real star of the set throughout is George Freeman – playing the electric guitar with a quality that's unlike anyone else we can think of – a nitty, gritty tone that's almost a direct heir of T-Bone Walker, but a lot jazzier overall! Titles include the great funky number "Must Be Must Be", plus "Hoss", "Cough it Up", "Mama Papa Brother", "Birth Sign", "My Ship", and "My Scenery".

2 jazzy French soundtracks – both written for films directed by Bertrand Blier. First up is Les Valseuses, a 1973 score written by Stephane Grappelli, played by a small group featuring Grappelli, plus Maurice Vander on piano and organ, Philippe Catherine on guitar, Guy Pedersen on bass, and Daniel Humair on drums. The second set is even groovier – Calmos, written by Georges Delerue in 1975, and featuring the sublime talents of Slam Stewart, who plays bass and sings along with his instrument, backed by a small combo that includes Vander and Humair. The sound of this combination is incredible – with a rumbling guttural quality that must have worked wonderfully with the film. The set's got a total of 17 tracks in all – with notes and photos – and title sinclude "Calmos", "Les Joies Du Maquis", "Poursuite", "Rolis", "Jeanne", "Ballade", "Debandade", and "Calmos Tranquilos".

One of the only albums as a leader from bassist Henry Grimes – a hell of a great player who'd made his name working with Sonny Rollins, but who steps out here into much freer territory! The group features Grimes at the helm on bass, but also features killer contributions from Perry Robinson – playing outside clarinet here at a level that's even more farther reaching that Jimmy Giuffre at his 60s heights. The group's completed by drummer Tom Price, who really spurs the combo on strongly – as they work with a very raw, free sound that features tremendous interplay between all three instruments. One of our favorites on ESP – with titles that include "Fish Story", "Walk On", "The Call", and "Son Of Alfalfa".

A wonderful larger-concept piece from reedman Mats Gustafsson – and an important recording that really stands to only complement some of his freer, looser work of the time! The set's got a vibe that's similar to some of the best mixed composition/improvisation works of the 90s – put together with Gustafsson at the helm, conducting the actions of a nonet that also includes Barry Guy on bass, Sten Sandell on piano and prepared piano, Gunter Christmann on trombone and cello, Per-Ake Holmlander on tuba and aluminum tube, Axel Dorner on trumpet, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, Fredrik Ljungkivst on tenor and baritone, Raymond Strid on drums, and Mats himself on soprano, tenor, baritone, fluteophone, and French flageolet! The tape elements are relatively minor, and most sounds really come from the improvisations directed by Gustafsson – often in the farther reaches of sound that he was exploring strongly at the time – and surprisingly subtle, especially given the size of the group. Titles include "ABC", "ABCDEFG", "ABC", "ABCDE Coda", and "Intro AB".

Essential work from Eddie Henderson – one of the trumpeter's hippest albums of the 70s, and a key link between his early righteous days and his later smoother sound! The set's a near-perfect blend of all elements involved – tight funky rhythms, spacey soulful instrumentation, and wicked production work from the mighty Skip Drinkwater in the studio – a record that's as essential to his legacy as Gears is to that of Larry Mizell! Henderson's trumpet work is totally great – often muted, and always snakey inside the rhythms – and other players here include Julian Priester on trombone, Hadley Caliman on flute and soprano sax, Patrice Rushen on keyboards, Paul Jackson on bass, and Headhunter Mike Clark on drums. Titles include the excellent groover "Inside You", plus "Kudu", "Acuphuncture", "Time & Space", "Dr Mganga", and "Dark Shadow".

A really well-titled collection – given that it features the most important steps in the long musical journey of Pierre Henry – easily one of the most important electronic musicians of the 20th Century! The package offers a heck of a lot of amazing music for the price – and is very heavy on Henry's crucial 60s recordings – including both his funky analogue grooves, and his much more abstract sonic compositions! Much of this material has been issued over the years, but never in a package this complete – and the depth of the sounds here is stunning – a set that should be given as a textbook to anyone who ever thinks about making any sort of electronic music. Works include "Messe De Liverpool (1967)", "Pierres Reflechies (1982)", "Coexistence (1958)", "Mouvement Rhythm Etude (1970)", "La Noire A Soixante/Granulometrie (1967)", "Variations Pour Une Porte Et Un Soupir (1963)", "Le Voyage (1962)", "Futuristie (1975)", "Messe Pour Le Temps Present (1967)", "Le Xeme Remix (1998)", "Envol (2010)", "L'Art De La Fugu Odyssee (2011)", "Pulsations (2007)", and the previously unreleased "Le Fil De La Vie", which features cool shakuhachi!

The complete solo Capitol singles and Motown recordings by Patrice Holloway – the latter of which are seeing light of day for the first time ever! Patrice has a wonderful voice and tje material throughout this set, both mid 60s Capitol numbers and the sadly overlooked Motown recordings, is top notch and hit worthy to say the least. Patrice may be overshadowed by her sister Brenda, but the little we've been lucky enough to hear over the years suggested that she was just a twist of fate away from stardom – and this excellent set certainly confirms that! 25 tracks in all: "Stolen Hours", "Lucky, My Boy", "Evidence", "Black Mother Goose", "For The Love Of Mike", "Stevie", "Come Into My Place" (Brenda & Patrice Holloway), "All That's Good", "Love Walked Right In", "Crying", "Face In The Crowd", "(He Is) The Boy Of My Dreams", "The Go Gang" and more.

An obscure date from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and tenorist Benny Golson – but some really great work from both players! The format here is relaxed and very open – long tunes that allow both players to really stretch out on their solos with tremendous grace and imagination. And despite the low price and simple packaging of the set, the quality of both the music and recording is easily on a par with the best 80s work by Hubbard and Golson – and is a masterful meeting of both artists! The group's a quintet, with more additional great talent – including Mulgrew Miller on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Marvin Smitty Smith on drums – hitting the kit with a great sense of energy that really drives the session. Titles include a great acoustic reworking of Hubbard's classic "Povo", presented in a way that's still surprisingly funky – plus "Double Bass", "Sad To Say", "Far Away", "Gypsy Jingle Jangle", and "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing".

2 Isley Brothers gems from 2 different eras – back-to-back on a single CD! 1969's It's Our Thing is a stone classic – the album that kicked off their successful T-Neck label, and established that mighty Isleys sound that would have such a huge influence in the 70s! It's filled with sinister, sexy numbers that bristle with energy that's still heard best here at the point of its creation! Tracks include "It's Your Thing", "Give the Women What They Want", "He's Got Your Love", "I Know Who You Been Socking It To", "Don't Give It Away", "He's Got Your Love", "Save Me", "Feel Like The World", and "Somebody Been Messin". Go All The way came about a decade later – at the end of the 70s, and the Isleys are still going strong – keeping it real and going for a smooth soul sound that would be one of their biggest strengths during the early 80s! This sound can be heard to perfection on the tracks "Say You Will" and "Here We Go Again", both wonderful numbers that have this strident groove that's part "Harvest For The World", part compressed guitars and keyboards working in a smooth wall of sound. Those two alone are more than worth the price of the record, and other titles include "Pass It On", "Go All The Way", and "The Belly Dancer" – all done in the Isleys' trademarked "part 1 & 2" style!

The third great album in the trilogy that includes Off The Wall and Thriller – and a set that still has Michael Jackson running strong at the height of his solo powers! Quincy Jones is still at the helm, and Michael more than proves that he can still come up with a pop tune without going too far over the top – catchy, compelling numbers that played well all over the world of pop – but which still hang onto just a little part of his soul roots too! That balance is a key factor to the success of this set – a record that helped re-ignite interest in Jackson's music, and introduce him to a whole new generation – while still keeping most of the older fans plenty pleased too. Titles include "Just Good Friends", "Smooth Criminal", "Bad", "Another Part Of Me", "Man In The Mirror", and "Speed Demon". 2CD version is filled with great bonus material – a huge amount of tracks that include "Free", "Song Groove", "I'm So Blue", "Don't Be Messin Round", "Streetwalker", "Fly Away", "Price Of Fame", "Todo Mi Amor Eres Tu", "Je Ne Vieux Pas La Fin De Nous", "Bad (Afrojack rmx)", "Speed Demon (Nero rmx)", and "Bad (Afrojack club)".

The third great album in the trilogy that includes Off The Wall and Thriller – and a set that still has Michael Jackson running strong at the height of his solo powers! Quincy Jones is still at the helm, and Michael more than proves that he can still come up with a pop tune without going too far over the top – catchy, compelling numbers that played well all over the world of pop – but which still hang onto just a little part of his soul roots too! That balance is a key factor to the success of this set – a record that helped re-ignite interest in Jackson's music, and introduce him to a whole new generation – while still keeping most of the older fans plenty pleased too. Titles include "Just Good Friends", "Smooth Criminal", "Bad", "Another Part Of Me", "Man In The Mirror", and "Speed Demon". Second CD is filled with great bonus material – a huge amount of tracks that include "Free", "Song Groove", "I'm So Blue", "Don't Be Messin Round", "Streetwalker", "Fly Away", "Price Of Fame", "Toto Mi Amor Eres Tu", "Je Ne Vieux Pas La Fin De Nous", "Bad (Afrojack rmx)", "Speed Demon (Nero rmx)", and "Bad Afrojack club)". Also features the CD and DVD of Michael Jackson's massive performance at Wembley Stadium in 1988 – part of the Bad world tour,a nd filled with great performances!

Maurice Jarre's wonderfuls core for Topaz – one of the last great films from Alfred Hitchcock! The music is quite a change from some of the more bracing sounds you'd normally associate with classic Hitchcock – as Jarre comes up with this light and lovely theme that's interwoven through a number of different readings – a perfect European 60s soundtrack mode to fit the espionage setting of the film – carried off through some gentle woodwind passages, keyboards, and darker orchestrations. As things move on, a bit more shadow creeps into the music – yet things always return to a redemptive mode – in a way that's always been one of the best qualities of Jarre's classic scores. Titles include "From Copenhagen To Washington", "Suspicion", "The Hidden Microfilm", "Secret Identity", "Betrayal", "Main Title", and "French Embassy".

Rare music composed by Maurice Jarre – done relatively early in his career of work for feature films, but also some of his best! The album features new recordings of music from four early 60s movies – Pleins Feux Sur L'Assassin, Les Dimanches De Ville D'Avray, Judex, and Les Animaux – all Jarre music that was never issued on older soundtrack albums – which makes this collection even more essential! The recording is quite faithful to the spirit of older soundtrack music – nothing too contemporary at all, which means that all the tracks here definitely feel as if they were lifted from early 60s films – although with arguably better sound overall. The package features full notes in English and French – and the depth of Jarre's music is wonderful – far past what we might have expected from his bigger hits of later years.

One of the most fantastic albums by the JBs – a masterpiece of funky jamming, tight instrumentation, and that free yet tight style of the James Brown 70s years! The tracks are longer than on some of the earlier singles – especially the 8 minute jammer "(It's Not The Express) It's the JBs Monourail", an answer to BT Express' theme song, and a fantastic cut that's held up through so many years and so many scenes! Another great jammer is the group's version of "Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself", which runs for nearly 10 minutes – plus spacey funk tracks "Transmogrification" and "Taurus, Aires, & Leo", and the tighter jammer "Soul Funky Train", which returns to the group's funky 45 mode. Fantastic all around – and the kind of record you'll be playing for your grand kids! CD adds 5 extra bonus cuts, all from hard-to-find People singles, and not on other LPs – including "J.B. Shout", their version of "Alone Again", "Sportin Life", "Dirty Harri", and the two part classic "Everybody Wanna Get Funky One More Time". Nice stuff, and a good reason to pay the extra price for the Japanese reissue!

One of our favorite albums ever from Eddie Jefferson – one of the last sessions he ever recorded as a leader, and a stone cooker through and through! The arrangements here are by Slide Hampton, who hits a really soulful groove for the set – one that moves away from some of the more experimental modes of other Jefferson dates of the 70s, and hits a snapping, swinging style that moves Eddie back to his hippest modes of the 60s. Hampton plays trombone in the group, and other players include Charles Sullivan on trumpet, Richie Cole on alto, Junior Cook on tenor, Hamiet Bluiett on baritone, and Harold Mabern on piano and electric piano. Leon Thomas produced the record, and Joyce Lawson guests as the female voice on a remake of "Moody's Mood For Love". Other titles include a killer version of Duke Pearson's "Jeannine" that is probably worth the price of the album alone – and there's also "Benny's From Heaven" and "Freedom Jazz Dance", both of which are great, too – plus "Summertime", "Exactly Like You", and "Night Train".

Pure brilliance from the lovely Joyce – an album that sparkles wonderfully throughout – in just the way we love from her older classics! The passage of years hasn't dimmed her beauty at all – and both Joyce's vocals and acoustic guitar work are sublime – lively, but in a really subtle way – with plenty of jazz inflections, and a mix of bossa roots that goes way beyond just about any other artist who tries to work in territory like this! Even after decades of recording, Joyce has this really unique, really sublime approach to her music that makes her records unlike anyone else's – as you'll hear on tracks that include "Puro Ouro", "Estado De Graca", "Aquelas Cancoes Em Mim", "Claude Et Maurice", "Quero Ouvir Joao", and "Tudo".

An overlooked later gem from Ben E King – and a record that goes way past the overplayed hits of the early years! Ben's always been a hell of a singer – but on a record like this, we can really rediscover his genius all over again – hearing him on a fresh batch of Atlantic recordings from the 60s – raspy charm fully intact, and set to some growing sophistication in the uptown backings – some of which even introduce a slight touch of funk to King's groove! The key cut in this respect is the amazing title cut – "What Is Soul" – worth the price of the album alone, but mixed with loads of other nice ones too – including "Teeny Weeny Little Bit", "Get In A Hurry", "Katherine", "There's No Place To Hide", "Cry No More", and "The Record".

A pair of killers – back to back on a single CD! First up is the killer debut from the Dazz Band – issued way back when they were named Kinsman Dazz, and when "dazz" was a reference to the fact that the group could play both dance music and jazz! That jazzy element is definitely in place here – as the set's got lots of hip instrumental touches over the core funky grooves – produced with some great help from Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson, who bring in a bit of Earth Wind & Fire vibe – and set to some larger arrangements from Patrice Rushen, who ups the jazzy quotient too! But the core sound of the group is what really drives the album – a well-crafted batch of Ohio funky numbers that step along with the best of their generation – on titles that include "Makin Music", "Forget About Lovin You", "Get Down With the Feelin", "Stand In Your Way", "And I Mean", and "Dazzberry Jam". On the Dazz album, Kinsman Dazz are even funkier here than before – showing off their Ohio roots, and pointing the way towards the classic Dazz Band sound they'd forge in the 80s! Rhythms are very tight throughout – but still often touched with the jazzy elements that made the group so great in their early years – echoing a bit of an Earth Wind & Fire sound, as Philip Bailey's on board to help a bit with arrangements and background vocals. The whole thing's great – a super-tight record without any filler at all – and titles include "I Searched Around", "Love Design", "Keep On Rockin", "Can't Get Enough", "Dancin Free", and the wonderful "Catchin Up On Love", a spacey harmony track with a really anthemic sound!

A near-lost session from west coast tenorist Harold Land – recorded in the 60s, not issued at the time, and easily one of his greatest albums ever! The set is one of the few from the period that really has Harold biting hard on the tenor – grooving with a soulful edge that shows the other, under-recorded side of the LA scene of the late 50s and early 60s – the one that was too often eclipsed by bigger names on bigger labels. Land's set up here with a very unusual group (especially for Blue Note) – nearly all lesser-known players that include Martin Banks on trumpet, Amos Trice on piano, Clarence Jones on bass, and Leon Pettis on drums – all of whom work with styles that really help contribute to the freshness of the set. Land's tone is wonderful – slightly more open and personal than on some of his more tightly-crafted sets, and sparkling with some modern edges that we really like a lot! Titles are mostly originals too, and include "Blue Nellie", "Land Of Peace", "Take Aim", "Reflections", and "As You Like It".

Sweet soulful flute from the great Hubert Laws – gliding high here in a great session from his post-CTI years! The album's a bit more soul-based than some of Hubert's earlier dates – but that change is a great one, and really helps Laws find some rich new energy – a focus in the grooves that also really seems to set his flute free on its solo lines too – wonderfully fluid in the company of other players who include Patrice Rushen on keyboards, Roland Bautista on guitar, and Ronnie Laws on saxes. Debra and Eloise Laws add in some sweet backing vocals – and titles include "Music Forever", "Land Of Passion", "We're In Ecstasy", "Heartbeats", "The Key", and "We Will Be". CD features a bonus single edit of "Land Of Passion".

Some of the greatest jazz work ever recorded by Michel Legrand! Although Legrand's always been known for his sweet soundtrack work and his famous easy listening sides – he's also a heck of a jazz pianist, and here in this rare 1959 session, he works in a trio format that puts him right up there with the best of the French piano-technics of his generation, like Maurice Vander or Rene Utreger. The arrangements are wonderfully off-beat – and Legrand dances around the piano with a versatility that we didn't know he had. The group features Guy Pedersen on bass and Gus Wallez on drums – and titles include "Paris In The Spring", "Sous Les Ponts De Paris", "Paris Canaille", "Moulin Rouge", and "La Vie En Rose".

Serious compositional material by John Lewis – a series of work based upon the Italian tradition of commedia dell'arte, written for a larger group of brass instruments – and given a real "classics meets jazz" sort of vibe – but also handled with a gentle swing, too! Although Gunther Schuller's on the album in the French Horn section, Lewis himself conducts the ensemble – leading the brass section through a range of very short "fanfares" and longer tunes that feature Lewis on piano, George Duvivier on bass, and Connie Kay on drums. Titles include "Fanfare 1", "Piazza Navona", "Odds Against Tomorrow", "Piazza Di Spagna", and "La Cantatrice".

Two electric killers from Ramsey Lewis – back to back in a single package! Funky Serenity is sweet electric funk from Ramsey – one of his best from the 70s, and a set with Lewis on Fender Rhodes, electric harpsichord, and other keyboards, grooving away in an open-ended 70s mode that still retains all the heavy soul of his classic work for Chess. Morris Jennings adds in some very nice percussion with his drum work, and Cleveland Eaton's on funky bass, giving the set a strong bottom groove. Features the sublime sample cut "My Love For You", a great version of "Knights In White Satin" that's done with a weird spacey groove, plus the tracks "Kufany Mapenzi (Making Love)", "Serene Funk", "What It Is!", and "Dreams". Salongo is a tremendous little record, and one of the funky 70s sets that Ramsey Lewis recorded with Earth Wind & Fire! Well, not Earth Wind & Fire entirely – but the Kalimba Productions team of Maurice White and Charles Stepney that gave the group its sound – plus a nice sprinkling of other players that were often associated with sessions by the group! Ramsey's own combo here includes Steve Cobb on drums and vocals, and Derf Reklaw on reeds and vocals as well – and the overall sound has bits of African and Brazilian influences, worked into a soulful fusion groove that sounds a lot like the instrumental backings EWF were using at the time. Titles include "Brazilica", "Slick", "Rubato", "Salongo", and "Seventh Fold".

One of our favorite albums ever – and every track is a masterpiece! The album was originally cut for the tiny Chiaroscuro label in 1977 – and it's got a sound that's unlike anything else we can think of – soaring, soulful, jazzy, and righteous – wrapped up in a blend that's never been done this perfectly again! James Mason's a player who's know for a bit of keyboard work with other artists – but here, he's really working as a collective power – bringing together a brilliant ensemble that work as one to hit some sublime sounds – much in the way that Roy Ayers could work some key magic with his groups at the same time, but with a vibe that's very different too. Players include Ayers associates Justo Almario on saxes and Philip Woo on piano – and a young Narada Michael Walden adds some excellent drums to the record – a lot more powerful and funky than on most of his own albums! Lead vocals are by Clarice Taylor – who's got this unique voice that really makes the record – proud, but sensitive at the same time too – and Mason plays lots of Fender Rhodes, polymoog, Arp, and a bit of guitar. Titles include the breakbeat classic "Funny Girl", the monster groover "Sweet Power Your Embrace", the funky "Slick City", and the massive "Free" – but every cut's a winner, and others include "Mbewe", "Rhythm Of Life", and "Dreams". This is the kind of album that makes us proud to be in business!

A sweet 80s set from Johnny Mathis – one of those great later albums when he brought a good deal of soul into the mix! The feel here is almost more modern R&B than the vocal jazz mode that first brought Johnny fame – and it turns out that the Mathis mode is wonderful for such a setting – rich and full of feeling, and arguably better than some of his younger contemporaries on the charts! The ballads are beautiful, but there's also a few surprising midtempo numbers – and titles include a sublime remake of "Love Won't Let Me Wait", done with Deniece Williams – plus "Love Never Felt So Good", "Simple", "Priceless", "One Love", "Right Here & Now", and "Lead Me To Your Love" – plus "You're A Special Part Of Me", a duet with Angie Bofill. CD features two bonus tracks – "Simple (single vocal)" and "Simple (inst)".

A pair of funky jazz sets from Bennie Maupin – '77's Slow Traffic To The Right and '78's Moonscapes – together in a single set! Slow Traffic To The Right is Maupin's first LP for Mercury, and a great bit of spiritual funky jazz that recalls a lot of the sound of his work with The Headhunters. The first track, "It Remains to Be Seen", is an excellent groover, with some very dark keyboard work by Patrice Rushen, and the rest of the tracks are pretty great too. Pat Gleeson produced and plays synth on the LP, and the cuts include "Quasar", "You Know the Deal", "Water Torture", and "Lament". Next up is Moonscapes, and like a lot of the other Mercury jazz records from the late 70s, it's a great mix of funky jazz playing and smooth studio production. The production is again by Pat Gleeson, who was best known for his arp and synth playing in the mid 70s. Maupin's playing is great throughout, and his pinched hard reed sound feels good on both the fusiony tracks and the smoother funk ones! Tracks include "Nightwatch", "Sansho Shima", "Anua", "Crystals" and "Just Give It Some Time".

70s country genius from CW McCall – the man who took the trucker style to a whole new level! Trucker country had been around for at least a decade before CW cracked the charts – mostly tracks about the hard life, lost loves, and weary eyes of the truck driver in the US. But McCall really stepped things up with these tracks recorded for MGM – showcasing not just the core culture that had grown up in the rising world of the interstates, but also the growing politics that came with the job of driving a truck in an era when gas prices rose and speed limits dropped. And sure, some of these tunes might be seen as throwaway novelty/story numbers – but they've got a surprising depth when heard together like this – and you can trust us on that, as McCall's "Convoy" was one of the first 45s we ever bought! The set features 25 tracks in all – including "Black Bear Road", "Old 30", "I've Trucked All Over This Land", "Four Wheel Drive", "Night Rider", "Classified", "Wolf Creek Pass", "Crispy Critters", and the seminal "Convoy".

A heck of a lot of music for one mighty nice price – a fan-selected collection of the best tracks from Frank McComb, packaged here with a bonus disc of rare material too! Frank's always been very plugged in to his followers – and for this collection, he went to his audience and asked them to pick their favorites – the kind of killer soul tracks that have made McComb one of the true underground soul legends of the modern age – a one-man powerhouse who's been able to create some of the best soul music we've heard in years, yet all without the help of a major label or distributor! The set features two full CDs of "favorites", plus a bonus CD with nine more cuts that are "shorties" and instrumentals pulled from Frank's vaults – all delivered with the sweet keyboard lines you'd expect. Titles include "The Bar On 55th & Hough", "White Line In The Sky", "Watching The One You Love", "King Of The Open Road", "Gotta Find My Way", "All You Need Is Love", "Morning Glory", "V 12", "Somebody Like You", "Cupid's Arrow", "Characters Of Our God", "Future Love", "Intimate Time", "Shine", and "The Thing I Failed To Do". 39 tracks in all!

Mindblowing work from the mighty Frank McComb – an all-instrumental set, but one that's every bit as soulful as his vocal outings! As you might guess from the title, Frank's paying tribute to some of the greats from years past – and as you'd think from the electric piano on the cover, there's a deep 70s vibe to the whole album – amazing keyboard lines that recall the glory days of Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Patrice Rushen, George Duke, and other players who've inspired these grooves – but all handled by Frank here with a lean vibe that's all his own – real soul, and really soulful too – not some kind of quirky copycat tribute, and without any attempt to throw in too many contemporary beats – just the kind of real keyboard vibes we totally love – and which hardly anyone can record this well anymore! Tracks are all originals – and titles include "Chick", "Patrice", "Cha Cha", "Duke", "If It Wasn't For Herbie & Chick", "Just Ride", and "Asia".

A monster record by Brother Jack McDuff, and one of his best-ever – in our humble opinion! At first glance, the album appears to be just a bunch of jazz covers of standards and pop tracks – like "Tobacco Road", "Shadow Of Your Smile", "This Bitter Earth", and "Teardrops From My Eyes" – but Jack's got some help from JJ Jackson on the arrangements, and the outwardly simple tracks are twisted into these amazing grooves that have Jack wailing away in strange choppy funky ways on the organ! The whole album must be heard to be believed, and the version of "Shadow Of Your Smile", which starts with a nice break, is worth the price of the album alone! Plus, the whole thing's packaged in a very groovy cover, too.

One of the most spiritual albums to come from the young AACM movement in Chicago – a session that's somewhat equal in expression to some of the best post-Coltrane work on Impulse Records! Maurice McIntyre plays here with a sound that's already fully formed – an approach to the tenor that's as searingly human as that of Pharoah Sanders or Albert Ayler – but which is also played with a sharpness at times that recalls a young Marion Brown. The rest of the group is equally well-matched – a tremendous array of talent from the Chicago scene, with Malachi Favors on bass, Thurman Barker and Ajaramu on drums, Leo Smith on trumpet and flugelhorn, John Stubblefield on soprano sax, and Amina Claudine Myers on piano. George Hines vocalizes a bit on a few tracks – singing in a spiritual tone that's somewhat like Leon Thomas, but much freer and more abstract – and the album beautifully balances shorter musical statements with a fuller suite on side two – showing the deeper, more ambitious expressions that were starting to well up in the AACM. Titles include the tremendous "Humility In The Light Of Creator", plus "Hexagon", "Kcab Emoh", "Pluto Calling", "Life Force", and "Suite – Ensemble Fate". CD also features a bonus version of the title track!

Extraordinary work from one of the true giants of the American scene – a mindblowing set of mostly solo sounds from reedman Joe McPhee – also working here on flugelhorn and a bit of percussion as well! The set begins with the incredible "Glasses" – a piece that appears to have McPhee actually playing a glass in performance, and alternating with some searingly soulful sounds on tenor sax – blown with a texture that matches the glass wonderfully – already showing his amazing ear for sound shapes. Side two reminds us that McPhee's got a deeply spiritual side – as he takes on Coltrane's "Naima" in a haunting solo reading that's almost worth the price of the album alone – full of feeling, but graced with these textures that really open up the song. The set's completed by "New Potatoes" – a much more driving number with added help from percussionist Reto Weber – plus the promised flugelhorn from Joe!

Solid contemporary reggae from Senegalese singer Meta Dia and his Cornerstones Group – and a genuine effort, to boot – recorded at Tuff Gong! Meta Dia has long done well with 70s reggae influences, but he takes them deeper and truer here – with appearances by Capleton, U-Roy and Damian Marley. Includes "Roaring Lions", "Mayan River", "Price Of Everything", "Tijahni" with Capleton, "Loneliest People", "Beloved Africa" from Damian Marley, "Rooftop" with U-Roy, "Bahia", "Bound To Glory", "Mankind", "Ancient Power" and more.

Brilliantly funky! This is the greatest album they cut for Warner Brothers – and it's one of the few that ever really approaches the genius of their early work for Josie. The record features the incredible breakbeat cut "Just Kissed My Baby" – worth the price of the album alone – plus other nice ones like "Jungle Man", "Africa", "What'cha Say", and the perennial New Orleans favorite "Hey Pocky A Way". Also features the incredible funk jam "It Ain't No Use" – a monster track that's nearly 12 minutes long! Plus, the CD features 2 bonus tracks, single versions of "Hey Pocky A-Way" and "People Say"!

A classic set of smooth 70s soul from an under-recognized genius! Phillip Mitchell is a bit like his Atlantic Records contemporary Sam Dees – in that he wrote a lot of material for other singers, recorded a handful of singles, and worked mostly in the southern scene – but he also had a sophisticated, modern style that sounded a lot more like work coming out of New York, Philly, or Chicago. This lost album for Atlantic is a great example of that fact – as it was recorded at Muscle Shoals, but also features some Philly elements too – creating a great mix of modes that's wonderfully unique! There's a feel here that's just like some of the best work from Leroy Hutson, Johnny Bristol, or Leon Ware at the same time – a majestic, mature approach to soul that's simply tremendous. Titles include "In Between Lovers", "Top Of The Line", "I'm So Happy", "Let's Get Wet", "Paying The Price", and "If It Ain't Love It'll Go Away". Also features the bonus track "Take Me Away".

One of the most beautiful albums we've ever heard from bassist Red Mitchell – and a set that really shows the huge amount of growth he underwent after leaving the west coast scene and moving onto rich musical years in Sweden! The album features Mitchell completely solo – not just on bass, but a bit of piano and voice as well – used in ways that are spare, yet incredibly soulful – really showing us those rich tones that Red would sometimes shape in the background of other folks' recordings – finally brought out in the spotlight here! There's some original tunes that are especially nice – but even familiar numbers are really transformed by Mitchell's presentation here – a compelling batch of music that has a feel that's a lot more timeless than its 1985 date might imply. Titles include "Rainy Night", "Arrival", "The Genius To Compose", "Bass Suite Sweet Bass", "Body & Soul", and "Heaven's Here".

One of the first bold statements to come from Chicago's AACM underground of the 60s – a tremendous debut effort from the young Roscoe Mitchell! The album's got a "sense of the new" feel that's as gripping as anything recorded by ESP or Impulse around the same time – a rule-breaking, freely-creative approach to jazz that builds strongly off the changes already wrought by Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, and Archie Shepp! The format is somewhat like the Art Ensemble Of Chicago at times – with measured horn work from Mitchell on alto, clarinet, and recorder, Maurice McIntyre on tenor, Lester Bowie on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Lester Lashley on trombone (as well as a bit of cello). Some tracks – like the brilliant "Sound" – offer a slow-building exploration of tones and textures – while others, like the blues-joke "Little Suite", or the harmelodic "Ornette", show a wry sense of humor that would become a Chicago avant hallmark as the years went on! CD also features bonus alternate takes of "Sound" and "Ornette".

A great early 60s set from Modern Jazz Quartet! This one marked the then growing sophistication in the sound of the Modern Jazz Quartet – a concept album based on themes and characters from the Italian tradition of commedia dell'arte. The music is served up in gentle sound poems that have a haunting, timeless sort of feel – very spare and melancholy – with lots of tragic overtones, and hardly the comedic sound you'd expect from the title! Diahann Carroll sings on the track "La Cantatrice" – and other numbers include "Spanish Steps", "Columbine", "Piazza Navona", and "Harlequin".

A lost western score from Ennio Morricone – directed with some nice musical flourishes by the great Bruno Nicolai! The work's got the feel of some of Morricone's more famous spaghetti western scores – with some great moody passages that hint at the offbeat instrumentation of his horror work, coupled with more driving action-related tunes that have a more driving feel overall – and together, these tunes weave a very visual tapestry of sound – possibly even more compelling than the actual film! Titles include "Viva La Revolucion", "Tepepa E Price", "A Meta Strada", "Una Povera Casa", "Consegna Delle Armi", and "Tradimento Secondo". New CD version features a whopping 28 tracks in all – over 70 minutes of music!

A really unique album from funky drummer Alphonse Mouzon – a set that has him putting away some of the guitars used heavily on other Blue Note records, in exchange for a keyboard-heavy groove that almost sounds a bit like Gene Harris a the time! In addition to drums, Alphonse solos a fair bit on Arp, moog, and organ – alongside other keyboardists Harry Whitaker and Leon Pendarvis – both of whom contribute some really great work to the set. Tracks are shorter and more focused than before – and a number of them include vocals from Alphonse, sung in a rough-edged style that goes quite nice with his heavy drums on the set! Titles include the incredible break track "You Don't Know How Much I Love You" – worth the price of the album alone – and other tracks include the great "Funky Snakefoot", plus "Tara Tara", "Ism", "I've Given You My Love", "I Gotta Have You", "A Permanent Love", and "Where I'm Drumming From".

A landmark of 70s Afro-styled jazz – and the first album by this famous underground collective! Oneness of Juju were a Washington DC-based group that grew out of the ashes of the Juju avant jazz ensemble – formed in the culturally rich African-American community of DC in the 70s, with spiritual and political aspirations that stretched far beyond the average funky combo. This first album is a masterful blend of percussion, jazz, and a slight bit of funk – alternating vocal tracks with harder-hitting jazz instrumentals, all held together under the leadership of sax player Plunky Nakabinde – a reedman whose work here alone is worth the price of admission – laid out nicely alongside some great percussion, Fender Rhodes, and wonderfully worm vocals on a few tracks. The album's one of the greatest independent soul jazz albums of the 70s – and it's filled with great tracks, such as the breakbeat classic "African Rhythms" and "Liberation Dues" – plus "Kazi", "Funky Wood", "Don't Give Up", "Poo Too", and "Incognito". CD features nice bonus tracks – "F#", "Don't Give Up (45 version)", "Got To Be Right On It (45 version)", "Nooky", and "Plastic (45 version)".

It's a few years after Freda's big hit "Band of Gold", and she's recording here in a very different mode! The record is produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland, with arrangements by a number of different talents, like McKinley Jackson, Tony Camillo, and Michael Smith – and the overall sound is much more sophisticated than on some of Freda's earlier work. The vocals are especially sharp – quite mature, and almost in a mode that points towards later work by singers like Jean Carn or Marlena Shaw during the late 70s. Includes the nice midtempo groover "We've Gotta Find A Way Back To Love", worth the price of the album alone – plus "Mood For Love", "Reaching Out", "Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right", "Mother Misery's Favorite Child", and "Right Back Where I Started From".

A killer hardbop session – and a long lost classic! This stunning set is one of the best, and hardest sessions ever cut for the Bethlehem label – and it's got a raw pounding groove that sounds a lot more like some of the classic soul-tinged hardbop coming out on Prestige during the late 50s, than some of the more west coast oriented sessions that were usually Bethlehem's groove. Drummer Charlie Persip leads a crack quintet that includes Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Ronnie Matthews on piano, and the amazing Roland Alexander on tenor. Alexander was a fantastic soul jazz player in the early 60s – and he was hardly ever recorded, and his work on this session is worth the price of the album alone. Everyone's great, though – and even a young Marcus Belgrave makes an appearance on trumpet on one track, as Freddie Hubbard sits out. Tracks are all long, and titles include "Sevens", "Right Down Front", "The Champ", and "Soul March".

The last album ever from the amazing Minnie Riperton – and one of her greatest records as well! The album was sadly issued after Minnie's untimely early passing from this planet – but it's a heavenly batch of tunes that definitely shows that her love of music lives forever – thanks not only to a strong talent for songwriting and sublime production from husband Richard Rudolph – but also some important help from a variety of all-star guests who are all brought together out of deep affection for Minnie. George Benson, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Roberta Flack, Patrice Rushen, Peabo Bryson and others all make key appearances here – working with arrangements from Johnny Pate, and vocals the Minnie recorded for the record before its completion. Titles include the perennial favorite "Here We Go" – easily one of Minnie's greatest tunes ever – plus "I'm In Love Again", "You Take My Breath Away", "Strange Affair", "Island In The Sun", and " The Song Of Life (La-La-La)".

2 incredible albums from 70s soul legend Minnie Riperton – back to back on one nicely-priced CD! Stay In Love is is one of the key albums of Minnie's career – recorded when she was at the height of her power, forging a whole new soul sound that mixed her incredible voice with jazzy modern arrangements that were a few years ahead of most of the other singers at her level. The album's subtitled "A Romantic Fantasy Set To Music", and it features a swirling mix of ballads and uptempo tunes – all with a sexy sound, and some of the most seductive vocals that Minnie ever recorded. Includes the club groover "Young Willing & Able", plus "Can You Feel What I'm Saying?", "Gettin' Ready for Your Love", "Could It Be I'm In Love", and the great "Stick Together", written with Stevie Wonder. Minnie was the last album released before Riperton passed away from a tragic early death – and it's a wonderful batch of jazzy modern soul cuts that gives a good indication of the direction that Minnie might have gone in the 80s! The album's got plenty of great guest players – including Minnie's longtime fan/friend Stevie Wonder, plus Phil Upchurch, Jose Feliciano, Hubert Laws, Harvey Mason, Tom Scott, and many others – and production is handled by the usual Rudolph/Riperton team, with help from Henry Lewy. Includes the great track "Memory Lane", which gets endless airplay here in Chicago, plus the beautiful ballad "Never Existed Before", and the cuts "I'm A Woman", "Lover & Friend", and "Return To Forever". 17 tracks on one CD!

Easy instrumentals and jazzy genius from the early 70s Brit scene – groovy, moddish jazz takes on pop and soundtrack hits of the time from the Harry Roche Constellation – with a vibe that betters the grooviest of sound library discoveries! There's a loungey charm to many of the tunes, but trombonist Roche and his Constellation get down and dirty in spots, too – such as on the priceless, tripped out fuzzy funk version of "Pinball Wizard" – and that's just one highlight of this should-be classic! Blasting horns, easy keys, chiming strings, jazz funk bass and grooves galore! Players include the cream of the crop of period British session players. Tracks include "Superwoman", "Tangerine", "That's Living", "Rhapsody In Blue", "Good Morning Heartache", "Pinball Wizard", "Lay Lady Lay", "Ludmilla's Theme", "Spiral" and more. Tracks from Sometimes include "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", "Watch What Happens", "Moonlight Serenade", "You've Got Possibilities", "Sometimes", "The Prowler", "Marmalade Molasses And Honey", "Carnaby Chick", "My Romance" and more. 21 tracks in all!

A nice reissue which brings together 3 LPs by one of the most underrecognized talents of 70's soul! DJ's deep soul voice is smooth and mellow, with the kind of honest heartbreaking quality that you find in the best work by Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder. It's Good To Be Alive finds DJ in a strong set of arrangements that have a stripped-down feel, with a little bit of electronics, as on some of Stevie's best LPs from the early 70's. Tracks include "Hold On, Be Strong", "Think I'll Make It Anyhow", "If You Didn't Love Me (Don't Go Away)", "Love You Forever", and "Say You Love Me". On the Road Again is another classic work from DJ – with a soaring, sweeping, righteous soul feel that reminds us of Rance Allen at his best, or of some of the smooth work of Lamont Dozier from the same time. DJ wrote, arranged, and produced all the tracks on this album, and the cuts have a slight nod towards spiritual gospel, with excellent jazzy touches that keep things in a modern vein. Titles include "Let My Life Shine", "Secret Lady", "Girl I Love You", "Say You Love Me, One More Time", and "Holding On To Love". Love Music & Life is as great the other two – with tracks that include "Saved By Love", "Love Will Make It Better", "No Price", "You Against You", "Hold Out For Love", and "Love Is On The Way". 30 tracks on 2 CDs!

A stone smoker from Rongetz Foundation – and a record that's even better than anything else we've heard from them! This time around, the sound is very live – recorded in the US, with help from heavyweights like Ronnie Cuber on baritone sax and Bruce Williams on alto – plus killer vocals from Gregory Porter on two tracks that are worth the price of the album alone! The sound is totally smoking – soul jazz, with a spiritual undercurrent – and on the cuts "Hard Bop Merry Go Round" and "Gogo Soul", Porter gets some of his best backing ever – a mode that almost sounds better than his already-great albums! A few other cuts feature vocals by other singers – and titles inclu de "Eunice K", "Sam's Intro", "A Composer Of Modern Day", "The Braggart", and "Freaking Sunshine".

A pivotal record for Patrice Rushen – a set that has her really tightening up the groove from previous albums on Prestige – heading much more towards the focused soul-drenched grooves of her Elektra Records years! The set's a stunner – still very much with the hip, west coast funky fusion vibe of Rushen's roots – but even groovier overall, with loads of massive cuts that hold up beautifully over the years – and which still show a side of Patrice that's much different than her later hits. Titles include the classic cuts "The Hump", "Stepping Stones", and "Shout It Out" – all perfect jazz funk gems in the best Prestige/Fantasy mode of the mid 70s – and other tracks include "Roll With The Punches", "Let There Be Funk", "Let Your Heart Be Free", "Yolon", and "Sojourn". This Soul Brother UK edition includes a bonus single verion of "Let Your Heart Be Free".

Patrice Rushen in a crisp 80s soul mode! Watch Out finds Patrice really cutting down the keyboards in favor of stronger vocals right out front – breaking all the rules, as the title of the second song tells it – and it works really well! Most of the arrangements, synth and drum programming are by Patrice herself, and she has a more sure-footed control of the era's R&B style than we remembered! The title track is fantastic, with a tight synth funk undercurrent and hooky, insistent vocals from Patrice – facets that carry throughout the album – plus strong ballads in "Somewhere" and "Till She's Out Of Your Mind". Patrice's only album for Arista – and it's a nice one! Other tracks include "All My Love", "Anything Can Happen", "Burnin", "Breakin All The Rules" and "Come Back To Me". This FTG CD edition includes 4 bonus tracks: "Anything Can Happen (East Coast Dub Mix)", "Come Back To Me (Extended Mix)", "Come Back To Me (Acapella Mix)" and "Watch Out (Extended Mix)".

One of the rare Blue Note gems from Brazilian arranger/composer Moacir Santos – an album of incredible warmth and charm, with a sound that's hardly been duplicated again! Santos is usually best known for his early bossa arrangements in the 60s, but here he's working in the US – hitting a sweet LA groove that mixes his earlier Brazilian styles with breezy touches from 70s jazz – done in a great mix of acoustic and electric instrumentation that sparkles tremendously throughout! The rhythms alone are worth the price of admission – complicated, compelling, but always grooving straight ahead – far different than both the usual sound of Brazilian jazz and Blue Note at the time, and a unique hybrid that's certainly one of Santos' finest moments on record. A few tracks feature vocals as well, done in a nicely reserved mode that fits in perfectly with the instrumentation of the tunes – and titles include a wonderful version of the song "Kathy", recorded previously as an instrumental by Horace Silver – plus "Off & On", "Amphibious", "Early Morning Love", "Suk Cha", "The City Of LA", and "Haply-Happy".

A beautiful document of the work of Sevda – a cool Swedish group from the early 70s, and one who mixed together equal parts jazz and Turkish music! First up is their Jazz I Sverige album form 1972 – a mixture of jazz and folkloric influences – a really unique album that shows the rich cross-cultural tendencies going on in the Swedish jazz scene of the 70s! The group's fronted by Maffy Falay, who plays trumpet and piano – but many of the tracks have dominant violin from Salih Baysal, a Turkish player who worked with the group, and who brought along a lot of inspiration for the tunes on the set. Bernt Rosengren's also on the album – playing tenor and soprano saxes – and the group also features Okay Temiz on drums and percussion, Gunnar Bergsten on baritone sax, and Ove Gustafsson on bass. Titles include "Oyun Havasi", "Taksim", "Kaynasma", "Ya Mustafa", "Karsilama", and "Balkan". Next up is Live At Jazzhus Montmartre – a strange mixture of jazz and folk tunes – played by a group that features guest work by violinist Salih Baysal. Side one is solo violin – all Turkish folk tunes, but not that interesting to our ears. The real charmer, though, is side two, which features medleys of other Turkish tunes, played in a way that mixes folk and fusion forms. The group that plays on that side includes Okay Temiz on percussion, Gunnar Bergsten on baritone sax, and Maffy Falay on trumpet, piano, and Darbuka – and they have a tight sound that's in keeping with some of the MPS Jazz Meets The World projects. Titles include "Karsilama", "Naciye", "Kurt Ali", "Kocekce", and "Ya Mustafa". Plus, the set also comes with a bonus DVD – featuring 1972 TV performances by this unique group – really amazing music – packaged in a box with a big booklet too.

Two amazing albums from sound library maestro Patrice Sciortino – experimental, but also pretty darn groovy too! Percuplusions features tunes that often mix odd rhythms and weird keyboard parts – sometimes electric harpsichord, sometimes an instrument that may well be prepared piano – used in a way that's every bit as rhythmic as the percussion! There's a core rootsy feel to the music that's almost like some of Moondog's 50s recordings – although the overall approach has more of a French avant style as well – like some of the late 60s records coming out on Philips, issued here on the Limelight electronic series. Titles include "Isogones", "Natcos", "Wood Wood", "Cryptile", "Ronces", and "Matic". Next is Gynorhymies 1 – a record that sounds like it's got sort of a dirty title, but which was actually composed for dance excercises – although exercises of a very offbeat nature! The music is a nice blend of acoustic percussion and some electric touches – the latter of which are usually used sparely, mostly on keyboard, and folded into the percussion – so that the music is very rhythmic throughout! The CD features all the short tracks from the original album – plus some bonus tracks as well – 44 titles in all, and almost 80 minutes of very unusual sounds!

Unusual stuff – a spoken word document on Haitian culture, presented entirely in French! Maurice Sixtoo has a pretty compelling speaking style – and the album features one long recitation, which takes up both sides of the record!

About as classic as you can get for The Spinners – and one of the group's marvelous 70s collaborations with the mighty Thom Bell! Before hooking up with Philly, The Spinners were already a wonderful vocal group – but here, in the hands of Bell, they hit a sound that's completely sublime – a mix of well-crafted harmonies and well-directed backings – soaring one minute, gently fragile the next – all delivered with the same sort of charm that you might expect from Blue Magic or The Stylistics at their best. Like those groups, The Spinners here manage a depth that goes way beyond simple hitmaking soul – as you'll hear on the album's wonderful assortment of tracks that include "Mighty Love", "He'll Never Love You Like I Do", "Love Don't Love Nobody", "Ain't No Price On Happiness", "Since I Been Gone", and "I'm Glad You Walked Into My Life". CD also features 4 bonus tracks – "I Wish I Could Sleep", "I Just Gotta Make It Happen", "Mr Big Man", and "You Sure Are Nasty".

Beautiful solo work from Horace Tapscott – a record that's a bit gentler than some of his other sessions for Nimbus – very stretched out and moody, and with a wonderfully contemplative feel overall! There's a bit of echo in the recording quality here – so that even when Tapscott's notes are spare, they still ring out with a good sense of presence – stating their case simply, but with great effectiveness – as Horace makes his way through a set of original tracks, plus a few well-chosen numbers by other jazz artists. Titles include "Nica's Dream", "Vigilance", "Straight Street", "Sabroso", "Full House", "A Call For All Demons", and "For Patrice".

A pair of very different albums from John Tchicai – both hard to find, and brought together here on a nicely priced package! Strange Brothers is overlooked brilliance from reedman John Tchicai – a late 70s session recorded for the FMP label, and easily one of the most soulful sets on the imprint at the time! The album's a tremendous showcase not only for Tchicai's work on soprano, alto, and bamboo flute – but also for the hard-edged tenor of Simon Spang-Hanssen – a player we don't know well, but who really unfurls with a nice sense of force on the set – pushing John even more than usual! Rhythms are great too – very bold, but focused enough to provide a strong pulse on the record – almost a modal groove at times – thanks to work from Peter Danstrup on bass and Ole Romer on drums. Titles include "KW", "I En Kaelder", "Darktown Highlights", "Mao", "Increasing Cosmopo", and "Cloak N Dagger". Put Up The Fight is one of the most electric records we've ever heard from reedman John Tchicai – not on his own instrument, but in the use of guitar and keyboards in the set – sometimes in modes that are nicely rhythmic, other times quite abstract! Tchicai's tenor, soprano sax, and bass clarinet are definitely the main focus of the record – but the settings change nicely throughout, thanks to work from Bent Clausen on vibes, guitar, and keyboards; Peter Danstrup on electric bass and keyboards; and Ole Romer on drums, percussion, and more guitar! At some moments, there's almost a New York 80s avant vibe to the record – but at other times, things have the more soulful feel of Tchicai's older work. Titles include "Put Up The Fight", "Adieu Tristesse", "Mai Mai", "Yoke Them Johnny", "Colomentality", and "Barbe Better".

A great British folk set from Steve Tilston – featuring all acoustic and all original material that gives it a pretty wonderful and timeless feel! Tilston has a warm voice and melodic style that's pretty darn great – which sounds to us like it'll have a pretty broadly reaching appeal. The songs are great, and really should appeal to fans of acoustic singer-songwriter records and deeper folk connoisseurs. Solidly rooted on Tilston's voice and guitar, but with accompaniment from Village Thing labelmates on guitar, picked and bowed bass, harmonica and violin. Includes "I Really Wanted You", "Simplicity", "Time Has Shown Me Your Face", "Train Time", "Sleepytime On Peel Street", "Normandy Day", "It's Not My Pace To Fail", "Show A Little Kindness" and more. 5 bonus tracks: "The Price Of Love"., "Show A Little Kindness", "Here You Go Again", "The Price Of Life" and "When I See Your Face Again'.

A nice little tribute to soul, jazz and fusion legend George Benson – and a project that's a labor of love for Benson-devotee, soulful spirit and brilliant guitarist U-Nam – with an allstar lineup that features Ronnie Foster, George Duke, Patrice Rushen, Andreas Oberg, Tim Owens, Marcus Millers and others! Benson is an artist who embraced diversity and creative evolution – and this tribute does that legacy proudly. It’s rich with fusiony soul groovers that are laced with some truly impeccable guitar work. It's got some throwback swagger in spots, but it's also got some distinctly modern soul appeal – and an all around affectionate spirit. U-Nam plays guitars, keyboards and more here – on top of handling the recording and arrangements – and the guests bring their best! Includes "Weekend In LA" with Rhodes and clavinet by Ronnie Foster and vocals by Andreas Oberg, "Give Me That", "Shiver" and more with singer Tim Owens, "This Masquerade" with more great Fender Rhodes – this time by George Duke, "Hip Ship", "Before You Go/Breezin'" with Patrice Rushen, "Nature Boy" with Stokely Williams and more.

Two sets of piano solos from Per Henrik Wallin – recorded over two decades apart, yet together showing a tremendous legacy in music! The 1982 tracks are amazingly dynamic – at times bursting forth with almost Cecil Taylor-like runs on the piano, at other times moving with a more careful modernism that you might expect from a player like Paul Bley or Steve Kuhn – yet always managing to come across with a sense of soul in the process – a warm that really makes the tracks resonate strongly with our ears. The 2003 recordings have even more of this sensibility – a balance between modernism and swing that's not unlike the sounds of Herbie Nichols or Elmo Hope in the 50s – although with a slightly freer vibe overall. In these sides, Wallin's got a great command of the keyboard – yet still always manages to find the "heart" of the piano, even when running free – a quality that many others would do well to follow. Titles include "Lullaby For Harry", "Southern Exit", "Rats Of Wisdom", "One Knife Is Enough", "Vattern", "Receptet", "People", "Fanerier Nr 8", "My Pearl Just Left", and "You Once".

A tremendous sophomore set from Donna Washington – working perfectly here in the hands of Capitol soul maestro Chuck Jackson! Jackson's touch is wonderful here – just the right blend of cool and class, groove and grace that he brought to some of the label's best at the time – including Natalie Cole! And like Cole, Washington's got a hell of a great voice when someone points it in the right direction – which it definitely is here, in a blend of warm mellow groovers and a few more upbeat tracks – numbers that push Donna into an 80s groove mode and avoid any of the clunky disco cliches that another producer might have tried. The balance is wonderful – and carried off by a range of top-shelf studio players like Patrice Rushen on keyboards and Ndugu Chancler on drums – on titles that include "I See Home", "Scuse Me While I Fall In Love", "I Want You Tonight", "Share Your Love With Me", and "Going For The Glow". CD also features a bonus track – "Scuse Me While I Fall In Love (single mix)".

An overlooked soulful gem from Michael White – one of his smoother albums, but with a tight sound that really makes the whole thing great! The set was produced by George Duke, and it's got the same feel as some of Duke's best work of the time – soaring, soulful, with a style that blends fusion and soul – and which often features vocals. White plays his usual electric violin, and the album also features work by Patrice Rushen, Greg Phillinganes, and Duke himself performing as Dawili Gonga on keyboards. Titles include "Smile In Your Eyes", "You Are My Heartbeat", "Love Call", "The Red Planet", "Well Do It Then", and "Let Love Be Your Magic Carpet".

A pretty sweet late 70s set from Deniece Williams – produced by Maurice White of Earth Wind & Fire – and it sounds like it! The set ranges from catchy, crossover ready funky soul sweetened ever more by Deniece's amazing voice, to more stripped down and intimate numbers. There's a couple of stylistic detours, one bright eyed gospel soul tune and a more grandly furnished ballad or two – but for the most part it's a wonderfully produced late 70s funky soul set that takes flight even higher thanks to Deniece's incredible range! Titles include "Time", "We Have Love For You", "Season", "Be Good To Me", "The Paper", "Boy I Left Behind", "Baby, Baby My Love's All For You" and "God Is Amazing". This CD edition includes a bonus track: the promo single version of ""Baby, Baby My Love's All For You".

Genius work from Denice Williams – a singer who'd cracked the charts a bit as Denice Chandler, with a little girl soul sound, way back in the 60s – but who's grown up considerably by this essential 70s set! Chandler's voice is still a bit high – almost in a Minnie Riperton sort of mode – and she's working with some great help from the Earth Wind & Fire camp, considering that production is by Maurice White and Charles Stepney! Like the best EWF work of the 70s, the album's polished, but has a tremendous sense of depth – feelings that are mature and massively soulful, and which are quite different than Williams later pop from the 80s. Titles include her standout classic "Free", plus "It's Important to Me", "Watching Over", "Cause You Love Me Baby", "How'd I Know That Love Would Slip Away", "That's What Friends Are For", and "Slip Away". This Big Break UK remastered edition has 3 bonus tracks: "Free (Short Single Version)", "That's What Friends Are For (Single Version)" and "Free (Long Single Version)".

A brilliant batch of NuSoul tracks from Jimi Tenor's very talented wife! Jimi's been trying to hit a soulful note for years – but he never really got it right until he hooked up with Nicole Willis, a sweet voiced soulstress with a classic approach to a lyric, crafted here alongside some very compelling arrangements produced with Jimi and Maurice Fulton. The album's got all the icy soul of Jimi's own work, but opens up wonderfully thanks to Nicole's wonderfully warm vocals – creating a mix of styles that pushes past expectations you'd have from any new work, either electronica or NuSoul. Titles include "Siesta", "Curiosity", "Bliss Of Life", "Heed The Sign", "I'm Not Going", "All The Time", "Dinosauri", and "Xibeca".

Sublime work from pianist Spike Wilner – a player who's really becoming one of our favorite contemporary talents these days! We've really grown to love Spike for his work on the Live At Smalls series – both for his tireless energy as one of the best live jazz engineers around, and for his key contributions to a few of the sets – and on this non-Smalls trio date, he's even more sparkling and vivid than ever – really opening up with his style, and letting us see a side of his talents we don't always catch on record. In addition to some of the older piano modes that Wilner's always been great at, he also steps out here with a bold, lyrical sensibility at times – one that's especially vivid on his original tunes – which are worth the price of admission alone, and reveal a great skill as a writer, especially for trio material. The rest of the group features Dezron Douglas on bass and Joey Saylor on drums – and titles include "Happy Ending", "La Tendresse", "Silver Cord", "Lullaby Of The Leaves", "Le Sucrier Velours", and "If I Only Had A Brain".

A loving look at the Adventure Music label – served up in a 3CD set that offers a heck of a lot of great music for a very low price, all hand-picked by the lovely Monday Michiru! Adventure's been one of the best sources for Brazilian music and acoustic sounds for the past decade – a label with a really strong dedication to a few sorts of styles – like some of the best mixes of jazz, bossa, and choro modes recorded in Brazil – or the wonderful post-folk acoustic underground that's risen up in the US. The package really spans the full scope of the label's music – and offers up a whopping 44 tracks in all – all to introduce you to their efforts. Our hat's off to Monday for the track selection – and the package features work by Hamilton De Holanda, Ricardo Silveira, Daniel Santiago, Muiza Adnet, Mike Marshall, Jovino Santos Neto, Moacir Santos, Antonio Arnedo, Maria Marquez, Clarice Assad, Tom Lellis, Eva Scow, Gui Mallon, Toninho Horta, Florencia Ruiz, Alex Hargreaves, Philippe Baden Powell, and others!

An excellent batch of 25 groovers, all hand-picked from the Atlantic soul catalog with a selection that moves waaaaay past the big ol' hits! This is the kind of stuff that we die to find on funky 45s – only if we're lucky! Titles include "Walking Up A One Way Street" by Willie Tee, "At The Club" by The Drifters, "It Ain't What You Got" by Jimmy Hughes, "Help Me Get The Feeling" by Ray Sharpe, "Some Other Guy" by Richie Barrett, "I'm Gonna Run Away From You" by Tami Lynn, "Que Sera Sera" by The High Keys, "Keep Lookin" by Solomon Burke, and the amazing "Some Kind Of Wonderful" by Soul Brothers Six, a monster track that is worth the price of the CD alone!

Fab and groovy! The Cinevox label was home to some of the swinginest soundtrack music to come out of Italy in the 60s and 70s – but lots of it's been buried for years, or relegated to pricey Japanese-only reissues. This set does a great job of correcting that problem – by sampling some of the greatest grooves from the legendary label, serving them up in a very strong 16 track set that's filled with loads of wonderful moments that you won't find elsewhere! Tracks include "Diamonds" by Franco Bixio, "Quicksilver (new edit)" by Giorgio Gaslini, "Car Chase At Margellina" by Guido e Maurizio De Angelis, "Fai Presto" by Gianni Ferrio, "Blue Rhythm Festival (new edit)" by Piero Piccioni, "Crazy Sax" by Augusto Martelli, and "Break" by Franco Bixio.

A heavy dose of funky jazz – and one that goes way past the obvious too – to include some real gems from the 70s that even we'd passed up! The package is filled with stellar jazz from the Fantasy Records family – Prestige, Pablo, Galaxy and Fantasy proper – choice numbers by The Blackbyrds, Stanley Cowell, Charles Earland, Patrice Rushen and others – funky jazz, soul, boogie and Brazil-flavored numbers from the top shelf of the diverse period! It's a tight, well chosen compilation with numbers you simply could not overlook in putting a set like this together – productions by the Mizells, Donald Byrd, Earland and others – but there's a few of leftfield choices, too. Simply a great little snapshot of the funky jazz and soul period and the family of labels that generated so much of the most creative music to come from it! 14 tracks and nearly 80 minutes of grooves: Includes "Happy Music" by Blackbyrds, "Close To You" by Marlon McClain, "Let Me Love You (Let Me Be Me)" by Stanley Cowell, "Taj Mahal" by Paulinho Da Costa, "Nov Ano" by Azar Lawrence, "Moon Dreams" by Flora Purim, "Montevideo" by Opa, "Glide" by Pleasure, "Shout It Out" by Patrice Rushen, "If Only I Could Prove To You" by The 3 Pieces and more.

One of the greatest songwriting partnerships of the 60s – featured here in a great mix of soul, rock, and vocal numbers from the time – including a fair number of unusual versions of hits from the team of Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil! Weil's got a style that's sometimes a bit deeper than her contemporaries – and when mixed with Barry's strong sense of punch in a tune, has a way of bringing some surprising sophistication to pop music – little emotive moments that peek out from more hook-heavy numbers – but all without ever sounding lachrymose or overblown. As part of that quality, lots of these tunes have some great New York-styled production – that uptown balance of emotion and class – and as with other titles in Ace's excellent songwriter series, the notes alone are almost worth the price of admission – given all the historical detail, cultural commentary, and cool images. Titles include "New World Coming" by Mama Cass, "Love Is Only Sleeping" by The Monkees, "Angelica" by Scott Walker, "Looking Through The Eyes Of Love" by Gene Pitney, "Love Him" by Doris Day, "Good Good Lovin" by Bobby Hebb, "You Baby" by Len Barry, "Born To Be Together" by The Ronettes, "This Is A Love Song" by Bill Medley, "Make Your Own Kind Of Music" by The Happenings, "Shape Of Things To Come" by Slade, and "Proud" by Johnny Crawford.

Brazilian grooves old and new – a really surprising selection of work from the Candid and Choice record labels – showing a commitment to bossa that we never expected! Most of the tracks here are recent vintage – recorded in the past decade or so, and mixed with a few older gems – and all have an approach that's heavy on the jazz we expect from Candid, yet which also serves up the goods in a style that's every bit what we might expect from a Brazilian-based label! Vocals are mostly in English, but sometimes in Portuguese – and instrumentation is mostly acoustic, with a fair bit of percussion and guitar that really help drive home the Brazilian flavor of the tunes. Titles include "Arrastao" by Monica Vasconcelos, "In The Still Of The Night" by Clare Teal, "Blue Moon" by Jacqui Dankworth, "I Concentrate On You" by Stacey Kent, "The Gentle Rain" by Irene Kral, "Beatrice" by Ingrid Laubrock, "Com A Perno No Mundo" by Guinga, and "Para Raio" by Nois4.

An essential look at the key years of the Chicago house scene – the time when the city's musicians were carving out a whole new space in sound! Although early house first began as an extension of some of the later modes of disco and 80s club, influences from European post-punk and post-disco work soon crept into the mix, and pushed the Chicago artists to work in a darker, edgier sound that was completely unique! The work from this period is filled with stark, spare electronics – not the cheesy kind that showed up often in New York electro records, but intense analogue bits that had a really dark, dystopic space age sort of quality – laid out over harsh beats and bass, and often presented with no additional vocals at all. For the collection, Soul Jazz do a great job of picking out the best of the early acid house scene in Chicago (the key recordings before the term got picked up overseas, and used to make some very dodgy dance music at the end of the 80s) – and then they go on to pull together some of the best strands of the house revival in Chicago in the early 90s, including key work from the Cajual label. 2 CD set features 17 tracks in all – including "This Is Acid" by Maurice, "Do You Want To Percolate" by The Sweat Boyz, "Beyond The Clouds" by Mr Fingers, "Go Wild Rhythm Track" by Virgo, "Acid Crash" by Tyree, "Dum Dum (part 2)" by Fresh, "Acid Bass" by Roy Davis Jr, "Phuture Jacks" by Phuture, "I've Lost Control" by Sleezy D, "Take Me Higher" by Virgo Four, "Acid Over" by Tyree, "Box Energy" by DJ Pierre, "Video Clash" by Lil Louis, "Explorer" by Green Velvet, "Like This" by Two Of A Kind, "Acid Tracks" by Phuture, and "Downfall" by Armando.

Freaky Finnish disco – a huge collection that features 100 tunes recorded in Finland at the end of the 70s and start of the 80s – each of them a unique contribution to the sound of club music! The styles here vary widely – and although most of the music was marketed under the genre of disco, there's also a good degree of disco-influenced European pop in the mix too – that extrapolation of American dancefloor modes that was used often by German and Scandinavian producers at the end of the 70s. However, that doesn't stop the set from being pretty darn groovy – and with that many tunes to chose from, especially at this price, there's more than enough grooves in the mix for the money. Notes are all Finnish, but seem to be pretty detailed on the contents – and from what we can tell, the 4CD package brings together contents of an 8 cassette series that was issued with some pretty striking covers back in the day! Features work by Bianca, Jukka Heino, Salomon, Nummisuutarit, Jarno Sarjanen, Eric, Lisbeth, Leena, Veijo Sailio, John Hemlight, Paajanen, Maria, Kirsi, Ami & Kirsi, Harmony Four, Eric Mannstrom, and many other cats who never cracked these shores at the time!

Massive sounds from the Dopebrother Studio – home to some of the funkiest Kenny Dope productions of the past few years! The grooves here are mostly older nuggets from the 70s – rare funk, soul, and club numbers – mixed by Kenny and the Undercover Brother in ways that really bring up the funkiest energy of the tunes – lots of hard drums, great breaks, and crisp instrumentation that actually sounds way more dope than if you were spinning a copy of an original funky 45! Most tracks on here have only ever been issued as singles, so the full length collection makes for a great way to dig into all these massive grooves in one place – at a price that's pretty damn hard to beat. Plus, there's even a few unreleased tracks on here too – sure to please even the folks who already own a few of the singles! Titles include "How You Gonna Do It (Undercover Brother edit)" by Lenis Guess & The Raw Soul, "Foxfire (Dopebrother rmx)" by Kenny Smith & The Fox Fire Band, "Party & Get On Down (Undercover Brother edit)" by BAB, "Creative Happiness" by Steve Marshall, "I Can't Dance (Undercover Brother edit)" by Jimmy James Thomas, "We Got To Get Together" by The Masterminds with Lady Bianca, "Your Chicken Ain't Funky Like Mine" by Dirty Red Morgan Group, "Skunkie (Undercover Brother edit)" by Kenny Smith & The Maximum Feeling, "Waiting At The Station" by Jimmy James Thomas, "Do What You Like (Undercover Brother edit)" by 400 Years Of What, and "It's Over Now (Undercover Brother quiet storm mix)" by Manzel.

A very groovy selection of tracks from the New York scene of the 60s – mostly tunes pulled from the Prestige and Milestone labels, and a mixture of soul jazz, modal jazz, and early funky jazz! The package features 13 tracks in all – with plenty rare numbers – and titles that include "Cantaloupe Woman" by George Braith, "The Village Caller" by Johnny Lytle, "Ca'Purange (Jungle Soul)" by Gene Ammons, "Love Theme From Spartacus" by Yusef Lateef, "Brother John" by Cannonball Adderley, "Muscle Soul" by Phil Upchurch, "Eastern Blues" by Gary Bartz, and the completely fantastic "Nuther'n Like Thuther'n" by Willis Jackson – worth the price of the CD alone!

Here's the real deal – a totally cool collection of all-classic Jamaican ska tracks from the mid 60s – with no revival cuts, no remakes – just the core original grooves! The quality of the work here is tremendous – a rocking, romping approach to soul music that really shows the Jamaican sound starting to fall into place – often handled by singers and musicians who'd break even bigger in the later reggae years, but who have a raw brilliance here that's even more compelling! The track list is wonderful – and the set is a hell of a deal at this price – with tracks that include "One Eyed Jacks" by Jimmy Cliff, "JFK's Memory" by Don Drummond, "The Sun Rises In The East" by Dotty & Bonnie, "Catch A Fire" by Baba Brooks & His Band, "Do You Keep On Dreaming" by The Cherry Pies, "Choo Choo Ska" by Llans Thewell & The Celestials, "Parro Saw The Light" by Lloyd Clarke, "The Jerk" by Derrick Harriott, and "Dragon Weapon" by The Skatalites.