With Jimmy Heath on tenor and Roland Hanna on piano – soloing in an ensemble led by Maurice Peress. Works include "New World A Comin", "Harlem", "Black Brown & Beige", and "Three Black Kings". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing box set – five full albums of material, plus lots of bonus tracks too! First up is Flowers – 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". Next is Rejoice – a huge hit for both The Emotions and Maurice White – whose Kalimba Productions handled this album in the same hit mode they'd been using for Earth Wind & Fire! There's a polished, soaring bounce her that definitely shows the Earth Wind & Fire touch – and which takes the girls miles from their rougher, rootsier soul of the Stax/Volt years – yet like all the best EWF records of the time, the sound is also plenty soulful, with lots of righteous undercurrents. The album includes the group's wonderful track "Don't Ask My Neighbors", a heavenly tune that builds on a long tradition of sweet female soul from Chicago; the super-huge "Best Of My Love", a hit on dancefloors and radios for years to come – and many other nice numbers like "Blessed", "How'd I Know That Love Would Slip Away", and "Key To My Heart". Sunbeam is great little album from The Emotions – largely because it sounds a lot like prime mid 70s Earth Wind & Fire, with female vocals added over the top – ultimately, pulling away with a soulful charm all its own! Maurice White produced the whole set, and it's got a soaring spacey sound that provides a perfect spiritual edge to the girls vocals – taking them way past the hits, into much more sophisticated soul territory. There's a beautifully righteous vibe going on throughout – a sound that's almost like Minnie Riperton at her 70s Capitol best – and titles include "Love Vibes", "Walking The Line", "Time Is Passing By", "I Wouldn't Lie", "Smile", and "Spirit Of Summer". Come Into Our World has the sweet Emotions at the top of their game – one of the brilliant albums that has the soulful trio working hand in hand with Earth Wind & Fire! The girls were plenty great in their early years, but working with Maurice White and company, they really took off – hitting a whole new level that really unlocked some deeply spiritual power in their vocals! And sure, the approach also yielded the group plenty of hits – but for good reason, too – given the classic quality and all-great nature of a set like this. Maurice White produced, and the lineup is filled with plenty of Earth Wind & Fire players too – working with some great arrangements from Tom Tom 84, Wade Marcus, and others. Tunes are balanced between clubby numbers and some nice midtempo moments – and titles include "Where Is Your Love", "Cause I Love You", "Come Into My World", "On & On", "I Should Be Dancing", "Layed Back", and "Yes I Am". New Affair has The Emotions breaking free a bit from the Earth Wind & Fire influence, and grooving nicely with a sweet 80s feel! The girls' voices are still quite wonderful – some of the deepest harmonies in the female soul world at the time – and the tunes kick it up nicely in a blend of snapping bassy club tracks and mellower cuts that sweetly sway with their great vocals! Loads of wonderful tracks – and an album not to miss! Titles include "Turn It Out", "There'll Never Be Another Moment", "Now That I Know", "Love Lies", "When You Gonna Wake Up", and "Here You Come Again". 3CD set features 8 bonus tracks – including "Boogie Wonderland (12" mix", "Don't Ask My Neighbors (single version)", "I Should Be Dancin (single version)", "My Baby Dance", "Changes", "Where Is Your Love (single version)", and "Flowers (single version)". CD

Sublime spiritual jazz from Strata East – one of the label's rarest recordings, and one of its hippest too! The set has an incredibly righteous feel – a blend of keyboards, saxes, guitar, percussion, and vocals that steps off with a very deep feel – one that's heavy on the best post-Coltrane modes of expression in jazz, and which really takes advantage of the freedoms of the Strata setting to open up the sound in really beautiful ways! Beatrice Parker handles the vocals, with a very warm and spiritual style that's not unlike some of the early, righteous recordings by Dee Dee Bridgewater – and other group members include Khaliq Abdul Al Rouf on saxes, Bevin Turnbull on keyboards, Mashujaa Aliye Salamu on guitar, Leroy Seals on bass, and Fred Kwaku Crawley on a host of hip percussion instruments. There's a slight undercurrent of funk on a few tunes, but most tracks are focused more in a soaring, spiritual groove – with titles that include "Circles", "The Sojourner", "Peace (Salaam)", "Traces Of Trane", "Ecstasy", "Music Is Nothing But A Prayer", and "Malika". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the last records that Booker Ervin ever recorded, and one of the best! There's a depth of tone and conception here that goes far beyond even Ervin's already-great albums for Prestige – a mix of modernism and soulful expression that really points the way towards jazz expression in the 70s – although sadly, Booker was to leave the planet before getting a chance to stretch out in that era. All 6 tracks on the album are originals – and they sparkle with the imagination found on some of the most top-shelf Blue Notes of the time – work by Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, or Wayne Shorter – played by a group that includes the amazing Richard Williams on trumpet (almost worth the price of the record alone), Bobby Few on piano, Lenny McBrowne on drums, and the little-known Cevera Jefferies on bass. Loads of dark edges, searing solos, and plenty of free flights into the sky – on titles that include "The In Between", "Tyra", "The Muse", "Mour", "Sweet Pea", and "Largo". CD

Standout early work from the mighty Esquerita – an artist you might initially write off as a Little Richard copycat, but one who also delivers a whole lot more in the end! The groove here is rough R&B, inflected with a touch of early soul – and the piano lines are worth the price of admission, played at a level that goes back to early New Orleans roots, but with more 50s bluesy currents – often alongside some tenor and guitar that rival the best instrumentation you'd find on indie singles at the time from King and Atlantic – quite a surprise for the normally-pop Capitol Records. And the vocals are something else, too – certainly with a soaring, screaming range – but also just wonderful when they're more down to earth, and in the groove. Titles include "Hey, Miss Lucy", "Why Did It Take You So Long", "She Left Me Cryin'", "Get Back Baby", "I Need You", "Maybe Baby", and "I'm Battie Over Hattie". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

A rare Latin outing from trumpeter Art Farmer – one that has him working with the mighty Cuban arranger Chico O'Farrill! The grooves here are hardly "Aztec", as Chico brings a hip postwar vibe to the session – a blend of American jazz and Latin rhythms that's totally great, and played by an all-star array of players conducted by Al Cohn! Side one of the record features the extended "Aztec Suite" – an ambitious number that begins with modern moments that are somewhere in a space between Stan Kenton and Ralph Burns' experiments of this nature, but which always has Farmer's trumpet as the center focus. Side two features tracks that are a bit more conventional Latin jazz – still played by the bigger group, but with an even stronger sense of swing! Titles include "Aztec Suite", "Heat Wave", "Drume Negrita", "Alone Together", "Woody N You", and "Delirio". LP, Vinyl record album

A 70s indie club classic – and the only album we've ever seen from Maryann Farra & Satin Soul! The group have a sound that's equal parts Brunswick Chicago soul and New York early disco groove – a combination that's brought out even more by the production talents of disco maestro Tony Valor and Chi-soul genius Eugene Record! The tunes groove along in a really rich style of arrangement – often using sweeping strings over tighter rhythms – sometimes hitting the loping midtempo groove you'd expect from Brunswick records at the time, yet also going for some of the faster, freer rhythms that were cropping up on the east coast indies of the time. Some tracks have a tight dancefloor feel – like "Never Gonna Leave You", "Do Those Little Things", and "Just A Little Timing" – while others have a beautiful soul groove – like "You Got To Be The One" and "Living In The Footsteps of Another Girl" – which both have a sound that feels like it was lifted from a lost Barbara Acklin or Chi-Lites album! The set also includes a female soul remake of "Stoned Out Of My Mind" that's almost worth the price of the record alone! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best soul collaborations ever! Fela and Roy Ayers team up for this whopping album that brings together the best sides of these monster soul talents of the 70s! In keeping with Fela's work, the tracks are long and Afro-tinged, with a complicated groove that grows over the length of the track. And in keeping with Roy's work, the album has a sweet soulful feel, with lots of nice jazzy touches, cool vibes, and great vocals by Roy. Two long tracks, both classics: "2000 Black" and "Africa, Center of the World". Long overdue! CD

Titles include "Sin Blues", "Antibes", "Overcoat Stomp", "Hate Notes", and "Knarf". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

An amazing album by the great guitarist Eddie Fisher – and completely unlike his later funk records! Eddie plays stripped down jazz with a small combo that includes organ by Robert Selby, bass by Paul Jackson, and some rhythm guitar by Phil Westmoreland – and the twin-guitar approach creates this super-dope style that's light years ahead of its time, with a sophistication that points the way to later mid 70s work on labels like CTI and Kudu! Eddie's guitar work is an incredible exercise in spareness and soulfulness – best heard on the fantastic "Third Cup", a long drawn-out jazz stepper that's got to be heard to be believed. The cut's been a favorite on the Chicago jazz stepper's scene for years – and it alone is worth the price of the album. However, the record features some other wonderful stuff – like a sublime version of "Shadow Of Your Smile" that runs for a bubbling 12 minutes – plus the originals "Shut Up", "Scorched Earth", and "Two By Two". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Early Pablo recordings from Ella Fitzgerald – captured in performance in Nice in 1971, with a trio led by Tommy Flanagan on piano! The set's got a nice medley titled "The Bossa Scene" – almost worth the price of the record alone! CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record