Joe Panzer and Mike Shiflet on laptops and electronics. CD

A great set from that moment when sound library instrumentation was winnowed down from a larger group of studio musicians to usually just a composer and a keyboard – definitely the approach used in this all electric set! The groove certainly lives up to the title – most of these tracks are mellow, but they're also funky too – unusual slow-stepping cuts that are awash in 80s keyboards, basslines, and beats – almost erotic funk for the style of the decade, with some occasional darker soundtrack moments from time to time! Titles include "Slow Reactor 2", "Moody You", "Slow Business 1", "Threat To Research", "Slow Groovement", "Ion Exchanger", "Wave Motions", and "Scenic Vision 1". LP, Vinyl record album

Nothing too confidential here, given the openness that Serge Gainsbourg brings to his music – and a great early 60s session that has Serge working with spare jazz backing, courtesy of bassist Michel Gaudry and guitarist Elek Bacsik! With no other percussion, piano, or orchestral backings to support his vocals, the album is one of Serge's most intimate – a strangely personal portrait of his work, as the two stringed instruments weave webs of rhythm and melody against Serge's raspy vocals on tunes like "Maxim's", "Negative Blues", "Elaeudania Teiteia", "Chez Les Ye Ye", "Scenic Railway", and "No No Thanks No". Despite the absence of other instrumentation, the effect is wonderfully full – and the songs sparkle as much as Serge's other work from the time! LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure little live set – recorded at the end of the 70s, at a time that makes it some of Sonny Stitt's last work on record! The format is straight and boppish – with some lyrical touches, and a strong open solo mode that goes well with the live setting. Stitt seems to dominate a bit more than Jackson, but that's ok with us – as he's in his best "back to basics" format of the 70s. The rest of the group features Gerald Price on piano, Don Moses on bass, and Bobby Durham on drums – and titles include "Loose Walk", "Star Eyes", "SKJ", and "Parking Lot Blues". LP, Vinyl record album