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Very groovy work from Jennie Smith – a singer known for her work on the Tonight Show, but who sounds even hipper here! Mort Garson handled the backings, and they've got lots of the playful touches that you'd hear on his groovier 60s instrumental work – mixed with some of the watery strings used on mellower dates – both a perfect match for Smith's vocals, in ways that help take her out of the straighter style she was using in the late 50s. There's kind of a hip 60s "adult" feel to the record – quite different than the more sentimental modes of RCA a few years before – and Smith turns out to be a wonderful singer in such a setting. Titles include "Gravy Waltz", "Fly Me To The Moon", "This Could Be The Start Of Something", "Let's Face The Music & Dance", "My Man", and "Nice & Easy". CD features the bonus track "As I Love You".

Classic early Lenny Bruce work on Fantasy – a groundbreaking set of tracks that features some great shorter snippets, plus a few of the longer, more drawn-out routines that soon became Bruce's stock in trade during the more controversial years – those live riffs that really set Lenny apart from other comedians, and which set the scene for generations to come! Titles include the 19 minute "The Palladium", plus "Our Governors", "My Trip To Miami", "Esther Costello Story", "White Collar Drunks", and "The Steve Allen Show".

Sweet fusion from the great Eric Gale – two late 70s albums back to back on a single CD! Part Of You is part of Gale's great run for Columbia Records in the late 70s, and a set that's got a nicely grooving bottom – thanks to production from Ralph MacDonald, and arrangements from William Eaton! The groove's uptempo at times, but always in a jazz-funk mode – and mostly played with smaller group instrumentation at the core – including keyboards from Richard Tee, bass from Anthony Jackson, and drums from either Steve Gadd or Harvey Mason – both cats who can hold up a groove on a date like this. Titles include "Let Me Slip It To You", "Part Of You", "Trio", "Nezumi", and "Holding On To Love". Touch Of Silk is a classic set that has the guitar of Eric Gale produced by the legendary Allen Toussaint! The cross of talents is pretty compelling – and although the album's not a New Orleans funk outing, it definitely shares some of the more creative elements that you'd get from some of Toussaint's other side projects at the end of the 70s. A few numbers definitely have a bit more bump than you'd expect from a fsuion date like this – and Toussaint himself plays piano and moog on the record, and even sings a tiny bit. Robert Dabon plays Fender Rhodes – and titles include "You Got My Life In Your Hands", "War Paint", "Touch Of Silk", "Au Privave", "With You I'm Born Again", and "Once In A Smile".

A very strange little record – composed for a very strange film directed by Allen "Candid Camera" Funt – in which people are surprised by a nude woman, and have to react accordingly. There's a lot of tunes on here that have an almost Harper's Bizarre feel – that kind of "sweet, but dark inside" style that we love from late 60s rock albums on Warner Brothers. The mood changes from track to track, to fit the situations of the scenes – and there's plenty of great tunes on here with sweet or groovy vocals and a hip easy soft pop style. Titles include "Kids", "Too Bad You Can't Read My Mind", "Pardon Me", "Let's Get Down To It", "What Do You Say To A Naked Lady", and "Hail To Humanity".

A great record with a really great little lineup – rock-solid players who come together wonderfully under the vision of the leader! Christian McBride's really found a way to focus his energy in recent years – and this quintet set is great proof of that – a refining of all the ideas he put forth a decade or more ago, but delivered with a lot more punch here – partly due to the album's well-chosen lineup as well. In addition to Christian on bass, the set's got stellar vibes from Warren Wolf – a player we always love – plus alto from Steve Wilson, piano from Peter Martin, and drums from Carl Allen – all working together on a set of tracks that are mostly original – and which have a soulful sparkle that really stands out. Titles include "Listen To The Heroes Cry", "Ms Angelou", "Gang Gang", "Unusual Suspects", "The Movement Revisited", and "New Hope's Angel".

A late date for Woody Shaw, but a great one too – a bit more straightforward than some of his more righteous albums of the 70s, but still proof that Shaw is easily one of the greatest trumpeters of his generation! The album's got a laidback sort of feel, and features a fair bit of familiar standards – but Woody and the group do plenty to transform them, especially on the solo spots. Shaw's leading a quintet here – with Steve Turre on trombone, Kirk Lightsey on piano, Ray Drummond on bass, and Carl Allen on drums – and titles include "Steve's Blues", "Dat Dere", "Imagination", "If I Were A Bell", "You & The Night & The Music", and "Stormy Weather".

One of the warmer Steve Grossman albums of the 70s – a set that moves away from some of the sharper fusion of his indie label sets, but which still has plenty of fire in Steve's horn! Grossman plays tenor and soprano, and the styles range from soul-fusion groovers, to propulsive jazz jammers, to some mellower moments that are surprisingly nice! Other players include Howard Bugzy Feiten on guitars, Onaje Allen Gumbs on piano and keyboards, Mark Egan on bass, and either Lenny White and Steve Jordan on drums. Things are usually a bit more stripped down than most mainstream fusion albums of the time – with lots of acoustic elements in the forefront, which makes for a setting that never dampens Grossman's power at all. Titles include "Olha Graciela", "King Tut", "Katonah", "The Crunchies", "Creepin", "Arfonk", and "Pastel".

A beautiful pairing of players – one that makes for a wonderful album! Shank's at the height of his early powers here – working in a fluid west coast mode that less in keeping with the "blowin" of the title, than the magic he was known for crafting on his other sides from the time. Bud plays alto, tenor, and flute on the session – and he's paired with Bob Cooper, whose round tones on tenor and bass clarinet are a nice match for Shank's slightly edgier sound. Claude Williamson is on piano, Don Prell plays bass, and Chuck Flores is on drums – 10 tracks in all: "Two Lost Souls", "Dinah", "Mutual Admiration Society", "Love Nest", "Just In Time", "Steve Allen Theme", "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face", "As Long As There's Music", Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Blowin Country".

An unusual record for Randy Weston – a freewheeling live set recorded at Montreux in 1974, with Billy Harper joining Weston's group on tenor and flute, playing long spiritual solos that work wonderfully next to Weston's spiralling piano lines! Harper's searching quality really opens up the set, and Weston's rhythmic pulse keeps him from overly blowing, as on some of his own albums from the time – and the rough edges of the group give the session a nice degree of bite! The rest of the group features William Allen on bass, Don Moye on drums, and Steve Berrios on percussion and tracks include "Mystery Of Love", "Tribute To Duke Ellington", and "Carnival".

A late date for Woody Shaw, but a great one too – a bit more straightforward than some of his more righteous albums of the 70s, but still proof that Shaw is easily one of the greatest trumpeters of his generation! The album's got a laidback sort of feel, and features a fair bit of familiar standards – but Woody and the group do plenty to transform them, especially on the solo spots. Shaw's leading a quintet here – with Steve Turre on trombone, Kirk Lightsey on piano, Ray Drummond on bass, and Carl Allen on drums – and titles include "Steve's Blues", "Dat Dere", "Imagination", "If I Were A Bell", "You & The Night & The Music", and "Stormy Weather".

A late date for Woody Shaw, but a great one too – a bit more straightforward than some of his more righteous albums of the 70s, but still proof that Shaw is easily one of the greatest trumpeters of his generation! The album's got a laidback sort of feel, and features a fair bit of familiar standards – but Woody and the group do plenty to transform them, especially on the solo spots. Shaw's leading a quintet here – with Steve Turre on trombone, Kirk Lightsey on piano, Ray Drummond on bass, and Carl Allen on drums – and titles include "Steve's Blues", "Dat Dere", "Imagination", "If I Were A Bell", "You & The Night & The Music", and "Stormy Weather".

A mindblowing moment on the Chicago avant scene of the 80s – a key flowering of the talents of Hal Russell – a musician who'd been working the Windy City since the early 60s, yet who really came into his own in these later years! Hal challenges both the AACM and the European underground with this smoking little set – opening up with unbridled energy on a range of instruments – including drums, vibes, C melody sax, cornet, and even zither – and working with equally energetic younger players who include Chuck Burdelik on tenor, alto, clarinet, and flute; Brian Sandstrom on bass, trumpet, and gong; Curt Bley on bass; and Steve Hunt on vibes and drums, alternating the instruments with Russell from track to track. All tunes are originals, and sound incredibly fresh all these many years later – with titles that include "Uncontrollable Rages", "Kit Kat", "Linda Jazz Princess", and "Seven Spheres". CD features two previously unreleased tracks – "Lost Or" and "C Melody Mania".

A treasure trove of Brit sound library work – most of it from the legendary KPM 1000 Series, plus assorted bits from the Conroy label as well! The work here leans heavily towards funky jazz – those fuzzy, hard-driving tunes that always made KPM sides a key choice for action films and cop shows – and which have made digging through sound library records such a delight all these many decades later! The compilers did a really wonderful job with this set – creating a feel that's a bit different than the usual sound library collection – because although funky overall, the package also features some jazzy moments too – key cuts that are interspersed with the action moments to create a really fleshed-out sense of mood and feeling. Plus, the set list is huge – 25 tracks in all, running for well over 70 minutes – truly the treasure trove we promised at the start of this review, with titles that include "Soul For Sale" and "Tycoon" by Keith Mansfield, "Block Buster" and "Head In The Clouds" by Johnny Pearson, "Loco Motion" and "Soul Foot Strut" by Dave Gold, "Traffic" and "Challenger" by Alan Hawkshaw, "Short Cut" by James Clarke, "Heavy Traffic" by James Cameron, "Speculation" by David Lindup, "Vegas To LA" by Dick Doerschuk, "Tough Assignment" by Chris Gunning, "Speedway" by Nick Ingman, "String Boogie" by Brian Bennett, and "The Double Take" by Steve Gray.