Very cool live material from Dizzy Gillespie – a set that has him working in that groovy blend of Latin with slight funky currents that we love on his best albums from the 70s! The setting here is very open and free, with very extended tracks that really let the rhythms build before the solos come in – a great flow from a quintet that features Mike Longo on piano, Al Gafa on guitar, Earl May on bass, and Mickey Roker on drums – all players who match that special spark and energy that Dizzy brings to the proceedings! Many tracks feature a short spoken announcement, with that wit that Gillespie always has on the stage – and Jon Faddis plays guest trumpet on two tracks as well. Titles include the long cuts "Sunshine", "Brother K", "Ole For The Gypsies", "The Truth", "Manteca", and "The Blues". CD

A rare 60s meeting of groovy talents from both sides of the Atlantic – and a record that matches the trumpet of Dizzy Gillespie with the hiply swinging vocals of The Double Six Of Paris! The group were a wonderfully groovy precursor to the Swingle Singers – and sung in a scatting approach to jazz vocals that was very much in the tradition of Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross – but also drew inspiration from the earlier work of Eddie Jefferson, King Pleasure, and others. Their sound is great – much more 60s groovy than some other vocal groups – and pairing them with Dizzy gives this record an added punch that some of their other sessions are missing! Backing is small combo throughout – with either Bud Powell or Kenny Barron on piano, Kenny Clarke on drums, and James Moody on tenor – and with the presence of Diz, most of the material here is of bop orientation – taken at a fast and lively clip! Lalo Schifrin arranged the whole session too – and titles include "One Bass Hit", "Blue N Boogie", "Emanon", "Groovin High", "Ow", "The Champ", "Tin Tin Deo", "Hot House", and "Con Alma". CD

A great little blowing session for Verve – one that has Dizzy Gillespie working here with two different "Sonnys" – Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins, both of whom play tenor on the set! The tracks here are all quite long and open – more loose vehicles for extended soloing than the usual sort of Verve tracks – almost a mini-jam session with the three horn giants in the lead. Rhythm is from the trio of Ray Bryant on piano, Tommy Bryant on bass, and Charlie Persip on drums – but the real stars are the horn players – not just Diz, who cuts some of his hippest lines of the late 50s here, but also Rollins and Stitt, who seem to get a bit more care in recording than they did over at Prestige earlier in the decade. Album features 4 long tracks – "On The Sunny Side Of The Street", "After Hours", "I Know That You Know", and "The Eternal Triangle". CD

A key lost chapter in the career of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – material recorded for the Marmalade label in the years before they burst forth to greater fame in 10CC – all with a very different vibe than the sound of that later group! There's still plenty of the heavenly quality of Godley & Creme material going on here – but with a vibe that's maybe got some of the same post-folk elements as the coolest LA Sunshine pop – almost as if Godley were singing on a Millennium album, but with all the spaced-out, completely sublime approach that Creme would bring to the sessions. Titles include "Cowboys & Indians", "Take Me Back", "Today", "Hot Sun", "Virgin Soldiers", "To Fly Away", "Seeing Things Green", and "Animal Song". LP, Vinyl record album

Man, these guys are really opening up their sound a lot with this release – moving into the heavier, harder rock territory that would bring them big fame in the 70s! The whole thing's a lot more tripped-out than before – none of the sweeter, lyrical modes of the group's earliest hits – and instead, a lot more moody numbers that really brood nicely on heavy basslines, fuzzy guitar, and some arch vocals sung in English throughout, despite the Dutch origins of the band. Why this one didn't rock the UK and US scenes bigger at the time is a mystery – but the record's ripe for rediscovery now, and filled with great cuts that include "The Truth About Arthur", "Who Cares", "Mr Fortune's Wife", "Must I Cry", "Magnificent Magistral", "I've Just Lost Somebody", "Sam & Sue", and "Crystal Heaven". LP, Vinyl record album

Jerry Goldsmith really shines on his score for this WWII action film from the early 70s – a soundtrack that draws on his best dramatic abilities, but also brings in his flair for quick changes in tone and timing as well! There's some occasional "Eastern" elements – usually a bit of koto, used to signify a Japanese scene – and other instrumentation shifts between bold orchestral passages, and these very nice low-toned ones that kind of rumble everything together towards the bottom end of the sound spectrum! Titles include "Little Hope", "The Chancellery", "The 14th Part", "Sunday Morning", "The Waiting Game", "The Final Message", and "Pre-Flight Countdown". CD also features 7 bonus tracks too! CD

Maybe the most haunting project to date from Ruth Goller – an important collaborator on the contemporary London scene, but one who's got a style that's much more than jazz – one that's definitely pushed to the limits here! The set features Goller on electric and acoustic bass, with overdubbed vocals that are often layered in very cool ways – and augmented track to track by guest work on drums, electronics, vibes, and sanza – instruments that are often used in ways that bring a slight touch of organic acoustic energy to the more layered proceedings. The textures of the vocals are very evocative – almost a blend of an older 4AD aesthetic with improvised music – and titles include "Next Time I Keep My Hands Down", "Below My Skin", "How To Be Free From It", "Don't Follow Me", "She Was My Own She Was Myself", and "All The Light I Have I Hand To You". LP, Vinyl record album

A Sunshine Pop classic from The Gordion Knot – an album that's overflowing with warm late 60s harmonies, all produced to perfection by ex-Hi-Los member Clark Burroughs! The album's got a style that takes the modes Burroughs and his group forged back in the 50s, and updates it with a groovier, modder sort of style – a gently swinging late 60s sound that brings in some trippier elements, and some occasional singer/songwriter inspirations. JD Weatherly steps out in front of the group on bolder lead vocals on a few numbers – but even on these, there's strong harmony support underneath – and some wonderfully dynamic backings that soar up, and support the whole thing on a really groovy pillow of sound! Titles include "It's Gonna Take A Lot", "The World Keeps Spinnin", "Strong Wind Blowin", "One Way Street", "Carraway Stream", "Carnival Lights Again", "Broken Down Ole Merry-Go-Round", "If Only I Could Fly", and "We Must Be Doing Something Right". CD

A Sunshine Pop classic from The Gordion Knot – an album that's overflowing with warm late 60s harmonies, all produced to perfection by ex-Hi-Los member Clark Burroughs! The album's got a style that takes the modes Burroughs and his group forged back in the 50s, and updates it with a groovier, modder sort of style – a gently swinging late 60s sound that brings in some trippier elements, and some occasional singer/songwriter inspirations. JD Weatherly steps out in front of the group on bolder lead vocals on a few numbers – but even on these, there's strong harmony support underneath – and some wonderfully dynamic backings that soar up, and support the whole thing on a really groovy pillow of sound! Titles include "It's Gonna Take A Lot", "The World Keeps Spinnin", "Strong Wind Blowin", "One Way Street", "Carraway Stream", "Carnival Lights Again", "Broken Down Ole Merry-Go-Round", "If Only I Could Fly", and "We Must Be Doing Something Right". LP, Vinyl record album

Lovely 60s girl pop from Lesley Gore – the sweet, soaring, brightly sunny Magic Colors album – released in full for the first time ever – and with a huge assortment of bonus tracks, too! Magic Colors should have come out on Mercury in 1967, but it wasn't to be. Well, better late than never, right? It's fluffy, but fun – with sweet vocals by Leslie and with arrangements by Bob Crewe, Jack Nitzsche, Gamble & Huff, Thom Bell and others. The album tracks include "It's A Happening World", "Magic Colors", "Brink Of Disaster", "I'm Fallin' Down", "To Sir With Love" and more. Includes a whopping 15 bonus singles: "Summer And Sandy", "Small Talk", "I Can't Make It Without You", "Summer Symphony", "One By One", "Wedding Bell Blues" and more. 25 tracks in all! CD

Two very playful soundtracks – both composed by Lallo Gori, who we mostly know for more serious action work! Scusi Ma Le Paga Le Tasse is from the start of the 70s, and begins with a vocal number from Franco Fanchi, but soon moves into much groovier territory with a blend of funky jazz and dreamier moments of the sort that you might be likely to hear from some of the bigger Italian composers of the period. There's occasional light piano, ala Stelvio Cipriani – and even an appearance from the Nora Orlandi singers over the course of the 17 tracks from the film. Come Rubammo La Bomba Atomica is from 1967, and the music has some slight currents of spy spoof scores of the period – that nice comedic/dramatic mix of jazz and dynamic pacing, blended with a few exotic elements too. The set features two vocal numbers sung by Elsa, and the rest of the 12 tracks from the film are instrumental. CD

A seminal set from the Sunset Strip scene of the 60s – and just the kind of record that shows why the changes taking place in Cali were so important to the growth of so much other music at the time! A few years before, and The Grass Roots would have been a pop folk combo re-tuning traditional tracks for the coffeehouse scene – but here they're taking off with some post-folk modes that are partly sunshine pop, partly the headier currents that were the darker side of the west coast – all put together with superb production by PF Sloan and Steve Barri – who also penned some of the best tunes on the record. Titles include the great "Where Were You When I Needed You" – plus "Only When You're Lonely", "Look Out Girl", "Ain't That Loving You Baby", "I've Got No More To Say", "I Am A Rock", "Tell Me", and "Mr Jones". LP, Vinyl record album

A four-pack of albums from this seminal group – all brought together in a single set! Where Were You is a seminal set from the Sunset Strip scene of the 60s – and just the kind of record that shows why the changes taking place in Cali were so important to the growth of so much other music at the time! A few years before, and The Grass Roots would have been a pop folk combo re-tuning traditional tracks for the coffeehouse scene – but here they're taking off with some post-folk modes that are partly sunshine pop, partly the headier currents that were the darker side of the west coast – all put together with superb production by PF Sloan and Steve Barri – who also penned some of the best tunes on the record. Titles include the great "Where Were You When I Needed You" – plus "Only When You're Lonely", "Look Out Girl", "Ain't That Loving You Baby", "I've Got No More To Say", "I Am A Rock", "Tell Me", and "Mr Jones". Let's Live For Today is maybe the most famous record ever given to the world by California quartet The Grass Roots – famous for its title tune, and for the way that it effortlessly blends together folk inclinations and psych inspirations! The record's definitely one of those that showed the world that there was something new in the air at the time – put together with perfect production in the studio from Steve Barri and PF Sloan – who are in territory that's somewhere between the best from Brian Wilson and Abbey Road Studios – but a bit more understated than both! Titles include the classic "Let's Live For Today" – plus "Things I Should Have Said", "Wake Up Wake Up", "No Exit", "This Precious Time", "House Of Stone", "Is It Any Wonder", and "Tip Of My Tongue". Feelings is a great departure for The Grass Roots – a set that has the group taking a stronger role overall in the instrumentation and songwriting on the record – at a level that makes the whole thing a fabulous extension of all the genius they'd given the world on previous sets! There's still that cool blend of post-folk and psychedelic elements taking place here – gently swirled together with acoustic and electric guitars setting the tunes up just right – all with a late 60s Cali vibe that's as great today as when it was recorded. Titles include "The Sins Of A Family Fall On The Daughter", "Melody For You", "You Might As Well Go My Way", "Dinner For Eight", "Good Things Come To An End", "You & Love Are The Same", and "Hey Friend". CD

The Grateful Dead in the early 80s – still going strong in a live setting, and with a vibe that's maybe even closer to their roots than some of their Arista studio material at the time! The set is a massive ten-sided representation of a show that has the group soaring and stretching out on nearly every track – with jamming versions of "Ramble On Rose/El Paso", "Althea", "Feel Like A Stranger", "Stella Blue/Good Lovin", "Space/The Other One", "Uncle John's Band/Drums", "Ship Of Fools", "Estimated Prophet", "China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider/Samson & Delilah", "Deep Elem Blues", "New Minglewood Blues", "Beat It On Down The Line", "US Blues", and "Bird Song". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary live set from the Grateful Dead – served up here in a set so big, it needs 16 sides' worth of vinyl to deliver the music! There's loads of long jams here – the kind of criss-crossing, song-shifting material that makes the Dead so wonderful at this point in their career – as you'll hear on tunes that include "Dark Star", "Here Comes Sunshine", "Around & Around", "Not Fade Away/Goin Down The Road Feelin Bad", "It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry", "That's All Right", "Promised Land", "Dark Star/He's Gone", "Wharf Rat/Truckin", "Ramble On Rose", "Jack Straw", "Wave That Flag", "Morning Dew", "Beat It On Down The Line", "Looks Like Rain", "Box Of Rain", "El Paso", "Bird Song", "Playing In The Band", "Big River", "Eyes Of The World", and "Stella Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

The first Grateful Dead album on Arista, and a set that definitely marks a new chapter for the group – one that has them using a surprising amount of soul references in their music, in part through some heavy vocal contributions from Donna Jean Godchaux! The arrangements are fuller than before at times – with some elements added later to expand the sound of the group at the core – in ways that are sometimes respectful, sometimes a bit more forceful in the way they approach the sound. Highlights include the laidback "Estimated Prophet", and the long "Terrapin Station" suite – plus "Sunrise", "Passenger", "Samson & Delilah", and a surprising cover of "Dancin In The Streets". CD

The first album issued by the Grateful Dead on their own label – a setting that might make you think they'd act with less control than when at Warner Brothers, but which actually seems to have them doing the reverse! The whole thing's a great back-to-basics effort – sharp songs, rootsy instrumentation, and this nicely compact presentation of all the best ideas they'd been percolating for the past five years – maybe expanded a bit on the longer "Weather Report Suite" that ends the record, but tight and sing-songy on most of the rest – titles that include "Row Jimmy", "Stella Blue", "Let Me Sing Your Blues Away", "Eyes Of The World", and "Here Comes Sunshine". LP, Vinyl record album

The first album issued by the Grateful Dead on their own label – a setting that might make you think they'd act with less control than when at Warner Brothers, but which actually seems to have them doing the reverse! The whole thing's a great back-to-basics effort – sharp songs, rootsy instrumentation, and this nicely compact presentation of all the best ideas they'd been percolating for the past five years – maybe expanded a bit on the longer "Weather Report Suite" that ends the record, but tight and sing-songy on most of the rest – titles that include "Row Jimmy", "Stella Blue", "Let Me Sing Your Blues Away", "Eyes Of The World", and "Here Comes Sunshine". This 50th Anniversary is loaded with bonus material, too – with demo versions of "Eyes Of The World" and Here Comes Sunshine" – plus a second CD featuring previously unreleased live material recorded at Northwestern University's McGaw Hall, on November 1, 1973 – with their "Weather Report Suite" and more! CD

The first album issued by the Grateful Dead on their own label – a setting that might make you think they'd act with less control than when at Warner Brothers, but which actually seems to have them doing the reverse! The whole thing's a great back-to-basics effort – sharp songs, rootsy instrumentation, and this nicely compact presentation of all the best ideas they'd been percolating for the past five years – maybe expanded a bit on the longer "Weather Report Suite" that ends the record, but tight and sing-songy on most of the rest – titles that include "Row Jimmy", "Stella Blue", "Let Me Sing Your Blues Away", "Eyes Of The World", and "Here Comes Sunshine". LP, Vinyl record album

The Village Vanguard seemed to be one of the greatest settings for the Great Jazz Trio – a place where the group of Hank Jones on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums could really stretch out in the kind of loose, open lines that made their 70s albums so great! This set's the third that the trio recorded at the Vanguard – and it's very much in the best spirit of its predecessors – gently soulful, with a strong focus on the individual talents of the players, yet nary a moment of overindulgence. The set includes five long tracks – "Hi Fly", "Sophisticated Lady", "Wave", and "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise". CD

A wonderful return to form for the Great Jazz Trio of Hank Jones, Richard Davis, and Elvin Jones – a recent session, but one recorded with the warmth and imagination of their best 70s Japanese sets! The album's done in the ultra-high fidelity style of the 88's label – and features the group stretching out in some wonderful readings of standards that include "Long Ago & Far Away", "Caravan", "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise", "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes". CD

A beautiful little session from one of the greatest guitarists ever! The album's part of Blue Note's tendency to "churchify" Grant Green on some albums – giving his guitar a gospelly groove that has some nicely soulful connotations – but it's also a record that's maybe the strongest of that bunch, as it's got this approach that's loose and open – and which has this fantastic flow that's aided by the piano of Kenny Drew! Drew is the equal star on this set – and the longer tunes on the record really allow for plenty of open solo space – and the whole thing shines with Drew's piano matching lines with Green's strung-out single-note solos. The groove is pretty hard, and the recording quality keeps the whole thing nice and lively – thanks also to work from Ben Tucker on bass and Ben Dixon on drums. Titles include "Sunday Mornin", "Come Sunrise", "Exodus", and "Freedom March". CD

A beautiful little session from one of the greatest guitarists ever! The album's part of Blue Note's tendency to "churchify" Grant Green on some albums – giving his guitar a gospelly groove that has some nicely soulful connotations – but it's also a record that's maybe the strongest of that bunch, as it's got this approach that's loose and open – and which has this fantastic flow that's aided by the piano of Kenny Drew! Drew is the equal star on this set – and the longer tunes on the record really allow for plenty of open solo space – and the whole thing shines with Drew's piano matching lines with Green's strung-out single-note solos. The groove is pretty hard, and the recording quality keeps the whole thing nice and lively – thanks also to work from Ben Tucker on bass and Ben Dixon on drums. Titles include "Sunday Mornin", "Come Sunrise", "Exodus", and "Freedom March". CD features the bonus track "Tracin Tracey". CD

Includes the tracks "I'm Just Wild About Harry", "Doodle Dee Doo", "On the Sunny Side of the Street", and "Tom Dooley". LP, Vinyl record album

Completely stunning music from the marvelous Muriel Grossmann – a saxophonist who's become one of our favorite jazz talents over the course of the past decade – thanks to deeply spiritual work like this! The album's got a Hammond organ, something you're not as always likely to see in a session like this – played by Llorenc Barcelo with these open lines that are filled with mystical currents and colors, and which provide a perfect accompaniment to Grossman's well-crafted solos on tenor and soprano sax! Guitarist Radomir Milojkovic grounds the sound with some slightly straighter lines, but still with a rhythmic pulse to match the modal vibes of the tunes – a quality that's driven forward deeply by the drums of Uros Stamenkovic. If you've not heard the music of Muriel Grossman before, you're in for a treat – and if you have, your collection of really special albums just got one record bigger! Titles include "Happiness", "Traneing In", "Sundown", "African Dance", and "Union". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic group from the British scene at mid 60s – music from a time when the UK world of jazz was exploding from the work of artists like Joe Harriott and Tubby Hayes, but also held some other tremendous talents as well! The group here has trumpeter Henry Lowther and tenorist Lyn Dobson at the core – and also features work from Jon Hiseman on drums, plus piano from Ken McCarthy and bass from Ron Rubin on the quintet tracks, and bass from a pre-Cream Jack Bruce on the quartet titles! Tracks are long, open, and filled with the kind of modern expression you might know from the group of Ian Carr and Don Rendell – often modal rhythms giving strong inspiration to freer solo flights – but always with a sense of soul that keeps things from ever sounding too outside to swing. The whole thing's wonderful – a near-lost slice from these crucial years – with titles that include "Snow", "Straight Away", "Celebrity Stomp", "Night & Day", "Red Planet", "Black & White Raga", and "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer set from one of the most-overlooked talents of the 50s – the great Gigi Gryce, a fantastic arranger and player whose talents get more forgotten as every year passes by! This set features Gryce working in a well-fitting quintet with the great Richard Williams on trumpet – and the group plays together in a style that mixes easy blowing soul jazz with some of the modernism that was always inherent in Gryce's writing and playing, and which Williams was certainly getting a name for in his work with Mingus. The record's got a lot more surprises than you'd expect – but most of all, it's got a deeply soulful bottom, free from any of the cliches of the era, and expressed in fresh modern tones that should have been allowed further development over the years. Titles include "Boxer's Blues", "Monday Through Sunday", and "Strange Feelin". CD

As you like it – and we like it plenty! The album's a stunner from pianist Friedrich Gulda – one that still shows plenty of his high-powered, high-technique roots – but one that also really has him opening up a bit, too – almost bringing in a dose of soul jazz from the American scene, mixed up in really nice ways with the MPS ethos of the time! The group's a trio, with killer drums from Klaus Weiss and bass from JA Rettenbacher – but Gulda really dominates most tracks, playing with this fluid, open vibe that's mighty nice – extremely creative and compelling, and light years more compelling than some of the Oscar Peterson records cut for MPS during the same period. Titles include "Light My Fire", "Blues For HG", "All Blues", "East Of The Sun", and "I Only Have Eyes For You". LP, Vinyl record album

The fantastic debut of Gypsy – a group who blend wonderful harmonies with really well-crafted inspiration – very much in the jazz-inspired jamming of some of the headier California groups, like Spirit or Santana at their best! The group use a swirling blend of organ and guitar next to their really beautiful vocals – warm and sweet at some of the best moments, but never in a way that ever feels like soft rock – given the intensity of the instrumentation! The album was issued on the Metromedia label, and never got the attention it would have deserved had it hit the racks from a company like Columbia or Warner – but it's every bit as great as some of their giants from the time, with titles that include "Last December", "Man Of Reason", "Third Eye", "Tomorrow Is The Last To Be Heard", "Here In My Loneliness", "Dead & Gone", "Dream If You Can", "Decisions", and "Gypsy Queen". CD

Only the second album from Gypsy, but one that really has the group opening up their wings to soar – especially on the longer tunes that really feature some nicely freewheeling interplay between organ and guitar! Yet even on the shorter cuts, the sound between the two is great too – driven on by some rhythms that feature very tasty use of congas, in a way that might draw some slight comparison to Santana, although these guys maybe have some more mid-American elements in the mix too, almost a dash of light Allman Brothers at times! Whatever the comparisons, though, the whole thing is great – a really under-discovered gem that deserves to be in the bigger pantheon of the time – with cuts that include "Here In The Garden", "Blind Man", "Reach Out Your Hand", "Around You", and "As Far As You Can See". LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool set from the Italian scene of the 70s – one that features very hip vocals from the great Shirley Bunnie Foy, set to lean instrumentation that makes the whole thing nicely different than just a standard jazz vocal session! Shirley plays percussion next to her vocals, and the set features some mighty nice organ and piano from Sonnie Taylor – plus added percussion by a third player too, all with a vibe that makes for some really unusual tracks that have the piano and percussion dancing around with a loose, open vibe – which Shirley is only happy to explore with these vocals that unravel in a completely wonderful way – all sorts of personal inflections that groove with the rhythms, in a unique style that goes way past jazz – maybe with some of the righteous energy of Nina Simone at her hippest! Titles include "Go Down Moses", "Way O Comin Home", "Ulele Angolian Blood", "Gershwin/Summertime", "When Sunny Gets Blue", and "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child". CD

One of the first albums ever made by Bruce Haack – the mad musician who's best known for his electronic work, but who also left behind a huge legacy of self-produced work for children! This album was done in collaboration with Miss Nelson – Esther Nelson, a dance instructor who worked heavily with kids – and it's got a naive, post-beat sort of feel that predates Haack's later hippie work, but which is equally charming. There's some very primitive electronic work on the record, next to odd instrumentation, and some very weird vocals from both Nelson and Haack – aimed at the kids who were the supposed audience for this one, but which make the whole thing sound more like an Ernie Kovacs episode gone mad! Definitely songs in the key of z – with tracks that include "Clap Your Hands", "Sunflowers", "Sailing", "A Stuffy Story", "Pussycats", "Trains", and "My Bones". CD

A standout 60s soundtrack from the great Manos Hadjidakis – penned for a heist thriller from director Jules Dassin! The music follows slightly off the Dassin/Hadjidakis pairing on Never On A Sunday – using lots of familiar Greek elements, but moving these into more complicated film score modes as well – particularly on some of the cool mood-setting numbers you'd find in a heist film of this vintage – a surprisingly great setting for some of the more exotic moments in the music. There's plenty of bazuki in the mix, and some nice percussion too – and titles include "Meet Hans", "Istanbul", "Meet Arthur Simpson", "Main Title", "On The Road", and "The Road To Riches". LP, Vinyl record album

The beautiful first solo album by Lani Hall – recorded after years of work with Sergio Mendes in the Brasil 66 group – and done in a style that certainly reflects her great vocals with that ensemble, yet which also expands her sound tremendously! The set was arranged and produced by Herb Alpert in a spare, almost folksy style that still has some sweet LA touches – and the album's worth it alone for the leadoff cut – a version of Lesley Duncan's "Love Song", done in a gently grooving mode that's got a real folk-funk feel! The set's also got a great version of "We Could Be Flying" – and other tracks include "Ocean Song", "Vincent", "Come Down In Time", and "You". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the best work so far from trumpeter Matthew Halsall – and a wonderful continuation of the spiritual vibe he's been giving us for the past few years! Halsall's a real up-and-comer – a trumpeter with a spiritual sensibility that rivals the best players on 70s Impulse or Strata East sessions – working with a fluid, open quality that's unlike any other contemporary musicians we can think of! There's depth of sound to the record that rivals the best spiritual sessions from Build An Ark – or from Halsall's frequent partner and labelmate, Nat Birchall – whose tenor makes parts of the album sparkle as much as Matthew's trumpet. Other musicians include Rachael Gladwin on harp – an instrument used heavily on the record, in a cool Alice Coltrane-like way – plus Lisa Mallett on flute, Adam Fairhall on piano, and Holly Simpson on violin. Titles include "The Sun In September", "Finding My Way", "Sailing Out To Sea", "Mary Emma Louise", and "Fletcher Moss Park". LP, Vinyl record album

Very early work from Chico Hamilton – recorded in a piano trio mode that predates his more famous chamber quintet – working with pianist Freddie Gambrell and bassist Ben Tucker on a set of tunes that are mostly standards, and a few bluesy piano explorations. Titles include "Ex Ray's Friends", "Reservation Blues", "These Foolish Things", "You're The Cream In My Coffee", "Five Minutes More", and "Midnight Sun". LP, Vinyl record album

Very early work from Chico Hamilton – recorded in a piano trio mode that predates his more famous chamber quintet – working with pianist Freddie Gambrell and bassist Ben Tucker on a set of tunes that are mostly standards, and a few bluesy piano explorations. Titles include "Ex Ray's Friends", "Reservation Blues", "These Foolish Things", "You're The Cream In My Coffee", "Five Minutes More", and "Midnight Sun". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal album for Chico – one that has him working with his hip group that included Charles Lloyd and Gabor Szabo, both of whom take Chico into a modal mode that would completely transform his sound! Lloyd's the center star on the album's version of his own "Forest Flower" – done here in "sunrise" and "sunset" passages – but it's really Chico's increasingly offbeat sense of rhythm that allows Lloyd and Szabo to develop their intense solos and searching grooves. Other titles include "Mallet Dance", "Love Song To A Baby", "Man From Two Worlds", and "Child's Play". Plus, the CD reissue features 4 bonus tracks – including "Transfusion", "Passin Thru", "Lady Gabor", and "Lonesome Child". CD

Scott Hamilton's first two albums in one great package! Good Wind is the great opening statement from tenorist Scott Hamilton – a young player who emerged in the late 70s, but one with a definite old school sound! Scott blows here with a wind that's plenty good – very deep-toned, and with a raspy, honest quality that almost takes us back to Ben Webster in the 50s – quite a surprise for the Concord Records sound. The record's got a very well-matched group, too – Nat Pierce on piano, Monty Budwig on bass, Bill Berry on trumpet, and Jake Hanna on drums – all of whom give Hamilton's tenor plenty of space to dominate the session. Titles include "Stuffy", "Indiana", "Blue Room", "Sometimes I'm Happy", "Ill Wind", and "Broadway". Scott Hamilton 2 builds on the same foundation as its predessor, but swaps Berry's trumpet for guitarist Cal Collins. Tracks include "East Of The Sun", "There Is No Greater Love", and the Hamilton original "Blues For The Players". CD

Tracks include "In My Solitude", "Single Petal Of A Rose", "Reflections In D", "Warm Valley", "Isfahan", "Caravan", and "Come Sunday". CD

A seminal bit of Japanese rock from the early 70s – performed by a group that included Haruomi Hosono, and who has a style that borrows from the best of the LA scene of the late 60s! The tunes are extremely catchy – done in a folksy style that has compressed guitars and spacious production that evoke bits of The Byrds, Graham Parsons, Beau Brummels, late Association, and some of our other favorite work from those magical years. Lyrics are all in Japanese, but sung in a simple and compelling style that somehow makes you forget that fact! LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing music from Hapshash & The Coloured Coat – a group with a sound that's every bit as freewheeling as their name! The set's a unique collaboration between DJ/producer Guy Stevens and psych poster designers Michael English and Nigel Weymouth – and has this loose, unfettered feel that's almost more like a "happening" in the studio instead of some road-jamming band cutting its music to vinyl – a really hair-down party with instrumentation on trippy percussion, jangly guitar, and other odd sounds that step in and out of the mix – showing a larger studio sense of manipulation for the whole record. There's an odd groove to the record at parts – almost a chaos theory return of the eternal – and titles include "H-O-P-P Why?", "A Mind Blown Is A Mind Shown", "The New Messiah Coming 1985", "Aoum", and the epic side two jam "Empires Of The Sun". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare English language recordings from the sublime Francoise Hardy – music that's every bit as wonderful as her famous French recordings – and even more compelling to our Anglo-styled ears! The vocals are wonderful – sung with this sense of darkness that's almost got an echo of Nico at points, given the accent – set to backings that balance this darkness with a bit more light, but never in ways that are overly poppy – and which definitely continue that more sophisticated style that Hardy always brought to her music! There's less "yeh yeh" to the tracks than a few years before – and Francoise is definitely digging deeper music at this point in her career – sometimes with a breathy brilliance that's a bit like Jane Birkin too. Titles include "Bown Bown Bown", "Till The Morning Comes", "Loving You", "In The Sky", "Midnight Blues", "Magic Horse", "Song Of Winter", "Strange Shadows", "Ocean", "The Garden Of Jane Delawney", "Sometimes", "Let My Name Be Sorrow", "Times Passing By", "I Just Want To Be Alone", and "Suzanne". CD

A legendary album – and for good reason too – a set that's as mysterious as it is funky, and a record that's stayed at the top of our crates for years! The album features a really unusual collective of musicians, pulled together under the guidance of producer Paul Winley – a group that features George Benson on guitar, Dave Baby Cortez on organ, Willis Jackson on tenor sax, and Earl Williams on some massively funky drums! The music's a mix of funky jazz and gritty soul – put together with some really weird studio touches – including an uncredited male voice that comes in and out of the tracks, bad-rapping along with some very hip commentary. Ann Winley sings the female vocals on the set – often egged on by the dude – but the real charm of the record lies at the bottom – the wicked drums, funky basslines, and choppy instrumental bits that have gotten the set sampled plenty over the years. Titles include the classic "Smokin Cheeba Cheeba" alone, the groovy "Finger In It", a great breakbeat version of "Ain't No Sunshine" with a tenor solo by Willis Jackson, and the slow bluesy talking cut "Fed Up", a baaaad rap about a couple splitting up – done here in both vocal and instrumental versions. CD

Excellent group harmony work from this long-running ensemble – a set of tracks that includes "Count Your Blessings", "There's Power In The Blood", "The Harvest Is Past", "Beams Of Heaven", "I Love To Call His Name", and "Sunshine Always Follows Rain". LP, Vinyl record album

Barry Harris recorded live in Tokyo – working at the intimate Dug nightclub, with backing from Japanese players Kunimitsuj Inaba on bass and Fumio Watanabe on drums! The style here is in the warmer side of the Harris spectrum – sometimes introspective, sometimes a bit more grooving – but always played with a strong degree of sensitivity on the keys of the piano, and recorded in a way that has Barry right out front in the mix. There's a great sense of maturity and grace going on here – and if anything, Harris has become an even more interesting pianist as the years have gone on – dropping some of his too-powerful styles from earlier years, in favor of well-placed notes and a greatly expanded sense of space that really comes through on this set. Titles include "Luminescence", "Somebody Loves Me", "No Name Blues", "Oblivion", "It Could Happen To You", "East Of The Sun", and "Nascimento". CD

Far and above the best album by sweet soul vocalist Major Harris! Harris had knocked around for years in vocal groups during the 60s, and had even sung for a bit with The Delfonics in the early 70s – but this album is his crowning achievement, a landmark of sweet Philly soul with some wonderful ballad work that he'd never be able to match again! Bobby Eli wrote, produced, and arranged most of the material – and although he had a bit of help from Norman Harris and Ron Kersey on some of the record, the core of the album is that perfect ballad style that Eli could do when he wasn't working on groovers. The centerpiece of the album is the stellar "Love Won't Let Me Wait" – a killer quiet storm soul number – and the record also features a great remake of "Sideshow", which Eli also cut with Blue Magic. Other tracks include "Loving You Is Mellow", "After Loving You", and "Each Morning I Wake Up". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic new music from Detroit reedman Wendell Harrison – working here with a renewed version of the Tribe Records scene, at a level that makes the album one of his best in many years! Wendell blows tenor and bass clarinet, and his group here is mostly younger, lesser-known players – but who soar with Harrison in a mix of spiritual jazz modes and a few more rhythmic currents – all with the kind of powerful, progressive vibe that made the Tribe Records material of Harrison and his contemporaries so important in the 70s! Other musicians include Vincent Chandler on trombone, Steve Woods on flute, Luis Resto on piano, Walter White on trumpet, and Jacob Schwantz on guitar – although players shift often from track to track – and frequent Harrison partner Pamela Wise also provides a bit of keyboards, and the set features both sung vocals on two tracks from Pathe Jassi, and a recitation from Mbiyu Chui on another. Titles include "Revoltuion", "Siera", "Wandering Thoughts", "Samoulen Khale Yi", "What's Up", and "Saga Of A Carrot". CD

Strange soundtrack to a weird early 70s film about a Jesus-peddler – with songs that are mostly in a folk-rock mode similar to some of the drippier tunes showing up on AIP soundtracks of a few years before. The best tunes are the instrumentals by Hatcher, which have kind of a biker bluesy sound to them – but the bulk of the album is vocal numbers, sung by Matthew Crowe & His Travelin Band. Oh for the days when the studios had this much money to throw away! Titles include "Send Me A Friend", "Brian's Theme", "Heleana's Love Theme", "San Diego Blues", "Soul Hustler", and "Set Me Free". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the great electric piano sessions from Hampton Hawes in the 70s – an instrument he didn't use much, but which is a wonderful outlet for his creative activity! Hawes also plays acoustic on the record, and some Arp as well – in a hip lineup that features Oscar Brashear on trumpet, Hadley Caliman on soprano and tenor, George Walker on guitar, Henry Franklin on bass, and Ndugu Chancler on drums. The whole thing's got the vibe of some of the Black Jazz sessions of the time – and titles include "Sun Dance", "Brother Brantley", "Rain Forest", "Carmel", and "Me Ho". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible concept album from the South African scene of the early 70s – a record that mixes rootsy percussion with plenty of freak and fuzz – all in a style that seems to take UK psychedelic inspirations and forge them into a very unique Johannesburg expression! Acoustic elements are every bit as important to the music as the electric ones – creating this earthy vibe that's very different than Anglo records of its type – and the soulful vocals from singer Dave Ornellas really send things over the top! The album begins with a seventeen minute, side-long track that's completely beautiful – and side two moves on with similar beauty, on a set of shorter tracks that balance things out nicely. Titles include "African Day", "Here Comes The Sun", "Look Up Brother"," Kissed By The Sun", "Happy Man", and "Love Song". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album that hardly needs any introduction – as it's one of the most famous soundtracks, if not soul records, of the 70s! Isaac Hayes had already surprised music fans with the sophistication of his first few solo albums, which had been issued before this one – but with Shaft, he did the inconceivable, as the album was one of the first times a pop musician had scored, not just sung on, an entire soundtrack. Plus, the soundtrack's super-huge – running as a double-length batch of tracks that was a rarity for the often-slim soundtrack market. Includes many great funky numbers – both vocal and instrumental – including "Theme from Shaft", "Cafe Regio's", "Walk from Regio's", "Bumpy's Lament", and "Do Your Thing", in the nice 19 minute long version! LP, Vinyl record album

A lucky number 13 from Lee Hazlewood – one of the artist's last albums during his legendary LHI run of creativity – and a set that marks a really groovy step forward! The music here has all the wit and sharpness of Lee's better-known late 60s material, but there's also a bit of a groove too – some currents that were brought to the record by Larry Marks, then given a special Hazlewood touch when Lee's vocals were added – all in a way that almost makes for a soulful 70s update to his 60s sound! The set was only issued during Lee's time in Sweden during the early 70s – which makes it one of his rarest records ever – and titles include "You Look Like A Lady", "Tulsa Sunday", "Ten Or 11 Towns Ago", "And I Loved You Then", and "I Move Around". Features the bonus tracks "Drums", "Susie", and "Cold Hard Times (outtake)". 2LP edition features 30 tracks in all – including acoustic demos, unreleased tracks, and more – including the rare tunes "Peppermint Morning", "Miracle On 19th Street", and "I'm Riding". LP, Vinyl record album

There was never anyone like Lee Hazlewood – and this album is a true testament to his genius! He's the kind of guy you think you've got figured out when you first look at him – but the more you listen to his music, the more you want to raise him above all of the other hip singer/songwriters he seems to be like (Gram Parsons, Leonard Cohen, etc). At heart, Lee was a Cowboy – much more so than any of those fake LA "desperadoes" of the Sunset rock years – and this album, recorded as part of the enigmatic film A Cowboy In Sweden, is true testament to Lee's incredible ability to be both totally serious about his image, yet still maintain a sense of wit and distance that makes him incredibly hard to pin down, genre-wise. He's the country singer Scott Walker always wanted to be, and he's got a pop genius that Leonard Cohen painfully tried to reach in his later years. Brilliant! Filled with beautiful titles like "Forget Marie", "Pray Them Bars Away", "Easy & Me", "No Train To Stockholm", and "The Night Before" – one that you won't forget for a long time! This rare deluxe version features a bonus album of unreleased tracks – outtakes, demos, and instrumentals! LP, Vinyl record album

If this is reality, lead us onward – as the set is a mindblowing batch of trippy psych-funk from The Heliocentrics – even more offbeat and experimental than before, in ways that make the combo the true heirs to the legacy first begun by Stark Reality! The album's definitely funky at the core, but it's also filled with loads of amazing sounds – instruments tuned weirdly, played weirdly, and produced weirdly – so that over the heavy drums, there's often lots of freaky, fuzzy bits and tripped-out sounds – in ways that make the record feel like some lost acid trip outtakes from the Westbound studios of the early 70s – or like some obscure funk band that dropped acid at Andy Warhol's loft! The packaging offers up a visual example of what your ears will be going through when you tune into the music – and titles include "Mysterious Ways", "Collateral Damage", "Black Sky", "Calabash", "Path Of The Black Sun", "Mr Owusu I Presume", "Eastern Begena", and loads of cool interlude tracks too. CD

The classic debut from one of the weirdest concept groups of the 60s – a mime rock band brought together by producer Lew Futterman – who'd also worked on some killer funky jazzy sessions with Brother Jack McDuff! The style here is psychedelic pop through and through – and although the group didn't speak, they do sing (is that really mime?) – and work in a groovy sing-song blend of reeds and rockish rhythms, one that definitely has some of the same sharp changes and funky undercurrents you'd find in Futterman's jazz projects – although honed down here into much shorter Sunshine tunes! The album's a very unique little record – and oddly the group flourished for years. But somehow this first record has a charm that's really undeniable – and is maybe still their best effort ever. Titles include "White Winged Doves","Dream Of Tomorrow", "Pray For Rain", "How Does It Feel To Be Free", "I Ride To Nowhere", "Come & See Me", and "Jelly Jam". LP, Vinyl record album

Concept album telling the story of a woman named Journey through sung compositions and spoken word. CD

An excellent album – and one of Joe Henderson's boldest sets from the early 70s! The record features Joe working with a hip group of young Japanese players that includes Terumasa Hino on trumpet and Masabumi Kikuchi on piano and electric piano – and the sextet format of the session stretches way past Joe's other Japanese recording from the time, which was issued in the US on Milestone. This one features very long tracks, with tremendous intensity from both the group and Joe, who's got a real edginess to his playing here. Includes a version of "So What", plus the originals "Sunrise In Tokyo" and "Get Magic Again". CD

Not experienced? Well, this album will help push you over the top – as it's done for decades of listeners from the heyday of young Jimi Hendrix all the way up to the present! The set's a classic through and through – a blueprint not just for the genius of Hendrix, but for generations of guitar heroes to come – as you might expect with a lineup that includes "Hey Joe", "Manic Depression", "The Wind Cries Mary", "Fire", "Third Stone From The Sun", "Are You Experienced", and "Purple Haze". CD

Classic San Francisco recordings, captured at the Winterland Ballroom in October of 1968 – with titles that include "Fire", "Foxy Lady", "Hey Joe", "Tax Free", "Wild Thing", "Purple Haze", "Red House", "Killing Floor", "Spanish Castle Magic", "Manic Depression", and "Sunshine Of Your Love". CD

A rare bit of Chicago jazz, cut back when Atlantic had a brief relationship with the Dunwich imprint, which was mostly a garage-rock operation. This one, though, is a prime bit of Cadet/Argo jazz – as Higgins plays piano with pop/jazz backings by Richard Evans, done very much in the style of some of his work for Chess. The tracks are mostly pop tunes, but they have a very groovy sound – and in a way, Higgins piano actually seems to work harder with the larger backing behind him. Titles include "Sunny", "Miko San", "Taste Of Honey", "I Live To Love", "Shadow Of Your Smile", and "What Is A Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful comeback from the great Andrew Hill – a sweet return to the Blue Note label, after dropping off the recording scene a bit at the end of the 70s! Hill first rose to greatness on the label, and returns to the same here too – in a mode that echoes the edges of his "new thing" years, but also has a warmer feel too – one that's different than the style of his Grass Roots album, but also much stronger than most of the other records he'd done in the years in between too. The group's a very sympathetic quintet – with mighty vibes from Bobby Hutcherson, plus alto sax from Greg Osby, bass from Rufus Reid, and drums from Ben Riley. Titles include "Pinnacle", "Golden Sunset", "Samba Rasta", "Tail Feather", "Spiritual Lover", and "Bobby's Tune". CD features 3 bonus tracks – "Pinnacle (alt take)", "Golden Sunset (alt take)", and "Spiritual Lover (alt take)". CD

Earl Hines leads a group that includes special guests like Roy Eldridge and Coleman Hawkins – and the material's a relatively traditional batch of tunes, done in Earl's classic piano style. The group performs an extended "Portrait Of Fats Waller", plus shorter tracks like "C Jam Blues", "Rosetta", and "Sunday". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the tracks "Day Dream", " Good Queen Bess (take 1 & 2)", "That's The Blues", "Old Man", "Junior Hop", "Squaty Roo", " Passion Flower", "Things Ain't What They Used To Be", "Going Out The Back Way", " Never No Lament (Don't Get Around Much Anymore)", "Blue Goose", "In A Mellowtone", "Warm Valley", "After All", "The Giddybug Gallop", "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)", "Clementine", "Moon Mist", "Sentimental Lady", "Come Sunday", " Mood To Be Woo'd", and "Rockaby River (Hop, Skip, Jump)". CD

A set that was originally issued on the legendary Vertigo Records label, but one that's maybe a bit more down to earth than some of its cosmic contemporaries – as Hokus Poke have a style here that mixes some hard rock elements with maybe a more pastoral approach – all served up in a way that's easygoing and understated at times, but with top-shelf presentation throughout! Singer/guitarist Clive Benkhorn is great, and he gets additional guitar leads from Roger Clarke at times too – on original tunes written by various members of the group as they come together with this special sort of sonic ear that makes the album more and more hard to peg as the set goes on! Titles include "Living In Harmony", "The Poke", "Big World Small Girl", "Down In The Street", "Hag Rag", "HP Boogie", and "Sunrise Sunset". LP, Vinyl record album

About as classic as you can get for the legendary John Lee Hooker – a set of recordings from his early postwar years that perfectly define the special touch and electric genius of his music! The sound here is often as spare as rural acoustic blues from years back – but Hooker's using an electric instrument with a nice current of fuzz, which almost acts like a louder, fuller chorus behind his vocals – often hinting at feedback possibilities, which creates this hypnotic quality to the music – whether or not John's grooving high, or stepping low! And the vocals are something equally wonderful, too – sung and hum at the same time, in that classic Hooker way – again a huge influence on so many others to come. Japanese CD features 24 tracks in all! CD

The complete work from a short but wonderful stretch of recording – a series of sides done for the Fire/Fury record label – which match the genius talents of Lightnin Hopkins and the soulful production of Harlem's great Bobby Robinson! The mix of modes is great – and rather than go for an uptown version of Hopkins' music, Bobby seems to understand it even more than most producers – and really allow the strings of the guitar to resonate with this chromatic, almost sparkling sort of quality – sounding fantastic next to the raw growl of the man himself! The record is still as classic as can be for Lightnin – no added instrumentation or arrangements – and titles include "Coffee For Mama", "Black Mare Trot", "Glory Bee", "Shine On Moon", "Santa", and "Have You Ever Loved A Woman". CD features 18 tracks in all – the full Mojo Hand album, plus material from singles too! CD

Moody work by Paul Horn – with a focus more on "images" of Brazil, than on the Brazilian jazz you might expect from the title! Like much of Horn's work from the time, the recording is very spacious – with Paul blowing on flute in a style that's as much about exploring space as it is creating a tune – working with a small group that includes percussion and acoustic guitar, plus a few additional percussion bits from Airto. Titles include "Amazonia", "Brazilian Images", "Streets Of Sao Paulo", "Mulher Solitaria", "Sambinha", and "Funky Town". CD

A wicked set of groovers from Jimmy Bo Horne – produced with a snapping KC & The Sunshine Band groove, and proof that the Miami sound could still burn strong at the end of the 70s! The tunes are a mix of mellow numbers and funkier tracks that have a snapping "spank" sort of rhythm – that percolated approach to rhythm that TK first started laying down in the mid 70s, but which was given a bit more of an open-ended sound here. Jimmy's vocals are much better than the usual singer for this sort of set – sweetly crackling on the mellow tunes, but hitting with a deeper soul on the groovers. Titles include a long remake of "I Get Lifted", "You Get Me Hot", "Goin Home For Love", "Spank", and "Without You". CD

A legendary psych set from the Chicago scene of the late 60s – served up by a group who take their name from the famous horror author HP Lovecraft, and who get some sublime production from Dunwich – also another Lovecraft reference! The group have a really unique vibe – in that they've got some of the eeriness of late folk, mixed with fuzzier psychedelic instrumentation – vocals that have that quality from that moment in the summer of love when the sunshine children were starting to realize that the world was a darker place – with lots of spooky spaces to explore! The instrumentation is great – with all sorts of elements that really open up the sound, like harpsichord, clavichord, flute, tympani, 12 string guitar, and guitaroon – and the harmony vocals of the group really have an unsetting vibe. Jazzman Eddie Higgins plays a bit of vibes, and handles some larger arrangements – and titles include "I've Been Wrong Before", "The Time Machine", "That's How Much I Love You", "Wayfaring Stranger", "Let's Get Together", and "That's The Bag I'm In". CD

Fiercely funky Freddie Hubbard – a late 70s live date, but one that has the same bold power as his early 70s albums for CTI! Like those classics, the tracks here are all quite long – and served up in this beautifully flowing mix of acoustic and electric elements – Freddie on trumpet, Hadley Caliman on tenor and flute, Billy Child on piano and keyboards, Larry Klein on bass, and Carl Burnett – a group that works together so beautifully in the live environment, you'd think their performance was the process of multiple takes! We love the spiritual energy that Hubbard can get in such a setting – and most of the record stretches out with very long tracks, including two that go past the 20 minute mark. Titles include "Take It To The Ozone", "Little Sunflower", "One Of A Kind", "Here's That Rainy Day", "Blues For Duane", and "Love Connection". CD

A great Blue Note 2-fer from the 70s – one that features the first issue of the album Here To Stay, plus the classic Hub Cap! On the first session on the set, the sound is sharp-edged and soulful – a reflection of the groove that Freddie was hitting in the Jazz Messengers of the early 60s, played by a group that features three members of that ensemble – Wayne Shorter, Cedar Walton, and Reggie Workman – along with Philly Joe Jones on drums! Tracks are hard, straight, and soulful – not bogged down in some of Hubbard's misdirected modernism – and titles include "Philly Mignon", "Father & Son", "Nostrand & Fulton", and "Assunta". Hub Cap is one of Freddie Hubbard's all-time best from the early days – and features a very hard wailing lineup that mixes tight hardbop rhythms with some more adventurous soloing that almost has a modern jazz kind of tinge. Cedar Walton's on piano, Julian Preister's on trombone, and Jimmy Heath is on tenor – working with Freddie to craft some mindblowing work on titles that include the amazing "Plexus", plus "Hub Cap", "Cry Me Not", and "Earmon JR." LP, Vinyl record album

Really wonderful work from the young Michael Hurley – one of his first records to get somewhat wide exposure, thanks to the help of Jesse Colin Young, who signed Hurley up to his Raccoon label at Warner Brothers! The vibe here is right up there with some of the best offbeat acoustic work cut during that stretch at the label – not the same in sound, but not far in spirit from unique records by Steve Young, John Hartford, and others – not to mention the cooler currents from Jesse's scene too! Hurley's vocal style changes nicely to fit the mood of each tune, really bringing the most out of the sorts of lyrics that were his special stock in trade – while the guitar playing is nicely unified, and although spare, really does a great job of holding the album together. Titles include "Blue Driver", "Water Train", "The Sun Is Slowly Sinking", "I'm Worried I'm Worried", "In Florida", "Lilly Pads Upon The Pond", and "Trinidad". CD

Righteous Bobby Hutcherson from the 70s – one of his last albums recorded in the company of reedman Harold Land – and one of his greatest too! There's a wonderful mix of modes going on here – modal jazz meets California sun, blending a sense of spiritualism with some of the warmth that Hutcherson was increasingly discovering in his music – especially on the album's use of marimbas, which are surprisingly great next to Bobby's vibes! In addition to work from Land on tenor and flute, the set also has the great Woody Shaw on trumpet – plus Bill Henderson on Fender Rhodes, Emanuel Boyd on tenor, Ray Drummond on bass, Larry Hancock on drums, and Kenneth Nash on percussion – a rhythm player who really helps give the record some hip Strata East-like touches. Titles include a sublime reading of Shaw's "Rosewood" – plus "Zuri Dance", "Wrong Or Right", "Even Later", and "Cirrus". CD

One of our favorite Bobby Hutcherson albums ever – and a magical session filled with electric Latin vibes! The album's quite a different one for Bobby at the time – as it has him working with some larger arrangements, in a soulful west coast groove that's almost got the feel of a hip 70s soundtrack. Bobby's vibes are nicely set up against Fender Rhodes on most tracks – and the group's got some added Latin percussion that really opens up the rhythms. The whole thing's totally wonderful – brimming over with sun and soul, the kind of magic record that will never be made again! Tracks include "Camel Rise", "Yuyo", "Montara", "La Malanga", "Little Angel", and "Love Song". CD

Long, live, improvised duets between drummer Kim Dae Hwan and trumpeter Choi Sun Bae – the latter of whom also blows a bit of harmonica on the set! Yet mostly, Bae is blowing trumpet – and he's got this earthy, raspy tone that's great – very mouthy at points, then shifted into bolder, more distinct phrasing – a balance that's really great for the work of Hwan on drums – which is sometimes tentative and spacious, sometimes very full on and dynamic! The set features three selections, each of differing lengths – and the recording quality is wonderful, with a great sense of "room" that seems to recreate the spontaneous interaction between the players. CD

Great solo piano work from Abdullah Ibrahim – and a set that's put together a bit differently than some of his other records of this nature! Often, solo Ibrahim sides are quite long and extended – but this time around, most of the tracks are quite short – some around three minutes, some almost only 60 seconds – making for a really fresh approach to the solo piano genre, and one that almost has Abdullah painting these wonderful little pictures in sound! The brevity of the tunes is no reflection of their depth – as Ibrahim really packs a lot into the small space focusing his ideas wonderfully, and moving through some dark themes that really hold us in rapt attention throughout. Titles include "Jabulani", "Mamma", "Bayana Children Of Africa", "In The Evening", "Ocean & The River", "Blue Bolero", "For Coltrane", "Dust", "Tookah", and "Blues For A Hip King". CD

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Some of the earliest work you'll ever hear from the young Jim Osterberg – material that features the famous Stooges frontman playing drums, and doing a slight bit of singing! The group sound a fair bit like you might expect from the cover – a tight, sharp, local combo who do a great job both with their own material, and some of the well-chosen covers they recorded – the kind of stomping garagey material that would have been a hit in the small Michigan clubs at the time! Most vocals are by guitarists Nick Kolokithas and Jim McLaughlin, the latter of whom formed the group with Iggy – and Osterberg does sing lead on a pretty great version of "California Sun", and also contributed the original composition "Again & Again" – a tune that definitely points the way towards The Stooges, and is one of the creepiest things on here. Other titles include "Mona", "I Don't Know Why", "Slow Down", "Walk Don't Run", "Out Of Limits", "Surfin Bird", "Things We Said Today", and "Wild Weekend". Collection features a great range of material – even some early 1963 demos, when the group with just a trio! LP, Vinyl record album

Pianist Masaru Imada picks up some keyboards for this sweet 80s set – still keeping things in that warmly soulful style of some of his previous albums, but also opening up the groove too – thanks to some excellent guest work from Japanese jazz heavyweights Kazumi Watanabe on guitar and Toshiyuki Honda on alto, soprano sax, and flute! The set's got more of a fusion vibe than some of Masaru's 70s material, but still also has an acoustic ear at the heart – a sense of warmth and lyricism that holds strong throughout, on titles that include "On The Waves", "Sunshine Blvd", "Marine Diving", "Mad Riding", and "Pretty Skip". CD