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A sprawling compilation of the folk rock, Brit blues, jazzy songcraft, oddball comedic and otherwise boundlessly fresh music from the roster of Transatlantic Records in the 60s & 70s! It's a mix of the still revered and largely forgotten – and the quality is high on both sides of that spectrum! Includes numbers by Bert Jansch, The Dubliners, Ralph McTell, Gerry Rafferty, Pentangle, Gryphon, The Purple Gang, Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias, Stefen Grossman and many more. 42 tracks on 2CDs: "Ye Jacobites By Name" by The Johnstons, "Wild Rover" by The Dubliners, "Streets Of London" by Ralph McTell, "Come Sing Me A Happy Song. . ." by Bert Jansch, "The Handsome Meadow Boy" by Dransfield, "Mother Nature's Son" by Gryphon, "Sign On The Dotted Line" by Gerry Rafferty, "Summertime Blues" by Mick Farren, "In Time" by Pentangle and many more.

An important and overlooked British ensemble of the late 60s – a group who were contemporaries of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble and AMM, but who never fully received the same sort of attention! The People Band have a relatively loose approach to improvisation – one that's sometimes a bit warmer and more personal than some of their UK contemporaries – definitely driven by freedom, but also still hanging onto an inherent sense of soul that almost recalls the AACM a bit more than anything else. As with a group like the Art Ensemble Of Chicago, the players switch up instruments a fair bit – really trading sounds and notes in a spontaneously creative way – with Mel Davis on piano, trombone, and cello; Terry Day on drums and alto sax; Lyn Dobson on tenor; Mike Figgis on flugelhorn and acoustic guitar; Frank Flowers on bass; Russell Hardy on piano and keyboards; Eddie Edem on congas and trumpet; Terry Holman on bass and one string thingaphone; and George Khan on tenor and flute. Titles include "Home Trio", "Conduction", "Skip To Part 3", and "Conduction 3". CD features the full album originally issued on the Transatlantic label, plus a few bonus tracks.

A nice little take on the "city symphony" mode that was big in American music a few decades back – served up by the Wynton Marsalis Septet of the early 90s, with decidedly modern touches! The double-length album's a three-tiered affair – with part one standing out as Wynton's extended "Cityscape" – a tribute to New York, done in styles that range from mellow and contemplative, to more hustling and bustling, in true speed of the city. Next up is another suite of tracks titled "Transatlantic Echoes" – work that's still jazz-based, but with a nod to African roots in some of the percussion and phrasing. Last up is "Some Present Moments Of The Future" – the final suite of the album, and one that almost echoes some of the rootsier modes explored by Wynton in his southern trilogy of a few years before. Players include Wynton on trumpet, Todd Williams on tenor and soprano sax, Wes Anderson on alto, Wycliffe Gordon on trombone, Reginald Veal on bass, Herlin Riley on drums, and Eric Reed on piano – and the album also features some guest tenor from Herb Harris and a bit of piano by Marthaniel Roberts.

Lovely vocals from Mayra Andrade – a singer who's been bubbling under for the past few years, and emerges here with a really strong debut for the US market! Mayra's got a very transatlantic pedigree – with roots both in Brazil and Cuba, as well as Cape Verde – and a fair bit of time spent in Europe as well – a rich legacy of cultural experience that leads up strongly to this release! The music's mostly got some of the personal, earthy qualities of more familiar Cape Verdean artists, but also carries echoes of samba as well – and some of the sensitivities of mid-century French chanteuses too – a captivating blend that's handled surprisingly strongly here, with none of the too-commercial tendencies that might get in the way for such a record. Backings are relatively lean, and often percussive with a bit of guitar – and titles include "Nha Sibitchi", "Navega", "Lua", "Mana", "Comme S'Il En Pleuvait", "Dimokransa", and "Lapidu Na Bo".