Featuring Jerry Lacroix, Rick Derringer, and Johnny Winter. LP, Vinyl record album

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Hard grooving late 60s blues rock from the great Johnny Winter! Winter's guitar sounds as great here as it does in some of his better known records. The self-titled set is one of Winter's most straight-forwardly bluesy sets, and titles include "I'm Yours And I'm Hers", "Dallas", "Leland Mississippi Blues", "Back Door Friend" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool early work from Johnny Winter – grittier and more soulful than some of his Columbia material Titles include "Creepy", "Gangster Of Love", "Crying In My Heart", "Broke & Lonely", and "Five After Four AM". LP, Vinyl record album

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Great early stuff from Paul Winter – a player who's certainly done some terrible stuff over the years, but who really sounded great in his younger days! Winter was a hip young player coming out of Northwestern U in Chicago, and he had a well-educated, slightly-modern approach to jazz that was still supported by a lot of straight soulful playing. Here, Winter's working with a great group – his sextet that included Jay Cameron on baritone, Dick Whitsell on trumpet, Chuck Israels on bass, and Ben Riley on drums. The set list includes some very hip numbers like "The Sherrif" by Gil Melle, "All Members" by Jimmy Heath, and "With Malice Towards None", "Cupbearers", and "Ally" written by Tom McIntosh. LP, Vinyl record album

With Winter on soprano and vocals; David Darling on cello and vocals; Paul McCanless on oboe, english horn, contrabass, sarrusophone, and vocals; Ralph Towner on guitars and vocals; Herb Bushler on bass; and Collin Walcott on percussion; plus guests including Billy Cobham, Barry Altschul, and others. LP, Vinyl record album

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With selections by Jay & The Americans, The Astronauts, Dick & Dee Dee, The Beau Brummels and Jackie & Gayle. LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous record from one of the hippest soul singers ever – and an album that has Gil Scott-Heron really pushing forward after his initial classics for the Flying Dutchman label! There's less spoken material here and more sung passages – as Gil's really discovering his confidence as a singer, moving effortlessly between jazz and soul – and getting superb accompaniment from Brian Jackson, who plays both acoustic and electric piano next to Gil's electric. Backings are spare – just bass and drums – and it's no surprise that the album was released on the legendary Strata East label, as it rivals the rest on that imprint for righteous spiritual power! Titles include Gil's classic "The Bottle" – which went on to become a huge hit in many versions – plus the beautiful "Your Daddy Loves You", heard here in the original version – and the tunes "Peace Go With You Brother", "Back Home", "Rivers Of My Fathers", and "A Very Precious Time". LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous record from one of the hippest soul singers ever – and an album that has Gil Scott-Heron really pushing forward after his initial classics for the Flying Dutchman label! There's less spoken material here and more sung passages – as Gil's really discovering his confidence as a singer, moving effortlessly between jazz and soul – and getting superb accompaniment from Brian Jackson, who plays both acoustic and electric piano next to Gil's electric. Backings are spare – just bass and drums – and it's no surprise that the album was released on the legendary Strata East label, as it rivals the rest on that imprint for righteous spiritual power! Titles include Gil's classic "The Bottle" – which went on to become a huge hit in many versions – plus the beautiful "Your Daddy Loves You", heard here in the original version – and the tunes "Peace Go With You Brother", "Back Home", "Rivers Of My Fathers", and "A Very Precious Time". LP, Vinyl record album

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David Thomas has left Pere Ubu behind – but he's got great help here from The Wooden Birds – a group that features Allen Ravenstine on keyboards and electronics, and Tony Maimone on bass! Thomas also plays a bit of accordion alongside his increasingly wild vocals. LP, Vinyl record album

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Breathtakingly organic sounds from Jon Hassell – performing here live, and at a level that's a nice evolution from his studio modes in the earlier part of the 80s – with all sorts of long-blown lines, and nicely complex elements in the sound! Hassell handles both his famous electrified trumpet and keyboards, with a group that includes keyboards, guitar, bass, and percussion samples – all mixed live by Brian Eno, who definitely adds a darkness to the whole proceedings – recalling the Fourth World experiments that he and Hassell had done about a decade before, but with a quality that really respects all the growth that Jon went through as an artist in the intervening years. Titles include "Ituri", "Alchemistry", "Mashujaa", "Paradise Now", "Nightsky", and "Adedara Rising". LP, Vinyl record album

There's no need for The Impressions to push from behind – because with a record like this, they're very firmly in the driver's seat! The album's a treasure through and through – one of the greatest documents of 60s soul from the Chicago scene – filled with sublime original compositions by a young Curtis Mayfield, set to great arrangements from the legendary Johnny Pate! The sound here is immaculate – a groove that's slightly stepping, gently lilting – just enough to get things moving, but with plenty of care not to smother the fragile harmonies of the group. And as on other of the best ABC albums by The Impressions, there's not a hint of filler here – just one great track after another, with titles that include "Amen", "I Made A Mistake", "Don't Let It Hide", "Keep On Pushing", "Somebody Help Me", "Long Long Winter", and "I've Been Trying". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "We Are Ships", "Sailing Ship", "Jamaica", "Diamond Lil", "Every Day II", "Burgundy Wine", and "The Lover In Winter Plaineth For The Spring". LP, Vinyl record album

Warren S Richardson Jr may not be the most catchy name for a rocker, but the record really knocks it out of the park from the very first note of fuzz – thanks to an all-out, super-ballsy sound! The set's one of those that might have been called "blues rock" at the time, but is hardly a blues record at all – as it's already taken those core influences and fused them into something harder and heavier – ala James Gang or maybe Johnny Winter, with lots of funky drums at the bottom, and plenty of super-wicked guitar! Richardson handles both that lead instrument and the vocals – and is actually Bill Spooner, of later Tubes fame – working here with Joseph Ray Trainer and Otis Eugene Hale on tenor saxes, and Richard Lewis on organ and trumpet. Mickey McGee handles the heavy drums – and titles include "Shady Lady", "Easy Rider", "Reputation", "Goin Home", "Stella", and "Wind & Rain". LP, Vinyl record album

Gil Scott Heron's first album for Arista – very much in the mellow soul jazz work of his legendary album on Strata East! The record features some wonderfully moody jazz backing that really marks a shift in Gil's style – never going too far over the top, but hitting a sweet groove that really lets him open up as a singer even more than before! There's plenty of warm electric piano on the album, couched in those wonderfully soulful phrases that Gil and Brian Jackson could cook up so effortlessly at the time – and tracks include the fantastic cut "Winter In America", plus "The Liberation Song", "Ain't No Such Thing As Superman" and "Western Sunrise". LP, Vinyl record album

Produced by Johnny Winter – with cuts that include "The Blues Had A Baby & They Named It Rock & Roll", "Little Girl", "Deep Down In Florida", "Jealous Hearted Man", and "Mannish Boy". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal bit of pre-electro crossover – featuring the cold hard vocals of Alison Moyet, and also Vince Clark of Erasure. Some very tasty keyboard work! Includes the post-disco club smashes "Don't Go" and "Situation", plus "Goodbye Seventies", "Winter Kills", "Midnight", "In My Room", and "Bad Connection". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes performances by Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Sly & The Family Stone, Ten Years After, Miles Davis, Mountain, Kris Kristofferson, Mountain, Allman Brothers, Poco, Procol Harum, Chambers Brothers, Cactus, Leonard Cohen, and David Bromberg. LP, Vinyl record album

Leonard Cohen's debut for Columbia, one of the most astounding first albums of its era, and to this day a towering achievement in both songwriting and myth making! The production is that perfectly haunting mix of sparseness and grandeur, with Cohen's lyricism piercing and penetrating wonderfully – his voice never sounded better, and this is certainly one of the great "lightening in a bottle" efforts that was hard to top by Cohen or anyone else in the more poetic upper levels of pop music. Includes ""Suzanne", "Master Song", "Winter Lady", "The Stranger Song", "Sisters Of Mercy", "So Long, Marianne", "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye", "Stories Of The Street", "Teachers" and "One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong". LP, Vinyl record album

A really fierce blend of avant jazz and post-punk energy – served up here by a group that effortlessly mix complicated reed lines with more driving drums and electric bass – all peppered with vocal contributions from singer Sofia Jernberg! Mats Gustafsson is one of the key forces here – playing flutes, baritone, and live electronics – and really reminding us that his ear for sonic activity is boundless, and open to interactions in just about any sphere – no surprise, given his other records – but still emphasized very strongly with the freshness of this album! Other group members include Borge Fjordheim on drums, Anders Hana on baritone and bass guitars, and Kjetil Moster on clarinet, tenor, and electronics. Titles include "Snow", "Wasted Blame", "Smokey Black", "Whose Face", "Winter Doesn't End", and "Black Vivaldi Sonata". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty darn great set that captures bits from all of Stan Getz's bossa nova recordings for Verve! The set's got a whopping 5LPs, and it features Getz working with the likes of Joao Gilberto, Luiz Bonfa, Charlie Byrd, Gary McFarland, Laurindo Almeida, Astrud Gilberto, and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Includes some unreleased versions of bossa tunes, plus a huge amount of other great stuff – like "Ebony Samba", "Baia", "Samba Triste", "O Pato", "Samba Dees Days", "Sambalero", "Eu E Voce", "Winter Moon", "Menina Moca", "Vivo Sonhando", and "Para Machuchar Meu Coracoa". Easy to find on CD – but darn tough to find on vinyl! LP, Vinyl record album

Killer stuff – and an amazing album that not only showcases the varitone sax talents of Eddie Harris, but also features some fantastic arrangements by Chicago soul genius Charles Stepney! Harris plugs in right from the start – blowing an electric sax that comes up with some groovy groovy sounds – perfect for Stepney to work with on the backdrops – mixing together funky orchestrations, off-kilter strings, and even some prepared piano, ala John Cage – similar to the mode he used with Ramsey Lewis at Cadet! Tunes are wonderful – offbeat, funky, and plenty darn soulful – and titles include "Live Right Now", "It's Crazy", "Winter Meeting", and "Theme In Search Of A TV Commercial". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic selection of work from one of the hippest girl groups of the 70s – the mighty Love Unlimited trio, three singers who all worked under the genius of Barry White in his prime! Unlike other girl trios of the time, who often used an older soul mode refitted with disco grooves – sometimes acting more like a chorus than a lead act – Love Unlimited always brought their full vocal strengths to play, and do a fantastic job here working in modes that rival some of the best male harmony groups of the early 70s – especially the sweet soul groups from New Jersey, New York, and Philly. And yes, Barry does kick up the groove a bit at times, but even then things are usually more in a midtempo mode, not a disco one – which makes for tremendous sounds throughout. This is the first-ever proper collection of the girls' singles from the early 70s – and titles include "Oh Love Well We Finally Made It", "Fragile Handle With Care", "Are You Sure", "I Should Have Known", "Is It Really True Boy Is It Me", "Walkin In The Rain With The One I Love", "Under The Influence Of Love", "It May Be Winter Outside", "I Love You So Never Gonna Let You Go", "I Belong To You", "So Nice To Hear", "People Of Tomorrow Are The Children Of Today", and "Share A Little Love In Your Hear LP, Vinyl record album

Great stuff from the girls who first put Barry White on the map! The record is the group's second – and by this point, Barry had developed that tight snapping drum sound that made his orchestral albums work so well. You'll hear it to good effect on most songs on the LP, which have a great groove that's in the best Barry White mode of the 70s – but which kind of dominates the girls' vocals a bit. Not that anyone should complain that much, as it's the overall package that's always made Barry's albums sound so great – but we do wonder how the group felt when they had to sit out the first track, which was the instrumental "Love's Theme", a song that went onto become Barry's biggest song ever, and which probably sold the album a lot more than the vocal tracks. Still, you can hardly detect a note of disharmony – and the album soars from track to track, through titles like "Under The Influence Of Love", "Say It Again", "Yes, We Finally Made It", and "It May Be Winter Outside". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent Japanese performance from the Modern Jazz Quartet – and a set that was issued in a bit of a lull during their 60s American years for Atlantic Records – which makes it even more important as a key part of their catalog at the time! The 1966 date has the combo in fine form – and almost stepping out with a bit of added soulfulness, in ways that echo some of the styles that Milt Jackson was exploring on his own at the time, and which seem to be brought back to the group! Milt's vibes are wonderful – ringing out with a great sense of pride and presence that may well go beyond earlier MJQ material – and titles include "Really True Blues", "The Cylinder", "Midsommer", "Animal Dance", "For Someone I Love", "Ralph's New Blues", "Pyramid", "Home", "Winter Tale", "Blues Milanese", and "Bag's Groove". LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant record – Kenny Rankin's first, and a really unique mix of styles that's completely different from his more famous later albums! The album has a gentle folksy style with touches of jazz – a bit like some of Tim Hardin's work for Verve, but without as much of a sad loser finish. Arrangements are by the great Artie Schroeck, and they're a mix of jazz, strings, acoustic guitar – all wrapped up in the light and breezy style of Artie's great late 60s work on Verve. Rankin's voice has a really unique quality – sparkling with a harmonic mode that's got definite ties to folk, but bubbling with the jazzy phrasing that you'd expect to hear more from Tim Buckley or Nick Drake. Titles include "Cotton Candy Sandman", "The Dolphin", "Every Passing Moment", "In Never Changes", "Song For A Winter's Night", "The Girl I Left Behind", and "Minuet". LP, Vinyl record album

A sometimes-overlooked classic from the Rolling Stones – but that's maybe just because it's sometimes obscured in the shadow of Exile On Main Street, the record that immediately preceded it! And while it might be a stretch to some, we like to think of Goat's head as kind of a capper to that double-length set – as the Stones are still working out a fair bit of similar ideas, with an opening ear to some global currents, and with great help from some of their key collaborators too. The set's worth it alone for the classic gut-wrencher "Angie" – and other tracks include "Star Star", "Hide Your Love", "Winter", "Can You Hear The Music", "100 Years Ago", and "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)". LP, Vinyl record album

An oft-overlooked jazzy gem from Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson – and a beautifully swinging session that has Gil toning it down a bit, and working into a nicely musical groove that gets past the heavy politics of earlier years! The record's a great showcase for the more upbeat side of Gil's talents – and what it lacks in righteousness, it more than makes up for in a warmly flowing and very soulful vibe! The band's in great form – laying down tight warm jazzy riffs that provide some of the best backing for Gil's voice we've heard since Winter In America – and titles include the wonderfully catchy "Racetrack In France", plus "Hello Sunday Hello Road", "Under The Hammer", and "We Almost Lost Detroit". LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual one for George Shearing – in that this Capitol session's a trio date, instead of Shearing's usual quintet mode – working in an Ahmad Jamal-like trio with drums by Vernel Fournier and bass by the late Israel Crosby! There's flowing, subtly soulful sound going on here – one that's almost an homage to Jamal, but which still has some of the more Shearing-like tones to ring out and announce George's influence on the date. The album was sadly Crosby's last recording, but his bass still sounds great – and titles include "Wonder Why", "Blues In 9/4", "Heart Of Winter", "What's New?", and "Symphony". LP, Vinyl record album

Donna Summer also covers spring, autumn and winter here – on an incredibly groovy disco concept album – gorgeously sung by Donna Summer and produced to perfection by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte! It's got 4 long, seasonally-titled tunes and a reprise – with "Spring Affair", "Summer Fever", "Autumn Changes" and "Winter Melody" – and the numbers groove appropriately! The spring groover is breezy, summer's is nice and steamy, the dancefloor grooves shift and phase for autumn, and winter is cool and delicate. One of the finer album-oriented disco releases of the period! LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the classic "Getting Closer" – plus "Spin It On", "Again & Again & Again", "Rockestra Theme", "To You", "Baby's Request", "Winter Rose/Love Awake", "To You", "Reception", and "Arrow Through Me". Features guest work from Pete Townshend, David Gilmour, and John Bonham! LP, Vinyl record album

"Soul" is right – and "excellent" is also! Timi Yuro's early 60s work is fantastic – and is part diva bluesy soul, ala Etta James or Lorez Alexandria, and part country soul, ala Ray Charles or Brook Benton. Her voice is incredible, with a clear tone, yet heartbreaking edge – and this album features great arrangements by Belford Hendricks, backed by the Lois Winter Singers. Titles include "Once In A While", "Stardust", "There Goes My Heart", "If I Had You", and "Somewhere Along The Way". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful Holiday classic from Herb – recorded for A&M during his glory years, and done in the core Tijuana Brass style, but with some added arrangements on voices and strings by Shorty Rogers! The album's worth it alone for Herb's great take on the Bacharach groover "The Bell That Couldn't Jingle" – but it also includes the tasty track "Las Mananitas", plus the holiday favorites "Winter Wonderland", "Jingle Bells", "The Christmas Song", "Sleigh Ride", "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" and "Jingle Bell Rock". 10 tracks in all, the perfect backdrop for the holiday office party! LP, Vinyl record album

Louis Armstrong's given the world a number of famous Christmas tunes over the years – but oddly, he never issued a full album of Holiday music over the course of his many decades of recordings – a fact that's finally corrected here, with the first-ever full length record of Louis' Holiday songs! The album's maybe most noteworthy for its final track – an unissued reading of "A Visit From St Nicholas" by Armstrong, with piano backing from Sullivan Fortner – and the album also includes a duet with Velma Middleton on "Baby It's Cold Outside", and with Ella Fitzgerald on "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" – next to other cuts that include "Christmas Night In Harlem", "Cool Yule", "Zat You Santa Claus", "Christmas In New Orleans", "Moments To Remember", "Winter Wonderland", "White Christmas", and "What A Wonderful World". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Chet's rarer albums from the Pacific Jazz years – a late 50s set that compiles earlier recordings, making for a whopping 14 tracks in all from Chet's glory days! The core of the album features Chet fronting the original quartet with Russ Freeman on piano, plus some occasional guest guitar work – but a number of tracks also feature appearances by Bill Perkins and Jimmy Guiffre. Tracks are short and very to the point – in that early Baker mode – and titles include "Look For The Silver Lining", "Band Aid", "Pavane", "Winter Wonderland", "Batter Up", "Long Ago & Far Away", "Carson City Stage", "But Not For Me", and "My Funny Valentine". LP, Vinyl record album

A seasonal classic from the legendary Stax Records – a set of all instrumental Holiday tunes, played by Booker T & The MGs! The album was recorded at the height of the group's early fame – and features a simple, straightforward groove that features plenty of Hammond from Booker T – plus tight grooves from Steve Cropper on guitar, Donald Duck Dunn on bass, and Al Jackson on drums – all of whom cook up some Memphis soul instrumental takes on seasonal favorites – in a mode that easily makes the record one of the hippest Christmas sides from the time! The whole thing's great – almost like a lost Booker T album overall – and titles include "Blue Christmas", "We Three Kings", "Winter Wonderland", "Silver Bells", and "Merry Christmas Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great record from David Byrne – songs and spoken bits that were originally designed to be used in Robert Wilson's Civil Wars – but which work great on their own! Byrne is completely charming in the spoken bits – with a sense of dry wit mixed with humanism, not that different from Laurie Anderson at the time – and instrumentation features a range of reeds and trumpets, gently cascading with the rhythms of the tunes – but in a relatively subtle way. Tracks include the wonderful "Tree" – aka "Today Is An Important Occasion" – plus "In The Upper Room", "Sound Of Business", "Admiral Perry", "I Bid You Goodnight", "In The Future", "Where The Sun Never Goes Down", "Theadora Is Dozing", "Social Studies", "Winter", and "The Jungle Book". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer trucker country from the great Dick Curless! The set includes his classic "Tombstone Every Mile" – plus "Six Days On The Road", "Big Wheel Cannonball", "Hard Hard Traveling Man", "Long Lonesome Highway", "Drag Em Off The Interstate Sock It To Em JP Blues", and "Winter's Comin On Again". LP, Vinyl record album

Andra Day takes on a host of Christmas classics here, but delivers them in a very contemporary style – with stripped-down instrumentation, and a nicely crispy edge in the rhythms – perfect for her wonderfully expressive vocals that soar over the top! Stevie Wonder duets with Andra on a version of his classic "Someday At Christmas" – and other tunes include "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", "Carol Of The Bells", "The First Noel", and "Winter Wonderland". LP, Vinyl record album

A great reunion of Buddy DeFranco and Oscar Peterson – two players who recorded together famously for Verve in the 50s, working here on an 80s date under the supervision of old Verve head Norman Granz! The setting here is even more loose and laidback than in the 50s – that mellow Pablo Records mode that seems to bring in a lot more feeling to the players than some of their dates for other labels at the time – and Buddy's lost none of the charm in his tone, playing the clarinet with a soulful swing that's almost more like an alto sax at times! Other players include Joe Pass on guitar, Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Martin Drew on drums – and titles include "Summer Me Winter You", "Llovisna", "By Myself", "Joy Spring", "All Too Soon", and "Hark". LP, Vinyl record album

A warm batch of instrumental beats and atmospherics from Express Rising – and a much-anticipated second project from funk archivist Dante Carfagna! Dante's a name you probably know best from his work writing liner notes or Wax Poetics – and helping out in countless important compilations over the years – but a decade ago, Dante dropped his first mysterious project under the Express Rising name – and finally returns here with a second album! The sound is even more enticing this time around – still drawing a bit from the world of DJ Shadow – a frequent Carfagna collaborator on archive projects – but the sound is also surprisingly warm and lyrical too – bits of beats, layers of older sounds, and these spare keyboard bits all served up together in a style that's really unique – and which avoids any of the cliches of both the downtempo world, and the instrumental hip hop scene The approach is often quite poetic, yet still soulful as well – and the whole thing's got a laidback vibe that's neither sleepy nor muddled – a really sort of special space between the grooves. Titles include "Horse Opera", "Dark Early", "Answering Echo So Near", "Winter The Heart", "A Treasure Smile", "Rooms Between Us", and "Memorabilia". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful Holiday album that's stayed fresh for years – a date that was maybe done as a seasonal one-off for singer Ella Fitzgerald, but one that's gone on to become one of her best-selling records of all time! Ella's got a perfect style to interpret these numbers – upbeat and swinging, very much as promised in the title – with a quality that makes the tunes move, and avoids some of the too-blue and more melancholy modes that can sometimes get in the way of making a Christmas jazz vocal album work this well! Fitzgerald has great arrangements here – working with Frank DeVol and Russ Garcia – on a set of lightly jazzy versions of Christmas favorites like "Sleigh Ride", "Jingle Bells", "Winter Wonderland", "White Christmas", "Frosty The Snowman", and one of the best versions of "What Are You Doing New Years Eve" ever recorded! LP, Vinyl record album

Four Christmas classics in one package – two from Verve, two from Chess Records! First up is the album Ella Fitzgerald Wishes You A Swinging Christmas – a wonderful Holiday album that's stayed fresh for years! Ella's got a perfect style to interpret these numbers – working with Frank DeVol and Russ Garcia in a set of lightly jazzy versions of Christmas favorites like "Sleigh Ride", "Jingle Bells", "Winter Wonderland", "White Christmas", "Frosty The Snowman", and one of the best versions of "What Are You Doing New Years Eve" ever recorded! The Sound Of Christmas album by Ramsey Lewis is a classic – and probably one of the best-selling Christmas jazz albums of all time! Ramsey and his classic trio with Redd Holt and Eldee Young serve up a tight set of grooves based around Holiday favorites like "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", "Winter Wonderland", "Here Comes Santa Claus", "The Christmas Song", and "Sleigh Ride" – and also carve out a few nice originals like "Christmas Blues" and "The Sound Of Christmas". Side one features the trio on its own, and side two features added arrangements by Riley Hampton – swirling around to expand the groove even more! Christmas 64 – also issued as Christmas Cookin – is as cookin a Christmas album as you'll ever find! Jazz organ giant Jimmy Smith works with Billy Byers to craft some sublime instrumentals that have his Hammond interpreting Christmas classics like "We Three Kings", "White Christmas", "Silent Night", "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town". If you know Jimmy from the time, you know that he can really make tracks like these groove nicely – and take them to places you never expected! Last up is the album Have Yourself A Soulful Little Christmas, from guitarist Kenny Burrell – on which he grooves nicely and gently over arrangements by Richard Evans, perfectly crafted in that soul jazz mode of his 60s work for Chess – not Kenny's most challenging format, to be sure, but proof that he often works better in a more structured environment than a freer one. Titles include "Away In A Manger", "My Favorite Things", "Little Drummer Boy", "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", "Merry Christmas Baby", and "Go Where I Send Thee". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the instant classic Wu Tang solo projects – Ghostface Killah's essential, early peak Ironman – and a a record that stands strongly among the best hip hop albums of the its era! Produced by The RZA at a point in which it seemed there was little he could do wrong. An absolute high water mark for Ghostface and the entire Wu Tang empire. Titles include "Winter Warz", "Daytona 500", "Motherless Child", "Soul Controller", "Wildflower", "Poisonous Darts", "Fish", "Camay", "Black Jesus", "The Faster Blade", "260", "Assassination Day", "Box In Hand", "After The Smoke Is Clear" and "All That I Got Is You". LP, Vinyl record album

Overlooked late 70s work from Merle Haggard – with titles that include "Got Too Lonely This Morning", "I Can't Get Away", "I Must Have Done Something Bad", "Red Bandana", "I Didn't Mean To Love You", and "Roses In The Winter". LP, Vinyl record album

The debut full length from Heliocentrics – the cosmic funk project from Malcolm Catto and a tasteful group of players – touching on funky drummer hip hop beatcraft, hazy psychedelia, leftfield jazz and global accented grooves! The Heliocentrics have backed DJ Shadow on occasion, and Catto has drummed in the service of Madlib's material in the past – but Out There does stand out, a modernist instrumental groove in world of its own! Catto is on drums and piano for the set – and the group is well stocked on drums and percussion throughout – plus heavy bass, some Eastern strings, modular synth, flute, clarinet, sax and vibes. It may be out there, but they found a funky atmosphere! Titles include "Distant Star", "Flight 583", "Once Upon A Time", "Beyond Repair", "Sirius B", "Untitled", "They Are Among Us – Part 1", "Zero Hour", "Joyride", "American Empire", "Before I Die", "Age Of The Sun", "They Are Among Us – Part 2", "Winter Song", "World Of Masks", "Falling To Earth" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A record with a staid sort of cover, one that hides all the great funky energy underneath – as the set's a killer album from Japanese drummer Takeshi Inomata, working here with his Sound Ltd group in a wonderful blend of jazz, funk, and psychedelic mode! There's a fantastic swirling of elements going on here – including guitar from a young Ryo Kawasaki, plus trumpet from Shunzo Ohno, flute from Toshiako Yokota, and tenor from Takao Uematsu – as well as trombone from Takashi Imai, who handled the arrangements with Inomata and Norio Maeda. The record is a key evolution of the late 60s Japanese way of serving up new jazz takes on American hits – as the record is funky, yet filled with original material that really pushes the boundaries – on titles that include "It Better End Soon", "Sometimes In Winter", "South California Purples", "Tell All The People", "Tag 5 Tune", and "Pacific C55". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful example of the mid-60s power of JJ Johnson – a big band session that features arrangements by JJ, Gary McFarland, and Oliver Nelson – all a very cooking mix of modernism, soul, and swing! The groups are large on all numbers, but there's plenty of room for Johnson to solo out in the lead – in a tightly-blown approach to trombone that almost comes across like a trumpet, given JJ's focus on the instrument. Other horn parts back him up lightly, but never overwhelm – and titles include "So What", "Stratusphunk", "Winter's Waif", "El Camino Real", "Stolen Moments", "Train Samba", and "Bemsha Swing". LP, Vinyl record album

Way more than just a "boogie" album – as you might think from the title – and much more a hard-hitting batch of funky tunes, mixed with some even cooler laidback numbers! The album follows heavily off the style of Wild & Peaceful – mixing together the group's older crack rhythms with some newer, hipper, jazzier inflections – making for an incredibly powerful sound that really opens them up. Titles include the massively funky "Jungle Jazz" – a jazzy follow up to "Jungle Boogie" – plus some spiritual numbers that have a cosmic soul jazzy feel, like the tracks "Cosmic Energy", "Ancestral Ceremony", and "Winter Sadness". The whole thing's great – and other titles include "Mother Earth", "Caribbean Festival", and "Ride The Rhythm". LP, Vinyl record album