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Wonderful! This is a lost bit of New Jersey funk on the Turbo label, featuring a group that includes Doug Wimbish and Skip McDonald before they became part of the Sugarhill house band, and then part of the On-U Sound collective. The album's a great mix of warmly soulful instrumental grooving – with some tracks that have a tight uptempo feel, and others that are slower and harder, but equally jazzy. The whole thing's the kind of funky record that you'd love to find while digging through the crates – and it's had long life over the past few decades, thanks to the rich variety of tunes on the set. Includes the classic cut "Funkanova", an uptempo jazzy intrumental that continued to be a club favorite throughout the house years – plus loads of other good cuts, too, like "WBS Theme" and a version of "Always There".

Totally great – and a record you probably know nothing about! The album's one of the greatest ever to come out of the Hotlanta scene of the 70s – a tight batch of funk tracks with a heck of a lot of guitar. The set was produced by Tommy Stewart, of "Bump and Hustle" fame – and it's got an unusual style that's equally appealing to fans of funk, and fans of clubbier music – lots of tight playing, hard riffing, and longer grooves that soar along with impeccable grace. The whole thing's almost like the classic Wood Brass & Steel album – but with some rougher edges that make it even better! Includes the great tracks "Vine City" and "Messin Around", both of which are very long funk tracks, plus shorter cuts that are just as funky, like "Down Underground", "Freddie's Alive and Well", and "Buttermilk Bottom". Don't pass this up, it's a funky monster classic!

A monster of a rare funk album – recorded by a tight little combo who should have been huge! Raw Soul Express have a touch of jazz in their playing – coming off here with a sound that reminds us of Wood Brass & Steel, and a rare few other funk acts of the time who knew how to do more than just hit a heavy drum and pluck a noisy bass! Not that the band is slick, though, because they definitely earn the "raw" in their name with some sharp edges on the instrumentation – it's just that they're great at what they do, with a quality level that shows up on more than a few of the album's sparkling tracks. Titles include "RSE", "Burn The Candle", "Music Meditation", "Right On", and "Emergency".

Swedish wood, with plenty of brass – thanks to bold, imaginative work as a leader from trumpeter Magnus Broo – easily one of the most important voices on his instrument working today! The group is a beautifully tight quartet – and Broo's trumpet gains plenty from the equally bold basslines of Torbjorn Zetterberg – a player whose name may not be familiar to American audiences, but one who always seems to set a special sort of fire whenever he joins a session! There's a pulsating grace from Zetterberg that really gets things going – maybe the "wood" promised in the title, given the richness of its tone – which Magnus matches with this beautifully blown mix of soul and soaring, almost in a legacy of Woody Shaw or some of his generation. And the group also features added bass from Joe Williamson – making for a twin bottom-up groove that reminds us of similar sessions from the 60s – punctuated nicely by the drums of Hakon Mjaset Johansen. Titles include "I Hear You", "Swedish Wood", "Oh What A Beautiful Day", "Acoustic Kitten", "Thoughts Are Things", and "New Weather".

Far and away the greatest album that Brother To Brother ever cut – and a monster record that's satisfying all the way through! At their roots, the band have an ensemble funk style similar to many other 70s groups – but they also add in a lot of jazzy changes and a nascent sense of a club groove that's shown to best effect on their great cover of Gil Scott Heron's "In The Bottle", done here with sweet flanged-out vocals, electric piano riffing, and the same sort of flute solo heard in the original. Other tracks include "Mother Earth", "A Love Of My Own", "If He Can Do It", "Trespassing", and "Junkie". Wood Brass & Steel back the group up – and the instrumentation is similar to the work on their own album for Turbo.

Incredible funk, soul, jazz, post psychedelia and funk rock from the JJ Band – recorded in Brussels and featuring core players who were also integral members of Chakachas & El Chicles! The JJ Band find a hard grooving style steeped in horns, with heavy drums, bass and percussion, fuzzy guitar, and group vocals that range from psych styled group singing and soaring, kind of blue eyed soul. It's a mix of originals and tripped out cover tunes – ranging from walloping funk and funk rock, to some more laidback styles, but most of the tunes have pretty punchy sound. Totally great, and all to rare stuff! Titles include "Love In Them There Hills", "Now I've Found Out", "Leaving You", a fantastic, brass funk & psych jazz take on "Norwegian Wood", "Bip Bip", "To Love Somebody" and more. Also includes 2 bonus tracks recorded earlier and not on the original Polydor version, which was only released in Belgium and Canada: "Cousins Jack" and "Nicky's At The PC".

A monster of a rare funk album – recorded by a tight little combo who should have been huge! Raw Soul Express have a touch of jazz in their playing – coming off here with a sound that reminds us of Wood Brass & Steel, and a rare few other funk acts of the time who knew how to do more than just hit a heavy drum and pluck a noisy bass! Not that the band is slick, though, because they definitely earn the "raw" in their name with some sharp edges on the instrumentation – it's just that they're great at what they do, with a quality level that shows up on more than a few of the album's sparkling tracks. Titles include "RSE", "Burn The Candle", "Music Meditation", "Right On", and "Emergency".

A monster of a rare funk album – recorded by a tight little combo who should have been huge! Raw Soul Express have a touch of jazz in their playing – coming off here with a sound that reminds us of Wood Brass & Steel, and a rare few other funk acts of the time who knew how to do more than just hit a heavy drum and pluck a noisy bass! Not that the band is slick, though, because they definitely earn the "raw" in their name with some sharp edges on the instrumentation – it's just that they're great at what they do, with a quality level that shows up on more than a few of the album's sparkling tracks. Titles include "RSE", "Burn The Candle", "Music Meditation", "Right On", and "Emergency".

Sweetly stepping funk from The Rimshots – here moving from their rawer early sound into a tighter mode that was much more in keeping with the Philly scene of the time! The set's got a really full ensemble group feel – similar to other All Platinum classics by Brand New Funk and Wood Brass & Steel – a style that might be called disco at times, but which has a more laidback approach, and a more organic funk-based sound at its core. There's some great tripped-out guitars on a few cuts – stepping over the grooves with a chromatic sound that reminds us a bit of The Spirit Of Atlanta – and the best numbers burn with a rolling groove that would make the Rhythm Makers proud! Tracks include "Groove Bus", "Do what You Feel", "Walter's Inspiration", "Now Is the Time", and the group's cover of "7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (Blow Your Whistle)".

Kon and Amir do it again – and really blow our minds with the depths of their musical knowledge! The collection's the second in a series to focus on music unearthed by the famous New York cratedigging duo – and it's every bit as on track as the first volume in its presentation of rare and soulful grooves! Kon serves up an amazing batch of obscure club tunes – tracks that really represent the farthest reaches of the underground scene of the 70s and 80s – very few of which we'd ever heard before, some of which are augmented with some edit work to expand the grooves. Amir's tracks are an even hipper blend of world music styles – a range of grooves from around the globe, some earthy, some a bit more polished – but all of them great, and very different than the usual bag of material that ever gets reissued! Kon tracks include "Get Down With Me" by Angelo Tinsley, "Long Live Music (Kon's edit)" by Wood Brass & Steel, "You've Got Me Goin Baby (Kon's edit)" by The Fabulous Conti Family, "Don't Think About It (Kon's live edit)" by Venise, "Turn Me On (12" version)" by Jay W McGhee, "Keep On Moving" by Phillip & Lloyd, "Reflex" by Reflections, "We Are The Ones" by Eddie Benitez, "Let Yourself Go (Kon's edit)" by Sparkle, and "Live It Up (Kon's dub re-touch)" by Sweet Touch. Amir's tracks include "Borna Yeah" by Ras Michael & The Sons Of Negus, "Save D Musician" by Black Truth Rhythm Band, "Samba" by Super Boire Band, "Midnight Man" by Earl Rodney, "E Sa F'Aiye" by Orchestre Black Dragons, "Okpo Videa Bassouo" by Pedro Gnonnas Et Ses Panchos, and "Hello There" by Theadora Ifudu.

One of the more far-reaching compilations in the Jazz Club series – reggae covers by jazz mainstays and more from late 60s onward, with a focus on great stuff from the 70s! All of the material was culled from the vast Universal vaults – and it's a pretty sweet set of jazzy reggae and reggae jazz, from artists as diverse as Ernest Ranglin, Bernard Pretty Purdie, The Skatalites, Bill Fraser, Deodato and Medeski, Martin & Wood! 14 tracks in all: "54-46 – (Was My Number)" by Ernest Ranglin, "Jammin'" by Monty Alexander, "I Can See Clearly Now" by Junior Mance, "Natty Never Get Weary" by Dean Fraser, "Rock Fort Rock" by Skatalites, "Montego Bay" by Pretty Purdie, "I Shot The Sheriff" by Deodato, "Walking On Sunshine" by Bill Summers, "Pressure Drop" by Brass Fraser and more.

An amazing little record from Joe Byrd – an artist with roots in serious music, but who's serving things up here with a wild hippie aesthetic that makes the whole thing come across more like a "happening" than the usual sort of studio album – but in ways that also echo an earlier generation of Americanist composition too. The process of the record mimics some of Byrd's famous work in New York – and has a very collaborative feel overall, with elements of electronics, acoustics, and vocals coming together beautifully! There's some great tabla, harpsichord, moog, and organ on the record – plus more serious woodwinds and brass – and vocals from Victoria Bond, Susan De Lange, Christie Thompson, and Ernie Anderson – plus Joe himself. Titles include "Kalyani", "Moonsong Pelog", "You Can't Ever Come Down", "Gospel Music", "Nightmare Train", "Leisure World", and "The Elephant At The Door".

A soaring, joyous score from Francesco De Masi – not nearly as dark as some of the other spaghetti western soundtracks of the time – and filled with the sort of proud, bold sounds you might expect from a more mainstream American western! There's still plenty creative going on in the orchestrations, though – lots of cool woodwind and brass passages, layered with the strings to create rich textures in sound – and often holding back energy with this sort of inherent drama that really keeps things moving nicely. There's a bit of chorus vocals at points, from I Cantori Moderni – who sound more heavenly than usual – and titles include "Armonica Western", "Arkansas Commento No 1", "Arkansas Suspense", "Yucca Theme", and "Non Sparate Sul Cantate".

Gene Krupa and Gerry Mulligan – hardly a pairing that we would have thought of – but one that works surprisingly well here, and which showcases Mulligan's increasing fascination for larger group settings! The album features Gene on drums with a set of players that include Kai Winding, Urbie Green, Phil Woods, Hank Jones, and Barry Galbraith – but the real star of the set is Gerry, who's not playing here, but conducting the larger group of jazz players through charts that are all his own, and which display the same love of fluid ensemble horn parts that he used in his own smaller combo work. There's a lot more brass in the mix than you'd usually get from Gerry – which gives the album a bit more of a Krupa kick – and Gene also gets some nice space to show himself on drums. Titles include "Yardbird Suite", "Margie", "Bird House", "The Way Of All Flesh", "Disk Jockey Jump", "Birds Of A Feather", and "Mulligan Stew".

An early 60s Columbia classic from Johnny Williams – a rare album of stereo-heavy instrumentals done in a style that's quite similar to the RCA Stereo Action series of the time – with lots of unusual instrumentation, and a wide-ranging sound that leaps back and forth from speaker to speaker! There's plenty of jazzy interplay in the music – similar to Williams' 60s soundtrack work – and the large array of woodwind, brass, and rhythm players includes west coast jazzmen like Pete Candoli, Shelly Manne, Jimmy Rowles, Larry Bunker, and others. Titles include "The Varsity Drag", "Fascinatin Rhythm", "Johnny One Note", "An Occasional Man", "Sunny Disposish", "Buckle Down Winsocki", and "My Heart Belongs To Daddy".

Two of the grooviest Si Zentner albums of the 60s – both of them great, but in very different ways! More is Si's attempt to follow up on the Italian soundtrack hit of the time – but the album also features loads of other great tracks from the time, done as very jazzy instrumentals by Zentner, with sharp horn passages that swing with plenty of brass upfront! The whole thing's mighty groovy – and titles include "Wildwood Days", "Hobo Flats", "Watermelon Man", "I Wonder", "The Good Life", "The Shampoo", and "More". Exotica Suite features all the great names in Exotica, packed together in one album – a set that features Martin Denny's piano, Les Baxter's compositions, and Bob Florence's arrangements – all served up with the orchestrations of Si Zentner! Si's music brings a really jazzy feel to the tunes – one you wouldn't expect from Denny on his own, and which even surpasses some of Les Baxter's grooviest moments too. The sound is very dynamic – originally recorded for Liberty's "Poly 120 Sound" series, with great recording quality that really makes the whole thing pop! Tracks include "Tiki", "Temple Pageant", "Bali Monkey Dance", and "Pagan Ritual".

One of the few early albums as a leader cut by trumpeter Benny Bailey – a tremendous talent, finally getting his due! Bailey is one of the great unsung talents of jazz, and he's always made top-shelf work – from his early days with Quincy Jones, to his later years as an American expatriot, recording for European labels like Ego and MPS. This rare early session is one of the few recorded for the super-hip Candid label – and it features Bailey's trumpet at the head of a tight combo that includes Phil Woods on alto sax and bass clarinet, Julius Watkins on French Horn, Les Spann on flute and guitar, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and rhythm from Buddy Catlett on bass and Art Taylor on drums. Despite the "big brass" title, there's no horn section here – and instead, most of the numbers have that sharp-edged modern sound we associate with Candid – with Watkins horn being the only other brass instrument, alongside the lighter lines of Woods and Spann. Titles include "Hard Sock Dance", "Tipsy", "Please Say Yes", and "Maud's Mood".

Two sides of Charlie Byrd in the mid 60s – one focused on Brazil and the other a sweet set of jazzy soundtrack adaptations – on one CD! First up is the classic Brazilian Byrd – a wonderful album of tunes by Antonio Carlos Jobim, all recorded with full backing arrangements, and sound quality that's a lot better than some of Byrd's previous albums! The setting has Charlie's acoustic guitar right up front in the mix – mic'ed so close you can really hear his work on the strings – while light brass, woodwind, and string backings dance nicely, and more quietly, behind him. There's a very Verve-like approach to the whole record – obviously a market that Columbia were trying to reach with this one – and the album's easily one of Charlie's strongest for the label from the 60s. Arrangements are both by Byrd and Tom Newsom – and titles include "Dindi", "Jazz N Samba", "The Girl From Ipanema", "Corcovado", "Amor E Paz", "Samba Do Aviao" and "Amor E Paz". Next up is the Hollywood Byrd set – with some dreamy, jazzy covers of popular movie tunes. It includes some of our own favorites – such as "Alfie", "The Wishing Doll", "Moment To Moment", "Wish Me A Rainbow" and more. A number of tunes have lovely choral vocals, and all of them have a really groovy 60s sound. We'll also make an admission – we give it a few extra points for having one of the sexiest covers ever – but the music can sell it just as well!

Chicago's brass-heavy Mucca Pazza – remixed by Greenwood Rhythm Coalition and Jon Kennedy! GRC's remix of "Tube Sock Tango" is very nicely reworked here – given some tropical percussion flavor – with some otherworldly keyboards adding kind of an eerie vibe, without messing up MP's playful charm. Also includes Jon Kennedy's beathead funk take on "Boss Taurus" and the brief closing cadence "Coolashell".

An unusual set – Swinging Brass With The Oscar Peterson Trio – one of Peterson's few albums with a larger group – featuring some great arrangements from Russ Garcia! Titles include "Blues For Big Scotia", "Con Alma", "Cubano Chant", "OP", and "Little Pea's Blues". On Jazz Soul of Oscar Peterson, there's a groove here that's a bit harder than usual for Peterson on Verve – a heavier approach to rhythm on the keys, and a more focused trio formation – one that clearly sets a pace for albums to come in the 60s, but which must have been relatively striking to Peterson fans at this point. The trio here features Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums – and tracks are longer than usual, with some really great room to stretch out! Titles include "Liza", "Con Alma", "Close Your Eyes", "Maidens Of Cadiz", and "Woody'n You".

Charlie Byrd gets some top-shelf treatment here – in a wonderful album of tunes by Antonio Carlos Jobim, all recorded with full backing arrangements, and sound quality that's a lot better than some of Byrd's previous albums! The setting has Charlie's acoustic guitar right up front in the mix – mic'ed so close you can really hear his work on the strings – while light brass, woodwind, and string backings dance nicely, and more quietly, behind him. There's a very Verve-like approach to the whole record – obviously a market that Columbia were trying to reach with this one – and the album's easily one of Charlie's strongest for the label from the 60s. Arrangements are both by Byrd and Tom Newsom – and titles include "Dindi", "Jazz N Samba", "The Girl From Ipanema", "Corcovado", "Amor E Paz", "Samba Do Aviao" and "Amor E Paz". CD also features a previously unreleased alternate take of "Engano"