All Categories — All Formats  

Laura Nyro's second album in her legendary early run for Columbia Records – and an effort that's a bit more dramatic than the first! Laura's handling all arrangements herself this time, and they're conducted by Jimmy Haskell – but the overall sound is almost as spare as if Nyro were... read more

A tremendous album from Laura Nyro – a real return to the soulful style of her roots, thanks to help from Labelle on backing vocals, and the team of Gamble & Huff on production! If Nyro only ever gave the world this record, that would more than be enough – because the whole thing's... read more

One of the more understated Japanese sessions from drummer Elvin Jones – but a great date that also really lets you hear his wonderful touch on the drums! The record's a collaboration with alto player Akira Ohmori, who blows here with this deft, soulful quality that's mighty nice –... read more

Babatunde Olatunji's two classic percussion ensemble albums for Columbia collected in one set. The first LP was recorded in New York with a mix of drums, chants, and afro grooves. Olatunji's joined by Montego Joe and Baba Hawthorne Bey on percussion, and they're backed by a large group of... read more

... read more

A look at the earliest solo work by Shuggie Otis – tracks cut at a time when he was stepping out of the shadows of his father Johnny, and recording for Columbia both as an emerging star on his own, and as one of the best elements of the larger Otis Show enterprise! The tracks here focus a... read more

... read more

Visionary stuff from Harry Partch – the kind of record that's a great introduction to his music – and a relic from an era when mindbending, rule breaking sound art could come out on a label like Columbia! There's lots of Partch's weird invented instruments – like chromelodeon,... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

A killer blend of soul and funk from Pockets – a group with a very jazzy pedigree in their roots, but who stretch forth here with some great studio help from the Kalimba Productions team of the Earth Wind & Fire empire! The groove is very much in the best 70s EWF mode – tight, but... read more

A killer blend of soul and funk from Pockets – a group with a very jazzy pedigree in their roots, but who stretch forth here with some great studio help from the Kalimba Productions team of the Earth Wind & Fire empire! The groove is very much in the best 70s EWF mode – tight, but... read more

An obscure US album that presents some late 50s work recorded by Parisian easy maestro Andre Popp! Popp's had a strong reputation for years as being the Esquivel of the other side of the Atlantic, and this album's a perfect illustration of that point – very much like the earliest Esquivel... read more

A lost Hi Fi gem! Released in America under the name of "Elsa Popping & Her Pixieland Band" – the record is actually a stunning collaboration between French orchestra leader Andre Popp and sound effects wizard Pierre Fatosme. The sound is wild and swinging, with a feel that's... read more

Quite an interesting session from Bud Powell – a tribute to Thelonious Monk, recorded in Paris in 1961, but not issued until 1965, shortly before his death. Cannonball Adderley was the producer on the session, and it's got the same sort of groundbreaking approach as some of the other... read more

A sweet harmony set from Pozo Seco – working here partly as the duo of Don Williams and Susan Taylor, and partly in the trio format known from their previous records as the Pozo Seco Singers! The duo tracks are especially nice, and really showcase Taylor's amazing vocals – and the... read more

With Previn on piano, Red Mitchell on bass, and Frank Capp on drums.... read more

... read more

A second set of Time-like groovers from Process & The Doo Rags – a near-lost mid 80s harmony group, produced and arranged by Rick James, with a sound that's clearly going for the Morris Day groove! The overall sound is actually quite nice, though – hardly the weak copycat sound... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

One of Joe's best albums from the 60s, and a lively batch of Latin tracks done up in some of the favorite flavors of the day – pachanga, bolero-cha, bossa nova, and the weirdo "wobble-cha"! The title cut's a "wobble cha" groover with English lyrics about Latin music... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

Features work by George Van Eps on guitar, Eddie Miller on tenor, Matty Matlock on clarinet, and Clyde Hurley on trumpet.... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

Terry Riley's masterpiece, and an enduring classic that never grows old – and which never lapses into the hippy dippyness of some of his other work! The piece features 53 short musical passages, played in an order defined by the players, in minimal repetition, moving in and out of phase... read more

Drag strip rockers to more vocals based surf and otherwise pop numbers by The Rip Chords! Hey Little Cobra has a wealth of numbers, with the vocals kind of floating over the arrangements and a surreal way – be they duo harmonies or more layered Beach Boys & 4 Seasons style – with... read more

Smooth and funky fusion from Lee Ritenour – top-shelf all the way, and handled with a really soulful groove, thanks to production from the legendary Skip Drinkwater! Lee's all over the top of the guitar in true "Captain Fingers" style, and Skip makes sure he's got plenty going on... read more

A later percussion ensemble album by Max Roach – one done in the style of some of his earlier 60s percussion experiments, but with a fuller scope, and a more serious feel overall. The ensemble was first formed in 1970, but recorded here with a very ambitious tone as part of Columbia's... read more

Although vocal arranger Howard Roberts (not the guitarist) made some nice funky records in his time, this is a fairly traditional batch of spirituals, augmented by African production, and packaged in a style that's designed to appeal to the white liberal – even though the conception of the... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

The second set for Columbia by evolving R&B great Raphael Saadiq – possibly the best album he's ever done! We were knocked out by the preceding The Way I See It, his neo throwback gem, especially for the way he so masterfully flaunted decades of soul/R&B influences on that album... read more

Raphael Saadiq takes throwback soul and r&b to the next level on The Way I See It – rolling in a groove that recalls 60s Motown, grittier group soul, the sophisticated strings of the 70s scene, and subtle contemporary touches that keep it in the here and now! An awareness of the past and... read more

... read more

Sammy sings soul – not Sammy Davis Jr, but this ultra-hip Japanese singer from the early 70s – a female vocalist who works here with great backings from the Freedom Unity ensemble! The tunes are all numbers from American and British sources of the 50s and 60s – tunes you'd know... read more

Funky grooves from Jiro Inagaki and his Soul Media combo – and some cool vocals from 70s Japanese singer Sammy – a pretty enigmatic talent who really makes her mark with this record! The album's less island-styled than you might guess from the title or cover – and instead, it... read more

... read more

Pretty darn hard-jamming fusion – featuring Sancious on keyboards, Ernest Carter on drums, and Gerald Carboy on bass. Billy Cobham produced – and it's certainly in the same camp as some of his work. Titles include "East India", "Suite Cassandra", "Forest Of... read more

Let's party is right! Mongo and his Latin Soul combo groove through a tight tasty batch of tracks, with heavy conga from Mongo, and killer soulful solos by Bobby Capers, Marty Sheller, and Hubert Laws. The set's got a few soul covers – like "Walk On By", "Shotgun", and... read more

Two tasty late 70s club numbers from Mongo! "Watermelon Man" is done here in a funky club version – a bit disco, but with more than enough Latin touches to keep it sounding great. "Ai Mi No Me" is an excellent cut with a straighter Latin feel – moving along at a... read more

... read more

Pretty hip stuff, with a definite Coltrane influence – and Larry Young in the group on organ, along with Billy Cobham on drums and Armando Peraza on congas. Titles include "Naima", "A Love Supreme", "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord", "Meditation",... read more

In the past 30 years, this one's gone from being a fierce outpouring of the Bay Area underground, to a cliche of classic rock, to a brilliant example of west coast Latin rock/funk/fusion in action! Features a stellar cover of "Oye Como Va", plus "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen",... read more

... read more

Titles include "Eternal Caravan Of Reincarnation", "Waves Within", "Look Up", "Just In Time To See The Sun", "All The Love Of The Universe", and "Stone Flower".... read more

Titles include "Eternal Caravan Of Reincarnation", "Waves Within", "Look Up", "Just In Time To See The Sun", "All The Love Of The Universe", and "Stone Flower".... read more

... read more

Includes "Evil Ways", "Jingo", "Hope You're Feeling Better", "Samba Pa Ti", "Black Magic Woman" and more.... read more

Titles include "Stormy", "Open Invitation", "Wham", "Well All Right", "One Chain", and "The Facts Of Love".... read more

A great live Santana set, recorded in Japan in '73 and never released on vinyl in the US! The band here is at their peak, and this set features a nice large lineup that includes Tom Coster, Richard Kermode, Doug Rauch, Armando Peraza, Jose Chepito Areas and Michael Shreve, plus Leon Thomas on... read more

... read more

Another Santana LP you'll probably be embarrassed to admit you own because it's such a hackneyed classic rock relic, but we won't tell on you, because it's also a great batch of Latin rock numbers with more than a shade of funk and jazz inflection underneath the pyrotechnic guitar solos. Drop cuts... read more

... read more

... read more

Blue-eyed soul from Boz Scaggs, with a decidedly Philly influenced sound to the production, which we'd hazard a guess comes more from the Hall & Oates side of town than the Sigma Sound axis. Still, this is a solid album with the irresistible hit "Lowdown", still a favorite around... read more

Blue-eyed soul from Boz Scaggs, with a decidedly Philly influenced sound to the production, which we'd hazard a guess comes more from the Hall & Oates side of town than the Sigma Sound axis. Still, this is a solid album with the irresistible hit "Lowdown", still a favorite around... read more

... read more

... read more

A seminal third stream recording – the height of late 50s modern jazz in all of its seriousness! The album features works written by Schuller, John Lewis, Jimmy Giuffre, and JJ Johnson – all of them larger, serious jazz-meets-classical type numbers – performed by the Brass... read more

... read more

... read more

Get ready to discover a fantastic new soul music talent! Jill Scott's the best thing we've heard in years – and she's a perfect example of the killer NuSoul trends that have been forged in the past few years by artists like D'Angelo, Mshell N'degocello, or N'Dambe (but Jill doesn't have an... read more

... read more

Sweet funky jazz from the great Tom Scott – an album that's recorded a bit later than some of his beathead classics, a great one nonetheless! The style here is noticeably smoother, but never too slick or too sleepy – as Scott still really manages to bring an edge to his playing, and... read more

... read more

A hard-driving Latin set from early 70s Japan – served up in a non-nonsense mode that's arguably more classic than most American work of the time! The group is very heavy on percussion – with Segami in the lead, but a handful of other players providing strong accompaniment too –... read more

Great post-Mahavishnu work from guitarist John McLaughlin – the debut of his excellent Shakti combo, a group who mixed Indian music with some tighter fusion moments! The style here is a lot leaner than some of McLaughlin's previous experiments – a small group lineup with violin from L... read more

Nice stuff by Ravi Shankar – although we should hate the album for its patronizing liner notes, which refer to Shankar's work as "psychedelicacies", and which wonder aloud why people need to use hallucinogenic drugs if they've got Ravi! Titles include "Sitar Todi", "R... read more

A great assemblage of Billy Joe Shaver's excellent, overlooked 80s records for Columbia – from a time when most mainstream country was getting glossier and more cliched – and Billy was sticking to hardscrabble yet soulful outlaw roots! This 2CD set includes the complete I'm Just An Old... read more

A sweet set of sophisticated soul from the always-great Marlena Shaw! After cutting some jazzier sides at Cadet in the late 60s, and some super mellow fusion ones at Blue Note in the early 70s, Marlena moved to big fame at Columbia during the mid 70s – working in a righteous smooth soul... read more

Soulful brilliance from Woody Shaw – a searing live set that matches the power of earlier classics like Moontrane and Blackstone Legacy! The album's got Woody working with a heck of a great group – Carter Jefferson on tenor and soprano sax, Onaje Allan Gumbs on piano, Clint Houston on... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

Killer early work from Horace Silver – and a rare non-Blue Note session from the 50s! The album's Horace's only date for Columbia, and it's got a feel that's similar to some of the Jazz Messengers' hardbop recordings for the label at the time – cooking with a soulful intensity at the... read more

... read more

... read more

A tremendous little soundtrack – even if you've seen it a million times! Simon & Garfunkel always had a really dark quality to their music, but it never seemed to show as much on the pop charts as it did when used brilliantly by Mike Nichols in this important film. Their tunes emerge in... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

The complete Columbia recordings by vocalist Bessie Smith – an insane amount of material recorded in the decade between 1923 and 1933 – all music that went on to have a huge impact on the growth of jazz and blues for decades to come! This comprehensive package brings together all the... read more

... read more

... read more

A beautiful album of smooth mellow jazzy grooves – and one that proves that Lonnie was still always great, even when he was getting the more mainstream production treatment. The record is similar to ones cut by other older jazz funk keyboardists at the time – like Ramsey Lewis or... read more

Wonderfully warm work from the late 70s years of Lonnie Liston Smith – material from his key stretch a Columbia Records, a time when he'd really learned to tighten up his groove a bit from earlier years, yet still keep all the deeper soul intact! The set kicks off with Song For The Children... read more

... read more