All Categories — LPs  

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An early 80s look at Latin jazz from David Amram – with a who's who of Latin jazz players and stellar jazz musicians of other realms – including Paquito D'Riveria, Candido, Machito & Machito Jr, Brazilian percussion guru Duduca Fonseca, David Fathead Newman, Jimmy Knepper, Pepper... read more

Righteous soul, but with a wicked groove too – a killer set from Aquarian Dream, made even better by some great Norman Connors production! In a way, Aquarian Dream were to Norman Connors what Ramp were to Roy Ayers – in that the group wasn't really that dominated by Connors, but they... read more

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A sweet sweet set of electric 70s funk – recorded by Booker T during a brief, but well-needed reunion with the MGs! The sound here is quite different than Stax-era MGs – as Booker plays a range of keyboards, not just organ – and the grooves have these great jazz funk touches at... read more

Once Puba left the group, we were all ready for this sophomore effort to just fall flat. But Sadat X and Lord Jamar aquit themselves nicely on the mic, and the beats are head-noddingly satisfying too, no doubt due to Dante Ross's guidance. And they don't let up on their hardcore 5% stance either.... read more

This one's a real shift from her earlier jazz-based work, or her recent recordings for Verve – and a sweet funky fusion album that Dee Dee recorded for Elektra in the late 70s. The set was produced by Stanley Clarke, and has a soul/fusion sound that's not that different than his own work of... read more

Absolutely burning live recording of Brownie's group co led with Max Roach, and also featuring Sony Rollins. This set features some the group's best playing, limited only by the mediocre sound quality of the recording. Great extended takes on "I'll Remember April", 'What's New",... read more

Easily one of our favorite albums by Tim Buckley – and a record that really opens up with some key jazzy touches! Buckley's still got his roots in folk here, and his vocals are yet to hit the extremes of Starsailor or Lorca – but there's also a new sense of inflection to the way he... read more

An exceptional early release from the tragic Tim Buckley – done with a really unique sound that mixes late 60s folk rock with some subtly jazzy overtones! The record features beautiful string arrangements from the legendary Jack Nitzsche, and some beautiful work on piano, harpsichord, and... read more

Beats by Jay Dee, Easy Mo Bee, Q Tip, Dj Scratch and others. 13 tracks: "The Coming (intro)", "Do My Thing", "Everything Remains Raw", "Woo-Hah", "It's A Party", "Ill Vibe", "Keep It Moving", "Abandon Ship", "Hot... read more

Titles include "Walkin Blues", "Get Out Of My Life Woman", "Mary Mary", "East West", "Two Trains Running", and "Work Song".... read more

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A post-Blue Note effort, and Donald's changing things up a bit with his 125th Street Orchestra and Uptown Singers – funking along in a way you'd expect from the longwinded title! Byrd loostens up the smoother backgrounds of his recent Larry Mizell helmed work, and in their place are grooves... read more

Funky electric groove from Donald Byrd – a post Mizell effort that's still burning in a crisp groove similar to his classic 70s Blue Note work – one that's absolutely dripping with keys! Isaac Hayes produced this one, and also played a lot of those keyboards on the session with Byrd's... read more

A definite soul based session for Donald Byrd – and that's saying a lot here, because his previous decade's worth of work had all had some sort of R&B focus! The main force behind the set here is Isaac Hayes – who's producing, arranging, and playing most of the keyboards on the... read more

One of the great albums from Terry Callier's "second chapter" on record – a time when he was working for Elektra Records, and doing work that was a bit straighter soul than before – and also slightly jazzy as well! The record's kind of a mix of jazzy grooves and smoother soul... read more

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Titles include "Gabriela's Song", "Lenda", "Obsession", "Velho Piano", "Guararapes", "Desenredo", "The River", and "Like A Lover".... read more

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Right out of the subways and into the top 40! Titles include "Fast Car", "Mountains O Things", "She's Got Her Ticket", "Why", "For My Lover", "Behind The Wall", and "Talkin Bout A Revolution".... read more

A much better record than we want to admit, with Natalie moving towards jazzy numbers and standards, for a blockbuster Grammy winning effort. Her voice stands up well to the mainstream polish, and even the creepy "duet" with her father is enjoyable. 22 tracks in all, including "The... read more

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Titles include "Tell All The People", "Touch Me", "Shaman's Blues", "Easy Ride", "Wild Child", "Do It", and "Wishful Sinful".... read more

Plenty of gems – including "When The Music's Over", "People Are Strange", "Moonlight Drive", "Horse Latitudes", "Unhappy Girl", "Love Me Two Times", and "Strange Days".... read more

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The debut album from Five Special – a wonderful group who push an older harmony soul style firmly into the 80s groove generation! Decked out in skinny ties, suspenders, and soft linen jackets, Five Special manage to keep the vocals sweet while picking up the groove – working with... read more

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A smooth, clean-toned example of early 80s fusion from John Klemmer! Klemmer is backed by Dean Parks, John Tropea, Don Grusin, Victor Feldman, Abe Laboriel, and Harvey Mason, with some spacial synths here and there and even some vocalising by John! Tracks include "Magnificent Madness",... read more

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An excellent bit of modern soul by Debra Laws – really her only album, but an instant classic nonetheless! The set's an impeccable batch of smooth tracks – recorded with production by brothers Ronnie and Hubert – and Debra's vocals have a sophisticated jazzy touch that sets the... read more

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A very cool Elektra compilation – with rare non-Buddah work by the Lovin Spoonful, plus material by Al Kooper, Tom Rush, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and Eric Clapton & The Powerhouse!... read more

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One of Sergio Mendes' most electric outings from the 70s – a tasty mixture of LA fusion, Brazilian rhythms, and the group's unique twin female vocal lead! The mix of sounds is wonderful – and makes for a really solid album that shows how much soul Sergio had soaked up in the decade he'd... read more

Real 80s groove soul – with polished sound that's got a bit of a jazzy flavor in it, thanks mostly to the competent instrumentation of the band. Titles include "You Satisfy Me", "Just A Little Bit", "Heavy Rotation", "Start It Up", "Sweet... read more

Tracks include "So Addictive" (intro) featuring Tweet, "Dog In Heat" featuring Redman & Method Man, "One Minute Man" featuring Ludacris, "Lick Shots", "Get Ur Freak On", "Scream" (aka "Itchin'"), Old School Joint", "... read more

Includes her classic version of "Twisted" – plus "Just Like This Train", "Car On A Hill", "Help Me", "Court & Spark", "Down To You", "Free Man In Paris", and "People's Parties".... read more

A great illustration of the transition from folk to the singer/songwriter era at the end of the 60s – the overlooked Elektra debut of Steve Noonan, an artist who hailed from the same Orange County scene as Tim Buckly and Jackson Browne, the latter of whom contributed a few great songs to this... read more

The incredible debut of Phil Ochs – easily one of the most powerful folk albums of the 60s, and a set that wears its politics on its sleeve like few other records! In an era when many folkies worked a social agenda with sly jokes and twee metaphors, Ochs went straight for the jugular and... read more

Easily the greatest album ever recorded by the legendary Phil Ochs – a masterpiece of politics and power, filled with themes that still resonate strongly 40 years later! From the very first note of the set, Ochs expresses himself with a confidence, intelligence, and clear-headed vision that... read more

Dirt Dog's 2nd album is a little more schizophrenic, twisted, and under the influence than his first. It sounds a little more inspired by Rick James and Flavor Flav, as raw dog as a hip hopper can shimmy without getting arrested. Tracks include "Cold Blooded", "Rollin Wit You",... read more

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A nice solid record of traditional folk tunes with guitar, banjo, dulcimer, and autoharp instrumentation. Contains the songs "Who's That Knocking At My Window", "The Kicking Mule", and "The Cuckoo".... read more

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The debut of a genius group that would forever transform the sound of electric jazz in the 80s – and a brilliant set that few others could match at the time! Pieces Of A Dream first snuck onto the scene with a sound that was refreshingly subtle at the time – almost a back-to-basics... read more

First-ever issue of material recorded live by Bud in 1953 – during a performance at Club Kavakos in Washington, DC – with a trio that features Charles Mingus on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. The set's from the private collection of Bill Potts, and is reasonably well recorded for the... read more

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Titles include "Pressure Dem", "Dem A Murderer", "Dance Hall Scenario", "Ya Can't Test Me Again", "Ghetto Gospel", "Born Again Black Man", and "Hey Mr Rude Boy", with Brand Nubian.... read more

One of the weirdest Beatle-related projects of the 60s – and one of the most abstract, as well! The album's got kind of an odd concept – in that it purports to be a rediscovery of rare baroque music roots of famous Beatle tunes by Lennon & McCartney – recorded with offbeat... read more

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Smooth jazzy fusion from Lee Ritenour – a classic set that was originally only released in Japan, part of the underground Japanese Fusion movement of the late 70s, famous for groove hounds for that added level of soul that often wasn't showing up in American releases at the time! The album... read more

Titles include "Mr Briefcase", "Countdown", "Good Question", "Dreamwalk", "Is It You", and "Just Tell Me Pretty Lies".... read more

Classic smooth jazzy funk from the great Patrice Rushen! Patrice began her career as more of a straight soul jazz keyboard player – but by the time of these late 70s/early 80s Elektra recordings, she emerged as a very strong force in soul music, penning and playing great material that had a... read more

Brilliant work – one of the records that not only broke Patrice out of the jazz funk ghetto, but which also had a pretty profound influence on the progression of soul in the early 80s – really pushing the use of jazzy elements that would help take R&B to a new level with bigger... read more

Nothing Posh about this one – as the album's an all-out all-access affair! Patrice is at the height of her powers here – equally magic on keyboards and vocals, and coming up with groove after groove in a sublime blend of 70s jazz funk and Minnie Riperton-esque soul! The whole album's... read more

An early 80s set from Tom Scott, and proof that he could still make an electric jazz album sound more soulful than most of his mainstream contemporaries! There's a really great sense of balance here – production that's certainly polished, but instrumentation that's never sleepy at all –... read more

A brilliant date from the later years of Woody Shaw – an album that equally shows Woody's own talents, and those of his key group of younger players too! Shaw's trumpet is perfect in both modes here – the hard-blown righteous numbers Woody first gave the world from his start, and the... read more

A surprising late folk entry in the Elektra Records catalog – recorded in the early 70s, and with some sublime production from the great Gary Usher! The sound is definitely contemporary folk, as promised in the title – but there's more of a singer/songwriter sensibility too –... read more

A power pop classic! Titles include "Now & Then", "Every Girl", "I Don't Wanna Hear It", "Three Times", "In My Arms Again", and "Too Late".... read more

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A great back to basics session from organist Jimmy Smith – recorded live in the early 80s, but with a freewheeling small combo sound that takes us back to his Blue Note years! The group on the album's a quartet – with Jimmy on both piano and organ, Kenny Burrell on guitar, and Johnny... read more

Titles include "He Wants My Body", "DYBO", "Prove It Tonight", "Sensational", "Another Night", "Touch Of Your Love", and "Second Chance".... read more

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They may be one-album wonders – but Trussel were a strong group who cut this enduring soul classic at a fortunate time when Elektra was really trying to break into the modern soul market. The record's got a nice midtempo jazzy groove, augmented by production by Fred Wesley, and a sound that... read more

Stanley Turrentine's blowing here amidst some soaring arrangements from Gene Page – set in a smoothly soulful territory that draws on all of Page's great work on the LA scene of the 70s, but which still keeps the voice of Stanley very upfront in the mix. There's a bit less of the Turrentine... read more

She's back, with another dose of ear candy for those of you who didn't get enough first time around. Timbaland's absent in the producer's seat, but the ghost of his sound is there as Missy Elliott lends a hand on most tracks, with a spare, heavily hip hop influenced vibe. We're not going to... read more

A killer side project from Roy Ayers – recorded right around the same time as the Ramp album, but with a different feel over all – proof that the Ayers empire was really exploding at the end of the 70s! The vibe here is quite similar to some of Roy's own albums over at Polydor –... read more

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One of those records you see so much it's easy to forget how great it is! Grover's a real genius with the sax on this record – taking a "less is more" cue from Stanley Turrentine's 70s work, and toning down his playing to an even tighter style than on the Kudu albums of earlier... read more

A smooth smooth classic from Grover! Titles include "Winelight", "Let It Flow", "In The Name Of Love", "Take Me There", "Just The Two Of Us", and "Make Me A Memory (Sad Samba)".... read more

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Space seemed to be a logical direction for Lenny White to go – since his high-powered fusion drumming style is enough to power him right out of the galaxy! This album's a hard heavy batch of funky fusion tunes – with lots of hard drums by Lenny, and spacey spacey keyboards by the great... read more

Sure, as the title says, Lenny's streamlined his sound here – but to us that's a good thing, as it eliminates some of the overly-heavy jam sound that could ruin earlier records. Plus, he's working here with a pretty soulful fusion group that includes Don Blackman on keyboards and Marcus... read more

An overlooked soulful gem from Michael White – one of his smoother albums, but with a tight sound that really makes the whole thing great! The set was produced by George Duke, and it's got the same feel as some of Duke's best work of the time – soaring, soulful, with a style that... read more

Not only a great follow-up to the first Echoes Of An Era session, but also a standout 80s performance from Nancy Wilson – quite possibly her best of the decade! The setting is nice and laidback – a live date with a core combo that features Joe Henderson on tenor, Chick Corea on piano,... read more

An excellent promo sampler of tracks released on Elektra/ASylum from 1978 with 10 tracks: Donald Byrd "Thank You For Funking Up My Life" and "Have You Heard The News", Aquarian Dream "Play It For Me (One More Time)" and 'You're A Star", Lenny White "Time&quo... read more

A totally groovy collection from Elektra – featuring work by Spider John Koener, Don Nix, Tim Buckley, Voices Of East Harlem, Lonnie Mack, Lord Buckley, Swamp Dogg, The Rainbow Band, Incredible String Band, Timber, Earth Opera, and many others!... read more