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Sweet southern soul, with some production help by George Kerr – but mostly in a manner that reminds us of material coming out of the Malaco studios in the mid 70s. "Give Me All" is the real winner here, as it's a mellow loping ballad with a great hook that works well for Chuck's... read more

Interesting stuff, if not the kind of record you'd put on every day. The album's an interview with Louis Armstrong's wife Lil, and she talks at length about her famous days in the early years of jazz. Segments include "The Young Louis", "Early Life In Chicago", "Return To... read more

Billed as "some of the most important jazz recordings ever made" – and for good reason, too! The set brings together all the crucial early Louis Armstrong recordings from the 78rpm era – late 20s/early 30s sides for Okey, Parlophone, RCA, and Odeon – all presented with... read more

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A key album in the career of Louis Armstrong – one that helped him forge the fourth or fifth great comeback in his career! As you'd guess by the title, the album's built around Louis' hit version of "Hello Dolly" – sung in a mode that at one level stretches back to his roots... read more

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Louis Armstrong recreates the sound of the 20s in these later recordings for Decca!... read more

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A classic live date from Satchmo – and expanded to include the complete performances on that legendary night at Boston's Symphony Hall – for the first time ever! Recorded in November of 1947 and originally released in '51, it's never before been issued with both the first and second... read more

Some consider this the worst point in Louis' career – when he was singing odd pop material for Decca, and had really left his jazz roots behind. We don't think it's that bad, though – and the album's got a wonderfully playful style that shows what a great entertainer Louis could be... read more

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Satchmo's tribute to King Oliver with 12 titles in all including, "Snake Rag", "Jelly Roll Blues", "St James Infirmary", "Dr Jazz", and "New Orleans Stomp".... read more

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Vintage material, packaged in a great set with detailed notes!... read more

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Gentle-going genius from the later years of Satchmo's career – a session that has Louis on trumpet and vocals, backed by the Oscar Peterson Trio! Peterson's usual group with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown is expanded slightly for this outing – bringing in Louis Bellson on drums to syncopate... read more

One of the last live appearances by Louis Armstrong – presented here in a really charming little album, issued in a small pressing by The National Press Club! The album's a great document of all the Armstrong charms in one package – as Louis talks as much as he plays – telling... read more

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Smoking blues from Billy Boy Arnold – an artist who never got the fame as some of the bigger acts on Chess Records in the 60s – but who could certainly cook with the best Chicago electric sound! Arnold sings and plays guitar on the record – with a bold, upfront quality that... read more

Swedish leader Harry Arnold tackles the music of Richard Rodgers – taking the tunes into some sweet jazzy big band directions, without as many of the showy flourishes you might expect from the "Broadway" title! Of course, many of the tunes here are older Rodgers material –... read more

Previously unissued material from the great Harry Arnold – excellent mid 60s big band sessions, as creative as they are hard-swinging! Arnold's group here is at the top of its form – working together with a rich array of tones and colors that show the best legacies of 50s modern jazz... read more

A very soulful batch of fusion tracks from drummer Horacee Arnold – here leading a group that includes reed talents Billy Harper and Joe Farrell, percussionist Ralph McDonald, guitarist Ralph Towner, and Dave Friedman on vibes and percussion. Tracks are long and spiralling, with a spiritual... read more

A very soulful batch of fusion tracks from drummer Horacee Arnold – here leading a group that includes reed talents Billy Harper and Joe Farrell, percussionist Ralph McDonald, guitarist Ralph Towner, and Dave Friedman on vibes and percussion. Tracks are long and spiralling, with a spiritual... read more

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A great 80s groove track, with a sound reminiscent of Arrington's best work with Slave, with a pumping midtempo groove.... read more

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This one's got it all – fuzzy instrumentals, sweet harmonies, and some nice trippy parts too – all wrapped up in a set that's easily one of the best Tower Records rock soundtracks of the 60s! Most of the schlocky biker soundtracks from the time are already pretty darn great – but... read more

A contemporary set, but one that sparkles with all the best brilliance of the 70s scene in Brazil – and that includes such heady company as Marcos Valle, Azymuth, and Joao Donato! As with all those artists at the time, Lucas Arruda has a groove that's strongly based on Fender Rhodes –... read more

A contemporary set, but one that sparkles with all the best brilliance of the 70s scene in Brazil – and that includes such heady company as Marcos Valle, Azymuth, and Joao Donato! As with all those artists at the time, Lucas Arruda has a groove that's strongly based on Fender Rhodes –... read more

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A lost chapter in the career of the Art Ensemble Of Chicago – an obscure early 70s album, issued by the mostly-blues Paula Records label in Louisiana, and one of the hardest to find albums in their catalog! The album features 3 long tracks – "Chi-Congo", "Enlorfe",... read more

An important pre-Art Ensemble Of Chicago moment – one that has most of the group coming together in a pair of rare recordings in the home of Lester Bowie – already sounding amazingly creative as a unit! The sound is almost freer than later work by the group – or certainly at the... read more

One of the few ECM sides recorded by the Art Ensemble Of Chicago – easily some of the hippest work the label issued at the time, and a key way for the avant collective to get a bit of large audience exposure! The sound is still very much in the best AEC style here – and if anything,... read more

An incredible package – and one that features three of the most important records ever cut by the Art Ensemble Of Chicago! All three albums were recorded at the Saravah Studios in the summer of 1969 – during a time when the Art Ensemble of Chicago were making big waves on the Parisian... read more

A rare treasure from the Art Ensemble Of Chicago – recorded as a supposed third album for Atlantic records in 1974, but unissued for years until the group released it on their own! The session is a live one, recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival – and features the unique addition of... read more

The start of a beautiful relationship between the Art Ensemble Of Chicago and the DIW label – a Japanese imprint who brought the group back to full prominence in the years after they stopped recording for ECM! DIW also let the group really do their own thing, too – almost moving back... read more

Groovy pop instrumental versions of Donovan's hits, including "Catch the Wind", "There Is a Mountain", "Sunny Goodge Street", "Jennifer Juniper", and "Hampstead Incident". The sound is very Brit now sound, with a lot of electric bass, and jumpy... read more

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Why these guys never got over bigger is beyond us! Between A Rock And A Hard Place is filled with dope rhymes, timeless beats, and a mellow, tuneful vibe that's as strong as just about anything we can think of from that fertile early-to-mid 80s scene. Titles include "Lower Da Boom",... read more

Soprano voice and four different saxophones – a really unusual combination, with sparkling musical results! The title's a bit hokey, but the record's got a wonderfully fresh feel – angular lines from this Dutch sax quartet – very much in the best spirit of 80s experiments in the... read more

A totally wild little record – and one of the most unique jazz collections we've ever heard – or seen! The original package of the record is a 5LP presentation of music that brings together four of the most important French piano talents of the postwar years – Georges Arvanitas,... read more

One of the most hard-hitting albums ever cut by pianist Georges Arvanitas – an early effort that's all soul jazz all the way through! Although Arvanitas is best known as a committed modernist, especially in later years, this sweet early 60s session is a stone cooker in the best mode of Blue... read more

Lost Latin funk from the Bay Area scene of the 70s – and an album that may well blow away better-known work by groups like Malo, Azteca, or El Chicano! The album's near-perfect right from the start – and brings in plenty of New York elements to the groove, thanks to the inclusion of a... read more

A landmark set from the German prog scene – the first amazing utterance of Ash Ra Tempel, and a standard-setting album that few others could ever hope to match! The sound here builds beautifully – coming out of abstract, noisy territory, then finding shape as the record goes on –... read more

Fantastic sounds from the Australian scene of the early 80s – spare electronic work from Ash Wednesday and related projects – all a surprisingly great entry in the lost world of minimal wave! Most numbers here are stark and spare, but undeniably tuneful – the core charm we love... read more

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A pretty well-done look at the effect of recording technology on music in the 20th century – with an especially strong focus on the way that classical has been shaped by the evolution in sound! Author Arved Ashby definitely writes here from an academic perspective, but has a way of making... read more

A mid 70s winner from Ashford & Simpson – one of their earlier efforts, and a record that finds them fleshed out as a top notch act of their end – even if it'd be yeas before they'd net the kind of huge chart success that they deserved! Come As You Are is filled with solid soul... read more

Sublimely satisfying work from Ashford & Simpson – a stone killer from the height of their late 70s glory days on Warner Brothers! The pair are working together wonderfully at this point – wrapped up in that blend of upbeat soul and righteous undercurrents that made them a real cut... read more

Great stuff! From Motown songwriters to world-class superstars, the trip was a well-deserved one for Valerie Simpson and Nick Ashford – and this album's perhaps their crowning achievement in sophisticated club soul! The record's got a great groove that offers a more soulful version of disco... read more

Dang, these guys could never miss! Even in later years, Ashford and Simpson were still going strong – working here in a wonderfully mellow style that's as soulful for the moment as their mid 70s groovers were for that time. The album's got a sweet modern style that's pretty much in the... read more

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Excellent live work by The Association – quite different than their earlier pop hits, but still with the same great harmony feel! The style here is in the rougher, more guitar-based mode of albums like Birthday and Stop Your Motor – and the band really sounds great in this live setting... read more

Mindblowing music from The Association – a heady double-length package that features every single the group ever cut for the Valiant and Warner Brothers label – which together make for an amazing evolution in sound! Although best remembered for their few soft rock hits, The Association... read more

Fantastic dreamy pop! Despite the fact that this one yielded the super-huge hits "Windy" and "Never My Love", the album's also filled with great 60s pop tunes that you've probably never heard before – all as fantastically well-crafted and delicately strung-out as the big... read more

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Some of the biggest singles by British reggae giants Aswad! Don't Turn Around his pretty heavy with material from the mid-to-late 80s period – when they were at a commercial peak – blending Lovers Rock and were crossing over in a major way. Breezy, easygoing stuff – plus some... read more

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The first album by Atlantic Starr – a tight set of modern soul tunes with a very different feel than their later work! Part of the credit goes to Bobby Eli – who arranged and produced the set, giving it a feel that's almost late Philly – tight, sophisticated, and right on the... read more

The title's certainly right on this one – because Atlantic Starr serve up a really brilliant blend of electro funk and mainstream soul – balanced with that near-perfect sound that made them one of the best groups of their generation! Despite the size of the combo, the sound is... read more

A groovy little classic from Atlantic Starr – and a great example of the group's wonderfully catchy way of hitting a groove! The music's never pop, but has some captivating hooks all the way through – sweet little bits mixed in with the funky soul approach of the ensemble – made... read more

This haunting EP brings you more of Atmosphere's signature tortured, playful, catchy songs of relationships and introspection. This EP is a tad bit more polished than their previous efforts, but Slug still harnesses the dark, bitter, nonchalant anger down inside him that spews forth these catchy... read more

Creative electronics from Uwe Schmidt – aka Atom (TM) and dozens of other pseudonyms! Atom (TM) And Friends make these great pop music pastiches laced with electronic textures – putting modern electronica, classic funk, pop, rock, bossa nova and more in a blender – and coming... read more

The collected work of a mighty trippy group from the Indian scene – a psychedelic combo who worked in the 70s, but who had the same sort of edge you'd hear from the American and British scenes of the late 60s! In truth, there's a fair bit of Anglo influence going on in the music – not... read more

Norwegian progressive metal.... read more

An incendiary collection of mid-to-late 60s material from The Attack – a proponent of the same UK scene that spawned The Creation and The Who – and influenced later firebrands like The Buzzcocks and other punk era greats! About Time includes the group's Decca singles, rare radio... read more

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Unreleased soul from Vince Broomfield – a singer and saxophone player with a warm and smooth style! The work here is all from private recordings of the late 80s and early 90s, and has a sound that echoes mainstream R&B of the period, but which is served up in a much more stripped-down... read more

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Brian Auger's first album with The Oblivion Express – a harder-rocking ensemble than his initial Trinity trio, but one who also really pushed things with a really jazzy edge! Like many of Auger's contemporaries on the UK scene, Brian was making the shift from Brit beat group jazz and soul,... read more

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The first Salsoul album from Aurra – and the start of a great run that would make the group one of the label's strongest acts in the early 80s! Things are nicely funky throughout – more 80s groove than the disco that first brought Salsoul success – and right from the start, Aurra... read more

Snapping beats and a really great 80s groove make "Checking You Out" one of Aurra's best tracks! The tune starts out slow, in a way that's perfect for bringing up out of a mix – then the vocals come in with some nice electro undercurrents – really making for a catchy appeal... read more

The image on the cover is a great summation of the Aurra magic – a sweet blend of male and female vocals with plenty of soul – woven together in ways that are quite different from more cliched duet modes of earlier years! The grooves are at the center of the record – set out... read more

Great grooves from Aurra – a group with a sound that's rooted in the late 70s funk of Slave, but which is given a whole new life at Salsoul by fearless leader Stephen Washington! The album's tight and right on the money at the very first note – heavy on bass, but not in a way that's... read more

Sweet 80s grooving from one of Salsoul's best acts of the post-disco years – a group with a groove that comes up right from the bottom, thanks to a great ear for a funky bassline! The sound is nice and lean – but all still mighty live, with a lot of spontaneous energy in the... read more

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A sweet little album of funky instrumental guitar! The record's one of the most obscure on the Westbound label – and it features guitar player Donald Austin going to town on 13 short little cuts with a tripped-out funky groove – sometimes fuzzy, usually funky, and always with that... read more

Two great funky guitar tracks! Both cuts have kind of a slow chugging stoner groove to them – right up there with work by Shuggie Otis or Eddie Senay, and with a similar mix of tripped-out soloing over the top of slow funky beats!... read more

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No honking here, as Sil Austin takes his deeply soulful tenor sax, and turns it to a set of creamy late-nite tracks – all done over some very "pretty" backings, ala the Verve strings work of Ben Webster or Lester Young. Most cuts have voices in with the orchestrations – and... read more

One of a few records cut by this surprisingly popular Australian group – temporary ex-pats to the US scene, featuring Errol Buddle on tenor and Bryce Rhode on piano, two of the country's greatest jazz players of the 50s and 60s. Given the sympatico between the Aussie and LA mode of the 50s... read more

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Sure, it's not classic funky Average White Band, but the album's a great one that showcases the group's best second suit – their smooth compressed late 70s soul sound – a great evolution of their earlier groove, and one that showed them as a great mainstream soul act! The tunes are a... read more