More of what you buy Blue Note for – funky jazz tunes with a kick! This set pulls together 13 cuts from the label's classic late 60s/early 70s years – a time that was once lost to the sands of time, thanks to snobbery against use of electric instrumentation on the label, but which is now being rediscovered again, thanks to hip hoppers, the acid jazz crowd, and groovers worldwide! This great package features plenty of rare numbers that best sum up the funky side of Blue Note – including "Who Dun It" by Blue Mitchell, "Down Home Funk" by Groove Holmes, "Tic Tac Toe" by Candido, "Cissy Strut" by John Patton, "Ease Back" by Grant Green, "Bambu" by Reuben Wilson, "Family Affair" by Bobby Hutcherson, "Don't Knock My Love" by Ronnie Foster, "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothin" by Grant Green, "Cantaloupe Woman" by Grant Green, "If There's A Hell Below" by Lou Donaldson, and "Hunk O Funk" by Jack McDuff. CD

Really classic jazz grooves from the vaults of Prestige Records – the kind of cuts that first broke big on the London scene of the 80s, at a time when diggers were setting fire to the rare groove scene too! The cuts here are proof that some of the best work doesn't need to come from completely obscure groups or super-tiny labels – as the music here is exactly the kind of work that made huge waves in the US jazz scene when first released, then went underground for many years – until later collectors and diggers brought it back to the limelight! The great thing is how many of these cuts are all acoustic – no need for electricity to make things funky – as you'll hear on tracks that include "Hiyo Silver" by Bennie Green, "Grease Monkey" by Kenny Burrell with Jack McDuff, "Mau Mau" by Art Farmer, "Mambo Inn" by Billy Taylor with Candido, "Manteca" by Red Garland, "Blue Stompin" by Hal Singer, "Spider Man" by Freddie McCoy, "Filthy McNasty" by Eddie Jefferson, "Flatjacks" by Willie Rodriguez, "Blue Gator" by Willis Jackson, and "Pedro Stroller" by Johnny Lytle. CD

A surprising organ/tenor gem from the 90s – and a really standout set in the career of Don Braden! The set's on a major label, but it's got a soulfully produced groove that makes it feel like some of the best soul jazz on the Muse imprint – really open and flowing, with a sound that shows that the New Jersey sound was alive and well into the 90s! Braden's on tenor, working alongside some guest tenor by David Newman – and the rest of the group features organ by either Jack McDuff or Larry Goldings – plus trumpet by Tom Harrell, guitar by Russell Malone, and some super-solid drum work by either Cecil Brooks or Winard Harper. Titles include "Walkin The Dog", "Brighter Days", "Cousin Esau", "Twister", "Belief", "Organic", and "Saving All My Love For You". CD

With Jack McDuff on organ, Al Harewood and Keith Copeland on drums, Kenny Barron on piano, Ray Drummond on bass, and Joshua Breakstone on guitar. CD

One of the greatest albums of Hammond jazz ever recorded – and a darn funky one at that! Bobby Forrester may not look like a hipster on the cover, but this set grooves like some of the best early 70s work by Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, and Groove Holmes – hitting hard with some really funky tracks that have made the album a must-have with collectors for years. The sound here a lean, mean revision of the Prestige Hammond jazz groove of the 60s – Bobby grooving on organ with just drums by Johnny Kirkwood and guitar by Elijah Williams Jr – all coming together in a totally solid sound that has plenty of funky riffs, nice drums, and soaring organ lines! Given the lean, compact approach to the groove, we might compare Forrester most with Charles Earland at his best – although the album's got a voice and depth that's certainly all its own. Titles include the classic groover "Uncle Funky", a great cover of "Sanford & Son Theme", and the cuts "Blues For Razz", "Don't Misunderstand", and "Funky Fly". CD

Gene Harris on piano, Jack McDuff on organ, Ron Eschete on guitar, Luther Hughes on bass, and Paul Humphrey on drums. CD

The great vocalist Joe Williams is working with a tight combo led by tenorist Red Holloway – backed by Jack McDuff on Hammond and piano, Phil Upchurch on guitar, and Eddie Cleanhead Vinson on alto and a bit of vocals too! CD

Includes work by Willis Jackson, Charles Earland, Jack McDuff, and Richard Groove Holmes! CD

Incredible sounds from the Chess Records catalog – not the blues that you might know the label for, but a huge range of funk, soul, and jazz tracks from the headiest years of the 60s and 70s – a time when the Chicago scene was really turning out some incredible musical hybrids! As you'd guess from the title, all the cuts here have had a new life in recent years – thanks to samples by hip hop artists or other producers – but the original grooves are even better than the tracks that used them, and come together here to make one of the most mindblowing collections of Chess material we've ever heard! The package is nicely heavy on sounds from the Cadet/Concept years of the label – with more than a few contributions from producers Charles Stepney and Richard Evans – and the package features 42 wonderful tracks – including "Fonky Thang Diamon Ring" by The Dells, "Windmills Of Your Mind" by Dorothy Ashby, "I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun" by Rotary Connection, "Jelly Jam" by Jack McDuff, "The Getaway" by Alvin Cash, "In My Body's House" by Gene Chandler, "Cross Country" by Archie Whitewater, "Memory Band" by Rotary Connection, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by Jimmy Ponder, "Inside Out" by American Gypsy, "Go Go Power" by Sugar Pie DeSanto, "Shake It Up" by The Vibrations, "Up Above The Rock" by Ray Bryant, "Bad Moon Rising" by Bo Diddley, "Shoo Be Doo Be Doo Be Do Da Day" by Eddie Fisher, "Humpin Bumpin & Thumpin" by Andre Williams, "Who Got The Number" by Pigmeat Markham, "Walk On By" by Jo Ann Garrett, "Chocolate Candy" by Soulful Strings, "Got To Get Your Own (7" version)" by Reuben Wilson, "Hanky's Panky (7" version)" by Shirley Scott, "Liberation Conversation" by Marlena Shaw, "Look Of Love" by Monk Higgins, and "Think About It" by Odell Brown & The Organizers. CD

A healthy dose of organ jazz – with classic cuts that feature work by Leon Spencer, Jimmy Smith, Freddie Roach, John Patton, Jack McDuff, and Charles Earland! CD

Joey's on the Hammond B3 – with guests who include Houston Person, Grover Washington, Kirk Whalum, and Illinois Jacquet on tenor – plus Jack McDuff on additional Hammond! CD

A really formative album – not just as part of the key second chapter of alto genius Lou Donaldson, but also as the start of a huge generation of jazz funk grooves to come! The key element here is drummer Idris Muhammad – working in the group of Donaldson, but under his birth name of Leo Morris – and still already graced with that fantastic sense of rhythm that has him stretching out the beats, and creating grooves that would push the 60s soul jazz generation into more electric funk modes in the decade to come! The record's a perfect bridge between the two generations – with long tracks that draw plenty from Idris' drums and Lou's alto – plus work from Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Lonnie Smith on organ, and the young George Benson on guitar – still hard and soulful, in that style he had been using in the 60s group of organist Jack McDuff. If you know the heavily sampled side of Lou Donaldson's work, you'll know the greatness you're getting here – on cuts that include "Dapper Dan", "Midnight Creeper", "Bag Of Jewels", and "Love Power". CD

Gene Harris on piano, Frank Potenza on guitar, Red Holloway on tenor saxophone, Ernie Watts on alto and tenor saxophone, Jack McDuff on organ, Luther Hughes on bass, Paul Kreibich on drums, and Niki Harris on vocals. CD

An album that's maybe one of the least familiar Blue Note records to most jazz listeners – a set that was barely pressed up at the time, and reissued infrequently – yet which is a tremendous debut as a leader from tenorist Harold Vick! At the time of the album's release, Vick had been bringing all these amazing sounds to Hammond albums by Brother Jack McDuff – reed lines that were very different in phrasing and tone than the tenor sounds of players like Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt – and he continues that magic here, in a really wonderful group – with John Patton on the Hammond, Grant Green on guitar, and the mighty Ben Dixon on drums – a player with a loose touch that really fits Harold's unique sense of rhythm. Blue Mitchell also plays trumpet up front, bringing a nice tonal brightness to the album – and titles include a great version of Vick's "Our Miss Brooks", plus "Steppin Out", "Vicksville", and "Trimmed In Blue". CD

Includes tracks by Gene Harris, Jack McDuff, Stanely Turrentine, Kenny Burrell, and others. CD

Features Toshiko Akiyoshi, Kenny Burrell, Charlie Byrd, Bill Charlap, Herb Ellis, Scott Hamilton, Gene Harris, Jack McDuff, Chris Potter, Poncho Sanchez, Mel Torme, Frank Wess, Denny Zeitlin, and more! CD

Features work by Charles Earland, Don Patterson, Larry Young, Jack McDuff, Johnny Hammond Smith, Groove Holmes, Lonnie Smith, and others! CD

If this is what they call an Encyclopedia, the folks at Britannica can sign us up! The set's a smoking selection of older soul jazz numbers from the glory days of Prestige Records – that key late 50s/1960s time when the label was helping forge a whole new sound in jazz – mixing in elements of R&B, hardbop, and gospel – and letting fly with a whole range of great tenor and organ players! The tracks here are all classics, all presented in nice long full versions that show what music like this can really do when let loose in the studio – and titles include "Seed Shack" by Gene Ammons, "Nother Futher" by Sonny Stitt & Jack McDuff, "Misty" by Groove Holmes, "Soul Meeting" by King Curtis, "The Honeydripper" by Jack McDuff, "When My Dreamboat Comes Home" by Arnett Cobb, "In The Kitchen" by Eddie Lockjaw Davis, "More Today Than Yesterday" by Charles Earland, "Please Mr Jackson" by Willis Jackson, and "Dirty Apple" by Johnny Hammond Smith. CD

Includes 10 tracks from Philly Joe Jones, Lou Donaldson, Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Donald Bryd, Gene Ammons, Joe Henderson, Blue Mitchell, and Brother Jack McDuff. CD