Only the second album from Gypsy, but one that really has the group opening up their wings to soar – especially on the longer tunes that really feature some nicely freewheeling interplay between organ and guitar! Yet even on the shorter cuts, the sound between the two is great too – driven on by some rhythms that feature very tasty use of congas, in a way that might draw some slight comparison to Santana, although these guys maybe have some more mid-American elements in the mix too, almost a dash of light Allman Brothers at times! Whatever the comparisons, though, the whole thing is great – a really under-discovered gem that deserves to be in the bigger pantheon of the time – with cuts that include "Here In The Garden", "Blind Man", "Reach Out Your Hand", "Around You", and "As Far As You Can See". LP, Vinyl record album

The music of Sun Ra, taken into very different territory – every bit as cosmic as before, but maybe also a bit more down to earth in its presentation! Sun Ra classics are reworked here by a mix of different Brazilian musicians, with contributions from a few key American artists who really enrich the soulful qualities of the proceedings – with results that are tremendous, and which make the record one of the real standout projects in the long legacy of Red Hot recordings! The sounds here are all original, created for the project – and the Brazilian artists include some of our favorite underground talents of the past decade, mixed with a few who are more well-established, yet still very much on the left side of the spectrum! Titles include "Astroblack Orunmila" with Jazzmeia Horn & Orquestra Afrosinfonica, "Interstellar Low Ways" with Hamilton De Holanda Trio, "When There Is No Sun (Intergalactic version)" with Xenia Franca & Tigana Santana, "Eu Sou Um Instrumento" with Fabricio Boliveira & Jazzmeia Horn, "O Codigo" with Fabricio Boliveira & Edbrass Brasil, "Nature's God" with Meshell Ndegeocello & Munir Hossn, and "Nine Rocket For The Planet" with Meta Meta & Edgar. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest albums from the legendary Peruvian scene at the start of the 70s – served up by a group who've got a Bay Area reference in their name, and who definitely work with a mix of Latin and psychedelic elements that echo that scene – but with a special sort of vibe that's all their own! Some moments on the record have that perfect pop production and presentation that we love from their contemporaries We All Together – yet other points echo more of the older sound of Mag Records, and the way the label could cook up some really heavy Latin groovers to rival the best of New York. Yet the trippier sounds of the psych generation are what really make the record great – clearly a Santana inspiration, but taken in new directions too – on titles that include "Sungaligali", "Sweet Whatever", "Happy", "Something Going", "Telegraph Avenue", and "Sometimes In Winter". LP, Vinyl record album

A great return for the legendary Tom Ze – an artist who'd been brought back to prominence via the efforts of a Luaka Bop compilation – then given this great chance to record for the label on his own! The set's a great return to form for Ze – who sprung from this moment into a renewed period of creative energy – really drawing on his crucial years of groundbreaking sounds in Brazil during the Tropicalia generation, and especially the 70s – when Tom had really moved off into a realm of his own. Most tracks are relatively short, and pretty enigmatic – a flurry of the sounds and verbal experiments that always made Ze so great! Titles include "Jingle Do Disco", "Cortina 3", "Amar", "Ogodo, Ano 2000", "Feira De Santana", "Fliperama", and "Tatuaramba". LP, Vinyl record album

Gritty funk from East Of Underground – an uber-obscure LP recorded in 1971 by a group of US Army serviceman at the Armed Forces Network studios in Frankfurt, Germany – originally used as a recruiting tool during the Vietnam war! Given the strength of the set, we wouldn't be surprised if plenty of folks signed up for a tour of duty after hearing it – as the set cooks like some of the best American funk from the indie 45 world at the time. The production is nice and dark – with an echoey quality that makes us guess the album was a live recording – done by American servicemen with the feel of some backroom funk show from the Indy or Ohio scene of the 70s. Some of the tracks are familiar numbers from American hits – but redone here with a nicely gritty feel – and titles include the awesome medley "Bet'Ya Never Lose My Love California Dreamer" – plus "Higher", "Smiling Faces", "Hell Below", "Getting Over", "Popcorn/Santana", "I Love You", "Java Girl", and "Walk On By". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer work from this Latin funk combo from the 70s – a group who were supposedly formed to open for Santana at a concert in Nicaragua, then went on with a searing legacy of their own! The music definitely owes a bit to the Bay Area Latin sound of the period – a blend of traditional percussion and rhythms with more psychedelic instrumentation – including plenty of great organ lines and guitar, and just the right use of horns as well! About half the album's instrumental, and the vocal tracks feature excellent work from singer Janette Barnes – on titles that include "Valle Del Ayatimbo", "La Taa Yo", "Que Rico", "Atardecer", and "Zumbale". LP, Vinyl record album

A great look at the fresh energy that Miles Davis was bringing to his music in the 80s – and a set that's nicely different than some of the other albums issued in the "bootleg" series – in that two thirds of the collection features unissued studio material from the dates in the title! Those tracks are great – numbers that were recorded in the same sessions that gave the world the records Decoy, Star People, and You're Under Arrest – with work from players who include John Scofield and Mike Stern on guitars, Robert Irving III on keyboards, Bill Evans on tenor and soprano saxes, and the great Al Foster on drums. Miles even plays a bit of keyboards himself, but is also really focusing strong energy on his trumpet lines – more tightness than some of his 70s material, but not in a way that's slick or commercial either – still plenty of bite throughout. Studio titles include "Celestial Blues, Part 2", "Minor Ninths, Part 2", "Santana", "Freaky Deaky (Vinyl Edit)", "Hopscotch (Fast)", "Never Loved Like This (Studio Session Demo", and some alternates of Miles' versions of "Human Nature" and "Time After Time". LP, Vinyl record album

The Diplomats are still going strong on this second set of Diplomatic Immunity – really making the best of their collective approach, as they shift vocals and styles strongly from track to track! Producers shift from track to track, but there's plenty of core energy trading between lyrical contributions from Cam'Ron, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, Freekey Zeekey, Hell Rell, and the rest – on titles that include "Push It", "Bigger Picture", "Crunk Muzik", "Stop N Go", "SANTANA", "Family Ties", "40 Cal", "Melanin", "So Free", "Dead Muthafuckas", "I Wanna Be Your Lady", and "Dutty Clip". LP, Vinyl record album