A real standout in the early career of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard – a very unique session that has him working with some larger arrangements in the background – blowing these magical solos over the top, while still hitting a great edge with the rest of the musicians as well! There's a... read more
2 LP set that combines 2 earlier Dick Hyman LPs for Command. The stuff's not his funkiest or grooviest, but there's some nice light keyboard moments, done in Dick's usual groovy style. Titles include "Love For Sale", "England Swings", "Yesterday", "Zorba The... read more
Jorgen Ingmann —
Swing Softly ... LP
Mercury,
Early 60s. Very Good ....
$4.99
Groovy guitar instrumental tracks by one of the biggest international talents of the 60's. Ingmann's guitar has a unique hard edged sound that's in keeping with American instrumentalists of the same type, but which has a cool overdubbed guitar sound that's a bit like Les Paul. Titles include... read more
Wonderful work from Ingram – an incredibly talented soul family who'd spent more than enough time woodshedding in earlier years, and emerged to become one of the strongest mainstream acts of the 80s scene! There's a solid feel here that goes way beyond commercial soul – a great way... read more
Ives' Pinao Sonata No 2 orchestrated by Henry Brant.... read more
Utsumi Izuru —
Utsumi ... CD
Flower (Japan),
2002. Used ....
$4.99
Jazzy samples with an earthy edge – worked together in some magical soundscapes that also manage to groove nicely at the best moments! One of the more "organic" titles in the hip catalog of the Japanese Flower Records label – and a compelling release that takes us back to... read more
A sweet 70s set from Jackie & Roy – just the kind of record that shows that their genius kept on growing and growing as the years went on! The album's a nice change from the fuller, freer sound of the pair's earlier 70s sides on CTI – but it's also not the straighter jazz of the... read more
A spare and dramatic score for this film that starred Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, and Omar Sharif – penned by Maurice Jarre with some slight Spanish touches, to fit the setting of the narrative! Light guitar is used on many numbers – but with a very high-register sort of sound that... read more
Leroy Jenkins with Muhal Richard Abrams —
Lifelong Ambitions ... LP
Black Saint (Italy),
1977. Near Mint- ....
$11.99
We always love Muhal Richard Abrams in a duet setting – and this album's no exception, as it features the pianist playing in very spare formation with violinist Leroy Jenkins – improvising freely in a concert performance from 1977! Abrams tone is often very dark and earthy, which seems... read more
Gloria Jones —
Reunited ... LP
AVI,
1982. Very Good+ ....
$2.99
A pretty odd little record from Gloria Jones – a great soul singer back in the 60s when she was pounding out the hard northern numbers, but not so great here, where she's in an odd style that mixes disco with a hard soul approach, and just doesn't work. The "Reunited" in the title... read more
Well-blown material from trumpeter Jonah Jones – recorded in a hip setting with the French group of Dave Pochonet for support! Dave's on drums, arrangements are by Andre Persiany, and the setting is pretty open and relaxed – nice small combo work that lets Jones blow in a really... read more
Classic trumpet-heavy jive from Jonah Jones! The focus is on Jonah's gutbucket swinging style, with his trumpet up front in the mix in post-KC swing-type tunes. Things get a bit campy at times, but this pop-jazz-swing style worked extremely well for Jones and Capitol. Titles include "Moten... read more
Weirdly groovy stuff from Jonah Jones – playing here in his usual pop-gospel-swing style, but with backing by a set of voices that gives that album a nice full sound. The vocal group isn't nearly as soporific as those used on other pop/jazz albums from the time, and they have a nice lilting... read more
The second album from Washington's K'Alyn – a great singer/songwriter with a magically soulful feel! K'Alyn's music has a great blend of warm styles with light acoustic touches – one that takes us back to the glory days of Donnie Hathaway and Bill Withers, but with a style that's also... read more
A very strange little record – composed for a very strange film directed by Allen "Candid Camera" Funt – in which people are surprised by a nude woman, and have to react accordingly. There's a lot of tunes on here that have an almost Harper's Bizarre feel – that kind of... read more
We're always big fans of Bev Kelly's work, but this album is way hipper than the usual vocal album of its type from the time – thanks to a sweet little lineup that features Pony Poindexter on alto sax and Flip Nunez on piano! The presence of Poindexter's horn is always a treat, on the... read more
Jazzy Bay Area hip hop from producer/MC double threat Kero One – an unabashedly rearward leaning hip hop head from the left coast – with skills on par with the Soul Providers, Lightheaded and others on the scene! It's no secret that we have eager ears for hip hop that's schooled in the... read more
Although the Anita Kerr singers were not often the swinginest group in town, this LP has them doing a nice selection of Bacharach material, including "What's New Pussycat?", "Are You There (with Another Girl)", and "Windows of the World".... read more
A great disco take on the Love Boat theme – one done here withs ome slightly Latiny club touches from Joe Quijano, and fragile vocals that shake a bit more than Jack Jones' on the original recording! There's some nice Miami club moments in the instrumentation – and the compelling thing... read more
Kid Creole & The Coconuts —
Wise Guy ... LP
Sire/Ze,
1982. Near Mint- ....
$6.99
Ha! This one really takes us back! The set was a massive breakthrough for August Darnell – one of his biggest hits since his day with Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, with an equally appealing approach to the dancefloor. Tracks mix early 80s New York club styles with Darnell's mad... read more
Wonderful work from one of the maddest talents on the moog – the enigmatic Gershon Kingsley, frequent partner of Jean Jacques Perry! This album's got Kingsley working in his unique First Moog Quartet – a four-moog ensemble that makes some really incredible music! Unlike Kingsley's... read more
One of the rarest Roland Kirk albums – and a great one! The record features Kirk in his prime early years – before he got totally nutty, and when he would still play straight soul jazz/hard bop, but with kind of a mad twist, and with strange instrumentation. Horace Parlan's on piano,... read more
A rare slice of work by Roland Kirk from his early years – a great live set recorded in Europe in the mid 60's – done in a looser mode than his studio sessions from the time! Kirk's playing his usual array of incredible horns – tenor, stritch, flute, nose flute, and manzello... read more
Lew Kirton —
Talk To Me ... LP
CBS/Believe In A Dream,
1983. Very Good- ....
$11.99
An excellent 2nd album from Lew Kirton – a bit smoother than his first one, but still with that great mellow soul sound that we dig so much! Lew's a strong singer in a tradition that includes Leroy Hutson and Leon Ware – sweetly grooving in a warm and mellow style, but also kicking... read more
Loads of classics – including "Calling Dr Love", "Love Gun", "Hotter Than Hell", "God Of Thunder", "Deuce", "Detroit Rock City", "Beth", "Black Diamond", "Rock & Roll All Nite", and "Rock... read more
Tight 80s soul from Kleeer – one of the group's standout classics, and a set that's produced with kind of a jazzy finish by Deodato, who also plays some nice keyboards on the record! The Kleeer sound is at its height here – tight, warm, and filled with great harmonies on the vocals... read more
One of the greatest albums ever from pianist Ronnie Kole – a hip cat who played heavily on the New Orleans scene of the 60s and 70s – but who also had a soulful sound that was much more in keeping with piano work from the Windy City! This set has a nice crackle from the start –... read more
This famous Latin combo hits the early 60s, and lays down a stock session of pachanga and charanga cuts, infused with lively guitar parts, and some lovely female vocals. Tracks include "Yo No Se", "Cafe Y Pan", "The Don Jose Pachanga", "Pachanga Pa'Gozar",... read more
A rather rare recording of Oliver Lake from the early 70s, recorded in Paris. Almost entirely alto solos, but one number that features accompaniment on synthesizer. We find ourselves returning to these early Lake recordings much more than his later work with the World Saxophone Quartet, as the... read more
A killer of a mid 70s album from Hector Lavoe – recording here as a solo act after his split from the Willie Colon group, but still with strong backings and musical supervision from Willie himself! The style here is very similar to the last few albums Lavoe recorded with Colon – a... read more
A tribute to the famous romantic singer Felipe Pierela – once known as the Bolero Star Of The Americas! Given Hector LaVoe's warmth and charisma at the time, he was a perfect choice for such a project – and working here with producer Willie Colon, Hector steps into an older mode of... read more
A strange little record – one that features a few tracks by Lawrence from Lord Of The Flies, The Great Chase, and David & Lisa – mixed with others from films that include To Kill A Mockingbird, Rat Race, Mutiny On The Bounty, and other films. Most of the material is pretty... read more
A hip collection of tracks from Peggy Lee – recorded for Capitol during the late 60s, but issued in this special package that was a limited edition one put out by Sylvania in the early 70s. The standout cuts are Peggy's awesome versions of "Spinning Wheel" and "Sitting On The... read more
A bit dreamy – but still quite nice work from Legrand – written for this 1967 remake of Noel Coward's Pretty Polly, a film that starred Hayley Mills in the lead role! Legrand's score has less of the jazzy touches of his French work from the time – but still breaks out with some... read more
Leiber Stoller Big Band —
Yakety Yak ... LP
Atlantic,
Early 60s. Very Good- ....
$6.99
A very unusual little record, cut at the height of fame for the team of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller! The session's a rare jazz one from the duo – put together to feature different versions of tunes they'd been penning for acts on Atlantic and some of the other big labels of the late 50s. ... read more
