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Amazing stuff from Ahmed Abdul-Malik – one of the early 60s most enigmatic jazz talents! Malik was Thelonious Monk's bassist for a few years, but by the time of this record, he was working in a very sophisticated cross-cultural mode – pulling together many different strands of jazz and... read more

A rare album by Ahmed Abdul-Malik – the bass player best known for his work with Monk, and for some of his groundbreaking experimental sessions that mixed together jazz music and Eastern influences! This album is one of Malik's greatest – a combination of both his modern and... read more

Vintage work from this overlooked group from the New York scene of the 80s – an all-star lineup that features Ahmed Abdullah on trumpet, Marion Brown on alto sax, Billy Bang on violin, Sirone and Fred Hopkins on bass, and Andrew Cyrille on drums! The tracks are long, and there's a loose,... read more

One of the coolest, baddest, funkiest albums Cannonball Adderley ever recorded – a massive suite of tunes based on the signs of the Zodiac, produced to perfection by David Axelrod, and featuring some hip recitations from the mighty Rick Holmes! The double-length set is completely compelling... read more

One of Ammons' classic blowing sessions for Prestige, with an all-star lineup that includes Art Farmer, Jackie McLean, Mal Waldron, and Kenny Burrell. The group plays together on 4 long tracks, and in a tight hardbop vein, with long soulful solos from every player. Titles include "Pint... read more

A damn legendary record from the last years of Chess Records – and for good reason, too! Archie Whitewater were a group that was years ahead of its time – a rock combo, but one with real genre-crossing sensibilities that made them perfect for the experimental styles at the... read more

One of the Art Ensemble Of Chicago's all-time classics! If you've ever bought an Art Ensemble album and said "Hmm, what's all the fuss about?", get this one. It'll change your mind. The band is in perfect form – and hits an incredible blend of free thinking modernism and soulful... read more

Beautiful work from the Art Ensemble – and one of their undisputed classics! The record features some of the most perfectly realized moments the band ever cut to wax, with a blend of whimsical multi-instrumental improvisation, and a strong sense of the spiritual tradition in jazz. The album... read more

Incredible work from the amazing Dorothy Ashby – a brilliant set of funky and spiritual tunes, set to full backings from Chicago soul arranger Richard Evans! This album is easily one of Ashby's greatest, and it's dedicated to the writings of Omar Khayyam – one of the forces guiding... read more

A masterpiece! This is one of David Axelrod's most perfectly realized albums – and it's a brilliant batch of baroque arrangements, jazzy solos, and slightly subtle funky bits! The album contains the much-sampled song "Holy Thursday", but the whole thing has a very similar feel to... read more

What can we say? This is one of the greatest soul soundtracks ever! In a market that was dominated by the big-selling Shaft and Superfly albums, Roy slipped in this masterful blend of jazzy vibes and wah wah funk that's easily one of the best-composed records of the blacksploitation genre! The... read more

One of Roy Ayers' biggest albums ever! The whole thing's an incredible album of mellow jazzy soul – and it shows Roy at the crossroads, perfecting his earlier funk style with a sweet mellow R&B edge, getting a bit slicker, but still staying on the righteous path, and opening up a whole... read more

An archetypal album by Roy – and one that really shows him at the turning point! Gone are the trippier jazz funk moments of earlier albums – and in their place are some tight grooves and wonderfully spacey soul. Roy hits the dancefloor with one of his first uptempo funk numbers "B... read more

Seminal early funk work from Roy Ayers! The record catches him at that perfect point when he was turning from a straight jazz player into a sinister force in 70s funk – and the group on the session includes super-hip soul jazz giants like Charles Tolliver, Sonny Fortune, and Harry Whitaker,... read more

One of the greatest Roy Ayers albums of all time – and one of the rarest! The record is right in the same vein as Roy's groundbreaking He's Coming LP – a righteous mix of soul jazz, subtle funk, and some of the cosmic wisdom that Roy was spreading among the jazz funk underground –... read more

Hardbop albums don't get any better than this – and although drummer Dave Bailey only recorded for a brief stretch as a leader, this session's one that shows that he was a heck of a force to contend with! The record's got an intensity that easily rivals the best by Art Blakey over at Blue... read more

Heavy duty hardbop – and one of three amazing Epic sessions cut by drummer Dave Bailey! The set grooves as massively as his One and Two Feet In The Gutter albums – and is recorded with a similar lineup that includes Horace Parlan on piano, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Charlie Rouse on... read more

A soul record we'd put up there with some of our favorite ones that the city of Chicago produced in the early 70s – and it's literally a soul record – a beautiful gospel set by Pastor TL Barrett & The Youth For Christ Choir, of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, on the city's south side! ... read more

A monster! If you buy one Latin record this year – make it this one – because it's one of the greatest ever recorded! Ray's late 60s Acid album is a landmark recording – a sublime mixture of Latin jazz, percussion, and soul – grooving hard in a variety of styles, and... read more

Very righteous work from Fontella Bass – an album done after her time at Chess Records, and after her work in Paris with the Art Ensemble Of Chicago – in a heartfelt, southern soul mode that's totally great! Fontella's back working with producer Oliver Sain, who first brought her fame... read more

Not what you might expect when shopping for African music – unique electronic sounds from Cameroon musician Francis Bebey – as heavy on keyboards as other 70s work is on guitar! There's still plenty of acoustic elements in the mix though, too – lots of earthy percussion at the... read more

A monster bit of funk that's unlike anything else we can think of! Beginning Of The End hailed from The Bahamas, but don't hold that against them – because instead of being a Caribbean cliche, they took the best part of the island rhythms, and used them to forge an incredible approach to... read more

Way more than you might expect from the legendary Big Maybelle – a smoking collection of soulful tunes that goes way beyond her early blues of the 50s, and shows the lady to be one heck of a funky singer – on a par with the best 60s work from Etta James at Chess! The cuts here are... read more

A searing debut from Black Heat – one of the best funk acts to record for Atlantic during the 70s, and a tight little group with a sound that's a mixture of New Orleans funk and New York heavy! The album's got a bit of vocals – figuring in on about half the tracks – but the main... read more

A stone classic from Black Heat – the group's second album, and even tighter than their first! The group's size has dropped a bit between albums – but that only helps them cook even more – dropping a bit of the horn section from before, which allows even more emphasis on their... read more

Wow! The one-and-only album by Trinidadian combo Black Truth Rhythm Band – a completely incredible one at that – hypnotic Caribbean funky soul, jazz and wildly impressive musicianship all around by this group led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Oluko Imo. The record was made in... read more

A jazz funk masterpiece, and THE record by the legendary Don Blackman – the only one issued under his own name for many many years, and a famous little set that's been sampled endlessly over the years, and for good reason! The vibe here is one that's barely been matched again – a blend... read more

One of Art Blakey's first true moments of genius! This transitional version of the Jazz Messengers included two parts – Lee Morgan and Bobby Timmons – of the holy Morgan/Shorter/Timmons trilogy, and it's also got the added bonus of Benny Golson on tenor, who was at the height of his... read more

Well of course the guy's a porno freak – after all, his albums of the 70s were as close to audio porn as you'll ever get! And on this album, Blowfly's certainly keeping things below the belt – working in a style that's a bit tighter than before, and with some nice P-Funk touches, plus... read more

Blowfly changes up his groove nicely for the 80s – taking on a tightly-stepping approach to funk that's clearly inspired by some of the changes on the west coast scene – using Zapp-ish rhythms in a mode that ends up working pretty darn well for his off-color spoken lyrics! There's... read more

Reedman Thomas Borgman's in some really great company here – bassist Wilber Morris and drummer Reggie Nicholson – both of whom really open up on the album's very long tracks! The set was recorded live at the end of the 90s, but may not have been issued until now – and it features... read more

Fresh dubs of rare tracks by Dennis Bovell – all redone recently, but with a vibe that's right up there with the best of classic Kingston! The package has a fascinating origin – in that Bovell had a recent medical ban on playing the bass, so decided to turn the clock back, dig up some... read more

David Bowie's grabbing the cover of Heroes for this surprisingly great album – using the old cover art, then marking it over – in ways that definitely give a hint at the sound underneath! The style's darker and edgier than we've heard Bowie in years – kind of in "Joe The... read more

One of the most wonderful albums by one of our favorite jazz artists of all time! For this unique session, George Braith offers up "two souls in one" – by playing both soprano sax and "stritch" simultaneously – in a two-reed mode that recalls the work of Roland Kirk... read more

A tremendous bit of harmony soul from Chicago – one of the few cases where the Windy City really gave the east coast a run for its money – and the landmark album from teen soul quartet Brighter Side Of Darkness! Although young, Brighter Side managed to bring a depth to their work that... read more

Funky trumpet galore – and a lost break classic! At the time of this 1974 LP, Billy Brooks was an obscure LA trumpeter working in the Ray Charles band – and although this record didn't bring him instant fame when it was released, it's grown to become a groove classic over time –... read more

An amazing album – and one of the underground soul jazz classics of the 70s! The album's also one of the few ever cut as a leader by drummer Roy Brooks – one of the hippest players on the Detroit scene back in the day, working here with a great lineup that includes Woody Shaw, George... read more

One of the greatest albums ever for Blue Note – and the only album recorded by tenor player Tina Brooks that was issued during his lifetime! The album's nearly perfect – and features Brooks' edgey tenor set in an all star group that includes Duke Jordan on piano, Freddie Hubbard on... read more

Rough and raw work from Big Bill Broonzy – well-done sides that feature Bill on vocals and acoustic guitar, recorded in Paris in the early 50s, and issued here in a US package on the Scepter label! There's a pretty earthy feel to most of the tracks – a real "crossroads" feel... read more

The title sounds like an old R&B song from the 50s, but the album's a searing collaboration between three of the boldest improvisers in 70s European jazz – Peter Brotzmann on reeds, Harry Miller on bass, and Louis Moholo on drums! Although Miller and Moholo can have warmer moments when... read more

A bomb! The title of this one says it all – a burning anthem of pride and power, issued in 1969, at the end of one of the most troubling decades in America. James answers all the Uncle Tom cries from his critics – and comes up with "Say It Loud", an instant chant that was... read more

Super Bad is right! This is hard-hitting funky James – from the badass cover right down to the extended tracks on the record, which point the way towards the hard live jamming of the classic Payback years! Everything wonderful is in place on the set – from the band's grooves at the... read more

The monumental debut of BT Express – and an excellent funk album that often gets overlooked by fans of the music because of the band's bigger fame as a disco group! This first record has the combo grooving hard and instrumentally – in the mode of a tight blacksploitation soundtrack,... read more

Heist films always provided some of the best soundtracks of the 70's, and this one (starring Robert Shaw and Richard Roundtree, and issued in the US as Diamond Shaft) is no exception! Roy Budd rises to the groovy occasion and scores some excellent moments that match a light orchestral sound with a... read more

A spacey Patrick Adams/Greg Carmichael dance classic – and very much in the P&P disco mode! The record's filled with extended club cuts that have a lot of keyboards and electronics, and although the lyrics are a bit silly at times, the groove is rock solid – with that amazing funky... read more

Genius work from Solomon Burke – the kind of all-out, no-nonsense soul album that made Atlantic Records one of the strongest forces in the genre during the 60s! If you've ever bought one of Solomon's weaker recent albums, you owe it to yourself to check this one out – as it's a... read more

Rare Mississippi blues from Ranie Burnette – recorded in the early 80s, but with a timeless style that takes us right back to the delta! The approach here is similar to some of the best Georgia rural blues of the time – very spare and stripped-down, with mostly just guitar and vocals... read more

Astoundingly strong early recordings by Mississippi blues hero RL Burnside – with violence-tinged songs performed with a clearer, though no less tough voice than we heard on the songs that made him a bit more famous in 1990s! Includes RL's takes on traditionals played on acoustic guitar and... read more

Gary Burton hits a sweet electric funky sound here – a great groove that really makes the album stand out from most of his other work! The support Burton gets is a big reason for the greatness of the date – as he's working in a group that includes Eric Gale on guitar, Richard Tee on... read more

Wow! Funky guitarist Billy Butler runs through Galt MacDermot's score for Via Galactica, with music conducted by the funky composer himself. The sound is spacey and electronic, with drums by Bernard Purdie, bass by Wilbur Bascomb, and piano by Galt himself. Tracks include "Hush", "... read more

Possibly the greatest album ever by the legendary Chicago soul singer Terry Callier! Terry's rich mellow voice is mixed with superb arrangements from the Cadet studio team, with Charles Stepney at the head, and the result is completely sublime. The songs are longer than on earlier albums –... read more

One of Candido's funkiest albums! The record's got a similar sound to Candido's great albums for Blue Note and Solid State – with short, hard funky tunes that have a really great 70s edge! Chico O'Farrill did the arrangements, and the record chops along nicely with some very funky tracks... read more

A fantastic bit of tripped out funk! Cane & Able were one of the many groups that came out of the collective surrounding the Lafayette Afro-Rock Band in the early 70s – and like that group, Cane & Able draw on a wide range of influences to create a heavy funky sound. The album mixes... read more

The second album by this great French funk collective! The album's tighter than the group's first one – with lots of wah-wah guitar jamming, spaced out production, and some excellent soul vocals that must have been some of the best recorded in Paris in the 70s! The whole thing sparkles like... read more

An undisputed 70s soul jazz classic – and arguably the best album that Doug Carn ever cut for the Black Jazz label! The set is a masterpiece of spiritual jazz – with Carn on keyboards setting up the groove, and wife Jean singing some incredible vocals – very different than her... read more

The Black Jazz recordings of Doug Carn are always a revelation – some of the most powerful, progressive work on the American underground of the early 70s – music that got Carn into way more record collections than you might expect! The sound here is a perfect summation of Doug's early... read more

Amazing work from John Carpenter – still a dedicated soundtrack composer long into his film career – and always a master of spare, spooky electronics! The instrumentation here is a bit evolved from some of his earliest classics – different keyboards and electronics developed... read more

Sublime southern soul from one of the greats! James Carr is right up there with the best of the 60s – Otis Redding, Arthur Conley, Joe Tex, and others – but he never made it as big as them because of personal troubles and bad planning on the part of his label and management. ... read more

An incredible bit of southern soul – one of two classic albums cut by James Carr for the Goldwax! At the time of release, this album virtually died in the racks – but thanks to the work of countless music writers over the past few decades, Carr has finally achieved legendary status in... read more

Wickedly fuzzy funk! Jimmy Castor recorded in a lot of different styles during the 70s – but the one he used on this album is still his best! The record's a non-stop guitar-heavy batch of classic funk tracks – and it features the storming break track "It's Just Begun", the... read more

Nothing Fragile here – as Cherrelle comes across with plenty of power on this debut LP – thanks to sharp production from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on some of the best cuts, and an overall groove that's right on the best side of early 80s soul! The Jam/Lewis tracks are heavy on... read more

Ten years since his underground Headphone Masterpiece and Cody Chesnutt is finally back with a proper follow up – one that has a more fully-fleshed out production – and it's pretty damn great! There's some striking differences in approach, but thankfully, the idiosyncratic creative... read more

This is the second album of hard funky soul by this great New Orleans band – and it's one of their best! The record's a nice one, with great production by Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn, and a nice rolling funk groove that never lets up. Loads of great deep funky cuts, including "N... read more

A stunner! You'll probably never find this rare first Dennis Coffey album in the original, so you owe it to yourself to snatch up this funky funky reissue of stripped down guitar breakbeat jams! The record has Coffey playing his trademark fuzzy guitar, along with his early group that included the... read more

Essential stuff! This is one of Ornette Coleman's greatest albums – and it was recorded during a period when he just couldn't miss! The group features Don Cherry on pocket trumpet, Charlie Haden on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – working here with a lively dancing sound on the kit,... read more

Swirling spiritual work from Alice Coltrane – an incredible trio album that features her heavily on harp, plus a bit of piano – in a trio with Ron Carter on bass and Rashied Ali on drums! The sound is wonderful – lush, yet contemplative – in a personal style that really... read more

A perennial favorite in the John Coltrane catalog – a beautiful set of standards, handled in a warm laidback style – one that shows that Trane's groundbreaking group with Jimmy Garrison on bass, Elvin Jones on drums, and McCoy Tyner on piano could still express themselves with even more... read more

John Coltrane's classic – and only – recording as a leader for Blue Note! The album's no throwaway date, though – as it stands strongly with both Coltrane's other label work of the time, and with the best of the late 50s Blue Note scene – a time when the label was really... read more

The title may be a simple one, but the record really marks a key point in John Coltrane's development – an embrace of the newer freedoms allowed to him at Atlantic Records, but in a way that's a bit more subtle than some of his other work for the label! At one level, the record moves at the... read more

Coltrane plays the blues, but in a way like nobody else – stepping off of the deeply soulful sound of his late Prestige years, and moving into even more open and exploratory space for Atlantic! The setting is bare bones and simple – and many of these numbers begin with the sort of... read more

One of the more obscure John Coltrane albums for Atlantic – but a beautiful batch of spiritual numbers that really show him pushing towards the sound of A Love Supreme! The date on the album's 1966, but the material was recorded earlier – in that key turning point year of 1960, when... read more

A classic – and virtually the blueprint for all spiritual soul jazz recordings of the 70s! John Coltrane's at a perfect point here – balanced between the modal hardbop of earlier years, and the freer soloing of his last few recordings. He links the traditions together with a majestic... read more

Hauntingly dreamlike guitar atmospherics from Loren Connors – his appropriately-titled Departing Of Dream – which is really some of his work ever! Loren combines electric, acoustic and bass guitar into this singular, beautiful wavy sound in a way that's garnered him plenty of... read more

The third album from Alice Cooper and perhaps the first great one – starting the 70s sleaze show win streak with the massive "I'm Eighteen" and an LP full of great, gritty and grimy rock and roll. Bob Ezrin's producing for the first time, and if the songs and the whole show isn't... read more

Pre shock rock psychedelia from Alice Cooper – more of a Detroit reared answer to early Pink Floyd than it is a clue to the early metal horror show to come – and as such, it's actually a heck of a lot better than you might be expecting! Since most people never even heard Pretties For... read more

Larry Coryell gets a definite lift here from the album's tight combo – a trio of players who really help Coryell hit some of the funky heights of many years past! Larry's lost none of the fuzz since his late 60s sides for Vanguard – and he works here with tight bass, drums, and Hammond... read more

A damn great little record from Clifford Coulter – a set that's much tighter and more soul-based than his earlier funk albums for Impulse Records – but which comes together beautifully, too – thanks to help from Bill Withers in the studio! Bill produced, and the record has this... read more

A funky funky classic from The Counts – and an album that has the group tightening up their sound from the Westbound years, but still keeping the groove plenty nice! There's a tight, bad-walking feel to most of the cuts on the set – one that almost comes across with a blacksploitation... read more

A Latin classic from the word "bang"! This album was the one that busted Joe Cuba out of the Latin ghetto – into the sound of 60s soul, early funk, and beyond. The record's a stone winner – filled with boogaloo tracks delivered by Joe's firey young sextet, a killer ensemble... read more

What can we say? This is the ultimate Miles Davis album – the one that includes so many songs that we've heard way too much in Starbucks, in retail stores, or at a friend's house who claims to be a "jazz expert", but is really a yuppie dilettante. Yet somehow, over all the years,... read more

One of our 50s favorites by Miles Davis – and a record that offers the same twin-sax sound as his classic Kind Of Blue – with both John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley working alongside Miles in the group! Rhythm here is by the Prestige-era trio of Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers... read more

Thelonious Monk wrote the title tune, but Miles Davis makes it almost his own here – blowing with a subtly moody magic that makes the album one of his true treasures from the early Columbia years! John Coltrane's along on tenor sax – helping Davis expand the sound the pair first forged... read more

The tenor sax here makes the album a standout – as John Coltrane still works with Miles Davis on 2 tracks for the record, but Blue Note stalwart Hank Mobley joins in on the rest! The approach is similar to that of the classic Coltrane/Davis years – and in a way, the record's kind of a... read more

The debut album from Tyrone Davis – a supreme achievement for the Chicago soul scene of the late 60s, and a record with a sound that would set the standard for years to come! Tyrone had been bumping around as a blusier singer before this set – but here, working with arrangements by Don... read more

Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Kid Koala, and Dan The Automator pool their skills for this dawn of the 2000s sci-fi hip hop classic – the masterful Deltron 3030! The guest list is almost too long to get into, but Money Mark, Prince Paul, PB Wolf and Mr. Lif are all here, along with many others. ... read more

An excellent album by vibist Walt Dickerson – perhaps his most adventurous work from the early days! The title track's a seventeen minute long swirling mix of vibes, piano, bass, and drums – with an excellent moody feel and a cool set of chromatic changes of the sort that characterized... read more

Have guitar, will travel – and back in the day, Bo Diddley was going pretty darn far with great material like this! The album's a real standout, even in the classic Chess catalog of the early years –no filler, no covers, just all original material by Bo Diddley – done in that... read more

Rootsy work from the 70s – not disco style, per the title! We don't care whether you dub him the original Ragnam Piza or the Dub Organizer, Dillinger chats it up in nice style on this set of bouncing Bunny Lee rhythms, keeping himself busy, so you don't have to! The bionic dread unleashes a... read more

One of Eric Dolphy's lasting classics – and possibly the ultimate album of "new thing" jazz from the mid 60s! The record's got an even sharper edge than previous Dolphy recordings for Prestige – a really unique combination of instrumentation that includes Freddie Hubbard on... read more

The title's no lie – because the album is one of the shining jewels of Lou Donaldson's legendary funk years for Blue Note – that second period when he returned to the label at the end of the 60s, and really helped redefine the sound of soul jazz at the time! The format here is very... read more

The legendary meeting of the two biggest Brazilian keyboard talents of the 70s – Joao Donato and Eumir Deodato – coming together in beautifully funky formation! The sound is a great blend of the moody electric work of Donato's classic Quem E Quem album, and some of the fuller, funkier... read more

An early recording by Malian singer Na Hawa Doumbia – made in Abidjan, Ivory Coast in 1982 – which finds her backed by guitar, keyboards and raw drums that starkly frame her voice in a great way! It's that voice that really carries this recording – it's piercing, emotional and... read more

Somali sounds from the late 80s – a wonderful set of grooves from the Dur Dur Band – originally issued only on cassette, and lovingly restored here on some more enduring formats! The style is pretty darn funky – maybe some of the latest Afro Funk grooves we've heard from the... read more

Pre-Voidoids and Pre-Ramones hard rock band featuring Marc Bell, aka Marky Ramone – with their self-titled and Hard Attack records – together in a 2LP set! Dust's 1971 is a mix of pummeling, though accessible rockers and a suprising bluesy and psych folk nod here and there –... read more

After a disastrous attempt at recording a live show, the Fania All-Stars went in the studio with guests like Billy Cobham and Manu Dibango and created their funkiest and one of their finest albums of the seventies! A few cuts are more straight Latin sounding, some of these tracks have a nice hard... read more

The first new music by Bill Fay in decades – and it's wonderful stuff – just a beautiful set of songs that balance hauntingly subtle sounds with more enigmatic touches! Bill's voice and piano are front and center for the most part here. The lyrics are poetic, but unpretentious –... read more

The best yet from Flying Lotus – who we keep allowing ourselves to believe has hit an insurmountable peak with each new record – but he just keeps getting better! Where the preceding Cosmogramma upped the stranger, spacier and more abstract textures, Until The Quiet Comes is a bit more... read more

One of the most amazing albums ever from Frank Foster – a totally righteous set that's light years ahead of his earlier work with the Basie Band! The format here is right up there with the best on Strata East at the time – a large-group session that's filled with some of the hippest... read more

Amazing stuff by Ronnie Foster – a sweet little album of slow funky keyboard tones, much more loosely arranged than his later work, with a dope groove that was years ahead of its time! The album's in some ways a blueprint for some of our favorite jazz-based hip hop – and although... read more

A beautiful album that perfectly mixes both sides of Aretha – the earlier hard-hitting soulster, and the developing vocalist with a rich talent for more sophisticated material. The album features the anthemic title cut in Aretha's famous version – plus the sample favorite "Rock... read more