All Categories — New Arrivals — LPs   New Arrivals Last Two Days 1st Time at DGA  

Classic work from Hugh Masekela – and the album that pushed him over the top! The record features his version of "Grazin In The Grass", a runaway instrumental hit when it was issued – and a sly little groover that was based upon some earlier South African pop melodies that... read more

An excellent album of hard electric funk, with tight Betty Davis-ish vocals over the top, and lots of heavy guitar-driven funky backings underneath! Maxayn was a real nutter, and never cut many records – but this one's probably the best version of her stoner funk sound from the early 70s. ... read more

We think this may be his best album ever! Caught live at a small club, with a tight band, Curtis delivers extended, intimate versions of some of his best work, like "We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue" and "Stare and Stare". We can't recommend this highly enough, and there'... read more

It's always a sign of how huge Frankie Beverly was during the 80s that Capitol let him cut not one, but two double live albums during the early part of the decade. This one, his first, has the band grooving wonderfully before a crowd going mad in New Orleans. The tracks retain all the charm of... read more

Titles include "Can't Get Over You", "Silky Soul", "Just Us", "Love's On The Run", "Mandela", and "Songs Of Love".... read more

Sweet 70s electric work from Jimmy McGriff – material that's different than his grittier grooves of the 60s, but still plenty darn great! The style's clearly influenced by CTI – as Jimmy's using electric piano as much as organ – and is getting some fuller support in the backings... read more

A killer "new thing" session from Blue Note's mid 60s glory days – featuring Jackie McLean, and some youthful modernists, like Cecil McBee, Bobby Hutcherson, and Charles Tolliver, all coming together in an incredibly powerful set of tracks! Billy Higgins rounds out the set on drums... read more

A rough little killer from Jackie McLean – less well-formed than some of his Blue Note sides, but in a way that really gives him a great soulful edge! There's an open-blowing quality to the record, one that's almost a blowing session, but a bit tighter overall – a hint of the energy... read more

Extraordinary work from one of the true giants of the American scene – a mindblowing set of mostly solo sounds from reedman Joe McPhee – also working here on flugelhorn and a bit of percussion as well! The set begins with the incredible "Glasses" – a piece that appears... read more

... read more

A sweet album of modern soul on Fantasy – with a sophsticated style that reminds us a bit of Phyllis Hyman in parts, especially on the album's mellower tracks. A few numbers are done in an uptempo groove – and Paulette's not really that great at these, as her subtle vocals tend to get... read more

The start of a legend – and the very first album by Sergio Mendes' Brasil 66 group, proudly brought to the world through the godlike talents of a young Herb Alpert! Sergio was no stranger to the recording studio by the time of this set, but the record marked a real shift in his music –... read more

One of Sergio Mendes' most electric outings from the 70s – a tasty mixture of LA fusion, Brazilian rhythms, and the group's unique twin female vocal lead! The mix of sounds is wonderful – and makes for a really solid album that shows how much soul Sergio had soaked up in the decade he'd... read more

Sort of a repackaging of the Brasil '65 album on Capitol – done here in a pressing by Pickwick that features a very psychedelic cover! The record's a mixed bag of tracks that has some bossa piano trio stuff, plus some vocal cuts with Wanda De Sah, the alto and flute of Bud Shank, and the... read more

... read more

A wonderfully moody album from singer Helen Merrill – recorded with backing by pianist John Lewis, in an overall feel that's got some of the styles that Lewis forged with the Modern Jazz Quartet! The tunes are familiar ones, mostly, but arranged in a style that's got wonderfully sad and... read more

Features Ella Fitzgerald on vocal performances of "April In Paris", "Party Blues", and "Every Day I Have The Blues" – with Count Basie backing. Also features a jam session version of "Billie's Bounce" – with Art Blakey, Charles Mingus, Tal Farlow... read more

Excellent work from Gamble & Huff – with a strong Philly groove on just about every track, and good instrumental moments that really keep the groove fresh and strong. Many tracks have background female vocals on the choruses, and the record's got good percussion by Leroy Bell and synth... read more

... read more

Early work by Barry Miles – a drummer who would go onto cut some very hip sides in the 70s, and who here was only 14 at the time of the session! The "young genius" approach need not be stated on the cover or the notes, as Miles' drumming is great no matter how old he is – and... read more

One of the most soulful sets ever recorded by the Buddy Miles Group – a really searing set of live performances from 1971, often done in a way that has the band stretching out and jamming heavily! The core group seems a bit bigger than usual – with a lineup that includes guitar and... read more

Titles include "Take A Pebble", "Morning Song", "Every Good Bun Has A Hole", and "Groovin Hard".... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

Even at this early point in their career, the Modern Jazz Quartet were plenty proud of their relation to and reception in Paris – almost rubbing their international fame in the faces of other American combos with the title and cover of this record! The set's still got the quartet at their... read more

A classic set of high-class jazz from the MJQ – one that shows John Lewis' growing compositional skills, and the band's always tight ability to work in a compressed chamber format. Features the extended "Fontessa" suite, plus the tracks "Versailles", "Angel Eyes"... read more

... read more

Two classic Riverside Monk LPs, reissued together in one nice set! Brilliant Corners was a real comeback for Monk from the late 50s, and a record that features some of his best writing for horns! The group is incredible – bringing together Clark Terry, Sonny Rollins, and Ernie Henry –... read more

A brilliant album by Monk – a real comeback from the late 50s, and a record that features some of his best writing for horns! The group is incredible – bringing together Clark Terry, Sonny Rollins, and Ernie Henry – in a bracing front line that takes Monk's angular piano... read more

Nice 2LP set released in the 80s of some wonderful live sides recorded in San Francisco at the Jazz Workshop in 1964. Longtime Monk sideman Charlie Rouse is on tenor with Larry Gales and Ben Riley in the rhythm section, performing classic Monk material, 13 tracks in all: "Don't Blame Me"... read more

... read more

A wonderfully trippy record by The Monkees, and the soundtrack to their equally trippy film from the late 60s. The music's like nothing else they ever did, and the record's a post-Sgt. Pepper's collage of sounds from the movie, weird little spoken bits, and delightfully psychedelic songs. ... read more

One of Hugo Montenegro's best moog albums – and a killer batch of tracks written by Stevie Wonder! Hugo and crew go to town with a host of electric keyboards – including moogs and Arps, backed up by some straight electric piano – and they lay down 10 smooth funky renditions of... read more

A weird and wonderful record – the early hits of Neil Diamond, played on the moog and ARP by the mighty Hugo Montenegro! The approach to the set is pretty darn cool – as it takes 10 of Neil's best early tunes, and runs them through arrangements by Montenegro that run from funky to... read more

Plenty of fire here – the kind of quick-witted piano work we've really come to admire from Tete Montoliu – who really hits a new level of genius on his 70s recordings for the Steeplechase label! Montoliu has this amazing way of hitting hard, with a real edge – then laying back... read more

With Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass and Albert Tootie Heath on drums – on titles that include "Invitation", "Love Man", "Some Other Blues", and "Lament".... read more

... read more

... read more

A magnificent little album – one of James Moody's first collaborations with arranger Tom McIntosh – one of the most sensitive jazz voices of his time. McIntosh works in a world of many tones and colors – and he really pushes Moody past straighter solo approaches, into a mode... read more

... read more

Brilliant work – the last LP ever cut by Lee Morgan, a mindblowing session that always leaves us wondering how massive he would have become if he hadn't been tragically murdered shortly after it was recorded! The album's got lots of extended compositions, free flowing numbers played by a... read more

An undisputed masterpiece by Lee Morgan – and one of the first records in which he shed his straight bop sensibility, and began evolving into a soulful genius for the 60s! The album's got 4 long tracks that all build beautifully – really extended numbers that break the format of some... read more

Beautiful late work from Lee Morgan! The last five years of Lee's life saw him really stretching out to do some fantastic writing, playing, and leading – and this record stands today as one of the best examples of that period – a pure act of genius, with a sound that really takes off... read more

An excellent compilation of some of Morricone's best mellow tunes from the 70s – a record that brings together such haunting themes as "Chi Mai", "Verushka", "Poesia Di Una Donna", and "Ninna Nanna In Blue" – all of which have that magical... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

Mulligan always sounds great next to a tenor – especially in the Verve series that has him teamed up with players like Johnny Hodges, Paul Desmond, or Stan Getz. This release, cut with Ben Webster upfront, is one of the best of that series – and features the pair blowing easily and... read more

One of Mark Murphy's first albums – quite different than his later work, but swinging and jazzy as he could always be! Ralph Burns arranged the set, and even at this early point, you can hear what a talent Murphy is – singing with a confident swing that wasn't often the case for male... read more

A super-huge hit for Musique – quite a soulful group of singers, despite the strange and cheesy cover of the album – which makes them look like a bunch of roller disco porn stars caught in the studio! The group actually features great vocals by a young Jocelyn Brown, and the record's... read more

A sublime easy classic by The Mystic Moods – who by this time had transformed from a simple "sound effects plus easy listening" group into a sexy electric LA combo. This is one of their first albums for Warner, recorded with a nice sly slightly-funky sound – and it's a... read more

Pretty bluesy rock from one of the hip groups on ABC's progressive Probe imprint. The tracks are electric, clearly Chicago-inspired, and have a raunchy feel on most numbers. Titles include "Good Love", "AC/DC", "Blues Jam", "Ginger Man", "Big Boy"... read more

... read more

... read more

No, not the New Wave of French cinema and not the new wave of post punk pop errata in the late 70s and early 80s – this New Wave is a pretty great, yet poorly remembered LA soft rock group 'circa '67 – with laidback vocals and warmly soaring arrangements by the great Gene Page! The... read more

Joe blows it strong and mellow – in this spare swinging group that includes Frank Wess on tenor, Tommy Flanagan on piano, Eddie Jones on bass, and Oliver Jackson on drums. Tracks are warm and unpressured, more in a Verve mode than a Prestige one – and titles include "Wednesday's... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

Biggie's second LP, and while the production on some of the tracks features a fair bit of Puff Daddy's gloss, they'll still get your head nodding along to Biggie's incomparable flow. It was definitely hard to follow up Ready To Die, but the best cuts here manage to live up to the promise of his... read more

... read more

One of the biggest moments of the New York club scene of the early 80s! The Peech Boys cut their teeth at the Paradise Garage during the classic Larry Levan years – and this album has them working with Levan to forge a record of crossover club grooves filled with linn drum beats and DMX... read more

A really beautiful little album from NYCC – the name-shortened version of the New York Community Choir, stepping out here with a sound that's even better than their RCA debut! NYCC draw on a strong secular/spiritual tradition of work by The Art Reynolds Singers or Voices Of East Harlem... read more

This groovy pair didn't last long on the pop charts, but they did score relatively big with the swnging "Cinderella Rockefella" – a mad late 60s pop tune that's included here on this US album. The cut's a great one – pretty silly, but always enjoyable, and the kind of stunner... read more

Very groovy work from Chico – still very Latin at the core, but with lots of light 60s touches on top, ala the work of Gary McFarland, or some of the other groove-conscious arrangers for Verve and Impulse! Players on the set include Art Farmer, Clark Terry, JJ Johnson, Seldon Powell, and Pat... read more

Great early work by The O'Jays – with a much different sound than their later work on Philly International! The cuts are quite hard-edged, with a mixture of Northern Soul grooves and mellower uptown styles – and the album's got a split set of arrangements, both of which work well for... read more

... read more

Although Osibisa were one of the most successful of the London-based Afro-funk groups, they were also one of the best. This cool first album is filled with (as the label says) "criss cross rhythms that explode with happiness". Translated, that means that the record's got lots of nice... read more

Excellent funky LP cut by Johnny Otis and his late 60's version of "The Johnny Otis Show". Shuggie's playing guitar, Delmar Evans is singing, and Sugarcane Harris even shows up on a few tracks. The LP contains two excellent funky 45 cuts, "Cuttin Up", an instrumental with... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

The genius of Bird and strings is hard to describe – an edgey aproach that really goes far past most other "jazz with strings" projects, not a ballad-driven one, but a tensely strained one that brings out some of Parker's best soloing, almost in a moody soundtrack-type way. The... read more

... read more

Classic funky disco material from George Clinton and the trio of lovelies that recorded under the name Parlet. The backing's by the rest of the P-Funk empire – with arrangements by Bernie Worrell and Fred Wesley. Titles include "Mr. Melody Man", "Cookie Jar", and "Pl... read more

An oft-overlooked gem from Parliament – released during the year 1976, and sometimes hidden between monster LPs like Funkentelechy and Mothership Connection – but every bit as great as those two classics! The album's got that tightened-up P-Funk sound that was working so perfectly at... read more

Beautifully sweet soul by Billy – perhaps a bit more pop soul than some of his other albums, but no less great! Gamble & Huff were firmly in the control room on this one – and the results show on excellent cuts like the huge hit "Me & Mrs. Jones", the funky groover... read more

A weird one, but pretty compelling. Cyril Paul is an African American folk singer – less in the mode of jazz/soul folkies like Terry Callier or Oscar Brown, than in the style of the New York/Boston new traditionalists of the early 60s. At most levels, the album's a straight folk one –... read more

... read more

... read more

Nice set of funky fusion recorded in Canada, but performed by a group of Italians, including keyboardist Franco D'Andrea. The record's got some good spacey grooves with electric keyboards, and nice choppy fusion tracks in a European 70's style. There's a bit of vocals, but nothing too bad, and... read more

A great little album of smooth soul cuts from Greg Perry – an extremely talented arranger, producer, and songwriter whose credits includes work in soul, pop, and country – appearing here in one of the few sessions he ever cut under his own name! There's a bit of a southern soul feel... read more

A fantastic session that's also one of Houston Person's rarest! The set is a bit more complicated than some of his earlier work – moving away from the hard and funky organ lineup, into a more lyrically swinging quintet mode, with Cedar Walton on piano, Alan Dawson on vibes, Bob Cranshaw on... read more

Slicker than usual for Houston Person, but still a pretty nice album of tighly produced R&B-oriented jazz. The group includes a lot of hip players, like Cecil Bridgewater, Paul Griffin, and Bruce Nazarian – and the record has arrangements by Jimmy Roach. Tracks are long, and titles... read more

The West Side Story score – but handled here by the great Oscar Peterson Trio – in ways that really push the tunes past their Broadway roots! The approach is tight, soulful, and filled with strong lines from Peterson on piano – plus bass by Ray Brown and drums from Ed Thigpen... read more

Milt Jackson joins the Oscar Peterson Trio – helping the group to hit some great new space with his magical work on vibes! Jackson's got an open, airy feel – an approach that almost lets Peterson punctuate the tunes a bit more with his piano – while the pair get strong rhythmic... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

Truly incredible stuff, and one of the greatest albums ever by neuvo tango genius Astor Piazzolla! The record is a haunting batch of Piazzolla's original bandoneon compositions, produced with an edge that you don't find in most of his other albums – and offered with a freedom of expression... read more

... read more

One of Dave Pike's best American albums after his groundbreaking funky jazz work in Germany for MPS! This one's got some nice lines flowing between Pike's vibes and Tom Ranier's electric piano, and the tracks include "Secret Mystery of Hensch", "Visions of Spain", and "Rega... read more

... read more

A wonderful album from Pleasure – one of the few jazz funk bands who actually seemed to get better and better the more they recorded! Unlike some of their contemporaries, who kind of lost their edge when the production got slicker, Pleasure actually picked up more of a beat, and tightened up... read more