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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 Ronnie's ...

Brilliant late Blue Note material from Larry Young! Heaven On Earth is actually Young's last official release for Blue Note at the time, and it's a return to more straight-ahead, nicely soulful jazz organ playing after his freer set from the year before. Despite that fact, though, the set's got ...

Rare Blue Note work from Dexter Gordon -- an album that was recorded during Gordon's legendary run for the label in the 60s, but not issued until a brief vinyl pressing nearly 15 years later! The record's got Gordon vamping in tight hardbop formation -- a sound that's strongly 60s Blue Note all ...

Heavy funk from Reuben Wilson -- one of the last great organ players to emerge from the 60s Hammond scene, and one of the hardest hitting cats at Blue Note during the funk years of the label! The album's a tight one all the way through -- performed with a combo that has Idris Muhammad playing some ...

Doo wop era spaceways travel from Sun Ra and soulful mid 50s vocal recruits -- including The Cosmic Rays, Crystals, Nu Sounds and Juanita Rogers -- a motherlode of rarities and never before issued recordings! Interplanetary Melodies includes doo wop numbers of earthly concern, and space theme ...

Wild and wooly Rocket Ship Rock from Sun Ra and his Arkestra -- featuring shout blues vocalist Yochanan -- often billed as "the man from outer space" and a cat who could give Screamin Jay Hawkins a run for his money in the excitable oddball category -- jumping 60s r&b with an ...

Interstaller vocal group numbers and doo wop from the Sun Ra vaults -- a couple rare release and a bunch of previously unissued numbers featuring The Cosmic Rays, Crystals, Nu Sounds and Juanita Rogers -- teenage vocal group numbers, bits of bebop and spacey doo wop released for the first time ever! ...

One of Wynton Kelly's greatest albums, and an all-star hardbop session that includes Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones. With Philly Joe on drums, and Morgan and Shorter, the LP almost has the feel of a classic Art Blakey session for Blue Note, but Kelly's piano gives ...

A stone killer from organist Lonnie Smith -- one of his completely cooking early albums for Blue Note, and a hard-burner all the way through! Smith's working here with a really great group that includes Idris Muhammad on drums and Melvin Sparks on guitar -- both of whom give the album a really ...

One of Jimmy's funkiest albums ever -- a sweeeeet batch of short, hard, and funky cuts -- and a record that ranks right up there with the mighty Soul Sugar for sheer funkiness! Jimmy takes an upbeat and easygoing approach to the late 60s funk sound, with a nice, rubbery bass and the organ sound ...

An amazing set from altoist Sonny Red -- a player who hardly ever got to make any albums as a leader, and who really burns brightly on this Blue Note classic! Red's got a tone on alto that's as deep and sharp as most tenorists of his generation -- extremely soulful, but with a really raspy edge ...

A really unique little record from Herbie Hancock -- one that's almost completely improvised over Latin percussion! The setup is quite spare -- and quite different than Herbie's other Blue Note work -- and the group features improvised backgrounds by bassist Paul Chambers and 2 Latin ...

Stanley Turrentine's no spoiler here -- as his tenor sax soars out over the top of some sweet larger group arrangements from Duke Pearson -- all awash in a great sense of soul, joy, and life! The album's got a much brighter feel than you might guess from the cover -- a vibe that's a bit similar to ...

Amazing stuff from Ivan Boogaloo Joe Jones! Unlike some of the other players on Prestige during the early 70s -- who often got a bit weaker as the decade moved on, thanks to the departure of some of the better forces arranging and producing the records -- Jones kept on playing hard, improving his ...

The Cecil Taylor Unit here is composed of Taylor, Jimmy Lyons on alto, Raphe Malik on trumpet, Ramsey Ameen on violin, Sirone on bass, and Ronald Shannon Jackson on drums. The three songs performed are "Idut", "Serdab", and the nearly 30 minute-long "Holiday En Masque" ...

One of the few (and possibly the best of all of the) early albums ever cut by Chicago pianist Eddie Higgins -- a great writer and arranger, one of the city's great white hopes of the 50s. Eddie's piano work was often not as sparkling in a weak setting -- which is why this album's so great, as he's ...

A tripped out bit of spiritual jazz from pianist Linda Hill, who also sings vocals on most of the tracks. The group's a west coast collective that features Adele Sebastian on flute, Sabir Matteen on tenor, Virilo Figueroa on percussion, and Everett Brown Jr on drums -- and the record's got a free ...

Killer Hammond from Polish player Piotr Figiel -- a player with a really wonderful sort of groove! The album's got a vibe that's halfway between the Hammond antics of Alan Hawkshaw and the freer lines of American jazzmen like Jimmy Smith or Charles Earland -- augmented by other cool production ...

A rare early session from vibist Khan Jamal -- recorded with his Philly-based Creative Arts Ensemble collective! The group follows strongly in the spirit of similar combos from Chicago and St Louis -- particularly the latter -- and Jamal's group is working here in a mode that's initiated by the ...

A previously-unissued gem from pianist Chris McGregor -- recorded at the tail end of the 60s, when McGregor and some of his South African compatriots were really helping to change the sound of the British jazz scene! The album is one of McGregor's strongest ever -- an incredibly bold statement in ...

Great stuff, and one of Jackie McLean's best for Blue Note from the "new thing" period! The album features Jackie working out a wealth of new ideas, in a quartet that includes Larry Willis on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Clifford Jarvis on drums. Jackie holds down the frontline ...

One of the greatest Quincy Jones albums of all time! The record's a spacey jazz masterpiece -- and it combine's Quincy's soulful soundtrack vision with the excellent production talents of Creed Taylor, for a monster album of long drawn out cuts that mix soul jazz with more sophisticated ...

Fully-formed genius from the amazing Rodney Franklin -- one of the best keyboard stars to emerge from the late 70s scene! Franklin's got a great talent for balancing influences from jazz and soul in ways that are similar to contemporaries George Duke and Bobby Lyle -- and like both of those ...

A classic from Wes Montgomery -- and exactly the kind of record that made him a legend in the 60s! The set's one of Wes' collaborations with arranger Claus Ogerman -- a key talent who was really on the rise at the time, and who understood how to perfectly balance Montgomery's unique sound on the ...

Funky electric groove from Donald Byrd -- a post Mizell effort that's still burning in a crisp groove similar to his classic 70s Blue Note work -- one that's absolutely dripping with keys! Isaac Hayes produced this one, and also played a lot of those keyboards on the session with Byrd's 125 St ...

One of Gato Barbieri's better albums from the early 70s -- and like his other Latin-themed sessions, a swirling mix of soulful soloing, modal grooves, and unbridled emotion! Lonnie Liston Smith is playing piano on most cuts, and he's a perfect blend for Barbieri's horn -- giving it the same sort ...

Groovy! This is a great A&M/CTI album of easy funky grooves, with all the great backing you'd expect on a record like this! Players include Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Jerome Richardson -- and of course, Artie Butler, who plays piano and ondioline in a very groovy way. The whole thing has ...

One of a few key efforts done by Michel Legrand for RCA in the 70s -- sessions that stand out as some of his best jazz work from the decade, and which present Legrand in unfettered brilliance, both as a player and arranger! This live date still has the original compositions and sense of ...

A common record, but a fantastic one! Ramsey Lewis collaborates here with Earth, Wind, & Fire -- the group headed by Maurice White, the drummer of his second trio -- and the result is a beautiful set of funky electric piano tracks that match Ramsey's heavy solo style with the group's tight ...

Gene Ammons gets the Cannonball Adderley treatment -- as he blows funky solos over an album arranged and conducted by David Axelrod, with a larger, fuller funky sound than some of his earlier work for Prestige! The overall sound's a bit smoother, but Axelrod's edge is still quite sharp, and the ...

On this one, the Crusaders definitely crossed from jazz into funk -- but who cares, because the album's so darn great! The record's got a tight LA groove, with some excellent electric keyboards, sweet sax solos, and tight drumming throughout. True proof that sometimes a lot of money can be put to ...

A strange bit of funk from Yusef Lateef! The record was recorded late in the CTI electric years -- and it's got Yusef fronting a funky jazz group on 5 tracks that have a decidely R&B-ish fusion twist. Dave Matthews -- of James Brown funky fame -- arranged the whole album, and the record is ...

Great stuff! Like the rest of his late 60's Prestige recordings, this is a lively session with a good late 60's funky jazz sound that widen's Gator's range past the usual tenor/organ bag of his early 60's records. He plays tenor and his trademark Gator horn on this one, and he's backed by Jackie ...

A wonderful classic from John Klemmer -- one of those artists we've under-appreciated for years, but grow to love more and more as time goes by! The set's an incredibly soulful set of explorations played by Klemmer (on tenor, soprano, and Echoplex) with a group that includes Mike Nock on Fender ...

A jazz classic if there ever was one -- and the best-selling album ever by Lee Morgan, thanks to the use of the title track in a car commercial! Sure, you've probably heard "The Sidewinder" enough that you think you know the album already -- but the rest of the tunes really open up past ...

Includes "Hey Girl", "Nassau Day", "Livin Inside Your Love", "Welcome Into My World", "Before You Go", "Unchained Melody", "Love Ballad", "Prelude To Fall", and "Soulful Strut". ...

A strange and tasty little album that Roland Kirk made with organist Jack McDuff in the early 60s -- one of his few outings in such a format, and a smoking little session that almost makes us wish he'd cut more of them! The format is relatively simple -- with lots of interplay between McDuff's ...

A really great album of smooth jazzy tracks -- sweet fusion with a bit of an 80s groove, handled very nicely, without any of the cliches you might expect! Tracks have some really great keyboards stepping alongside compressed guitars, in a style that's nice and soulful, tight and professional, ...

One of their best LPs from the 60's, and a good mix of soul jazz grooves with a freer, post-Coltrane sound that gives the band a spiritual edge not always heard on the earlier records. The set's got some great long originals -- like "Anita's New Dance", "Space Settlement", and ...

Jimmy pays tribute to an earlier generation of R&B -- in a hard-wailing set of soul jazz, done with backings from the legendary Oliver Nelson! A few tracks feature vocals by Jimmy, in a rough bluesy style, and others have some harmonica by Buddy Lucas -- in a raspy, hard-wailing mode that ...

The Quartette Tres Bien had a trademark piano/percussion/bass/conga sound that grooved nicely on their own material, and on their mellow covers of 60s pop and jazz standards. This nice mid-period Decca album by the group features some nice originals -- like "Jamsine Eyes", "Tracy's ...

Although Billy can be a bit all over the kit for our tastes, he checks in nicely with this great album of funky jazz from his Atlantic years! A few of the tracks are solos that get a bit loopy, but the ensemble tracks are nice, and with a bit more soul than usual. Titles include "Moody ...

A brilliantly evocative album from Pat Metheny -- one that's got a quietly epic feel, as Pat and group soar out across the American landscape in a set of tunes that subtly explore space and sound while still remaining wonderfully fluid. There's nothing forced here, and nothing too slick -- just a ...

One of Herbie Mann's biggest albums -- and one of his funkiest too! The cover's a bit of an off-putter -- although it probably helped sell the record, back in the day -- but the grooves are as rock-solid as anything that Herbie cut at the time -- tight, focused, and a perfect showcase for his ...

Excellent work by Lonnie Smith -- a free-flowing album of long jazzy grooves that's kind of an extension of his Blue Note albums, touches with more of the electricity of his 70s playing! There's some killer rhythms on the album -- courtesy of drummers Jamey Hudad and Ben Riley, and electric ...

One of the fullest-sounding albums ever cut by Lonnie Liston Smith -- but one of the greatest albums too! The set has Smith really taking off a bit more than on his work for RCA or Flying Dutchman -- hitting some fuller sounds in the studio, thanks to backings arranged by Berg DeCoteaux, who's ...

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This set is divided into three parts -- new songs recorded with a vocal group called Wattsline, the Award Winning Jones and the Grammy Winning Jones. The personnel involved with all of these songs is huge and they include George Duke, Herbie Hancock, Billy Preston, The Johnson Brothers, Toots ...

A great little album that has McDuff soloing on Hammond, over larger funkier arrangements -- very much in the manner of his sublime Moon Rapping set, also recorded for Blue Note. Arrangements are by JJ Jackson and Jerry Long -- and McDuff will blow your mind as he navigates the mix of time changes ...

Nicely grooving gutbucket tenor/organ material from a group that includes Groove Holmes, Teddy Edwards, and Pat Martino. Billy Higgins is on drums, and he gives the set a bit more swing than you'd expect -- especially on the lighter, faster tunes. Titles include "Grooves' Blue Groove", ...