Richly soulful sounds from Nicola Conte – his first album for Far Out Records, but a set that shows the spiritual journey he's been on for the past decade or so on a variety of other labels! Conte has really matured into a jazz visionary – using the same energy here with live musicians that he used to bring to studio projects – in a warm blend of classic soulful styles, with work from an excellent lineup that includes Zara McFarlane and Myles Sanko on vocals, Alberto Parmegiani on guitar, Timo Lassy on tenor, Simon Mullier on vibes, Milena Jancuric on flute, and Ameen Saleem on bass. All players are wonderful – pushing past anything we might have expected – and McFarlane is especially great on the record, almost hitting heights that feel like Dee Dee Bridgewater back in the day! Titles include "Arise", "Dance Of Love & Peace", "Flying Circles", "Freedom & Progress", "Soul Of The People", "Into The Light Of Love", "Umoja Unity", and "Heritage". LP, Vinyl record album

Fred P offers up two very fresh takes on these cuts from the team of Nicola Conte and Gianluca Petrella – both nice and long, and with a sense of flow that's really wonderful! "African Spirits" comes across with a tribal house sort of vibe – lots of live instrumentation on percussion and trombone, but also a percolating groove that stretches into more house-based energy as the tune moves on! "Tribes" follows a similar groove – also stretching way past 10 minutes as Fred builds the whole tune nicely out of acoustic elements layered into the rhythms! 12-inch, Vinyl record

Essentially the US release of Nicola Conte's Jet Sounds LP on Schema – with a few different tracks, but mostly the same lineup. Conte's a genius, and the album's a breathtaking mix of 60s bossa, soundtrack, and easy themes – put together with never a dull moment, and always a focus on the kind of mid and uptempo grooves that have been pushing the Italian and German scenes for the last 5 years. The record features tracks from a few of Nicola's 12" singles, plus a wealth of excellent new material that really expands his groove wonderfully – with a totally real, totally honest sound that pushes past the gazillion retro remix throwaway albums that you'll find stuffing the listening stations at the megastores! Tracks include "Fucco Fatuo", "Il Cerchio Rosso", "Dossier Omega", "Arabesque", "Mambo De Los Dandies", "Jazz Pour Dadine", and "The In Samba". CD

The genius of Nicola Conte gets the remix treatment – in this wonderful new album that steps off heavily from his massive Jet Sounds set of a few years ago! If you know Nicola, he's the wunderkind behind the Schema label – and, probably more than anyone in the world right now, one of the few producer/musicians who can really handle a retro-sounding groove. Conte's steeped in classic jazz, soundtracks, and bossa nova – all of which come into play in his music – and this set has him working with a host of able talents who help to take his unique creative vision even farther than before! US version features a slightly different track list than the European one – with titles that include "Arabesque (vocal version)" done by Micatone, "Forma 2000" reformed by Les Gammas, "Tema In Hi Fi" by Nicola Conte & Gianluca Petrella, "Jet Sounds" by Nuspirit Helsinki, "Bossa Per Due" by Thievery Corporation, "Fuoco Fatuo" by Koop, "New Standards" by Nicola Conte & Gianluca Petrella, "Love Me Till Sunday" by Nicola Conte, "Dossier Omega" redone by Espen Horne, "The In Samba" done by Kyoto Jazz Massive, "Missione A Bombay" by Eddy & Dus, and "Mambo De Los Dandies" by Gerardo Frisina. CD

Richly soulful sounds from Nicola Conte – his first album for Far Out Records, but a set that shows the spiritual journey he's been on for the past decade or so on a variety of other labels! Conte has really matured into a jazz visionary – using the same energy here with live musicians that he used to bring to studio projects – in a warm blend of classic soulful styles, with work from an excellent lineup that includes Zara McFarlane and Myles Sanko on vocals, Alberto Parmegiani on guitar, Timo Lassy on tenor, Simon Mullier on vibes, Milena Jancuric on flute, and Ameen Saleem on bass. All players are wonderful – pushing past anything we might have expected – and McFarlane is especially great on the record, almost hitting heights that feel like Dee Dee Bridgewater back in the day! Titles include "Arise", "Dance Of Love & Peace", "Flying Circles", "Freedom & Progress", "Soul Of The People", "Into The Light Of Love", "Umoja Unity", and "Heritage". CD

Two great cuts get a nice warming-over! Tall Black Guy takes the mix of acoustic percussion and keyboard lines on "Nigeria", and really deepens the soul – adding vocals from Broken Keys, and coming up with a clubbier vibe for the cut overall – one that has some nice currents for the tribal house crowd! That vibe also continues on "African Spirits" – which gets its beats kicked up by Andres, who also stretches out the tune and really lets it run wild! 12-inch, Vinyl record

2 wicked Latin jazz jammers – both issued here for the first time on vinyl! Nicola Conte's beautiful groover "Nefertiti" may well be one of the best things he ever recorded – a midtempo Latinish number that builds on snapping drums, warm bass, and sweet wordless vocals – drifting into the mix right before the tune's core instrumentation of vibes, piano, and horns kick in! "Gica's Dance" is an equally well-done track – again with more great vibes and percussion – created by Gerardo Frisina in a style that's very similar to that of Conte's. Both tracks only ever appeared on the Freedom Jazz Dance CD – and make for a fantastic single back to back! 12-inch, Vinyl record

A landmark album of contemporary jazzy grooves – a set issued at the start of the century, and one of the first to really get a blend of classic elements right – after so many others were foundering around in too-remixed, too-programmed work in the 90s! For years, Nicola Conte was a seminal force in the new Italian scene of the 90s – working as a DJ, promoter, producer, and sometimes recording artist under the odd 12" single. Yet this album marks his first full effort – and after years of bubbling under in the Italian scene, Nicola emerged as a breathtaking mix of 60s bossa, soundtrack, and easy themes – put together with never a dull moment, and always a focus on the kind of mid and uptempo grooves that have been pushing the Italian and German scenes to reinvent older jazz, funk, and bossa. The record features great mixes from a few of Nicola's 12" singles, plus a wealth of excellent new material that really expands his groove wonderfully – with a totally real, totally honest sound that pushes past the gazillion retro remix throwaway albums that usually cluttered the dance racks Tracks include "Il Cerchio Rosso", "Dossier Omega", "Trappola Mortale", "Jazz Pour Dadine", and "Bossa Per Due". LP, Vinyl record album

Two groovy groovy tracks! You may recognize "La Coda Del Diavolo" from it's recent use in a TV commercial – or remember it, as we do, from Conte's sublime Jet Sounds album – and it's given a great push here by the Karminsky Brothers, who mix vibes, sound snippets, and flutey vocals together wonderfully! "Missione" is kind of a bossa-Indian number – one that blends together vibes, sitar, and funky beats, all remixed here by Ursula 1000! 12-inch, Vinyl record

The genius of Jerome Richardson – remixed! Richardson's funky flute and searing tenor work have appeared on some of our favorite jazz groove classics – both European and American – and here, two of his tunes are made by Nicola Conte and Panoptikum! Conte uses a host of extra musicians – vibes, piano, alto, and vocals – to expand Richardson's "Way In Blues" with an incredibly groovy and snapping sort of sound. Schema jazz meets the classic MPS groove – with incredible results! Panoptikum go for a more modern approach with "Minor Flute" – snapping the beats a bit more, but still allowing plenty of space for Richardson's wonderful work on flute! 12-inch, Vinyl record

Two of our favorite mixers take on some great work from Nicola Conte – each making the tunes very much their own! DJ Spinna brings plenty of soul to "New World Shuffle" – letting the tune crackle and build over the long space of eight minutes – while Bridgette Amofah sings lyrics over the warmly flowing groove! Our local hero Anthony Nicholson brings a wickedly funky groove to "Inner Light" – starting with a tribal house rhythm, then getting more straightforwardly funk – while Raashan Amad delivers some knowledge over the top! 12-inch, Vinyl record

A killer collection of rare bossa nova from the 60s – all put together by Nicola Conte, whose work on the Schema label has done a lot to continue the tradition of the classics! Here, though, Nicola's set loose on the RGE label, and other indies from 60s Brazil – super-rare records that almost never made it to our neck of the woods back in the day, and which always had a super-sharp sound that was even harder and groovier than American work on labels like Verve and Capitol! The cuts here are all wonderful – many of them new to our ears, and filled with great vocals, driving percussion, and plenty of jazzy touches. Titles include "Fora De Hora" by Dalmo Castello, "Voce Que Nao Vem" by O Triangulo, "Sem Fim" by Marisa Baroso, "Chegar De Brigar" by Henrique Benny, "Macumba" by Claudia, "Copa 70" Brasil 40 Graus, "Litoral" by Werther, "Tema Em Do" by Bossa Trio, "Canto Do Quilombo" by Luiz Carlos Sa, "Faz De Conta" by Aizita, "Tokyo Blues" by Octons, and "Samba De Negro" by Carlos Sodre. CD

Nicola Conte, we love you – and if we ever needed a reason why, this single sure is proof! Sabrina's one of the better modern bossa divas around – really classic in approach, but with a great energy for the dancefloor – and here, she gets a Schema-styled taken courtesy of Conte – who kicks in a snare-heavy groove that really snaps the tune along wonderfully – jazzing up Sabrina's take of the famous "Terra De Ninguem", and almost making the whole thing come off like an Elis Regina classic from the 60s! A real bossa dancefloor gem – and one of our favorite singles on Far Out to date! 12-inch, Vinyl record

An instant classic from Five Corners Quintet – acoustic jazz played with a dancefloor groove, and the perfect summation of a brilliant run of initial singles! The FCQ return jazz to its grooviest roots – played live, without processing or electronics, and able to hit a snapping groove that takes us back to the days when Blue Note and Prestige got plenty of play on the radio and jukebox! Most tracks roll along in a modal or waltzing mode that shares a lot with the best Nicola Conte projects of recent years – but the group have also got a real feel for their own tonal colors, effortlessly shading in each space and corner of the tunes with a sublime blend of ringing vibes, dancing piano, and beautifully-toned horn passages. Mark Murphy guests on vocals on the tracks "This Could Be The Start Of Something", "Before We Say Goodbye", and "Jamming" – and Okou sings on "Blue Cycles" and "Case Study" – leaving the remaining instrumentals "Trading Eights", "Interlope", "Straight Up", "Three Corners", "Lighthouse", and "Unsquare Bossa". US CD features the bonus tracks "Taxi Driver". CD

A wonderful album of straight ahead jazz – cut by a current combo from Italy, but done with a really classic sound! The style here is a bit like that of the straighter jazz albums on Schema Records – all acoustic, but often highly rhythmic – and focused in styles that explore older Italian modal jazz of the 60s, as well as some of the deeper shadings of the Blue Note scene from years back! The lineup is incredibly strong – with tenor from Daniele Scannapieco, trumpet from Fabrizio Bosso, and piano from Luca Mannutza, whose firm work and bold notes on the keys really give the album a lot of drive and fire! CD features Nicola Conte remixes of the leadoff track "Conversation" – which is actually great enough in its original version by the group – and other tracks include "Wide Green Eyes", "The Driver", "Shade Of Gira", "Dubai", and "Campagna". CD

London DJ Nik Weston put together this hip set of modern tracks – a 2CD selection of groovers that includes lots of singles we've stocked in the past few years, and a number of hard to find (and expensive!) Japanese titles! There's a total of 20 cuts in all – and titles include "Earth Is The Place" by Nathan Haines, "Spiritual War (Kaidi Tathham rmx)" by Fertile Ground, "Outside From The Inside" by Modaji, "Trash Da Junk" by Da One Away, "Buttamilk (Domu's Soya spread rmx)" by Oba Funke, "Spaces & Places" by Mitchell & Dewbury, "Going Down" by Joi, "Ladies" by Agent K, "Tempest (Atjazz rmx)" by Kabuki, "Meu Samba (Nicola Conte's Bossa Ahead rmx)" by Eli Goulart e Banda Do Mato, "It's You (Versione Tokyo Bossa)" by Sunaga't Experience, "Play Back" by Yukihiro Fukutomi, and "Bamboozled" by Watusi. CD

Music from Henry Mancini, Peggy Lee, Titan, Ursula 1000, Pizzicato Five, Fatboy Slim, Dimitri From Paris, Koop Featuring Yukimi Nagano, Fantastic Plastic Machine, Arling & Cameron, Ludovic Navarre, Kinky, Chris Mancini & Lennart, Nicola Conte, Les Hommes, and Mocean Worker. CD

Koop are back after a long time away from the record racks – and apart from makeup on the cover, it's been well worth the wait for the music! The sound here is a great extension of the grooves the pair laid down on their first album – a soaring blend of jazz and dancefloor rhythms that's still head and shoulders above most of the other work it's inspired in recent years. Back again are tight rhythms, lots of warm acoustic instrumentation, and a blend of classic styles with 21st Century leanness – all in a way that few others can match, save for perhaps the mighty Nicola Conte. Instrumentation features plenty of vibes and warm acoustic basslines – and most tracks have vocals, by a variety of singers who include Earl Zinger, Ane Brun, Yukimi Nagano, and Mikael Sundin. Titles include "Koop Island Blues", "Come To Me", "Forces Darling", "Let's Elope", "Beyond The Son", "Whenever There Is You", "Drum Rhythm A", and "I See A Different You". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic set from vocalist Mark Murphy – easily one of his greatest albums ever! The session was recorded for the MPS label in Germany during the late 60s – at a time when Murphy was recording some excellent work overseas – and the album features backings by a small combo peeled off of the legendary Clark-Boland Big Band, who were also working for MPS at the time! Murphy's vocals get some tremendous backing on the set from a combo that includes Jimmy Deuchar on trumpet, Sahib Shihab on baritone and flute, Derek Humble on alto, and Ronnie Scott on tenor – and the grooves are a mix of modal numbers and straight jazz tunes – almost always dancing together in a lovely way that unlocks a side of Murphy's talents that hadn't been recorded this way before. And in fact, the album's gone onto have a huge influence on the current sound of club jazz – and is a key inspiration for the work of Nicola Conte, Koop, Five Corners Quintet, and others! The vocals are perfect, too – with nary a hint of overindulgence, and always a sweet measured groove that works perfectly with the material – and titles include "My Ship", "I Don't Want Nothin", "Hopeless", "Sconsolato", "Why & How", and "Just Give Me Time". CD

Modern tunes – but with a very classic groovy feel! Of all the Italian efforts to take an older lounge sound and update it for the modern dancefloor, the work of Nicola Conte and the Schema label has been some of the best. This 13 track set offers proof of Conte's genius – and offers up some sparkling groovers all graced with the careful selection you've come to expect from Conte's Fez Studio. Titles include "Meeting With His Majesty" by Theivery Corp, "The Hip Sheik" by The Karminsky Experience, "Funky Bikini" by Ursula 1000, "Arabesque" by Nicola Conte, "Girl On A Mission" by Les Hommes, "Whenever" by Les Gammas, "We Don't Need No Smurfs Here" by Cosmo Vitelli, and "Hi Fi Trumpet" by Stereo Action Unlimited. Very nice – especially if you've enjoyed other Schema modern releases, like Break N Bossa or the Soulstance album! CD

Massive grooves from Schema Records – a special Japanese-only collection that features some of the best recent work on the label, mixed in with a few key classics from the early days! There's a simple, elegant feel to most of the tracks here – a sound based in older jazz and bossa roots, carried off in a blend of acoustic instrumentation with slight contemporary programs and processing – but never too much to obscure the warmth of the sources! Most titles have a warmth that's undeniable – far more than you might guess from the stark black cover image – and tracks include "Stay In Mood" by Paolo Fedreghini & Marco Bianchi, "This Is What You Are" by Mario Biondi & High Five Quintet, "Samba Royale" and "Afro Impression" by Paolo Achenza Trio, "Cortante" by Gerardo Frisina, "Missione A Bombay" by Nicola Conte, and "Cinemaroma 3", "Destination Moon", "No Problem", and "Driving" by The Dining Rooms. CD

A fantastic set from vocalist Mark Murphy – easily one of his greatest albums ever! The session was recorded for the MPS label in Germany during the late 60s – at a time when Murphy was recording some excellent work overseas – and the album features backings by a small combo peeled off of the legendary Clark-Boland Big Band, who were also working for MPS at the time! Murphy's vocals get some tremendous backing on the set from a combo that includes Jimmy Deuchar on trumpet, Sahib Shihab on baritone and flute, Derek Humble on alto, and Ronnie Scott on tenor – and the grooves are a mix of modal numbers and straight jazz tunes – almost always dancing together in a lovely way that unlocks a side of Murphy's talents that hadn't been recorded this way before. And in fact, the album's gone onto have a huge influence on the current sound of club jazz – and is a key inspiration for the work of Nicola Conte, Koop, Five Corners Quintet, and others! The vocals are perfect, too – with nary a hint of overindulgence, and always a sweet measured groove that works perfectly with the material – and titles include "My Ship", "I Don't Want Nothin", "Hopeless", "Sconsolato", "Why & How", and "Just Give Me Time". CD

A fantastic set from vocalist Mark Murphy – easily one of his greatest albums ever! The session was recorded for the MPS label in Germany during the late 60s – at a time when Murphy was recording some excellent work overseas – and the album features backings by a small combo peeled off of the legendary Clark-Boland Big Band, who were also working for MPS at the time! Murphy's vocals get some tremendous backing on the set from a combo that includes Jimmy Deuchar on trumpet, Sahib Shihab on baritone and flute, Derek Humble on alto, and Ronnie Scott on tenor – and the grooves are a mix of modal numbers and straight jazz tunes – almost always dancing together in a lovely way that unlocks a side of Murphy's talents that hadn't been recorded this way before. And in fact, the album's gone onto have a huge influence on the current sound of club jazz – and is a key inspiration for the work of Nicola Conte, Koop, Five Corners Quintet, and others! The vocals are perfect, too – with nary a hint of overindulgence, and always a sweet measured groove that works perfectly with the material – and titles include "My Ship", "I Don't Want Nothin", "Hopeless", "Sconsolato", "Why & How", and "Just Give Me Time". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic set from vocalist Mark Murphy – easily one of his greatest albums ever! The session was recorded for the MPS label in Germany during the late 60s – at a time when Murphy was recording some excellent work overseas – and the album features backings by a small combo peeled off of the legendary Clark-Boland Big Band, who were also working for MPS at the time! Murphy's vocals get some tremendous backing on the set from a combo that includes Jimmy Deuchar on trumpet, Sahib Shihab on baritone and flute, Derek Humble on alto, and Ronnie Scott on tenor – and the grooves are a mix of modal numbers and straight jazz tunes – almost always dancing together in a lovely way that unlocks a side of Murphy's talents that hadn't been recorded this way before. And in fact, the album's gone onto have a huge influence on the current sound of club jazz – and is a key inspiration for the work of Nicola Conte, Koop, Five Corners Quintet, and others! The vocals are perfect, too – with nary a hint of overindulgence, and always a sweet measured groove that works perfectly with the material – and titles include "My Ship", "I Don't Want Nothin", "Hopeless", "Sconsolato", "Why & How", and "Just Give Me Time". LP, Vinyl record album

From the dancefloor, to the jazz combo, and back again – the Re:Jazz project takes a surprising twist with this remix follow-up to their brilliant first album! On that outing, Re:Jazz re-made recent dancefloor tunes in new jazz-based versions – going for the warmest, most soulful elements of the tunes – and placing them in a tradition of acoustic jazz dance classics. Here, those re-made versions are given a re-mix treatment – but in a very careful way, one that really preserves the jazzy magic of the originals! It's confusing, we know – but once you catch the warm grooves of the set, you won't care about where they're coming from – as the sum of the total is far greater than any of its tremendous parts! And speaking of parts, the set features remix work by Nicola Conte, RAS, Swell Session, Les Gammas, Dublix Inc, Jazztronik, Bugge Wesseltoft, Yukihiro Fukutomi, and others – on tunes from the original album that include "Style", "Second Sight", "Arena", "People Come Running", "Quiet Nights", "My Love Is Higher", "Torch Of Freedom", and "Release Your Mind". CD

A very well-titled set – and the best so far in this cutting-edge series! The "beats and pieces" this time around are mostly underground club tracks from the past few years – the cream of the crop of the best bits that hit our New Grooves section, often served up in harder-to-find mixes that represent the best version of the tunes so far! There's no overall stylistic logic to the set, which is what makes it so great – as mellow soul steps into funky club, into spacey fusion, global house, 21st century groove, then dancefloor jazz! 2CD set features 22 tracks that include "Wake Up" by Herbert, "La Malanga (Kenny Dope rmx)" by Bobby Hutcherson, "Fall Into You" by Stateless, "Hot In Here" by Tiga with Jake Shears, "Take Off (Nicola Conte's Campi's Idea version)" by Nathan Haines and Marco Di Marco, "Bukom Mashie" by Oscar Sulley & The Uhuru Dance Band, "Somebody New" by Georg Levin with Clara Hill, "Besides Myself" by DJ Shaheer Williams, "Timbuktu" by Pan African Electronic Beats, "Someone To Love" by Crusho, "Love & War (version)" by Amp Fiddler, "Forty Days" by Billy Brooks, and "Fall Into You" by Stateless. CD

A really wonderful project from Gianluca Petrella – one that seems to take all the deeper currents he used in his work with Nicola Conte, and push them even farther here on his own! There's a righteous depth to the record we never would have expected from Petrella a few years before – an album-length set that's full of jazz and soul, equally intertwined – with a quality that almost feels a lot more like some of the best London work in recent years than some of the more familiar modes we know from the Schema label. Petrella's at the helm of the proceedings, leading the group on trombone – and there's plenty of key guests on the record throughout – including Soweto Kinch on tenor and vocals, Beppe Scardino on baritone, Pasquale Calo on tenor, Vanja Contu on harp, and Anna Bassy on vocals. Titles include "Nomads", "Ancient Jazz", "Unknown Dimension", "Natsu", "Comes From The Ground", "Universal Language", "Wonder", and "Connection". CD

A really wonderful project from Gianluca Petrella – one that seems to take all the deeper currents he used in his work with Nicola Conte, and push them even farther here on his own! There's a righteous depth to the record we never would have expected from Petrella a few years before – an album-length set that's full of jazz and soul, equally intertwined – with a quality that almost feels a lot more like some of the best London work in recent years than some of the more familiar modes we know from the Schema label. Petrella's at the helm of the proceedings, leading the group on trombone – and there's plenty of key guests on the record throughout – including Soweto Kinch on tenor and vocals, Beppe Scardino on baritone, Pasquale Calo on tenor, Vanja Contu on harp, and Anna Bassy on vocals. Titles include "Nomads", "Ancient Jazz", "Unknown Dimension", "Natsu", "Comes From The Ground", "Universal Language", "Wonder", and "Connection". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent work from Greyboy – his first album in years, and well worth the wait! The set shows considerable growth in his style – yet should still also be extremely pleasing to fans of his older work, as he's kept the commitment to mixing heavy hip hop beats with tight funky jazz, and only expanded the mood to incorporate a lot of new influences. The mood of the album is nice and dark – and although a few tracks feature hip hop lyrics from Main Flow, the real strength of the set is in the instrumental grooves – augmented here by guest appearances by Dave Pike and Elgin Park. Titles include "Ghetto Boogie", "Mastered The Art", "Hold It Down", "Marrakesh", "Dealin With The Archives", "Bath Music", "Logan's Run", "Smokescreen", and "Mastered The Art (Nicola Conte Jet Sounds rmx)". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent compilation of jazzy grooves from the great Ricky Tick label – featuring tracks from Five Corners Quintet, Timo Lassey, Jukka Eskola, Auteur Jazz, Stance Brothers, Povo and others –some of the best material from Ricky Tick albums to date, plus hard to find vinyl only releases and other hard-to-find bits! The set certainly glows with jazz heat, no one would argue to the contrary, from hard swinging classic sounds, to more Latin and bossa influenced numbers, and some more moody material, all down played with passion and produced with a lively immediacy. 13 tracks in all: "Early Move" by Timo Lassey, "Skinny Dipping" by Five Corners Quintet, "Serenata" by LTC, "Three Corners" (Nicola Conte's Sahib's Samba version) by Five Corners Quintet, "Athatoolagooloo" by Astro Can Caravan, "City Blues" by Povo, "Chip 'n' Charge" by Jukka Eskola, "Once Upon A Summertime" by Olli Ojajarvi Trio and more. CD

A spooky score from Bruno Nicolai – one with some great instrumentation in the mix, as we've always come to expect from the maestro! The tracks here are all relatively short – really just mood-setters for scenes with Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinsky – but Nicolai does a wonderful job with the sound, and manages to pack a lot into a little with some stark, metallic guitar lines – echoing out almost like some offbeat harpsichord – with some of those weirdly displaced sonic qualities he learned from frequent musical partner, Ennio Morricone! That quality follows in some of the other instrumentation here – watery vibes, odd-tuned strings, and light woodwinds – all used in really wonderful ways, on titles that include "Strutture", "Sguardo", "Fremiti", "Incubo", "Magia", "Processo", and "Visionario". LP features the bonus track "Concerto Variato". LP, Vinyl record album

A double disc CD & DVD package showcasing one of our favorite souful acts on the contemporary landscape – Nicolay & Phonte's brilliant and ever-evolving Foreign Exchange project! Dear Friends showcases an acoustic concert performed for a private audience –- the great touring lineup that includes Zo!, Sy Smith, and singer/songwriter Jeanne Jolly. From the get go, we've been impressed by both the original songwriting from Foreign Exchange as well as the way they filter diverse influences into their own unique vibe – and this acoustic setting really gets to the heart and soul of it. This is an essential document for fans of the group, but it's also a fine intro if you're just now coming aboard! The live set includes "Fight For Love", "All Roads", "Take Off The Blues", "Lose Your Way", "Greatest Weapon Of All Time", a nice cover of James Taylor's "Something In The Way She Moves", "Laughing At Your Plans", "Daykeeper", "House Of Cards", Zo!'s "Greatest Weapon Of All Time" and "I Wanna Know". Also includes 2 new studio tracks: "Steal Away" feat vocals by Jeanny Jolly and piano by Zo! and "All The Kisses" feat Amber & Paris Strother of KING. CD