A fantastic double-length set – two full albums of music, essential for any fan of Brazilian jazz – or even jazz in general! First up is Esperanto – an incredible album from one of Brazil's greatest reed players of the 70s – the mighty Victor Assis Brasil – a free-thinking spirit who really took Brazilian jazz in bold new directions at the time! The record shows Victor absorbing a lot of post-Coltrane influences, and blending them with a tight approach to rhythm – laid down here by Dom Salvador on piano (and organ), Edison Lobo on bass, and Edson Machando on drums. The group is completed by Helio Delmiro on guitar, and Claudio Roditi plays trumpet on one track – but the real highlight is the amazing reed work by Brasil, which is filled with soul and warmth, plus a deep sense of exploration. The whole session was put together by Roberto Quartin in 1970 – and it's still extremely fresh today. Titles include "Children", "Gingerbread Boy", "Senegal", and "Marilia". Next is Toca Antonio Carlos Jobim – a fantastic album from this legendary Brazilian saxophonist – and one that's way different than the usual instrumental reading of the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim! The setting is less of a bossa-inspired one than a post-Coltrane mode – as Victor Assis Brasil blows alto sax, and a bit of soprano – on long, stretched out versions of Jobim compositions – often given a bit of modal energy, thanks to the group's strong piano and organ performances by Dom Salvador. The rest of the players are all great, too – Helio Delmiro on guitar, Edson Lobo on bass, and Edison Machado on drums – all players who grew up in the bossa jazz years of the 60s, but who here are set free to explore new territory by producer Roberto Quartin. The whole thing's wonderful – and titles include "Bonita", "Wave", "So Tinha De Ser Come Voce", and "Dindi". CD also features two bonus tracks – alternate takes of "Ao Amigo Quartin" and "Marilla". CD

Very rare, very obscure material from this important free jazz trio of the German scene in the 70s – a set that features one long performance originally issued on the JG label, despite the FMP-like image on the cover – plus two more tracks from the same year that appear here for the first time ever! "Just For Altena" offers up the power trio at their best – very freewheeling piano from Fred Van Hove, drums from Han Bennink, and tenor from Peter Brotzmann – with intensity that may well surpass the Machine Gun years, and an understanding of each players strengths that means that there's almost no tentative moments at all in the improvisation! "Filet Americain" and "ICP No 17" are from earlier in 1971 – and showcase a different, more sonic side of the trio – some tones that are at the farther end of hearing, which ruminate then blossom into bolder statements, but still often with a very abstracted approach to each instrument. Great stuff – and every bit as essential as any of the better-known Brotzman recordings of the time! CD

A great early album by Oscar – one that focuses on his own compositions, and a few other hip tunes written by other jazz players, with new vocals added by Oscar! These kind of tracks are the stuff that made him a legend instantly – strongly voiced vocal tunes, handled with a flair that few other singers could match, save for Jon Hendricks, who also shared Oscar's talent for crafting a jazz-based lyric. Arrangements are by Oscar's hometown talent Floyd Morris – and titles include "One Foot In the Gutter", "The Snake" (later covered by Al Wilson), "So Help Me (A Little 3/4 For God & Co)", "The Tree & Me", and marvelous lyrical versions of Miles Davis' "All Blues" and Duke Pearson's "Jeanine". Essential stuff for jazz juice fans! LP, Vinyl record album

An essential bit of 70s jazz funk – one of the key Blue Note collaborations between trumpeter Donald Byrd and producer/arranger Larry Mizell – the man who helped set a whole new standard for soulful sounds at the time! The approach here is quite similar to the pair's work on Places & Spaces – tight, but loose at the same time – with Donald delivering solos that are very different than his work from the 60s, while Mizell finds this way to mix together all sorts of instruments, at so many different levels – but with a clarity that's mindblowing. Most tracks have a nice groove, a few points feature a touch of vocals – and titles include the classic, and oft-sampled "Think Twice" – plus "We're Together", "Makin It", "Rock & Roll Again", "I Love The Girl", and "You Are The World". CD

Wonderful wonderful wonderful work from the legendary John Coltrane – and even though it's probably one of his best-selling albums of all time, it's still a treasure – and has an essential place in just about any jazz collection! We've heard the original title version of "My Favorite Things" a million times – but it still blows our mind the way Coltrane hits this incredibly soulful modal groove, twisting and turning on soprano sax, always keeping things interesting, so that we're surprised that the cut's 13 minutes have gone by so quickly! The rest of the record's equally great – and the 3 other long cuts are "Everytime We Say Goodbye", "Summertime" and "But Not for Me". The other players include McCoy Tyner on piano, Steve Davis on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – and the whole album is as great today as when it was cut, and still one of Coltrane's most revelatory albums! LP, Vinyl record album

A great set of unreleased recordings that was issued after John Coltrane's death, but which stands as an essential chapter in his groundbreaking body of work for Impulse! The album features 2 tracks recorded at the Newport Jazz fest in 1963 – both with Roy Haynes on drums, plus the usual McCoy Tyner/Jimmy Garrison lineup. One of these cuts is a very long reading of "My Favorite Things" – with a sweet loping modal groove, but soloing that is quite a bit more "out" than the famous studio version. The 3rd track on the album – "Selflessness" – was recorded in LA in 1965, and it features Raphael Don Garrett on bass clarinet, adding some nice Dolphy-esque touches. LP, Vinyl record album

The long-awaited release of some brilliant live sessions from the key Miles Davis group at the end of the 60s – the really freewheeling quintet that featured Chick Corea on electric piano, Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano sax, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums! Rhythms here are completely unbound – wilder even than the sounds on Bitches Brew, and played with a similar intensity on the keyboard, trumpet, and reed solos – an unbridled power that really takes off over the space of the very long cuts on the collection! The whole thing's an essential addition to these very important years for Miles – and the 3CDs features live performances from the Antibes Jazz Festival on July 25 and 26, 1969 – plus a November 1969 performance from Stockholm. Titles include "Miles Runs The Voodoo Down", "Sanctuary", "It's About That Time", "Footprints", "Paraphernalia", "Nefertiti", "Masqualero", "Spanish Key", "Directions", "No Blues", and "Bitches Brew". DVD also features a November 7, 1969 performance from the Berliner Jazztage – of titles that include "Directions", "Bitches Brew", "I Fall In Love Too Easily", "It's About That Time", and "The Theme". CD

A rare set from vibist Walt Dickerson – one of the most compelling jazz musicians to ever lay hold of a set of vibes! The album was originally issued as a Japanese-only session by the Why Not label in the mid 70s, and it features Dickerson playing on 5 tunes that have a slightly different feel than a lot of his other work from the time. First up is "Sky", which features some electric bass work by Jamaaladeen Tacuma, which makes for a more full-on sound than you usually get with Dickerson. Next up is "Awareness", an extremely haunting solo track that features this incredible tone on the vibes. The last three tunes feature a trio with Wilbur Ware on bass and Edgar Leon Bateman on drums – and Ware's bass work brings out a swing in Dickerson's vibes that we rarely ever hear. Titles include "Key Of Wisdom", "Yesterdays", and "I Love You". Essential work for any fan of this enigmatic vibist – and great to have back out again! CD

Wonderful work by Dolphy – as essential to his catalog as any of his albums on Prestige from the same time! Although Dolphy broke plenty of musical barriers in the studio, to our ears, it was always in a live setting that he sounded best – freely exploring the kind of space his playing opened up, hitting notes that were more soulful and spiritual than many that he ever recorded on his studio sides. This set is a perfect example of that trend – as Dolphy's working here with a strong straight jazz combo, one that includes the great Benny Bailey on trumpet, in a set that features familiar tunes, turned into haunting explorations of Dolphy's new jazz idiom. One of the highlights is an incredible 15 minute version of Randy Weston's "Hi Fly", with Dolphy doing great work on flute – and other tunes include "Hot House", "Geewee", "When Lights Are Low", "I'll Remember April", and "The Meeting". CD

Essential funk in a single set – three killer albums from James Brown's legendary backing group! First up is Food For Thought – the classic first album by The JBs – James Brown's Fred Wesley-led backing band, and the force behind most of his greatest records of the early 70s! The band are incredible at this point – sharper, harder, and funkier than just about any other combo around – and that includes all the thousands of groups in the funky 45 underground who were always trying to copy their sound, but never got things this right! Not only are the rhythms the stuff of legend – but the use of the instruments is far far above the norm – as can be heard on the mindblowing "The Grunt", which was sampled heavily by Public Enemy to great fame – and which features a saxophone solo that sounds more like a whistling tea kettle! The set collects some of the group's best early singles, and includes all of the short little funky cuts that made them a legend right out of the box – "Pass the Peas", "The Grunt", "These Are The JBs", "Hot Pants Road", "Wine Spot", "To My Brother", "Blessed Blackness", "Theme From King Heroin", "Escapism (parts 1 & 2), and "Gimme Some More" – all together here in one tight little album of massive funky hard beats and breaks! Doing It To Death is an incredible album – a landmark piece of funk that nobody should be without, funk fan or not! The album is the second to feature James Brown's famous backing combo of the early 70s – and unlike their first one, which was really more of a collection of singles, this album has the group playing hard, long, and loud, in the free funk improvisational mode that was James' real contribution to the music at the time. The tracks are all incredibly long, with James at the forefront, egging the band on with shouts and comments – but also letting them open up large instrumentally, playing in a mode that's as much jazz as it is funky soul. The whole thing's peppered with some nice shorter segues between tracks – but the long cuts are the winners, and are some of the best funk ever recorded! Titles include "Mo Peas", "Doing It To Death", "La Di Da La Di Day", "You Can Have Watergate, Just Gimme Some Bucks & I'll Be Straight", and "Sucker". Last up is Damn Right I Am Somebody – quite possibly our favorite record by the JBs, ever! The set starts with a wonderful conversational bit – rapping and musing on the idea of "Damn Right, I Am Somebody" – showing the group in a political and righteous mode for the first time ever. The grooves then kick in – with the same heavy funk as on earlier records, but also a nice nod towards experimental production – from strange fade ups and fade downs, to stark time and rhythm changes, and even bits of electronics used to create some very cool moments in the grooves! The whole thing's as dead funky as can be, and is stuffed with insane classics like "Blow Your Head", "Same Beat", "Damn Right I am Somebody", "I'm Payin' Taxes, What am I Buyin'", and a great cover of Marvin Gaye's "You Sure Love to Ball"! CD

An essential bit of 70s soul jazz – a real standout in both the catalogs of tenorist Clifford Jordan, and the Stata East label! This is one of those few records where every element is perfect, and all players rise together to a new level of expression – and we'd easily rank this one right up there with John Coltrane's Love Supreme or Pharoah Sanders' Kharma for sheer magnitude of sound and message! Clifford Jordan is at the height of his tenor powers – cutting sharp lines, stretching out his notes, and hitting all these dark edges that had never appeared in his work – and the rest of the group is great too – with Stanley Cowell on piano, Bill Lee on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. Higgins is amazing, and gives the set a sort of lyrical freeplay that makes Jordan's hard solos come alive in a magical way – and Cedar Walton also plays piano on a few numbers, pushing things forward with the sense of warmth and imagination that always made him a treat in the 70s! Every cut's a winner, and the set list includes "John Coltrane", "Alias Buster Henry", "Glass Bead Games", "Biskit", and "Bridgework". Great stuff, and a huge amount of music! LP, Vinyl record album

Killer funky organ – and 100% Dynamite! Jackie Mittoo is one of the all-time great organists – as essential to Jamaica as Booker T was to Memphis, or Jimmy McGriff was to New York. He's legendary these days as the player who completely transformed the Hammond sound with his unique Jamaican instrumental style during his early years with the Skatalites, and on his later solo recordings for Studio One. This set's probably the first time Mittoo's work has been properly packaged and remastered – and the folks at Soul Jazz have done an amazing job of selecting just the right tracks for such a project. The whole thing wails along with a stone rocksteady groove – with plenty of nice drum parts and funky rhythm bits underneath Jackie's soulful organ. If you dug the label's 100% Dynamite series, you'll really dig this one – and the whole thing's very much in the same vein. Tracks include "Drum Song", "Reggae Rock", "Hot Tamale", "Killer Diller", "Black Organ", "Stereo Freeze", "Wall Street", "Darker Shade Of Black", "Juice Box", and "Killer Diller". LP, Vinyl record album

A really landmark album from the Japanese scene at the start of the 70s – one of the key records in which musicians like Takeru Muraoka were helping to discover something new and unique – a fantastic hybrid of modal jazz, freer solo moments, and some nice electric touches on keyboards – thanks to bold work from the great Masabumi Kikuchi! Kikuchi plays a Rhodes with a hard tone that's very edgey – nicely blocked out amidst equally bold rhythms from Yoshi Ikeda on bass and George Otsuka on drums – essential part of the fantastic quartet that really lets Muraoka stretch out and soar with very inventive lines on tenor! All tracks are nice and long, and as brilliant today as when they were recorded – with titles that include "Snoopy", "Electric Zoo", "Fish", and "Desperation". CD

Some of the best material ever recorded by singer Jimmy Scott – presented as a lovely 3 disc package with copious notes, and a lot of bonus material too! The bulk of the sides were cut during the earliest years of Jimmy's career – from 1952 to 1960, all with great small group, jazz-based backing – very nicely handled by the folks at Savoy Records – with just the right sort of pitch to work well with Scott's unique voice. There's a lot of unreleased cuts from these sessions – which makes the package essential even if you own the records – and titles include "If You Only Knew", "If I Ever Lost You", "Once", "What Good Would It Be", "I'll Never Deceive You", "Please Forgive Me", "Guilty", "Anytime Anyday Anywhere", and "The Talk Of The Town". The set then ends with the full album Can't We Begin Again, from Jimmy's "lost" period in 1975 – ne of the most obscure albums we've ever seen from Scott – and that's saying a lot, given how obscure most of his career was before his relatively recent revival! This session – billed in the notes as his "umpteenth comeback" – was recorded in Chicago in 1975, but has a feel that's in keeping with some of Jimmy's more traditional work from earlier years. The set was done by producer Fred Mendelsohn, who'd recorded some of Jimmy's earlier work – and features backings by pianist Ace Carter, plus additional string arrangements from Alex Hamilton. Jimmy's voice is actually a bit less fragile and somewhat deeper than usual – possibly even more confident – and the "jazz with strings" format brings a full feel to the session, but one that never dominates the vocals. Titles include "The More I See You", "I'll Be Around", "Anchored By My Side", "You've Changed", "Can't We Begin Again", "Close Your Eyes", and "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life". Box features 66 tracks in all! CD

A set that wasn't initially conceived as a full album by Gil Scott-Heron – but one that's come to be an essential part of his catalog, thanks to the always-relevant title theme! The album's actually a classic collection of work from the early years of Gil Scott-Heron at the Flying Dutchman label – a time when he was recording some of his most impressively righteous material ever – a hip mix of protest poetry and sweet jazzy numbers – played with great keyboard accompaniment from frequent partner Brian Jackson on keyboards on nearly every track – plus help from Hubert Laws on flute and sax, and Bernard Purdie on drums. Nearly all the famous classics by Gil are here, and the titles include some of Gil's best jazz funk groovers, including "Pieces Of A Man", "Lady Day & John Coltrane", "Home Is Where The Hatred Is", "Save The Children", "Sex Education Ghetto Style", "Whitey On The Moon", "Did You Hear What They Said", The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", and "No Knock". LP, Vinyl record album

Insanely wonderful work from Shango Dance Band – a group headed by onetime Fela Kuti bandmate Ojo Okeji – whose bass work here is worth the price of admission alone! Okeji was a key part of Fela's Koola Lobitos, until leaving the group in 1968 – and taking some of the best players with him – to form the amazing Shango Dance Band, which is this incredible bridge between older Afro jazz modes and the new funk styles to explode in the 70s! At some level, the groove's a bit like that which Fela was percolating at the start of the 70s – but there's also some jazzier currents on the horn solos, especially the trumpet – and Okeji's bass is very far up in the mix – dipping, turning, and crafting these amazing grooves throughout – with a snakey vibe that's completely sublime – as is the entire record. And sure, there have been plenty of Afro Funk reissued on the market in the past decade or so – but few as essential as this one – or as enjoyable! Titles include "Position Pass Power", "Women Are Great", "Son Of Thunder", "Alupandu Gbe", and "I Need Your Love". CD

Speedy West may be the greatest pedal steel slinger in the history of the instrument, and together with ace guitarist Jimmy Bryant they bridged the gap between the 50s Western swing of Bob Wills and the soon to arrive Sun Records sound with their pioneering country-jazz instrumentals. This is essential stuff for fans of traditional country stompers – or sweaty, swaggering boogie in any genre! Tracks include "Stratosphere Boogie", "Blue Bonnet Rag", "Cotton' Picking", "Old Joe Clark", "Slepwalker's Lullaby", "Arkansas Traveler", "The Night Rider", "Speedin' West", "Comin' On", "Bryant's Bounce", "Pickin' Peppers", "Shuffleboard Rag", "Filppin' The Lid" and lots more. CD

Great Blue Note two-fer which compiles tracks from Randy Weston's fantastic albums recorded for United Aritsts – rare gems at the forefront of late 50s modern jazz, and records that hardly ever see the light of day! The albums are filled with seminal versions of Randy's famous compositions – played by sextet and septet lineups with players that include the cream of New York modern – Ray Copeland, Melba Liston, Johnny Griffin, Kenny Dorham, and Slide Hampton. Great work all around – and material that's really not properly been reissued over the years – making this well-annotated 70s collection as essential as an original copy, and almost as rare! Titles include "Little Niles", "High Fly", "Little Susan", "Babe's Blues", "Nice Ice", "Earth Birth", "Pam's Waltz", and "Spot Five Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the all-time great tenor/organ sessions on Blue Note – totally fierce, with a sound that's a lot rawer than most other work on the label! The incredible Baby Face Willette grooves it hard and heavy on Hammond – working in a quartet that includes Fred Jackson on tenor, Grant Green on guitar, and Ben Dixon on drums – a killer lineup that makes for a very cooking sound throughout! There's a bit of an R&B-ish tinge to most of the tracks on the set – gutbuckety soul jazz, of the sort you'd hear on a label like Prestige, but recorded with more of the Blue Note sense of poise and professionalism – a very unique blend that makes the album an essential one in any collection. Titles include "Swingin' At Sugar Rays", "Face To Face", "Something Strange", and "Goin Down". CD features 2 bonus tracks – "Face To Face (alt)" and "Something Strange (alt)". CD

An essential collection of work from one of the hippest funk groups of the 70s – the mysterious Wood Brass & Steel, who also participated in the legendary Skullsnaps record! The first part of the set features an unreleased album that the group recorded for the All-Platinum label in 1973 – music that's hard and funky, but which also shows a strong current of jazz as well – the kind of material that has the group very much in the best Earth Wind & Fire territory of the period, with a sense of righteous perfection that should have made them huge – had the album not stayed in the vaults! The set includes their fantastic "Hey What's That You Say" – which was later reworked as "It's A New Day" for the Skullsnaps album – plus a few more cuts that later appeared on the Brother To Brother debut album – titles that include "Trespassing", "Let's Take A Stroll", "Jermilah", "If He Can Do It She Can Do It", "I Wish It Would Rain", and "A Love Of My Own". Next is the self-titled Wood Brass & Steel album – a legendary bit of east coast funk from the 70s – by a group who'd go on to have a huge influence both in the worlds of hip hop and house! Wood Brass & Steel feature two key players who later became part of the Sugarhill Records house band, and later the On-U Sound collective – Doug Wimbush and Skip McDonald – but the set's got a much fuller, more soulful vibe than work from those later projects – nice use of horns, as hinted at in the title – but not in a way that make these guys a brassy funk band either! Instead, there's a smooth groove throughout – one that comes up from the rhythms first, with a wonderful quality that's years ahead of its time – never disco, but not afraid of some faster rhythms that point the way towards underground club to come. The whole thing's the kind of funky lost gem that makes us happy to do what we do – and it's had long life over the past few decades, thanks to the rich variety of tunes on the set. Titles include the classic cut "Funkanova", an uptempo jazzy instrumental that continued to be a club favorite throughout the house years – plus loads of other good cuts, too, like "WBS Theme", "Welcome To The Party", "Same Ol Me", "Working On A Dream", and a version of "Always There". Hard & Heavy is the incredibly rare second album from Wood Brass & Steel – the mighty funk group we've loved for years for their landmark debut from the mid 70s! This sophomore set is from a few years later, and has the group honing their groove even more – working with these righteous currents in their music that expand the sound into territory that's almost a bit like Roy Ayers at times! As with Ayers, the vocals are often layered into the rhythms – sometimes sung by group members with this soulfully flowing current that has a subtle, sublime sort of vibe – and which works perfectly for the message in the music. Tunes are often in the faster side of midtempo – but never conventional club or disco at all – and there's this really special quality to the whole record, one that even tops the unique vibe of their first album. The original album was very briefly issued by Sugar Hill, during a time when the label was mostly doing hip hop – and is impossibly hard to find in the original pressing. Titles include "Open Up Your Heart", "Be Yourself", "Long Live Music", "Space Walk", "Fly With Music", "Superstar", and "Are You Busy". CD

Hypnotic organ funk from Lyman Woodard – an old bandmate of Dennis Coffey, and one of the shining lights of the 70s Detroit scene! This is amazing, amazing stuff – Woodard's electric piano, organ and occasional mellotron and Norma Bell's alto saxophone lend a cosmic funk aspect throughout, very much like Death Wish-era Herbie Hancock – with a laidback, tripped-out groove that's really mindblowing! Ron English accents the thing perfectly with his languid guitar and bass groove, while Leonard King and Lorenzo Brown's drumming and percussion can keep the groove adrift, or tear it up in a funky maelstrom depending on the mission of the cut. It's totally essential Strata jazz funk – and a record we've rarely seen in the original pressing. Tracks include "Saturday Night Special", "Joy Road", "Belle Isle Daze", "Creative Musicians", "Cheeba", "On Your Mind", "Allen Barnes", and "Help Me Get Away". Features bonus tracks "Saturday Night Special (lost alt mix)" and "Bell Isle Daze (lost alt mix)". LP, Vinyl record album

A great assortment of rare jazz and soul – and a set that you can totally dig, even if you don't know the meaning of Klinkhamer! The title's a reference to a Dutch record shop, whose owners compiled these tracks – but the music here has a very universal appeal, especially if you dig your music on the deeper side of the spectrum – as the cuts are mostly late 70s/early 80s numbers, served up in a blend of spiritual and funky jazz styles, with just a bit of vocals in the mix. Almost all the cuts here are pretty darn hard to track down on vinyl, which makes for a very essential set – and titles include "Kweenie" by Don Jules Pules Band, "Offshore Sounds" by Rene Van Heldingen, "Epitaph" by Gianno Basso, "Don't Let Love" by Oasis Band, "Funky Blues" by Sergio Coppotelli, and "Holy Ghost" by Eddie Holman. LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing introduction to one of the most significant cultural movements in the latter half of the 20th Century – the groundbreaking years of Tropicalia in late 60s Brazil! The music and legacy of Tropicalia are referenced often, but hardly ever presented this well – and this package is everything we could have hoped for as an introduction to the movement – filled not just with great music, but also an overwhelming amount of notes that trace the history of Brazilian music and art through their changes in relation to Tropicalia! In fact, the notes are almost worth the price of the compilation alone – very densely written over 48 pages in the CD booklet, with more information in one place than we've ever seen before. But as you might imagine, it's the music that really makes the set special – and Soul Jazz have done an excellent job of pulling together key late 60s works from the most important musicians associated with Tropicalia – an great starting point for the movement that's filled with most essential tracks! Titles include "Bat Macumba" by Gilberto Gil, "Tuareg" and "Sebastiana" by Gal Costa, "A Minha Menina" and "Panis Et Circenses" by Os Mutantes, "Alfo Mega" and "Tropicalia" by Caetano Veloso, "Gloria" and "Jimmy Renda-Se" by Tom Ze, "Procissao" by Gilberto Gil, "Ave Genghis Khan" by Os Mutantes, "Take It Easy My Brother Charles" by Jorge Ben, "Quero Sambal Meu Bem" by Tom Ze, "Lost In The Paradise" by Caetano Veloso, "Bat Macumba" by Os Mutantes, "Domingo No Parque" by Gilberto Gil & Os Mutantes, and "Irene" by Caetano Veloso. CD

An excellent album by one of the greatest Brazilian funk bands ever – a wonderful blend of funk, jazz, and soul – and a set that rivals any of the best work coming from the US at the time! These guys are right on the money right from the start – moving through sharp changes with effortless ease, yet never in a way that's too slick or commercial – kind of like that perfect balance that Kool & The Gang hit for just a few records in the mid 70s – but with more of a Brazilian feel overall. Jazzy licks abound – and the keyboards, guitar, and horns are just great – but the set's also got some more regional percussion, too – which really rounds out the record wonderfully. The grooves all have a really universal appeal – essential for any fan of funky sounds – and titles include "Mr Funky Samba", "Junia", "Casa Forte", "Na Baixa Do Sapateiro", "Lelbon Via Vaz Lobo", "Baia", "Maria Fumaca", and "Metalurgia". LP, Vinyl record album

An essential 2LP set that's just about the only vinyl release you can find that documents the work of the legendary (and short-lived) Circle group – an important avant jazz combo that featured Anthony Braxton, Chick Corea, Dave Holland, and Barry Altschul. The record captures a Parisian concert from 1971, and the band runs through a great reading of Wayne Shorter's "Nefertitti", plus original material like "Duet", "Toy Room – Q&A", "Song For The Newborn", and "Lookout Farm". LP, Vinyl record album

A great set of unreleased recordings that was issued after John Coltrane's death, but which stands as an essential chapter in his groundbreaking body of work for Impulse! The album features 2 tracks recorded at the Newport Jazz fest in 1963 – both with Roy Haynes on drums, plus the usual McCoy Tyner/Jimmy Garrison lineup. One of these cuts is a very long reading of "My Favorite Things" – with a sweet loping modal groove, but soloing that is quite a bit more "out" than the famous studio version. The 3rd track on the album – "Selflessness" – was recorded in LA in 1965, and it features Raphael Don Garrett on bass clarinet, adding some nice Dolphy-esque touches. CD

An essential piece of 60s avant garde jazz that often gets overlooked because the album is split between two different leaders – but with John Coltrane and Archie Shepp at the helm, what leaders they be! Shepp leads a quartet that includes Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Barre Phillips on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – and the music is some of his best from the 60's. Hutcherson is haunting, and Shepp plays in a beautifully restrained style that brings out all of his best elements, without any of the indulgence that sometimes mars his playing. The group plays all original tracks, including "Rufus", "Le Matin Des Noire", and "Scag". Coltrane's quartet with Tyner, Garrison, and Jones adds one additional long track to the album, the lively "One Down One Up". A great set, and one not to pass up! CD

An essential piece of 60s avant garde jazz that often gets overlooked because the album is split between two different leaders – but with John Coltrane and Archie Shepp at the helm, what leaders they be! Shepp leads a quartet that includes Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Barre Phillips on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – and the music is some of his best from the 60's. Hutcherson is haunting, and Shepp plays in a beautifully restrained style that brings out all of his best elements, without any of the indulgence that sometimes mars his playing. The group plays all original tracks, including "Rufus", "Le Matin Des Noire", and "Scag". Coltrane's quartet with Tyner, Garrison, and Jones adds one additional long track to the album, the lively "One Down One Up". A great set, and one not to pass up! CD

An essential bit of funkiness from this obscure New Orleans funk combo! The Gaturs' frontman was keyboardist Willie Tee – who went on to greater fame as a jazz and session player – but we like him best at this early point, when he was wailing away on organ in a tight choppy small group setting. The Gaturs clearly deserve any praise you could heap on them – and their work on this album's a perfect match with the New Orleans funk of Eddie Bo and The Meters. Most of the material was recorded in New Orleans, but only ever issued on 7" singles – and this is the first LP that the group have ever had under their name. Titles include "Cold Bear", "Booger Man", "Gatur Bait", "Hunk Of Funk", "Funky Funky Twist", "Wasted", and "Yeah, You Right". LP, Vinyl record album

Nice album from the 70s that brings together some of the beautiful jazz sides that Charlie Mariano cut while he was living in Japan with his (then) wife, pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi. The record's split up into two sets of tracks – one is a series of compositions from West Side Story that feature Mariano's icy alto playing in beautiful light, free lines. The other set's comprised up of 2 longer, later tracks – "Haru-No-Umi" and "Stone Garden Of Ryoan Temple" – both of which show Charlie in a haunting experimental period, and playing a number of different reed instruments, in addition to his usual alto. If you're a bit fan of Mariano (and we're huge fans of his), the record is an essential collection of some great rare stuff by him. LP, Vinyl record album

One of Charles Mingus' true classics – and an essential album in any jazz collection! This 1959 gem was recorded by Mingus at a key point in his career – when he was rising from the jazz underground into the ranks of America's elite jazzmen, penning some of the most challenging work of his career, and working with incredible younger players that interpreted his work with a great deal of fire! The tracks are a bit more tightly arranged than work on some of Mingus' previous work for labels like Atlantic and Bethlehem, but that also gives them a razor-sharp emotional edge that's carried off perfectly by players who include John Handy and Shafi Hadi on alto saxes, Booker Ervin on tenor, Willie Dennis and Jimmy Knepper on trombones, Horace Parlan on piano, and Dannie Richmond on drums. The album is filled with key Mingus classics – like "Better Git It In Your Soul", "Boogie Stop Shuffle", "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", and "Fables of Faubus" – plus "Self Portrait In Three Colors", "Open Letter To Duke", and "Bird Call". LP, Vinyl record album

Freewheeling duets between David Murray and Milford Graves – the former on tenor and bass clarinet, the latter on a nice range of percussion! There's an open, flowing feel to the record that really takes us back to Murray's initial moments of the 70s – an almost loft jazz looseness to the session that's quite a change from other Murray dates for DIW. Things get somewhat free at points, but both players have an inherently rhythmic structure that holds the work together – and titles include "Stated With Peace", "The Third Day", "Moving About", "Under & Over", "Essential Soul", and "Continuity". CD

Heavy, soul-baring lyricism delivered with spiritual resonance and wise authority by Gil Scott-Heron – his first album shot in far too many years, and a direct hit – essential listening for longtime listeners and neophytes alike and a well worthy entry in a legendary career! Scott-Heron is documenting his world as profoundly and poetically as ever here, and the production is built with spare, haunting beats and atmospheric bits of strings, guitar, keys, loose atmospherics and hazy electronics – loosely framing his voice and giving it all the room in needs to carry the mood. Gil sings and speaks with equal authority throughout, and you can hear the years in his voice like never before, giving him the worn edges of the old soul he always evoked. This is a record we're proud to put among his treasured recordings of the 70s and early 80s. Titles include "On Coming From A Broken Home" (Parts 1 & 2), "Your Soul And Mine", "I'll Take Care Of You", "Where Did The Night Go", "Running", "The Crutch" and more, including several interludes that are pretty amazing – captures of conversation that show Gil nearly as charismatic and poetic in "off" moments as he is recording a song. Also includes 2 covers, "Me And The Devil" (the Robert Johnson song) and the title track, Smog/Bill Callahan's "I'm New Here", given a whole new life. Expanded anniversary version also features some great material recorded at the same time – the titles "Handsome Johnny", "My Cloud", "Piano Player", "King Henry IV", "Jazz", and 2010 live studio takes of "Home Is Where The Hatred Is", "Is That Jazz", and "Winter In America". CD

The second album from the immortal Tribe Called Quest – one of the absolute essential hip hop LPs, and a record that should be an anyone's shortlist of the best albums in several subsections of hip hop – just a straight up masterpiece anyway you cut it. The album is so high up on the ladder, we're a loss to add any fresh insight o the critical consensus, so just get it. Classics one after another, steeped in bass note snapping, head nodding funk jazz beatcraft of the first order! "Buggin Out", "Excursions", "Rap Promoter", "Verses From The Abstract", "Check The Rhyme", "Everything Is Fair", "Jazz (We've Got)", "What?", "Scenario" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

An essential look at the key years of the Chicago house scene – the time when the city's musicians were carving out a whole new space in sound! Although early house first began as an extension of some of the later modes of disco and 80s club, influences from European post-punk and post-disco work soon crept into the mix, and pushed the Chicago artists to work in a darker, edgier sound that was completely unique! The work from this period is filled with stark, spare electronics – not the cheesy kind that showed up often in New York electro records, but intense analogue bits that had a really dark, dystopic space age sort of quality – laid out over harsh beats and bass, and often presented with no additional vocals at all. For the collection, Soul Jazz do a great job of picking out the best of the early acid house scene in Chicago (the key recordings before the term got picked up overseas, and used to make some very dodgy dance music at the end of the 80s) – and then they go on to pull together some of the best strands of the house revival in Chicago in the early 90s, including key work from the Cajual label. 2 CD set features 17 tracks in all – including "This Is Acid" by Maurice, "Do You Want To Percolate" by The Sweat Boyz, "Beyond The Clouds" by Mr Fingers, "Go Wild Rhythm Track" by Virgo, "Acid Crash" by Tyree, "Dum Dum (part 2)" by Fresh, "Acid Bass" by Roy Davis Jr, "Phuture Jacks" by Phuture, "I've Lost Control" by Sleezy D, "Take Me Higher" by Virgo Four, "Acid Over" by Tyree, "Box Energy" by DJ Pierre, "Video Clash" by Lil Louis, "Explorer" by Green Velvet, "Like This" by Two Of A Kind, "Acid Tracks" by Phuture, and "Downfall" by Armando. CD

American film may have invented the genres of crime jazz and blacksploitation funk – but by the mid 70s, the Italian scene was really giving us a run for our money – as they turned out some amazing grooves for their legendary run of cop and crime films at the time! The movies were awash in music that really kept the action moving – heavy drums, badass basslines, wah wah guitar, and anything else that fit the spirit of a great chase or action scene. This collection brings together some of the best of that stretch – and, as with other of these recent Sugar productions, adds in some unreleased material that makes the package essential, even if you've already got work from this scene in your collection. Titles include "Il Cappotto Dilegno (edit)" by Riz Ortolani, "Poliziotto Spring M2" by Stelvio Cipriani, "Silkin Street" by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis, "Ordine Firmato Inbianco" by Carlo Savina, "Onore E Guapparia M7" by Filippo Trecca, "L'Intoccabile Mr Cliff" by Riz Ortolani, "I Gabbianivolano Basso M13" by Roberto Pregadio, "Body Guard" by Stelvio Cipriano, "Il Braccioviolento Della Mala M10" by Vassili Kojucharov, and "L'Assassino Hale Ore Contate" by Luis Bacalov. CD

One of John Coltrane's best early albums for Impulse – a warm set of modally grooving tracks, and one that picks up where My Favorite Things left off! The group here features McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – a really magical rhythm section that pulsates with life throughout, and propels Coltrane with a lot more soaring energy than he was getting on records a few years before! Coltrane plays both tenor and soprano sax – the latter of which is especially great, again in ways that have a My Favorite Things sort of feel – edgey, almost exotic at times, with a snakey sublime quality. The album includes wonderful readings of "The Inch Worm" and "Out Of This World" – plus the tracks "Soul Eyes", "Tunji", and "Miles' Mode". Great stuff – and an essential album for any jazz collection! CD

Wonderful wonderful wonderful work from the legendary John Coltrane – and even though it's probably one of his best-selling albums of all time, it's still a treasure – and has an essential place in just about any jazz collection! We've heard the original title version of "My Favorite Things" a million times – but it still blows our mind the way Coltrane hits this incredibly soulful modal groove, twisting and turning on soprano sax, always keeping things interesting, so that we're surprised that the cut's 13 minutes have gone by so quickly! The rest of the record's equally great – and the 3 other long cuts are "Everytime We Say Goodbye", "Summertime" and "But Not for Me". As great today as when it was cut, and still one of Coltrane's most revelatory albums! With McCoy Tyner on piano, Steve Davis on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. CD

Wonderful work by Dolphy – as essential to his catalog as any of his albums on Prestige from the same time! Although Dolphy broke plenty of musical barriers in the studio, to our ears, it was always in a live setting that he sounded best – freely exploring the kind of space his playing opened up, hitting notes that were more soulful and spiritual than many that he ever recorded on his studio sides. This set is a perfect example of that trend – as Dolphy's working here with a strong straight jazz combo, one that includes the great Benny Bailey on trumpet, in a set that features familiar tunes, turned into haunting explorations of Dolphy's new jazz idiom. One of the highlights is an incredible 15 minute version of Randy Weston's "Hi Fly", with Dolphy doing great work on flute – and other tunes include "Hot House", "Geewee", "When Lights Are Low", "I'll Remember April", and "The Meeting". CD

An essential Art Farmer session from the mid 50s – and a magnificent batch of hardbop tracks that we'd rank with some of our favorite work on Blue Note! The group is incredibly strong – with Hank Mobley on tenor, Kenny Drew on piano, Addison Farmer on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – all coming together with a magical in-the-pocket groove that persists on nearly every track. Farmer's still at a formative stage here – and he's going for a much harder sound than usual, with an excellent tone and extremely well calculated solos throughout. Mobley's at his best from this period, and his playing puts this session more in the tightly executed Blue Note camp (ala some of the Horace Silver late 50s recordings), than it does the Prestige/New Jazz blowing session mode. The whole thing's great – and titles include "Ad-Dis-Un", "By Myself", "Farmer's Market", "With Prestige", and "Wailin' With Hank". CD

An essential bit of funkiness from this obscure New Orleans funk combo! The Gaturs' frontman was keyboardist Willie Tee – who went on to greater fame as a jazz and session player – but we like him best at this early point, when he was wailing away on organ in a tight choppy small group setting. The Gaturs clearly deserve any praise you could heap on them – and their work on this album's a perfect match with the New Orleans funk of Eddie Bo and The Meters. Most of the material was recorded in New Orleans, but only ever issued on 7" singles – and this is the first LP that the group have ever had under their name. Titles include "Cold Bear", "Booger Man", "Gatur Bait", "Hunk Of Funk", "Funky Funky Twist", "Wasted", and "Yeah, You Right". Plus, the CD contains 5 great bonus cuts, including "Sweet Thing"! CD

Great live material – recorded during the late 60s as part of the Left Bank Jazz Society series in Baltimore, but never issued until now! The work captures Freddie Hubbard in that great Atlantic Records mode – crafting a mixture of hip hardbop and nascent 70s soul soloing, working here with a quintet that features all wonderful players, including Benny Maupin on tenor, Kenny Barron on piano, Herbie Lewis on bass, and Freddie Waits on drums. The set's one of the best in this series on Label M – and it's essential work if you dig Hubbard at this key moment! Titles include "Pensativa", "Echoes Of Blue", "Crisis", and "Bob's Place". CD

One of Bobby Hutcherson's most important albums ever – and an essential piece of "new thing" jazz that ranks up there with such key Blue note sessions of the genre as Tony Williams' album Life Time, Dolphy's Out To Lunch, and Jackie McLean's One Step Beyond! Hutcherson's sound on the vibes is amazing – metallic, yet melodic – in a sublime blend of the modern and the soulful, all wrapped up in tones and colors that few other players have ever managed to get from the instrument! All the other players on the session really rise to the occasion too – and the album features tremendous work from Sam Rivers, Freddie Hubbard, Andrew Hill, and Joe Chambers. Titles include "Ghetto Lights", "Catta", and "Idle While". LP, Vinyl record album

An essential bit of 70s soul jazz – a real standout in both the catalogs of tenorist Clifford Jordan, and the Stata East label! This is one of those few records where every element is perfect, and all players rise together to a new level of expression – and we'd easily rank this one right up there with John Coltrane's Love Supreme or Pharoah Sanders' Kharma for sheer magnitude of sound and message! Clifford Jordan is at the height of his tenor powers – cutting sharp lines, stretching out his notes, and hitting all these dark edges that had never appeared in his work – and the rest of the group is great too – with Stanley Cowell on piano, Bill Lee on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. Higgins is amazing, and gives the set a sort of lyrical freeplay that makes Jordan's hard solos come alive in a magical way – and Cedar Walton also plays piano on a few numbers, pushing things forward with the sense of warmth and imagination that always made him a treat in the 70s! Every cut's a winner, and the set list includes "John Coltrane", "Alias Buster Henry", "Glass Bead Games", "Biskit", and "Bridgework". Great stuff, and a huge amount of music! LP, Vinyl record album

An essential bit of 70s soul jazz – a real standout in both the catalogs of tenorist Clifford Jordan, and the Stata East label! This is one of those few records where every element is perfect, and all players rise together to a new level of expression – and we'd easily rank this one right up there with John Coltrane's Love Supreme or Pharoah Sanders' Kharma for sheer magnitude of sound and message! Clifford Jordan is at the height of his tenor powers – cutting sharp lines, stretching out his notes, and hitting all these dark edges that had never appeared in his work – and the rest of the group is great too – with Stanley Cowell on piano, Bill Lee on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. Higgins is amazing, and gives the set a sort of lyrical freeplay that makes Jordan's hard solos come alive in a magical way – and Cedar Walton also plays piano on a few numbers, pushing things forward with the sense of warmth and imagination that always made him a treat in the 70s! Every cut's a winner, and the set list includes "John Coltrane", "Alias Buster Henry", "Glass Bead Games", "Biskit", and "Bridgework". Great stuff, and a huge amount of music! CD

A gem from the great Lloyd Miller – backed by modern Brit jazz funk maestros The Heliocentrics – and a credit to the legacies of all involved! Miller has worked timeless, hypnotic magic on an array of Middle Eastern and Asian instrumentation throughout his career, here playing piano, Indian santur, clarinet, Chinese sona, sitar, wood flute, oud and more – and this effort stands strongly with his best. He's accompanied by the masterful Malcolm Catto & The Heliocentrics – showing as much depth and versatility as ever in largely acoustic and improvisational setting – and the bottom line is that it's just as wonderful as their work with Mulatu. As much as we've flipped out over the Heliocentrics efforts as headliners to date, it's quite stunning how well they work backing such influential and legendary figures. Essential! Includes "Electricone", "Nava", "Mandala", "Spiritual Jazz", "Bali Bronze", "Modality", "Salendro", "Pari Ru", "Lloyd's Diatribe", "Fantasia" (Pts 1 & 2), "Chahargah", "Sunda Sunset" and more. CD

One of Charles Mingus' true classics – and an essential album in any jazz collection! This 1959 gem was recorded by Mingus at a key point in his career – when he was rising from the jazz underground into the ranks of America's elite jazzmen, penning some of the most challenging work of his career, and working with incredible younger players that interpreted his work with a great deal of fire! The tracks are a bit more tightly arranged than work on some of Mingus' previous work for labels like Atlantic and Bethlehem, but that also gives them a razor-sharp emotional edge that's carried off perfectly by players who include John Handy and Shafi Hadi on alto saxes, Booker Ervin on tenor, Willie Dennis and Jimmy Knepper on trombones, Horace Parlan on piano, and Dannie Richmond on drums. The album is filled with key Mingus classics – like "Better Git It In Your Soul", "Boogie Stop Shuffle", "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", and "Fables of Faubus" – plus "Self Portrait In Three Colors", "Open Letter To Duke", and "Bird Call". CD features 3 rare bonus tracks – "GG Train", "Girl Of My Dreams", and "Pedal Point Blues" – and also features 4 tracks presented here in their full versions, not the edited ones that appeared on the original LP. CD

A totally essential 2 CD set that brings together a huge amount of singles that were recorded by Sun Ra and others for his legendary Saturn label! As you probably know, the albums that were recorded for Saturn were rare enough – but the singles on the label were even rarer, and some of them were pressed in batches as small as 75 copies! The material is a very strange mix of jazz, soul, doo wop, and R&B – but it's all got the off-kilter Sun Ra twist to it, and the music is a key slice in the independent history of underground jazz pioneered by Ra & The Arkestra. You'll hear plenty of stuff by Ra (including the legendary "I'm Gonna Unmask The Batman") – and you'll also get stuff by Lacy Gibson, The Cosmic Rays, The Nu Sounds, Yochannan, and The Qualities. Annotated with 36 pages of detailed notes, written by 4 different Ra experts – and a treat for collectors and novices alike! CD

Hypnotic organ funk from Lyman Woodard – an old bandmate of Dennis Coffey, and one of the shining lights of the 70s Detroit scene! This is amazing, amazing stuff – Woodard's electric piano, organ and occasional mellotron and Norma Bell's alto saxophone lend a cosmic funk aspect throughout, very much like Death Wish-era Herbie Hancock – with a laidback, tripped-out groove that's really mindblowing! Ron English accents the thing perfectly with his languid guitar and bass groove, while Leonard King and Lorenzo Brown's drumming and percussion can keep the groove adrift, or tear it up in a funky maelstrom depending on the mission of the cut. It's totally essential Strata jazz funk – and a record we've rarely seen in the original pressing. Tracks include "Saturday Night Special", "Joy Road", "Belle Isle Daze", "Creative Musicians", "Cheeba", "On Your Mind", "Allen Barnes", and "Help Me Get Away". CD features bonus tracks – "Bell Isle Daze (lost alt mix)" and "Saturday Night Special (lost alternate mix)". CD

Quite possibly the greatest Larry Young album of the post-Blue Note years – and a massive bit of funk that totally redefines his sound! Larry's working here with his hip group Fuel – an ensemble that features Laura Logan on lead vocals, giving the tunes a real focus through her lyrics – and letting them pack a bit more punch too, since her voice sounds a lot like Betty Davis at the time! Larry's keyboards are forceful, but never too over the top – and he's notched things down a bit to focus on the overall groove of the set – still keeping things adventurous on the keys, but also working in a mode that's much more heavily jazz funk! The album's one of THE essential electric jazz sets of the 70s – and features the classic break cut "Turn Out the Lights" – plus other great tracks that include "Floating", "Fuel for the Fire", "I Ching", "H+J=B (Hustle + Jam = Bread)" and "New York Electric Street Music". CD

Essential! A hard to find compilation of seminal grooves, the long-out-of-print first volume to the legendary Headz compilation! This one blew everyone's mind back in the mid 90s, and it shaped the world of beathead production dratically for the next few years. Loads of great titles, including "Slipper Suite" by Palmskin Productions, "2000" by R.P.M., "In Flux (alternative interlude '93 version)" and "Lost & Found (SFL)" by DJ Shadow, "They Came In Peace" by Tranquility Bass, "Stars" by Nightmares On Wax, "Contemplating Jazz" by Attica Blues, "The Time Has Come" by UNKLE vs Major Force Orchestra, "Head West – Gunfight At The OK Corrall" by Howie B, "Destroy All Monsters" by Skull, "Lowride" by Autechre and 'Ravers Suck Our Sound" by La Funk Mob, plus a bunch of other smoked out trip hop grooves! CD

A blinding reissue of Roy's early jazz work for Atlantic! Both records are great, and feature super-hip lineups that include players like Herbie Hancock, Sonny Sharrock, Joe Henderson, Reggie Workman, Charles Tolliver, and Ron Carter. Despite the early placement of the material in Roy's career, his conception on the vibes is extremely mature, and both records represent a haunting new conception of the instrument that was to later emerge in full force on Roy's jazz funk albums for Polygram a few years later. These Atlantic sides are essential listening for Roy, and they're amazing little records that show a previously under-recognized side of his career. They're filled with great original tracks like "Ayerloom", "Virgo Vibes", "Glow Flower", "Shadows", and "Daddy Bug" – and the sound and package is excellent! CD

An excellent album by one of the greatest Brazilian funk bands ever – a wonderful blend of funk, jazz, and soul – and a set that rivals any of the best work coming from the US at the time! These guys are right on the money right from the start – moving through sharp changes with effortless ease, yet never in a way that's too slick or commercial – kind of like that perfect balance that Kool & The Gang hit for just a few records in the mid 70s – but with more of a Brazilian feel overall. Jazzy licks abound – and the keyboards, guitar, and horns are just great – but the set's also got some more regional percussion, too – which really rounds out the record wonderfully. The grooves all have a really universal appeal – essential for any fan of funky sounds – and titles include "Mr Funky Samba", "Junia", "Casa Forte", "Na Baixa Do Sapateiro", "Lelbon Via Vaz Lobo", "Baia", "Maria Fumaca", and "Metalurgia". LP, Vinyl record album

An essential record from Gary Bartz – one of two albums he cut with Andy Bey, and the killer group he was calling his NTU Troup! Andy's vocals are incredible – light years ahead of anything he did with his sisters, and similar to those he laid down on his own solo album for Atlantic, and on Blue Note sides with Horace Silver – a righteous mix of jazz and soul, with a burning intensity that makes the political themes of the tracks come out strongly. The album includes one of Andy's all time classics – the original 7 minute version of "Celestial Blues", plus the fantastically grooving "Uhuru Sasa" – as well as the cuts "The Planets", and "Blue (A Folk Tale)". And Gary Bartz is pretty great too – dropping in these angular reed lines that really give the record an edge, and which sound totally great next to Bey's vocals! LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous achievement in jazz from Daniel Bingert – the kind of record that would be in everyone's collection, had it been issued back in 1959 – but a set that's every bit as essential all these decades later! Binger's the composer, and has kind of a postwar modern sensibility about his music – that mix of core elements and individual voices that made Mingus so great when he was at his best – except Daniel's also got more of an ear for modal rhythms, of the sort that remind us a bit of the inspirations on the European scene during the Saba/MPS generation, taken forward with some of the fresher, completely visionary ideas that we've always loved from the Moserobie label! The group's a sextet with some key Moserobie members in the line up – Jonas Kullhammar on alto, Karl Olandersson on trumpet, Per Texas Johansson on tenor, Charlie Malmberg on piano, Moussa Fadera on drums, and the mighty Torbjorn Zetterberg on bass – whose energy alone is enough to guide the album. Titles include "City Sirens", "Cinco De Mayo", "Henry & Bernard", "Notredame", "Lost Keys", "Gil Bill", and "Kaya Boca". LP, Vinyl record album