Arashi (Akira Sakata/Johan Berthling/Paal Nilssen Love)
Jikan
PNL (Norway), 2019.
Legendary Japanese reedman Akira Sakata joins younger improvisers Johan Berthling on bass and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums and percussion – and really seems to shape their performance, given the results of the record! Sakata blows both alto sax and bass clarinet – always with that rich, ...
Saravah/Ultra Vybe (Japan), 1970.
Genius work from French composer Francis Lai – one of his greatest soundtracks ever, and done during the same period as Live For Life and A Man & A Woman! The feel here is very similar to the work of those films – and was also done for a project directed by Claude Lelouch – ...
Seven Seas/Ultra Vybe (Japan), 1976.
A sleazy film, but one with some really great music from Francis Lai – the composer better known for his mainstream contributions to classics like A Man & A Woman and Live For Life! In any setting, Lai displays an amazing genius for spare tunes that hit a lyrical chord and a warmly ...
Disc AZ/Ultra Vybe (Japan), 1967.
One of the greatest soundtracks ever – an archetypal album from French composer Francis Lai, and a record that set the tone for countless other imitations to come – yet which is still the best! The groove here is really unique – a spare blend of bossa influences, jazzy organ ...
Philips/Universal (Japan), 1976.
A sexy soundtrack to a mid-70s film written and directed by Serge Gainsbourg – and starring Jane Birkin and a young Gerard Depardieu! The feel here is very much in the spirit of Serge's work of the time – especially that recorded with Birkin – but in a way, it's almost even ...
Philips/Universal (Japan), 1966. 2CDs
One of our favorite soundtracks ever – a jazzy swinging ode to love found and love lost – all penned by the legendary Michel Legrand! The work was composed in collaboration with director Jacques Demy for his 1966 film of the same name – and, like the previous Demy/Legrand ...
Philips/Universal (Japan), 1964. 2CDs
One of the most wonderful soundtracks ever! Michel Legrand wrote the jazzy groovy score for this legendary French film from the mid 60s – and every word of dialogue in the film is sung throughout, making for a very cool, ever-changing array of vocal bits and jazzy styles. Embedded in here ...
Serge Gainsbourg/Michel Colombier
Anna
Philips/Universal (Japan), 1967.
A late 60s soundtrack by Serge Gainsbourg – but a record that's easily as great as any of his studio albums from the same time! The bulk of the album has a spare, punctuated groove that's somewhat funky – quite a bit like Melody Nelson in its sense of space and timing – and its ...
Paramount/Universal (Japan), 1969.
A really wonderful Quincy Jones soundtrack from the end of the 60s – and one that's a bit different than some of his other work of the decade! The film's a very cool British heist story, with Michael Caine in the lead – and while Quincy brings in plenty of the jazz of his background, ...
Bizarre/Third Man, Late 60s. 2LP Gatefold (reissue)
LP ...
About April 1, 2024
A seminal moment in leftfield music – maybe the crowning achievement of Captain Beefheart, and a landmark collaboration with Frank Zappa as well! Zappa produced, and gave the group plenty of room to stretch out on this double-length set done for his Bizarre Records imprint – which ...
Strata East/Heavenly Sweetness (France), 1974. (reissue)
A beautiful session of spiritual soul jazz – and one of the rarer albums on the legendary Strata East label! The obscure combo is led by drummer/percussionist John Betsch – and instrumentation includes guitar, piano, electric piano, and reeds – all used with plenty of warm ...
Soul What, 2012.
Mars Williams on reeds and toy instruments, Paal Nilssen-Love on drums and percussion, and Kent Kessler on bass.
SR/Sonor (Italy), 1972. (reissue)
A gem of a sound library record from one of the all-time greats – and maybe one of the few artists who gave his equal all, whether he was cutting a full film soundtrack, or just a discreet batch of tracks like these in the studio! The music is as groovy as groovy can be – sometimes ...
Dusty Groove Gear,
The ultimate bag for shopping for records – one that's big enough to handle dozens of pieces of vinyl – yet small enough to fold away easily! The bag is 100% cotton, all natural, with a Dusty Groove logo on one side, and a vintage phone book ad on the other – and it's got a very ...
Vive Le Rock (UK), 2024.
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Dusty Groove Gear,
A modernist design that hearkens back to our favorite jazz albums of the 50s – served up as a testament to our best-selling style of music year after year! Yet even if you're not a jazz listener, you can still dig the sleek look of the image – which is printed here on an even better ...
Dusty Groove Gear,
A modernist design that hearkens back to our favorite jazz albums of the 50s – served up as a testament to our best-selling style of music year after year! Yet even if you're not a jazz listener, you can still dig the sleek look of the image – which is printed here on an even better ...
Dusty Groove Gear,
A modernist design that hearkens back to our favorite jazz albums of the 50s – served up as a testament to our best-selling style of music year after year! Yet even if you're not a jazz listener, you can still dig the sleek look of the image – which is printed here on an even better ...
Dusty Groove Gear,
A modernist design that hearkens back to our favorite jazz albums of the 50s – served up as a testament to our best-selling style of music year after year! Yet even if you're not a jazz listener, you can still dig the sleek look of the image – which is printed here on an even better ...
Dusty Groove Gear,
A modernist design that hearkens back to our favorite jazz albums of the 50s – served up as a testament to our best-selling style of music year after year! Yet even if you're not a jazz listener, you can still dig the sleek look of the image – which is printed here on an even better ...
Dusty Groove Gear,
An image that conjures up the delight we experience every time we drop a needle on a record – kicking back and letting our mind drift away to the music! And sure, maybe we're not as likely to drop the cover on the floor as this guy – we are record collectors after all – but we ...
Dusty Groove Gear,
An image that conjures up the delight we experience every time we drop a needle on a record – kicking back and letting our mind drift away to the music! And sure, maybe we're not as likely to drop the cover on the floor as this guy – we are record collectors after all – but we ...
Dusty Groove Gear,
An image that conjures up the delight we experience every time we drop a needle on a record – kicking back and letting our mind drift away to the music! And sure, maybe we're not as likely to drop the cover on the floor as this guy – we are record collectors after all – but we ...
Dusty Groove Gear,
An image that conjures up the delight we experience every time we drop a needle on a record – kicking back and letting our mind drift away to the music! And sure, maybe we're not as likely to drop the cover on the floor as this guy – we are record collectors after all – but we ...
Dusty Groove Gear,
An image that conjures up the delight we experience every time we drop a needle on a record – kicking back and letting our mind drift away to the music! And sure, maybe we're not as likely to drop the cover on the floor as this guy – we are record collectors after all – but we ...
Beat Machine (Italy),
...
Thames & Hudson, 2022.
Maybe one of the coolest books ever on the legendary Blue Note Records label – a huge full color book that's part discography, part story of the label – filled with loads of information on classic recordings, plus album covers, rare photos, and lots of other great images we never would ...
Steeplechase (Denmark),
...
Steeplechase (Denmark), 2018.
Modern Hammond hero Brian Charette gets some great help here – tenor legend George Coleman, whose presence in the group makes an already-solid combo really sound great! Coleman was never a tenor player to work with an organ back in the 60s and 70s – but his work here is really ...
RCA/Klimt (Italy), 1971. (reissue)
LP ...
About April 1, 2024
In the early 70s, pianist Chris McGregor was one of the leading lights of the British jazz scene – an expatriot South African living in London, whose work with the legendary group The Blue Notes was steeped in an African rhythmic traditions! This seminal work from 1971 shows how much ...
Afrosynth (Netherlands),
...
Bash Village (UK), 2023. 2LP
A stunning set from saxophonist Jowee Omicil – dedicated to a slave uprising in 18th Century Haiti, but served up with a righteous vibe that's very progressive and 70s overall! The music is spiritual, but also very loose and avant – as Omicil switches between woodwinds and trumpet, and ...
Bash Village (UK), 2024.
A stunning set from saxophonist Jowee Omicil – dedicated to a slave uprising in 18th Century Haiti, but served up with a righteous vibe that's very progressive and 70s overall! The music is spiritual, but also very loose and avant – as Omicil switches between woodwinds and trumpet, and ...
WHP (Italy), 2LP
LP ...
About April 1, 2024
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WHP (Italy),
LP ...
About April 1, 2024
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Out-Sider (Italy), 1977.
George Clinton and the P-Funk army in all their 70s glory – presented here in a live performance that was originally done for radio in Detroit! There's not much in the way of notes or personnel listed for the set, but there's definitely some long jamming passages on the set, which are likely ...
Raks/Survival Research (Australia), 1960s.
Iranian garage rock – kind of hard to believe at first, but a surprising musical discovery overall! The package documents a very overlooked scene – rock bands from late 60s Iran who were clearly inspired by the American underground of the time – working in a heady brew of guitar, ...
Grenade/P-Vine (Japan), 1975. (reissue)
Some of the funkiest work we've ever heard from Vernon Garrett – recorded in California, but with a nicely gritty southern soul sound! The tunes have some of the bluesy inflections of Vernon's more famous work – but they also come across with a groove that's tighter, especially on the ...
Trojan/Music On Vinyl (Netherlands), 1968. (reissue)
A rocksteady classic from The Ethiopians – but a set that also has plenty more going on as well! The duo work here as a Jamaican counterpart to American soul groups – one of the first and best to hit the Kingston scene – but they also open themselves up to lots of other ideas in ...
17 North Parade, 1972. (reissue)
The stellar early 70s collection of Pablo instrumental sides, tracked between the groundbreaking Java, Java, Java and East Of The River Nile LPs! Like those, this album features Pablo's melodica prominently, over some nice roots rhythms laid down by an all star cast, including Carlton Barrett, ...
Rocafort (France), 2024.
Very joyous sounds from Konkolo Orchestra – an Afro Funk group, but one with a really uplifting vibe – a really special approach to the music that definitely sets them apart from the rest! Part of the music's charm lies in the vocals – often sung by lead singer Nongoma Ndlovu, a ...
Record Kicks (Italy),
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Record Kicks (Italy),
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Heavenly Sweetness (France),
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Heavenly Sweetness (France),
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Raadio Kohila (Estonia),
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Four Flies (Italy),
LP ...
About April 5, 2024
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Destination Moon, 1959. (reissue)
A great early moment for the legendary Charles Mingus – music that was used in the equally-legendary film Shadows – the first directorial effort from a young John Cassavetes! The album's worth it alone for the unusual piece "Untitled Percussion Composition" – one of the ...
Today/Survival Research, Early 1970s. (reissue)
Very righteous work from The Exciters – best known for their girl group recordings in the 60s, but recording here in a very heavy sort of 70s mode – strongly in keeping with the "Black Beauty" in the title! Arrangements and production on the set are by Herb Rooney – who ...
Madlib Invazion, 2024.
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Sound Triangle/On High, 1973. (reissue)
Some of the tightest funky 70s jamming ever – a lost gem from Ray & His Musical Court, a group that perfectly fuses JB/Horny Horns funk with beat-heavy Afro-Cuban groove! Ray and the group are one of the more obscure funky combos of the era, and it's a damn shame, because the group's ...
Polydor (France), 2LP
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Bellaphon/Kray (Germany), 1977.
Very cool work from Psi – a hip 70s German group who were partly fusion, partly prog – in that special sort of blend shared by a rare few contemporaries – such as Embryo, Perigeo, or Zzebra! As with all three of those groups, the musicians here are clearly schooled in jazz, but ...
Gearbox (UK),
LP ...
About April 5, 2024
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Gearbox (UK),
CD ...
About April 5, 2024
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Musidisc/Strut (UK), Mid 1970s. (reissue)
An amazing Afro-Funk classic – and one of the strongest albums ever by this famous ensemble of Paris-based, African-influenced funky players! You may have heard their work on the Africa Funk compilation, so you probably know that they've got slammin drums, fuzzy funky guitars, and lots of ...
Makossa/Strut, 1976. (reissue)
A fantastic bit of Afro funky soul – reissued here with the original cover and everything! The album's probably the best-ever by the Lafayette Afro-Rock band – recorded in Paris, with a cool mix of 70s funk grooving and strange African influences. Includes the classic break track ...
Fontana/Topic (UK), 1965. (reissue)
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Wah Wah 45s (UK), 2023.
Dele Sosimi was raised in the shadow of Fela Kuti, literally – as he spent part of his youth in Fela's commune – yet his music is nicely free of some of the overdone Afro Funk modes of the 70s, and instead really finds a fresh way forward with all sorts of wonderful criss-crossings of ...
Trojan/Music On Vinyl (Netherlands), 1973. (reissue)
Excellent set of mid 70s numbers cut by Leroy Sibbles, one of the architects of the Studio One sound, and his partners in the Heptones, Earl Morgan and Barry Llwellyn, under producer Harry J. Sweet Jamaican harmony trio over some mellow island soul grooves. Originally released in Jamaica as Book ...
Perfect Toy (Germany),
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Jazzman (UK), Late 1950s/Early 1960s.
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Analog Africa (Germany), 2LP
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Analog Africa (Germany),
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Les Rhythmes Ruban (France),
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Mo Wax/Pias, 1996. 2LP (reissue)
A record that forever changed the role of the DJ and turntable when it was dropped on the world – certainly not the first record to feature an artist building sound out of a mixture of old records and his own creation, but definitely one of the most hyped and most exposed over the years! For ...
Blue Note, 1964. (reissue)
The pinnacle of Blue Note's "new thing" era! This amazing album was led by drummer Tony Williams (then just a wee lad, playing with Miles Davis, in his legendary 60s quintet) – but it's more of a "roundtable" session that features equal contributions by some of Blue Note's ...
Blue Note, 1963. (reissue)
A bit less well-known than some of the real Horace Silver classics on Blue Note – but an incredible record that shows the Silver Quintet at all its lyrical best! The record is a masterpiece of original voicings from Horace – not just in the unique tunes he penned for the set, but also ...
Round, 1987. 2LP (reissue)
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