7 mixes of the 45 King hit: Original, 45 King remix, 3 Ced Gee remixes, Lakim Shabazz acapella, YZ acapella. 12-inch, Vinyl record

One of those early hard to find Next Plateau single, before they were distributed by Polygram. Maybe we're off in our geography, MC Sugar Ray sounds almost like a Brooklyn version of Big Daddy Kane. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Killer early material from Freddy King – a blues album, but one that's also got a strong resonance with instrumental soul and early funk! The record is "Strictly Instrumental" – as the cover says – and a nice batch of short bluesy groovers that feature Freddy's great guitar work! Freddie was way more than just a blues guitarist, as his style here was a definite precursor to funk – hard, heavy, and with the kinds of little tricks that would be taken up a lot by other players in the funky 45 era. Tracks are all nice, and titles include "San Ho Zay", "Side Tracked", "Wash Out", "In The Open", "Heads Up", "Just Pickin", and "Swooshy". CD

A great issue with Roctober's double-flip format – one side printed right side up for the music content, the other upside-down for the comics! The double-cover issue has features on PJ Proby, ONO, Skafish, Klaus Nomi, Lenny Bruce, The Mummies, Sly Stone, Sun Records saxophonist Martin Willis, and Pedro Funkadelic Bell – plus Heavy Metal cartoonist Serge Clerc, and comix by Plastic Crimewave, Archer Prewitt, Matt Madden, King Merinuk, Rob Syers and MORE! Magazine

A funky treasure trove from Apple & The Three Oranges – a group we hardly know at all, but who really blow us away with the cuts on this collection! The groove is plenty hard right from the get-go – the best of the funky 45 underground of the early 70s – which means that there's more 60s rawness on the record than you'd get from bigger-label funk at the time – as Ed "Apple" Nelson still works here with a mostly underground vibe! Ed plays drums – which are mighty hard on most numbers – and his vocals have this offbeat, off-kilter, over the top quality that almost reminds us a bit of the Hank Ballard/James Brown recordings for late 60s King – particularly in the way that Nelson's completely unbridled with his energy. The whole thing's great – one of the best funky collections we've heard in years – and presented with a rich amount of notes and historical information too. Titles include "Free & Easy (parts 1 & 2)", "Moon Light", "Curse Upon The World", "What Goes Around Comes Around", "Down Home Publicity", "True Love Will Never Die", "Gotta Stand For Something (parts 1 & 2)", and "I'll Give You A Ring". CD features a massive 52 page booklet, too! CD

A funky treasure trove from Apple & The Three Oranges – a group we hardly know at all, but who really blow us away with the cuts on this collection! The groove is plenty hard right from the get-go – the best of the funky 45 underground of the early 70s – which means that there's more 60s rawness on the record than you'd get from bigger-label funk at the time – as Ed "Apple" Nelson still works here with a mostly underground vibe! Ed plays drums – which are mighty hard on most numbers – and his vocals have this offbeat, off-kilter, over the top quality that almost reminds us a bit of the Hank Ballard/James Brown recordings for late 60s King – particularly in the way that Nelson's completely unbridled with his energy. The whole thing's great – one of the best funky collections we've heard in years – and presented with a rich amount of notes and historical information too. Titles include "Free & Easy (parts 1 & 2)", "Moon Light", "Curse Upon The World", "What Goes Around Comes Around", "Down Home Publicity", "True Love Will Never Die", "Gotta Stand For Something (parts 1 & 2)", and "I'll Give You A Ring". Features a great 16 page booklet with extensive liner notes and photos! LP, Vinyl record album

A 90s hip hop masterpiece from Diamond D – and like some of the rest of the best of the decade, a set that was slightly slept-on at the time, but which has gone to have massive impact over the decades – still sounding completely fresh in comparison to bigger hits of the time! Diamond D comes from the same DITC underground as Showbiz & AG, Big L, and Lord Finesse – and like those others, when he got his time in the spotlight, he really took off – with beats that had an influence on so much more to come – and a very collaborative spirit that opens the door for contributions from Fat Joe, Mark The 45 King, Brand Nubian, Lakim Shabazz, and some of his old partners in DITC. Titles include the classic "Best Kept Secret" – with its fantastic Kool & The Gang sample – plus "Sally Got A One Track Mind", "I'm Outta Here," "Check One Two", "Freestyle", "Stunts Blunts & Hip Hop", "Pass Dat S**t", "What You Seek", "Confused", "A Day In The Life", "Step To Me", and "Shut The *!*! Up". LP, Vinyl record album

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

Queen Latifah's second album – still very much in the prime of her early hip hop career! Latifah's got some great help here – and is working with beats by the 45 King, Naughty By Nature, K Cut of Main Source, and an incorrectly credited Louie Vega – all of whom bring some sharper edges to the work than you might expect from her later years. Titles include "Latifah's Had It Up 2 Here", "Nuff Of The Ruff Stuff", "Give Me Your Love", "Fly Girl", "Nature Of A Sista", "That's The Way We Flow", and "How Do I Love Thee". LP, Vinyl record album

Red Alert mixes up some late 80s hits with some talking. Includes BDP "Jimmy", Jungle Bros "On The Run", Just Ice "Goin Way Back", Ultramagnetic MC's "Feelin It (rmx)", " Funky", Hellrazor "No More James", 45 King "The King Is Here", "The 900 Number", Sugar Bear "Ready To Penatrate", MC Mitchski "Red Alert Is A Great Man." LP, Vinyl record album

A mighty nice little package – one that's overflowing with the special sort of Latin and soul music hybrids that rose up from the Spanish Harlem scene in the late 60s – the kind of cuts that helped establish Fania Records as one of the most important Latin labels around – and one of the grooviest too! These aren't the 70s salsa tracks that Fania spread across the globe – but the more New York-styled numbers that often had English language lyrics in the lead, sung by a soulful vocalist – and set to small combo rhythms that were overflowing with energy, and plenty of touches of jazz, soul, and funk! These are all the mixes from the rare 45rpm singles issued by Fania back in the day – and although the songs are wonderful, the collection together is even cooler as a whole – dozens of tracks, including some really rare ones – all bound up in a 7" book-styled cover, with 60 pages of notes, and a bonus funky 45! Titles include "Silent Heart" by 125th Street Candy Store, "Micro Mini" and "Make Out" by Harvey Averne, "Too Much Lovin" and "So Fine" by Joe Bataan, "Willie Baby" by Willie Colon, "Soul Drummers" and "Mercy Mercy Baby" by Ray Barretto, "Geronimo" and "Funky Big Feet" by Bobby Valentin, "Mercie" by Ralph Robles, "Camel Walk" by The Latinaires, "Batola Boogaloo" by Bobby Quesada, "Grazin In The Grass" by Orchestra Harlow, "Spinning Wheel" by El Apollo Sound, "Hey Sister" by Monguito Santamaria, "Who Is The Girl For Me" and "Look At Her" by Ralfi Pagan, "New York Soul" by Ray Barretto, "Some Lonely Heart" by ronnie Marks, "Let's Get It Together This Christmas" by Harvey Averne, "Shaft" and "If I Were A King" by Joe Bataan, "Johnny's No Good" and "Blonde Latin Blues" by WRLC, and "Today" and "Try Just a Little Harder" by Butter Scotch. Lots more too – and the bonus 7" single features two promo tracks recorded for DJ Symphony Sid – one by Joe Bataan, the other by Bobby Valentin! CD

A deep look at a blues scene that doesn't always get its due – music not from Chicago, Memphis, or various points south – but some nicely gritty tracks that were cut in New York during the postwar years! Despite New York's fame as a hub of jazz, soul, and other styles – the city also had a surprisingly strong blues scene in the 50s and 60s, which is when most of these tracks were recorded – music that's both in the electric modes that were showing up in other urban centers at the time, and also in some more traditional modes that were sometimes left behind in other cities – but which got a nice revival in New York, thanks to an interest in folk blues from the underground! Material here was originally recorded by a range of different labels – Old Town, Atlantic, Mercury, Prestige, Fire, Apollo, King, and Chess – and as you'd expect from Ace, there's also some unreleased material on the set, all presented with a great assortment of notes and details on every single track. 26 titles in all – with cuts that include "Bad Blood" by Champion Jack Dupree, "Step It Up & Go" by Blind Boy Fuller, "The Guy With A 45" by Allen Bunn & His Trio, "Stormy Monday Blues" by Bob Gaddy, "Kansas City March" by Wild Jimmy Spruill, "Four Women Blues" by Larry Johnson & Hank Adkins, "Idle Hours" by Lonnie Johnson with Victory Spivey, "Hard Times" by Noble Thin Man Watts, "Believe Me Darling" by June Bateman, "Security" by Tarheel Slim & Little Ann, "Jack That Cat Was Clean" by Dr Horse, and "Goodbye Kansas City" by Wilbert Harrison. CD

A deep deep dig into the vaults of King/Federal Records – initial home to James Brown and a host of other R&B acts in the 50s – lots of whom are featured here! The collection includes many tracks never reissued before – all hand-picked by vintage 45 expert Mr Fine Wine, and laid out at a level that's both fresher than most King Records collections – and most of the 50s R&B sets we know as well! Fine Wine comes at the project almost with a "roots of funk" approach – which means that there's loads of unusual rhythms, weird cultural hybrids, and raw pre-soul vocals over the top – a killer range of cuts that include "Space Guitar" by Young John Watson, "Bossa Nova & Grits" by Little Joe Washington, "The Way You Do" by Jimmy Nolen, "Good Mambo Tonight" by Wynonie Harris, "Somewhere Down The Line" by Little Jimmy Scott, "You Can't Hide" by Lula Reed & Freddie King, "Back On The Block" by Sam Anderson & The Telstars, "Same Old Thing" by Amos Milburn, "You're Lower Than A Mole" by Camille Howard, "Be Bop Wino" by The Lamplighters, "Cherry Wine" by Little Esther, and "Stop Knockin" by Juanita Nixon. CD

One of the cookingest funky compilations we've ever carried – a monster batch of 10 funky Hammond organ tracks, all pretty darn obscure! The set was done under the supervision of New York Funk 45 DJ Mr Fine Wine – and features a stunning batch of tunes that are all plenty darn hard to find – and filled with heavy drums, roaring basslines, and super-smoking work on keyboards! Plus, unlike lots of other dodgy sets on the market, the whole thing's totally legit – and very well researched and thought out. Titles include "Cool Dad" by Ross Carnegie, "The Hatch" by The TMGs, "Every Time part 2" by Buddy McKnight, "Soul Power" by Jimmy Willis, "Foot Stumping" by The Organics, "Put Your Weight On It part 1" by The Filmore St Soul Rebellions, "Shimmy" by Toussaint McCall, and "Don't Give A Damn" by King Cain/Silvertone Band. Great! CD

An incredibly evocative record – one of the strangest of its kind, and an audio treasure that we've loved for years! Eden Ahbez first came into public prominence as the man who wrote "Nature Boy" for Nat King Cole – a dark, moody tune that was as mysterious and earthy as the man who wrote it! This album was recorded nearly a decade after Cole's original hit, and features Ahbez almost in Moondog-like territory – working in an amazing setting of odd instruments and exotic percussion – but also singing in this almost spiritualist kind of way! The record's got plenty of ties to the exotica scene of the late 50s – but also stand out from the pack with a mad vision that's all its own – a strange intersection of lines that one might draw between Moondog, Martin Denny, and Anton La Vey! Tracks include "The Wanderer", "Eden's Island", "Tradewind", "Full Moon", "Mongoose", "Market Place", "The Old Boat", "Island Girl" and "La Mar". Great expanded package – with bonus tracks that include the unreleased "Surf Rider", plus "The Wanderer (alt)", "Tobago (45 rpm mix)", "Jam Session 78", "India (demo)", "Big Square From Nowhere", and "The Planet Song". Also includes related tracks "Sahara" by Bob Romeo, "Song Of The Fool" by The Crew Cuts, "End Of Desire" by Jack Powers, "The Shepherd" by Herb Jeffries, "Hey Jacque" by The Mt Holyoke V8s, "Monterey (alt version)" by John Harris, "Big Rock Steam Roller" by Biggie McFadden, "Green Flamingo" by Robbie Lester, and "Lonely Island" by Gene Chandler. CD

Not to be confused with "Popcorn" – this is the hard funky cut "Mother Popcorn", a real killer with a chanting vocal that goes "You've Got to Have a Mother for Me"! Served up here on a gorgeous original King 45, with a photo of The Godfather on the label! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A funky treasure trove from Apple & The Three Oranges – a group we hardly know at all, but who really blow us away with the cuts on this collection! The groove is plenty hard right from the get-go – the best of the funky 45 underground of the early 70s – which means that there's more 60s rawness on the record than you'd get from bigger-label funk at the time – as Ed "Apple" Nelson still works here with a mostly underground vibe! Ed plays drums – which are mighty hard on most numbers – and his vocals have this offbeat, off-kilter, over the top quality that almost reminds us a bit of the Hank Ballard/James Brown recordings for late 60s King – particularly in the way that Nelson's completely unbridled with his energy. The whole thing's great – one of the best funky collections we've heard in years – and presented with a rich amount of notes and historical information too. Titles include "Free & Easy (parts 1 & 2)", "Moon Light", "Curse Upon The World", "What Goes Around Comes Around", "Down Home Publicity", "True Love Will Never Die", "Gotta Stand For Something (parts 1 & 2)", and "I'll Give You A Ring". CD features a massive 52 page booklet, too! CD

A killer from James Brown – and one of his best instrumental albums of the King years! The record has James working with the pre-JBs James Brown Band – a tight assemblage of players who really know how to craft an off-kilter groove. The guitar's popping on the beat here as much as the horns, making for a syncopated groove that's utterly fantastic – as tight as a drum, and as funky as one too! Includes some great long cuts – like the 9 minute, two-part versions of "Ain't It Funky" and "Fat Wood" – plus some great shorter funky 45 type material, like "Nose Job", "Use Your Mother", "Give It Up Or Turnit Loose", and a version of "Cold Sweat". All the work here is tremendous – the kind of inspirational funky material that makes the album a lasting classic decade after decade! LP, Vinyl record album

Killer funky work from James! "Let A Man Come In" is a stone-cold funky number – with great raw popping grooves, very much in the Popcorn vein! Hard to find on vinyl in any form – and sounds great on the hot funky 45 mix! "Sometime" is nice, too – with a deep soul sound that's mellower than the a-side, but still very nice. 7-inch, Vinyl record

Killer James Brown! This late King classic is done up in 3 parts – and weren't there only 2 parts on the LP? Even more of a reason to buy this funky 45. It's so hot, it goes all the way to part 3! That third part is the super-duper killer – done in a fast funk style that's so incredible you'll be hard pressed to believe that the group's actually playing the instruments without help from tapes or overdubs – and James shouts along with the whole thing, driving the tune into a frenzy! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Funky funky Hammond – a rare late 60s album from organist Bill Doggett, done with some help from James Brown – and a set that's unlike anything Doggett ever recorded before – or since! There's a blasting groove to the record right from the start – thanks to help from The James Brown Band on the leadoff cut – but even when they drop out, and Doggett's combo goes out on their own, the sound is still amazing – tight, soulful, and very much in a funky 45 style all the way through! Drums are hard, the organ is nice and fluid, and the sound is prime late 60s instrumental funk – a groove that Doggett never managed to reach again, which makes this record a real standout treasure. The album includes the legendary funky break cuts "Honky Tonk" and "Honky Tonk Popcorn", plus lots of other nice groovers, like "A Doozy", "Mad", "Slippin In", and "Corner Pocket". CD features great notes, and more bonus tracks that include "Sassy B", "Before Lunch", "Short Stack", "Wet & Satisfied", "Some Kind Of Head", and "For Once In My Life". CD

One of the coolest sets the Numero Group has ever released – and that's saying a heck of a lot, given their already-mighty catalog! Although the label issued a previous dip into the enigmatic Boddie Recording company of Cleveland, this massive package brings together a whopping 57 tracks from the Boddie studios and related labels – many of which have never been reissued before, even by Numero – and all of which offer up a mindblowing microcosm of the American scene in the 60s and 70s – a wealth of rare funk, soul, psych, gospel, and more – all of it the kind of gritty material that 45 collectors die for! But just as cool as the music is the box itself – a slipcover that fits around a hardcover book, which contains individual pockets with CDs that focus on the core labels from Boddie – then other pull outs that include a big booklet on the studios, another on the artists, and a third set of bonus inserts! Musically, the whole thing's right on par with other Numero releases – maybe even above them, given the wide range and depth of the collection – and artists include Bo & The Metros, Inter Circle, King James Version, Ricky Hodges, Jackie Russell, Angela Alexander, Frankie Pighee, Chantells, AC Jones, Harvey Hall, Headlines, Modern Detergents, Penny North, JC Akins, Little Anthony Mitchell, Gospel Fabulators, Royal Kings, Corinthian Singers, Brother Bill, Victory 5, and many more. This version includes a fourth "Boddie Bonus Disc" with 22 additional tracks! CD

An incredible compilation of classic era dub work from King Tubby's – played by producer Bunny Lee's legendary Aggrovators band and showcasing the mixing skills of Tubby, Prince Jammy, Scientist and others! This is prime era hypnotic dub of the finest caliber – originally issued on Jamaican 45s, and hard-to-find for decades! The great Blood & Fire label did the dub digging community a major solid by issuing the material on some wonderful compilations, but even those had been out of print for a couple decades before this much needed, sprawling VP/17th North Parade assemblage. Includes "A Bag Of Wire Dub", "Dub Of Rights", "A Heavy Dub", "A Living Version", "How Long Dub", "Breaking Up Dub", "Poor Barber", "Sub To The Rescue", "King Tubby's In Fine Style", "Horn For I", "Jah Love Rocker's Dub", "Stealing Version", "Fatter Dub", "Satta Dread Dub", "Tubby Get Smart", "Beat Them In Dub", "Version Of Class", "Peace And Love In The Dub", "Thunder Rock", "Channel Is A Joker", "Peace And Love In The Dub", "Step It Up In Dub", "Chapter Of Money" and more. 44 tracks on 2CDs! CD

A really obscure soul trio from the New Jersey scene of the 70s – and one who've got a nicely rough-edged approach to their harmonies! The record's definitely in the grittier side of the scene – more funky 45 production overall, and a nice current of funk on the record at times too – mixed with some of the mellower sweet soul styles that Jersey groups were delivering at the time! The approach is a bit like a more streamlined approach to territory that Soul Generation were hitting at the time – and titles include "Trespassin", "I Can't Take No Chances", "Crying Shame", "Love For My Girl", "Taking All The Love I Can", "I Caught You Cheating", and "Birth Of A Playboy". LP, Vinyl record album

Features James Moody on tenor sax. Tracks include "Desert Storm", "Nuestro Bolero", Thelonious Monk's "I Mean You", "Out Of Nowhere", "Giant Steps", and "Linda's Moody". CD

One of the most ambitious albums ever recorded from Clifford Jordan – a totally righteous little effort that was the first installment in the legendary Dolphy Series on the Strata East label! The set has Jordan working with a larger group than usual – an all-star array of players that includes Kenny Dorham and Don Cherry on trumpets, Julian Priester on trombone, Wynton Kelly on piano, Wilbur Ware and Richard Davis on bass, and drums from Roy Haynes, Ed Blackwell, and Albert Heath. The titles are originals by Jordan – long numbers that flow out slowly as they build up new musical ideas – all in a style that's somewhat laidback and spacious, very organic, and a bit like some of the best early 70s Impulse material by Archie Shepp. Album features 4 long tracks – "872", "Vienna", "Doug's Prelude", and "Ouagoudougou". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from one of the undisputed UK maestros of lovers rock during the 80s – producer Neville King, who serves up this totally sweet batch of overlooked gems from the time! The groove is nice and mellow – that fantastic blend of contemporary soul and reggae rhythms that really took hold in London and other UK spots from the late 70s onward – perfect for slow-stepping in the more laidback hours of a party, or chilling out back home on your own! Singers on all these tracks are great – nicely understated, but plenty soulful – and titles include "What About Me" by Blood Sisters, "Lady Lady" by One Blood, "At The Dance" by Leroy Simmonds, "It's Love That Makes A Woman" by Karen Dixon, "They Don't Stay Long" by Unique, "Open Up The Door" by Charisma, "The Day Will Come" by The Sadonians, "Love Sweet Love" by Love & Emotion, and "Not My Baby" by The Sensations. CD features bonus tracks – "Hold Me Tight" by Natural Touch, and "Loving Kind" by Simplicity. CD

Trini Lopez blew up in pretty big way in the early 60s, circa "If I Had A Hammer", but in the preceding years he cut a slew of great singles for King & DRA – early rock style rumblers and moodier numbers that are just as great – collected here nicely by Ace! Trini's vocals are charismatic as can be, whether it's the slyly menacing way he does on this set's title track, or on more yearning, romantic stylist, and always with cool guitar work. Many of those tunes were released with overdubs, but these rawer, superior versions are seeing reissue for the first time in a generation here. Includes "Sinner Not A Saint", "Rock On", "Where Can My Baby Be", "The Club For Broken Hearts", "Rosita", "Chain Of Love", "Sweet Thing", "My Runaway Heart", "You Broke The Only Heart That Ever Loved You", "It Hurts To Be In Love", "Since I Don't Have You", "Don't Go" and more. 29 tracks in all. CD

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous first outing as a leader for Japanese saxophonist Kosuke Mine – one of our favorite players of the 70s, already sounding wonderful here right at the start! The album's got a freewheeling vibe – not entirely avant, and maybe more in the modal territory unlocked by Miles Davis a few years before – although with a very different vibe, given the Mine's in the lead on alto! Yet the group also features some very Miles-like use of electric piano – handled here by Masabumi Kikuchi, a key young contemporary of Mine, and one who'd gotten a bit more of a head start in the world of recording – really adding a lot to the record here, next to the very forward-thinking rhythm duo of American players Larry Ridley on bass and Lenny McBrowne on drums! All tracks are nice and long, and most are originals – the kind of open, long-spun cuts that really herald all the great changes taking place on the Japanese jazz scene at the time. Titles include "Little Abbi", "McPhee", "Love Taken", "Morning Tide", and "Bar L'Len". LP, Vinyl record album

Soaring piano lines, burning trumpet solos, and soulful tenor sax – all wrapped together beautifully in this obscure Japanese session from the 80s – a date that has all the free-thinking power and unbounded energy of some of our favorite American soul jazz sessions from a decade before! The group's led by bassist Shintaro Nakamura, but features wonderful contributions from trumpeter Shunzo Ohno, tenorist Robert Kenmotsu, and pianist Jeff Jenkins – all of whom get plenty of space to state their case on the album's long and stretched-out tracks. The bass of Nakamura and piano of Jenkins sets up a good modal groove on most numbers – and titles include "Future On You", "Don't Forget Me", "Sweet & Sour Sound", "Evolution", and "A Blind Man". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful double-length set – one that brings together the lost legacy of work from singer Norris Reid on the Kingston scene – tracks that were only issued as rare 7" singles, in the years before Reid packed up and left Jamaica for Pittsburgh, and stopped recording gems like this! The work here is wonderful – with Norris continuing a classic roots style well into the 80s, with work from a variety of key producers and hip backings throughout – including some great work from Augustus Pablo, who really took Norris under his wing and helped give him the righteous setting he deserved! The whole thing's great – and titles include "Poverty", "When You A Knotts", "Rise In The Strength Of Jah", "Those Tears", "Knowledge Of Now", "Feel No Pain", "Shaddai Children", "Give Jah The Praises", and "Black Forces". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes selections by The Pretenders, BB King, Talking Heads, Bob James, Rickie Lee Jones, Ric Ocasek, Ray Charles, David Sanborn, and Van Morrison. LP, Vinyl record album

Don't let the title fool you, because although the cover of the record says "Many Sides Of Toshiko", the album only features one – her great approach to bop-inflected trio material – recorded here in a classic Verve session with a distinct Bud Powell influence! Not that we're complaining, though – because Toshiko's at her youthful best here, working with Eugene Cherico on bass and John Hanna on drums – in a set that's even got a few original numbers! The best of these is the 3-part suite "Tosh's Fantasy" – a trio adaptation of one of Akioshi's larger jazz orchestra works. Other titles include "Imagination", "Minor Mood", "Studio J", and "Bags Groove". CD

One of the funkiest cuts ever from reedman Harold Alexander – served up here in the 45rpm single version, which is short, tight, and really concentrates on the funky drums at the core – although still also topped with plenty of fierce funky flute from the man himself! Speaking of funky drums, Pretty Purdie is on the flipside with "Heavy Soul Slinger" – a cut that definitely earns its name, as the funky drums mix with great conga, massive bass, and this warm organ line that really sends the whole thing home! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A great meeting of tenor talents – a collection of some fantastic early material recorded by Jug for Prestige. This collection of great sides, originally issued as 78s, features Ammons and Stitt locking horns on "Blues Up And Down", "You Can Depend On Me", "Easy Glide", "Walkin", "Touch Of The Blues", "Who Threw The Sleeping Pills In Rip Van Winkle's Coffee?" and "Chabootie", with sidemen that include Duke Jordan, Bill Massey, Tommy Potter, Gene Wright, Jo Jones, Art Blakey and Wesley Landers. Classic blowing material! LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique album from Yugoslavian group Angel's Breath – one recorded in Brazil, which might come as no surprise, given that one of the members of the duo is Mitar Subotic Suba – who you'll also know from his groundbreaking album Sao Paulo Confessions! Suba got his start in Serbia, but was crucial in the Brazilian advances in the 90s before his too-early death in 1999 – and the record's definitely got some of the same appeal as the best music of the scene from Chico Science or Arnaldo Antunes – especially in the way it uses offbeat guitar lines, crispy electronics, and unusual rhythms next to lyrics that often feel as poetically experimental as they are tuneful! The whole thing's very difficult to describe, but that really gives it a hell of a lot of charm – and if it were not for the turmoil in Yugoslavia at the time, the set might have seen bigger global attention from the same cultural scene who were embracing Brazilian experiments of the period. Titles include "Madalena", "Velvet", "Caura", "Assassino", "Aplauzi", "40 Seconds Of Love", and "Metak". LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever full length collection of work by Calvin Arnold – a killer 60s soul singer and guitarist, and one who cut some classic funky 45s back in the day, but never got a chance to record an album! All the material here came out on the Venture label – a small label, but one that got great circulation at the time – which helped Calvin's strong style get into more record collections than you might expect! Arnold's a great singer, with a raw southern style – and the use of guitar here really underscores all the best elements in his voice, as does the lean backings, which often have nice drums! The style here kind of takes off where Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle" began – strong praise in our book – and titles include "Snatchin Back", "Funky Way", "Scoobie Doo", "Mini Skirt, "Fool Me Baby", "Lovely Way To Go", "Just A Matter Of Time", "Messin With The Old Folks Home", "Your Love Is Too Much", and "You Got To Live For Yourself". CD

Radiant grooves indeed from Atlantic Starr – a group who really make things sparkle throughout this magnificent set! The group are at the height of their powers here – skirting a perfect line between mainstream soul and upbeat club – never falling too much into one style or the other, and never sounding as commercial as some of their contemporaries! There's a relaxed, easygoing feel to most of the grooves on the set – never too much fake bass, nor too many electric touches – and the vocals shift a bit from track to track, taking good advantage of singers Wayne Lewis, David Lewis, and Sharon Bryant. Titles include "When Love Calls", "Think About That", "Mystery Girl", "Under Pressure", "My Turn Now", "Does It Matter", and "Send For Me". CD

The third and fourth albums from Atomic Rooster – back to back in a single set! First up is Made In England – a really striking album in the career of Atomic Rooster – one that's a little bit groovier than most, and maybe a bit funky as well! The drums are great, and have plenty of soulful currents – and the Hammond, piano, and electric piano work of Vincent Crane almost seem to echo earlier UK beat group currents, but turned towards a much hipper 70s vibe – one that's followed by an equally extended range from vocalist Chris Farlowe, who seems to fold together both his mod and prog experience in the vocals! Steve Bolton brings in some tight, riffing guitar – and titles include "Time Take My Life", "Never To Lose", "Breathless", "People You Can't Trust", "All In Satan's Name", "Close Your Eyes", "Little Bit Of Inner Air", and "Stand By Me". On Nice N Greasy, Atomic Rooster definitely get a bit greasy – using some funkier elements at times, and bluesier currents at others – all at a level that really lets singer Chris Farlowe hit some of his most expressive modes! The group's got a fresh guitarist this time around, Johnny Mandala on lead – and his presence gives some of the cuts a harder rock edge than before, often taking the lead more than the keyboards of longtime member Vincent Crane, which helps shape the sound of the set. Titles include "Voodoo In You", "Save Me", "Satan's Wheel", "Can't Find A Reason", "Take One Toke", and "All Across The Country". CD set features the bonus tracks "Moods" and "What You Gonna Do". CD

Amazing early work from Azymuth – rare demo recordings done at the home studio of keyboardist Jose Roberto Bertrami, in the short space before the group issued their legendary debut! The tracks here are as much jazz funk as they are the later modes that Azymuth would put forth – killer instrumentals that are really driven by great keyboard lines from Bertrami, who'd already been making music in other formats for years – and who works here on Fender Rhodes, Arp, Clavinet, Hammond, and a range of other keyboards too! The drums are fantastic, too – handled by a young Ivan Conti, who gets help on percussion from an early fourth member of the group, Ariovaldo Contesini – and as you might guess, the incredible basslines of Ivan Mamao Conti really help the whole thing groove. All material is very well-recorded – these aren't rough or unfinished tracks at all – and the whole thing should just be thought of as a first chapter for the group, right before they started putting out their famous records. Titles include "Prefacio", "Castelo", "Melo Do Cuica", "Xingo", "Laranjeiras", "Eqiupe 68", "Unknown Song For Mario Telles", "Manha", "Duro De Roer", "Quem Tem Medo", "Juntos Mais Uma Vez", and "Bateria Do Mamao". CD