Cinematic hip hop soul from Anderson.Paak named after a seaside city west of Los Angeles, CA – but it's not Malibu, it's the stunning follow up Oxnard – a little looser, more diverse, and ultimately just as impressive set from this still rising talent! The uber-impressive guest list including Kadhja Bonet, Norelle, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop, Dre, Pusha T, J Cole, Q-Tip and more but this is the sprawling Anderson.Paak show all the way, his distinctive blend of Cali sunshine and nighttime music and mood, his gritty-smooth voice so masterfully going back & forth from singing to rhyming, the production breathtaking from the stripped down beats, bass and vocals focused tracks to grander and more densely layered material. Includes "The Chase" with Kadja Bonet, "Headlow" feat Lowrell, "Tints" feat Kendrick Lamar, "Who R U", "6 Summers", "Saviers Road", "Smile/Petty", "Mansa Musa", "Brothers Keeper" feat Pusha T, "Anywhere" feat Snoop Dogg & Last Artful Dodgr, "Trippy" feat J Cole and "Cheers" feat Q-Tip – plus the bonus tracks "Sweet Chick" feat BJ The Chicago Kid and "Left To Right". LP, Vinyl record album

Anderson.Paak heads to Ventura for this one – and something about that sunny coastal city brings out his soul influences after the primarily hip hop-leaning Oxnard! Paak leads on his raspy sung style for this one, an easygoing hip hop soul sound that's built to last, and again bringing in a heavy hitting of roster guests – including Andre 3000, Nate Dogg, Lalah Hathaway, Brandy and even Smokey Robinson – on tracks including "Come Home", "Make It Better" with Smokey Robinson, "Reachin' 2 Much", "King James", "Goodheels" with Jazmine Sullivan, "Yada Yada", "Jet Black" with Brandy, "Twilight" and "Chosen One" with Sonyae Elise and more. CD

Anderson.Paak heads to Ventura for this one – and something about that sunny coastal city brings out his soul influences after the primarily hip hop-leaning Oxnard! Paak leads on his raspy sung style for this one, an easygoing hip hop soul sound that's built to last, and again bringing in a heavy hitting of roster guests – including Andre 3000, Nate Dogg, Lalah Hathaway, Brandy and even Smokey Robinson – on tracks including "Come Home", "Make It Better" with Smokey Robinson, "Reachin' 2 Much", "King James", "Goodheels" with Jazmine Sullivan, "Yada Yada", "Jet Black" with Brandy, "Twilight" and "Chosen One" with Sonyae Elise and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "12th Street Rag", "I'll Be Glad When You're Dead", "Summertime", "September Song", "Wolverine Blues", "Wabash Blues", "Casey Jones", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A warm little live set from Andy Bey – quite possibly one of the most personal and unassuming albums of his recent comeback career! The set's a trio one, recorded at the end of the 90s – and it features Andy on both vocals and piano, plus Peter Washington on bass, and either Kenny Washington or Vito Lesczak on drums. There's an upfront, righteous quality to most tunes here – a style that reminds us a lot of Nina Simone's best live work in a similarly stripped-down setting – and although all tunes are standards, Andy really takes off with them wonderfully – bringing a whole new sense of spirit and meaning that we wouldn't expect! Titles include "All The Things You Are", "Hey Love", "Ain't Necessarily So", "I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart", "On Second Thought", "Brother Can You Spare A Dime", and "Someone To Watch Over Me". CD

A set that features music from three different sessions recorded by trumpeter Bill Dixon in the mid 60s – all pretty groundbreaking work, even all these many years later! First up is a quartet co-led by Archie Shepp and Bill Dixon – easily one of the greatest modern jazz pairings of the 60s! If you only know Shepp from his later work, you'll hear something very different here – as his tenor's often brought into tight focus with the trumpet of Dixon – in a blend of arrangement and freedom that's like that of Ted Curson and Bill Barron, but a lot more powerful overall! The tunes still have a sense of structure – and get great help from the bass of Don Moore and drums of Paul Cohen – but there's also some tremendously unbridled energy from the leaders, especially Dixon, who might not have sounded this great ever again. Titles include "Quartet" and "Trio". Next up is one side of an album that Dixon split with Shepp for Savoy – and Dixon's material here features a septet, with a great lineup that includes Ken McIntyre on alto and oboe, George Barrow on tenor, and both Hal Dodson and David Izenzon on basses. Titles include "Winter Song 1964" and "The 12th December". Last up is the seminal Intents & Purposes record – one of the few rare records cut by Bill Dixon during the 60s, and a perfect example of "new thing" jazz in action. Trumpeter Dixon plays in 3 different ensembles – a nonet, a quintet, and a duet – with players like Byard Lancaster, Reggie Workman, Robert Pozar, and Jimmy Garrison. The tracks are long, with an approach that begins with compositional structures, but which also showcases the avant solo talents of the players – in a manner that's similar to some of the Blue Note work by Anthony Williams or Grachan Moncur III. A darn tough record to find – and with the tracks "Voices", "Nightfall Pieces I & II", and "Metamorphosis". CD

Seminal "new thing" work by Bill Dixon and Archie Shepp! The album is divided in two – so that one side features work by Dixon, playing in a group with Ken McIntyre; and the other side features Shepp leading a combo that includes Ted Curson, John Tchicai, and Don Cherry. Both sides are some of the most seminal "new thing" sessions ever recorded, and they have a fantastic quality that far outstrips later work by both artists. Titles include "The 12th December", "Winter Song, 1964", "Where Poppies Bloom", and "Consequences". Plus, the CD features 2 previously unissued alternate takes! CD

Includes the songs "ESP", "Blue, Too - The Shepherd", "Tune Up", "Take It Slow","Telstar","To Know You Is To Love You","Like Late","Major","Minor","G" For Groove", "The Lonely Ones", "Monk's Dream", "Frere Monk", "Cordon Bleu", "New Concerto For Cootie", and "September 12th". CD

Recorded Live Feb 12th 1982 at Palladium Los Angeles. CD

Recorded Live Feb 12th 1982 at Palladium Los Angeles. CD

A great collection of the genius work that Yusef Lateef cut for the Savoy label in his early years – a haunting mix of hardbop and exotic instrumentation that may well be some of Lateef's greatest music ever! Yusef plays tenor and flute, and he's backed by a Detroit group that includes Wilbur Harden on flugelhorn, Hugh Lawson on piano and ocarina, Ernie Farrow on bass and earthboard and Oliver Jackson on drums and gong. 13 numbers in all, including "Prayer To The East", "8540 12th Street", 'Sounds Of Nature", "Seulb", "Lover Man", "Gypsy Arab", "Night In Tunisia", 'Love Dance", "Sram","Endura" and "Delilah". LP, Vinyl record album

Maupin plays bass clarinet, tenor and soprano saxes, alto flute, and piano, and is accompanied by Darek Oleszkiewica on bass, Michael Stephans on drums and percussionist Daryl Munyungo Jackson. 14 numbers in all, including "Neophilia 2006", "Walter Bishop Jr", "Level Three", "Blinkers", "Penumbra", "Mirror Image", "Message To Prez", "Tapping Things", "Vapors", "One For Eric Dolphy", "See The Positive", 'Trope On A Rope", "The 12th Day" and "Equal Justice". CD

A wonderfully groovy set of Christmas tracks – one done in a style very similar to the Get Easy Snow compilations – as you might guess from the title! The selection here is great – with a few perennial favorites, a few rare gems, and a great middle stretch of wonderful bits from some of the grooviest artists of the 60s and 70s – a great antidote to some of the too-played holiday music you might hear during the 12th month of the year! Titles include "Santa Claus Is Definitely Hear To Stay" by James Brown, "Close Your Mouth It's Christmas" by Free Design, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" by Jimmy McGriff, "Snow" by Claudine Longet, "Black Christmas" by The Emotions, "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" by The Temptations, "Christmas Gift" by Margie Joseph, "Winter Warm" by Bob Crewe Generation, "Snow Flakes" by The Ventures, "Winter Symphony" by The Beach Boys, "This Christmas" by Donny Hathaway, "Children Go Where I Send Thee" by Kenny Burrell, "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" by Ray Anthony & His Bookends, "Swinging Christmas" by Helmut Zacharias, and "Jingo Jango" by Bert Kaempfert. CD

It's Christmas once again – but thanks to this groovy little set, you'll be celebrating with music that's a nice change from previous years! The package does a great job of pulling together rare 50s cuts in a variety of styles – country, R&B, instrumental, and early rock and roll – a blend that works wonderfully as the set steps from one unusual tune to the next – making for a great change from the Frank Sinatra and Vince Guaraldi albums that usually get big play during the 12th month of the year! The set's got 30 tracks in all – and titles include "Snow Man Rock" by Big Bud, "Frosty The Snowman" by Porter Wagoner, "Who Said There Ain't No Santa Claus" by Ron Holden, "Christmas Dinner" by Tennessee Ernie Ford, "Joy To The World" by The Louvin Brothers, "Swingin Christmas" by Earl Grant, "We Wanna See Santa Do The Mambo" by Big John Greer, "Sleigh Bell Rock" by Chuck Blevins, "Santa's Helper" by Joe Poovey, "Jingle Bells" by Chet Atkins, "I'm Gonna Tell Santa Claus On You" by Faron Young, and "Mister Santa" by Dorothy Collins. CD

A deep soul take on the sound of Christmas – served up here in a range of classic Holiday cuts from the legendary Stax Records! The set's nicely different than the previous Stax Christmas set, and features some tunes from later in the label's run – some of those cool singles that they continued to issue for the 12th month of the year, at a label that maybe had them matching Motown as one of the few soul labels really dedicated to putting out a Holiday tune! The package includes a previously-unissued alternate mix of "Merry Christmas Baby" by Otis Redding", and a version of "Blue Christmas" by Carla Thomas" – plus the tracks "Season's Greetings" by Cix Bits, "I'll Be Your Santa Baby" by Rufus Thomas, "Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas" by The Staple Singers, "Winter Wonderland (take 2)" by Booker T & The Mgs, "Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin" by Albert King, "That Makes Christmas Day" by Rufus & Carla Thomas, "White Christmas" by Rance Allen Group, "The Mistletoe & Me" by Isaac Hayes, "It's Christmas Time Again" by The Temprees, and "What Do The Lonely Do At Christmas" by The Emotions. CD

A deep soul take on the sound of Christmas – served up here in a range of classic Holiday cuts from the legendary Stax Records! The set's nicely different than the previous Stax Christmas set, and features some tunes from later in the label's run – some of those cool singles that they continued to issue for the 12th month of the year, at a label that maybe had them matching Motown as one of the few soul labels really dedicated to putting out a Holiday tune! The package includes a previously-unissued alternate mix of "Merry Christmas Baby" by Otis Redding", and a version of "Blue Christmas" by Carla Thomas" – plus the tracks "Season's Greetings" by Cix Bits, "I'll Be Your Santa Baby" by Rufus Thomas, "Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas" by The Staple Singers, "Winter Wonderland (take 2)" by Booker T & The Mgs, "Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin" by Albert King, "That Makes Christmas Day" by Rufus & Carla Thomas, "White Christmas" by Rance Allen Group, "The Mistletoe & Me" by Isaac Hayes, "It's Christmas Time Again" by The Temprees, and "What Do The Lonely Do At Christmas" by The Emotions. LP, Vinyl record album