... LP, Vinyl record album

With tracks by Nick Drake, John Cage, White Noise, Fripp/Eno, Tim Hardin, Grimms, Terje Rypal, Shirely Collins, Albion Country Band, Don Cherry Trio, and more! 22 selections in all! LP, Vinyl record album

An essential session from the Threadgill/Hopkins/McCall trio from Chicago. The album features long compositions in the group's best tradition – and a good mix of out playing with more spiritual concepts, in a strong AACM tradition. Titles include "Chicago Breakdown", "The Traveller", and "Do Tell". LP, Vinyl record album

With Bireli Lagrene on solo guitar and bass, Gaiti Lagrenen and Tschirglo Loeffler on rhythm guitar, Jan Jankeje on bass, Jorg Reiter on piano, Wolfgang Lakerschmid on vibes, Bernd Marquart on trumpet, and Schmido Kling on violin. LP, Vinyl record album

Recorded at the Malaco studios, and nicely rootsy – just Fred on vocals and guitar, with bass and drums behind him! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Gil Evans never stopped growing as the years went on – a leader who was always open to new ideas and new modes of expression – which he reached for strongly, even as his older "modern" contemporaries started to sound out of date! This excellent late 70s session is a key illustration of Evans' continual drive – as he works in modes that equally embrace acoustic and electric elements, but never like a funky big band record, or some of the electrification added to older groups – instead with this richly visionary way that brings all the elements together at a level that's completely sublime! The lineup features Gil on piano, alongside almost equal use of keyboards from Pete Levin – and other players include Arthur Blythe and David Sanborn on alto, George Adams on tenor, Marvin Hannibal Peterson and Ernie Royal on trumpet, Jimmy Knepper on trombone, and Keith Loving on guitar – an extremely varied group that comes together beautifully under the leadership of Evans. Side one features a brilliant reworking of the Billy Harper tune "Priestess", which runs for almost 20 minutes in length – and side two features Charles Mingus' "Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress Then Silk Blue" – plus "Lunar Eclipse" and "Short Visit". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

With Zane Massey on saxes, Vernon Reid on guitars, Melvin Gibbs on bass, and Henry Scott on trumpet. LP, Vinyl record album

Phil Woods plays both alto and clarinet – in a quartet with Hal Galper on piano, Bill Goodwin on drums, and Steve Gilmore on bass. LP, Vinyl record album

Way cooler than the usual score you might expect – as the record not only features the main theme, plus some ethnographic recordings – but also includes cuts by Fela, Toure Kunda, and Youssou N'Dour! LP, Vinyl record album

Wild work from this offbeat UK group – a lineup that includes Neil Innes on piano, electric piano, and vocals – plus Ollie Halsall on guitar, and John Meggison on piano and organ – and more vocals by a lot of other members! LP, Vinyl record album

A second album of sorts from Suicide – but one that came out a long four years after their seminal debut, at a time when all of the groups that Suicide had influenced had grown up on their own to fill up the underground! Yet the duo of Martin Rev and Alan Vega are still way ahead of the pack here – and even production by Ric Ocasek can't smooth their edges or dampen their madness, or bog them down in any sort of new wave cliches! Instead, it just feels like they've upgraded their electronics a bit, and maybe put a slight bit of care into the recording of Vega's vocals – without messing with the mix too much. Titles include "Harlem", "Be Bop Kid", "Diamonds Fur Coat Champagne", "Fast Money Music", "Sweetheart", "Mr Ray", and "Shadazz". LP, Vinyl record album