Featuring Kenny Wheeler on Trumpet. CD

A great idea – jazz piano trio versions of Morricone soundtrack tunes, played here by Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi, with backing by Marc Johnson on bass and Joey Baron on drums. The team of Johnson and Baron have a perfect touch of lyricality to open these tunes up – taking lesser-known Morricone themes, and working them like jazz standards to show the depth of composition and possibilities available to the tunes. One of the great shames of Morricone's career is that he wrote so many darn great soundtracks that most of his tunes never got as much variation and acclaim as the work of other 60s soundtrack composers – and hopefully a set like this will begin to correct that! Titles include "Addio Fratello Crudele", "I Malamondo", "La Domenica Specialmente", "Mio Caro Dottor Grasler", "Ninfa Plebea", "Jona Che Visse Nella Balena", "Le Mani Sporche", "Quando Le Donne Avevano La Coda", "Il Prato", and "Just Beyond The Horizon". CD

A great Italian comedy score from the early 60s – put together in key transitional modes by composer Carlo Rustichelli! The music is a great mix of those older, more sentimental Italian styles with some of the cleaner, leaner, playful sounds that were beginning to emerge in the 60s – served up in a host of short tracks with a great deal of variety – some in a swinging jazz mode, a few in a twist party style, and others that are more serious. Titles include "Ratto Twist", "Corrida Rumba", "Vampata D'Amuri", "Morte Di Ascalone", and "Dicerie". LP, Vinyl record album

John Taylor on piano, Palle Danielsson on bass, and Martin France on drums. CD

Features Diego Urcola on trumpet and valve trombone, Luis Perdomo on piano and Fender Rhodes, Hans Glawischnig on bass, Eric McPherson on drums, and Yosvany Terry on chekere. CD

Rich sound paintings from Kenny Wheeler – working here with a large lineup, yet one that has all the spacious sensibilities of his smaller ensemble work from years back! Wheeler's always had a great sense of space in his flugelhorn – and he brings that sensibility to play here with the fuller lineup of players, too – fusing them together in ways that leave just the right sort of spaces between the notes to often great a gentle groove, and an inherent sense of soulfulness that really stands out! The set's one of our favorite recent recordings on Cam Jazz – with a richer feeling than most – and Wheeler's chosen a great lineup that includes older Brit contemporaries such as Ray Warleigh on alto, Henry Lowther and Derek Watkins on trumpet, and John Taylor on piano. Titles include "The Long Waiting", "Canter No 6", "Comba No 3", "Upwards", and "Seven Eight Nine". CD

Kenny Wheeler on trumpet and flugelhorn and John Taylor on piano. CD

Musical selections from Toto's most famous films – tracks by Carlo Rustichelli, Gianni Ferrio, Armando Trovaioli, Piero Piccioni, Carlo Savina, and others. CD

Stelvio Cipriani at his funkiest – taking all the lessons learned from his slinky, erotic sounds of the early 70s – and turning them into a mix of sweet sounds with a great late 70s vibe! Some tracks are upbeat and almost have a clubby feel, others have a great slow-stepping approach to funk – and there's a few others that are moodier, mellower instrumentals – of the sort that Stelvio first rose to fame with – but often with as much acoustic elements and percussion as his usual sweet keyboard work! Titles include the previous single – "Chicago USA" and "Percussion Gun" – both very funky tracks with a similar theme – mixed with lots of other unreleased numbers, including "Spanish Nights In Black Satin", "Lyonesse", "Changing Face", "Chicago USA 2", The Predator", "Crazy Town", and a number of other tunes with variations on the title "Scorticateli Vivi". CD

Haunting horror work from the great Bruno Nicolai – an album that's got some wonderfully-crafted themes mixed with some lighter, breezier numbers – almost in a Rosemary's baby sort of mode! Bruno really gets to show off both sides of his talents here – and comes up with some spare and melodic orchestrations that recall his work with Morricone, mixed with other numbers that diverge into sweeter territory and dance along nicely. The set features a total of 24 numbers – nearly all of which are more redemptive than the darker horror plot of the film – and titles include "In Cantina", "Servizio Fotografico", "Minaccia", "Scoperta & Sesto Delitto", "Confronto Finale", "In Automobile", "Ufficio Vuoto", and "Terzo Delitto". LP, Vinyl record album

Enrico Pieranunzi on piano, Mark Johnson on bass, and Joey Baron on drums. CD

Enrico Pieranunzi on piano, Marc Johnson on double bass, and Joey Baron on drums. CD

A later soundtrack in the legendary pairing of composer Nino Rota and director Federico Fellini – and a set that almost seems to have Rota picking up a few tips from his 70s contemporaries on the Italian scene! The music here is often more spare than before, and sometimes uses a key instrumental element – like a keyboard or guitar part, delivered with a languid energy that recalls work by Ennio Morricone or Stelvio Cipriani, mixed with a few other passages that have some more Rota-like melody emerging into the mix. There's an almost dream-like quality to the whole record, making it one of Nino's most striking from the 70s – and titles include "L'Uccello Magico", "Canto Della Buranella", "The Great Mouna", "Ricordo Di Henriette", "O Venezia Venaga Venusia", and "La Poupee Automate". LP, Vinyl record album

Nino Rota's impressive score for the Luchino Visconti film The Leopard – sounds put together with enough of an epic feel to match the sprawling story of the movie! The music is more orchestral and serious than some of Rota's Fellini work from the same period – a masterful bit of scoring that matches the richness of the previous Hollywood generation but with some of the more complex elements we love from Rota. A number of longer themes are almost mini-suites in themselves – "Viaggio A Donnafugata", "I Sogni Del Principe", and "Angelica E Tancredi" – and some shorter pieces have almost an early 20th Century Vienna vibe – including "Mazurka", "Controdanza", "Valzer Brillante", and "Quadriglia". CD

Antonio Sanchez on drums, Chris Potter on tenor and soprano sax, David Sanchez on tenor sax, Scott Colley on bass, – plus Pat Metheny on guitar and Chick Corea on piano. CD

A fantastic score from the great Armando Trovajoli – one of his few 60s classics to get any sort of circulation in the US – and one of the best! The album's got loads of scatting vocals by his great group I Cantori Modern – alongside upbeat chase tracks, crime jazz, and even a bit of electric harpsichord too! The music mixes together bubbling organ with swinging vocal riffs by I Cantori Moderni – an excellent little combo directed by Alessandro Alessandroni with a cool breezy vocal style that works perfectly with the other instrumentation. Tracks include "Ping Pong", "Thunder Bolt", "Walk On Home", and "Golden Bricks". LP, Vinyl record album

With John Abercrombie and John Parricelli on guitar. CD

Kenny Wheeler on flugelhorn, Chris Potter on tenor saxophone, John Taylor on piano, and Dave Holland on double bass. CD

... CD

Plenty of exotic themes in this lesser-known Italian western score from the 60s – bits of flute, bits of whistling, and even some vocals from I Cantori Moderni! Mellower moments are nicely juxtaposed with more dramatic ones – underscoring the mix of romance and drama that follows the story of the film. I Cantori appear on more of the former – singing somewhat quietly and sweetly, with a very warm finish – in ways that are a bit different than their other work of the time, and almost sentimental at points. Alessandro Alessandroni handles the whistles and guitar in the work – and Bruno Nicolai handles the larger orchestrations. Titles include "Tema Dolores", "Mulini A Vento", "Viaggio", "Espanto En El Corazon", "Duello", and "Fuga Dall'Ovest". LP, Vinyl record album

A later soundtrack in the legendary pairing of composer Nino Rota and director Federico Fellini – and a set that almost seems to have Rota picking up a few tips from his 70s contemporaries on the Italian scene! The music here is often more spare than before, and sometimes uses a key instrumental element – like a keyboard or guitar part, delivered with a languid energy that recalls work by Ennio Morricone or Stelvio Cipriani, mixed with a few other passages that have some more Rota-like melody emerging into the mix. There's an almost dream-like quality to the whole record, making it one of Nino's most striking from the 70s – and titles include "L'Uccello Magico", "Canto Della Buranella", "The Great Mouna", "Ricordo Di Henriette", "O Venezia Venaga Venusia", and "La Poupee Automate". Great pressing – with a huge amount of bonus material not on the original! CD

A later soundtrack in the legendary pairing of composer Nino Rota and director Federico Fellini – and a set that almost seems to have Rota picking up a few tips from his 70s contemporaries on the Italian scene! The music here is often more spare than before, and sometimes uses a key instrumental element – like a keyboard or guitar part, delivered with a languid energy that recalls work by Ennio Morricone or Stelvio Cipriani, mixed with a few other passages that have some more Rota-like melody emerging into the mix. There's an almost dream-like quality to the whole record, making it one of Nino's most striking from the 70s – and titles include "L'Uccello Magico", "Canto Della Buranella", "The Great Mouna", "Ricordo Di Henriette", "O Venezia Venaga Venusia", and "La Poupee Automate". Great pressing – with a huge amount of bonus material not on the original! LP, Vinyl record album

Glen Campbell cut plenty of fantastic songs for Capitol Records – but year after year, some of the best were written by the young Jimmy Webb – an important 60s songwriter who brought magic to a number of different singers, but maybe clicked most strongly with Glen! You'll know the key tracks here, as they represent some of Campbells biggest early hits – but his association with Webb goes way past those few tracks, through a legacy of great 70s recordings that are presented here – in a package that features every single Glen Campbell recording of a Jimmy Webb tune through the start of the 80s – including live material, and even a more obscure track done for Atlantic Records too. The sensitivity of Webb's material is really on full display here – and the whole thing is a great contrast to some of the thinner greatest hits packages of Campbell's material – presented with very detailed notes, lots of great vintage images, and a set list of 23 tracks that include "You Might As Well Smile", "Just This One Time", "I Keep It Hid", "The Moon's A Harsh Mistress", "Galveston", "Didn't We (live)", "In Cars", "Highwayman", "Early Morning Song", "Christian No", "It's A Sin When You Love Somebody", "Adoration", "Wichita Lineman", "Where's The Playground Susie", "I Was Too Busy Loving You", "Just Another Piece Of Paper", and "Ocean In His Eyes". CD

A bit of a change from the fragile, folksy tones of the first album from Jimmy Campbell – a set that's got some heavier instrumentation, and a feel that's a bit more rocking overall! Jimmy still shows some of his sensitive side on the set, but only on a few tracks – leaving others to go for a cool combination of fuzzy guitar, flanged-out vocals, and some early glam-styled production – an approach that's hardly glam at all, but which definitely hints at the fuller, more echoey modes that would come into prominence in British rock a few years later. Campbell's songs are still quite creatively penned – leaving lots of room for his odd twists and turns, and greatly imagistic way of presenting a lyric – on titles that include "In My Room", "So Lonely Without You", "Green Eyed American Actress", "Half Baked", "Closing Down The Shop", and "Don't Leave Me Now". CD

Beautifully sensitive work from Jimmy Campbell – a record with a lot more depth than you might guess from the gimmicky image on the cover! Campbell returns here to spare, fragile territory throughout – working with instrumentation that's mostly just acoustic guitar and a bit of rhythm, plus occasional piano and organ – all in a style that reminds us of Biff Rose at some of his best late 60s moments, which is a pretty good comparison – considering Jimmy's uniquely personal style of singing, and his personally poetic choice of lyrical topics! The album's a real overlooked gem – the kind of singer-songwriter treasure that's arguably more suited to a hip audience these days than it might have been when first released back in the early 70s. Titles include "April Morning", "Paris You're In Paris", "Salvation Army Citadel", "By The Light Of A Lamp", "Maudie", "Baby Walk Out With Your Darling Man", "It Never Rains But It Pours", and "When You're Coming Home". CD

Haunting work from Jimmy Campbell – an overlooked British songwriter at the end of the 60s, and one with a really unusual approach to his music! At some level, Jimmy's got some of the folksy touches of the Nick Drake generation – a sound that might have been right at home on Island Records – but at another level, his style here is very much his own too – a bit more sensitive, and delivered with this odd vocal quality that's unlike anything we can think of – as unique to Jimmy as Tom Rapp's voice was to Pearls Before Swine, or Biff Rose's was to his own great late 60s sides! Instrumentation is relatively spare on most numbers – just acoustic guitar and a bit of rhythm, yet hardly in typical folksy modes – and titles include "When I Sit Down To Reason", "Adrian Henri's Party Night", "On A Monday", "Lyanna", "Dear Marge", "Penny In My Pocket", "Another Vincent Van Gough", and "Michelangelo". CD

... CD

John Campbell on piano, Jay Anderson on bass, and Billy Drummond on drums. Tracks include "Four In One", "Steps", "Maiden Voyage", "Sea Journey", and "I Waited For You". CD

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Tommy Campbell on drums, Kevin Eubanks on guitar, Aydin Esen on piano, Charnett Moffett on bass, and vocals from Randy Kirtiganer. CD

A great set from that moment when sound library instrumentation was winnowed down from a larger group of studio musicians to usually just a composer and a keyboard – definitely the approach used in this all electric set! The groove certainly lives up to the title – most of these tracks are mellow, but they're also funky too – unusual slow-stepping cuts that are awash in 80s keyboards, basslines, and beats – almost erotic funk for the style of the decade, with some occasional darker soundtrack moments from time to time! Titles include "Slow Reactor 2", "Moody You", "Slow Business 1", "Threat To Research", "Slow Groovement", "Ion Exchanger", "Wave Motions", and "Scenic Vision 1". LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual album from the famous creator of Lil Abner – with a unique Al Capp cover to boot! The image is a great illustration of that tension between old-guard American satirists and the left underground in the 60s. LP, Vinyl record album

A warm intimate set by these two legendary Brazilian talents – Nana Caymmi on vocals, and the legendary Cesar Camargo Mariano playing some wonderfully mellow keyboards. Mariano plays electric piano on most of the set, and the album's got a laidback quality that brings out the best in Nana – and which avoids some of the overly-dark styles that can sometimes bog down other albums from the time. Great stuff overall – with tracks that include "Fruta Boa", "Voz E Suor", "Velho Piano", "Doce Presenca", and "Isso E Aquilo". LP, Vinyl record album

A great Bethlehem Records date from vibes man Teddy Charles – stepping out here in a set that's one of his most openly swinging of the time! The record still has some of the modern currents of Teddy's other work, but also makes great use of Zoot Sims on tenor – really pushing him out front for some bold solos on most numbers – in a great group that also includes Jimmy Raney on guitar, Sam Most on flute, and Dave McKenna on piano. There's a bit of audience noise at times, but we can't tell for sure if this is an actual live album – given the clarity of the performances throughout. Titles include "Nigerian Walk", "Rifftide", "Yesterdays", "That Old Black Magic", and "Yale Blue". CD

Don Cherry gave many wonderful musical performances on the European scene in the 70s, including this one – a gem of a record that was thought to be lost for years, and finally gets released to the world at large! The set's a live collaboration with electronic musician Jean Schwarz – whose contributions here are nicely subtle, and never challenge the acoustic energy of the session, but instead augment it in all these really cool, unique ways – very different than most improvised music with electronics at the time. Cherry plays pocket trumpet and some great doussn gouni – in the company of an equally fantastic lineup that features JF Jenny Clark on bass, Nana Vasconcelos on percussion, and Michel Portal on saxes, bass clarinet, and bandoneon. Given all the elements, there's some very unique sounds going on here – a really amazing record that includes the tracks "Bells One", "Doussn Gouni", "Tribute To Ornette", "Bando", and "Berimbau". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album