Early sides by Nat King Cole, recorded in the pre-Capitol years – and done in a mixture of vocal and instrumental modes, with trio backing that featured Oscar Moore on guitar and Wesley Prince on bass. The tunes are still very much solid early Nat at his best – a lightly blended mix of blues and jazz, revolutionary at the time, and still refreshing for any era! Titles include "I Like To Riff", "Call The Police", "This Side UP", "Babs", and "Are You Fer It". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great collection – one that offers up the earliest work by Nat King Cole – before he even recorded for Decca or Capitol! The music here was all recorded in Hollywood, when Nat was fresh on the scene – and a number of titles were never issued at all! The group features Oscar Moore on guitar and Wesley Prince on bass – and some tracks have extra vocals from Maxine Johnson. LP, Vinyl record album

Nat King Cole as a leader and a sideman – incredible material from 1936-1946 – featuring the King Cole Trio, side work with Eddie Cole's Solid Swingers, Dexter Gordon, The Keynoters and The Lester Young Trio! There's a number of great tunes here with Nat singing, but also a whole bunch of recordings that shine a light on his impeccable work as a group piano player of the finest caliber, working as Nat King Cole and under some funny pseudonyms while he was recording hits for Capitol! Packaged stunningly, even by Hip-O Select Standards – essentially housing the CDs in a hardcover book of 31-pages with an essay by David Ritz, 7 3/8" square package with detailed session notes, and beautifully reproduced art work from original 78s and 10-inch LPs! Disc one features 17 tracks by the King Cole Trio with Nat singing and at the piano, with Oscar Moore on guitar and and Wesley Prince on bass: "Sweet Lorraine", "This Side Up", "Babs", "Scotchin' With The Soda", "Slow Down", "Hit That Jive, Jack" and more. Disc one also includes 5 tracks with Eddie Cole's Solid Swingers, with Nat on piano, Eddie Cole on bass, Kenneth Roane on trumpet, Tommy Thompson on saxes and Jimmy Adams on drums:" Honey Hush" (with Eddie on vocals) plus an alternate take, "Thunder", "Stompin' At The Panama" and "(Bedtime) Sleep, Baby Sleep". Last up on disc one, four tracks by the Keynoters with Willie Smith on alto, Nat as Lord Calvert on piano, Red Callender on bass and Jackie Mills on drums: "The Way You Look Tonight", "My Old Flame" and more. Disc 2 is comprised of Jazz At The Philharmonic: Los Angeles, July 1944, with collective personal including Nat as Shorty Nadine on piano and singing on "Sweet Lorraine", Shorty Sherlock on trumpet, JJ Johnson on trombone, Illinois Jacquet and Jack McVea on tenor, Red Callender on bass, Lee Young on drums, and Carolyn Richards singing on "The Man I Love". Other titles include "Blues", "Tea For Two", "Rosetta", "Bugle Call Rag", "Oh, Lady, Be Good!" and more. Disc 3 starts with 1943/44 material by Dexter Gordon's group featuring Nat on piano, Sweets Edison on trumpet, Gordon on tenor, Red Callender or Johnny Miller on bass and Clifford Owens on drums: "I've Found A New Baby", "I Blowed And Gone" and more. That's followed by Lester Young Trio material of similar vintage with Nat as Aye Guy on piano, Young on Tenor and Buddy Rich on drums: "I Cover The Water Front", "The Man I Love", "Peg Of My Heart" and more. Last, but not least, Keynoters alternate takes including "The You You Look Tonight", "Airiness A La Nat" and "I can't Believe That You're In Love With Me". CD

What can we say? Bootsy's on top of the world here – not only The Player Of The Year, but also the most soulful artist in the P-Funk stable, and a master of the smooth, sly, slinky groove that would forever be taken up by bands from LA – both in the immediate soul years and in later sampling hip hop ones. The record's got a sophisticated soul approach that moves the music way past slapped basslines and funny glasses – and thanks to top-line musicianship, including some help from Fred Wesley, Bootsy avoids any cliches that might have buried this one under the mountain of P-Funk albums hitting the market at the same time. Includes the monster track "Hollywood Squares" – plus "May The Force Be With You", "Very Yes", "Bootsy?", and "Bootzilla". LP, Vinyl record album

Bootsy Collins steps strongly from the shadow of George Clinton here – and wrote, arranged, and produced most of the album himself! Of course, George was having plenty of his own troubles at the time – but that only allowed Bootsy to take the helm even more, and step out with a batch of grooves that still keeps his star power plenty high. Of course, he's got some great help here too – from Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns, Midnight Star, Godmomma, and P-Funk regulars Bernie Worrell and Gary Shider – all of whom help contribute some classic elements to grooves that include "Shine O Myte", "#1 Funkateer", "So Nice You Name Him Twice", "Take A Lickin & Keep On Tickin", and "Countracula". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible look at the format of vinyl – put together by a guy who's got one of the hippest record collections we've ever seen! John Corbett's been writing about music, art, and other formats for decades – but his real labor of love is vinyl records – a format he continued to embrace even at the height of the CD era – so much so that he talked Downbeat magazine into letting him write a special column on musical delights that had never made it to the digital format! Corbett helped plenty of music get reissued on CD himself – thanks to countless label projects – but he also always held a special place in his heart for the kinds of records that never got reissued – and those are the sorts of titles featured here – a massive run of music that runs from jazz to funk, American and European, totally obscure to completely common – presented beautifully together in this massive book! The volume doesn't just bring together Corbett's columns, but also offers up full color reproductions of all the record covers, along with a few other details too – to support efforts on dozens of artists – a huge list that includes Melvin Jackson, Bill Leslie, Black Grass, Night Blooming Jazzmen, Phil Seamen, Khan Jamal, Klaus Doldinger, The Mad-Hatters, Tommy Jones, Guy Warren, The Three Souls, United Front, Johnny Lytle, London Experimental Jazz Quartet, Paul Smoker, AK Salim, Noah Howard, Jack Wilson, and many others – a good number of whom have yet to be reissued. The book is wonderful – and Corbett's longtime declaration of being a vinyl freak is more important than ever, given the rebirth of the medium! Book is 250 pages, softcover, with color images. Book

Hank Crawford turns his back on the cover of this sweet little set from Kudu – but the groove itself is very upfront, strongly in the best mix of funky jazz and club the label had going down into the late 70s! Arrangements are by David Matthews, who keeps things lean and mean, even when the instrumentation is fairly large – and Hank's nicely burning alto is firmly in the lead, blown with a sound that echoes back to older soul jazz modes of the 60s, but which has some smoother touches overall for the 70s. The album's got plenty of keyboards from Richard Tee, plus trombone solos from Fred Wesley, flute from Jeremy Steig, and guitar from Eric Gale – plus backing vocals on some of the cuts. Titles include "Funky Pigeon", "Midnight Over Memphis", "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine", "Canadian Sunset", and "I Can't Stop Loving You". LP, Vinyl record album

A later date from 70s soul legend Randy Crawford – cut overseas, at a time when she was initially without US representation – a situation that was immediately corrected with the strength of the album! The set has Randy really getting back to basics – mostly working with tight jazz funk backings that recall both her first few records, and her work with The Crusaders – a perfect setting for her wonderful voice, and her trademark use of jazzy currents with more straight-ahead soul! Players on the record include Fred Wesley on trombone, Bernie Worrell on keyboards, and Bootsy Collins on bass – which will give you an idea of the strength of the sound – and titles include "Cajun Moon", "Give Me The Night", "Glow Of Love", "I'll Be Around", "Forget Me Nots", "Joy Inside My Tears", "Purple Rain", and "Come Into My Life". CD

An early full length album from the great Arthur Crudup – and one that wasn't cut until after he'd had years on the scene, including some work that was a key inspiration for Elvis Presley and others of his generation! The set's done in a nice raw style – that grittier side of the Fire/Fury label, with a vibe that's much more southern than you'd expect from the legendary New York imprint – really just Crudup on vocals and lean electric guitar, but with a nicely skittish drummer urging things on in a great way too! Titles include "Look On Yonder Wall", "Ethel Mae", "Greyhound Bus", "Coal Black Mare", "Dig Myself A Hole", and a great version of "That's Alright". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the biggest album ever from The Cure – a set that marked a high moment in maybe the second chapter of their career – at a time when they'd gone from being a cult underground band to becoming a surprisingly durable group in the long run! That darker energy of Robert Smith's earlier years is still here, but oddly refocused with these glimmers of hope from time to time – almost as if they'd gone from the coldness of standing on the beach to the realization that they were flag-bearers for a generation of misfits. Titles include "To Wish Impossible Things", "Open", "High", "End", "A Letter To Leslie", "Friday I'm In Love", "From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea", "Doing The Unstuck", and "Wendy Time". Cassette

Maybe the biggest album ever from The Cure – a set that marked a high moment in maybe the second chapter of their career – at a time when they'd gone from being a cult underground band to becoming a surprisingly durable group in the long run! That darker energy of Robert Smith's earlier years is still here, but oddly refocused with these glimmers of hope from time to time – almost as if they'd gone from the coldness of standing on the beach to the realization that they were flag-bearers for a generation of misfits. Titles include "To Wish Impossible Things", "Open", "High", "End", "A Letter To Leslie", "Friday I'm In Love", "From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea", "Doing The Unstuck", and "Wendy Time". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the biggest album ever from The Cure – a set that marked a high moment in maybe the second chapter of their career – at a time when they'd gone from being a cult underground band to becoming a surprisingly durable group in the long run! That darker energy of Robert Smith's earlier years is still here, but oddly refocused with these glimmers of hope from time to time – almost as if they'd gone from the coldness of standing on the beach to the realization that they were flag-bearers for a generation of misfits. Titles include "To Wish Impossible Things", "Open", "High", "End", "A Letter To Leslie", "Friday I'm In Love", "From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea", "Doing The Unstuck", and "Wendy Time". 2022 Deluxe Edition includes new mastering and two discs of bonus material! CD

The roots of a legend – and a massive look at the early work of the great Desmond Dekker – the singer who would soon explode on the global scene as one of the first big ambassadors of Jamaican music, heard here on a whole host of singles done at the start of his career! The set brings together titles that Dekker cut for producer Leslie Kong – some as a solo act, some as a member of The Aces – and the package includes both sides of every single, so that you'll also get some very cool instrumental cuts from Roland Alphonso and the Beverleys All-Stars! Titles include "It's A Shame", "007 (Shanty Town)", "Wise Man", "Madgie", "Sinners Prepare", "Parents", "You've Got Your Troubles", "Keep A Cool Head", "Sweet Music", "Unity", "Dracula", "Pretty Africa", "Sabotage", and "Mount Zion". CD

Landmark work from Desmond Dekker – one of the first Jamaican artists to break bigger on the global scene at the end of the 60s – thanks to soulful sets like this! The music is still very much in a rocksteady mode, but has some currents of ska that's kept it on turntables for years – not the upbeat variant of the genre, but the laidback mode that was perfect for a hot night in Jamaica – when nobody ever wanted the grooves to move too fast! Both the instrumentation and production are impeccable – the latter handled by Leslie Kong – and Desmond is completely charming throughout, on titles that include "Music Like Dirt", "Rudy Got Soul", "007", "Sabotage", "Wise Man", "Shing A Ling", "Unity", "Mother Pepper", and "Mother's Young Girl". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that moves across the boroughs of New York – and which also managed to have a huge impact on the Windy City as well – given that the music of Down To The Bone was perfect for the groove of the Chicago steppers scene in the 90s! The group are a bit jazz, a bit soul, and have this chunky funky rhythm at the bottom that shows their roots in the British scene – maybe a mix of electric jazz modes with inspirations from artists like Soul II Soul or the James Taylor Quartet – taken to a style that's slightly tighter overall. There's a fair bit of programming in the rhythms, mixed with live instrumentation from group members – and titles include the classic "Staten Island Groove", plus "Muesli Brown", "Savour The Flavour", "Brooklyn Heights", "3 Days In Manhattan", "Carlito's Way", "On The Corner Of Darcy Street", and "17 Mile Drive". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal album for Bob Dylan – a record that continues the Nashville experiment of Blonde On Blonde, but which compresses it a bit more – almost like he's re-folding the electric energy back into the darkness of the spare sound of Times They Are A-Changin! Bob plays guitar, harmonica, and piano – in a core trio that just features Charlie McCoy on bass and Kenny Buttrey on drums – plus a bit of added steel guitar from Pete Drake. The album's filled with complicated dark little numbers like "All Along The Watchtower", "The Ballad Of Frankie Lee & Judas Priest", "I Am A Lonesome Hobo", "I Pity The Poor Immigrant", "The Wicked Messenger", "As I Went Out One Morning", and "Down Along The Cove". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal album for Bob Dylan – a record that continues the Nashville experiment of Blonde On Blonde, but which compresses it a bit more – almost like he's re-folding the electric energy back into the darkness of the spare sound of Times They Are A-Changin! Bob plays guitar, harmonica, and piano – in a core trio that just features Charlie McCoy on bass and Kenny Buttrey on drums – plus a bit of added steel guitar from Pete Drake. The album's filled with complicated dark little numbers like "All Along The Watchtower", "The Ballad Of Frankie Lee & Judas Priest", "I Am A Lonesome Hobo", "I Pity The Poor Immigrant", "The Wicked Messenger", "As I Went Out One Morning", and "Down Along The Cove". CD

A really unique record, and one with a very unusual pedigree – as the group features key members of some acts from the Ivory Coast in the late 70s, mixed with various Motown session players in the studio – all in a way that offers up a completely different take on Cali soul from the time! The African artists contribute a lot of vocals and work on kora that's especially beautiful – and the other players are led by Gregg Middleton on bass, who also does all the arrangements – and the combo features Ernie Fields on saxes, Nolan Smith on trumpet, and Fred Wesley on trombone! Every song has a nicely different flavor – and titles include "Fasso", "Sing A Happy Song", "Desire", "I Love All", and "Mogofindeou Sopeunte". LP, Vinyl record album

Early prog jazz genius from the mighty Embryo – and an album that perfectly fuses their love of world rhythms and electric jamming grooves – at a level that made them one of the coolest groups on the European scene at the time! Core work here is by a trio – and the percussion by Edgar Hofmann ranges from playful to hypnotic – with heavy drums and basslines crafting some incredible rhythms that spin out strongly – sometimes jamming, sometimes a bit looser – and often topped with great work on flute by Hansi Fischer, and this ultra-cool Leslie piano played by Christian Burchard – which has a nice fuzzy sound. The album's got lots of other sweet organ and mellotron lines – and Hofmann also plays soprano sax and violin as well – on titles that include "Tausendfussler", "Time", "Revenge", "Espagna Si Franco Finished", "Try To Be", and "Change". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Vyacheslav Ganelin on drums, percussion, synthesizer, piano, Atari 1040 ST, Korg MI, and Proteus 2. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Lovely 60s girl pop from Lesley Gore – the sweet, soaring, brightly sunny Magic Colors album – released in full for the first time ever – and with a huge assortment of bonus tracks, too! Magic Colors should have come out on Mercury in 1967, but it wasn't to be. Well, better late than never, right? It's fluffy, but fun – with sweet vocals by Leslie and with arrangements by Bob Crewe, Jack Nitzsche, Gamble & Huff, Thom Bell and others. The album tracks include "It's A Happening World", "Magic Colors", "Brink Of Disaster", "I'm Fallin' Down", "To Sir With Love" and more. Includes a whopping 15 bonus singles: "Summer And Sandy", "Small Talk", "I Can't Make It Without You", "Summer Symphony", "One By One", "Wedding Bell Blues" and more. 25 tracks in all! CD

Groovy 60s work from the great Lesley Gore – produced by Quincy Jones, with titles that include "I Don't Care", "What's A Girl Supposed To Do", "A Girl In Love", "Before & After", "Just Another Fool", "Baby That's Me", and "No Matter What You Do". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

An obscure later album from Lesley Gore – and a set that's far more mature and adult than you might know from her 60s girl pop hits! The album's cut for Motown's MoWest subsidiary, and has the same hip style as other albums on the label at the time – kind of a California singer/songwriter style, which fits well with all the original material penned by Gore for the album – arranged with kind of a gentle, glowing sound by Artie Butler and the team of Michael Omartin and Jimmie Haskell. The approach is laidback and warm on most numbers, with compressed orchestrations that would be right at home behind Dionne Warwick – and titles include "She Said That", "Out Of Love", "For Me", "The Road I Walk", "Someplace Else Now", "Mine", and "Be My Life". LP, Vinyl record album

A record with an unassuming cover, but a sound that's a lot funkier than you might expect – a really amazing blend of soul and jazz funk, served up by a homegrown group from Cali who've definitely got their own pitch on the music! There's a lot more strength to the record than you might expect – not slavish R&B, but really creative original material that's full of all these changes and complicated moments that really keep a nice edge to the record – never totally hardcore funk, but a set that's in a really special space between genres – in the mode of some of the other Cali indies of the period. We know little about the group, but the record is more than enough – with titles that include "Every Single Time I Dream", "I Gotcha", "That's The Way I Feel", "I Wanna Hold You", "No Other Life Without You", and "Song From Leslie Sue". CD

The beautiful first solo album by Lani Hall – recorded after years of work with Sergio Mendes in the Brasil 66 group – and done in a style that certainly reflects her great vocals with that ensemble, yet which also expands her sound tremendously! The set was arranged and produced by Herb Alpert in a spare, almost folksy style that still has some sweet LA touches – and the album's worth it alone for the leadoff cut – a version of Lesley Duncan's "Love Song", done in a gently grooving mode that's got a real folk-funk feel! The set's also got a great version of "We Could Be Flying" – and other tracks include "Ocean Song", "Vincent", "Come Down In Time", and "You". LP, Vinyl record album

Decades into a mighty run of records, Incognito keep on delivering the goods! This set's a stone smoker, in the best tradition of the group – jazzy grooves, soulful vocals, and everything right on the money, thanks to the never-failing leadership of Jean-Paul Bluey Maunick! Bluey's got a wide range of talents helping out in the lead on key cuts – including plenty with Natalie Duncan, and more appearances from Cherri V, Max Beesley, Chicco Alotta, Tony Momrelle, and James Berkeley – on cuts that include "The Lowrider", "Colourblind", "Nothing Makes Me Feel Better", "Into You", "Keep Me In The Dark", "1993", "Tell Me Something", "One Step", "Close To Midnight", "Stories Of Our Past", and "Make Me Change My Mind". CD

An obscure little comedy set on Groove Merchant – featuring Chicago comedian James Wesley Jackson, who rose to fame in the early 70s for his work with Funkadelic on tour. The set was (oddly) recorded at University of Chicago, but has a hip, laidback, "talkin at ya" sort of feel that was clearly Jackson's routine for smaller clubs – and although most of the set is just him speaking, there's a small passage where he gets some backing from Harold Bean on guitar and Bernie Worrell on organ! LP, Vinyl record album

A cool meeting of talents – and one that makes for some of the grooviest Count Basie material of the 70s! The vibes of Milt Jackson are a very welcome addition to the Basie groove here – an instrumental sound that didn't always show up in the Count's work, and which brings an extra soulful swing to the proceedings – ringing out with that rich tone that Milt developed in his years away from the MJQ! Horn players include some familiar Basie names, plus Fred Wesley in the trombone line – and titles include "The Comeback", "Lady In Lace", "Lil Darlin", "Good Time Blues", and "Basie". LP, Vinyl record album

With Butch Miles on drums, Freddie Green on guitar, John Clayton on bass; Danny Turner, Bobby Plater, Eric Dixon, Charlie Fowlkes, and Kenny Hing on saxophone; Wayman Reed, Lyn Biviano, Sonny Cohn, and Pete Minger on trumpets; and Bill Hughes, Mel Wanzo, Fred Wesley, and Dennis Wilson on trombones. Titles include "9:20 Special", "Sunny Side Of The Street", "Lena & Lenny", "Easy Does It", "Every Tub", and "Blues For Me". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked gem from the years when most of the rest of the world had forgotten about the JBs – but Fred Wesley and the group were still going strong! The set's a great meeting of two funky generations – the classic James Brown funk of the late 60s and early 70s, and some of the revival modes that sprung up on the London scene at the end of the 80s – heard to best effect here in the way the album was recorded – with core horns from Wesley on trombone, Maceo Parker on alto sax, and Pee Wee Ellis on tenor – plus added London grooves in a real Brand New Heavies mode! The groove is nice and hard, and the album's way more of a classic-styled funk outing than most of the other JBs-revival titles from the same stretch – thanks to rock-solid production from the Soulciety family too. Noel McKoy, Jay Ella Ruth, and other Brit funk talents help out on the set – and titles include "What Goes Around", "Chillin With Fred", "Picture On The Wall", "Homeboy", "Push", and "I Like It Like That". CD

An overlooked gem from the years when most of the rest of the world had forgotten about the JBs – but Fred Wesley and the group were still going strong! The set's a great meeting of two funky generations – the classic James Brown funk of the late 60s and early 70s, and some of the revival modes that sprung up on the London scene at the end of the 80s – heard to best effect here in the way the album was recorded – with core horns from Wesley on trombone, Maceo Parker on alto sax, and Pee Wee Ellis on tenor – plus added London grooves in a real Brand New Heavies mode! The groove is nice and hard, and the album's way more of a classic-styled funk outing than most of the other JBs-revival titles from the same stretch – thanks to rock-solid production from the Soulciety family too. Noel McKoy, Jay Ella Ruth, and other Brit funk talents help out on the set – and titles include "What Goes Around", "Chillin With Fred", "Picture On The Wall", "Homeboy", "Push", and "I Like It Like That". CD

One of the rarer JBs singles on People, and one that has 2 great tracks that weren't on any of the LPs by them. "Back Stabbers" is their funky cover of the O'Jays' hit, and "JB Shout" is a good instrumental, with a stunning solo by Fred Wesley. 7-inch, Vinyl record

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

Pinch us, we're dreaming – a lost album from The JBs! The set's a treasure for any fans of the funky James Brown sound of the early 70s – and it features material originally recorded for release as the first full length album by The JBs in 1972 – but never issued at the time! A few cuts here made it onto other records and singles in different versions, but others are completely fresh – and heard here for the first time ever – really helping expand our understanding of the group at this point in their career. Dave Matthews did a lot of the arrangements for the set, and there's a surprising amount of jazz in the mix, too – lots of full horn passages that show Fred Wesley leading the group with a damn hard-swinging sound – mixed in with just the right degree of soul you'd expect, but in ways that are different than some of the later JBs jams. Titles include "Transmograpification", "Use Me", "Everybody Plays The Fool", "Sweet Loneliness", "Watermelon Man", "Secret Love", "You've Got A Friend", and "Seulb". CD also features 4 bonus non-LP singles – "Funky & Some", "JB Shout", "Back Stabbers", and "Alone Again Naturally" – all killer funky 45s from the early 70s! CD

Kendrick Lamar takes wider creative left turns than ever before on To Pimp A Butterfly – with a funk steeped production style that filters tried-and-true P Funk influences through leftfield modern beatcraft styles, inspired by cats like Madlib to Thundercat, the latter of whom is an official contributor. Fresh material from an increasingly pivotal figure – who may not be revolutionizing the game on the level of the heavy critical praise he's heaped with, but he's certainly marching to his own beat, rather than chasing hits! Includes "Wesley's Theory" with George Clinton & Thundercat, "King Kunta", "These Walls" with Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat, "Aright", "For Sale?", "Institutionalized" with a Slick Rick-homage of a guest verse by Snoop Dogg (sign us up for any record that gives props to The Ruler...and extra points for transplanting that style of flow to Compton), "Momma", "Hood Politics", "The Blacker The Berry", "How Much A Dollar Cost" feat James Fauntleroy & Ronald Isley, "Mortal Man" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the more obscure albums by Albert King – and a surprisingly great little set! Given that the concept – hinted at in the title – has Albert performing songs made famous by Elvis Presley, you might think that the record is a bit of a sell-out, or somewhat gimmicky. But given that a good number of these tracks have roots in rougher R&B, King's almost returning these tunes to their forebears with his performance on the set. There's a nicely gritty undercurrent to the grooves – almost a bit of Stax funk at times – and titles include "Hound Dog", "All Shook Up", "That's All Right", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Don't Be Cruel", "One Night", and "Love Me Tender". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful set of poems dedicated to the legacy of bebop genius Charlie Parker – presented in a variety of ways that make the book far more engrossing than you might expect! Some of the poems deal with the bebop scene directly from the artists' perspective, others contemplate the music as a listener – and the book features a large central passage that includes the complete text of a radio play that Yusef Komunyakaa did with saxophonist Sandy Evans for Australian radio! There's also some essays on the Testimony piece – as well as an interview with the poet by Sascha Feinstein – plus a bonus CD of the whole broadcast performance, in this hardcover edition of 140 pages. Book

Black Elvis is back, and Kool Keith is clearly very much at the top of his game – serving up a set of tracks that have a very unified vibe, and a sinister vibe that really works well with the unsettling style of Keith's lyrics in the lead! There's a bit more guest help here than before, but the whole thing is linked together with this sort of eerie production that's very much its own thing – bombastic in some of the beats, but cut through with eerie melodic elements that are nicely unsettling – work in the studio by Keith with help from Marc Live, J Stylez, and L'Orange. Titles include "Machinery", "World Spin", "Space Mountain", "Black Presley", "The Formula", "Max", "Elvis", "First Copy", and "Kindergarten Adults". CD

Some of the hippest work we've ever heard from German clarinetist Rolf Kuhn – a beautiful set from the 60s, and one that's filled with modern touches, but never goes too far out! Rolf's clarinet is definitely sharper here than in the decade before – informed by much of the modern jazz changes around him, and stretching out in space that's nicely open, and often moved along with some modal rhythms on the bottom. As with some of his other European contemporaries, Kuhn manages to use the instrument in completely new ways than before – no trad jazz clarinet lines that echo Benny Goodman's generation – and instead, an extremely evocative sound that often carries some nicely exotic overtones. The rest of the group's great too – and includes brother Joachim Kuhn on piano, Michal Urbaniak on tenor and soprano sax, and Czeslaw Bartkowski on drums. Titles include "Lady Orsina", "Mountain Jump", "Minor Impressions", "Solarius", and "Soldat Tadeusz". CD

The soulful sound of Bukky Leo takes off in all sorts of directions here – served up in a sweet soup of remixes by some great overseas talents! The work has the same Afro Funk vibe as some of Bukky's classic records – complete with his searing tenor work and strong lead vocals – set up in core instrumentation that includes plenty of percussion, keyboards, and super-tight horns – elements that are reworked and expanded here through the different mixes in the set! Tony Allen plays drums on some tracks – and titles include "Scelleton (Gilles Peterson mix)", "Annarkey (Dennis Bovell mix)", "Genre Jam (Leslie Laurence mix)", "Obedun (Orlandon Voorn mix)", "Summer Sax Breeze (Leslie Laurence mix)", and "Unisex Dilemma (Laurie Laurence mix)". LP, Vinyl record album

David Leon on reeds & piccolo, DoYeon on gayagum & voice, and Lesley Mok on percussion & glockenspiel. CD

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Some of the rarest dub work ever cut by this legendary Jamaican producer – music that originally appeared on two different records that only ever circulated in shabby TK Records 12" sleeves, often with the wrong information printed on the labels! Yet the set is every bit as seminal as the music on the Aquarius Rock collection of work from Herman Chin Loy – very late in the game for Jamaican dub, but also at a level that almost seemed to give Loy and the musicians a lot more freedom in their ways to explore and experiment in the studio! All the work was done at Herman's Aquarius Studio, with players who include Aston Family Man Barrett on bass, Mickey Chung and Willie Lindo on guitars, and Leslie Butler on keyboards. Titles include "It's Alright Dub", "Armagideon War Dub", "She's Gone Dub", "Troubled World Dub", "You'll Never Know Dub", "Song Of My Mother Dub", "Them A Fight Dub", "No Malice Me Chalice Dub", "Why Do You Idle Dub", and "The Greatest Love Dub". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic funky gem from the start of the 70s – an album recorded during a period when Maceo Parker left James Brown's band for a few years – and struck out on his own with a fiery little combo that was every bit as funky as the Fred Wesley & The JBs! The record captures the group at the height of their powers, and it's a must, must, must-have for any fan of the the James Brown sound – as it's got lots of hard drums, rumbling basslines, and some killer work on funky horns – some of it by other members of James' band who had left with Maceo! Funny, funky, and a little bit jazzy too – like a pile of funky 45s stacked on top of each other – with the cuts "Funky Women", "Got to Getcha", "Southwick", "Mag-Poo", "I Remember Mr Banks", "Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself", "Shake It Baby", and "Better Half". CD

The album's great cover image is an homage to the Death Wish soundtrack by Herbie Hancock, and Mantle references 70s funk group Mandrill in his name – but the sound here is very different than either of those two references might make you expect, more in a contemporary hip hop vein, but equally cool overall! The 70s sonic hints are delivered in the well-produced beats, which are peppered with great samples – all to provide a killer backdrop for a rotating cast of rappers who work in both English and Japanese – a lineup that includes BES, King104, Tetrad The Gang Of Four, Jomo, Jackson2, Vikn, A-Thug, and BD – on titles that include "Rest In Peace", "Only My Lyrics Is Real", "2Face", "Level The Vibes", "OG Theory", "Moment Of The Sexorcist", "Run the World", "Tied In A Row", and "Front Of Underground". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice set of hard to get Leslie Kong produced sides, from early in Marley's career. A dozen great numbers, early clasics from the birth of a legend's career. 12 tracks in all, including "Soul Shakedown Party", "Stop That Train", "Soul Captives", "Can't You See", "Cheer Up", "Do It twice" and "Soon Come (version)". LP, Vinyl record album

A great 80s showcase for the piano of Ronnie Mathews – captured here at a really under-recorded point in his career! The album's got Ronnie leaping into the fray right from the start – with some of those harder edges from his 60s years, mixed with lots more of those lyrical lines that have kept him a favorite of ours for years – a mix of hard edge and warmer, soulful elements that's right up there with some of Cedar Walton's best trio material – and matched by some great work from Ray Drummond on bass and Kenny Washington on drums! Tracks are nice and long – and titles include "Song For Leslie", "Once I Loved", "I Should Care", and "Susanita". CD

The first-ever full length album from vibist Max Beesley – and a much-needed expression of some of the deeper ideas that he's always had in his music! Max was an artist who first started making waves during the earliest years of acid jazz on the UK scene – but like the best of his contemporaries, he's really grown a heck of a lot since then – to a point where he's able to deliver a cinematic funky jazz masterpiece like this – a record that's got plenty of his own great work on vibes, amidst heavy drums, funky basslines, and sweet keyboards – all set up in larger arrangements that have a sense of majesty we never would have expected in Beesley's music! Titles include "Saturn's Dust", "We'll Always Have Yesterday", "Fire", "Sergio's Bag", "Ice", "Snake Oil", and "Zeus". CD

The first-ever full length album from vibist Max Beesley – and a much-needed expression of some of the deeper ideas that he's always had in his music! Max was an artist who first started making waves during the earliest years of acid jazz on the UK scene – but like the best of his contemporaries, he's really grown a heck of a lot since then – to a point where he's able to deliver a cinematic funky jazz masterpiece like this – a record that's got plenty of his own great work on vibes, amidst heavy drums, funky basslines, and sweet keyboards – all set up in larger arrangements that have a sense of majesty we never would have expected in Beesley's music! Titles include "Saturn's Dust", "We'll Always Have Yesterday", "Fire", "Sergio's Bag", "Ice", "Snake Oil", and "Zeus". LP, Vinyl record album

A real dancefloor set from Curtis – recorded with some sweet Philly production from the likes of Norman Harris and Bunny Sigler – in the sweeping, soaring, strings-heavy mode of the Philly disco records of the time! And yes, this isn't classic Curtis from the righteous years – but the surprising thing is how well his voice really holds up in the tracks – coming through with a strength that's fresh and surprising, given some of his disco contemporaries, and sounding pretty darn nice overall, thanks to some tight arrangements by the likes of Fred Wesley, Norman Harris, and Gil Askey. Linda Clifford does a duet with Curtis on "Between You Baby & Me", and the other cuts include "Victory", "Tell Me Tell Me", "You're So Good To Me", "You Better Stop", and "Over The Hump". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked history in jazz – a huge book that not only documents important female-led groups and solo artists in the music, but also focuses on those that were heavily featured in visual media as well! The scope might seem small at first, but the author expands with a voluminous range of artists from the 20s through the 50s – leaders, musicians, and singers who were able to get exposure in film and television that they might not have received otherwise! The book has dozens of black and white photos – many illustrating the visual potential of the artists – and subjects include Hazel Scott, Lena Horne, Peggy Lee, Ina Ray Hutton, Phil Spitalny & His Musical Queens, International Sweethearts Of Rhythm, The Ingenues, Carl Adams, and others. Softcover edition is 316 pages, with black and white photos. Book

A beautiful juxtaposition of sounds from this ultra-hip group led by pianist Myra Melford – a combo that's filled with sonic delights, thanks to work from Mary Halvorson on guitar, Ingrid Laubrock on tenor and soprano, Tomeka Reid on cello, and Lesley Mok on drums! The players with with a subtlety that's really wonderful – improvising, but with a very unified approach, and a thoughtful ear for sound that really resonates with some of Halvorson's own work as a leader – a balance that maybe makes Melford come across at her most delightful too – although Reid, as always, is a joy to hear, and the presence of Laubrock adds just the right edges at times. Titles include "Insertion 5", "Insertion 3 A + B", "Insertion One", and "Insertion Two". CD

The first-ever album of solo bass work from Kham Meslien – a player whose contributions have graced a number of different groups in recent years, but who maybe sounds even more powerful here on his own! There's a warmth to the music that makes the solo bass performance very different than the sort of set you'd hear on ECM – a lot more like French material of the 70s, especially some of the music of bassist Henri Texier in his youth – with colors and feelings that come from beyond the boundaries of jazz, but worked together with a warmth on the instrument that balances improvisation with a subtle sense of structure. Titles include "Ta Confiance", "Mauza", "The Alarm", "Kar Kar Kar", "Gnawen", "F Comme", and "La Saule Pleureur" – and Anthony Joseph makes a guest vocal appearance on "La Coleur". CD

The first-ever album of solo bass work from Kham Meslien – a player whose contributions have graced a number of different groups in recent years, but who maybe sounds even more powerful here on his own! There's a warmth to the music that makes the solo bass performance very different than the sort of set you'd hear on ECM – a lot more like French material of the 70s, especially some of the music of bassist Henri Texier in his youth – with colors and feelings that come from beyond the boundaries of jazz, but worked together with a warmth on the instrument that balances improvisation with a subtle sense of structure. Titles include "Ta Confiance", "Mauza", "The Alarm", "Kar Kar Kar", "Gnawen", "F Comme", and "La Saule Pleureur" – and Anthony Joseph makes a guest vocal appearance on "La Coleur". LP, Vinyl record album

The original production of Hamilton – written by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda. The soundtrack is very fittingly issued by Atlantic Records – given the strong undercurrent of soul and hip hop in the music – in a surprisingly effective blend of beats, rhymes, and larger orchestrations! Miranda himself plays the lead character, in a setting that also features great vocal performances by Leslie Odom Jr, Anthony Ramos, Daveed Diggs, and others – all served up in this lavish package that contains all the musical performances from the original production. CD

The first album by Marisa Monte, and the start of a fantastic run of records – really strong work that had Monte emerging as maybe one of the strongest new acts in Brazil at the time! The set is live, which is unusual for a debut – and that also makes for energy that's a bit more raw and spontaneous than you might guess from some of Monte's later, more sophisticated production – especially when the singer hits some sharper edges that almost feel punkish at points. The small group features Roberto Alves on piano – and the set list includes a version of Os Mutantes' "Ando Meio Desligado", plus "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", "Speak Low", "Comida", "Negro Gato", and a nice remake of "Chocolate", an old Brazilian soul song by Tim Maia. LP, Vinyl record album

The first album by Marisa Monte, and the start of a fantastic run of records – really strong work that had Monte emerging as maybe one of the strongest new acts in Brazil at the time! The set is live, which is unusual for a debut – and that also makes for energy that's a bit more raw and spontaneous than you might guess from some of Monte's later, more sophisticated production – especially when the singer hits some sharper edges that almost feel punkish at points. The small group features Roberto Alves on piano – and the set list includes a version of Os Mutantes' "Ando Meio Desligado", plus "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", "Speak Low", "Comida", "Negro Gato", and a nice remake of "Chocolate", an old Brazilian soul song by Tim Maia. LP, Vinyl record album

Bob Moses and Ben Wittman on drums, Tisziji Munos on guitar, John Lockwood and Wesley Wirth on bass, Brad Hatfield on keyboards, John Medeski on piano, and George Garzone and Jerry Bergonzi on saxophone. CD

A searing standout from Mountain – a studio album, but one that also really captures some of the freewheeling energy that made the group such a great live act at the time – especially given that the studio sessions here are mixed with a bit of improvisation from a live concert too! The double-headed team of Leslie West and Felix Pappalardi are very firmly in charge – the latter with loads of heavy bass, the former with that fuzzy guitar that mixes so well with the heavy drums of the group and titles include "Flowers Of Evil", "King's Chorale", "One Last Cold Kiss", "Crossroader", and "Pride & Passion" – plus a long improvisation that blends together "Dream Sequence Guitar Solo/Roll Over Beethoven/Dreams Of Milk & Honey/Variations/Swan Theme" – and a live take on their classic "Mississippi Queen". LP, Vinyl record album

A surprising jazz funk stunner from drummer Idris Muhammad – part of his great second chapter of work for CTI in the 70s! Idris is working here in a style that's very different than his heavy-footed funky work on Prestige and Blue Note – and while it's easy to criticize him for not keeping the same old breakbeat funk style, it's also important to give him a lot of credit for pushing his vision way past the simple stock style of the earlier days! The record's a very nice set of complicated jazzy grooves – some a bit clubby, but many very nice, and with the kind of sophisticated funk arrangements that were on the best Kudu records. No surprise that Dave Matthews is putting together most of the cuts, save for one excellent groove that's arranged by Tom Harrell. Players include Fred Wesley, Ronnie Cuber, Eric Gale, and Wilbur Bascomb – and titles include "Baia", "Sudan", "Hey Pocky A Way", "Theme For New York City", which is based on the same Chopin haunting tune as Serge Gainsbourg's "Jane B"! LP, Vinyl record album

A surprising jazz funk stunner from drummer Idris Muhammad – part of his great second chapter of work for CTI in the 70s! Idris is working here in a style that's very different than his heavy-footed funky work on Prestige and Blue Note – and while it's easy to criticize him for not keeping the same old breakbeat funk style, it's also important to give him a lot of credit for pushing his vision way past the simple stock style of the earlier days! The record's a very nice set of complicated jazzy grooves – some a bit clubby, but many very nice, and with the kind of sophisticated funk arrangements that were on the best Kudu records. No surprise that Dave Matthews is putting together most of the cuts, save for one excellent groove that's arranged by Tom Harrell. Players include Fred Wesley, Ronnie Cuber, Eric Gale, and Wilbur Bascomb – and titles include "Baia", "Sudan", "Hey Pocky A Way", "Theme For New York City", which is based on the same Chopin haunting tune as Serge Gainsbourg's "Jane B"! LP, Vinyl record album

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Leslie Odom's already given us another album of Holiday tunes, but this set is even better than the first – a record that begins with a strong original co-written by Leslie, and which continues in a range that's maybe more soul-based than before! Most folks know Odom from his work in Hamilton, but he's a great singer in a setting like this – very expressive, but in a different way – and working with lots of modern soul touches in the arrangements. Guests include Michea Walls, Nicolette Robinson, and Cynthia Erivo – and titles include "Snow", "Winter Song", "Mele Kalikimaka", "Heaven & Earth", "Last Christmas", and "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas". CD