By this point in his career, Sonny hardly needed a tune up in his style – but the album's a great one from his post-Prestige years, and a real back-to-basics effort that recalls the genius of his work on Roost! The format is straight and simple – Stitt's tenor and alto fronting a quartet that includes Barry Harris, Sam Jones, and Alan Dawson – all playing in a way that puts Sonny in command on all tracks, blowing with an amazing tone that makes us want to throw away all his funk, organ, and electric outings, and just concentrate on these straight acoustic sides. Stitt has a way of blowing the reed like he's got his whole mouth moving into the sax – an earthy, human, and personal feel that first came out strongly in his work during the late 50s, but which has grown even more by this point – even if you couldn't hear the development on other sets. And given our love of funk and electric sides, we're honestly surprised we find ourselves championing a record like this from the early 70s – but it's a great one, and not to be missed if you remotely dig Stitt! Titles include "Tune Up", "Idaho", "Just Friends", "Groovin High", and "Blues For Prez & Bird". LP, Vinyl record album

Early 70s magic from Sonny Stitt – two albums recorded in 1972 for the Cobblestone label! First up is Tune Up – a great one from Stitt's post-Prestige years, and a real back-to-basics effort that recalls the genius of his work on Roost! The format is straight and simple – Stitt's tenor and alto fronting a quartet that includes Barry Harris, Sam Jones, and Alan Dawson – all playing in a way that puts Sonny in command on all tracks, blowing with an amazing tone that makes us want to throw away all his funk, organ, and electric outings, and just concentrate on these straight acoustic sides. Stitt has a way of blowing the reed like he's got his whole mouth moving into the sax – an earthy, human, and personal feel that first came out strongly in his work during the late 50s, but which has grown even more by this point – even if you couldn't hear the development on other sets. And given our love of funk and electric sides, we're honestly surprised we find ourselves championing a record like this from the early 70s – but it's a great one, and not to be missed if you remotely dig Stitt! Titles include "Tune Up", "Idaho", "Just Friends", "Groovin High", and "Blues For Prez & Bird". Constellation is all bop and all soul all the way through, and recorded with a tight quartet that features Barry Harris on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Roy Brooks on drums! The style's a bit like Sonny's work of the late 50s, but there's also a fluidity to the rhythm section that makes it a bit different too – a sound that's warm, open, and soulful – creating a space into which Stitt settles nicely and blows like mad. There's no gimmicks at all, just solid classic jazz skills – and titles include "Casbah", "Constellation", "By Accident", "Webb City", and "Topsy". CD

Not only a great follow-up to the first Echoes Of An Era session, but also a standout 80s performance from Nancy Wilson – quite possibly her best of the decade! The setting is nice and laidback – a live date with a core combo that features Joe Henderson on tenor, Chick Corea on piano, Stanley Clarke on acoustic bass, and Lenny White on drums – plus steller vocals from Wilson, who's really at home in the setting – stretching out beautifully on the long tracks, and coming into play with the soloists at a level that's quite different from her more polished studio records. Clarke's bass is a delight, too – a great reminder that his talents didn't always lie in the electric realm during the 80s – and Henderson, as you might guess, provides some soulful undercurrents that reallyg round the whole proceedings. Titles include "500 Miles High", "Round Midnight", "Rhythm A Ning", "My One & Only Love", "Them There Eyes", and "I Want To Be Happy". CD

A stone classic from Cannonball Adderley – and a pivotal set that has him continuing the live recording setting of some of his best 60s albums, while also stretching forward to some of the more inventive ideas of the latter part of the decade! David Axelrod produced, and the album's definitely got his ear firmly in place – a great way of bringing together the album's hip instrumentation – Cannon's alto, Nat Adderley's cornet, and the wicked electric piano of Joe Zawinul – played here in a style that would go onto have a huge influence on countless other musicians on the instrument. Rhythm is by Victor Gaskin on bass and Roy McCurdy on drums – and as with other Axelrod live albums, there's some great spoken bits left in the mix – Cannon's charming conversation with the audience, which really opens up the tunes. Titles include the 2 title hits – "Walk Tall" and "74 Miles Away" – plus "I Remember Bird", "Oh Babe", and "Do Do Do". LP, Vinyl record album

A lost fusion classic from the early 70s – one of the only records cut under the leadership of drummer Horacee Arnold, but a heck of a great little set with a soaringly righteous sound! The style here is plenty full-on, but a bit less rock-leaning than some of the other Columbia fusion of the period – thanks to a spacious vision on Arnold's part, and the inclusion of a fair bit of sounds from world music. Players on the set include Art Webb on flute, Sonny Fortune on soprano sax, John Abercrombie on guitar, David Friedman on vibes and marimba, Dom Um Romao on percussion, and Jan Hammer on moog and electric piano – and although there's a fair bit of guitar in the mix, the other acoustic elements are kept nice and high too – for a blend that's almost like some of the best Brazilian fusion from later years, touched by a slightly funkier sound! Tracks really stretch out nicely, allowing for plenty of solo space as they roll on, in a way that's almost a cross between Strata East and some of the more familiar mainstream fusion modes of the time. Very hip stuff, with titles that include "Benzele Windows", "Tales Of The Exonerated Flea", "Euroaquilo Silence", "Puppet Of The Seasons", "Sing Night Jar", and "Delicate Evasions". CD

A massive double-length live album from the Griffith Park project of Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke – one that expands wonderfully on the warmth and soul of their first studio album! Like that classic, this one features an all-acoustic lineup that has Corea on piano and Clarke on upright bass, both playing with a wonderful sense of imagination and creativity – in ways that are quite different than their better-known electric work of a few years before. Joe Henderson's tenor and Freddie Hubbard's trumpet are both great too – played with some sharp modern tones at a few points, but mostly in that flowing, soulful style that both players were hitting at the time. Lenny White's drums are light years away from his mid 70s fusion work – sharply focused, but always with a nod towards his mighty range of timings – and all players come together beautifully, with almost the same sort of blend of freedom and focus as the VSOP group. Tracks are all quite long, and titles include "Happy Times", "October Ballad", "Why Wait", "Guernica", and "I Mean You". CD

Billy's got no "inner conflicts" here – as the album's a full-on set of heavy jamming, one that features some nice electronics alongside Billy's drums! The album's actually one of our favorite Cobham sessions of the 70s – a record that we'd rank right up there with Spectrum for sheer intensity, and for its ability to appeal to our funk-tuned ears. The variety of rhythms on the record is really really great – earthy and tribal one minute, and electric and spacey the next – all coming off well without trying too hard, and with a feel that's much more jazzy and soulful than some of Billy's more rock-focused work. Players include George Duke as Dawilli Gonga on keyboards, John Scofield on guitar, Julian Priester on trombone, Jimmy Owens on trumpet, and Pete & Sheila Escovedo on percussion. Titles include "Inner Conflicts", "Arroyo", "El Barrio", "Nickels & Dimes", and "The Muffin Talks Back". CD

Cropper meets up with the deep soul of Pops Staples and the southern blues of Albert King – for a heavy-duty session that's clearly aimed at the crossover scene. The tracks have a nice raw electric sound – produced with that back-to-basics approach that you sometimes didn't even find on older releases. Titles include "Tupelo", "Big Bird", "Homer's Theme", "Water", and "Trashy Dog". LP, Vinyl record album

A great illustration of the way that Martin Denny expanded his groove in the 60s – on some sweetly inventive records like this! On Latin Village, Martin Denny changes the rhythms from tropical to Latin – but the overall groove is still highly in his best exotica mode, and nicely augmented by some additional instrumentation! There's some traces here of the shift in production for instrumental music from the time – a bit of electric bass echoing out at the bottom of some cuts, more echo than usual on the piano lines, and a floating quality that's almost even more sublime than the original Liberty sessions. But the core Denny elements are also still in place – tinkling piano, island percussion, and a playful approach to familiar rhythms that never fails to please. The Latin is more of a nod to harder Latin modes than anything else, but it does make for a nice, if subtle change – one that works especially well when Denny's piano is out front, but compressed a bit in the mix. Titles include "Flying Down To Rio", "Ho Ba La La", "Something Latin", "Girl From Ipanema", and "Latin Village". The Versatile Martin Denny definitely lives up to the versatile in the title – working through a whole host of different 50s and 60s easy tunes – played in ways that are much wider-ranging than usual! Some are percussive and slightly exotic, some have more strings and tinkling piano, and some get slightly playful instrumentation – in a very nice way. Titles include "Little Bird", "Theme From Mondo Cane", "Exotique Bossa Nova", "Quiet Village Bossa Nova", and "Strawberry Tree". CD

A rare bit of funky fusion – with some really great guitars and keyboards! The original album is quite rare – recorded in Switzerland, and only issued in a handful of copies back in the mid 70s – but the groove here is tight enough to rival that of bigger fusion heavyweights on MPS and some of the other European labels – with a depth in quality that really makes the record worth rediscovering all these many years later! The keyboards are especially great – electric piano and other bits, played with a style that's nicely frenetic, but never in a way that's too rock-jamming – thanks to the strong sense of space the rhythm section brings to their grooves. Titles include versions of "Vera Cruz" and "Too High" – plus originals "Very Lights", "Rocking Bird", "Rainmaker", "Dr Bonnie Mr Clyde", "Leave Me Alone", and "Gargantua". CD

A rare Japanese-only session from Herbie Hancock – very electric, and nicely funky in all the right parts! The set was recorded at the end of the 70s with amazing fidelity – and features a unique lineup that includes Webster Lewis on additional keyboards and Alphonse Mouzon on drums – alongside more familiar partners Bennie Maupin on reeds, Paul Jackson on bass, and Bill Summers on percussion! Given these last three, there's almost a slight Headhunters feel to the set – but the overall groove is a bit more mellow, with some wonderfully spacey touches that are super-soulful – and miles above anything that Herbie was recording in the US at the time. Titles include the sublime mellow groover "Butterfly", plus "Shiftless Shuffle", and the side-long jazzy jammer "I Thought It Was You"! CD

Great work from Woody – not as funky as some of his other 70s albums, but still a really excellent album with a much better sound than you'd expect! The group's filled with young hip players – most of whom we don't know, but who play with a lot of soul – and even Woody's pretty darn great, playing alto and soprano sax with much more of an edge than in earlier years. Inlcudes a funky remake of "Corazon", plus the tracks "Naima", "Lazy Bird", "America Drinks & Goes Home", "Blues For Poland", and "Bass Folk Song". Nice electric piano work too! CD

Great work from Woody – not as funky as some of his other 70s albums, but still a really excellent album with a much better sound than you'd expect! The group's filled with young hip players – most of whom we don't know, but who play with a lot of soul – and even Woody's pretty darn great, playing alto and soprano sax with much more of an edge than in earlier years. Inlcudes a funky remake of "Corazon", plus the tracks "Naima", "Lazy Bird", "America Drinks & Goes Home", "Blues For Poland", and "Bass Folk Song". Nice electric piano work too! LP, Vinyl record album

A double-length live set from Oregon – one that acts as a nice bracket to their 70s work for the Vanguard label, and which maybe points the way towards the direction they'd soon take at ECM! As some of their contemporaries were maybe getting even more electric, the group deliver a fantastic acoustic set throughout – guitars from Ralph Towner, who also plays piano and a bit of French horn – plus sitar and tabla from Collin Walcott, bass and violin from Glen Moore, and a mix of saxes, flute, and other reeds from Paul McCandless! The sound is nice and open – maybe more spacious and patient than the group's earlier work – really opening up on the longer live tracks on the set. Titles include "Arion", "Waterwheel", "Buzzbox", "Along The Way", "Wanderlust", "Icarus", "Free Piece", and "Deer Path". CD

The complete albums of this really unique group – all wrapped up in a single set, with bonus tracks too! First up is the self-titled debut – described on the cover as "Eight high-octane musicians who met and jammed in the great peanut butter octopus that is Los Angeles!" The record's got a really trippy approach that's partially folk rock, partially psychedelic soul, and which also has some great touches of groovy harmony pop and Latinized LA rhythms – all wrapped up in some totally great production overall! The whole thing skims and sings around like some of our favorite sunshiney pop from the time – almost a meeting of Triste Janeiro and Mamas & The Papas – with some great instrumental touches that include cello and electric harpsichord! Female lead vocals on most tracks, but the album also spins out nicely, so that you get plenty of instrumental passages too! Titles include "Why Oh Why", "Motherless Child", "Here We Go Again", "For Pete's Sake", "What's Wrong", "Come Take A Walk", and "In A Rainbow". Next is Just For You – the group's second album – and a really sweet batch of tracks that mix together rock and soul influences with touches of west coast hippy jazz, in a style that's almost an LA answer to Rotary Connection, but without all the baroque arrangements. The set's got a great version of "Compared To What", and the extended jazzy jammer "Just For You" – plus the cuts "Day Song", "Just For You", "Look Out", "Without Me", and "Windlace". Last up is Melon – a great little set from Sweetwater – a rock combo at heart, but one who also bring in a nice sense of soul too! The album follows strongly from other of their Reprise releases – almost funky in parts, with drums that kick in nicely, and a flowing sense of groove that features keyboards, flute, and added percussion that helps to spice things up. Most tracks have vocals, but there's some very strong standout instrumental moments – and titles include "Take It From Splice Boys", "Naturally", "Don't Give A Hoot", "Get It While You Can", "I'm Happy Today", "Rejoice The Smile Of Man", and "Join The Band". 2CD set features 8 bonus tracks – including one recorded at Woodstock! CD

A classic packaging of Muddy Waters' famous early work for Chess Records – brought together with a cover and title that pitch him strongly towards the growing folk movement of the time! And, although most of these tracks were recorded in Chicago, with some electric guitar in the mix, there's a definitely folksy quality to most of the numbers – a down-home feel that's nice and gritty, stepping along with spare instrumentation alongside the vocals. Titles include "Mannish Boy", "Screamin & Cryin", "Just To Be With You", "Walkin Blues", "Walkin Through The Park", "Same Thing", and "Canary Bird". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive Muddy Waters double-header – filled with vintage recordings for Chess! First up is The Real Folk Blues – a classic packaging of Muddy Waters' famous early work for Chess Records – brought together with a cover and title that pitch him strongly towards the growing folk movement of the time! And, although most of these tracks were recorded in Chicago, with some electric guitar in the mix, there's a definitely folksy quality to most of the numbers – a down-home feel that's nice and gritty, stepping along with spare instrumentation alongside the vocals. Titles include "Mannish Boy", "Screamin & Cryin", "Just To Be With You", "Walkin Blues", "Walkin Through The Park", "Same Thing", and "Canary Bird". More Real Folk Blues is a 60s album, but one that's filled with some of the earliest recordings Muddy Waters made for Chess Records – all wrapped up in a title that proclaims his music as the real deal! The instrumentation here is all quite spare – varying combinations of electric guitar, harmonica, piano, and bass – all topped by Waters' wonderfully twanging vocals, heard here at a level that's still extremely fresh and without cliche! The tunes are the sort that bar bands have been ruining for decades, but they still sound great in the originals – and titles include "Sad Letter", "Gonna Need My Help", "Train Fare Blues", "Too Young To Know", "Honey Bee", "My Life Is Ruined", and "She's All Right". CD

An album of explosive power and imagination from Don Ellis – a set that shows him very firmly shaking off the more academic mode of earlier years, and heading into hipper, more youth-oriented directions! The group's still a bit band on most numbers – but it's one with a lean, well-crafted sound that's not really big band jazz, and which also features some elements of later soundtrack scoring. Players on the date are all great – and include Frank Strozier, John Klemmer, and Ira Schulman on saxes – plus Pete Robinson on clavinet, piano, and electric piano! The set begins with the beautiful extended "Variations For Trumpet" – a suite-type number that has plenty of great colors from Ellis, plus loads of other horn work too. Other titles include "Indian Lady", "Pussy Wiggle Stomp", "Scratt & Fluggs", and "Child Of Ecstasy". CD

A great little set – way more than you might think from the cover! Ostensibly, this one's a cash-in album for the mid 70s Star Wars soundtrack craze – but since it's handled by trumpet genius Don Ellis, it's got a surprisingly funky feel – with many tracks that recall his own great soundtrack work of the time, especially the nice electric current in his grooves. In fact, the album only has two tracks from the Star Wars soundtrack – despite the fact that the logo for the movie is displayed largely on the cover – and all other tracks are originals by Ellis, handled with a sweet mix of electric funk and funky jazz soloing! Lots of nice keyboards, and titles include "Star Wars", "Orion's Sword", "Eros", "Lyra", "Ursa", "Vulcan", "Crypton" and "Arcturas". CD

Three 70s killers from Jimmy McGriff! Groove Grease is a nice bit of funky organ work from Jimmy McGriff – a set that's got his famous talents on the Hammond out front of a larger ensemble – but in a way that's very different than some of his albums of that type from the 70s! There's lots of electricity in the mix – electric piano from Horace Ott, bass from Richard Evans, and guitar from Wayne Bennett – mixed with sharp work on horns from Cliff Davis on tenor and flute, Murray Watson on trumpet, and Johnny Beard on baritone – three players who really flesh out the sound! The album's got some excellent stone funky classics – like "The Bird", "Groove Grease", and "Plain Brown Bag" – plus some surprisingly funky readings of standards like "Canadian Sunset" and "Mr Lucky", both made to sound super-nice, thanks to excellent work on bass and drums! Main Squeeze is one of the grooviest albums ever from Jimmy McGriff – a hard-wailing session that's filled with plenty of cooking lines on the organ, and a few especially funky tracks! The groove here is tight, short, and very sharp – strongly in the mode of other post-Sue sessions by McGriff – like The Worm or other Groove Merchant sides – with a style that's often much more focused than Jimmy's earlier years, and strongly turned towards the rhythms of the tunes! A few numbers are more familiar soul jazz, but these are nicely offset by the harder funk numbers of the record – like the romping, stomping break classic "The Main Squeeze", the totally groovy "The Worm Turns", and the fast-vamping "GMI". The group features Jimmy Ponder on guitar and Connie Lester on alto sax – and other titles include "The Sermon", "Stella By Starlight", and "The Blues Train To Georgia". Tailgunner has Jimmy McGriff in a very cool 70s mode – hitting some of the fuller, more soul-based styles that Johnny Hammond and Jimmy Smith were exploring in the middle of the decade – while still also displaying a hell of a talent on the organ as well! The album has extra keyboards from Pat Rebillot and Paul Griffin – which makes for a nice mix of organ and electric piano sounds, plus some occasional moog that's very nicely placed – all backed by a largeish group that has tight horns, and some occasional soul vocals from Al Downing and Denise Wooten. The vocals are often an augmentation of the tunes, and there's still plenty of room for solos by Jimmy in the middle – on titles that include "Tailgunner", "Flexible Flyer", "Sky Hawk", "Grandma's Toe Jam", and "Bullfrog". CD

A really early experiment in mixing South African styles with jazz – a set that's maybe more strongly on some of Township modes of the years before than a few of the other key modern projects of the time! Instrumentation often has pennywhistle in the lead on solos, used in a way a funky flute might on an American jazz set – and the rhythms often have raw hand percussion, mixed with warmer riffing currents on electric guitar – creating this sense of balance that gives the whole record a hell of a lot of charm! The sound is nice and lean, in a really great way – and titles include "Abbey's Mood", "Lousy Fever", "A Tribute To Birds", "Blues After Lunch", "Grab This For Me", "Root Of Africa", "Vuma Mbari", and "Jikeleza". LP, Vinyl record album

Herbie Man gets nitty and gritty at the Muscle Shoals Studios – bringing his funky flute to the southern powerhouse of sound, and hitting some of his most soulful grooves of the time! The approach here is really great – definitely cast in the southern soul mode that was associated with Muscle Shoals, but also done with the looseness of a jazz record – so that the sound's a fair bit different than similar projects coming out of the scene at the time. Most tracks are long and flowing – with lots of sweet electric elements that include vibes from Roy Ayers, guitar from Eddie Hinton, and keyboards from Barry Beckett. Wayne Jackson and Andrew Love slide in on horns – but Herbie's flute is still the main solo element, and it gets plenty of space to stretch out with some great trippy grooves! Titles include Edwin Birdsong's "Can You Dig It?", plus Sonny Sharrock's "Blind Willy", and Herbie's own "Panama Red's Panama Hat" and "Claudia Pie". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from Max Roach's Double Quartet of the mid 80s – a group that wasn't just an octet, but an expansion of Max's regular four piece group with the addition of a string quartet! The core jazz sound of Odeon Pope's tenor, Tyrone Brown's electric bass, and Cecil Bridgewater's trumpet is expanded by a string group that includes Maxine Roach on viola – and that family relation is probably one reason that made experimentation like this easy for Max! The approach is a surprisingly great one – as the quartet seems to hold the Roach group a bit more inside than before – letting Pope and Bridgewater stretch out on their solos, but not get as sloppy as they had in some of the more outside Roach quartet outings. And the strings color in things really nicely in classic "with strings" jazz mode – but one that echoes more with 70s soul jazz use of such styles than earlier approaches. Titles include "A Little Booker", "Easy Winners", "Sis", and "Birds Says". CD

The lost early work of composer David Shire – a talent maybe best known for some of his bigger 70s soundtracks, but one who's equally great here in the 60s – but in a very different way! Much of the music here has kind of a jazz plus sort of approach – larger orchestrations, but with some key jazz elements – including some funky electric moments that preface Shire's famous work to come! There's some echoes of the styles Kenyon Hopkins was using at the time, mixed with some more conventional scoring too – but all handled with that freshness that always sets David Shire apart from the rest. There's some really great tracks from the soulful Sadbird score, including two sung by a young Melba Moore – and the jazzier elements of Secrets and Runaway are both great, next to tracks from other scores that include The Final War Of Olly Winter, Appalachian Autumn, and The Experiment. 29 tracks in all – most appearing here for the first time! CD

A fantastic CD collection – one that brings together all five volumes of Stereolab's Switched On albums in one set – a huge collection of unusual material and rare singles! On the original Switched On record, moog, fuzz, and farfisa have never sounded so great together – and although these guys drank deep of the well of 60s pop magic before making this modern-day classic – they also come off sounding pretty darn original on their own! When this gem of a record first hit the world, it was as if all of us were hearing music from the cosmos for years, but could never find a way to make it part of our everyday lives. Then along come Tim Gane, Laetitia Sadier, and crew – and completely change the world for the better! An album that no home should be without – with titles that include "Contact", "Super-Electric", "Doubt", "Brittle", "Au Grand Jour", "The Way Will Be Opening", and "Changer". Refried Ectoplasm is the second in the holy trinity of "switched on" albums from Stereolab – a set that collects together all the unusual recordings and other side bits the group were doing in the early years of their career – standing strong as a testament to their non-stop efforts to forever push the boundaries of electric fuzzy pop! The vocals Laetitia Sadier are completely sublime – almost a bridge between the darker modes of the previous pop generation and all the new ideas of the world to come – when the rest of rock music would finally catch up to these guys, and realize that the best path to the future is through the past! Titles include "Farfisa", "John Cage Bubblegum", "Tempter", "Exploding Head Movie", "French Disko", "Harmonium", "Revox", "Mountain", and "Sadistic". By the time of Aluminum Tunes (Switched On Vol 3) – it had only been a few years since the previous Switched On set, but Stereolab had already created so much musical magic, they needed a double-length record to keep the whole thing intact! The sound here is somehow getting even more dreamy and wonderful – definitely showing their work with the mighty Sean O'Hagan, and also really opening up into all the many musical ideas that Tim Gane was picking up from his never-ending search for unusual records! The 60s swirl through time and space, and make the future sound even better than we could have imagined it – while the Channel is drained, and England and France become one in a genius marriage of pure pop modes. Titles include "The Extension Trip", "How To Play Your Internal Organs Overnight", "Space Moment", "Iron Man", "The Long Hair Of Death", "One Note Samba/Surfboard", "Percolations", "1000 Miles An Hour", "Klang Tone", and a great take on the theme to "Get Carter". Switched On 4 is full of fantastic sounds from Stereolab – an assortment of rare singles and other unusual recordings that were mostly issued on their own Duophonic label, and which are far more obscure than their bigger label albums during the same period! Even though Stereolab gave the world some undeniable classics in the late 90s and early 00s, they were also working endlessly, and seemed to record more than they could ever fit on a full length set – which resulted in all the cool singles, limited releases, and other material included here – not dusty tapes pulled from the archives, but beautiful work that often returns the group to all the space age charms of their first few records! The package is huge – 25 tracks in all, of varying length – and titles include "Barok Plastik", "Calimero", "Fried Monkey Eggs (voc)", "Solar Throw Away", "Variation One", "Monkey Jelly", "Explosante Fixe", "Jump Drive Shut Out", "The Super-It", "L'Exotisme Interieur", "Pandora's Box Of Worms", "Retrograde Mirror Form", "Nomus E Phusis", "I Feel The Air Of Another Planet", "Outer Bongolia", and "Intervals". Includes tracks from Duophonic 45s, Underground Is Coming EP, Moog, First Of The Microbe Hunters, and work from compilations, unreleased tracks, and even a collaboration with Brigitte Fontaine! Switched On 5 is maybe the coolest entry so far in this really wonderful series – a set that's overflowing with rare and unusual work from Stereolab – most of it done at a time when the group were riding high on a major label, but still managed to issued a huge amount of music on their own, and work in a variety of collaborative settings too! One of our favorite is their work with Nurse With Wound, and tracks from that partnership begin this set – which then moves into rare singles, work with artists, compilation contributions, and plenty more – all with the usual Stereolab charm, but often with a nicely different vibe too! Titles include "Simple Headphone Mind", "Symbolic Logic Of Now", "Magne Music", "Forensic Itch", "Spool Of Collusion", "Robot Riot", "Trippin With The Birds", "Cybele's Reverie (live)", "Nth Degrees, "Refractions In The Plastic Pulse (Autechre Feebate mix)", and "Plastic Mile (original version)". CD

Late great work from Ammons – an album done at the time of his funk sides for Prestige, but recorded in the style of his earlier years in Chicago! The session's a laidback set of soulful solo-heavy work – recorded as part of a hip series of shows at the North Park Hotel, with a local rhythm trio that includes Jodie Christian on piano, Cleveland Eaton on bass, and Marshall Thompson on drums. James Moody joins Ammons in the frontline, and the set's got the best electric feel that you'd hear if you were lucky enough to catch either player in a small club date in the early 60s. Loads of very imaginative solo work in the best Chicago tenor tradition – with titles that include "Work Song", "Jim Jam Jug", "Have You Met Miss Jones", and "C Jam Blues". Plus, CD features a special bonus track – a 14 minute version of "Yardbird Suite". CD

One of the greatest Roy Ayers albums of all time – and one of the rarest! The record is right in the same vein as Roy's groundbreaking He's Coming LP – a righteous mix of soul jazz, subtle funk, and some of the cosmic wisdom that Roy was spreading among the jazz funk underground – all wrapped up beautifully, but never in a way that's like commercial soul of the time. There's a few instrumental tracks on the album, plus some vocal ones that show that off-beat male/female style that Roy would use more famously in later tracks like "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" or his work with Ramp. Players include Harry Whitaker on electric piano, Edwin Birdsong on organ, Alphonse Mouzon on drums, Jumma Santos on congas – and titles include a version of Nat Adderley's "Hummin", done as "Hummin In The Sun", and very much in the Ramp vein. Also features instrumental cuts "The Fuzz", which has Roy's vibes toned way up, and the cool mellow "The Painted Desert", a really offbeat slow jazz number. The group also does a great job with Edwin Birdsong's "Pretty Brown Skin", picking up the song as a really anthemic groover that gives the record a nice kick! LP, Vinyl record album

Four of the best tracks from one of the greatest Roy Ayers albums of all time – and one of the rarest! The record is right in the same vein as Roy's groundbreaking He's Coming LP – a righteous mix of soul jazz, subtle funk, and some of the cosmic wisdom that Roy was spreading among the jazz funk underground – all wrapped up beautifully, but never in a way that's like commercial soul of the time. There's a few instrumental tracks on the album, plus some vocal ones that show that off-beat male/female style that Roy would use more famously in later tracks like "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" or his work with Ramp. Players include Harry Whitaker on electric piano, Edwin Birdsong on organ, Alphonse Mouzon on drums, Jumma Santos on congas – and titles include a version of Nat Adderley's "Hummin", done as "Hummin In The Sun", and very much in the Ramp vein. Other titles include "I Can't Help Myself", "Love", and "The Fuzz" – all great too! 7-inch, Vinyl record

One of Roy Ayers' greatest albums of the 70s – a set that tightens up the groove from previous Polydor productions, yet still keeps all the soul intact! The record picks up the style begun with the Mystic Voyage album, and pushes it to some slightly tighter territory – a more focused Roy Ayers sound that's totally great, and which makes the album sparkle wonderfully throughout! All aspects of Roy's talents are perfectly balanced here – his warm vocals and jazzy vibes, his uptempo grooves and mellower rhythms – played to perfection by a hip lineup of players that includes Philip Woo on electric piano, Justo Almario on tenor sax, and Steve Cobb on drums. Edwin Birdsong guests a bit on the record – bringing in a nice edge to a few tunes – the album's got a really unique dark undercurrent, even in smoother moments – that subtle Roy Ayers' approach that's always made him one of our all-time favorite artists. Titles include the wonderful jazz-tinged "Searching", a great midtempo stepper that we really love; the funky break track "The Memory", a righteous number that feels like work from earlier records; the clubby classic "One Sweet Love to Remember"; and the sweet instrumental "Vibrations", which has a mellow kickback feel! Other tunes include "Higher", "Domelo (Give It To Me)", "Baby I Need Your Love", and "Better Days". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic stuff by one of the few groups whose music is actually as compelling as their name! Apart from the soundtracky vibe you might expect, there's actually a fair bit of real jazz in the mix here – a refreshing change from looped and sampled instrumentation, and an aspect that gives the record incredible depth and soul. The best tracks features solos on soprano sax, electric and acoustic piano, vibes, or trumpet – and the album works great together as a shifting palette of post-Miles, post-Coltrane soundscapes. Titles include "Channel 1 Suite", "Durian", "Night Of the Iguana", "Diabolus", "Kalima", and "Bluebirds". LP, Vinyl record album

A long-overdue issue of this jazzy Peanuts classic – music that's delighted ears for decades, yet never got the same sort of commercial release as Charlie Brown Christmas music! As with that work, the music here all comes from the genius of Vince Guaraldi – and given the early 70s recording of the tunes, Vince definitely has updated his style since the 60s – using Fender Rhodes at times, and even having an electric sensibility to his acoustic piano work too – a sense of spacing and timing that's totally great! The core combo features a young Tom Harrell on trumpet, plus Chuck Bennett on trombone, Seward McCain on bass, and Mike Clark on drums – a very cool jazzy group. Vince sings on the wonderful tune "Little Birdie", which has some larger arrangements – and other titles include "Is It James Or Charlie", "Thanksgiving Theme", "Charlie Brown Blues", "Peppermint Patty", "Linus & Lucy", and "Thanksgiving Interlude". This expanded release features lots of great alternates on the themes – and the tune "Clark & Guaraldi", and "Is It James Or Charlie (bonus mix with whistling)". CD

A long-overdue issue of this jazzy Peanuts classic – music that's delighted ears for decades, yet never got the same sort of commercial release as Charlie Brown Christmas music! As with that work, the music here all comes from the genius of Vince Guaraldi – and given the early 70s recording of the tunes, Vince definitely has updated his style since the 60s – using Fender Rhodes at times, and even having an electric sensibility to his acoustic piano work too – a sense of spacing and timing that's totally great! The core combo features a young Tom Harrell on trumpet, plus Chuck Bennett on trombone, Seward McCain on bass, and Mike Clark on drums – a very cool jazzy group. Vince sings on the wonderful tune "Little Birdie", which has some larger arrangements – and other titles include "Is It James Or Charlie", "Thanksgiving Theme", "Charlie Brown Blues", "Peppermint Patty", "Linus & Lucy", and "Thanksgiving Interlude". This expanded release features lots of great alternates on the themes – and the tune "Clark & Guaraldi", and "Is It James Or Charlie (bonus mix with whistling)". LP, Vinyl record album

Incredibly great work from Toninho Horta – especially considering that the album's a US release from the early 90s! Horta's working here in a tight trio with Gary Peacock on bass and Billy Higgins on drums – both players we can trust to keep things real, and help Toninho hit a groove that's solidly jazzy. The style is more straight jazz than some of Horta's other work – but in a really great way – and although he sings a bit on the set in that wordless way of his, there seems to be more of a focus than before on well-played guitar solos, both electric and acoustic. Titles include "Pica Pau", "Lullaby Of Birdland", "My Funny Valentine", "Minas Train", "Footprints", "Tarde", and "O Amor Em Paz". CD

Great work from Max Roach's Double Quartet of the mid 80s – a group that wasn't just an octet, but an expansion of Max's regular four piece group with the addition of a string quartet! The core jazz sound of Odeon Pope's tenor, Tyrone Brown's electric bass, and Cecil Bridgewater's trumpet is expanded by a string group that includes Maxine Roach on viola – and that family relation is probably one reason that made experimentation like this easy for Max! The approach is a surprisingly great one – as the quartet seems to hold the Roach group a bit more inside than before – letting Pope and Bridgewater stretch out on their solos, but not get as sloppy as they had in some of the more outside Roach quartet outings. And the strings color in things really nicely in classic "with strings" jazz mode – but one that echoes more with 70s soul jazz use of such styles than earlier approaches. Titles include "A Little Booker", "Easy Winners", "Sis", and "Birds Says". LP, Vinyl record album

A gem of a record from the funk-heavy period of Muddy Waters – a moment that once made the traditional blues fans mad, but which has gone onto become the stuff of legend – thanks to a real criss-crossing of Chicago talents in the studio! The set was co-produced by Chess Records talents Charles Stepney, Gene Barge, and Marshall Chess – and features expanded instrumentation that includes Phil Upchurch on added guitar, Louis Satterfield on bass, Charles Stepney on organ, and Morris Jennings on drums – plus even more guitar from Pete Cosey, who you might know from later work on some Miles Davis electric albums! Muddy is still very firmly the lead talent at the core, though – coming across with a badass kind of vibe that mixes his raw roots with the hipper soul of the new generation – a great Chess/Cadet hybird that was years ahead of its time. Titles include "I Am The Blues", "Hurtin Soul", "Bottom Of The Sea", "Honey Bee", "Rollin' And Tumblin'", "Screamin & Cryin", and "Blues & Trouble". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little collection that seeks to put the Bristol scene on the map – and to show the kind of inventive jazz the city's been offering up in recent years! The compilers aim to demonstrate that Bristol has as many newly-creative acts as the sort that have been bubbling up in London on labels like Brownswood – and the range of material here really shows a similar way of blending newer ideas and older execution – especially strong in the rhythm department, and with an effortless mixing of acoustic and electric modes. If you've been digging sounds from Comet Is Coming, Nubya Garcia, and Joe Armon-Jones, this set is a great place to take that interest further – on work that includes "Bergson" and "Jabba" by Waldo's Gift, "3.3 Encke Ups" and "Sea Of Apathy & Indifference" by Run Logan Run, "Flump (Ishamel Ensemble rework)" and "Grook" by Snazzback, "Owl" by Lyrebird, and "Bourdain" by Alun Elliott Williams. CD

A great second album from Mahavishnu Orchestra – one that has them still very might in the same tight formation as the first! As before, there's a heck of a lot of power here – monstrous work on drums from Billy Cobham, sharp-edged guitar from John McLaughlin, and a range of great keyboards from Jan Hammer – all played without the cliche of his later years! The group's completed by the surprisingly great electric violin of Jerry Goodman and the bass of Rick Laird – and the tunes nicely blend a few more contemplative moments with full-on, rock-inspired fusion jamming. Titles include "Miles Beyond", "One Word", "Sanctuary", "Open Country Joy", "Resolution", "Sapphire Bullets Of Pure Love", and "Thousand Island Park". LP, Vinyl record album

A great second album from Mahavishnu Orchestra – one that has them still very might in the same tight formation as the first! As before, there's a heck of a lot of power here – monstrous work on drums from Billy Cobham, sharp-edged guitar from John McLaughlin, and a range of great keyboards from Jan Hammer – all played without the cliche of his later years! The group's completed by the surprisingly great electric violin of Jerry Goodman and the bass of Rick Laird – and the tunes nicely blend a few more contemplative moments with full-on, rock-inspired fusion jamming. Titles include "Miles Beyond", "One Word", "Sanctuary", "Open Country Joy", "Resolution", "Sapphire Bullets Of Pure Love", and "Thousand Island Park". CD

A great second album from Mahavishnu Orchestra – one that has them still very might in the same tight formation as the first! As before, there's a heck of a lot of power here – monstrous work on drums from Billy Cobham, sharp-edged guitar from John McLaughlin, and a range of great keyboards from Jan Hammer – all played without the cliche of his later years! The group's completed by the surprisingly great electric violin of Jerry Goodman and the bass of Rick Laird – and the tunes nicely blend a few more contemplative moments with full-on, rock-inspired fusion jamming. Titles include "Miles Beyond", "One Word", "Sanctuary", "Open Country Joy", "Resolution", "Sapphire Bullets Of Pure Love", and "Thousand Island Park". CD

A huge international hit for Morricone – quite a surprise, given the warmth and whimsy in the music – which is a real change from some of the maestro's darker moments of the 70s! The tunes often use light electric instrumentation in these really nice ways – playful, and certainly comedic – but with these occasional deeper touches that are definitely Morricone, too – especially in some of the slower moments that have this great interplay between woodwinds and keyboards. One of these is the track "L'Onorevole Famiglia", worth the price of the album alone! LP, Vinyl record album

An extremely groovy soundtrack from Carlo Rustichelli – one that bridges two generations of Italian comedy scores! At one level, there's a bouncing melodic feel to the score – done in a very Nino Rota-esque way, with plenty of jazzy touches on electric guitar, and some extremely captivating tunes. At another level, there's more of the mod 60s approach at work too – particularly in the way Pier Luigi Urbini interprets the score, and in the way the whole thing's recorded. Very nice stuff – and filled with classic Italian-styled tunes! Titles include "Night Dance", "Preparing For The Party", "Busy Bodies", "Sunday In The Piazza", "In Town", "Rounds Of Pleasure", and "Blackmail With Loving Care". LP, Vinyl record album

Warmly mellow work from Steve Eaton – a singer with a nicely laidback take on blue-eyed soul, served up in some lean arrangements with a nice jazzy vibe – all a nice change from some of the bigger, more commercial work of the period! The indie approach of the set gives the whole thing the feel of a record from a half decade before – as Steve unabashedly puts himself forward vocally, while also handling both acoustic and electric guitar, keyboards, piano, and more – with support from some equally easygoing session musicians too! Titles include the wonderfully groovy "Without Out" and "All In Love Say I" – plus "Got Me Moanin", "Rakin Leaves In The Wind", "Hurricanes & Tornadoes", "You're Not A Hero", "Friendly Stealer", and "Old Smart Big & Kind". LP, Vinyl record album

A sublime easy classic by The Mystic Moods – who by this time had transformed from a simple "sound effects plus easy listening" group into a sexy electric LA combo. This is one of their first albums for Warner, recorded with a nice sly slightly-funky sound – and it's a captivating batch of sexy easy tracks that have a nice groove bubbling underneath. Cuts include "Electric Music and The Summer People", "Reason For Staying", "My Love, My Life", and "Crystal Morning". Lots of watery sound effects too! LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty great 70s album from Gil Evans – a set that's got some great use of electric instrumentation, and a mighty groove on the best cuts! The overall approach is different than the early modernist sound of Gil Evans, but still very striking – a 70s equivalent to Gil's famous 60s work – and as always with Evans, the players in the ensemble are impeccably well-chosen – as the lineup includes Hannibal Marvin Peterson on trumpet, Billy Harper on tenor, Ryo Kawasaki on guitar, and a young Dave Sanborn handling the solos. Includes the odd spacey Tony Williams number "There Comes A Time", plus a cover of Hendrix's "Little Wing" – both of which have vocals by Peterson. Other tracks include "Aftermath Of The Fourth Movement Children Of The Fire", "Anita's Dance", and "Makes Her Move". CD

Killer work from Freddie Hubbard – some key transitional sides for Atlantic Records, and easily some of his most soulful work ever! Freddie started out as a bopper on Blue Note, but then made a great shift at Atlantic – exploring space and sound in a really wonderful way, and opening up towards some of the killer modes you'd know from his classics on CTI. There's just a bit of electricity in the mix here, as most cuts are acoustic – but they already stretch out in some hip, spiritual styles that are really great. Titles include "For BP", "Lonely Soul", "High Blues Pressure", "Midnite Soul", "Black Soldier", Interlude I", "Echoes Of Blue", "Threnody For Sharon Tate Comment", "Spacetrack", "Leap Frog", "Up Jumped Spring", "Latina", and "On The Quee Tee". CD

One of Lonnie Liston Smith's most spiritual sessions, and the record that most clearly shows his roots with Pharoah Sanders! The vibe here is much more jazz-based than on some of Lonnie's other records for Flying Dutchman – with Smith playing as much acoustic piano as he does electric, using the former in long-spiralling lines that have a beautifully meditative quality, and which give the album a real Strata East-like sound. Mtume and Sonny Morgan play percussion, Cecil McBee plays bass, and the real star of the album may well be George Barron – who turns in some beautiful Sonny Fortune-like work on tenor and soprano sax! Titles include "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord", "Rejuvenation", "Astral Traveling", "I Mani", "Aspirations", and "In Search Of Truth". CD includes alternate takes of "Astral Traveling", "Rejuvenation", "Imani", and "In Search Of Truth". CD

Warmly mellow work from Steve Eaton – a singer with a nicely laidback take on blue-eyed soul, served up in some lean arrangements with a nice jazzy vibe – all a nice change from some of the bigger, more commercial work of the period! The indie approach of the set gives the whole thing the feel of a record from a half decade before – as Steve unabashedly puts himself forward vocally, while also handling both acoustic and electric guitar, keyboards, piano, and more – with support from some equally easygoing session musicians too! Titles include the wonderfully groovy "Without Out" and "All In Love Say I" – plus "Got Me Moanin", "Rakin Leaves In The Wind", "Hurricanes & Tornadoes", "You're Not A Hero", "Friendly Stealer", and "Old Smart Big & Kind". CD

Seminal sides from Herbie Hancock – amazing material recorded for Warner Brothers in the years between his time at Blue Note and his big fame at Columbia Records – all sides that definitely show Hancock as one mighty righteous cat! Herbie's really stretching past his more conventional jazz of earlier years here – working both with a bit more electricity in his keys, and some larger arrangements that have a wonderful sense of flow and funk – a groove that definitely puts Hancock on a par with Quincy Jones at his funky best during the early 70s! The album's filled with great grooves pulled from the Warner Brothers albums by Hancock – including some quite long numbers – titles that include the funky nuggets "Wiggle Waggle", "Lil Brother", and "Tell Me A Bedtime Story" – plus "Sleeping Giant", "Crossings", "Quazar", "Ostinato", and "You'll Know When You Get There". CD

Warm and wonderful work from Freddie Hubbard – a killer of an album recorded for CTI, and one of his most soulful efforts for the label! The album's got a bit more of a human heart than some of the more cosmic sessions Freddie cut at the time – a bit more contemplative and introspective, but no less open-minded and electrically charged. The assortment of players is all top-shelf – with Billy Cobham, Airto, Lennie White, George Cables, Hubert Laws, and George Benson all backing Freddie up on the set – and titles include a great take on "People Make the World Go Round", plus "Naturally", and "Son of Sky Dive", which grooves just like its papa! CD