Mindblowing early work from Chet Baker – quite possibly as clear a statement of the young trumpeter's genius as you might hope to find, served up here in a beautiful 10" LP package! The tracks are short, sweet, and very much to the point – but they already display a tremendous approach to the trumpet that was different from any other player – a sound that's recorded cleanly and clearly throughout, without any vocals at all. The great Russ Freeman is on piano, and titles include "The Lamp Is Low", "Russ Job", "Batter Up", "Easy To Love", and "Maid In Mexico". LP, Vinyl record album

A subtle gem from one of the last years of Chet Baker's too-short life – with Butch Lacy on piano, Jesper Lundgaard on bass, and Jukkis Uotila on drums. Titles include "Two In The Dew", "Long Ago & Far Away", "Here's That Rainy Day", and "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" – all in nice long takes. CD

One of the things we really love about a Kenny Barron album with horns – and there's a lot of them – is that when Kenny works with horn players, he always lets their voices ring out as strongly as his in the lead – and maybe even more strongly overall! That's definitely the case here, on a crackling Blue Note set – one that has Barron's piano situated beautifully with the saxophone work of Dayna Stephens and the trumpet and flugelhorn of Mike Rodriguez – the latter of whom really shapes the set with his fluid sense of soul! The rhythm team is great, too – with Kiyoshi Kitagawa on bass and Johnathan Blake on drums – both getting that rolling Barron sense of modal energy just right – on titles that include "In The Dark", "Baile", "DPW", "Concentric Circles", "Blue Waters", and "Short Journey" – plus a version of Caetano Veloso's "Aquele Frevo Axe". CD

A lesser-known moment of genius from John Barry – quite different than his work for the James Bond films of the time! Barry's working here in a mix of more ambitious orchestral themes – dark, brooding, and moody – but also interspersed with some lighter jazzier numbers that are really great too! The film had a short life as a blockbuster – surprising, given that it was directed by Arthur Penn, written by Lillian Hellman, and starring Marlon Brando, Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, and Angie Dickinson amidst a host of other well-known talents – but the real charm is almost Barry's music, which olds up really well over the years! Our favorite titles include "Saturday Night Philosopher", "Look Around", "The Beating", "Blues For Bubber", and the sweetly jazzy "I'll Drink To That". And oddly, there doesn't seem to be a single traditional "chase" number in the whole film! LP, Vinyl record album

A short book on a short-lived but important comic book publisher of the postwar years – the great St John imprint, which was home to some of the more mature material of the time! The company is known both for its groundbreaking work in the romance comics field, and for its stunning artists – who include the legendary Matt Baker – and the author serves up the book in a series of interviews with creative talents – illuminating their own contributions, and providing especially great details of those who passed all too soon – including Baker and publisher Archer St John. The book has images from comics all the way through, all in black and white – and the whole thing's a great read if you love the behind the scenes stories of comic creation as much as we do. Softcover, 112 pages, with black and white images throughout. Book

Late work from the amazing Rolf Billberg – material recorded in the final years of the Swedish altoist's all-too-short career! As you'll hear from the very first notes in the set, Billberg's a hell of a player on the alto – an artist with the sharp crispness of a Lee Konitz, but the fluid, ever-shifting style of Stan Getz – a mode that makes him a killer talent right out of the gate, perfect for both upbeat swingers and more laidback ballads! The set has a number of Konitz compositions in the mix – clearly Rolf showing his debt to one influence – but the overall feel is quite different than any Lee Konitz albums we've ever heard – thanks partly to tight rhythms from the other players. The first batch of tracks are from a quintet with trumpeter Jan Allan, the next batch a quartet with pianist Knud Jorgensen, and the last with a quintet that features Allan Botschinsky on flugelhorn and Ole Molin on guitar. Titles include "Ablution", "Fobic", "Hi Beck", "Nursery Rhyme", "Chicarones", "Far Jag Lamna Hangra Blommar", "Stella By Starlight", and "Palo Alto". CD

Two different slices of Art Blakey – served up here in a 3CD set! Moanin isn't the Blue Note album of the same name, but a fantastic live set from 1968 – recorded after Blakey's classic Blue Note years, but with a group of fantastic players that includes a young Billy Harper on tenor, Ronnie Matthews on piano, and Julian Priester on trombone. Harper alone is worth the price of the CD – as his firey solos are great, and the whole album's an excellent peek at his early career! There's a sense of open freedom here that's quite different than the earlier Jazz Messengers groove – and this European date is a great complement to the better-known US live recording with the same group from the time. The set features a number of nice long tracks – like Slide Hampton's "Slide's Delight", Billy Harper's "Blues For Eros", Bobby Timmons' "Moanin", and the Jazz Messengers' standard "You Don't Know What Love Is". Sesjun Radio Shows 1 is fantastic radio performances from one of our favorite stretches of the legendary Jazz Messengers group – a time when the lineup featured a young Bobby Watson on alto and Valery Ponomarev on trumpet – two players who'd grow into fantastic leaders on their own, but who here help bring a lot of new life to the group! Watson is especially wonderful – contributing a few key compositions, and that soaring spirit in his horn, which really helped usher in a whole new generation for Blakey's group. James Williams is on piano too, and we actually love his work in this group more than on his later sets as a leader – and remaining players include David Schnitter on tenor on the first six tracks, and Billy Pierce on the horn on the remaining two – and either Dennis Irwin or Charles Fambrough on bass. Art's still the rock-solid core of the group – a tremendous leader who always gets fantastic performances out of young players – and titles include "ETA", "Dr J", "Free For All", "Along Came Betty", "ETA", and "Evaline". Sesjun Radio Shows 2 is live work from the great Art Blakey – a set that features two different performances from two really great groups! The first two cuts are from 1980 – from a time when the Jazz Messengers features up and coming 80s giants Bobby Watson on alto, Valery Ponomarev on trumpet, Billy Pierce on tenor, James Williams on piano, and Charles Fambrough on bass – all young musicians who'd evolve into leaders on their own in a few short years after these recordings, but who really sparkle here under Blakey's leadership! The cuts feature a great take on the Williams tune "1977 AD", and a long version of the Jazz Messengers standard "Blues March". The last four tracks feature a slightly later group – still with Fambrough on bass, but including wonderful tenor and soprano sax work from Jean Toussaint, plus trumpet from Terence Blanchard, alto from Donald Harrison, and piano from Johnny O'Neal – an equally great lineup, but in a completely different way. Titles include a great take on the Fambrough tune "Little Man" – plus "Polka Dots & Moonbeams" and "Moanin". CD

An all-star group take on the music of Duke Pearson – paying wonderful tribute to the kind of special, soulful grooves that Duke cooked up during his too-short career on Blue Note Records in the 60s! The lineup here is top-shelf, and very much in keeping with the sort of strong combos that Pearson would put together – both for records under his own name, and as a producer for Blue Note – and the lineup here features Diego Rivera on tenor and soprano sax, Art Hirahara on piano, Boris Kozlov on bass, and Vinnie Sperrazza on drums – a no-nonsense group who really focus in on the best elements of the songs, then let loose with great solo work. Jon Davis replaces Hirahara on three tracks on the set on piano – and titles include the great tune "Is That So", plus "You Know I Care", "Sweet Honey Bee", "ESP", "Chili Peppers", "Ready Rudy", and "Idle Moments". CD

Maybe one of the most hard-burning performances ever recorded by this legendary South African jazz combo – a set dedicated to trumpeter Mongezi Feza, a key member of the group who'd passed away just a short time before the recording! The session was done in London, right after all four remaining members had come together for a memorial for Mongezi – and throughout the set, you can feel the raw emotion that's driving the performance – bold, freewheeling and very expressive sounds from the lineup of Dudu Pukwana on alto sax, Chris McGregor on piano, Johnny Dyani on bass, and Louis Moholo on drums – all players who pick up extra percussion and vocalize at points – almost in the tradition of the AACM, but more emotive too. The set features a double-length performance, titled "Blue Notes For Mongezi" – divided into four movements. CD

Maybe one of the most hard-burning performances ever recorded by this legendary South African jazz combo – a set dedicated to trumpeter Mongezi Feza, a key member of the group who'd passed away just a short time before the recording! The session was done in London, right after all four remaining members had come together for a memorial for Mongezi – and throughout the set, you can feel the raw emotion that's driving the performance – bold, freewheeling and very expressive sounds from the lineup of Dudu Pukwana on alto sax, Chris McGregor on piano, Johnny Dyani on bass, and Louis Moholo on drums – all players who pick up extra percussion and vocalize at points – almost in the tradition of the AACM, but more emotive too. The set features a double-length performance, titled "Blue Notes For Mongezi" – divided into four movements. LP, Vinyl record album

A small package, but one that's overflowing with gems – given that the 10" album includes 14 titles, and the bonus CD features a total of 25 numbers in all – a great illustration of these early years from Memphis rocker Eddie Bond! Bond's maybe best known for his work on Sun Records, but he also recorded for other small labels too – and this set brings together a good range of those cuts in a nicely short space – including a few surprises from the late 60s that show that the Memphis rockabilly of Bond is alive and well! Titles include "Look Like A Monkey", "Slip Slip Slippin In", "This Old Heart Of Mine", "Rockin Daddy", "Here Comes The Train", "Running Drunk", "Boppin Bonnie", "Broke My Guitar", "Flip Lop Mama", "I've Got A Woman", and "Talking Off The Wall" – and the CD features additional material, including a few tracks of other artists performing some of these songs. LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing document of a unique musical moment – an entire jazz festival, virtually dedicated to Peter Brotzmann himself! The legendary Brotzmann not only curated the festival – filling it with some of his key collaborators and musical contemporaries – but he also plays on a fair bit of the titles here, too – in different groupings that reflect not only his long history in the European avant scene, but also his ties to Chicago, and his work with Japanese improvisers too! The package is wonderful – the next best thing to being at this exclusive event in person – and the set features 5CDs worth of music from the festival, with performances by Sonore (with Brotzmann, Ken Vandermark, & Mats Gustafsson), Chicago Tentet with John Tchicai, solo work by Jeiji Haino, the Hairy Bones quartet with Brotzmann and Toshinori Kondo, the Full Blast Trio, the DKV Trio, Caspar Brotzmann Massaker, and various other groupings with players who include Jeb Bishop, Joe McPhee, Mars Williams, Jason Adasiewicz, Nasheet Waits, Masahiko Satoh, Bill Laswell, and many others. CD

A study in brown, and a study in hardbop too – a seminal album of 50s jazz that forever went on to set the tone for the music! The album was one of a few that trumpeter Clifford Brown cut as his star was strongly rising, before a tragic early accident took his life – and it's a masterpiece of bop modernism, done with the co-leadership of drummer Max Roach – with an equally well-matched group that includes Harold Land on tenor, George Morrow on bass, and Bud Powell's brother Richie on piano. Tracks are short, and played with great boppish fire and fury – virtually the blueprint for the hardbop sound of the 50s, and one of the strongest expressions from this important, but short-lived group. Titles include "Gerkin For Perkin", "Sandu", "Jacqui", "Swingin", and the great "Land's End". CD

A study in brown, and a study in hardbop too – a seminal album of 50s jazz that forever went on to set the tone for the music! The album was one of a few that trumpeter Clifford Brown cut as his star was strongly rising, before a tragic early accident took his life – and it's a masterpiece of bop modernism, done with the co-leadership of drummer Max Roach – with an equally well-matched group that includes Harold Land on tenor, George Morrow on bass, and Bud Powell's brother Richie on piano. Tracks are short, and played with great boppish fire and fury – virtually the blueprint for the hardbop sound of the 50s, and one of the strongest expressions from this important, but short-lived group. Titles include "Gerkin For Perkin", "Sandu", "Jacqui", "Swingin", and the great "Land's End". LP, Vinyl record album

A study in brown, and a study in hardbop too – a seminal album of 50s jazz that forever went on to set the tone for the music! The album was one of a few that trumpeter Clifford Brown cut as his star was strongly rising, before a tragic early accident took his life – and it's a masterpiece of bop modernism, done with the co-leadership of drummer Max Roach – with an equally well-matched group that includes Harold Land on tenor, George Morrow on bass, and Bud Powell's brother Richie on piano. Tracks are short, and played with great boppish fire and fury – virtually the blueprint for the hardbop sound of the 50s, and one of the strongest expressions from this important, but short-lived group. Titles include "Gerkin For Perkin", "Sandu", "Jacqui", "Swingin", and the great "Land's End". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare television soundtrack from Italian jazzman Sandro Brugnolini – easily some of his most hard-hitting work, and a mighty cool record to boot! Brugnolini mixes small combo jazz and some darker orchestrations in a shifting palette of sounds from track to track – which means that some numbers are hard groovers, others have this brooding quality, and still others have this incredible tinkling piano that seems to float in the air – maybe the most gentle passages of the record, but also some of the most eerie too – especially in the way that Sandro mixes darkness and light with effortless ease! Most numbers are short, and work together beautifully – a very vivid record, even away from the images on the screen. Titles include "Aggressione", "Tallonato", "La Notte Muore", "Colluttazione", "Quasi Un Sogno", "Incidente Provocato", and "Tempus Fugit". CD

Exactly the kind of record that makes us love sound library records so much – and definitely the sort that sets the style apart from anything else we can think of! Both Sandro Brugnolini and Giorgio Carnini turn in some great work here – a mindblowing mix of modes over the space of ten short tracks – some tunes a cascading array of instrumentation, in a hip groove that's neither American jazz or soundtrack funk, but a special space of its own! Other tunes use an electronic approach that's years ahead of its time – as groovy as 60s analogue, but a lot darker, too – in ways that the rest of the world might not touch until the German new wave. The balance is almost even between swinging groovers and darker electronic cuts – and titles include "Grinta", "Azione CIA", "Scalo Clandestino", "Alambicco Cibernetico", "Strutture Generative", "Omicido Bianco", and "CIA Massacre". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic material from Tim Buckley – rare tracks recorded in 1968 and 1973, both presenting two different slices of his too-short career – and standing together as a great addition to his too-small catalog of recorded work! The first half features small sessions from 1968 – with Tim on those amazing vocals of his and Lee Underwood on lead guitar – plus a bit of vibes from Dave Friedman, in a manner that echoes the great use of that instrument on his Elektra albums of the late 60s. The songs are dreamy, open, and have that sublime blend of blueness and flow that really set Tim apart from his contemporaries – titles that include "Danang", "Happy Time", "Buzzin Fly", "Song To The Siren", and "Ashbury Park" – all done in unusual versions. The second half of the record features material recorded in 1973 – songs that are a bit more tight, with more of an overall group feel – almost jamming in the way the whole thing comes together! 1973 titles include versions of "Honey Man", "Falling Timber", "Quicksand", "Stone In Love", "Sefronia", "Because Of You", and "The Dream Belongs To Me". CD

Maybe one of the most successful film scores ever penned by UK maestro Roy Budd – one done around the same time as his classic Get Carter soundtrack, but with a very different vibe! The film has a western setting, as you'd guess from the cover image – and Budd opens things up with a whole host of different styles in his bag – some the dramatic, driving material you'd expect – but others with groovier late 60s touches that come as a nice surprise, and which reference the different moods for certain characters in the film! The approach is nicely different from both Italian and American western soundtrack styles – and this CD brings together an expanded version of the score for the first time ever – with 16 mono tracks, 3 more stereo titles, a short interview with Roy, and even a piano demo of the main theme too. CD

A wonderful album by these two jazz guitarists – and one that features them playing in a much harder mode than usual! The album's cut in the open-ended style of some of the Prestige jam session sets – with a very able group that includes Mal Waldron, Art Taylor, Doug Watkins, Donald Byrd, and Jackie McLean. Titles include "This Way", "Little Melonae", "Blue Duke", and "Pivot" – and Raney's tone is especially nice! LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the best recordings that Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams ever did together! The material here was recorded for the short-lived Warwick label in the early 60s – with a tight tight rhythm section that includes Jimmy Cobb on drums, Laymon Jackson on bass, and a very young Herbie Hancock on piano. Herbie kicks ass on his solos – and Byrd and Adams are very tight, with none of the clunkiness that sometimes mars their other work. The set includes a killer version of "Mr LuckyTheme", plus the tracks "Out Of This World", "Bird House", "It's A Beautiful Evening", and "Curro's". LP, Vinyl record album

The first four albums from this crucial group – along with four more CDs of rare live material too! First up is the self-titled Cactus – the first album from this legendary group – an important American hard rock powerhouse, driven by the famous rhythm duo of Tim Bogert on bass and Carmine Appice on drums – both of whom roll out of the gate here with amazingly frenetic energy! They're maybe only topped by the guitar work of Jim McCarty, whose searing lines are clearly learned from blues inspirations, then turned up in both speed and power – to match the vocals and harmonica of Rusty Day! There's nothing going on here that sounds like blues rock at all – even though the set begins with a cover of "Parchman Farm" – next to other titles that include "My Lady From South Of Detroit", "No Need To Worry", "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover", and "Let Me Swim". On One Way Or Another, Cactus are totally at the top of their game – and the guitar of Jim McCarthy really sets the record on fire, right from the very first note – at a level that should have made Jim one of the real guitar hero legends of his generation! Yet there's also power from the whole group going on too – tight rhythms from the team of Carmine Appice and Jim Bogert, the latter of whom starts to bring in his own vocals a fair bit more, offering backup to the raspy lead of Rusty Day. And while there's a few currents that show their older influence from blues, the sound here is massively hard rock all the way through – making the record a great illustration of the way that slavish blues rock gave birth to a fresh new jamming sound in a matter of just a few short years. Titles include "Rockout Whatever You Feel Like", "Song For Aries", "Feel So Bad", "Rock N Roll Children", and "Hometown Bust". Restrictions is next, and despite the title, there's no restrictions at all – as Cactus seem to be even more confident, more able to stretch their wings and fly than ever before – even adding in some extra piano and keyboards at points to the core guitar-heavy sound of the quartet! All the group's best elements are very firmly in place – searing guitar, righteously confident vocals, and a strutting sensibility that makes this early 70s album way ahead of the game in terms of territory that so many bigger groups would later copy for their own classic records. Titles include "Guiltless Glider", "Evil Alaska", "Sweet Sixteen", "Bag Drag", "Restrictions", and "Mean Night In Cleveland". Ot N Sweaty is a record that's got a bit of a shift in the classic Cactus lineup – as the group's still driven strongly by the work of Carmine Appice on drums and Tim Bogert on bass, but get guitar power from Werner Fritzschings, who's a pretty amazing player – next to some added keyboards from Duane Hitchings, and vocals from Peter French – a singer who's ballsy power might be even more in line with the group than their previous lead singer! The album's got an unusual approach in that side one was recorded live, side two in the studio – each with a nicely different flavor as a result – on titles that include "Swim", "Our Lil Rock N Roll Thing", "Bedroom Mazurka", "Telling You", "Bad Stuff", and "Bringing Me Down". 8CD set is overflowing with great material – bonus tracks added to three of the four albums in the collection, than a further 4CDs worth of live material – titled Fully Unleashed – The Live Gigs Vols 1 & 2. The live material is great – and really shows the tightness of the group at their best! CD

One of the strangest albums ever from John Cage – but one of the most compelling too – and a record that really gets at the larger person behind his incredible music! The album has a very spare format – and features John Cage reading 90 stories – all short, spoken bits that are woven with Cage's theories on art, music, chance, and existence – backed by music from David Tudor, who plays piano passages from Cage's "Concert For Piano & Orchestra" and tape sections from the classic "Fontana Mix". Cage's voice alone is worth the price of admission – especially on some of the more autobiographical sections! CD

Arguably one of the best records cut for the short-lived Mode label in the late 50s – and easily one of the best from trumpeter Conte Candoli too! For the session, Conte front a quartet with Vince Guaraldi on piano, Monty Budwig on bass, and Stan Levey on drums – and Guaraldi's piano style's got a heck of a lot more soul than you'd expect, a detail that brings a nice depth to a session that might have been otherwise lightweight – and which comes off with the same strength overall as the pair's outing from the same time for the Crown label. Candoli seems to play about half the tracks with a mute, but still in a style that's more open and fluid than much of his other work from the time – and titles include "Tara Ferma", "Diane", "Mambo Blues", "Mediolistic", and "Walkie Talkie". CD

Mindblowing music from Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band – a record that's got plenty of garagey grit at the core, but which also has a heady freak rock vibe overall! The 1967 album really captures this perfect moment – one when so many artists like Don Van Vliet had their feet in older rockish modes, but were really tripping out with new ideas – able to get nice and freaky in the course of a short tune, yet still never lose a groove that really helped send the music home! In other words, there's nothing too hippieish about the record, and nothing that's ever too self-indulgent – yet the blend of organ, guitar, and drums is completely mindblowing – and as revolutionary today as it was back then. Titles include "Abba Zabba", "Dropout Boogie", "Zig Zag Wanderer", "Electricity", "Yellow Brick Road", "Grown So Ugly", and "Autumn's Child". CD

Mindblowing music from Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band – a record that's got plenty of garagey grit at the core, but which also has a heady freak rock vibe overall! The 1967 album really captures this perfect moment – one when so many artists like Don Van Vliet had their feet in older rockish modes, but were really tripping out with new ideas – able to get nice and freaky in the course of a short tune, yet still never lose a groove that really helped send the music home! In other words, there's nothing too hippieish about the record, and nothing that's ever too self-indulgent – yet the blend of organ, guitar, and drums is completely mindblowing – and as revolutionary today as it was back then. Titles include "Abba Zabba", "Dropout Boogie", "Zig Zag Wanderer", "Electricity", "Yellow Brick Road", "Grown So Ugly", and "Autumn's Child". CD version has 7 bonus tracks, with alternate takes and more. Essential! CD

Mindblowing music from Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band – a record that's got plenty of garagey grit at the core, but which also has a heady freak rock vibe overall! The 1967 album really captures this perfect moment – one when so many artists like Don Van Vliet had their feet in older rockish modes, but were really tripping out with new ideas – able to get nice and freaky in the course of a short tune, yet still never lose a groove that really helped send the music home! In other words, there's nothing too hippieish about the record, and nothing that's ever too self-indulgent – yet the blend of organ, guitar, and drums is completely mindblowing – and as revolutionary today as it was back then. Titles include "Abba Zabba", "Dropout Boogie", "Zig Zag Wanderer", "Electricity", "Yellow Brick Road", "Grown So Ugly", and "Autumn's Child" – this version includes 9 bonus tracks! CD

A historic pairing of blues talents – one that only flourished for a few short years, but created some wonderful music together! Leroy Carr brings lots of jazz inflections to his work on piano, but the overall sound is definitely blues – thanks strongly to the guitar lines of Scrapper Blackwell, who really helps give the tunes a nice rough edge, and hammers home the punch of the lyrics too! This 20 track set brings together rare 78rpm recordings done mostly for the Vocalion label, plus a few Bluebird tracks as well – and titles include "How Long How Long Blues", "Gettin All Wet", "Love Hides All Faults", "Naptown Blues", "Baby Don't You Love Me No More", "Lonesome Nights", "When The Sun Goes Down", "Going Back Home", "Big Four Blues", and "Papa Wants A Cookie". CD

A great example of why the Swingville label was such a great idea – a perfect setting for older players to have a chance to relax in the studio and really do their thing – hitting the sort of notes they might reach in a late-nite set at a club, without all the pressures to try for a crossover hit or short takes on overdone standards! The tracks here are all quite long – surpassing even Verve material of this nature – and Carter plays both alto and trumpet, Webster his classic tenor, and Bigard clarinet – in a group that also includes Shorty Sherock on trumpet, Jimmy Rowles on piano, and Dave Barbour on guitar. Rhythm's from Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Mel Lewis on drums – so that part of the equation is rock-solid too – and titles include "Opening Blues", "Lula", "When Lights Are Low", and "You Can't Tell The Difference When The Sun Goes Down Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing work from guitarist Charlie Christian – an artist who only recorded for a few short years before an untimely early death – but a player whose work went onto have a huge impact on both the guitar and jazz music in general for years to come! Charlie's playing has a sharp edge that's undeniable – an approach to the guitar that's definitely jazz, yet also finds a place for bluesy inflections too – in styles that no doubt influenced later players like Grant Green or Tal Farlow – and which may have also been an inspiration to electrified bluesmen in the 50s, too. This package brings together a huge amount of Christian's crucial sides for the Columbia label – material that features his raw electric instrument in the company of the Benny Goodman sextet, where Charlie could really shine – and a bit in Benny's larger group too. The package also features raw material that has Christian playing with Count Basie & Lester Young, and the Metronome All Stars – plus detailed notes too. 98 tracks in all! CD

Pure genius from the great Sonny Clark – one of the key Blue Note albums recorded in his all-too-short career – and a set that offers up his perfect blend of modern jazz ideas and hardbop energy! The group here is an all-star one – with a young John Coltrane making one of his few Blue Note appearances – alongside Donald Byrd on trumpet and Curtis Fuller on trombone – a frontline that's brimming over with young enthusiasm and fresh concepts – as Clark moves things along with Paul Chambers on bass and Art Taylor on drums! Titles include two of Sonny's landmark compositions – "News for Lulu" and "Sonny's Crib" – plus smoking renditions of "Speak Low" and "With a Song in My Heart". CD

Pure genius from the great Sonny Clark – one of the key Blue Note albums recorded in his all-too-short career – and a set that offers up his perfect blend of modern jazz ideas and hardbop energy! The group here is an all-star one – with a young John Coltrane making one of his few Blue Note appearances – alongside Donald Byrd on trumpet and Curtis Fuller on trombone – a frontline that's brimming over with young enthusiasm and fresh concepts – as Clark moves things along with Paul Chambers on bass and Art Taylor on drums! Titles include two of Sonny's landmark compositions – "News for Lulu" and "Sonny's Crib" – plus smoking renditions of "Speak Low" and "With a Song in My Heart". Connoisseur release includes three alternate takes! CD

Pure genius from the great Sonny Clark – one of the key Blue Note albums recorded in his all-too-short career – and a set that offers up his perfect blend of modern jazz ideas and hardbop energy! The group here is an all-star one – with a young John Coltrane making one of his few Blue Note appearances – alongside Donald Byrd on trumpet and Curtis Fuller on trombone – a frontline that's brimming over with young enthusiasm and fresh concepts – as Clark moves things along with Paul Chambers on bass and Art Taylor on drums! Titles include two of Sonny's landmark compositions – "News for Lulu" and "Sonny's Crib" – plus smoking renditions of "Speak Low" and "With a Song in My Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic soul from one of the most dynamic vocal groups ever – and a set of tunes that gets way past their obvious early hits! By this point in their career, The Coasters were beyond compare – a tightly-working vocal group pushed even farther through superb directly from the team of Lieber & Stoller – who also gave the group a brilliant set of tunes that further exploited their cartoony vocal power! There's a sense of humor here that's simply tremendous – one that has the musical tunes almost working like little audio cartoons that explode with the power of a classic short on Warner Brothers. Titles include "Girls Girls Girls", "Stewball", "The Snake & The Bookworm", "Little Egypt", "Keep A Rollin", "Just Like Me", "Run Red Run", and "What About Us". LP, Vinyl record album

The last concert ever played by the great John Coltrane – and, as with some of his other recordings from 1967, a record that really shows the Great One stepping out into some territory we would have loved him to explore more, had he not left our world too soon! The group here has tremendous tenor from Pharoah Sanders – alongside work from Alice Coltrane on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Rashied Ali on drums – joined by the more obscure Algie DeWitt, who plays bata drum on the session – alongside other percussion work that's been credited to Jumma Santos. The setting is the African Culture Center in New York, headed by percussionist Olatunji – which makes the added percussion even more important for the recording – and the set features a short introduction by Billy Taylor, and 2 long tracks: "Ogunde" and "My Favorite Things". CD

Rare funky fusion from Compost! This excellent session by the short-lived group is also definitely up there on the list of stellar fusiony sets that have been too long overlooked. Many of the tracks have a nice hard angular sound to them, with a fusion break sound similar to some of the European albums of the same period, but with a lot more warmth. Bob Moses sings vocals on some cuts, but the strong point of the record is the instrumental grooving. The group includes Harold Vick on reeds, Moses on drums, Jumma Santos on percussion, and Jack DeJohnette on keyboards. Tracks include "Funky Feet", "Thinkin'", "Sweet Berry Wine", "Happy Piece", "Inflamation Blues" and "Bwaata". CD

Soul legend Sam Cooke left our planet all too soon – but during his short time in the business, and during the height of his fame, he managed to start his own record company too – a really groundbreaking imprint that issued some great singles of his own, and helped to showcase a small group of well-chosen artists that Cooke really got behind! The date range here is a bit longer than the actual recording history of SAR – as Sam died in 1964, and was overseeing most of the artistic and creative direction of the label – along with help from partner JW Alexander – and the material here showcases both sides of Cooke's legacy, both secular and spiritual – with a focus on some great soul singers and groups, and a bit of gospel music too. The collection is nicely tight – not as wide-ranging as bigger label compilations, in part because of the elite group of artists who recorded for SAR – which makes for a sharp lineup of tracks, from artists who include Johnnie Taylor, The Valentinos, The Womack Brothers, Soul Stirrers, The Simms Twins, Billy Preston, Johnnie Morisette, RH Harris & His Gospel Paraders, and Sam Cooke himself! LP, Vinyl record album

Nothing childish here – as the album's a beautiful set of short, spare numbers from Chick Corea – a perfect reminder that he could still maintain a subtle approach to his music, even after years of more dramatic electric sides! The bulk of the album features short "Children's Songs", numbered 1 to 20 – played by Chick in spare, swirling ways that are mighty nice – a much more sensitive Chick Corea than we remember, dancing a nice balance between lyricism and sentimentality, yet without any of the too-popular trappings of some of his 80s contemporaries in the solo piano mode. The CD also features one slightly longer track – "Addendum" – which has Corea's piano with violin and cello. CD

A broad leap forward for Detroit, from a few years back, with Carl Craig establishing himself as a visionary not only amongst the first wave of techno artists, but for the new beat generation too – alongside like minded producers like Kirk Degiorio and Larry Heard. Electronic music imbued with a sense of human warmth, and one of the few techno full lengths we enjoy listening to front to back. 15 tracks in all, with 4 more than the LP, some quite short, others song length, including "Goodbye World", "Alien Talk", "Dreamland", "Butterfly", "Suspiria"and "Frustration". CD

A group who have plenty of the funk that you might guess from their name, but one who can also do a great job with a mellower cut too – as you'll hear in this wonderful collection of their too-short legacy on record! The group were formed in Harlem during the early 70s, and had a run that never really cracked the charts at the time – yet which rivaled some of the hippest work of their generation – every bit as sharp a funk group as Kool & The Gang, and able to shift into other vocal modes with the dexterity of The New Birth – both great references for the sounds on this set! All the work was originally issued on the group's own label, and is presented here as a full collection for the first time ever – with cuts that include "Breezies", "Ready Made Family", "Funk Power", "The Whole Groove", "Moving World", "The Whole Thing", and "Before The Next Teardrop Falls". CD

One of the deepest digs into the legacy of UK wonderproducer Joe Meek – a set that opens up a whole host of unissued tapes from the vaults, to present a hugely expanded set of work from a group who hardly issued any records back in the 60s! The Cryin Shames are not to be confused with the American Cryan Shames – as the Liverpool group had a great sound, but only released two singles – before spinning off into other groups with a short run too – including Friendly Persuasion, and Paul & Ritchie & The Crying Shames – all of whom recorded with Meek, and are presented here, in a massive 51 track package that features loads of unreleased takes, live material, and other rare tunes too! Core elements include the singles "September In The Rain", "Come On Back", "Nobody Waved Goodbye", "Please Stay", "What's News Pussycat", "The End Of The World", and "Come On" – and there's also 18 very early tracks from the group's audition, when they were initially billed as The Bumblies. Along with the notes, the whole thing is a great example of the way the wheels were really turning and the studio doors were opening during these key years of British rock – another new window into the production genius of the great Joe Meek! CD

Current Rage were one of the more obscure groups to come out of the Athens, GA scene in the early 80s – but they've also got all the instantly creative energy that made that short-lived world of music every bit as exciting as some of the best New York sounds at the time! There's a nicely choppy approach to the rhythms going on here, and plenty of strong guitar play too – deft music that's somewhere in the territory of Pylon, and like that group, maybe a warmer US answer to British post-punk sounds of the same time. Titles include "Right Side Of The Brain", "Bitte Schoen", "Sweet Torture", "My Dog Sam", "Looking Through Gels", and "Scream In The Dark". Expanded version features bonus tracks that include "Adventures In America", "Punch A Clock", "The Theme", "Constant Hiss (demo)", and live tracks "My Dog Sam", "AF", "Tequila", and "The Book Pressed Flowers". LP, Vinyl record album

Current Rage were one of the more obscure groups to come out of the Athens, GA scene in the early 80s – but they've also got all the instantly creative energy that made that short-lived world of music every bit as exciting as some of the best New York sounds at the time! There's a nicely choppy approach to the rhythms going on here, and plenty of strong guitar play too – deft music that's somewhere in the territory of Pylon, and like that group, maybe a warmer US answer to British post-punk sounds of the same time. Titles include "Right Side Of The Brain", "Bitte Schoen", "Sweet Torture", "My Dog Sam", "Looking Through Gels", and "Scream In The Dark". Expanded version features bonus tracks that include "Adventures In America", "Punch A Clock", "The Theme", "Constant Hiss", and live tracks "My Dog Sam", "AF", "Tequila", and "The Book Pressed Flowers". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic early funk from Daft Punk – at once future and retro, and definitely at the level that was about to make these guys huge players in the global scene! The sounds here really follow some of the best French experiments of previous decades – the electro disco of Cerrone, some of the freakier spacier fuzzier club styles of the late 70s/early 80s world, and even that return to bold dancefloor modes from 90s giants like Bob Sinclar! Yet at the same time, these guys really break out of the dancefloor underground – and somehow manage to wrap everything together as the new voice of pop music – one that doesn't always need a vocal in the lead, as long as the other elements are this great. Titles include "Superheroes", "Harder Better Faster Stronger", "Aerodynamic", "Short Circuit", "Too Long", "Face To Face", "High Life", "Nightvision", and "Crescendolls". CD

The Damned were one of the first great punk acts on the UK scene, and maybe one who quickly showed the world they had plenty of different modes to offer – not just the short, sharp, shock of a two minute 45 – but slightly more varied modes that really reflected the different inclinations of the members of the group! This set brings together a surprising range of music in a short amount of time – even one side project from Captain Sensible too – and together, the cuts serve as a great illustration of what made The Damned so unique – and maybe gave the group a bit more crossover power and stamina than some of their contemporaries. Titles include "New Rose", "Love Song", "I Just Can't Be Happy Today", "Plan 9 Channel 7", "The History Of The World Part 1", "Wait For The Blackout", "Rabid Over You", "Smash It Up", "Hit Or Miss", "There Ain't No Sanity Claus", "Neat Neat Neat", and "Jet Boy Jet Girl". LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique document of the struggle and story of Angela Davis – recorded in 1971 by ABC news, and packaged together here as kind of a sonic program by Folkways! The record works like a short news program – starting out with a statement by Angela, then moving to a narrated introduction, then a long interview conducted by Joe Walker of Muhammad Speaks. Side two continues with a panel discussion on the case, then ends with some very cool "man in the street" style interviews! Capped off with a really great cover photo of Angela too! CD

Three overseas sessions from American tenor great Eddie Lockjaw Davis! Jaws Strikes Again is a slightly different setting than some of the other 70s albums from Eddie Lockjaw Davis – in that the set was recorded for the Black & Blue label, who always liked to get a nice gritty punch out of the players they recorded! Given Eddie's legendary tone, the approach works perfectly here – on tracks that are short and focused – and which feature some mighty nice work on Hammond from Wild Bill Davis, plus guitar from the great Billy Butler, and drums from Oliver Jackson! Titles include "Jumpin With Symphony Sid", "The Man I Love", "When Sunny Gets Blue", "Candy", "After You're Gone", and "Light & Lovely". Nice Jazz 1978 is a great example of Eddie in collaboration – as Eddie Lockjaw Davis is a hell of a player on his own – but he's maybe even more amazing when he works alongside other horn soloists – who always seem to inspire Davis to bring out the boldest, mouthiest side of his horn! That tenor is alive and well, and wonderfully set up here – in five different live performances from the Nice Jazz Festival in 1978 – two with Illinois Jacquet on tenor, six with Harry Edison on trumpet, and one more with Paul Bascomb on tenor and Eddie Vinson on alto. Tracks are nice and long – that back/forth jam session style that Eddie does so well – and titles include "Rompin With JC", "Brazil", "Lover Come Back To Me", "Just Friends", "On Green Dolphin Street", and "Misty". Jaw's Blues is a nice one from the start of the 80s! Tenorist Eddie Lockjaw Davis always had a hell of a tone – and although his best-remembered dates are maybe from the 50s and 60s, the saxophonist still kept on making great records for many years to come! This album's definitely one of those – a European live recording, done in Munich, with Eddie stretching out with the sort of raspy tone that always made his early duets with Johnny Griffin such a delight – getting the sort of sensitive accompaniment here that Griff had on some of his later European dates too. The wonderful Horace Parlan is on piano, with Reggie Johnson on bass, and Alvin Queen on drums – and although it's clear that the Davis tenor solos are the main attraction, the album's a very sold group effort too. Titles include "What Is This Thing Called Love", "Jaw's Blues", "I'll Remember April", "Young Man With A Horn", and "But Beautiful". CD

A collection of numbers that Miles Davis recorded for Prestige in the 50s – both dates that were too short to be issued as 33 rpm LP albums by themselves, combined here into one full length record! The first two batches of material are from 1953 – one featuring Davis working in a sextet with Sonny Rollins and Charlie Parker, a nd the second with a quartet featuring Miles as the only horn– in a mode that steps off a bit from the boppishness of Davis' Blue Note recordings. Titles include 2 takes of "Serpent's Tooth", plus "Round Midnight", "Tune Up", "When Lights Are Low", "Smooch", "Miles Ahead" and "Compulsion". The rest of the set is another quartet side, with Horace Silver, Percy Heath and Art blakey, and numbers include "Four", "That Old Devil Moon" and "Blue Haze". LP, Vinyl record album

A really well-penned western score from Francesco De Masi – put together in ways that are even richer and more vivid than usual! The tunes are short, but really work some scene-setting magic in just a short space – leaning heavily on the full range of soundtrack drama while mixing in key western elements – and almost acting as a link between the spaghetti western generation and the previous era of Hollywood scoring. Instrumentation features great harmonica from Franco De Gemini, and a few vocal bits from I Cantori Moderni – and tracks include "Where Are The Killers", "Johnny Revenge", "Wishville", "Sibyl Murder", "Bloody Sunset", and "Over Death" – plus 13 more bonus tracks too! CD

Great 70s work from Paul Desmond – a sweet little quartet date that easily rivals his genius live album for A&M from the same stretch! The record's done in the simple, unadorned style that made the short-lived Artist House label so great – a real back to basics setting that's free from any gimmicks, and which has that sublime Desmond alto sound out front, in a quartet that features Ed Bickert on guitar, Don Thompson on bass, and Jerry Fuller on drums. Titles include the original "Audrey", plus "Line For Lyons", "Too Marvelous For Words", "When Sunny Gets Blue", and "Darn That Dream" – all nice and long! LP, Vinyl record album

A treasure trove of work from a singer who's finally getting his due – Louisiana legend Jimmy Donley, an artist whose career was as short-lived as his time on the planet – but who worked during the early 60s in a wonderful blend of soul, R&B, and rough-edged rock! The package is amazing – and a much-needed look at this artist who burned incredibly brightly for a few short years, before taking his own life in the mid 60s. Jimmy's a hell of a singer, and a damn great songwriter too – and according to the notes, most of the tunes on the set originated with him, but were sold quickly to others to earn cash – a fact that hardly keeps the music from being a great representation of Donley's genius. There's definitely some echoes of New Orleans soul in the recordings, but given that many of the sessions were handled by Huey P Meux, there's also a west Louisiana vibe, too – with almost some grittier east Texas elements as well. The sound is quite unique – and uniquely breathtaking in this scope – a 2CD set that features 20 songs issued on singles for the Tear Drop label – plus another 36 tracks as demos, duets, and other rare material! Titles include "A Woman's Gotta Have Her Way", "Think It Over", "Strange Strange Feeling", "Love Bug", "Baby Ain't That Love", "Just A Game", "Santa Don't Pass Me By", "Baby Heaven Sent Me You", "Loving Cajun Style", "Forever Lillie May", "I Still Care", "It's Time To Say Goodbye", and "I'll Keep On Movin". CD

One of Kenny Dorham's best records ever – and one of his rarest too! The set was cut for the short-lived Jaro label, home to a few great jazz sides during its short-lived American tenure – and the set features Kenny grooving at a level that's extremely tight, very much in the best spirit of his work for Blue Note or Prestige – and recorded here with equally top-shelf sound! The record shows Kenny at his lyrical best – working alongside the piano of Tommy Flangan, who really helps enforce this side of his music – and also getting some help from Charles Davis on baritone, who brings in some darker edges to the record. Other players include Butch Warren on bass and Buddy Enlow on drums – on tracks that include the original entitled "Stage West", plus another sweet tune by Davis entitled "Turbo" – as well as the numbers "Butch's Blues", "Six Bits", and "Stella By Starlight". CD

One of Kenny Dorham's best records ever – and one of his rarest too! The set was cut for the short-lived Jaro label, home to a few great jazz sides during its short-lived American tenure – and the set features Kenny grooving at a level that's extremely tight, very much in the best spirit of his work for Blue Note or Prestige – and recorded here with equally top-shelf sound! The record shows Kenny at his lyrical best – working alongside the piano of Tommy Flangan, who really helps enforce this side of his music – and also getting some help from Charles Davis on baritone, who brings in some darker edges to the record. Other players include Butch Warren on bass and Buddy Enlow on drums – on tracks that include the original entitled "Stage West", plus another sweet tune by Davis entitled "Turbo" – as well as the numbers "Butch's Blues", "Six Bits", and "Stella By Starlight". CD

A 70s issue of one of Kenny's best records – The Arrival Of Kenny Dorham – one of Kenny Dorham's best records ever – and one of his rarest too! The set was cut for the short-lived Jaro label, home to a few great jazz sides during its short-lived American tenure – and the set features Kenny grooving at a level that's extremely tight, very much in the best spirit of his work for Blue Note or Prestige – and recorded here with equally top-shelf sound! The record shows Kenny at his lyrical best – working alongside the piano of Tommy Flangan, who really helps enforce this side of his music – and also getting some help from Charles Davis on baritone, who brings in some darker edges to the record. Other players include Butch Warren on bass and Buddy Enlow on drums – on tracks that include the original entitled "Stage West", plus another sweet tune by Davis entitled "Turbo" – as well as the numbers "Butch's Blues", "Six Bits", and "Stella By Starlight". LP, Vinyl record album

Great live work from Kenny Dorham – wonderfully recorded by Danish Radio from an early 60s performance in Copehagen – one that also features flugelhorn from Allan Botschinsky as well! The mix of trumpet and flugelhorn is totally great – a shifting, shimmering palette of colors and sound that steps right out with a bold, righteous energy – that sense of force that Dorham was beginning to show in some of his American recordings too – before his studio appearances were cut down all too quickly. Rhythms are extremely tight too – with Tete Montoliu on piano, Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Alex Riel on drums – and the tracks are nice and long, with versions of "Short Story", "Bye Bye Blackbird", "Manha De Carnival", and "The Touch of Your Lips". CD

A Kenny Dorham-billed version of the only full album ever issued by tenor player Rocky Boyd – but a set so great, it's definitely made a name for him over the years! Boyd's got a wonderful tone on the set – sharp and soulful, with an approach to the tenor that almost reminds us of early 60s Jackie McLean – particularly in the way that Jackie could hit dark corners with raspy, personal tone. The rest of the group's no slouch either – and features Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Walter Bishop Jr on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Pete LaRoca on drums – a lineup so great, they give the album a real Blue Note sort of polish – and the album's definitely one that would have been a better-known date, if it hadn't died quickly on the short-lived Jazztime label. The whole thing's wonderful – and titles include "West 42nd Street", "Avars", "Ease It", "Samba De Orfeu", and "Why Not". CD features bonus tracks too – alternates of 4 tracks on the album! CD

A record that's almost as wonderful as the cartoon on which it was based – thanks to Boris Karloff narration, words by Dr Seuss, and some mighty weird lyrics sung by Thurl Ravenscroft – all of which make the audio portion of this famous Holiday cartoon just as great as the visuals! This special record brings together all the best bits from the 30 minute Christmas short – including the song "You're A Mean One Mr Grinch", and "Welcome Christmas", "I Must Stop Christmas", "Trim Up The Tree", and "Tomorrow Is Christmas" – and also features the full story, too – with the same Boris Karloff narration from the cartoon! CD

A record that's almost as wonderful as the cartoon on which it was based – thanks to Boris Karloff narration, words by Dr Seuss, and some mighty weird lyrics sung by Thurl Ravenscroft – all of which make the audio portion of this famous Holiday cartoon just as great as the visuals! This special record brings together all the best bits from the 30 minute Christmas short – including the song "You're A Mean One Mr Grinch", and "Welcome Christmas", "I Must Stop Christmas", "Trim Up The Tree", and "Tomorrow Is Christmas" – and also features the full story, too – with the same Boris Karloff narration from the cartoon! LP, Vinyl record album

A heady second chapter of a legendary funk group that were only around for a few short years, but gave us some great music in the process – presented here with 16 unissued tracks from their years in Los Angeles, including work from members of the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band too! With so much unreleased music, the set's like a fresh discovery of Dyke & The Blazers – adding new takes and versions to the material they recorded in LA before Dyke passed all too quickly – making for a long-overdue addition to their small body of recorded work. Titles unissued stereo mixes of "We Got More Soul (full length)", "Funky Walk (full length)", "The Wobble (full length)", "Let A Woman Be A Woman Let A Man Be A Man", "Funky Bull (full length)", "Booga Jivin", "Stuff (full length)", "Runaway People (full length)", and "Moon" – plus the never-issued "The Walk (part 1 east)", "Do It Together (orig mix)", "WUFO Radio Spot", "Day Is Comin (demo)", and "I'm So All Alone (alt)". Also includes the cuts "Black Boy", "It's Your Thing", "You Are My Sunshine", and "Shot Gun Slim" – all very funky! LP, Vinyl record album

A short set of work from El Michels Affair – but as with most of their records, a set that delivers a heck of a lot more than you'd get from other groups in their scene! If the cover looks a bit familiar, it's because the cuts here were recorded during the sessions for the Yeti Season album, but didn't get issued at the time – but they've got a weirder, wilder vibe than that record too – almost as if the already-trippy funk of El Michels were run through a special filter to make things sound even more exotic, yet all without ever losing the groove! Titles include "Poison Song", "Progress", "Nasir", "Messy Grass", "Cham Cham", "Uncut Gem", "Smoked", and "Running Hot". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing later work from Booker Ervin – far more modern and far-reaching than you'd guess from the "Texas" title in the set! Although Ervin first came onto the scene as a strong-voiced tenorist from a Texas tradition, through the course of the 60s he'd really expanded his musical vision – working with Charles Mingus, Jaki Byard, and others to push his already-soulful sound into a freer-thinking mode that was one of the most compelling approaches to tenor at the time. And while this change had been documented on some key sides for Prestige and World Pacific at the time, this rare 1968 session for Blue Note is perhaps one of the best of the bunch – but oddly was somehow never issued at the time, and only made a brief appearance in 1976, as part of a 2LP set. Ervin's working here with a totally hip group – one that has Woody Shaw in the frontline on trumpet, and a rhythm team of Kenny Barron on piano, Jan Arnet on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – all grooving with Ervin in styles that recall the modal vamping and soaring energy that Shaw would later bring to his own solo work in the 70s. Tracks are all longish, and filled with a sense of life and exploration that shows that Ervin was growing tremendously in this last stretch of his all-too-short life – never too free, always in control, yet roaming the skies in search of new notes and sounds! Titles include "Gichi", "Den Tex", "Lynn's Tune", "204", and an early version of Shaw's "In A Capricornian Way". CD

Amazing later work from Booker Ervin – far more modern and far-reaching than you'd guess from the "Texas" title in the set! Although Ervin first came onto the scene as a strong-voiced tenorist from a Texas tradition, through the course of the 60s he'd really expanded his musical vision – working with Charles Mingus, Jaki Byard, and others to push his already-soulful sound into a freer-thinking mode that was one of the most compelling approaches to tenor at the time. And while this change had been documented on some key sides for Prestige and World Pacific at the time, this rare 1968 session for Blue Note is perhaps one of the best of the bunch – but oddly was somehow never issued at the time, and only made a brief appearance in 1976, as part of a 2LP set. Ervin's working here with a totally hip group – one that has Woody Shaw in the frontline on trumpet, and a rhythm team of Kenny Barron on piano, Jan Arnet on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – all grooving with Ervin in styles that recall the modal vamping and soaring energy that Shaw would later bring to his own solo work in the 70s. Tracks are all longish, and filled with a sense of life and exploration that shows that Ervin was growing tremendously in this last stretch of his all-too-short life – never too free, always in control, yet roaming the skies in search of new notes and sounds! Titles include "Gichi", "Den Tex", "Lynn's Tune", "204", and an early version of Shaw's "In A Capricornian Way". LP, Vinyl record album

A long-overdue package – one that finally brings together all the many strands of music from underground Cali rock legend Merrell Fankhauser! CD1 features some of Merrell's earliest music – a host of early singles by Merrell & The Exiles, some of which were issued on the Glenn and Golden Crown labels – mixed here with rare unissued titles too – for a whopping 19 tracks that offer up a rare look at Fankhauser's earliest years! CD2 features the classic Fapardokly record – a lost bit of legend from the west coast scene of the 60s – and a record that's maybe best-known as a showcase for the early genius of Merrell Fankhauser – who wrote most of the songs on the set, a good number of which were actually recorded for the record by his previous group, The Exiles! Yet despite that little bit of trivia, there's a great vibe going on here – a seminal shift in the Cali scene from garagey work to trippier modes – served up beautifully on titles that include "Glass Chandelier", "Suzie Cryin", "Tomorrow's Girl", "Lila", "Mr Clock", "No Retreat", "Gone To Pot", "When I Get Home", "Supermarket", and "The Music Scene". CD3 features the album Things, recorded by Merrell Fankhauser & HMS Bounty – a perfect blend of Fankhauser's earlier garage rock modes and latter trippier styles! The tunes are short and wonderfully tuneful – produced at Gold Star studios, with a simple, straightforward style that makes all the deftness of the songwriting come through even more – an approach that, although supposedly steeped in Pacific Ocean inspiration, almost feels more like that great moment when some UK groups of the mid 60s were tripping out, but not too much. Titles include "Lost In The City", "Your Painted Lives", "In A Minute Not Too Soon", "A Visit With Ashiya", "The Big Gray Sky", and "Rich Man's Fable". CD4 features MU – an incredible record, and one that really lives up to all its well-deserved legend over the years – one of those sets that's not just rare, but which has all the chops to really deliver the goods! A few short years before, Merrell Fankhauser was recording garage and psych on the LA scene – but here, he steps off the latter with a bit of post-60s hangover – working with a current of darkness that really changes things up, while still providing a great outlet for his legendary work on guitar – and his mindblowing sense of a lyric! Titles include "Ballad Of Brother Lew", "Eternal Thirst", "Too Naked For Demetrius", "Mumbella Baye Tu La", "The Clouds Went That Way", and "Nobody Wants To Shine". CD5 features MU's The Last Album – 20 more tracks recorded in 1974, but unissued for many years – and CD6 features the legendary Maui album from the enigmatic Merrell Fankhauser – a self-released set that drew inspiration from his time in Hawaii – even though the set was mostly recorded in LA and San Francisco! The tunes are beautiful – nicely evolved from Merrell's psych of earlier years, with a much more personal vibe – yet all without some of those west coast cliches that were creeping into more mainstream music of the period. You might get the vibe partly right if you could maybe imagine a more personal singer/songwriter take on the AOR vibe of the period – with leaner, better instrumentation and unslick production – but that's also only part of the picture too! Titles include "On Our Way To Hana", "Make A Joyful Noise", "Garden In The Rain", "Waterfall", "The Source", "Sail It Over The Ocean", and "We Were All Free". Box set features a very detailed book of notes – bonus tracks added to most of the albums, and a massive 95 tracks in all! CD

A west coast psychedelic classic from the legendary Merrell Fankhauser – one of his earliest moments on record, and a perfect blend of his earlier garage rock modes and latter trippier styles! The tunes are short and wonderfully tuneful – produced at Gold Star studios, with a simple, straightforward style that makes all the deftness of the songwriting come through even more – an approach that, although supposedly steeped in Pacific Ocean inspiration, almost feels more like that great moment when some UK groups of the mid 60s were tripping out, but not too much. Titles include "Lost In The City", "Your Painted Lives", "In A Minute Not Too Soon", "A Visit With Ashiya", "The Big Gray Sky", and "Rich Man's Fable". CD

Tremendous guitar work from the great Tal Farlow – easily one of our favorite jazz guitarists ever, and a player with a wonderful sense of tone and timing! This early album has Tal declaring himself loudly and firmly – using a style that's got some slightly raspy edges, and which is a nice change from some of the too-clean modes of other 50s guitarists. The album features a core original 10" album session with a group that includes Oscar Pettiford on bass, Barry Galbraith on guitar, and Joe Morello on drums – plus 4 more tracks from a trio with Red Mitchell on bass and Claude Williamson on piano. Titles include "This Is Always", "Tea For Two", "Blues In The Closet", "Gibson Boy", "My Old Flame", "Is There Somebody Lovelier Than You", "Everything I've Got", "You And The Night and Music", "Love Nest", and "When The Wind And The Rain Are In Your Hair". LP, Vinyl record album

A really seminal album from Fela Kuti – searing live set that's presented with drummer Ginger Baker – formerly of Cream, and a huge supporter of Fela's music on the UK scene! Baker had already picked up a lot of Fela's influence in his music – and his presence here made for a key moment of global exposure for the new Afro Funk sound that Fela was creating with his Africa 70 group – playing here as part of the ensemble, which oddly doesn't seem to include Baker at all. That hardly matters, though, as the young Tony Allen is on drums, and the set features great trumpet from Tunde Williams and tenor from Igo Chiko – really wailing alongside Fela on the long tracks "Egbe Me O", "Ye Ye De Smell", "Black Man's Cry", and "Let's Start". LP, Vinyl record album

An album-length monster from Fela Kuti – and a cut that has him still burning strong in the final years of his too-short life! The cut "Overtake Don Overtake Overtake" is a funky monster – spanning both sides of the record with a choppy drawn-out groove that features a cool spacey electric piano solo, sad wailing sax, and some catchy vocals on the hook – all with a core acoustic vibe that shows no traces of Fela and the group leaning into 80s technology, as so many of their contemporaries were doing. The track's right up there with Fela's best work ever – and the later, more obscure origin of the album makes it tougher to find than some of the earlier records too! LP, Vinyl record album

A much-needed look at a near-lost side of Ella's work for Verve – the singles she recorded for the label in the 50s and 60s, work that's very different than her more famous LPs! Historically, Ella's probably best remembered for her Songbook albums at Verve – serious efforts that focused on the work of 20th Century songwriters like Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. But during the same years she was working on those projects, she also cut a tremendous amount of singles for the label – many of them in styles not heard on LPs. The set's got some really wonderful numbers that really open up our understanding of Ella – short jazzy tunes, catchy pop numbers, weepy ballads, bossa nova, novelty tracks, and even a few Holiday tunes – all packaged in a great 2CD set that includes 36 titles in all! Tunes include "Ol Man Mose", "Desafinado", "Stardust Bossa Nova", "All The Live Long Day", "I'm A Poached Egg", "Your Red Wagon", "But Not For Me", "Dreams Are Made For Children", "Stay There", "Hotta Chocolatta", "Too Young For The Blues", "It's Only A Man", and "Lonely Is". CD

A really great take on the duo format that Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong forged together during the 50s – a short little side chapter to the careers of both artists, but one that's gone on to become one of the most classic representations of their music! The record follows up their previous collection of duets, but with a slight difference – in that there's some solo tracks by each singer on the record, which changes things up nicely, while still allowing for some of the duo moments that share the charms of both together! Backing is great, too – nicely unified, in that there's a small combo throughout – Oscar Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and Louis Bellson on drums – providing great accompaniment on titles that include "They All Laughed", "Comes Love", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "Learnin The Blues", "A Fine Romance", "Love Is Here To Stay", "Let's Do It", "I Won't Dance", "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm", and "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off". CD

A really great take on the duo format that Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong forged together during the 50s – a short little side chapter to the careers of both artists, but one that's gone on to become one of the most classic representations of their music! The record follows up their previous collection of duets, but with a slight difference – in that there's some solo tracks by each singer on the record, which changes things up nicely, while still allowing for some of the duo moments that share the charms of both together! Backing is great, too – nicely unified, in that there's a small combo throughout – Oscar Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, and Louis Bellson on drums – providing great accompaniment on titles that include "They All Laughed", "Comes Love", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "Learnin The Blues", "A Fine Romance", "Love Is Here To Stay", "Let's Do It", "I Won't Dance", "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm", and "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice one from Ella – and a good move past the Songbooks mode that sometimes dogged her years on Verve a bit too much! This set has Ella singing to light arrangements by Frank DeVol – nothing fancy, but a good set of tunes that are perfect for the lovely style that Ella was hitting back in the 50s. Tracks are short, uncomplicated, and very nicely swinging – even in the gentler moments – with titles that include "Let's Fall In Love", "Sweet & Lovely", "Moonlight Serenade", "I Remember You", and "East Of The Sun". LP, Vinyl record album

A surprisingly rich anthology – given that the group Five Day Rain issued no music at all during their short time in existence! Yet the creation of some white label promo records for the group's own use led to their rediscovery many years later – at a time when maybe the world was ready to hear their tuneful blending of psychedelic, harmonic, and hard rock modes – first forged in the group Iron Prophet, and served up as Five Day Rain with an expanded lineup who also were issuing music on singles as Studd Pump too! Yet it's the core work by Five Day here that's wonderful – music that is already pretty amazing in the raw, stripped-down form of the white label record's material – and which makes us wonder what would have happened if they'd ever gotten full treatment by a label like Vertigo or Harvest. This massive 2CD set features the best surviving versions of the white label LP tracks, plus unissued material, demos, and other rare material – including their Studd Pump single as well. Titles include "Good Year", "Leave It At That", "Fallout", "Marie's A Woman", "Too Much Of Nothing", "Don't Be Misled", "Sea Song", "Reason Why", "Antonia", "The Boy", "Wanna Make Love To You", "Dartboard", "Do Don't Worry", "Miss Elizabeth", "Floating", "Spare The Children", and even a version of "Sunny". CD

A stunning batch of tracks from a very unusual LA group of the early 70s – a funk combo at the core, but one that was also equally comfortable with bits of psych and redneck rock as well! The music here was all recorded within a short span of years, and mostly issued on the small Alpha label as a handful of funky 45s – but the style is surprisingly spacious, and shows a strong sense of musicianship from the members of the group – so much so that they seem equally comfortable and right on top of their game, no matter what direction they choose to take! And don't think that this multi-style description means that these guys are too all over the map, because there's a really unified sense of soul that holds the whole thing together – so that when they get a bit rootsy, the result is country soul – or when they get a bit trippy, they hit some Funkadelic-styled sounds. The collection includes great notes on the setting that produced these tracks – penned by Egon, who put the set together with help from Malcolm Catto, DJ Shadow, and others. Titles include "Don't Let Him Take Away Your Mind", "Strange Things", "Heaven & Earth", "Take Time", "We Got Love", "Waterloo At Watergate", "Why Don't You Trust In Me", "Cruising Central Ave", "The Dead Don't Die Alive", and "You're My Precious Someone". CD

A stunning batch of tracks from a very unusual LA group of the early 70s – a funk combo at the core, but one that was also equally comfortable with bits of psych and redneck rock as well! The music here was all recorded within a short span of years, and mostly issued on the small Alpha label as a handful of funky 45s – but the style is surprisingly spacious, and shows a strong sense of musicianship from the members of the group – so much so that they seem equally comfortable and right on top of their game, no matter what direction they choose to take! And don't think that this multi-style description means that these guys are too all over the map, because there's a really unified sense of soul that holds the whole thing together – so that when they get a bit rootsy, the result is country soul – or when they get a bit trippy, they hit some Funkadelic-styled sounds. The collection includes great notes on the setting that produced these tracks – penned by Egon, who put the set together with help from Malcolm Catto, DJ Shadow, and others. Titles include "Don't Let Him Take Away Your Mind", "Strange Things", "Heaven & Earth", "Take Time", "We Got Love", "Waterloo At Watergate", "Why Don't You Trust In Me", "Cruising Central Ave", "The Dead Don't Die Alive", and "You're My Precious Someone". LP, Vinyl record album

The surprisingly rich lost legacy of Freedom – a group who were initially born out of a breakup with Procol Harum, but then went through some huge growth on their own over the space of a few short years! As you'll hear in this set of complete albums from the group (plus bonus tracks too!), the band began as more of a Hammond-based combo, then shifted towards a wickedly-sharp harder rocking group with lots more guitar in the lead – equally tight in both incarnations, and with a quality level that should have made them much bigger than they were! The group recorded for a few different labels, and some of their records never crossed the Atlantic back in the day – yet taken as a whole, the work here is excellent throughout – with plenty of inventive touches that really have them marking their own territory as the years move on. The package begins with their excellent soundtrack for the film Nerosubianco, which includes lots of rare bonus tracks too – followed by the BYG/Actuel classic Freedom At Last, and three more great albums Freedom, Through The Years, and Freedom Is More Than A Word – as well as more bonus tracks too. The box features 59 tracks in all, detailed notes, and all albums in mini LP-styled sleeves too! CD