A brilliant blast from The Comet Is Coming – their second album on Impulse in less than a year – and it's as exciting as anything they've done so far! Their core vibe of mixing spiritual jazz with electronic experimentation is here in full force, but they take it new directions. While ... LP, Vinyl record album
A fantastic slice of lost work from the legendary JBs – including the track that first got Bootsy Collins and company the job as James Brown's backing band! The set leads off with that gem of a groove – the fast funky "More Mess On My Thing" – a tune that's got the sort ... LP, Vinyl record album
Sun Ra was one of the first 20th Century artists to soar off in space, and George Clinton followed his lead with the Mothership in the 70s – and after that time, there was a surprisingly huge legacy of funk and soul artists who also headed for the cosmos – as you'll discover in this ... CD
Ahmed (Pat Thomas/Antonin Gerbal/Joel Grip/Seymour Wright)
A fantastic group dedicated to one of our favorite jazz musicians of all time – legendary bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik, the musician who worked famously with Thelonious Monk, but also recorded some amazing experiments that mixed together jazz rhythms and elements of music from the Mid East! For ... LP, Vinyl record album
A fantastic record from the contemporary Chicago scene – one that both gives bassist Junius Paul his first showcase as a leader, and underscores the richly collaborative energy in which the musician works! The set was recorded at various points in the Windy City underground – with Paul ... CD
A tight little set from one of the grooviest groups on the Nigerian scene of the 70s – a combo who could play with a familiar mix of fuzz and funk, but also throw in some deeper soul touches on the vocals – in a way that makes the whole album a much richer set than work by some of their ... LP, Vinyl record album
Possibly the greatest album ever from the enigmatic Lloyd Miller – his legendary Oriental Jazz album from the late 60s, and a really wonderful blend of musical modes! Some of the tracks here really stretch out in the Eastern promise of the title – mixing jazz rhythms with santur, oud, ... LP, Vinyl record album
Saxophonist Peter Brotzmann is no stranger to the world of solo recording – but this set has a very different vibe than most of his previous outings in that format – as you might guess by the famous standard referenced in the title! Half the record has Peter taking off on his own ... CD
An amazing session of spiritual soul jazz – and one of the rarest albums on Strata East! Shamek Farrah's soulful alto is matched with the free spiritual piano of Sonelius Smith, for a totally memorable session that virtually defines the essence of the Strata East sound! The music is free, ... LP, Vinyl record album
The cover may look a bit scientific – but the music is plenty soulful throughout – a package that brings together four key singles from that momentous musical year of 1968 – a time when Aretha Franklin was really finding her sound at Atlantic Records! The music here represents ... 7-inch, Vinyl record
One of the strangest keyboard records you'll ever hope to own – as this unusual little album features not the musical tones of the keyboards, or the results of computer-programmed music – but instead just features the sound of the keys themselves! That is, each different track features ... LP, Vinyl record album
A treasure trove of rare Motown from some of legendary label's most classic acts – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Four Tops, Brenda Holloway, Martha & The Vandellas, The Supremes, The Originals, Bobby Taylor, The Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye & The Jackson 5 – prime vintage late ... LP, Vinyl record album
One of the most obscure albums ever recorded by Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava – and one of the greatest as well! The set is a rare meeting between Rava and some key players on the Argentine scene of the mid 70s – a great quartet that features Fernando Gelbard on Fender Rhodes, ... LP, Vinyl record album
A beautiful underwater fantasy of sound library grooves – a set that's almost the Italian equivalent to the Inner Space soundtrack from Australia by Sven Libaek! Like that set, this one uses waves of instrumental energy to create an almost watery vibe – strings mixed with keyboards, ... LP, Vinyl record album
A killer album of Afro Funk from the Nigerian scene at the start of the 80s – but a set that feels much more like some of the longer-form experiments in Lagos during the decade before! All the titles here are nice and long, and build with this instrumental jamming approach – lots of ... LP, Vinyl record album
Juan FG Vinuesa/Josh Berman/Jason Roebke/Mikel Patrick Avery
The kind of record that makes us very proud to say we're from Chicago – as leader Juan FG Vinuesa comes up with a way to keep the city's avant scene moving forward – using some of the mix of structure and freedom from the Mike Reed generation, but also adding in both older elements, and ... CD
That's Tim Peaks, not Twin Peaks – although the cover image might make you think otherwise – and the set's a great entry into the long-running set of imagined "diner" jukeboxes from the team of Tim Burgess and Bob Stanley! Like other Ace compilations from the St Etienne team, ... CD
A strong summit of saxophone giants – Joe Lovano on tenor, Dave Liebman on soprano, and Greg Osby on alto – all uniting here in one of the boldest statements of their individual voices we've heard in years! Part of the record's charm is the way the three saxes come together to carve ... CD
A landmark album from Timmy Thomas – one that mixes together electronics and soul in this wonderfully unique mellow groove – a style that's hardly ever been matched again, and which may well put this album at the same level as Shuggie Otis' classic Inspiration Information set! Timmy's ... CD
For those who like to groove, Ray Parker Jr is often the obvious choice – as the man's got a cool, classy style that helped redefine the role of the male singer in soul for a whole new generation – but also almost always finds a way to make things move! Parker began recording during ... CD