Amazing grooves from the legendary Dave Pike – one of the American vibists' few albums for the MPS label – and quite possibly the trippiest of the bunch! The set's a beautiful illustration of the freedoms that the MPS label offered American players like Pike – a chance to really ... CD
Emilia Sisco's got a really fantastic voice – and she sings here with equally fantastic backing from Cold Diamond & Mink – a laidback funky combo who hit just the perfect pace for Emilia to open up and do her thing! Sisco comes across like a mellow soul diva from way back in the ... CD
A great little set of grooves by organist Lonnie Smith – and one of his best albums ever! The key to Drives is that it finds Lonnie backed by a totally sympathetic group of musicians – including Ronnie Cuber on baritone, Dave Hubbard on tenor, and the great Joe Dukes on drums – ... LP, Vinyl record album
Two takes on a Sun Ra classic – both great! "Love In Outer Space" has these great vocals from David Henderson – almost an older school jazz vocal approach to the lyrics – while Ra plays this cool electric piano with a nice stark sound, and the rhythms have all these ... 7-inch, Vinyl record
A wonderful collection, and one that looks a real high point in the career of singer Nancy Wilson – her big run of soul-based albums for Capitol Records in the 70s, and a set of music that doesn't always get its due! Most folks know Nancy for her initial run of jazz recordings in the 60s ... CD
A record that was years ahead of its time – a late set in the Verve Records run from organist Jimmy Smith – and a funky nugget all the way through, which only got full appreciation many years later! The groove here is far different than the more familiar Jimmy Smith Verve sessions of ... LP, Vinyl record album
Tremendous vocals and really rich arrangements – an album that pushes Irma Thomas a bit in the direction of uptown soul, yet still keeps all the deeper elements intact! Some of the backings here are fuller than before – added strings and backup vocals, used in a way you might expect ... LP, Vinyl record album
Sublime minimal sounds from Italian composer Robert Cacciapaglia – a record we'd rank right up there with the 70s best from Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass! Cacciapaglia follows in a tradition begun by other Italian modernists – like Giusto Pio and Franco Battiatto – ... LP, Vinyl record album
A wicked late Blue Note album from Grant Green – quite different than his smaller combo work from the early years, and done with some great larger arrangements that feature some ultra-hip vibes from the legendary Billy Wooten! Wooten's as great here as on his famous work with the Ninteenth ... LP, Vinyl record album
A fantastic live performance from the spiritual giant Charles Tolliver – material recorded right in the middle of a legendary run of albums for the Strata East label, and done with a very similar vibe! The tracks are long, searching, and very spiritual – and the group here is a bit ... LP, Vinyl record album
A book that's likely to become a bible for any fan of 60s British rock – and one that also seems to have the same heft and depth of a bible as well! The huge volume is unlike anything else we've ever seen – as its pages are roughly 14" by 11" – which is perfect for ... Book
A stunner of a Fender Rhodes album – one of a few rare sides cut by pianist Michael Naura – and a lost MPS session that's one of the label's best from the 70s! The group's a quartet, with a very open, fluid sound – and it mixes Naura's Rhodes with the vibes of Wolfgang Schluter ... CD
Never-issued live material from Thelonious Monk – recorded in Paris with his famous quartet that were featured on just about all of his important Columbia Records sessions in the 60s! The material comes from the vaults of the ORTF – the French radio station who captured performances ... LP, Vinyl record album
A fantastic groove from Sun Ra – a track that begins with this wonderful vocal refrain while the drums just keep snapping the snare – as the Arkestra take up the vocals in a call-response mode while things build up in a heavy percussion jam! Very earthy and spiritual – almost ... 7-inch, Vinyl record
Fantastic Fender Rhodes from a contemporary Brazilian trio – one who almost seem to take on the best territory that Azymuth worked in back in the day! The sound is lean – just the drums of Joao Fideles, bass of Noa Stroeter, and the mighty nice Rhodes work of Henrique Gomide – a ... CD
A real high point in the famous 60s run of albums by Hammond hero Jimmy Smith for Verve Records – a key collaboration with arranger Lalo Schifrin, who brings a great blend of jazz and soundtrack styles to Jimmy's famous groove on the Hammond! Lalo's backings are totally great – with ... LP, Vinyl record album
A stunning combination of sounds – the New Orleans soul of Irma Thomas, and the Muscle Shoals genius of Fame Studios – both coming together here in a really wonderful batch of southern soul gems from the 60s! The slow-burning style of Fame works perfectly for Thomas – and the ... LP, Vinyl record album
Maybe one of the most legendary sets of work from the duo of trumpeter Don Cherry and percussionist Okay Temiz – as the music was done for a stage presentation of a work by James Baldwin, and was then promptly banned by the Turkish government! The music here is a bit different than work from ... LP, Vinyl record album
An incredible array of sounds from 60s UK superproducer Mark Wirtz – a genius in the studio, but also a performer in his own right – and one who was able to create music in so many different modes! The package is a real presentation of Wirtz in all his glory – as it features ... CD
Easily the most ambitious project we've ever heard from London bassist Daniel Casimir – a set that takes off from older large jazz ensemble mode, yet somehow has a vibe that's very much in keeping with the hippest of the contemporary UK scene! There's some very skittish rhythms at the core ... LP, Vinyl record album