With Charlie Hunter on 8 string guitar and Leon Parker on drums and percussion. (Jazz, Deep Funk) CD

Great stuff from one of the new European "funky young lions" of Blue Note France! Italian trumpeter Flavio Boltro lays down a killer set of modern funk grooves here – clearly played with one foot in the past, but the other firmly in a present that's filled with tight snapping drum breaks and round warm basslines. The record has a very strong 70s feel to it, but with a style that's hard to place – and which is more a combination of a lot of different elements than it is that of any one player. There's lots of nice keyboard riffing away under Boltro's horn, and the band has a tight funky feel in the manner of some of the best Italian combos from the golden days of the early 90s acid jazz boom. Titles include "Duo", "Little Room", "Matteo", "Hey Papa!", "Vucciria", and "Tea In The Sahara". CD

A set that's almost a back to basics effort for the Du-Rites – one that makes the best use of the massively funky drums of Jay Mumford and fast-riffing guitar of Pablo Martin – as the duo augment their groove with some additional work on bass, percussion, and keyboards too! Yet there's not much else going on here besides the drums and guitar – which is great, as that brings a focus to the funky energy that some other groups have lost along the way – almost in break record territory at times, but with a fuller feeling in the grooves – on instrumentals that include "Tioli", "Du-Bo", "Bay B MoMa", "Hole In The Wall", "The Sun", "Asbestos", and "Can I Get Intuit". LP, Vinyl record album

The Faithful Brothers are an Israeli duo, but one who come to their debut after years of collecting Northern Soul 45s – decades of listening, learning, and absorbing – all of which really shows through in this well-done debut! The pair work with a very full lineup of musicians – horns, Hammond, and even a bit of vibes – used like you might hear on some late 60s Detroit indie soul single, with soaring sounds over the romping grooves – all of which really do a great job of elevating the vocals! Yet since the Faithful Brothers themselves just handle instruments, they're also not slavish to the singer – and the album's equally strong on the instrumental tip as it is on the vocal one. Titles include "So Low", "Downtown Uptown", "Night Man", "The Town I Live In", "Joy", "They Don't Know", "Let's Break The Curfew", and "Tell Me One More Time". LP, Vinyl record album

Great grooves from Jackson Conti – not a dude, but a duo – one that features Madlib teamed with Mamao, drummer from the legendary Azymuth! The album's got a really unique feel – one that mixes Madlib's chunky, fuzzy style of production with some of the cleaner, jazzier Azymuth grooves of late – a combination that shouldn't work so well, but which comes across with really amazing results! There's a bit of beats on the set, but a fair bit of the percussion is acoustic too – making for more warmth than before from Madlib – almost a transplantation of the Yesterday's New Quintet sound to the sunnier Rio scene. Keyboards have a strong role too – often with the sort of edgey, compelling tones you'd hear on the first few Azymuth recordings of the 70s – and other instrumentation includes bits of guitar, flute, sax, and other well-placed touches – but all used in weird ways that are somewhere between typical jazz and Brazilian modes. Titles include "Upa Neguinho", "Xibaba", "Sao Paulo Nights", "Brasilian Sugar", "Mamaoism", "Berumba", "Papaya", "Segura Esta Onda", "Sunset At Sujinho", "Tijuca Man", and "Waiting On The Corner". CD

Great grooves from Jackson Conti – not a dude, but a duo – one that features Madlib teamed with Mamao, drummer from the legendary Azymuth! The album's got a really unique feel – one that mixes Madlib's chunky, fuzzy style of production with some of the cleaner, jazzier Azymuth grooves of late – a combination that shouldn't work so well, but which comes across with really amazing results! There's a bit of beats on the set, but a fair bit of the percussion is acoustic too – making for more warmth than before from Madlib – almost a transplantation of the Yesterday's New Quintet sound to the sunnier Rio scene. Keyboards have a strong role too – often with the sort of edgey, compelling tones you'd hear on the first few Azymuth recordings of the 70s – and other instrumentation includes bits of guitar, flute, sax, and other well-placed touches – but all used in weird ways that are somewhere between typical jazz and Brazilian modes. Titles include "Upa Neguinho", "Xibaba", "Sao Paulo Nights", "Brasilian Sugar", "Mamaoism", "Berumba", "Papaya", "Segura Esta Onda", "Sunset At Sujinho", "Tijuca Man", and "Waiting On The Corner". LP, Vinyl record album

Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad really sound fantastic here – stepping off their great work on the soundtrack for Luke Cage, and taking their music in an even stronger direction with help from an array of guest singers and musicians! Things are as rich and funky as you might expect – steeped in the same 70s traditions that Younge's used on all of his tremendous projects right from the start, but maybe given an even leaner, more crackling vibe here – as the duo moves through some wonderful soulful modes – with help from Bilal, Questlove, Keyon Harrald, James Poyser, Raphael Saadiq, Ladybug Mecca, Ceelo Green, No ID, Karolina, and others. Titles include "Possibilities", "Better Endeavor", "Mare", "Questions", "So Amazing", "Gate 54", "Do It Together", "Together Again", "Bitches Do Voodoo", "Dans Un Moment D'Errance", and "Feel Alive". LP, Vinyl record album

Globe-trotting funky music from The Natural Yogurt Band – the group's second proper album – an even farther reaching and more perfectly executed blend of pulpy Sound Library styled jazz funk and all around playful grooves! The NYB is essentially a duo – Miles Newbold plays keys, vibes, flutes, percussion and effects– plus Wayne Fullwood plays drums and bass. The approach is instrumentals based (though both players contribute vocals when the rare duty calls), and while there's a playful groove throughout, it's seriously well done and never comes off as cheeky Sound Library homage or kitsch. It's as dexterously impressive as it is groovy and fun! Titles include "Weak Without Wine", "Invisible Ink", "Romance In Blue", "Horn", "Forever Drowning", "Eastern Outro", "Clocks", "Psalm", "Tweed Suit" and many more. CD

An all-instrumentals set of tracks from the Jazz Is Dead duo of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad – but one that also has some ties to their previous projects as well! The set features some material written with Jean Carne, who doesn't sing at all – and some written with Lonnie Liston Smith, who does play Fender Rhodes on a number of tracks – making a great return to the format of the series, after his own volume! And speaking of Fender Rhodes, Adrian Younge plays plenty of that great instrument – as well as Hammond B3, flute and saxes, and even some monophonic synth and electric sitar – all of which makes for a mighty nice, wide array of instrumental flavors! Titles include "Black Rainbows", "The Summertime", "Cosmic Changes", "Black Love", "People Of The Sun", "Come As You Are", "Visions", and "Love Brings Happiness". CD

An all-instrumentals set of tracks from the Jazz Is Dead duo of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad – but one that also has some ties to their previous projects as well! The set features some material written with Jean Carne, who doesn't sing at all – and some written with Lonnie Liston Smith, who does play Fender Rhodes on a number of tracks – making a great return to the format of the series, after his own volume! And speaking of Fender Rhodes, Adrian Younge plays plenty of that great instrument – as well as Hammond B3, flute and saxes, and even some monophonic synth and electric sitar – all of which makes for a mighty nice, wide array of instrumental flavors! Titles include "Black Rainbows", "The Summertime", "Cosmic Changes", "Black Love", "People Of The Sun", "Come As You Are", "Visions", and "Love Brings Happiness". LP, Vinyl record album

An all-instrumentals set of tracks from the Jazz Is Dead duo of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad – but one that also has some ties to their previous projects as well! The set features some material written with Jean Carne, who doesn't sing at all – and some written with Lonnie Liston Smith, who does play Fender Rhodes on a number of tracks – making a great return to the format of the series, after his own volume! And speaking of Fender Rhodes, Adrian Younge plays plenty of that great instrument – as well as Hammond B3, flute and saxes, and even some monophonic synth and electric sitar – all of which makes for a mighty nice, wide array of instrumental flavors! Titles include "Black Rainbows", "The Summertime", "Cosmic Changes", "Black Love", "People Of The Sun", "Come As You Are", "Visions", and "Love Brings Happiness". LP, Vinyl record album

Saxophonist Gary Bartz joins the duo of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad – bringing a warm sense of soul to their soulful backings – which range from funky to spacey, and do a nice job of capturing the mid 70s feel of Gary on record! The sound isn't the Larry Mizell or Ntu Group version of Bartz – but a warm, spiritual take on alto sax – with strong solo that really soar out over the proceedings, even when the Young/Muhammad rhythms might not be as dynamic – but that's maybe no surprise, given that Gary Bartz always made the best of any situation – and really shines here amidst the Fender Rhodes, Hammond, guitars, and vibes that make up the rest of the music. Titles include "Soulsea", "The Message", "Day By Day", "Blue Jungles", "Spiritual Ideation", and "Black & Brown". CD

The jazz component of this wonderful series just seems to get deeper and deeper with each new release – despite what you might think from the title – and this time around, the presence of LA collective Katalyst really knocks things out of the park! The set's an all-instrumental one – and the Fender Rhodes, saxes, and other elements of the group really warm up the core sound laid down by Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad – so much so that while other volumes in the series seem to have an artist joining the core duo, this one feels a bit more like they're sitting in on a session that's wonderfully driven by the soulful flow of Katalyst! Tracks are long and beautiful – with a masterful way of building, and a sense of energy that just seems to build as the record goes on – on titles that include "Dogon Cypher", "Juneteenth", "Summer Solstice", "Corridors", "Daybreak", "The Avenues", and "Reflections". LP, Vinyl record album

Spiritual keyboard giant Lonnie Liston Smith joins the duo of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad – and the result is maybe one of the deepest records in this wonderful series! As you can imagine, Lonnie is on keyboards, and delivers some wonderful solos throughout – very much in the spirit of his classic Flying Dutchman albums of the 70s – at a level that even seems to bring out some deeper vibes from Younge and Muhammad as well! Vocalist Loren Oden joins the group on four tracks, recalling the great vocal style used on Lonnie's classic records, in this beautiful mix of jazz and soul that really shapes the tunes – in a set that that includes "A New Spring", "Love Brings Happiness", "Cosmic Changes", "Dawn", "Gratitude", "What May Come", and "Love Can Be". CD

Spiritual keyboard giant Lonnie Liston Smith joins the duo of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad – and the result is maybe one of the deepest records in this wonderful series! As you can imagine, Lonnie is on keyboards, and delivers some wonderful solos throughout – very much in the spirit of his classic Flying Dutchman albums of the 70s – at a level that even seems to bring out some deeper vibes from Younge and Muhammad as well! Vocalist Loren Oden joins the group on four tracks, recalling the great vocal style used on Lonnie's classic records, in this beautiful mix of jazz and soul that really shapes the tunes – in a set that that includes "A New Spring", "Love Brings Happiness", "Cosmic Changes", "Dawn", "Gratitude", "What May Come", and "Love Can Be". CD

Spiritual keyboard giant Lonnie Liston Smith joins the duo of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad – and the result is maybe one of the deepest records in this wonderful series! As you can imagine, Lonnie is on keyboards, and delivers some wonderful solos throughout – very much in the spirit of his classic Flying Dutchman albums of the 70s – at a level that even seems to bring out some deeper vibes from Younge and Muhammad as well! Vocalist Loren Oden joins the group on four tracks, recalling the great vocal style used on Lonnie's classic records, in this beautiful mix of jazz and soul that really shapes the tunes – in a set that that includes "A New Spring", "Love Brings Happiness", "Cosmic Changes", "Dawn", "Gratitude", "What May Come", and "Love Can Be". LP, Vinyl record album