Excellent second album from one of the few truly great American acid jazz bands. Stellar bass/drum/keyboard arrangements, with the occasional "junglist" update to the sound that they made popular on their classic Rhode Trip LP. This CD version comes with 4 extra tracks which comprise a "lost" e.p. recorded in between this one and Rhode Trip. The sound is cool, funky, and very mellow, with Fender Rhodes in the lead, and warm basslines in the back. Cuts include "KC Doppler" and "Travelogue". CD

Nick Waterhouse keeps winning us over again and again with his music – which seems to get better and better with each new release! This album might be Nick's most compelling so far – a nicely gritty set that almost takes us back to that hip London stretch in the 60s, when British singers were effortlessly blending together American styles from soul, jazz, and blues – into a hip-stepping mode that was completely outta sight! Not that Nick's a retro artist trying for an old-styled sound – just that he's one of the few in decades who can get such a clear, focused groove out of all the right elements – and all without making it sound forced at all. A record you can easily file next to classics by Bobby Scott, George Fame, and Zoot Money – with titles that include "Stanyan Street", "The Old Place", "Katchi", "Tracy", "LA Turnaround", "It's Time", and "I Had Some Money". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic combination of funky grooves – the studio talents of Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and the Brazilian-tinged fusion of the legendary Azymuth! The jazzy trio are in great form here – tunes that are lean, and which really offer up all the best aspects that the group brought to their music back in the late 70s and early 80s – spun with a slightly different format by the lineup of Alex Malheiros on bass, Ivan Mamao Conti on drums, and Linklon Kiko Contentino on Fender Rhodes and keyboards – but handled perfectly by Adrian and Ali in the studio – with just the right sort of sound to avoid some of the slicker production that the group had on some of their other American recordings from years back. All tunes are new originals – and titles include "Pulando Corda", "Friendship Samba", "Apocolyptico", "Cat Jump", "Fall Afternoon", "Ao Redor Do Samba", and "Sumare". CD

Heavy funk from around the globe – and a volume of this series that seems even more focused on classic cuts than contemporary ones – all pulled together in a wicked blend of sounds from Africa, South America, Australia, and even American scenes in Texas and Florida too! There's a solidly 70s vibe throughout – and even the few newer numbers have a sound that stands strongly alongside the older numbers – a vibe so rich we'll forgive the cover (and the series) for its slightly pandering title – and just get on with the work of digging the music in the grooves! Highlights include some great covers – Cymande's "Brothers On The Slide" by Sonny Benton & The Typhoons, Dexter Wansel's "Life On Mars" by Antipodelica, and Donny Hathaway's classic "Valdez In The Country" by The Cuba Libre All-Stars – and other titles include "Black Rite" by Mkali Bahari Orchesra, "Razor Blade" by The Sentinels, "Rotation" by Toshio Asukataei, "The Gold Coast" by Coconut 74, "Buckingham Palace" by Glenn Eden Set, and "Sao Paulo" by Nova Catalina Octet. LP, Vinyl record album