A fantastic package that explores the full range of genius on the legendary avant label BYG/Actuel – one of the most important European imprints at the end of the 60s! Actuel was home to some of the best avant garde jazz coming out of Paris in the late 60s and early 70s – an especially important document of the post-68 revolution in European music – at a time when so many American players where showing up in France, and finding great opportunities in the new freedoms of the scene! The package features seminal sides from US avant musicians – like Steve Lacy, Anthony Braxton, Clifford Thornton, Don Cherry, Jimmy Lyons, Archie Shepp, Sonny Sharrock, Sunny Murray, Grachan Moncur III, and The Art Ensemble Of Chicago – and it also features work by European musicians like Claude Delcloo and Jacques Coursil, plus genre-busting work by MEV and Gong as well. The 3CD box features a 48 page book – with lots of great illustrations, and notes from Thurston Moore and Byron Coley – and the set features 26 long tracks in all! (Jazz, Funky Compilations) CD

Classic jazz for the 21st century – a treasure trove of tunes from Verve Records, all remixed for the modern dancefloor! The set's the second in Verve's Remixed series – and unlike the first, which focused mostly on vocal numbers, this one throws in some instrumental killers that are among some of our favorite in the catalog! The overall groove is much more expanded from the first session – way past the standard of floating vocals, keys, and beats – into a realm of abstract jazz that really gets at the heart of the project! 14 tracks in all – with "Manteca" by Dizzy Gillespie remixed by Funky Lowlives, "Here's That Rainy Day" by Astrud Gilberto remixed by Koop, "Naima's Love Song" by Betty Carter remixed by DJ Spinna, "Fried Neckbones & Some Home Fries" by Willie Bobo remixed by Dan The Automator, "Soul Sauce" by Cal Tjader remixed by Fila Brasillia, "Do What You Wanna" by Ramsey Lewis remixed by Mr Scruff, "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair" by Nina Simone remixed by Jaffa, "Mama" by Hugh Masekela remixed by Metro Area, "Whatever Lola Wants" by Sarah Vaughan remixed by Gotan Project, "Blues For Brother George Jackson" by Archie Shepp remixed by Mondo Grosso, and "Brother Where Are You" by Oscar Brown Jr remixed by Matthew Herbert. CD

The blueprint for a great set of future jazz – 14 original tunes that all got redone in the Verve Remixed 2 set! Verve has done a great job with the set – pulling together some excellent grooves from the 50s and 60s, served up at a price that's almost as cheap as a fancy cup of coffee! The set's stuffed with groovy vocal, Latin, and soul jazz numbers – with titles that include "Mama" by Hugh Masekela, "Manteca" by Dizzy Gillespie, "Sinnerman" by Nina Simone, "Do What You Wanna" by Ramsey Lewis, "Brother Where Are You" by Oscar Brown Jr, "Here's That Rainy Day" by Astrud Gilberto, "Naima's Love Song" by Betty Carter, "Fried Neck Bones & Some Home Fries" by Willie Bobo, "Blues For Brother George Jackson" by Archie Shepp, "Soul Sauce" by Cal Tjader, and "Slap That Bass" by Ella Fitzgerald. CD

Revolutionary jazz from the era of the Civil Rights Movement and beyond – soulful and spiritual jazz as important as any of the era – an impeccably well chosen compilation of Freedom, Rhythm & Sound from Soul Jazz Records! The set is a tie-in with Soul Jazz's essential Freedom, Rhythm & Sound book – documenting the sounds and providing an aural portrait of a fertile creative period in African American music and cultural history – when the societal struggles were a counterpart to the heretofore unseen depth of creativity and empowerment in jazz music. Includes a nice booklet of notes, and songs from both the independent underground, and some that made it onto established labels like Verve and others, and material by Joe Henderson, Archie Shepp, Errol Parker, Mary Lou Williams, Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Horace Tapscott, Sun Ra and many more. 23 pivotal tracks on 2CDs, many running on the longer side, for a straight up incredible set of spiritual soul jazz: includes "Africa" by Oliver Lake/NTU, "Space A Nova" by Stanton Davis' Ghetto/Mysticism, "Miss DD" by Mary Lou Williams, "Old Time Religion" by Art Ensemble Of Chicago, "Drinking Song" by Gary Bartz NTU Troop, "Attica Blues" by Archie Shepp, "Peyote Song No III" by Horace Tapscott & Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, "Freedom Time" by Pharoahs, "Black Survival" by Roy Brooks & Artistic Truth and more. CD

Kev Beadle dips into his private collection, and comes up with a stunning batch of jazzy tracks in the process! The grooves here aren't as locked up as the cover might imply – because some of these cuts are ones the global scene has dug for years – but they're definitely the kind of tracks that really need reviving, especially in a wonderful collection like this – where each new cut seems to bring out the best of the others! All tracks are nice and long, and most have some sort of vocals – blended with modal rhythms, Brazilian touches, and strong soulful solos throughout. 12 tracks on the CD version: "Song For Mozambique" by Archie Shepp, "I'mTrying To Find A Way" by Stanley Cowell, "Dreams Can Be" by Janet Lawson Quintet, "Wilpan's Walk" by Chico Freeman, "He Loves You" by Seawind, "Yours Is The Light" by Paz, "Carnaval" by Cortijo & His Time Machine, "=Autumn Song" by Appendix and more. CD