A wonderfully wide-ranging collection of work brought together in support of a long-running music festival in France – done here as a double-length set that offers up a "Past" disc of material recorded at the festival in previous years – and a "Future" disc that points the way towards new directions in European jazz! The set's worth it for the Past disc alone – as it offers up some never-heard recordings in jazz, Latin, and Brazilian modes – a nicely diverse array of tracks that have that open vibe of a really special live moment at a concert – similar to some of the best Montreux jazz recordings over the years! Titles include "Toda Menina Baiana" by Gilberto Gil, "Panamerica" by Lalo Schifrin with David Sanchez on tenor, "Chan Chan" by La Banda De Santiago De Cuba, "Delilah" by the Milt Jackson/Hank Jones Quartet, "Manalyuca" by McCoy Tyner with Gary Bartz & Ravi Coltrane, "I'll Stay" by Roy Hargrove & RH Factor, and "Soweto Sorrow" by the trio of Louis Sclavis on bass clarinet, Henri Texier on bass, and Aldo Romano on drums. The Future disc is great too – with new recordings in a range of jazzy styles, mostly by younger French artists – with titles that include "On Dimanch Maten" by Arnaud Dolmen, "Baby Rover" by Jasual Cazz, "Strength" by Emile Londonien, "Olioqui Valley" by Ishkero, "Soulful" by Leon Phal Quintet, and "Tryin Times" by Abraham Reunion. LP, Vinyl record album

A killer little set that's as heavy as it sounds from the title – a wealth of rare material pulled from the studio of Detroit producer Dave Hamilton – a good deal of it never issued at the time! Hearing this set is like finding a pile of rare 45s stuffed in the back corner of a long-lost record shop – because although much of the work was never issued, it crackles with the intensity of the best funky 45s – lots of funky drums, offbeat guitar, and raspy soul vocals – produced with a real edge to all the work, so that all of the hardest elements of the tunes really come through in the mix! The album features one track appearing here for the first time ever – "Remember" by Chico – plus other rare tracks that include "Marriage Is A State Of Mind" by James Carpenter, "Soul Suite" by Dave Hamilton, "You Fool You Fool" by Prophet & His Disciples, "The Deacons" by Dave Hamilton, "Funky Trip" by Johnny Walker, "A Drop In The Bucket" by The Deacons, "Brand New Girl" by Billy Garner, "The Devil Is Gonna Get You" by The Future Kind, "Party Time" by James Carpenter, and "Grown Folks Thing" by OC Tolbert. LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible trip through the 70s Japanese jazz scene – a second volume of J Jazz that's even bigger and better than the first – with unknown gems from private presses, indie labels, and rarities from the Japanese branches of the major labels, too! Compilers Tony Higgins & Mike Peden (who are both also responsible for the nicely done notes) follow through on all of the things we loved about the first J Jazz compilation, but improve on it by going bigger and digging deeper. The majority of the tracks were recorded from 1969 through the late 70s – with a few recorded in later years – and all have a wonderful way of being open to the stylistic inventions of the time without getting hung up on trends. So while there's some fusiony funk and electric piano, there's plenty of acoustic instrumentation and timelessly inventive material. BBE has outdone themselves on this excellent collection – and the titles include "Dragon Dance" by Makoto Terashita & Harold Land, "Daguri" by Kohsuke Mine Quintet, "Distant Thunder" by Mabumi Yamguchi Quartet, "Animal Garden" by Miyasaka + 5, "Mother Of The Future" by Electro Keyboard Orchestra, "Serenade To A Dimly Lit Street" by Hiroshi Matsumoto/Hideo Ichikawa Quartet, "Teru-Teru Bozu" (Black Keys) by Teru Sakamoto Trio, "Little Giant" by Nobuo & Sharps & Flats, "Brown Trout" by Akira Miyazawa and more. 14 tracks on 3LPs. LP, Vinyl record album

Mad Mats is not only digging beyond the crates here, he's also digging beyond any conventional expectations you might have – as the set's got a unique vibe that may well make it one of the most compelling BBE compilations in years! The music is from the late 60s through the present – but it all comes together in a very future-sounding way – with rhythms that are often offbeat, electric elements that seem to crackle with independent energy, and vocals that can fall down in the mix one minute and burst forth the next! This isn't a dance music compilation, and it's also not a set of rare funk tracks either – and instead, Mats creates his own very personal journey in sound – heedless of time periods, genres, and often national boundaries. Titles include "Take A Stand" by Psalms, "Big Big Boss" by Johnny Moore, "Badly" by Cuthead, "Sherriff (Murlo rmx)" by Gappy Ranks, "Keep The Music Alive" by Yvonne Gray, "Evil Woman" by Bobby Hebb, "Jazz In Outer Space" by BSTC, "The Traveller" by Deft, "Space Based" by Mode M, "Don't Hold Back The Feeling (key trip dub)" by U N I, "Animations" by Intimate Disco, and "Jah I See You" by Ensemble Entendu. LP, Vinyl record album

A massive assortment of tracks that go way past the familiar – not a collection of standard classics from Blue Note, Impulse, or Prestige – and instead a whole host of jazzy groovers that we'd never have discovered otherwise! This volume of the series does a great job mixing in contemporary cuts with rare nuggets from years past – in ways that never make you notice the passage of years, as almost all of this work is rooted in a solid blend of tight rhythms and inventive improvisation – heavy on acoustic instrumentation, but with occasional electric moments too! Imagine the kind of groove that Gilles Peterson used to turn us onto years back, when he was spinning rare jazz records, and you'll get the vibe here – served up on titles that include "I Face East" by Mary Greer Mudiku, "Mende" by Jacques Schwarz Bart, "Mother Of The Future" by Venus Dodson, "Wanting Touch (inst)" by Juju, "Mambo De Papi" by El Caballo Y Su Orquesta, "Ponteio" by Miho Nobuzane, "Samba De La Cruz" by Tres Men, and "I'll Bet You Thought I'd Never Find You" by Lifetime. LP, Vinyl record album

A wealth of spiritual sounds from more recent years – served up in a killer compilation that focuses on all the great new sounds that have been emerging from different global scenes – a sublime blend of jazz, soul, Latin, and other modes – all at a level that gives us plenty of hope for both modern music, and the future of humanity too! The set follows in the spirit of nuggets from the past we've always dug from the Right Tempo/Easy Tempo label – but work here is instead all new, and represents a great outpouring of contemporary talents who draw inspiration from the best currents of 60s and 70s righteous expression, the find a way to make bold new statements of their own. Titles include "Envoy" by Mary Ancheta Quartet, "Subway" by Azar Azar, "Let The Sunshine In" by Jimetta Rose & Voices Of Creation, "Formative Stages" by Organic Pulse Ensemble, "Who Will Save The World" by Anthony Joseph, "Naboro" by Tino Contreras, "For Horace" by Raffy Bushman, "Cut To The Chase" by Malcolm Strachan, "Ruptura" by Mama Terra, "Seasons In My Mind (Patchworks version)" by Yellowtail with Mark Murphy, and "Afro Blue" by Francesco Sotgiu. LP, Vinyl record album

A heady batch of work from the Miami scene of the 70s – all of it from the legendary TK Records family of labels, headed up by superproducer Henry Stone! Over the years, some folks have taken Henry to task for his operational strategies – but there's no denying that he's a key figure in helping the sound of the south move from the 60s into the 70s – picking up plenty of funk and sophistication along the way! The set's overflowing with classics from Stone's empire at the time – including many cuts that have been sampled or reworked heavily in recent decades – titles that include "I'm Too Tough For Mr Big Stuff" by Vicki Anderson, "Miami Funk" by The Funky Bunch, "Cramp Your Style" by All The People, "Keep It Up" by Milton Wright, "Sleep On Dream On" by Raphael Munnings, "Smokin & Drinkin" by James Brown, "Miss Hot Stuff" by Clarence Reid, "The Rub" by George & Gwen McCrae, "Funkadelic Sound" by Little Beaver, "Future Place" by Jimmy Castor, "I Like My Birdie" by Leon Phillips, "Throwdown" by The King Tutt Band, "Back From The Dead" by Bobby Byrd, "Shake N Bump (part 1)" by Snoopy Dean, and "You're The Song I've Always Wanted To Sing" by Timmy Thomas. LP, Vinyl record album

A completely obscure batch of tunes – so much so that only two of the cuts here have been reissued – and a set that's every bit as wonderful as previous entries in this long-running series! Overall, there's probably a bit more soul than jazz – but every track within is on the hipper side of the spectrum – the sort of work that easily blends genres, and which comes from 70s acts working far from the mainstream, in a wonderful groove that's very much their own! Most numbers have a midtempo groove – perfect for the jazzier elements in the soul cuts – and as with previous editions in the series, there's a righteous current that gives most of these tracks a very positive, uplifting vibe. Titles include "It's A Long Road" by Babe, "Bend A Little" by Mirage, "Slip Back Into The Magic" by Leaves Of Autumn, "I Got The Hots For You"b y Ronnie Miller, "Hey Flicka" by Mikael Neumann, "Future Shock" by Synot, "Oh Senor" by Jan Lewis Group, "Mister Jones" by Charles Vickers, and "The Ring" by Dianne Elliott. LP, Vinyl record album

That's a pretty cosmic image on the cover, and the vibe of the album follows suit in a very nice way – mixing the best "future" modes of 80s music of the cassette generation with some more traditional funk and soul! The set opens our ears to a world we'd never have heard otherwise – and the music here has a surprisingly strong tie to some of the New York electro modes of the period – great basslines, keyboards, and some electronic touches that are balanced by warmer vocals by the Egyptian singers – all with a style that's a lot more soul-based and western than other Mid-East grooves of the time! Titles include "Donia El Arkam" by Frikit El Ensan, "Merci" by Simone, "Genoun El Disco" by Dr Ezat Abou Ouf & El Four M, "Hezeny" by Al Massrieen, "Ana Alby Har Nar" by Lebleba, "Mahsobka Endes" by Eman El Bahr Drwish, and "Tany Tany" by Araf Rady. (Global Grooves, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album