A reverent snapshot of the spiritual & soul jazz emanating from the Mainstream label in the early 70s – a well curated set featuring great numbers by Frank Foster, Blue Mitchell, Hadley Caliman, Roy Haynes and other giants of the scene! The material comes from a time in Mainstream label history when it was essentially relaunched as a jazz label, following some the psyche era rock albums of the previous few years. Soulful jazz sounds from a spiritual realm as well as some in a jazz funk mode, and excellent material all the way! 12 great tracks in all: The sprawling opener "The Loud Minority" by Frank Foster, "Mi Hermano" by Blue Mitchell, "Up And Down" by Harold Land, "Watercress" by Hadley Caliman, "Kamili" by Buddy Terry, "Senyah" by Roy Haynes, "EW Beautiful People" by Frank Foster, "Little One" by Hadley Caliman and "Petits Machins" by Johnny Coles/ CD

The greatest DJ in the world spins live in a wonderful set of grooves that perfectly displays Petersen's huge rep as a genre-bending DJ! The set's similar to some of Peterson's other music mix compilations – in that it blows away any expectations you'd have about the way genres should be put together, running through a stunning mix that includes funk, dub, Brazilian, jazz, jungle, and a heck of a lot more. Sounds like a mess, but the magical Mr P makes everything come out sparkly white in the wash – which is why he's still numero uno in our book! Titles include "The Ghetto/El Barrio" by George Benson, "Slowly Surely" by Jill Scott, "El Capitalismo Foraneo" by Gotan Project, "All I Have In Me (Original Musiquarium Mix)" by Young Disciples, "Blue Mosque" by Don Rendell & Ian Carr, "Black Mary" by Pariss Clemons, "Respect" by Rotary Connection, "Waltz For Koop" by Koop, "Mystery Of Man" by Sarah Vaughan, and "Mind Of A Killer" by Polar. 24 tracks on 2CDs! CD

Great 3rd volume in this legendary series of groovy compilations which dig through the vaults of MPS records to come up with an insane mix of jazz, fusion, and grooves that end up filling up all the little cracks in your record collection that you'd never been able to track down in the original. Every bit as great as the last two comps, and probably an even deeper fee – with titles that include "Stars & Rockets" by Peter Thomas, Suite Pour San Remo Overture" by Jef Gilson, "Big P" by Modern Jazz Group Freiburg, "Yaad" by Jazz Meets India, "Modal Forces Movement A" by Fritz Pauer, "Sakara" by Clarke Boland Big Band, "Burungkaka Tua" by Tony Scott & The Indonesian All Stars, "Just Give Me Time" by Mark Murphy, "Things We Said Today" by London Jazz 4, "Waldmadchen" by Gustav Brom, "Blue Dance" by Roland Kovac, and "Color" by Erwin Lehn. LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent funky work – both new and old, with a feel that's perfect for fans of messed-up rock breaks! Side one is new breaks and loops by DJ Pete Hothead – all with a nice sinister feel to them – and side two includes such great lost breaks as "Switchblade Theme" by Ralph Carmichael, "Sour Soul" by Pool Pah, "Aladdin's Story" by The Glimmer Twins, "Have It Or Grab It Or Go" by Gershon Kingsley, and more! One of our favorites, and with a nice messed up loud sound! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best funky compilations ever! The folks at Stones Throw Records – home of some of the most funk-inspired hip hop of the past decade – have dug through the crates to come up with this incredible batch of 22 tunes, all well-researched, nicely remastered, and offered up here on a 100% legit basis! But even more than that, the selection of music is incredible – killer funky tunes of the sort that you'd shell out plenty for on 45, moving way past the standard loud funk mode, into a hip realm of jazz-tinged expression, complicated enough for today's beatheads, yet straightforward enough to keep the groove going! Titles include "Fish Head" by Slim & The Soulful Saints, "The Dump" by Soul Vibrations, "What About You" by Co Real Artists, "The Kick" by The Rhythm Machine, "Kashmere" by Kashmere Stage Band, "Tighten Up Tighter" by Billy Ball & The Upsetters, "Beautiful Day" by Spider Harrison, "Southside Funk" by Soul Seven, "In The Rain" by The Wooden Glass with Billy Wooten, and "Go To Work" by Revolution Compared To What. CD version includes 2 bonus cuts too! CD

Great group soul from the wonderful Brunswick Records – and a sweet selection that goes way beyond the hits and the bigger groups who recorded for the label! Sure, Brunswick is known for its big groups from Chicago – who were some of the best of their time – but the label also recorded a lot of up-and-comers who were totally great too – but who never got to put together a full album for the label! Lots of those groups are collected here – in a wonderful collection that's filled with soaring harmonies, deep soul leads, and some totally groovy arrangements that are in the best Brunswick ultra-hip style of the early 70s. Titles include "Chickens" by Complaments, "Purple Haze" by Johnny Jones & King Casuals, "Lonely Street" by The Admirations, "I'll Take You Just As You Come" by The Nialations, "Until You came Along" by The Visitors, "I Think I'll Cry Out Loud" by The Realistics, "The Sweetest Thing" by Channel 3, "Sing A Ling" by The Cooperettes, "Don't Fail Me Now" by The Symphonics, "A Strange Way" by The Loreleis, "Don't Take It Out On This World" by Adam's Apples, "Cowboys To Girls" by Jalynne Sound, "He's Got Your Number" by The Demures, and "Stay With Me Baby" by BW & The Next Edition. CD

Funky soul from one of the less-discovered scenes in the south – the hotbed of small labels that were making some mighty great grooves in Atlanta during the 70s! The Peachtree city isn't nearly as well-cited as a soul music source in comparison to places like Memphis, Muscle Shoals, and even Miami – but back in the mid 70s, there was something really special going on – and for a strong moment, a few different labels really gave the city some great music! Much of the work here represents the changing character of Atlanta itself – deep soul vocals that were forged in a longer southern tradition, mixed with well-crafted grooves that show all the modern elements coming into play as the city grew and matured. Most of this work has a pre-disco vibe – with rhythms that are similar to the early work of Fatback or Kool & The Gang – with the difference that the singers in the lead are all pretty darn great on their own. BGP did an excellent job of choosing the tracks for the set, and the notes, as always, are great – and the package features 22 titles that include "Let's Dance" by Family Plann, "Seeds Of Life" by East LA Car Pool, "Down At The Disco" by Maggabrain, "Ain't It Funky" by Johnny Jacobs, "The Bump" by Floyd Smith, "Help Me (parts 1 & 2)" by Archie Russell, "I Don't Know What It Is But It Sure Is Funky" by Ripple, "Funk Pump" by The Counts, "Claim Jumpin" by Bill Brandon, "Checkmate" by The Ebony Godfather, "Shouldn't I Be Given The Right To Be Wrong" by Joe Hinton, "Husband In Law" by CL Blast, "Only A Fool" by Loleatta Holloway, "When I Build My World" by Jimmy Lewis, and "Complain To The Clouds" by Deep Velvet. CD

A fantastic dip into the world of Japanese funk during the 70s – a great place to start if you don't want to slap down big money for expensive imports – and a set that's also got a fair bit of obscure numbers in the lineup, even if you have some of the material from this time! The collection's got a specific ear for a groove – and often focuses on tracks that mix US styles of jazzy funk with specific Japanese styles of instrumentation – a wood flute here, a bit of koto there – all used in very cool, very groovy ways – and in a setting that's still very appealing if you're a fan of more familiar funky jazz from the 70s! Titles include "Incitation" by Monica Lassen & The Sounds, "Soran Bushi" by Toshiiko Yonekawa, "Touch Of Japanese Tone" by Takeo Yamashita, "Cloudy" by Chikara Ueda & The Power Station, "Downtown Blues" by Chumei Watanabe, "Sidewinder" by Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalos, "Sniper's Snooze" by Masahiko Sato and Jiro Inagaki, and "Hanagas Onda" by Kifu Mitsuhashi. LP, Vinyl record album

An essential look at the key years of the Chicago house scene – the time when the city's musicians were carving out a whole new space in sound! Although early house first began as an extension of some of the later modes of disco and 80s club, influences from European post-punk and post-disco work soon crept into the mix, and pushed the Chicago artists to work in a darker, edgier sound that was completely unique! The work from this period is filled with stark, spare electronics – not the cheesy kind that showed up often in New York electro records, but intense analogue bits that had a really dark, dystopic space age sort of quality – laid out over harsh beats and bass, and often presented with no additional vocals at all. For the collection, Soul Jazz do a great job of picking out the best of the early acid house scene in Chicago (the key recordings before the term got picked up overseas, and used to make some very dodgy dance music at the end of the 80s) – and then they go on to pull together some of the best strands of the house revival in Chicago in the early 90s, including key work from the Cajual label. 2 CD set features 17 tracks in all – including "This Is Acid" by Maurice, "Do You Want To Percolate" by The Sweat Boyz, "Beyond The Clouds" by Mr Fingers, "Go Wild Rhythm Track" by Virgo, "Acid Crash" by Tyree, "Dum Dum (part 2)" by Fresh, "Acid Bass" by Roy Davis Jr, "Phuture Jacks" by Phuture, "I've Lost Control" by Sleezy D, "Take Me Higher" by Virgo Four, "Acid Over" by Tyree, "Box Energy" by DJ Pierre, "Video Clash" by Lil Louis, "Explorer" by Green Velvet, "Like This" by Two Of A Kind, "Acid Tracks" by Phuture, and "Downfall" by Armando. (House Music, Funky Compilations) CD

An ear-opening set of Japanese jazz from a time when that nation's scene was really taking off – a period in the 70s when all sorts of new artists and new ideas were really flying around – and leaving behind a huge recorded legacy that's been mostly out of reach for us in the west! Japan always had a few big names in jazz that got exported overseas, but the work here is from some of the smaller names who were still turning out incredible music – much of it only issued on vinyl, and not reissued later – brought together here with copious notes that really tell you a heck of a lot about the music! There's definitely a post-Coltrane vibe going on – lots of spiritual elements, mixed with both moments that are funkier and more soulful, and others that are a bit more freewheeling – often stretched out on extended tracks that really let the artists take off and find their space. Titles include "Black Nile" by Hideyasu Terakawa, "Kirisame" by Ryusei Quartet, "Honey Sanba" by Katsuyuki Itakura, "Cumulonimbus" by Shigeharu Mukai, "Song Of Island" by Yasuhiro Kohno Trio + One, "Phoebus" by Hiroshi Murakami & Dancing Sphinx, "Morning Tiede" by Kohsuke Mine, "Kemo Sabe" by Masao Nakajima, "Song For Hope" by Aki Takase, "Planets" by Masaru Imada Trio + 1, "1/4 Samba" by Tatsuya Nakamura, "Acoustic Chicken" by Koichi Matsukaze, and "Cumorah" by Eiji Nakayama. CD features bonus tracks – "Wolf's Theme" by Seiichi Nakamura, "Burning Cloud" by Ryojiro Kurusawa, and "Groovy Samba" by Hideo Shiraki. CD

Way more than just "hits" – given that this hip box set features tracks from every single 12" released by the legendary P&P family of labels – a massive amount of underground dancefloor work from the late 70s and early 80s, and a set that gives new meaning to the word discography! If you know even just a bit of the P&P sound, you'll know you've got a revolutionary listening experience in store – music that goes way beyond conventional club and disco, with lots of weird little twists and turns – in both the instrumentation and production, which often use these cool little homemade spacey touches! Vocals are often right in synch with the offbeat grooves – and just about every cut on here is massively funky, too. Package features work by Cloud One, Milton Floyd, Sons Of Darkness, Jesse Gee, Scoopy, Rudy Stuart, Little Scotty, Henry Brooks, Fly Guy, Ahzz, Super Jay, Otis Turner, Sherod, The Destiny Orchestra, Bobby Mann, and many others – from singles that originally appeared on labels like Queen Constance, La Shawn, Land Of Hits, Golden Flamingo, Heavenly Star, Clarence, Destiny, Mr Brown, P&P, Sound Of New York, and others. 185 songs, on 15 CDs, packaged in cool slim sleeves in a tight box set – over 18 hours of music, and all of it great! CD

A stunning collection of psychedelic funk from all over the world – incredible material that mixes the free spirit of the psychedelic scene and the furious sense of groove learned from the funk movement! The collection is a bit of a genre-starting compilation – as it brings together global funky bits that had been bubbling underground with collectors for years – all resonating even more strongly together here in the company of each other – fantastic cuts from Istanbul, Athens, Paris, Beirut, Cairo, Paris, Lagos, Moscow and beyond! Many of the tracks mix familiar funk elements with more exotic instrumentation – nice fuzzy touches around the edges, and deep beats at the bottom – on titles that include "Su Derenin Sulari" by Husnu Ozkartal Orkestrasi, "Respect" by Kukumbas, "Alemiye" by Mulatu Astake, "The Man Who Must Leave" by Kim Sun, "What You Can Do In Your Life" by Petalouda, "Ghabileh-Ye Lily" by Mehr Pooya., "The Feed-Back" by The Group, "Circuito Chiuso" by Armando Sciascia, "Mevlana Boyle Dede" by Metin H Alatli, "Dagon" by Eskaton, and "Rakset El Fadaa" by Omar Khorshid. CD

A stunning collection of psychedelic funk from all over the world – incredible material that mixes the free spirit of the psychedelic scene and the furious sense of groove learned from the funk movement! The collection is a bit of a genre-starting compilation – as it brings together global funky bits that had been bubbling underground with collectors for years – all resonating even more strongly together here in the company of each other – fantastic cuts from Istanbul, Athens, Paris, Beirut, Cairo, Paris, Lagos, Moscow and beyond! Many of the tracks mix familiar funk elements with more exotic instrumentation – nice fuzzy touches around the edges, and deep beats at the bottom – on titles that include "Su Derenin Sulari" by Husnu Ozkartal Orkestrasi, "Respect" by Kukumbas, "Alemiye" by Mulatu Astake, "The Man Who Must Leave" by Kim Sun, "What You Can Do In Your Life" by Petalouda, "Ghabileh-Ye Lily" by Mehr Pooya., "The Feed-Back" by The Group, "Circuito Chiuso" by Armando Sciascia, "Mevlana Boyle Dede" by Metin H Alatli, "Dagon" by Eskaton, and "Rakset El Fadaa" by Omar Khorshid. CD

A great entry in this always-killer collection of rare funk and soul – a series that somehow manages to keep on delivering ultra-rare nuggets, even at a time when there's been so many other compilations from so many other labels over the years! Our ears are always trained to appreciate the best of the best from the world of funky collections – and those ears are plenty pleased with the range of tracks here we'd never heard before – the kind of music that remind us to keep on digging, even when we think we've heard enough! Titles include "All Night" by Vantage Point, "I'm Feeling It Too" by Kim McCrae, "Steps On A Cloud" by Street Life 80, "Real True Voices" by Tory Wynter, "I'll Be Good To You" by Chatham, "Giving On Into Love" by Dalton Reed, "Getting Lucky" by Panama Gold, "Step By Step" by Matter Of Taste, "What Am I Going To Do Baby" by Royal Touch, and "Bi-Centennial 1976" by Frankie Staton & Speckled Rainbow. CD

An excellent companion to the legendary first Disco Spectrum set – and like the first, this one's a stunning batch of rare club tracks, expertly selected by Joey Negro! This one's even more soulful than the first set – and is more a great set of rare club and dancefloor tracks, than it is a straight bunch of disco tunes. Nearly every cut's a winner, and there's loads of excellent vocals, and plenty of nice jazzy playing in the mix. This 2CD version features a total of 22 cuts, all unmixed – including "Let Me Be Your Fantasy" by Love Symphony Orchestra, "Spread Love" by Al Hudson & The Partners, "Making Love" by Sammy Gordon & The Hip Huggers, "Welcome To The Disco" by Air Power, "Phoenix" by Aquarian Dream, "Do It Any Way You Wanna" by Louie Ramirez, "I'll Keep A Light In My Window" by NYCC, "Music Is My Way Of Life" by Patti Labelle, "Don't Let This Rainbow Pass Me By" by Cloud One, "Get Another Love" by Chantal Curtis, "Evening Of Love" by Main Ingredient, "Hooked On Your Love" by Fantastic Aleems, "Hooked On You" by Cerrone, and "Give Me Some Action" by Queen Samantha. CD

A set that really lives up to its title – as all these rare tracks really have a special sort of feeling – a warm spirit and positive energy that's way different than you might expect from the title! In fact, it's probably not even fair to call this work disco at all – as most of the tracks are simply upbeat and grooving – working in modes that move from faster ensemble funk to some of the better underground club styles of the late 70s – all pulled from rare 7" singles, too – a format that seems to compact and energize the music in ways that are very different than the sprawling sounds of a 12" single! All the cuts here are brand-new to our ears, but won't be soon – as we'll be playing this collection again and again over the years – thanks to a set list that includes "She Really Needs Love" by Mahana, "You Can Win" by Bileo, "These Are The Good Times" by Popsicles, "I'm Loving You" by Cloudburst, "Life Is A Miracle" by Jax Transit Authority, "We Are Here To Party (7" mix)" by Gratitude, "Love Episode" by Strivers Show Band, "Paradise's Love" by Bordeux, and "Days Gone Past" by Darrell Johnson. LP, Vinyl record album

Wicked tunes hand-picked by the Japanese maestro of the groove – a heady batch of tracks collected by Yukihiro Fukutomi, with a brilliant melding of jazz, soul, and Latin influences! The set compiles 10 tracks from American and European sources – and features many hard-to-find remixes that surfaced briefly on expensive singles, but which have long gone by the wayside – making this collection even more essential to fans of the groove. Fukutomi presents the tracks in their entirety, unmixed – and titles include "Don't Mean A Thing (Incognito mix)" by Space Jazz Dub Men, "I Got Somebody New (original)" by Georg Levin with Clara Hill, "Everything (Yam Who rmx)" by Dwayne Morgan, "Life Rhythms (Raw Deal rmx)" by E Smoove, "Dreams Come True (Afronaught mix for Bugz In The Attic)" by Alison David, "Listen (Just Listen Louie's Master mix)" by Urban Species, "Cosmic Gypsy (Fila Brazilia rmx)" by United Future Organization, "I Just Wanna Say (Domu's Number One Mix)" by Michelle Lawson, and "Cloud 9 (Quenti Harris Shelter mix)" by Donnie. (New Grooves, Funky Compilations) CD