Beautifully spiritual jazz from the post-Coltrane generation – a wealth of righteous grooves from the early 70s – brought together in one mighty collection! If you dig the work of Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane, and other giants on Impulse Records, this is a great way to dig even deeper – and hear the way their late 60s legacy inspired other musicians to new heights in their own music – sounds that hit a new level of freedom in jazz, yet which are still filled with enough swing and soul to avoid some of the more avant modes of the free jazz scene! If that description sounds a bit obtuse, then just plug into the collection, and let the music do its thing – as it's got a very powerful vibe throughout – the kind of inspirational, socially conscious work that flourished best during the 70s – and which is finally getting its due all these many years later. The package is new territory for Ace/BGP, but they've done a great job as usual – picking key tracks from the era, and coming up with detailed notes on each of the long tracks. Titles include "Free Angela" by Bayete, "Bridge Into The New Age" by Azar Lawrence, "Tress Cun De O La" by Joe Henderson, "Ebony Queen" by McCoy Tyner, "Peace" by Idris Muhammad, "Mother Of The Future" by Norman Connors, "Brown Warm & Wintry" by Jack DeJohnette, "I've Known Rivers" by Gary Bartz, and "Fire" by Joe Henderson & Alice Coltrane. CD

There's an island on the cover, but the music is all-soul, all the way through – a great collection of classic mellow moments from years back, plus a few excellent choices from more recent years as well! Still, the island's a great image for the sound of the set – as the music has this kicked-back vibe that provides a nice sort of escape from the everyday world – heavenly soul sounds that come both from rare classics, and some of the best of the current underground – brought together with the kind of care and class we've come to expect from the folks at Expansion Records. A wonderful mix of tunes – with titles that include "Remember To Remember" by Rick Holmes, "Under The Moon & Over The Sky" by Angela Bofil, "Living So Fast" by Novocento with Danni Gottlieb & Dave Liebman, "I Choose You" by Paris, "You Are My Starship" by Norman Connors, "It Should Be you" by Ashanti Munir & Neil Letendre, "He Mandu (mother mix)" by Mouth Music, "Far Beyond" by Joey Negro & The Sunburst Band, "It's Like Air" by Sunny Hawkins, "Blending Colors" by Debra Debs, "Unconditional Love" by Greg Dean with Chantae Cann & Jarrod Lawson, "Mississippi Delta Blues" by Lamar Thomas with Carrie K Thomas, and "Peace In The Middle East" by Miri Ben-Ari & Kerri Chandler. CD

A wonderfully wide-ranging tribute to the great John Coltrane – served up here in a whole host of tracks recorded after his too-early death, each of which take his musical message in different directions! The sound is certainly spiritual – in keeping with the different volumes in this long-running series – but there's a nice mix of expressions and instrumentation, offering up a journey into John Coltrane's important influence on so many different spheres of jazz – far more than you might expect! And this isn't just a set of Coltrane remakes or covers, either, as new songs are mixed with familiar ones – in a well-chosen batch of tracks that includes "Trane" by Carmelo Garcia, "Transition" by Malachi Thompson, "John Coltrane" by Clifford Jordan, "Naima" by Darwin Strickland Trio, "Terre Engloutie" by Gilles Torrent Jazztet, "To Trane" by Carsten Meinert Kvartet, "Welcome" by Norman Connors, "Ole" by Sonny Fortune, and "Naima" by Jack McDuff. CD

A wonderfully wide-ranging tribute to the great John Coltrane – served up here in a whole host of tracks recorded after his too-early death, each of which take his musical message in different directions! The sound is certainly spiritual – in keeping with the different volumes in this long-running series – but there's a nice mix of expressions and instrumentation, offering up a journey into John Coltrane's important influence on so many different spheres of jazz – far more than you might expect! And this isn't just a set of Coltrane remakes or covers, either, as new songs are mixed with familiar ones – in a well-chosen batch of tracks that includes "Trane" by Carmelo Garcia, "Transition" by Malachi Thompson, "John Coltrane" by Clifford Jordan, "Naima" by Darwin Strickland Trio, "Terre Engloutie" by Gilles Torrent Jazztet, "To Trane" by Carsten Meinert Kvartet, "Welcome" by Norman Connors, "Ole" by Sonny Fortune, and "Naima" by Jack McDuff. LP, Vinyl record album

A wild and wonderful collection that mixes together music from Roland Kirk, The Pop Group, Sun Ra, Norman Connors, Gil Melle, 23 Skidoo, Alice Coltrane, Tony Williams, and many others! (Jazz, Funky Compilations) CD

There's two stylish British hipsters on the cover, but the album's filled with classic American jazz tracks – each hand-picked by Martin Freeman and Eddie Piller, and served up with plenty of soul! The work here begins in hardbop territory, and moves through 60s soul jazz and more righteous moments in the 70s – and while there's a few more recent tracks, the vibe of the record is very vintage throughout – and really reflects that longtime London love of obscure American records – sounds from a scene that has really taught us a lot over the decades! There's a few tracks here we haven't seen in years, and some great old favorites too – and titles include "Now At Last" by Blossom Dearie, "Trees & Grass & Things" by Charles Williams, "The Hipster" by Harold McNair, "Chains" by Blacks & Blues, "Bend Your Head Down Low" by Geoffrey Stoner, "Sphynx" by Brand New Heavies, "Look At Me Look At You" by Marlena Shaw, "Get Up Off Your Knees" by David Axelrod, "Psychedelic" by Lee Morgan, "Terra Firma Irma" by Joe Gordon,"The Rhythm Changes" by Kamasi Washington, "Just In Time To See The Sun" by Leon Thomas, "Mother Of The Future" by Norman Connors, and "Mi Hermano" by Blue Mitchell. LP, Vinyl record album