Brilliant funky instrumentals from the UK Cavendish Sound Library – a company who could sometimes recorded more staid music, although that certainly wasn't the case with the gems on this collection! The music is by a handful of British studio talents of the time – most of whom come from the jazz scene in earlier years – and provide a great update of their earlier talents with some very sweet electric touches! Many of these tunes have some really great keyboards – Fender Rhodes or even moogier elements – and many also have wicked basslines next to the funky drums, which really make things kick throughout. These tunes are vastly undiscovered – at least in comparison to better-known sound library funk from companies like KPM or DeWolfe – but we'd put these grooves right up there with the best of that bunch too. Titles include"Milky Way" and "Star Voyage" by John Scott, "Two Bars" and "The Scape Goat" by Pete Moore, "The Big Score" by John Cacavas, "One Way Trip" by Sam Fonteyn, "Smile Of A Stranger" by Dominic Sands, "Riff Raff" by Geoff Bastow, "Come Cuban" by Edward White, "Kaleidoscope" by Tony Kinsey, "Funk" and "Rock" by Chris Barron, "Equation" and "Mad Mendoza" by Trevor Duncan, "Leagueliner" by Ray Davies, "Diraffe" by Bob Adams, and "Self Deception" by Tany Turens – and lots of titles by Dennis Farnon that include "Night Shade", "The Rally", "Southbound", "Snowmobile", "Night Driver", "The Trackers", "Lady Killers", "Soul Type Blues", "Shanghai Caper", "Cocoanut Cocktail", "Bass Bits", "Chameleon", "Crazy Legs", "Blues For Boo", "Baltic Caper", "Test Drive", and "Nuremberg Ring". (Sound Library, Funky Compilations) CD

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

Brilliant funky instrumentals from the UK Cavendish Sound Library – a company who could sometimes recorded more staid music, although that certainly wasn't the case with the gems on this collection! The music is by a handful of British studio talents of the time – most of whom come from the jazz scene in earlier years – and provide a great update of their earlier talents with some very sweet electric touches! Many of these tunes have some really great keyboards – Fender Rhodes or even moogier elements – and many also have wicked basslines next to the funky drums, which really make things kick throughout. These tunes are vastly undiscovered – at least in comparison to better-known sound library funk from companies like KPM or DeWolfe – but we'd put these grooves right up there with the best of that bunch too. This second volume is full of wonderful tracks that go even farther past the first volume – funky, but jazzy too – with a lot of work by Dennis Farnon, including the cuts "Night Walk", "Soul Type Blues", "Shanghai Caper", "Cocoanut Cocktail", "Bass Bits", "Chameleon", "Crazy Legs", "Blues For Boo", "Baltic Caper", "Test Drive", and "Nuremberg Ring" – plus "Funk" and "Rock" by Chris Barron, "Equation" and "Mad Mendoza" by Trevor Duncan, "Leagueliner" by Ray Davies, "Diraffe" by Bob Adams, and "Self Deception" by Tany Turens. (Sound Library, Funky Compilations) LP, Vinyl record album

Forget the cheesy title and cover – this is a great compilation, with some really wonderful tracks from the 70s! Like the first set in this series, the focus is on older grooves that have a kicked-back, chilled-out approach to funk – and as such, the set is stuffed with wonderful tunes that we might have missed otherwise! There's a real genius to the package – similar to Irma's Quiet Moments compilation – and the track selection goes way past the obvious, or the familiar, to include tracks that have been locked away on older albums by artists that you might already know. The whole thing's great – as much of a delight in the morning as it is in the middle of the night – with tracks that include "Reflections" by Bill Conti, "Poobli" by Alphonze Mouzon, "Doubting Thomas" by Michel Legrand, "Chutney" by Mandrill, "Cha Chita" by El Chicano, "Night Breeze" by Bobby Lyle, "Feel The Vibe" by Loose Ends, "Close The Door" by Rufus, "The City" by Mark & Almond, "Suzanne" by Gary McFarland, "Snow Queen" by The City, "Say No More" by The Peddlers, "From Here To Eternity" by Engelbert Humperdink, "Walking In The Wind" by Traffic, "The Visit" by The Cyrkle, and "Elegy" by Colosseum. And we should warn you, album 2 has a few especially nice surprises – rock tunes we thought we'd never hear again, settled next to some great funky groovers. 26 tracks on 2LPs. LP, Vinyl record album

A great overview of a really fantastic label for jazz and avant garde material in the late 70s – the Japanese-only Why Not imprint, which was briefly a great home for some of the best work by key American players from both the AACM and the loft jazz generation! The label only issued a small amount of albums, most of which never saw release in the US – records that provided a key bridge for important artists in the years between earlier material for labels like Demark or Strata East, and some of the new wave of jazz recordings that would take place in Europe during the 80s. The quality level here is top-shelf all the way – and the tracks are some of the best by these artists from the period – a selection of 16 titles that include "To Yaisa & Wanda With Luv" by Donald Smith, "Ted Tempo" by Ted Curson, "Re-Entry" by Charles Sullivan, "Pepe's Samba" by Chico Freeman, "Mode For Trane" by Joe Lee Wilson, "Triangle" by Joe Bonner, "Gratitude" by Don Pullen, "On Green Dolphin Street" by Manhattan Graffiti Four, "Raindrops" by Andrew Cyrille, "Tell Us Only The Beautiful Things" by Walt Dickerson, "The Black Cat" by Monty Waters, and "Invitation" by Sonny Fortune. CD