A groundbreaking set of work from the team of Jef Gilson and Hal Singer – a uniquely cross-cultural session recorded in the Paris scene of the 70s, and easily some of the best work ever from both musicians! Singer's probably best remembered on these shores for his older R&B tenor work of the 50s – but sometime during the 60s, he moved over to Paris, where he cut some mighty great music – including the legendary Paris Soul Food album, which predates this one by a few years. Gilson was always a great artist on the French scene – a modern pianist whose work of the 60s was always fresh and new, and a player who moved into more of a world jazz sensibility as the 70s approached. Together, both players work some real magic here – deep soul from Singers tenor, sharper tones from Gilson's piano – and a range of weird and wonderful notes from other players who include Bernard Lubat on vibes, Jacky Samson on bass, Frank Raholison on drums, and both Del Rabenja and Gerard Rakotoarivony on percussion – really helping the record live up to its "Africa" title! Samson's bass is especially amazing – roundly-toned, and incredibly soulful – as much so as his legendary work with Marco DiMarco, but pitched slightly differently here – and titles include "The High Life", "Liberation", "Mother Africa", "Chant Inca", and "Garvey's Strut". Plus, as an added bonus the CD also features 2 incredible earlier tracks by Gilson – material recorded with Lloyd Miller back in the 60s – playing "micro organ" and balaphon, with a sound that's almost even more haunting than the main album. Other players include "Pierre Caron on tenor and Alain Tabar-Nouval on alto – and titles include "Le Grand Bidou" and "Fable Of Gutenberg". (Jazz, Global Grooves) CD

Bala Miller's got a great pan-African group here – one that's more from the western side of the scene, despite the pyramids mentioned in their name – with players hailing from Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon – all coming together in a mighty righteous style! The music is fairly cerebral – thoughtful tunes that have a layered blend of horns, guitar, keyboards, and sweetly-stepping rhythms – plus occasional organ, kora, goga, and kwarya – all given a stronger focus from the vocals in the lead, which shift between male and female singers, and some backup as well. Titles include "Ikon Allah", "Yo Gboko", "Opportunity Knocks", "Stretch Your Nose", and "All Work No Play". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that features the legendary multi-instrumentalist Lloyd Miller exploring the Middle East – but one that seems to also open up with some other cultural flavors as well! There's a bit less jazz here than some of Miller's other sets from the time – as instrumentation is very heavy on the sort of global elements that he collected and mastered back home in the US – a mix of percussion, stringed, and reed instruments that are used in wonderfully evocative ways – often upbeat and grooving, but usually free of Western rhythmic constraints! Titles include "Turkey", "Arab World", "Zarb Solo", "Spain", "Shur", "Mahur", and "Amen Avci Vurma Beni". (Jazz, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most evocative albums ever recorded by the enigmatic Lloyd Miller – a set created at Brigham Young University, in Utah – but filled with a mix of different styles from the other half of the planet! Miller plays a variety of stringed instruments and percussion – including some great xylophone, shamisen, tabla, and santur – and is joined by flutes and recorders, tar, ching, and vocals from two different female singers – both used sparingly, in ways that barely get in the way of the instrumentation! There's less jazz here than some of Miller's later projects – and the record's got a vibe that almost makes it feel like some classic Ocora recording of sounds from Japan, China, Viet Nam, India, and other points east. Titles include "Hakimi", "Co La", "Luu Thuy", "Sakura", "Karpagame", "Seh Gah", and "Amen Avci Vurma Beni". (Jazz, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

A gem from the great Lloyd Miller – backed by modern Brit jazz funk maestros The Heliocentrics – and a credit to the legacies of all involved! Miller has worked timeless, hypnotic magic on an array of Middle Eastern and Asian instrumentation throughout his career, here playing piano, Indian santur, clarinet, Chinese sona, sitar, wood flute, oud and more – and this effort stands strongly with his best. He's accompanied by the masterful Malcolm Catto & The Heliocentrics – showing as much depth and versatility as ever in largely acoustic and improvisational setting – and the bottom line is that it's just as wonderful as their work with Mulatu. As much as we've flipped out over the Heliocentrics efforts as headliners to date, it's quite stunning how well they work backing such influential and legendary figures. Essential! Includes "Electricone", "Nava", "Mandala", "Spiritual Jazz", "Bali Bronze", "Modality", "Salendro", "Pari Ru", "Lloyd's Diatribe", "Fantasia" (Pts 1 & 2), "Chahargah", "Sunda Sunset" and more. (Jazz, Global Grooves) CD

Possibly the greatest album ever from the enigmatic Lloyd Miller – his legendary Oriental Jazz album from the late 60s, and a really wonderful blend of musical modes! Some of the tracks here really stretch out in the Eastern promise of the title – mixing jazz rhythms with santur, oud, zarb, and other unusual instrumentation – all in ways that are modal one minute, meditative the next, and which even echo gamelan styles on one tune! Other tracks are a bit straighter in the instrumentation, but still sparkle with a globe's worth of influence – Lloyd on piano, carving out sounds in a very unusual way! Some tracks are by Miller's trio, other by a quartet that features him, but which is led by pianist/trombonist Press Keys. Titles include "Hue Wail", "Pentalogic", "Tanya", "Natanie", "Guzel Gozler", "Prelude In The Iranian Mode Shur", "Impression Of Bhairava Raga", and "Njonja Mirah & Yona". Some of these tracks have appeared on Millers Oriental Jazz CD compilation – but others haven't – and this is his reissue of the full original album! (Jazz, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album