A funky gem from reedman Manu Dibango – a set recorded hot on the heels of his huge Soul Makossa hit, and done with a similar blend of African roots and 70s funk! The main focus here is on the instrumentation – not just Manu's saxophone lines, but also some great keyboards too – and some especially nice guitar that both riffs along with the rhythms, then takes off on solo moments that often have some cool processing that makes the sound nice and flangey! The production is a bit tighter than before, but that only seems to sharpen up all the elements even more – making for a massive groove that rolls all the way through cuts that include "Big Blow", "Baobab Sun 7", "Afrovision", "Aloko Party", and "Dakar Streets". Also features the bonus long version of "Big Blow". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic treasure from the South African jazz scene of the 60s – a record that's full of soul and spirit, and which draws enough from the piano of leader Chris Schilder as it does from the tenor of Winston Mankuku Ngozi! Nogzi's a player who's very much in the John Coltrane camp, but with a spirit that's all his own – a rich tone that reaches back to late 50s hardbop styles, but which gets a more fluid, modal expression here – alongside well-crafted lines from Schilder on piano, in a quintet with guitar from Garry Kriel, bass from Phillip Schilder, and drums from Gilbert Matthews. There's certainly a South African spirit in some of the rhythms, but the music itself is more in the righteous territory of late 60s Blue Note – like the most creative work from Lee Morgan or Hank Mobley – on titles that include "The Birds", "Look Up", "Before The Rain & After", "Spring", and "You Don't Know What Love Is". (Jazz, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

A very different album than usual from the South African jazz scene of the 60s – much more rootsy, and very personal sounds – and hardly the kind of nationwide expression you might guess from the title! Instead, the whole thing is very much it's own kind of record – jazz, in ways – but not really a straight jazz record either – as Philip Tabane works all these unusual guitar lines next to percussion, but with a moodier, slower-building vibe than anything that might be in the vein of highlife, or other West African styles! The whole record really takes its time to find its sound – and when vocals come into the mix, they're very well situated – maybe bowing more to the overall instrumental soundscape, instead of leading it – as the group moves with very unified energy on titles that include "Tsela", "Mahlomola", "Dithabeng", "Babedi", "Ke Utlwile", and "Man Feeling". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of rare records by Sidiku Buari – issued back to back on a single CD! Feelings is a record that was issued on the tiny Precious label – home to only two Buari albums in its tiny catalog – and the set follows strongly on the work that Sidiku recorded in New York during the 70s, records that were initially issued just under his last name! The groove on some tracks is full of early 80s NYC touches – sweet electro keyboards that provide some great middle-ground shocks to the tunes – while beats crackle crispy at the bottom, and Buari sings these slinky soul vocals that are a lot more American than you'd guess from the Ghanaian recording of the album. But other numbers have more of a West Africa vibe – that updating of older modes that was taking place in Nigeria too. Titles include "Music", "Feelings", "Anowar", and "Yayo Papa". Sidiku Buari & His Jam Busters has a groove that definitely lives up to its name – a sweet 80s crackle with lots of tunes that jam in an old school funk style – keyboards, basslines, and rhythms right on the money – in a great Transatlantic bridge between Ghana and New York City! The set begins with the super-funky "Let's Go To Funky Town" – a tune with a break on the intro to rival some of the best funky club work of the time – and the vibe continues strongly through the rest of the set, on titles that include "Sophisticated Jammer", "Power To My People", "Rhythm Of Africa", "Minsumobo", and "Karambani". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the funkiest album ever from Marius Cultier – and definitely one of the records that perfectly shows off his wonderful post-colonial blend of sounds! There's bits of funk from both sides of the Atlantic going on here – roots in both Africa and the Caribbean, but fused through that new sense of freedom that an artist like Cultier found on the Parisian scene – where he could also explore some jazzier inspirations, and move the grooves into so many great areas! The album's got a wonderful vibe – a sound that appeals both to lovers of global funk from the 70s, and sweet fusion as well – thanks to some great work on Fender Rhodes and vibes by Cultier. Titles include "Sousaki", "Ouelele", "Missie Sirop", "Laini", "Ni Tellement Longtemps", and "Mazouk Souvenir". LP, Vinyl record album

The title certainly gets it right – as there's a strongly unified sense of spirit here from Family Atlantica – even more so than on their debut album! As before, there's a range of global elements moving through the mix – currents of South American and African styles, given a slightly more contemporary European presentation – but somehow these guys have really found a way to put everything together with an even tighter, more cohesive sound – one that expands through jazzy solo work on tenor, alto, trumpet, and trombone – and which really draws a lot from the wide range of percussion and other instrumentation used by co-leader Jack Yglesias. The lovely Luzmira Zerpa handles most of the vocals – and some percussion too – and the album also features guest appearances from 70s legends Orlando Julius on tenor and Marshal Allen on alto sax. Titles include "Baiao Infinito", "Near The Ocean", "Efik", "Cosmic Unity", "Canto De Pilon", "El Rio", "Cacao", "Okoroba", and "Neti Neti". CD

A brilliant criss-crossing of group from this cool trans-global group – a set recorded in London, but with roots in Venezuela, LA, and Ghana – served up with a sound that's even greater than the sum of its parts! Malcolm Catto recorded the record – and really helps bring a funky energy to the record, by working alongside lead studio help from Jack Yglesias of The Heliocentrics – pushing here into a space that's even more offbeat than the grooves of that group! There's loads of rich acoustic instrumentation – especially percussion – and Mulatu joins the record at one spot, furthering the exotic appeal of the set. Some tracks have an almost ethnographic vibes, while others are a bit more contemporary – although the overall sound is more than worthy of placement on the Soundway label. Titles incude "Arena", "Cumbacutiri", "Fly Through The Lightning To Speak With The Sun", "El Negrero", "Escape To The Palenque", "Manicero", "La Familia", and "Speak To The Spirit Of The Sea". CD

A fantastic collection of cross-cultural grooves from Daniel Haaksman – the man who first raised our ears with his excellent Rio Baile Funk Favela Booty Beats compilations – then kept on giving us great music during all the years in between! This set has Haaksman providing his own edits of tracks that have a fair bit of global elements in the mix – contemporary club, but rife with acoustic, organic sound styles – which are further expanded by Daniel in his thoughtful edits throughout the entire set! There's plenty here for the dancefloor, but also a deeper cultural mission at hand – on tracks that include Haacksman edits of "Akabongi" by Soul Brothers, "Vamos Farrear" by Pinduca, "Morbiyassa" by Kaba Blon, "Cazukuta" by DJ Havaiana, "Sunny Crypt" by Francis Bebey, "Me Gritaron Negra" by Victoria Santa Cruz, "Dissan Na M'Bera" by Super Mama Djombo, and "Black September" by Master Chivero. (New Grooves, Global Grooves) CD

A wealth of wonderful work from Baligh Hamdi – an artist who had a huge impact on Egyptian music in the postwar years, even if he's not as well known on our side of the Atlantic! The tracks here all date from a time when Hamdi had been already recording for a number of years – first with revolutionary music that helped Egypt find a new musical identity in the 50s, then through blossoming work with singers and film productions in the 60s – leading up to the cuts here, which are from a variety of different instrumental albums issued under Baligh's own name! The style is a bit of what you might guess from the title – instrumental, but hardly pop in the American sense – as the tunes often have these really great flavors and colors that come from a mix of modern and traditional instrumentation – percussion and woodwinds next to keyboards, or a strange flute line next to a guitar – all served up at a level that allows you to focus on the arrangements and nuances without any vocals to get in the way. Titles include "Hanim", "Chaka Chiko", "Gazairia", "Mawood", "Mawal", "The Wanderer", "Zabour", "Iskandarani", "Zamane", "Sahara", and "Salamat". CD

A wealth of wonderful work from Baligh Hamdi – an artist who had a huge impact on Egyptian music in the postwar years, even if he's not as well known on our side of the Atlantic! The tracks here all date from a time when Hamdi had been already recording for a number of years – first with revolutionary music that helped Egypt find a new musical identity in the 50s, then through blossoming work with singers and film productions in the 60s – leading up to the cuts here, which are from a variety of different instrumental albums issued under Baligh's own name! The style is a bit of what you might guess from the title – instrumental, but hardly pop in the American sense – as the tunes often have these really great flavors and colors that come from a mix of modern and traditional instrumentation – percussion and woodwinds next to keyboards, or a strange flute line next to a guitar – all served up at a level that allows you to focus on the arrangements and nuances without any vocals to get in the way. Titles include "Hanim", "Chaka Chiko", "Gazairia", "Mawood", "Mawal", "The Wanderer", "Zabour", "Iskandarani", "Zamane", "Sahara", and "Salamat". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most unusual albums to ever come from the legendary Black Ark studios of Lee Scratch Perry – a set by a duo of Congolese singers, Seke Molenga and Kalo Kawongolo – who are also not to be confused with The Congos, another group that Perry was producing at the time! The album definitely has some reggae elements, but also echoes with a sound that's much more African than most of Lee's other music of the time – a great mixing of the vocals, guitars, and percussion of Molenga and Kawongolo with some of the trippier, dubbier styles of Scratch's production – at a level that seems bent on building a musical bridge across the Atlantic! Titles include "Moto Ya Motema", "Bad Food", "African Roots", "Mengieb", and "Guipimbu Gienu". LP, Vinyl record album

Hardly a pirate album at all – and instead one of the first big global moments of fame for the mighty Orchestra Baobob – a Senegalese combo who'd really been honing their craft during the 70s! The album has the group working with all the soulful currents of their early work – and especially that inflection from Cuban styles that made some of the groups in Dakar so unique – a special trans-Atlantic handshake between the nations that really helped these guys take off once they got exposure on a record like this! Titles include "Coumba", "Utru Horas", "Werente Seringe", "Ray M'Bele", "Toumaranke", "Ngalam", and "La Rebellion". CD

Amazing work from South African jazz legend Dudu Pukwana – a rare album from 1969, plus a never-issued set of tracks done for Atlantic Records at the same time! The core album, titled Dudu Pukwana & The Spears, features Dudu on alto, in the company of a lot of familiar players from his roots – Chris McGregor on piano, Mongezi Feza on trumpet, Louis Moholo on drums, Harry Miller on bass, and Jonas Gwangwa on trombone – plus great organ from Bob Stucky, who'd recorded with Pukwana a bit on the London scene of the 60s – and wholes presence really brings in a nice soul jazz vibe! The style is much straighter than the more avant 70s material of all players involved – and definitely has some of that upbeat South African sense of rhythm going on – nicely rollicking, and starting somewhere in the territory of a Hugh Masekela record, then moving into more of a Prestige 60s vibe. Titles include "Kwa Thula", "Joe's Jika", "Pho La", "Yima Mjalo", "Pezulu", "Thulula", and "Half Moon". The second batch of material is presented as an Atlantic Records acetate reproduction – a session produced by Joe Boyd, with more work from McGregor, Miller, Feza, and Moholo – plus the very unusual presence of Richard Thompson on guitar! Bob Stuckey plays organ again on a few numbers, and things are much more complex – stretching out on tunes that include "Pezulu", "Izulu Liyaduduma", "Church Mouse", "Sibuyile", and an "Untitled" number. (Jazz, Global Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic look at the groundbreaking sounds of the Disques Debs label – one of the most important companies producing music in the French Caribbean – and an imprint whose impact was strongly felt on the other side of the Atlantic as well! The core of these grooves is that compelling biguine rhythm that flowed from Guadeloupe – almost a mix of Latin and jazz, but with a different sort of vibe of its own – which was then interwoven with elements from Cuban, European, and African styles amidst the initial decade or so of recordings on this set! Debs had strong ties with Paris, and a bit with the West African scene – and their recorded legacy almost follows old colonial paths, but in reverse – creating this wonderful criss-crossing of cultures amidst their grooves. The package is wonderful – loads of vintage photos and great notes in the best Strut Records way – and titles include "Douce Kombass" by Henri Debs Quintet, "Mr Morin" by Joseph Lacides, "Lan Mise" by Geno Exilie, "Feeling Happy" by Cyril Dias Et Son Orchestre, "Ces P'Tits Je T'Aime" by Daniel Forestal Et Sa Guitare, "Assez Fait Cancan" by Guy Conquette, "Stanislas" by Eric Virgal, "Meringue Mondey" by Remy Mondey, "Si I Bon Di I Bon" by Le Ry-Co Jazz, "Salvana" by Dolor Et Les Diables Du Rhythme, and "Van Van" by Henri Guedon Et Les Contesta. CD