Some of the most righteous sounds we've ever heard from Houston legends The Lightmen – recorded at a time when the group was at their most spiritual, and very firmly following a cosmic path set down by drummer Bubbha Thomas! The music here owes nothing to the hippest sounds coming from the coastal cities – and even the undergrounds of Chicago and Detroit in the early 70s – and in fact, there's a vibe here that would be right at home with the Tribe Records spirit of the motor city, as the group balance their freewheeling inclinations with a nice sense of rhythm as well! Players include Doug Harris on some excellent soprano, tenor, and flute – plus Virgil Solomon on flute and alto, James Hensley on trumpet and light whistle, Joe Singleton on trombone, and Marshia Frazier on electric piano. Titles include "Sorrow Bitterness & Revolution", "Hope", "Blue Tip", "On The Road Home", "Song Of Praise", and "Ujimma". 2CD version features the standard stereo mix and the unissued mono version – plus a great booklet of notes! CD

Nothing fancy – but some great straight-ahead blowing from Stitt and Jug! The album's a quintet session, with John Houston piano, Buster Williams bass, and George Brown drums providing all the rhythm. But the real focus is on the twin-sax frontline – with Sitt taking up the alto on a few numbers, but mostly blowing tenor head to head with Jug. The album was supposedly recorded in 1961, but not issued until later in the 60s by Prestige – and it's right up there with the excellent work that the team were cutting at the time for Verve and Argo. Titles include "A Mess", "Water Jug", "New Blues Up & Down", "Red Sails In The Sunset", and "A Pair Of Red Pants". CD

A killer lost session on Prestige – one that takes the two players in the lead into some sweetly soul jazz territory! Hal Singer plays tenor, and really gets room to wail here in one of his strongest American jazz-based sessions of the 60s – and Charlie Shaver's also pretty great too, with a bit less of the sweet, tight sound of other records – and a bit more open groove! Thanks should probably go to the rhythm section – which features some especially nice piano from Ray Bryant, plus bass from Wendell Marshall and drums from Osie Johnson. Tracks are all longish, and titles include "Wendy", "Midnight", "Fancy Pants", "Blue Stompin", and "The Blast Off". CD

Includes the excellent funk track "Damn Somebody Stole My Pants" – and the album features lots of great keyboard work from Dwight Dickerson! LP, Vinyl record album

Two early 60s albums from the team of Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt – both recorded in Chicago! Boss Tenors is a head to head classic from Jug & Stitt that perfectly captures the joy and fury of their live performances from years before! The record was cut here in our hometown with a very hard rhythm section that includes John Houston on piano, Charles Williams on bass, and George Brown on drums – and it's way heavier than the usual Verve "meeting of the masters" session, and feels more like a record that should have been issued on Prestige or Argo. Both players are impeccable, and the solos stretch out for a long long very live time. Titles include "Blues Up & Down", "The One Before This", and "Counter Clockwise" – but these guys even groove amazingly on standards like "Autumn Leaves" and "No Greater Love". The second album, Dig Him, is one of those overlooked Argo sessions and features great straight-ahead blowing from Stitt and Jug! The album's a quintet session, with John Houston piano, Buster Williams bass, and George Brown drums providing all the rhythm. But the real focus is on the twin-sax frontline – with Sitt taking up the alto on a few numbers, but mostly blowing tenor head to head with Jug. Recorded in 1961 during Jug's great year of contract-breaking – and issued later in the 60s by Prestige under a different title. Titles include "A Mess", "Water Jug", "New Blues Up & Down", "Red Sails In The Sunset", and "A Pair Of Red Pants". CD

Brilliant later work from the Young Holt Unlimited combo – 2 albums that really stand apart from the rest of their recordings! Born Again is a sophisticated batch of jazzy tracks that really opens the group's style up – going way way past the stock soul of some of their Brunswick recordings. The band's clearly taken on a more spiritual bent for this one – as you can probably guess from the Afro-madonna cover – and the music ranges from electric funk to trippier more spiritual numbers. The record features hip keyboards by Ken Chaney, Marylean Holt, and a young Bobby Lyle. Cash McCall plays guitar on a great reading of Richard Evans "Hot Pants" – and other tracks include "Luv Bugg", "Wah Wah Man", and "Save The Day". Mellow Dreamin is one of the group's wildest and most beautiful LPs – really pushing the sound to a freer-thinking style of soul with a myriad of interesting rhythms, strange instrumentation, and uncanny arrangements! The best proof of this is their fantastic take on "Midnight Cowboy" from the set – done with an insane breakdown, funky piano, and this cool trumpet line playing counterpoint to the piano as the track goes on! The whole set's great, though, and features some great originals by piano player Ken Chaney, like "The Creeper" and "Trippin" – plus the cuts "Mellow Dreamin", "The Devil Made Me Do Dat", and "Black & White". (Soul, Jazz) CD

Keyon Harrold continues his rise from standard jazz into the realm of soulful superstar – working here with a great array of guests, and also creating a sound that's a fantastic blend of his own work on trumpet and some larger currents of soul and R&B! At some level, the record's almost Harrold's equivalent of the Black Radio projects from pianist Robert Glasper – and maybe no surprise, Glasper's in the lineup of guests here – alongside Laura Mvula, PJ Morton, Common, Jean Baylor, and others – all participants who find just the right spot in the music, yet leave plenty of room for Keyon to blow some solos in a way that mark his role as the visionary leader of the proceedings. Titles include "Beautiful Day", "Well Walk Now", "Don't Lie", "Foreverland", "Find Your Peace", "Gotta Go", "Pictures", and "The Intellectual". CD

Keyon Harrold continues his rise from standard jazz into the realm of soulful superstar – working here with a great array of guests, and also creating a sound that's a fantastic blend of his own work on trumpet and some larger currents of soul and R&B! At some level, the record's almost Harrold's equivalent of the Black Radio projects from pianist Robert Glasper – and maybe no surprise, Glasper's in the lineup of guests here – alongside Laura Mvula, PJ Morton, Common, Jean Baylor, and others – all participants who find just the right spot in the music, yet leave plenty of room for Keyon to blow some solos in a way that mark his role as the visionary leader of the proceedings. Titles include "Beautiful Day", "Well Walk Now", "Don't Lie", "Foreverland", "Find Your Peace", "Gotta Go", "Pictures", and "The Intellectual". LP, Vinyl record album