Basie was getting all over the place during the 50s – and this set's a great little concert recorded in London! The album's classic Basie for Verve – with Joe Williams on vocals on 3 tracks, and a tight group that includes Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Benny Powell, Matthew Gee, and Frank Foster. Titles include "Flute Juice", "Nails", "Blues Backstage", "Corner Pocket", "Roll Em Pete", and "Well All Right Okay You Win". CD

Basie was getting all over the place during the 50s – and this set's a great little concert recorded in London! The album's classic Basie for Verve – with Joe Williams on vocals on 3 tracks, and a tight group that includes Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Benny Powell, Matthew Gee, and Frank Foster. Titles include "Flute Juice", "Nails", "Blues Backstage", "Corner Pocket", "Roll Em Pete", and "Well All Right Okay You Win". LP, Vinyl record album

A great lost crime jazz soundtrack – penned by Elmer Bernstein in the style of some of his best work from the 50s! There's a real Man With The Golden Arm feel here – as the orchestra rises and falls in a mode matching the Staccato title – and solos break out with a fluid and brazen sort of feel – plenty of jazz to show the west coast origin of the recording! Players include Don Fagerquist and Pete Candoli on trumpets, Dick Nash on trombone, Ted Nash and Dave Pell on saxes, John Williams on piano, and Barney Kessell on guitar. The show itself is pretty darn cool – and starred a young John Cassavetes as detective Johnny Staccato – a role that supposedly gave Cassavetes enough money to shoot the film Shadows in his free time! Great all the way through – with tracks that include "Staccato's Theme", "Thinking Of Baby", "Poi & Juice", "Deadly Game", "Night Mood", "Jazz At Waldo's", "Like Having Fun", and "MacDougal Street Special". (Soundtracks, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A weird and wonderful album from Tribe Records giant Wendell Harrison – an obscure electric set from the start of the 80s! There's still a strongly spiritual feel on the record, but Wendell also adds some Fender Rhodes and vocals to his work on tenor and flute – bringing in the same sort of spacey soul vibe you'd find on work from the time by Oneness Of Juju! The overall sound is still quite soulful – a great extension of the early Tribe spirit from Detroit – and some cuts feature a bit more acoustic piano and sweet earthy percussion. Other cuts have more of a soulful bounce – thanks to vocals from Miche Braden and Kathy Simmons – and titles include "The Wok", "Ginseng Love", "Love Juice", "A Green Meadow" and "Peace of Mind". LP, Vinyl record album

A weird and wonderful album from Tribe Records giant Wendell Harrison – an obscure electric set from the start of the 80s! There's still a strongly spiritual feel on the record, but Wendell also adds some Fender Rhodes and vocals to his work on tenor and flute – bringing in the same sort of spacey soul vibe you'd find on work from the time by Oneness Of Juju! The overall sound is still quite soulful – a great extension of the early Tribe spirit from Detroit – and some cuts feature a bit more acoustic piano and sweet earthy percussion. Other cuts have more of a soulful bounce – thanks to vocals from Miche Braden and Kathy Simmons – and titles include "The Wok", "Ginseng Love", "Love Juice", "A Green Meadow" and "Peace of Mind". CD

One of the few American releases by this legendary Japanese fusion artist – and a pretty funky little record as well! Ryo Kawasaki plays lead guitar and the very cool "string synthesizer" on the set – making for a sweet mix of electric grooves that has some really great spacey touches! Tracks have a core funky base at the bottom – grooving in a mode that's tight, but never too slick – and which allows just the right amount of space to make the album work in equal parts electric jazz and funky fusion. The whole thing's great, and tracks include the great sample cut "Bamboo Child", the nice break cut "Raisins", plus other nice groovers like "East Side Boogie", and "El Toro". CD

One of the few American releases by this legendary Japanese fusion artist – and a pretty funky little record as well! Ryo Kawasaki plays lead guitar and the very cool "string synthesizer" on the set – making for a sweet mix of electric grooves that has some really great spacey touches! Tracks have a core funky base at the bottom – grooving in a mode that's tight, but never too slick – and which allows just the right amount of space to make the album work in equal parts electric jazz and funky fusion. The whole thing's great, and tracks include the great sample cut "Bamboo Child", the nice break cut "Raisins", plus other nice groovers like "East Side Boogie", and "El Toro". LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy funk from Jimmy McGriff – a monster set of grooves that ranks with his best of the late 60s! The tracks are short and sock-hard – Jimmy wailing on Hammond, over rhythms that have plenty of sharp edges, and lots of nice drum work – all recorded in a mode that's a heck of a lot rawer than some of his other records! The album brings together all the rough power of Jimmy's years at Sue Records with the funkier grooves of his 70s work – and features a killer combo that includes tenor from Fats Theus, alto from Danny Turner, trumpet from Blue Mitchell, guitar from Thornel Schwartz, and drums from both Mel Lewis and Grady Tate. Titles include "The Worm", "Blue Juice", "Lock It Up", "Think", "Heavyweight", and "Girl Talk". LP, Vinyl record album

Groovy stuff! We'd never say a bad word about Buddy (or else he'd sock us one!), but this album is particularly nice – as it features Rich's swinging late 60s group doing some pop/jazz covers of groovy 60s tunes, plus some very tasty originals! All tracks are pretty short, and the band plays with a tight fire that reminds us of some of the best moments on the Blue Juice compilations. Includes covers of "Hello, I Love You", "Soul Kitchen", "Comin Home Baby", and "Love And Peace" – plus tasty originals like "Wonderbag", and "Soul Lady". CD

Groovy stuff! We'd normally never say a bad word about Buddy (or else he'd sock us one!), but this album is particularly nice – as it features Rich's swinging late 60s group doing some pop/jazz covers of groovy 60s tunes, plus some very tasty originals! All tracks are pretty short, and the band plays with a tight fire that reminds us of some of the best moments on the Blue Juice compilations. Includes covers of "Hello, I Love You", "Soul Kitchen", "Comin Home Baby", and "Love And Peace" – plus tasty originals like "Wonderbag", and "Soul Lady". LP, Vinyl record album

The quintessential sound of late 60s Horace Silver – on one hand still very much in the Blue Note soul jazz groove that earned him plenty of jukebox single play, but on the other hand really stretching out with a style that's a bit more righteous than before! Horace shows that he can still pen a hit when he wants – and gave the world the tune "Psychedelic Sally" with this set – but he also displays a penchant for more complicated rhythms and freer horn expressions on beautiful tunes like "Kindred Spirits", "Rain Dance", and "Jungle Juice". The group's filled with great players – from tenor work by Stanley Turrentine and Bennie Maupin, trumpet by Charles Tolliver, and drums by a young Billy Cobham! CD

The quintessential sound of late 60s Horace Silver – on one hand still very much in the Blue Note soul jazz groove that earned him plenty of jukebox single play, but on the other hand really stretching out with a style that's a bit more righteous than before! Horace shows that he can still pen a hit when he wants – and gave the world the tune "Psychedelic Sally" with this set – but he also displays a penchant for more complicated rhythms and freer horn expressions on beautiful tunes like "Kindred Spirits", "Rain Dance", and "Jungle Juice". The group's filled with great players – from tenor work by Stanley Turrentine and Bennie Maupin, trumpet by Charles Tolliver, and drums by a young Billy Cobham! CD