One of their early classics, and still one of the greatest groups with roots in the Chicago AACM scene! The lineup is wonderful – drums and percussion from the late Steve McCall, bass from Fred Hopkins, and alto, tenor, and flute from the always-amazing Henry Threadgill! The group do a wonderful job reworking older themes from Jelly Roll Morton and Scott Joplin – plus Threadgill's own "Paille Street" – a really amazing mix of eras and styles on one record. CD

A seminal early moment from the legendary Albert Ayler – an important session recorded overseas in Copenhagen – where enthusiasm for Ayler's music caught fire more strongly than in the US! The group's got an edge that's maybe even sharper than some of Ayler's ESP material, but no less powerful – with Don Cherry on cornet, Gary Peacock on bass, and Sunny Murray on drums – working through tremendous readings of six Ayler classics that include "Ghosts", "Children", "Holy Spirit", "Vibrations" and "Mothers". A wonderful precursor to the ESP years – and equally great! CD

Classic early material by Albert Ayler, recorded in New York in 1964, but originally issued only in Europe! The session features Ayler with the obscure trumpeter Norman Howard, plus Henry Grimes on bass and Sonny Murray on drums – and has all the crackle and imagination of Ayler's ESP recordings. In fact, the album stands as a key record that's as essential as Spiritual Unity or Spirits Rejoice – and has a very similar feel to both of those sets. Titles include "Spirits", "Witches & Devils", "Holy, Holy", and "Saints". CD

Sweet jazzy soul from Gary Bartz – proof that he always sounds great, no matter what the setting! Production is by the team of Mtume and Reggie Lucas – in a style that has all the jazzy sophistication of their own work – a nice extension of Gary's work at Capitol with Larry Mizell, and in a slightly similar mode overall – but also a bit more soul-based at times, with a great midtempo groove in some of the best moments! Some tracks have vocals, buried somewhat in the mix, but sliding out soulfully next to Gary's alto – and titles include "One Eyed Jack", "After The Love Has Gone", "Need Your Love", "Music", "After Glow", and "Keep Goin' On". CD

One of Braxton's first recordings of his work for larger ensembles, and a masterpiece that gives a good example of the kind of early ideas that have informed some of his recent work in the same style. The orchestras vary from track to track, but they all include excellent players like Roscoe Mitchell, George Lewis, Seldon Powell, and Cecil Bridgewater – players who are more than capable of meeting the demands of Braxton's writing, and who can bring a lot of their own to the session. Great stuff, and with a good set of notes. CD

The start of a legendary run from superjazz brothers Randy and Michael Brecker – trumpeter and tenorist, respectively – already players who'd worked on a hell of a lot of previous sessions, both as a pair and on their own – finally stepping here into some well-deserved fame in the spotlight! The duo have a great lineup here – equally well-skilled contemporaries who include Don Grolnick on keyboards, David Sanborn on alto, Harvey Mason on drums, and Will Lee on bass – all working in a mode that's soulful fusion throughout, with just a bit of vocals at a few points, but mostly instrumental overall. The whole thing's got an approach that's smooth and tight, but never in a slick way – a groove that still sits wonderfully well after all these years! Titles include "Sneakin Up Behind You", "Rocks", "Levitate", "Some Skunk Funk", "Sponge", "A Creature Of Many Faces", and "DBB". CD

Tracks include "Sneakin' Up Behind You", "Some Skunk Funk", "Tabula Rasa", "Baffled", "Jacknife", and "Funky Sea, Funky Dew". CD

Solo recording by Coryell, with titles including "Discotexas", "Ravel", "Piano Improvisation", "Sweet Shuffle", and "Moon". CD

Tracks include "Jazzid", "Get The Funk", "Mr. Lee", "There Goes The Neighbourhood", and "Heavenly City". CD

With Alan Glass, Corrado Rustici, and John Raymond on guitar; Joe Plass and Randy Jackson on bass, Gigi Conaway and Kenny McDougald on drums, and Tony Gable on percussion. CD

A landmark bit of jazz funk – from one of the greatest backup groups of the 70s! Herbie Hancock first brought The Headhunters to light – working with the San Francisco-based combo that included Bennie Maupin, Mike Clark, Paul Jackson, and Bill Summers – using their sound to give his work the right dose of funk it needed to reach new audiences during the decade. This album's the first to feature the group on their own, without Herbie – and if we don't mind saying so, they sound even better without him! The whole thing's a wonderful mix of jazz funk grooves and very unusual rhythms – and the record contains the monster full length version of "God Make Me Funky", which is 9 minutes and 35 seconds of non stop funk, plus the cuts "If You've Got It, You'll Get It", "Magic", and "Here & Now". (Soul, Jazz) CD

Two sweet sets from Hiroshima – back to back on a single CD! First up is the self-titled first album from Hiroshima – a group who took the 70s experiments in Japanese fusion right into the American mainstream – with a wonderful blend of jazz and soul, and a production style that was never too polished or commercial! The group's led by reedman Dan Kuramota – who plays both sax and flutes, including a bit of Japanese wooden flute – which gives the record a few slight "Eastern" touches a times, although the overall vibe is strongly in the best soulful fusion of the period! In keeping with that approach, there's a bit of vocals on the record – sung in English with a soulful vibe – on titles that include "Lion Dance", "Da Da", "Taiko Song", "Holidays", "Never Ever", and "Kokoro". Odori is a wicked blend of jazz and soul from Hiroshima – a group who've got the smooth blend of styles we love in some of the import-only fusion dates that were coming from Japan in the late 70s! The group's got a few light touches that emphasize their Pacific roots – including light flute lines and touches of koto and shamisen, but often used in more subtle ways than on earlier Japanese albums that mixed these rootsy elements with jazz – and the overall vibe here is one that's got plenty of appeal to fans of crossover fusion from the time, especially the kind with a strong current of soul! There's a bit of vocals on the record, too – and titles include "Winds Of Change", "Odori", "Echoes", "Cruisin J-Town", "Fortune Teller", and "Shinto". CD

Reedman Oliver Lake at his most creative – stepping out here on a sublime set of 70s improvisations – all put together with a really spiritual feel! There's a very open, collaborative feel to the music – and the set was recorded in St Louis, at a time when Lake was a key part of that city's scene – and who here also seems able to attract some other musicians from the AACM in Chicago as well! As a result, the album's a wonderful document of the new ideas bursting forth at the start of the 70s – that richly creative moment when local scenes were coming together in various cities to find new ways of jazz beyond Coltrane and Dolphy – giving a player like Lake some of the most imaginative outlets of his career. Oliver plays alto, soprano, flute, and other small instruments – and other players include Baikida Carroll and Floyd Leflore on trumpets, Joseph Bowie on trombone, John Hicks on piano, Clovis Bordeaux on electric piano, Don Officer on bass, Charles Bobo Shaw on drums, and Don Moye on congas too. Titles include "Africa", "Tse Lane", "Eriee", "Zip", and "Electric Freedom". CD

A soaring, spacey set from the mighty David Sancious – one of his 70s albums that's almost a genre unto itself, given the many different elements that David mixes into the music – touches of jazz, fusion, funk, and soul – but also delivered with the proficiency you might find in a record by a prog player too! No surprise, Sancious has backgrounds in all of those scenes, and wraps that experience together wonderfully here – playing keyboards, guitar, and handling lead vocals – with some added vocal support by female singers who emphasize some of the more soulful aspects of the music when the other musicians step out to solo and jam! Titles include "Dance Of The Glory & Playfulness", "The Dawn", "Dance Of Serenity & Strength", "Gone Is The Veil Of Illusion", "Dance Of Gratitude & Devotion", and "Dance Of Purification". CD

Great live material from Shepp – not out or crazy, but also not spiritual or hippy dippy, either. The record's kind of a perfectly soulful straight ahead set – in a mode that hints at the traditional direction Shepp would take at the time, but with a lot more interesting moments. The group's a quartet with Charles Greenlee on trombone, Dave Burrell on piano, Cameron Brown on bass, and Beaver Harris on drums – and the tracks feature Shepp soloing with a lot of soul, and criss crossing styles from track to track. "U-jamaa" is a strong straight number – and the 3 other titles are "Lush Life", "Crucificado" and "Miss Toni". CD

Excellent Revenant reissue that brings together the full set from Cecil's 1962 performance at Cafe Monmartre. He's playing here in a trio that has Jimmy Lyons on alto and Sonny Murray on drums, and the music's a key link between his later seventies stuff, and his earlier work that you can find on OJC reissues. The set has 2 takes of "Lena", plus "Trance", "What's New?", "Nefertiti, The Beautiful One Has Come", and "D Trad, That's What". CD

Quite possibly the greatest Larry Young album of the post-Blue Note years – and a massive bit of funk that totally redefines his sound! Larry's working here with his hip group Fuel – an ensemble that features Laura Logan on lead vocals, giving the tunes a real focus through her lyrics – and letting them pack a bit more punch too, since her voice sounds a lot like Betty Davis at the time! Larry's keyboards are forceful, but never too over the top – and he's notched things down a bit to focus on the overall groove of the set – still keeping things adventurous on the keys, but also working in a mode that's much more heavily jazz funk! The album's one of THE essential electric jazz sets of the 70s – and features the classic break cut "Turn Out the Lights" – plus other great tracks that include "Floating", "Fuel for the Fire", "I Ching", "H+J=B (Hustle + Jam = Bread)" and "New York Electric Street Music". CD

New music from the legendary Headhunters – that crucial 70s funk combo who grew out of their role working with Herbie Hancock to become one of our favorite groups of that decade! Years later, they still sound pretty darn wonderful too – altered a bit in terms of the lineup, and slightly shifted in sound – but in the best way possible, so that they're not just rehashing the old days, and are instead exploring new territory – maybe even jazzier than on their famous albums for Arista from back in the day, and arguably even better here on the Ropeadope label than some of their other records in recent years. The drums of Mike Clark are rock-solid throughout, and augmented by the percussion of Bill Summers, who also plays a bit of keyboards – as does Stephen Gordon, who handles Fender Rhodes and piano – while Donald Harrison serves up all sorts of great alto solos throughout! Titles include "Kongo Square", "Actual Proof", "Stop Watch", "HH 75", "Vaspurakan", and "Over The Bar". (Soul, Jazz) CD

A set that's especially sexy, and especially jazzy too – as Jun Miyake works here with a whole host of American fusion players – a really great lineup who make the record soar! Jun's definitely in the more fusion-oriented side of his music here – blowing trumpet and flugelhorn, and handling keyboards too – with a shifting array of great sidemen who include Michael Brecker on tenor, David Sanborn on alto, Victor Bailey on bass, and Poogie Bell on drums – plus some especially nice work from guitarist Bobby Broom, who's very much in the mode of his best Arista records, and even sings a bit on one cut too! Titles include "JFK Express", "Becoming To You", "Wish", "June Night Love", "Twist To Open", "Crossing", and "Sea Born Mind". (Japanese, Jazz) CD

Maybe not the funk of ages, but a mighty nice solo set from Bernie Worrell – done at a key stretch when he was working away from George Clinton and the P-Funk universe! The set's got Bernie opening up in a blend of jazz and funk – and some tracks feature lead vocals, in a style that takes off from his earlier solo album on Arista, but tuned here with a bit more of that electro vibe that the Gramavision album was doing so well at the time! Bernie handles much of the music himself, but there's plenty of key guests on the record too – rhythms from Sly & Robbie, more keyboards from Herbie Hancock, guitar from Keith Richards and Vernon Reid, and seven some backing vocals from David Byrne and other old associates from the P-Funk years. Titles include "Straight Ahead", "Sing", "Don't Piss Me Off", "Ain't She Sweet", "V Spy", "BW Jam", "Volunteered Slavery/Bern's Blues/Outerspaceways", and "Beware Of Dog". (Soul, Jazz) CD

Incredible stuff from the jazz underground of Newark! This is one of the rarest albums ever recorded by jazz organist Larry Young – cut for the tiny Perception label during the early 70s, and featuring some of the cream of the New Jersey jazz underground. The album's got playing that bridges a number of Young's different styles – from his straighter soul jazz work at Blue Note, to his harder jamming with Santana and John McLaughlin, to his more fusion oriented albums for Arista. James Blood Ulmer's on guitar, but there's also a large ensemble of excellent players, and lots of other percussion and cool instrumentation that really gives the album an "out there" sound! Titles include "Sunshine Fly Away", "Saudia", "Hello Your Quietness", and "Khalid Of Space". CD