One of the deepest-digging entries in this wonderful series – a set that explores the wealth of spiritual jazz issued on small indie labels in the 70s – material that's sometimes referred to as "private", although that's really just a factor of how little circulation these records saw back in the day! As is well-known, the 60s influence of John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy set countless fires on players in the generation that followed – including some older musicians who really changed up their groove in the post-Coltrane energy, and recorded material that was full of searing solos, modal rhythms, and a new sort of spiritual vibe! The set features plenty of nuggets from that time – including some very rare 45s – and even includes one or two earlier tracks, which makes for a great span of sounds within. As always with Jazzman, the detailed notes are as great as the track selection – and titles include "By The Grace Of God" by Erni Clark, "Ethiopia" by Carmelo Garcia, "Desiree Song" by Bobby Jackson, "Pharoah's Thing" by Compass, "Symbiosis" by Almanac, "A'Keem" by Cullen Knight, "Themes & Variations" by Black Is, "Middle Eastern Fantasy" by Radam Schwartz & Leslie Ford, "Spanish Boots (parts 1 & 2)" by Don Menza, and "Delilah" by Andrew McPherson. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) CD

One of the deepest-digging entries in this wonderful series – a set that explores the wealth of spiritual jazz issued on small indie labels in the 70s – material that's sometimes referred to as "private", although that's really just a factor of how little circulation these records saw back in the day! As is well-known, the 60s influence of John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy set countless fires on players in the generation that followed – including some older musicians who really changed up their groove in the post-Coltrane energy, and recorded material that was full of searing solos, modal rhythms, and a new sort of spiritual vibe! The set features plenty of nuggets from that time – including some very rare 45s – and even includes one or two earlier tracks, which makes for a great span of sounds within. As always with Jazzman, the detailed notes are as great as the track selection – and titles include "By The Grace Of God" by Erni Clark, "Ethiopia" by Carmelo Garcia, "Desiree Song" by Bobby Jackson, "Pharoah's Thing" by Compass, "Symbiosis" by Almanac, "A'Keem" by Cullen Knight, "Themes & Variations" by Black Is, "Middle Eastern Fantasy" by Radam Schwartz & Leslie Ford, "Spanish Boots (parts 1 & 2)" by Don Menza, and "Delilah" by Andrew McPherson. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A surprisingly great album – even if it's short on information! There's no real dates on this one, so we have to assume that it's of the vintage of the album's release date – somewhere in the early 60s – making the album pretty late for Benny, but also pretty great as well! The sessions have a pretty unique feel – with Benny's alto in front of gentle small group backings that have a bit of a sweet feel – and some occasional vocal chorus bits that slide in and out very gracefully. Carter's tone is tremendous, and the sound of the record is really incredible – hard to describe, but much more than you'd expect from the title, label, and the date! Titles include "Waltz Gay", "Bagatelle", "Blues For Benny", "Black Knight", and "Cuando Caliente El Sol". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic look at the righteous current of energy that swept through American music at the end of the 60s – that huge wave of knowledge and political inspiration that still stands as one of our favorite moments in jazz and soul! The Civil Rights generation had gotten some things accomplished, but not everything – and a new wave of action arose in various scenes of the underground – not just pushing the musical formats past anything that had happened before, but also doing so with a strong message of pride and empowerment! This collection surveys some of the best tracks of that moment – and also provides a great batch of historical notes to put the whole thing in context – done in collaboration with the book of the same name, but equally great as a soundtrack and document on its own. The package is overflowing with Dusty Groove classics – and titles include "Sweet Songs" by Sarah Webster Fabio, "Surtal Ihklas" by Doug Carn, "Vibes From The Tribe" by Phil Ranelin, "Desert Fairy Princess" by Horace Tapscott & The Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, "Sounds From The Bush" by The Mandingo Griot Society with Don Cherry, "Is It Too Late" by Duke Edwards & The Young Ones, "Strong Men" by David McKnight, "Black Narcissus" by Joe Henderson, "Malcolm X" by Phil Cohran & The Artistic Heritage Ensemble, "Mother Of The Future" by Carlos Garnett, "Red Black & Green" by Roy Ayers, "African Rhythms" by Oneness Of Juju, and "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" by Gil Scott-Heron. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) CD

Fantastic sounds throughout – and maybe the best album ever by this legendary 70s guitar player! O'Donel Levy's got this tremendous sound that comes from playing an electric hollow body – in a tone that takes the best bits of Grant Green and Wes Montgomery, and strips them down for a hipper, badder 70s sort of mode. The album's got some great blackploitation-esque arrangements by Manny Albam, and O'Donel's groove is nice and lean as he snakes over the top of the record in some very soulful solos! Lots of cool grooves, and titles include "Joni", "Nigerian Knights", "Bad, Bad, Simba" and "Sad, Sad, Simba". CD

Fantastic sounds throughout – and maybe the best album ever by this legendary 70s guitar player! O'Donel Levy's got this tremendous sound that comes from playing an electric hollow body – in a tone that takes the best bits of Grant Green and Wes Montgomery, and strips them down for a hipper, badder 70s sort of mode. The album's got some great blackploitation-esque arrangements by Manny Albam, and O'Donel's groove is nice and lean as he snakes over the top of the record in some very soulful solos! Lots of cool grooves, and titles include "Joni", "Nigerian Knights", "Bad, Bad, Simba" and "Sad, Sad, Simba". CD

Fantastic sounds throughout – and maybe the best album ever by this legendary 70s guitar player! O'Donel Levy's got this tremendous sound that comes from playing an electric hollow body – in a tone that takes the best bits of Grant Green and Wes Montgomery, and strips them down for a hipper, badder 70s sort of mode. The album's got some great blackploitation-esque arrangements by Manny Albam, and O'Donel's groove is nice and lean as he snakes over the top of the record in some very soulful solos! Lots of cool grooves, and titles include "Joni", "Nigerian Knights", "Bad, Bad, Simba" and "Sad, Sad, Simba". LP, Vinyl record album

Early recordings by Dollar Brand – recorded in London in 1965, playing solo on a batch of tunes dedicated to two big influences – Duke Ellington and Randy Weston – and also featuring a number of his own compositions. Titles include "Pye R Squared", "Knights Night", "Mood Indigo", "On The Banks Of Allen Waters", "Little Niles", and "Resolution". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet electric funk from trumpeter Donald Byrd – one of his first forays into an electric mode, and done in a style that's very different than his better-known soul fusion of the mid 70s! Before Byrd hooked up with Larry Mizell and started recording his smooth fusion grooves on records like Blackbyrd and Street Lady – he recorded this gem, kind of a "lost" album that has Donald working in an open-ended electric sound – one that's clearly inspired by the experiments of Miles Davis, but which has a generally funkier feel overall! The tracks are very long – with lots of spiraling keyboard and trumpet solos – and the hip players on the set include Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, David T Walker on guitar, Harold Land on tenor, and Joe Sample on organ – a very cool combo that's got a cross between The Crusaders and the Hutcherson/Land quintet! We love the tracks on this set – especially "The Emperor" and "The Little Rasti", which are both over 15 minutes long, and have a haunting spacey sound that's a departure from Donald's usual work! LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet electric funk from trumpeter Donald Byrd – one of his first forays into an electric mode, and done in a style that's very different than his better-known soul fusion of the mid 70s! Before Byrd hooked up with Larry Mizell and started recording his smooth fusion grooves on records like Blackbyrd and Street Lady – he recorded this gem, kind of a "lost" album that has Donald working in an open-ended electric sound – one that's clearly inspired by the experiments of Miles Davis, but which has a generally funkier feel overall! The tracks are very long – with lots of spiraling keyboard and trumpet solos – and the hip players on the set include Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, David T Walker on guitar, Harold Land on tenor, and Joe Sample on organ – a very cool combo that's got a cross between The Crusaders and the Hutcherson/Land quintet! We love the tracks on this set – especially "The Emperor" and "The Little Rasti", which are both over 15 minutes long, and have a haunting spacey sound that's a departure from Donald's usual work! CD