A mighty great little record – a mixture of jazz and soul from the heavy talents of Hilton Felton – and a record that not only features some of his own great work on organ and keyboards, but some great contributions from other members of the DC scene of the 70s! In addition to help from The Blackbyrds in the core combo, and guest tenor from Andrew White, the set also features vocals from a young Angela Winbush on one track – singing backup on some others! But the core charm of the record comes from the grooves – the kind of upbeat, righteous sounds that we've always loved in Felton's keyboards – almost an extension of the Prestige Records jazz funk groove from the start of the 70s, with echoes of records by Funk Inc, Melvin Sparks, and Leon Spencer – but given a particularly hip east coast indie sort of spin! Titles include "Family & Friends", "Spreading Fever", "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Family Reunion", "Clay's Way", and "The Power Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most righteous albums ever from jazz vibes legend Johnny Lytle – a soaring, spacious set that's almost to Lytle's career what Gears was to Johnny Hammond's! Of course, Lytle's groove here is different – no Mizell production, and a mellower feel overall – but the unbridled space of 70s Milestone is definitely a key influence here – and Johnny stretches out here like never before! The players are all pretty hip – and include Daahoud Hadi (aka Butch Cornell) on electric piano and organ, Marvin Cabell on flute and tenor, Bob Cranshaw on bass, Betty Glamann on harp, and Jozell Carter on drums – all perfect mates here for Johnny's spiritual exploration of sound with his vibes – in ways that are almost more amazing than work from Bobby Hutcherson or Roy Ayers at the time! Titles include an amazing original called "Libra", plus "Tawhid", "Where Is The Love", "Family", and a version of "People Make the World Go Round". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite albums of all time – and a record that just gets better and better the more we listen to it – and we've listened to it for years! Johnny "Hammond" Smith began his career as a simple soul jazz organist – but by the time of this album, he'd teamed up with the mighty Larry Mizell, the genius arranger/producer who'd breathed new life into the careers of Donald Byrd and Bobbi Humphrey. Mizell works with Hammond in the same way he does with other jazz artists – by taking a groove that works best with their solo style, and slowly layering other instrumentation and effects on top of it, so that when the solo kicks in, it's supported on waves and waves of funky sounds and soulful grooves. Mizell and his brother Fonce both play keyboards on the record, and the rest of the group includes monster fusion players like Harvey Mason, Roger Glenn, Hadley Caliman, and Jerry Peters. The real treat is Johnny, though – as his solos are heavenly, the best of his 70s work, stripped mean and lean, laid in at just the right points. Includes the breakbeat classic "Shifting Gears", the house classic "Los Conquistadores Chocolates", and funky numbers "Fantasy" and "Tell Me What To Do". This stunning version adds in some killer bonus tracks – 6 never-heard cuts from the Milestone vaults, including "Song For My Family", "Funky Native", "Detroit Rainbow", "Can't We Smile (alt)", and slow and fast versions of "A Child's Love". LP, Vinyl record album