One of the best-ever albums from Italian drummer Tullio De Piscopo – a very spiritual set that draws a heck of a lot from work on the session by tenorist Larry Nocella – who's tremendous throughout, and may well deliver one of his best performances on record! Tullio is nice and loose, and very open – different than on some other records, and really moving in sympathy with the bass of Lucio Terzano and piano of Luigi Benefede, in lines that are warm, lyrical, and often modal – a quality that's augmented by the guitar work of Giorgio Cocilovo, and which really seems to have Nocella finding a whole new range in his music! Luis Agudo is a special guest on the set, adding lots of additional percussion to the proceedings – and titles include "Barbara", "La Mia Natura", "Scetete/Garrison My Dear", "Say It", and "For Larry". CD

An amazing record from Chicago musician/artist Damon Locks – maybe the album he's been waiting his entire life to make – and the first to really bring together the mighty sum of his many talents! The material was recorded live in performance at Chicago's Garfield Park Conservatory – at an event that also included a group of singers and dancers to augment the musical performance – in a setting that gives Damon's majestic vision the proper setting it really deserves! Locks himself moves between electronics and vocal performances – in a core instrumental group that's heavy on drums and percussion from Dana Hall, clarinets from Angel Bat Dawid, and more percussion from Arif Smith – making music that's even more beautiful when the singers come into the mix, and take the energy to the sky with a very cosmic, righteous vibe. Locks has given us a glimpse of his vision in artwork, music, and writings over the years – but this time around, it feels like we're seeing the full scope at once – with more power and meaning than ever before. Titles include "Solar Power", "Rebuild A Nation", "Which I Believe It Will", "The Colors That You Bring", "The Future", "From A Spark To A Fire", "Black Monument Theme", and "Sounds Like Now". CD

Damon Locks and Rob Mazurek are no musical strangers to each other – their paths have crossed often on the Chicago and global scenes over many years of creative activity. Yet this project is also the first they've co-led, and it's an incredible document of how much both artists have grown in recent years – especially when they let their talents flow together on a project like this! At some level, the core of the work is the voice that both artists have discovered – Locks, his own more focused message and ability to find other voices to sample in with his own – Mazurek, a way of using his own voice more directly, in addition to his well-known work on trumpets and electronics. Both Rob and Damon are in the forefront here, criss-crossing electric and acoustic elements with voices live and sampled – mixed with guest voices from others, in a swirlingly creative project that not only lives up to the current legacy of International Anthem and the Chicago scene, but also advances it a few notches too. Titles include "Breeze Of Time", "New Future", "Yes", "The Sun Returns", "Future City", "Las Ninas Estan Escuchando", "Support The Youth", "10 Mins Past The Hour", and "Polaris Radio". CD

You might not initially recognize the name of Trevor Tomkins, until you realize he was the drummer in the great Don Rendell/Ian Carr group of the late 60s – continuing his great run of modern jazz expressions here, in a set of never-issued work! The material here dates from years after the breakup of the Rendell/Carr combo, but it's clear that Trevor really drunk in deep from that moment in jazz – and continues the spirit of open flow and creative rhythms in his own music – working here with a great lineup of players that includes Chris Pyne on trombone, Jimmy Hastings and Brian Smith on soprano and tenor saxes, Phil Lee on guitar, John Horler on piano and electric piano, and Paul Bridge on drums. The double-length package features work recorded over the space of a few years, but has a very unified feel – and the material is mostly all original, with a number of especially wonderful tracks penned by Lee. Titles include "Your Eyes Are Love", "The Right Moment", "Chapter One", "Celeste", "Summer Night", "Three Four Peace", "Evansong", "Your Dancing Toes", "Early Spring", and "For Future Reference". CD

A brilliant and beautiful album from Damon Locks – even more powerful than his Where Future Unfolds album, and that's saying a heck of a lot! The record proclaims part of its mission in its title – and is maybe the first set we've heard to point the way forward creatively after the dark days of 2020 – reclaiming the future for the present, as Locks works with a stunning array of Chicago-based talent – including Angel Bat Dawid on clarinet, Ben LaMar Gay on cornet and melodica, Dana Hall on drums, and Arif Smith on percussion! There's no other instruments in the core of the combo – but Locks adds in plenty of electronics and sound samples, including both musical moments and all these many found voices which are woven through the record alongside vocals by a sextet of singers – a chorus who rise up and give the whole thing a heavenly vibe that's completely mindblowing! While so many others are doing a decent job of reworking a 70s jazz spirit, Damon's giving us the future to come – the kind of visionary work we always knew he was capable of, but which is now finally getting the chance to exist on record. Titles include "The People Vs The Rest Of Us", "Keep Your Mind Free", "Movement & You", "Now", and "The Body Is Electric". CD

Wicked funk from Japanese keyboardist Norio Maeda – also a hell of an arranger, too – as you'll hear on this superb set from the start of the 70s! The record's one of those key albums that took a 60s groovy Japanese sound much further into the future – giving the whole thing a sharper edge, with heavier drums – and using trippy guitar, weird flute lines, and keyboards to give the whole thing a vibe that's almost more blacksploitation or kung fu soundtrack than most of what Maeda had done before! Tracks are all pretty lively, and work together as a sweet set of grooves – almost with a funky Lalo Schifrin sort of vibe – and all the notes and titles are in Japanese, or else we'd have even more information to convey. CD

A fantastic lost legacy in European free improvisation – the complete works of a group who were first known as Modern Jazz Quintet Karlsruhe, then later as Fourmenonly – presented here in a beautiful 3CD set! First up is the album Trees – issued on a small label in 1968, but a set that matches the groundbreaking energy of the early work on FMP – played by a group that features Helmuth Zimmer on piano, Wilfreid Eichorn on tenor and soprano sax, Claus Buhler on bass, Rudi Thielmann on drums, and Herbert Joos on flugelhorn, Mellophon, piston, and percussion! The group have a melodic vibe at the core – often feeling out the initial space as a unit, then exploding with sound and color – and really making especially great work of the talents of Joos and Eichorn – players who work together with great power, driven on by the others. Titles include "Lonely Time", "Trees", "Schnee Verbrennt", "Change Of Beauty", and "The Devil Is Green Blue Yellow". CD also features a bonus unreleased improvisation too! Next is Position 2000 – a record of even longer improvisations, and one that shows the quintet really developing their sound – strongly aware of the farther reaches, but always beginning in some more colorful passages that almost have a melody, before exploding out with very vibrant energy! The lineup is the same as on the debut – with Herbert Joos on flugelhorn, mellophone, Indian flute, and percussion – and Wilfried Eichorn on tenor, soprano sax, bass clarinet, flute, and percussion – alongside Helmuth Zimmer on piano, Klaus Buhler on bass, and Rudi Thielmann on drums. Titles include "The Sun Is Coming Over", "Position 2000", and "Where Love Forever Shines". CD also features an unreleased improvisation. For the next album, bassist Buhler has departed the group – who are renamed Fourmenonly! Their first record is a brilliant set of free jazz from the German scene of the 70s – very different than other work of the time, in that there's maybe more of a future-thinking balance between sounds and silence, frenzy and fragility – all served up by a quartet that features Herbert Joos on trumpet and flugelhorn, Wilfried Eichhorn on tenor and soprano sax, Helmuth Zimmer on piano and percussion, and Rudi Theilmann on drums and percussion. Titles include "Viridiana/Ich Und Meine Bruder/Compulsion" and "Count Down/Excess". On the album Eight Science Fiction Stories, the Fourmenonly lineup is expanded by trombonist Wolfgang Czelusta – and perform some fantastic work billed as "science fiction stories", all composed by Herbert Joos. The sound is as revolutionary as on the group's earliest material, but also maybe more compact as well – nicely focused, with especially strong emphasis on the interplay between Czelusta on trombone, Wilifried Eichorn on bass clarinet, flute, and oboe, and Herbert Joos on flugelhorn, trumpet, and mellophone. The piano of Helmuth Zimmer is amazing – almost Cecil Taylor-like in intensity at times – and drummer Rudi Theilmann does a great job of moving from passages of full-on power to more spacious percussion. Titles include "Lucifer Is Marching On", "Dead Season", "The Beauty Without A Face", "Departure", "Plastic Happiness", and "Space Wall". CD

The second set from Resavoir – a project headed by Chicago producer/musician Will Miller, an artist who's had a lot of experience in the higher reaches of the hip hop scene – but who here gives himself over to much more personal, introspective modes! Yet the album's not a solo effort either, as Miller works with a host of other musicians in a groove that's fluid, often soulful, and yet very laidback – maybe an answer to some of the more meditative projects on the International Anthem label, as the work moves at the pace of some of those, but with more of an electric soul at the core. Titles include "Midday", "Sunset", "Future", "Blutopia", "Facets", "Heavenly", and "Inside Minds". CD

We've always loved the music of pianist Bernie Senesky – a Canadian musician with a richly lyrical, expressive style – one that doesn't always get the recognition it deserves on our side of the border! And we've also always loved the tenor of Eric Alexander – a player we've been following since his start, and who has had some amazing moments of growth in recent years – one of them on this record with Bernie, a player who seems to bring out all this warmer, more sensitive elements in Alexander's horn – as the two of them work together in a very unexpected pairing, but one that we'd love to hear more of on future recordings! Other players on the date include Kieren Overs on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums on most tracks, save for two, which feature Morgan Childs on drums and Dave Young on bass. Titles include the originals "Blues For EJ", Alexander's Realtime Band", "Stand Pat", and "Make Believe" – plus a nice take on "Matchmaker". CD

An excellent double-length set from Horace Tapscott's Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra – an extremely righteous ensemble that was one of the hippest things going on the LA jazz scene of the 70s! The vibe is free and spiritual, but it also has a wonderful groove pulsating underneath many of the tracks – that heir to the Impulse Records style that Tapscott and other Nimbus Records artists carried on well into the early 80s. The group here features some of Tapscott's Nimbus labelmates – including Sabir Matteen and Billy Harris on tenor saxes, Linda Hill on piano, Adele Sebastian on flute, Roberto Miranda on bass, and Jesse Sharps on soprano sax – and in a way, the album's almost a live summation of all the mighty talents brewing on the Nimbus label at the time! Tracks are all quite long, and titles include a great version of Sebastian's "Desert Fairy Princess", plus "Macrame", "Future Sally's Time", "Noissessprahs", "Village Dance", "LTT", and "Lift Every Voice". CD

Beautifully spiritual jazz from the post-Coltrane generation – a wealth of righteous grooves from the early 70s – brought together in one mighty collection! If you dig the work of Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane, and other giants on Impulse Records, this is a great way to dig even deeper – and hear the way their late 60s legacy inspired other musicians to new heights in their own music – sounds that hit a new level of freedom in jazz, yet which are still filled with enough swing and soul to avoid some of the more avant modes of the free jazz scene! If that description sounds a bit obtuse, then just plug into the collection, and let the music do its thing – as it's got a very powerful vibe throughout – the kind of inspirational, socially conscious work that flourished best during the 70s – and which is finally getting its due all these many years later. The package is new territory for Ace/BGP, but they've done a great job as usual – picking key tracks from the era, and coming up with detailed notes on each of the long tracks. Titles include "Free Angela" by Bayete, "Bridge Into The New Age" by Azar Lawrence, "Tress Cun De O La" by Joe Henderson, "Ebony Queen" by McCoy Tyner, "Peace" by Idris Muhammad, "Mother Of The Future" by Norman Connors, "Brown Warm & Wintry" by Jack DeJohnette, "I've Known Rivers" by Gary Bartz, and "Fire" by Joe Henderson & Alice Coltrane. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) CD

An incredible trip through the 70s Japanese jazz scene – a second volume of J Jazz that's even bigger and better than the first – with unknown gems from private presses, indie labels, and rarities from the Japanese branches of the major labels, too! Compilers Tony Higgins & Mike Peden (who are both also responsible for the nicely done notes) follow through on all of the things we loved about the first J Jazz compilation, but improve on it by going bigger and digging deeper. The majority of the tracks were recorded from 1969 through the late 70s – with a few recorded in later years – and all have a wonderful way of being open to the stylistic inventions of the time without getting hung up on trends. So while there's some fusiony funk and electric piano, there's plenty of acoustic instrumentation and timelessly inventive material. BBE has outdone themselves on this excellent collection – and titles include "Dragon Dance" by Makoto Terashita & Harold Land, "Daguri" by Kohsuke Mine Quintet, "Distant Thunder" by Mabumi Yamguchi Quartet, "Animal Garden" by Miyasaka + 5, "Mother Of The Future" by Electro Keyboard Orchestra, "Serenade To A Dimly Lit Street" by Hiroshi Matsumoto/Hideo Ichikawa Quartet, "Teru-Teru Bozu" (Black Keys) by Teru Sakamoto Trio, "Little Giant" by Nobuo & Sharps & Flats, "Brown Trout" by Akira Miyazawa and more – plus the CD bonus track "Original Bill" by Koichi Matsukaze Trio. 15 tracks on 2CDs. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) CD

A massive assortment of tracks that go way past the familiar – not a collection of standard classics from Blue Note, Impulse, or Prestige – and instead a whole host of jazzy groovers that we'd never have discovered otherwise! This volume of the series does a great job mixing in contemporary cuts with rare nuggets from years past – in ways that never make you notice the passage of years, as almost all of this work is rooted in a solid blend of tight rhythms and inventive improvisation – heavy on acoustic instrumentation, but with occasional electric moments too! Imagine the kind of groove that Gilles Peterson used to turn us onto years back, when he was spinning rare jazz records, and you'll get the vibe here – served up on titles that include "Tape Your Beat" by Born 74 & Onj, "Still In Love" by GeeW, "46 To Somewhere" by The Sultan's Swing, "Unreachable Galaxy" by Stefano Di Santis, "Movin" by Charro Band De Emilio Guerro, "Caught In A Fever" by Moreen Meridian, "Mr Fool" by Alonson Gonzalez & Jazz Latino, "Cla Samba" by Juju, "I Face East" by Mary Greer Mudiku, "Mende" by Jacques Schwarz Bart, "Mother Of The Future" by Venus Dodson, "Wanting Touch (inst)" by Juju, "Mambo De Papi" by El Caballo Y Su Orquesta, "Ponteio" by Miho Nobuzane, "Samba De La Cruz" by Tres Men, and "I'll Bet You Thought I'd Never Find You" by Lifetime. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) CD

One of the hippest, most righteous albums ever cut by pianist Jessica Williams – a set where it feels like all of her ideas come together perfectly, and are carried forward by a wonderful lineup of players! The group is small, but there's a very large feel to the whole thing – such that there's moments when we have to remind ourselves that this is still a small combo, even if Williams' music make things feel larger and more ambitious – a lineup that includes the great Eddie Henderson on trumpet, plus Jim Grantham on tenor, Kim Stone on bass, Henry Robinette on guitar, and Dave Tucker on drums. Williams is superb throughout on piano – and titles include "To The Children Of The Future", "The Demise Of Armored Man", "Weapon Of Truth", "Up The Entropy Slope", and "Longing". Expanded version features lots of bonus tracks – including "Power Of Love", "Gratitude", "The Shroud", "All Strange", and "Orgone". CD

A trio of funky electric albums from Stanley Clarke's mid 80s R&B years – 1984's Time Exposure, ''85's Find Out and '86's Hideaway – in a 2CD set! Time Exposure has a lot of 80s electro funk in the mix, particularly Clarke's impeccable bass lines, which are heavy throughout. Titles include "Play The Bass '10", "Heaven Sent You", "Speedball", "Future Shock" and the great title track. Find Out follows somewhat similar territory, an 80s synth funky set with a few surprising twists – including an electro/funk/old school rap cover of "Born In The USA"! Other tracks include "Find Out", "The Sky's The Limit", "Stereotypica" and "Psychedelic". Hideaway makes a move towards more delicate synth soul for Clarke – who assembles an impressive guest list that includes Stanley Jordan, Herbie Hancock and Stewart Copeland. Titles include a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Overjoyed", plus "My Love, Her Inspiration", "Where Do We Go", "Old Friends" and "When It's Cold Outside". CD

A lost smoker from the legendary tenorist Hank Mobley – recorded relatively late in his career, at a time when his music on Blue Note was really taking some great new directions! The approach here is maybe a bit more straightforward than those records, but still completely amazing – as Mobley's soloing with all these unusual twists and turns, and phrasing that you never would have heard a few years before – all while working with a variety of Dutch backing combos on these live performances from the Netherlands in 1968! One group features Pim Jacobs on piano, Wim Overgaauw on guitar, Ruud Jacobs on bass, and future avant legend Han Bennink on drums – and another features the great Rob Agerbeek on piano, with Hans Van Rossem on bass and Cees See on drums. There's also two studio performances with the larger Hobby Orkest ensemble – quite an unusual setting for Hank, and a great one too – and titles include "Summertime", "Twenty Four & More", "Three Way Split", "Vierd Blues", "I Didn't Know What Time It Was", "Sonny's Tune", "Autumn Leaves", and "Blues By Five". CD

The earliest album ever to be issued under the Globe Unity label – a very early project headed up by the mighty pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach – and a record that's noteworthy for the first album to feature the work of Peter Brotzmann and Peter Kowald! Right from the start, the vibe is completely in line with the highest ideals of the improvising orchestra – Schlippenbach directing the group and playing piano – in a large lineup that also features Brotzmann on alto, Manfred Schoof on cornet, Gerd Dudek on tenor, Willem Breuker on baritone, Gunter Hampel on bass clarinet, Karl Berger on vibes, and Peter Kowald and Buschi Niebergall on basses, one in each channel! And alongside these free jazz heavyweights, the album also sports the amazing rhythm duo of future prog rock giants Jaki Liebezeit and Mani Neumeier – both working here at a level that matches the free improvisations of the others – on two side-long tracks, titled "Globe Unity" and "Sun". CD

Sun Ra's first album as a leader – originally issued on the Transition label, but presented here in its better-known incarnation by Delmark Records! Even at this early point, Ra had a sound unlike any of his contemporaries – large group and modern, but not in a way that showed any similarities to work going on in New York or LA – a voice that was all his own, and already quite boldly stated, even in these early years! The format might be somewhat familiar – an ensemble with horns and rhythm – but the overall execution really starts to open up as the album moves on – with odd phrasings, timings, and unusual moments that live up to all the promise you might expect from Ra. Even Mingus and some of his better-known contemporaries weren't heading in these directions in the mid 50s – and the record is a proud showcase of the freedoms that players were often accorded in the less-trafficked Chicago scene of the time. Horns include Art Hoyle & Dave Young on trumpets, John Gilmore on tenor sax, Pat Patrick on baritone, Julian Priester on trombone, and James Scales on alto sax – and rhythm includes Jim Herndon on tympani, Robert Barry on drums, Wilbur Green on electric bass, and a young Richard Evans on acoustic bass! Titles include "Brainville", "Call For All Demons", "Transition", "Lullaby For Realville", "Street Named Hell", "New Horizons", "Fall Off The Long", "Possession", and "Future". This CD reissue is really well-done too – with pages of writings by Ra, including some poetry! Also features the bonus track "Swing A Little Taste". CD

An overdue reunion for Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll (now billed as Tippetts) – and a late 70s session that sounds quite a bit different than their mod soul of the 60s! The format here is still somewhat in a soul-based vein – but the sound is much more 70s, and much more "adult" as well – sometimes smooth, sometimes mellow, with Julie singing in a way that's still heartfelt, but not with the clear nod to American soul of her earlier work. Brian's still playing plenty of keyboards, although not getting in as many licks as on his own albums of the decade – yet still with enough space to help transform some of the best tunes. Titles include "Git Up", "Freedom Highway", "Spirit", "Future Pilot", "Rope Ladder To The Moon", "No Time To Live", and "Nothing Will Be As It Was" – a great English remake of a song by Milton Nascimento! CD

Rare lost work from funky drummer Les DeMerle – a set of tracks that were recorded for Atlantic Records in 1967, two years before DeMerle's classic Spectrum album – yet which finally appear here for the first time ever! Les is rock-solid, right from the start – definitely one of those younger players really helping to shift the sound of the larger jazz group at the end of the 60s – with fresh arrangements that bring in plenty of currents from soul, and a tight approach to the groove that makes the best of the excellent lineup! The set features work from some younger names who would break big later – including Randy Brecker on trumpet, Terry Plumeri on bass, and Lanny Morgan on alto and flute – as well as a touch of vocals from future rocker Genya Ravan. Titles include "Sticks", "Raunchy Rita", "Feelin Good", "Come Back To Me", "On A Clear Day", "That's Life", and "Signifyin". CD

A killer set from a group that may well be the most perfectly realized version of the Exploding Star concept from Rob Mazurek – one who've got some fantastic parts that come together here in a wonderfully visionary record! Rob's still in the lead on trumpets and electronics – but the group really resonates from some key contributions from Damon Locks on voice and more electronics – at a level that has him rising to that long-overdue role of stardom, which seems to give the whole group an even greater source of focus and energy. Jeff Parker lays down some wicked guitar, Angelica Sanchez and Craig Taborn are fantastic on Wurlitzer electric pianos and moog – and the great Nicole Mitchell is on flute and a bit of vocals. There's a sense of majesty here that Mazurek has never had before – and the album is maybe one of the most crowning achievements in his long and very storied career. Titles include "Future Shaman", "Shape Shifter", "White River", "Dream Sleeper", and "Black River". CD

The spacey image on the cover gives part of the picture of the wound of Wasafiri here – cosmic fusion with a really soaring vibe at most moments – but there's also some warmer, more intimate moments too – times when the more full-on rhythms kick back slightly, and let the group's acoustic elements step more strongly into the fold! The group is led by bassist Max Gerl, and there's loads of vintage keyboards and Arp on the record – handled by the group's Kwinton Gray and Cole Riddle – but there's also reed work from Shelly Carrol and Matthew Babineaux, who use saxes and flutes on some great solos – especially nice at times the live percussion comes into play. Titles include a nice remake of "The Creator Has A Master Plan" – plus "Future Step", "Wasafiri Theme", "Reminiscence", "The Traveler", and "Embarkation". CD

A completely obscure batch of tunes – so much so that only two of the cuts here have been reissued – and a set that's every bit as wonderful as previous entries in this long-running series! Overall, there's probably a bit more soul than jazz – but every track within is on the hipper side of the spectrum – the sort of work that easily blends genres, and which comes from 70s acts working far from the mainstream, in a wonderful groove that's very much their own! Most numbers have a midtempo groove – perfect for the jazzier elements in the soul cuts – and as with previous editions in the series, there's a righteous current that gives most of these tracks a very positive, uplifting vibe. Titles include "It's A Long Road" by Babe, "Bend A Little" by Mirage, "Slip Back Into The Magic" by Leaves Of Autumn, "I Got The Hots For You"b y Ronnie Miller, "Hey Flicka" by Mikael Neumann, "Future Shock" by Synot, "Oh Senor" by Jan Lewis Group, "Mister Jones" by Charles Vickers, and "The Ring" by Dianne Elliott. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) CD

David Boykin works here in a very different guise than his usual role as a saxophonist – stepping out here with a range of different singers, in a set of tracks that showcase a whole new side of his talents! The music is a mix of modern jazz vocals and contemporary soul modes – different depending on the singers, who shift from cut to cut – at a level that sometimes echoes June Tyson or Abbey Lincoln, other times reflects more contemporary work from the underground! As always with Boykin's CDs, the notes are a bit spare, so it's hard to tell who did what in terms of the music – but we can say that the set features vocals from Abeeku, Consuela Ivy-Vaughn, Dark Mery, Liz Mputu, and Ugochi – on titles that include "Listen Up", "She Was Screaming", "What The Afrofuture Say", "Slow Sweet Burn", "Conspiracy", and "Of My Voice". CD

British alto player Ronan Perrett works here with great help from bassist Ferg Ireland – in a bold trio setting that's very much in the same spirit as Ferg's recordings in the same format! The group also has Ferg's drummer, James Maddren, and there's a nicely choppy sense of rhythm to the tunes – which are then given these more complex, swirling lines over the top from Perrett's alto – blowing with a nice shift in sonic quality from track to track, at a level that really brings some depth to the record! The whole thing's a nice chapter in the contemporary London scene – with the sort of lean energy we love in a group like Ill Considered – on titles that include "Who Owns The Sky", "All The Time Engaged In Fantasy", "Phantoms", "Snapperjacks", "The Rest Is Silence", and "Ten Futures". CD