There might be a trumpet in Archie Shepp's soul, but the album features him on tenor and soprano sax – working in a wonderfully spiritual vein that's almost in the same mode as his early 70s work on Impulse! The album features some very long, drawn out tracks – but ones that build nicely with Shepp's soulful styles of the 70s – that groove he explored a bit on the Black Saint label, with a bold sense of majesty and power, presented with more control than the BYG/Actuel years. The album features some great vocals – again recalling Archie's later Impulse years – and players include Walter Davis Jr on electric piano, Dave Burrell on acoustic piano, Charles Greenlee on trombone, Ray Draper on tuba, and Beaver Harris on drums. Titles include "There's A Trumpet In My Soul", "Zaid", "Down In Brazil", and "It Is The Year Of The Rabbit". LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual package – one that features the full album The Way Ahead, plus tracks from other late 60s Archie Shepp sessions too! The Way Ahead has tenor giant Archie Shepp in prime form – working with a sextet that's awash in avant freedoms, but which always shows a great sense of restraint – just the right power gained from the new modes of jazz expression, as the players dance together beautifully on a razor's edge of personal creativity and ensemble exploration. Players here include Grachan Moncur on trombone, Jimmy Owens on trumpet, Ron Carter on bass, and Beaver Harris and Roy Haynes on drums – and the album also features the first piano player on most of the Shepp albums on Impulse – Walter Davis Jr, making a rare outside appearance with the group! Titles include the classic track "Frankenstein", plus "Fiesta", "Damn If I Know (The Stroller)", and "Sophisticated Lady" – all nice and long! Next are two tracks from the Kwanza album – with a lineup that includes Charles Davis on baritone, Grachan Moncur on trombone, Jimmy Owens on trumpet, and Dave Burrell on piano – on the titles "New Africa" and "Bakai". Last on the CD is the side-long gem "Magic Of Juju" – a set that has an unusual group with Martin Banks on trumpet, Michael Zwerin on trombone, Reggie Workman on bass, and both Norman Connors and Beaver Harris on drums – plus Ed Blackwell on rhythm logs, Franck Charles on talking drums, and Dennis Charles on added percussion! CD

Righteous jazz, with plenty of soul – a killer collection of the mid 70s work of Lonnie Liston Smith – all based around his legendary recordings for the Flying Dutchman label! Lonnie got his start on the hippest side of the jazz spectrum – including work with Pharoah Sanders on Impulse – but by the time of these tracks, he'd found a way to beautifully mix the righteous energy of his roots with some sweet mid 70s jazz funk touches – all served up in a sublime blend of electric keyboards and acoustic piano, and often expanded with lyrics that helped Smith cross over into a soul audience too! Few artists ever handled the balance as well as Lonnie – although this work certainly inspired dozens of others to try – and the set's a beautiful testament to his lasting power, with 15 great tracks that include "Visions Of A New World", "Cosmic Funk", "Get Down Everybody", "In Search Of Truth", "Expansions", "Beautiful Woman", "Golden Dreams", "Astral Traveling", "Meditations", "Devika", "Shadows", and "Sunbeams". CD

A real gem from Lonnie Liston Smith's early years in the studio – and a record that's perhaps a bit more "cosmic" than it is "funk" – but that's why we like it so much! The session has Lonnie stretching out a bit more than usual – borrowing some of the righteousness from his years with Pharoah Sanders, and tripping out on tracks that revel in their own spacey brilliance. Lonnie plays both acoustic and electric piano on the record – stretching out on some Impulse-influenced grooves that feature some great soprano sax and flute from the lesser-known George Barron. Titles include the soulful "Beautiful Woman", the ethereal "Sais", and the heavier groover "Cosmic Funk" – plus great versions of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" and John Coltrane's "Naima". CD

A real gem from Lonnie Liston Smith's early years in the studio – and a record that's perhaps a bit more "cosmic" than it is "funk" – but that's why we like it so much! The session has Lonnie stretching out a bit more than usual – borrowing some of the righteousness from his years with Pharoah Sanders, and tripping out on tracks that revel in their own spacey brilliance. Lonnie plays both acoustic and electric piano on the record – stretching out on some Impulse-influenced grooves that feature some great soprano sax and flute from the lesser-known George Barron. Titles include the soulful "Beautiful Woman", the ethereal "Sais", and the heavier groover "Cosmic Funk" – plus great versions of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" and John Coltrane's "Naima". CD

A real gem from Lonnie Liston Smith's early years in the studio – and a record that's perhaps a bit more "cosmic" than it is "funk" – but that's why we like it so much! The session has Lonnie stretching out a bit more than usual – borrowing some of the righteousness from his years with Pharoah Sanders, and tripping out on tracks that revel in their own spacey brilliance. Lonnie plays both acoustic and electric piano on the record – stretching out on some Impulse-influenced grooves that feature some great soprano sax and flute from the lesser-known George Barron. Titles include the soulful "Beautiful Woman", the ethereal "Sais", and the heavier groover "Cosmic Funk" – plus great versions of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" and John Coltrane's "Naima". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredibly soulful set of jazz from the Danish scene at the start of the 70s – and a record that's much more in keeping with the spiritual sounds of the American underground at the time! The set boasts some tremendous tenor work from Jesper Nehammar – a player we don't know at all, but who's clearly drawn a lot of energy from both John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, especially the modal structures to the way he builds a solo, then soars out on his own! Ole Matthiessen plays piano in the group, and also wrote most of the tunes – and he's got this McCoy Tyner-like ability to block out wonderful phrases that really set the rhythms on fire, driven on by some more subtle efforts from Henrik Hove on bass and Jon Finsen on drums. The whole thing's wonderful – a record you'd file somewhere between your favorite albums on Impulse and Strata East – and titles include "Message For Mike", "Peace", "Brother Yusef", "More Peace", "Voodoo Dance", and "Pharoah". LP, Vinyl record album

The guitar genius of Gabor Szabo – set to magnificent arrangements by Gary McFarland! The set's one of the most sophisticated albums Szabo ever cut – and has a slow-building style that steps off of his Impulse years with a deeper, broader vision of music. By the time of the set, McFarland himself was hitting a more contemplative style in his own music – and you can hear that shift in this album as well, especially in the moodier, mellower moments. Instrumentation includes violin, cello, and French Horn – all used sparingly to augment Szabo's small combo with piano by McFarland! Titles include lots of originals – "The Fortune Teller", "Half The Day Is Night", "Galatea's Guitar", and "Lady In the Moon". CD features bonus tracks – single edits of "Fire Dance" and "Ferris Wheel". CD

A very groovy set from guitar genius Gabor Szabo – one that features all those cool tones and elements he'd developed on his late 60s albums for Impulse and Skye Records, given a tighter LA groove here, with almost an A&M Records vibe! There's loads of great solos throughout, played in a combo that also features Lynn Blessing on vibes, Richard Thompson and Nick DeCaro on keyboards, and Sandra Crouch on percussion – all set to some backings handled by DeCaro, who really helps shape the sound of the set! The tunes are a really nice mix of material – and while this might not be Gabor's most way-out album, it's still full of lots of his great groovy guitar – on titles that include "Love Theme From Spartacus", "Country Illusion", "Sombrero Sam", "Lady With Child", "Pretty Girl Why", "Hum A Song", "Magical Connection", and "Fred & Betty". 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

A pair of crucial Cecil Taylor sessions from the 60s – both of which show the free-thinking pianist working amidst some larger arrangements! First up are three tracks from the Gil Evans album Into The Hot – all tunes written by Cecil Taylor – a very bold move for Evans, given Taylor's strongly out reputation even at this point in his career – and possibly even more bold, given that Taylor's on the tracks playing piano, alongside players who include Archie Shepp on tenor, Jimmy Lyons on alto, Henry Grimes on bass, and Sunny Murray on drums – plus work on one track from Ted Curson on trumpet and Roswell Rudd on trombone. The material's fantastic, and is a key part of Taylor's work at the time, and shows a very different setting for his piano – a bit of tension with the larger Evans group, in a way that's almost more compelling than his own early dates as a leader – on the titles "Pots", "Bulbs", and "Mixed". Next is the Unit Structures album – one of a rare few albums done by pianist Cecil Taylor for the Blue Note label in the 60s – some of the most outside work recorded for the imprint at the time! The word "structures" here is perhaps a bit misplaced – as the work has a strong sense of freedom with the soloists – who operate based on a system of energy and impulses described by Taylor in the notes, at a level that's maybe one of his most inventive, ambitious expressions of the decade! The whole lineup is great – with especially strong horn work from Eddie Gale on trumpet, Jimmy Lyons on alto, and Ken McIntyre on alto, oboe, and bass clarinet – and Taylor's piano gets accompaniment from two groundbreaking bassists – Henry Grimes and Alan Silva – plus drums from Andrew Cyrille. Given the lineup, and the format, the whole thing almost feels more like one of the BYG/Actuel avant sessions than Blue Note in the 60s – and titles include "Steps", "Enter Evening (Soft Line Structure)", "Unit Structure/As Of A Now/Section", and "Tales (8 Whisps)". CD

One of a rare few albums done by pianist Cecil Taylor for the Blue Note label in the 60s – some of the most outside work recorded for the imprint at the time! The word "structures" here is perhaps a bit misplaced – as the work has a strong sense of freedom with the soloists – who operate based on a system of energy and impulses described by Taylor in the notes, at a level that's maybe one of his most inventive, ambitious expressions of the decade! The whole lineup is great – with especially strong horn work from Eddie Gale on trumpet, Jimmy Lyons on alto, and Ken McIntyre on alto, oboe, and bass clarinet – and Taylor's piano gets accompaniment from two groundbreaking bassists – Henry Grimes and Alan Silva – plus drums from Andrew Cyrille. Given the lineup, and the format, the whole thing almost feels more like one of the BYG/Actuel avant sessions than Blue Note in the 60s – and titles include "Steps", "Enter Evening (Soft Line Structure)", "Unit Structure/As Of A Now/Section", and "Tales (8 Whisps)". CD

One of a rare few albums done by pianist Cecil Taylor for the Blue Note label in the 60s – some of the most outside work recorded for the imprint at the time! The word "structures" here is perhaps a bit misplaced – as the work has a strong sense of freedom with the soloists – who operate based on a system of energy and impulses described by Taylor in the notes, at a level that's maybe one of his most inventive, ambitious expressions of the decade! The whole lineup is great – with especially strong horn work from Eddie Gale on trumpet, Jimmy Lyons on alto, and Ken McIntyre on alto, oboe, and bass clarinet – and Taylor's piano gets accompaniment from two groundbreaking bassists – Henry Grimes and Alan Silva – plus drums from Andrew Cyrille. Given the lineup, and the format, the whole thing almost feels more like one of the BYG/Actuel avant sessions than Blue Note in the 60s – and titles include "Steps", "Enter Evening (Soft Line Structure)", "Unit Structure/As Of A Now/Section", and "Tales (8 Whisps)". LP, Vinyl record album

One of a rare few albums done by pianist Cecil Taylor for the Blue Note label in the 60s – some of the most outside work recorded for the imprint at the time! The word "structures" here is perhaps a bit misplaced – as the work has a strong sense of freedom with the soloists – who operate based on a system of energy and impulses described by Taylor in the notes, at a level that's maybe one of his most inventive, ambitious expressions of the decade! The whole lineup is great – with especially strong horn work from Eddie Gale on trumpet, Jimmy Lyons on alto, and Ken McIntyre on alto, oboe, and bass clarinet – and Taylor's piano gets accompaniment from two groundbreaking bassists – Henry Grimes and Alan Silva – plus drums from Andrew Cyrille. Given the lineup, and the format, the whole thing almost feels more like one of the BYG/Actuel avant sessions than Blue Note in the 60s – and titles include "Steps", "Enter Evening (Soft Line Structure)", "Unit Structure/As Of A Now/Section", and "Tales (8 Whisps)". LP, Vinyl record album

One of a rare few albums done by pianist Cecil Taylor for the Blue Note label in the 60s – some of the most outside work recorded for the imprint at the time! The word "structures" here is perhaps a bit misplaced – as the work has a strong sense of freedom with the soloists – who operate based on a system of energy and impulses described by Taylor in the notes, at a level that's maybe one of his most inventive, ambitious expressions of the decade! The whole lineup is great – with especially strong horn work from Eddie Gale on trumpet, Jimmy Lyons on alto, and Ken McIntyre on alto, oboe, and bass clarinet – and Taylor's piano gets accompaniment from two groundbreaking bassists – Henry Grimes and Alan Silva – plus drums from Andrew Cyrille. Given the lineup, and the format, the whole thing almost feels more like one of the BYG/Actuel avant sessions than Blue Note in the 60s – and titles include "Steps", "Enter Evening (Soft Line Structure)", "Unit Structure/As Of A Now/Section", and "Tales (8 Whisps)". CD

Amazing sounds from British pianist Keith Tippett – a startling crossroads of musical scenes that beautifully brings together the best jazz, rock, and jazz rock impulses on the UK scene at the time – still with a freshness and clarity that the work would never reach a few years later! The sound here is brilliant – often a bit funky at the bottom, and definitely stretching out to freer jazz ideas on the solos, yet always managing a sense of soul and swing that really gives the record a rock solid core – so that even loopy lines seem to land back on the ground, and set the group on fire with a whole new energy. In addition to Tippett's work on electric and acoustic piano, the set also features Elton Dean on alto and saxello, Marc Charig on cornet, Nick Evans on trombone, and Robert Wyatt on drums – on titles that include "Gridal Suite", "Five After Dawn", "This Is What Happens", "Thoughts To Geoff", and "Black Horse". CD

One of the hippest records ever cut by pianist Enrique Villegas – very different than his early material, and a set that's got this strong, stretched-out, and highly spiritual vibe – thanks in very large part to his musical partner on the date, saxophonist Ara Tokatlian! In many ways, the record is clearly Ara's own – as he blows tenor, soprano sax, flute, and bandura – sometimes with processing and effects that are almost in the early mode of John Klemmer on Chess/Cadet, but with a more searing tone that's like his countryman Gato Barbieri on early Impulse records sides – sounding incredible in a lean setting that has the pair getting just a bit of additional percussion and bass from Guillermo Bordarampe. Tunes are long, soaring, and very spiritual – and titles include "Maritimaria", "A La Sombra De Los Dorados", "Camino A Samarkanda", and "En La Ola De Tus Ojos". CD

Brilliant work as a leader from McCoy Tyner – and easily one of his most righteous albums ever – a true batch of spiritual gems that really takes the John Coltrane legacy one step further! Most numbers build with a modal vibe that's more Impulse Records than Blue Note – and players on the set include Alice Coltrane on harp, Gary Bartz on alto, Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano sax, Ron Carter on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – a wonderful lineup that really holds tightly to the soaring, soulful energy that Tyner spins from his piano – a mode that's never too far out or avant, yet which stretches to the skies with a heavenly vision. The whole thing's wonderful – and tracks include "Message From The Nile", "The Wanderer", "Survival Blues", and "His Blessings". LP, Vinyl record album

A bit of a change for McCoy Tyner – but a set that's every bit as righteous as his other classics from the 70s! The lineup here is slightly different – with John Blake's violin playing a strong role in the sound, and lots of percussion from Guilherme Franco giving the set an almost Latin vibe at times – one that mixes in beautifully with Tyner's bold, modal lines on piano – and which are inflected with soulful reeds from Joe Ford and George Adams. The rest of the group features Charles Fambrough on bass and Al Foster on drums – both very hip cats – and Blake's instrument almost gives the album an early 70s Impulse Records sort of spirituality. Titles include "Horizon", "Motherland", "Woman Of Tomorrow", "One For Honor", and "Just Feelin". LP, Vinyl record album

An early jazzy soundtrack from the great Piero Umiliani – made even better by some key work from Chet Baker on trumpet and Helen Merrill on vocals! The set was done at a time when both artists were spending some time in Italy – shaping the scene with their presence, and really standing out on a handful of rare recordings like this one – quite different than their American material of a few years before! Baker is especially striking – with lead solos that have a great sense of compression, and a depth of soul that really move beyond the Pacific Jazz recordings. And Merrill is wonderful, too – with that special flavor she only ever seemed to open up when she went overseas – and got to move into more unusual settings. But the real star is Umiliani throughout – balancing modern impulses with late night jazz in a way that really points the way towards his later scores in the 60s – but which is already nearly perfect here! Titles include "Smog" (done in instrumental and vocal versions by Baker and Merrill), plus "Dawn", "Tensione", "Tops", "California In The Summer", "Hollywood Tonight", "Bowling", and "Twilight At Los Angeles". (Soundtracks, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite Randy Weston albums from the early years – a set that moves past his simple trio and solo format, to offer some key experimentation with horns – in this case the creative work of Cecil Payne on baritone sax! Payne plays on most of the record – save for two mellower trio titles – and Weston's nicely balanced between his early modern trio impulses, and some of the even more creative elements he'd bring to his music just a few years later. In that respect, most tunes are standards, but given a fresh reading by the pair – as well as Ahmed Abdul Malik on bass and Wilbert Hogan on drums – but the record also includes some key early compositions too – including one of the first versions of "Little Niles" and the Payne/Weston tune "Lifetime", which is a real gem. Other titles include "These Foolish Things", "I Can't Get Started", "The Man I Love", and "Serenade In Blue". CD

Really wonderful work from the legendary Tony Williams – a set that has the drummer hitting a whole new sound at the start of the 90s – a groove that's rich and soulful, yet still every bit as sharp as before! The set's straight ahead, and graced with some very youthful energy by a new-generation lineup that includes Wallace Roney on trumpet, Bill Pierce on tenor and soprano sax, Mulgrew Miller on piano, and Robert Hurst on bass – all players who bristle with excitement from the very first notes, expressing a sense of confidence and vision of a new jazz generation that no longer has to battle between its inside and outside impulses. Williams' drumming is superb, and nicely understated at many points – and titles include "Native Heart", "City Of Lights", "Extreme Measures", "Liberty", and "Two Worlds". CD

A rare early gem from Joe Lee Wilson – the singer who's probably best known to the world for his performances on Archie Shepp's late Impulse recordings. The vibe here is similar to his work on Shepp's albums of the time – but it's also mixed with a hip and mellow approach that has Joe working through tracks that provide a strong link between the earlier styles of singers like Babs Gonzalez and Eddie Jefferson, and the early 70s hipness of Andy Bey and Leon Thomas. Really great all the way through – and tracks include Joe's classic "Return Of The Prodigal Son", a nice track with an Andy Bey groove to it, plus "Hey Look At You", "Feeling Good", and "Soul Lady". (Also issued under the title Without A Song in the US.) (Vocalists, Jazz) 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

Spiritual jazz both old and new – a collection that really gets past the obvious sides of the genre, and brings together a range of unusual work from the 70s onward! The tracks here are a great antidote to the well-traveled territory of labels like Impulse or Strata East Records – and are mostly from lesser-known sources that include tiny indies from the 80s, and a few ground breaking imprints from recent years! There's definitely a vibe here that holds strongly in the spirit of John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, and other innovators from the end of the 60s – but the sound is especially fresh given the obscurity of the tunes. Titles include "For Our Souls" by Doug Hammond, "Amazona" by Francisco Mora Catlett, "The Mystery Of Man" by Sarah Vaughan, "Better Than That" by Nomo, "Gol E Gandom" by Lloyd Miller, "Motherless Child" by Brother Ah, "A Love Supreme" by Dwight Trible, "Why" by Woody Shaw with Carter Jefferson, "Rwanda" by Francis Bebey, "Come Sunday" by Stanley Cowell, and "En El Amanecer Del Tiempo". (Funky Compilations, Jazz) CD

Spiritual jazz both old and new – a collection that really gets past the obvious sides of the genre, and brings together a range of unusual work from the 70s onward! The tracks here are a great antidote to the well-traveled territory of labels like Impulse or Strata East Records – and are mostly from lesser-known sources that include tiny indies from the 80s, and a few ground breaking imprints from recent years! There's definitely a vibe here that holds strongly in the spirit of John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, and other innovators from the end of the 60s – but the sound is especially fresh given the obscurity of the tunes. Titles include "For Our Souls" by Doug Hammond, "Amazona" by Francisco Mora Catlett, "The Mystery Of Man" by Sarah Vaughan, "Better Than That" by Nomo, "Gol E Gandom" by Lloyd Miller, "Motherless Child" by Brother Ah, "A Love Supreme" by Dwight Trible, "Why" by Woody Shaw with Carter Jefferson, "Rwanda" by Francis Bebey, "Come Sunday" by Stanley Cowell, and "En El Amanecer Del Tiempo". (Funky Compilations, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

From the end of the 70s onward, the Italian Black Saint record label offered up some of the most high quality spiritual and avant jazz of the time – really taking over where American record companies had dropped the ball, and allowing a huge wave of new energy from both older musicians and a younger generation who might never have gotten the right level of exposure, had Black Saint (and related Soul Note imprint) stepped into the scene! This package offers up some of the coolest cuts from Black Saint – and has an especially strong focus on the work that the label did to carry forward older spiritual sounds, especially those first unlocked on Impulse Records – a legacy that really comes through strongly here. Titles include "Love On A Far Away Planet" and "Mayan Temples" by Sun Ra, "Song For Mozambique/Sea Of Faces" by Archie Shepp, "Guitar Vibes" by Karl Berger, "Tap Dancer" by Oliver Lake, "Ode To The Flower Maiden" by John Carter, "Mama Marimba" by Joseph Jarman and Donh Moye, "Sixth Sense" by Don Pullen, "Hattie Wall" by World Saxophone Quartet, "Laja" by Muhal Richard Abrams, and "Metamusician's Stomp" by Andrew Cyrille & Maono. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

Way more than just a simple collection of famous cool jazz numbers – and instead, an ultra-hip set that shows the evolution of the original sound over the space of decades and the stretch of two continents! The collection nicely avoids the obvious overplayed west coast examples of the sound, and goes for some less obvious gems that show the way that players in the late 50s and 1960s took the initial cool jazz inspiration and expanded it tremendously in a range of different modes! As with other titles in the excellent Jazz Club series, the tracks here are pulled from Universal-owned labels like Verve, Impulse, and MPS – recorded on both sides of the Atlantic in the 50s and 60s, and brought together here in one well-done, low-priced package. Titles include "Nuages" by Barney Wilen, "The Cool One" by Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet, "Harper" by Ed Thigpen, "Crackle Hut" by Max Roach, "Coolie" by Dizzy Gillespie, "Cleo's Asp" by Paul Gonsalves, "Serenade In Blue" by Stan Getz, "Snap Crackle" by Roy Haynes, "Foolin Myself" by Lee Konitz, "The Gentle Art Of Love" by Hans Koller, and "Wintersong" by Gerry Mulligan & Paul Desmond. (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

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, and "Cla Samba" by Juju. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

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 "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) LP, Vinyl record album

A really heady collection of cuts – one that starts with jazz, and moves into a whole host of other righteous styles too – all to sum up a 70s mode that's as much about empowerment as it is peace! Think of the cuts here as being in the much farther reaches past the styles initiated by Impulse Records and the Coltrane generation – to a point where the artists here aren't just copying modal and spiritual jazz styles, but infusing them with all sorts of new inflections of their own – at a level that makes the whole collection a really wonderful discovery! As with previous volumes, there's titles here we never would have heard otherwise – and this CD features tracks from both Vols 5 and 6 of the vinyl version – titles that inlcude "Algunas" by Jimmy McGary, "Bless Your Soul" by Lucky Brown & The SGs, "Night In Tunisia" by A La Ala, "Cataracts" by Musica Orbis, "Januschka" by Frederic Rabold, "Little Boogum" by Federico Cervantes, "No Outlet" by Beaver College Modern Jazz Orchestra, "Night Eagle" by Cleveland Jazz All Stars, "Zimbabwe" by Ron Wilson Trio, "Shanti" by Jazz Yatra Sextett, and "One More For The Road" by Dahle Scott (Funky Compilations, Jazz) CD

A vivid portrait of a rich legacy in jazz – the wonderful sounds that have come from the South African scene from the early 60s onwards – served up nicely in this well-chosen set! The collection mixes underground work with well-known artists, older tracks with more contemporary ones – yet the whole thing comes together with a relatively unified feel – and a strong focus on the kinds of unusual rhythmic impulses that have always made South African jazz so unique. Titles include "Ntyilo Ntyilo" by Thandiswa, "Clarinet Kwela" by Kippie Moeketsi, "Dembese" by Brian Thusi, "Emampondweni" by Batsumi, "Vuvuzela" by Bokani Dyer, "Seven Days Ago" by Allen Kwela, "Dindela" by Errol Dyers, "Kwabulawayo" by African Echoes, and "Tlhapi Ke Noga" by Dolly Rathebe. (Global Grooves, Jazz) CD

A tremendous entry in this wonderful series – a set that proudly proclaims its contents with the "NOW" on the cover! Back when the Spiritual Jazz series first started on the Jazzman label, the music was mostly relegated to material of the John Coltrane generation and the generation that followed – but in the past decade or so, there's been a huge explosion in new artists that explore the deeper, more righteous currents of jazz – music that's pulled in from the farther reaches of free improvisation, to righteous, message-oriented styles that often mix modal rhythms with more exploratory solo passages. Yet this new generation is hardly slavish to the sounds of Impulse Records – as they've really moved beyond, and have used a globe's worth of influences and new 21st Century concepts to bring fresh spirit to the music – opening things up in ways that have made this new movement one of our greatest sources of inspiration in recent years. This double-length entry is a fantastic overview of the sounds that are currently reshaping the planet – and titles on volume 2 include "Flute Song" by Wildflower, "Slow Sweet Burn" by Abeeku, "Palms To Heaven" by The Cosmic Range, "Nova" by Menagerie, "Avo's Tune" by Teemu Akerblom Quartet, "Paris" by Jonas Kullhammar, "Vessels" by The Jamie Saft Quartet, "What Do I Tell My Children Who Are Black "by Angel Bat Dawid, "Trane's Groove" by Carla Marciano, "For Coltrane" by Steve Reid Foundation, "Empty Streets" by Vibration Black Finger, and "Memory Ritual" by The Pyramids. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album