A cool little album from Joe Beck – very different than most of his other work! Although Beck's best known for his guitar work on funky 70s jazz records, this early album has him working in a mixture of rock, jazz, and folk styles – all cast in the hipster mode of Verve's Forecast imprint. There's a few funk tunes on here, but the best numbers are stretched out trippy ones that bring together jazz and folk, in a floating "folk funk experience" sound that we totally love, perfect for the generation of Tim Hardin and Nick Drake. Beck sings on some cuts, and others are instrumental. Titles include "Ain't No Use Talkin", "Goodbye LA", "Please Believe Me", "Let Me Go", "Come Back: Visions Without You", and "Spoon's Caress". CD

A pretty wild album – and a really wonderful mixture of funky fusion and Spanish guitar, featuring tunes written by flamenco guitarist Sabicas, backed by arrangements handled by funky guitarist Joe Beck! The sound is pretty darn incredible – way better than you might think, and certainly well more than the sum of its parts. The bottom half of the record has a really strong rhythmic pulse, but it also allows plenty of room for virtuoso flights on guitar – both electric and acoustic coming together in a mad Spanish-styled take on 70s funk! The record's a truly unique effort, and sets a whole new standard for cultural crossover sessions of this type in the 70s. Titles include "Inca Song", "Handclaps", "Flamenco Rock", "Zapateado", and "Joe's Tune". CD

A totally wonderful record from the Australian scene of the early 70s – a set that's more fusion than rock, and which has a warmly jazzy vibe that matches some of our favorite European work of this nature – particularly some of the late 70s/early 80s German electric work that had a strong influence from Brazil! Bernie Morgan handles lead vocals, with a breezy style that's almost scatting at times – but which also steps aside to allow for plenty of Fender Rhodes and other keyboard work from Oleg Ditrich, who takes lots of long solos on the record – next to the guitars of Ian Hildebrand, and bass, drums, gongs, and percussion from other members. Titles include "Kolour Kode", "If I Knew", "Kyrptonite", "Make Me", "End Of Play", "Cumulus", and "Flowers". 2LP set features a full bonus album of other material from the group – titles that include "Charred Ducks", "Wooly's Song", "Silly Song", and "Floating". (Rock, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

Unreleased work from alto genius Joe Harriott – two different slices of material from a very under-recorded point in his career! The first five tracks feature Joe in that back to basics mode he was hitting at the time – working in a unique group that features Kenny Wheeler on trumpet and flugelhorn, Pat Smythe on piano, Ron Mathewson on bass, and Bill Eyden on drums – all players who are very open to modern ideas, but who also keep things on more of a groove here – with only a bit of the freedom that Harriott was bringing to his music a few years before! And yet there's still a great tension that makes the set great – swinging jazz mixed with modernism – on titles that include the Horace Silver tunes "Down & Out" and "Psychedelic Sally", plus "WSIMC", "Chronology", and "Shadows". The remaining two tracks on the set feature Joe in a very different setting – the large group of Harry South – the kind of mod jazz in 60s London, working here with a superb lineup that also features Kenny Wheeler and Ian Hamer on trumpets, Ray Warleigh on alto and flute, and Tubby Hayes and Alan Skidmore on tenor saxes! Tunes include the very swinging "Themeology" by South – plus a richly full take on "My Man's Gone Now". CD

A fantastic lost slice of work by one of the greatest modern jazz forces on the British jazz scene of the 60s – Jamaican-born saxophonist Joe Harriott, known for his groundbreaking avant jazz sessions and his experiments with Indian classical music! The sound here is quite different than those two better-known aspects of Harriott's career – and represents a return to the hardbop style he was using in the late 50s, when first making waves on the London scene. However, that's not a bad thing at all – as the album's overflowing with modern jazz undercurrents, and almost has a fresh post-Mingus approach to the horn parts and rhythm progressions. The quintet includes trumpeter Stu Hamer, drummer Phil Seaman, bassist Coleridge Goode, and pianist Pat Smythe – all well-suited players for Harriott in such a mode, and working here in a style that recalls the first great moments of British jazz from the late 50s. Titles include "Strollin South", "Just Goofin", "Time For Love", "The Rake", "Blues In C", and "Tuesday Morning Swing". CD

A fantastic lost slice of work by one of the greatest modern jazz forces on the British jazz scene of the 60s – Jamaican-born saxophonist Joe Harriott, known for his groundbreaking avant jazz sessions and his experiments with Indian classical music! The sound here is quite different than those two better-known aspects of Harriott's career – and represents a return to the hardbop style he was using in the late 50s, when first making waves on the London scene. However, that's not a bad thing at all – as the album's overflowing with modern jazz undercurrents, and almost has a fresh post-Mingus approach to the horn parts and rhythm progressions. The quintet includes trumpeter Stu Hamer, drummer Phil Seaman, bassist Coleridge Goode, and pianist Pat Smythe – all well-suited players for Harriott in such a mode, and working here in a style that recalls the first great moments of British jazz from the late 50s. Titles include "Strollin South", "Just Goofin", "Time For Love", "The Rake", "Blues In C", and "Tuesday Morning Swing". LP, Vinyl record album

Unreleased work from alto genius Joe Harriott – two different slices of material from a very under-recorded point in his career! The first five tracks feature Joe in that back to basics mode he was hitting at the time – working in a unique group that features Kenny Wheeler on trumpet and flugelhorn, Pat Smythe on piano, Ron Mathewson on bass, and Bill Eyden on drums – all players who are very open to modern ideas, but who also keep things on more of a groove here – with only a bit of the freedom that Harriott was bringing to his music a few years before! And yet there's still a great tension that makes the set great – swinging jazz mixed with modernism – on titles that include the Horace Silver tunes "Down & Out" and "Psychedelic Sally", plus "WSIMC", "Chronology", and "Shadows". The remaining two tracks on the set feature Joe in a very different setting – the large group of Harry South – the kind of mod jazz in 60s London, working here with a superb lineup that also features Kenny Wheeler and Ian Hamer on trumpets, Ray Warleigh on alto and flute, and Tubby Hayes and Alan Skidmore on tenor saxes! Tunes include the very swinging "Themeology" by South – plus a richly full take on "My Man's Gone Now". CD

A fantastic lost slice of work by one of the greatest modern jazz forces on the British jazz scene of the 60s – Jamaican-born saxophonist Joe Harriott, known for his groundbreaking avant jazz sessions and his experiments with Indian classical music! The sound here is quite different than those two better-known aspects of Harriott's career – and represents a return to the hardbop style he was using in the late 50s, when first making waves on the London scene. However, that's not a bad thing at all – as the album's overflowing with modern jazz undercurrents, and almost has a fresh post-Mingus approach to the horn parts and rhythm progressions. The quintet includes trumpeter Stu Hamer, drummer Phil Seaman, bassist Coleridge Goode, and pianist Pat Smythe – all well-suited players for Harriott in such a mode, and working here in a style that recalls the first great moments of British jazz from the late 50s. Titles include "Strollin South", "Just Goofin", "Time For Love", "The Rake", "Blues In C", and "Tuesday Morning Swing". CD

The first in Wynton Marsalis' excellent Soul Gestures trilogy – a set that features some especially nice work from Joe Henderson on tenor sax! The set was recorded at a time when Henderson was really coming back into his own – and the long, extended tracks on the record really let Joe stretch out with the sort of freely expressive solos honed over previous decades of work! Henderson's presence brings a sharpness here that you might not expect – and a deeper sense of soul than some of Wynton's previous stiffer attempts at modernism. Other players include Marcus Roberts on piano – another great presence on the date – Bob Hurst on bass, and Jeff Watts and Elvin Jones on drums. Titles include "LC On The Cut", "Thick In The South", "Elveen", "Harriet Tubman", and "So This Is Jazz Huh". CD

Genius, pure genius! This album's possibly the most perfectly realized set from the team of Bobby Hutcherson on vibes and Harold Land on reeds – a pair who hit territory that's slightly funky, but which is also still touched by the modal spiritualism of some of their earlier work together! The album has an approach that we've not heard on other sides from the time – in that it takes its time to build the grooves up slowly, layering element over element as the songs unfurl, crafting some killer numbers that make the album incredibly strong as a whole. Land plays flute and tenor, and even a bit of oboe, which makes for a wonderfully compelling reed sound – and the group also features Joe Sample on Fender Rhodes, on loan from The Crusaders, plus Fender bass from John Williams and drums from Mickey Roker. Titles include the classics "Ummh" and "Goin' Down South", which have been made famous over the years, thanks to the magic of sampling technology – plus the tracks "Jazz", "Night In Barcelona", and "Procession". CD

A really cool later album from the great Jack McDuff – nicely stepping out from some of the multi-keyboard modes he forged for Chess Records in the 70s, and still working with a combo here that he calls the Heating System! The group has some key all-star talent – including work from Joe Farrell on saxes and Phil Upchurch on guitar – but it's also noteworthy in that it features early work from Garrick King on drums, a player who was perfect for the sort of rhythms that McDuff forged in the 60s with drummer Joe Dukes! Jack himself handles a variety of key, plus organ – and there's some soulful fusion elements in the mix too, including a bit of vocals – giving the record a feel that's a lot like some of the Charles Earland work for Columbia at the same time. Titles include "Say Sumpin Nice", "Night Fantasies", "Pocket Change", and "Tunisian Affair". CD

One of the greatest solo albums ever issued by Latin jazz trumpeter Luis Gasca – a set that really expands on his debut for Atlantic Records, and which brings in a whole host of early 70s west coast Latin influences! The style here is very laidback and open – a bit like some of the Chicano funk coming out of the LA scene at the time, but a fair bit more jazz oriented overall – with long lean solos from both Gasca on trumpet and Joe Henderson on tenor sax, set up in a half-electric set of rhythms laid out on guitar, organ, keyboards, bass, and plenty of percussion! Other players here are all top-shelf too – and include Carlos Santana, George Cables, Stanley Clarke, Coke Escovedo, and Lenny White. The album features 4 long tracks – "Spanish Gypsy", "Street Dude", "La Raza", and "Little Mama". CD

Genius, pure genius! This album's possibly the most perfectly realized set from the team of Bobby Hutcherson on vibes and Harold Land on reeds – a pair who hit territory that's slightly funky, but which is also still touched by the modal spiritualism of some of their earlier work together! The album has an approach that we've not heard on other sides from the time – in that it takes its time to build the grooves up slowly, layering element over element as the songs unfurl, crafting some killer numbers that make the album incredibly strong as a whole. Land plays flute and tenor, and even a bit of oboe, which makes for a wonderfully compelling reed sound – and the group also features Joe Sample on Fender Rhodes, on loan from The Crusaders, plus Fender bass from John Williams and drums from Mickey Roker. Titles include the classics "Ummh" and "Goin' Down South", which have been made famous over the years, thanks to the magic of sampling technology – plus the tracks "Jazz", "Night In Barcelona", and "Procession". LP, Vinyl record album

Genius, pure genius! This album's possibly the most perfectly realized set from the team of Bobby Hutcherson on vibes and Harold Land on reeds – a pair who hit territory that's slightly funky, but which is also still touched by the modal spiritualism of some of their earlier work together! The album has an approach that we've not heard on other sides from the time – in that it takes its time to build the grooves up slowly, layering element over element as the songs unfurl, crafting some killer numbers that make the album incredibly strong as a whole. Land plays flute and tenor, and even a bit of oboe, which makes for a wonderfully compelling reed sound – and the group also features Joe Sample on Fender Rhodes, on loan from The Crusaders, plus Fender bass from John Williams and drums from Mickey Roker. Titles include the classics "Ummh" and "Goin' Down South", which have been made famous over the years, thanks to the magic of sampling technology – plus the tracks "Jazz", "Night In Barcelona", and "Procession". CD

Django Reinhardt with Larry Adler, the American Swing Band, Arthur Briggs, Benny Carter, Garnet Clark, Bill Coleman, Frank 'Big Boy' Goudie, Coleman Hawkins, Wilson Myers, Eddie South, Rex Stewart, Freddy Taylor, Joe Turner, and Dicky Wells. CD

A really cool later album from the great Jack McDuff – nicely stepping out from some of the multi-keyboard modes he forged for Chess Records in the 70s, and still working with a combo here that he calls the Heating System! The group has some key all-star talent – including work from Joe Farrell on saxes and Phil Upchurch on guitar – but it's also noteworthy in that it features early work from Garrick King on drums, a player who was perfect for the sort of rhythms that McDuff forged in the 60s with drummer Joe Dukes! Jack himself handles a variety of key, plus organ – and there's some soulful fusion elements in the mix too, including a bit of vocals – giving the record a feel that's a lot like some of the Charles Earland work for Columbia at the same time. Titles include "Say Sumpin Nice", "Night Fantasies", "Pocket Change", and "Tunisian Affair". CD

A great collection with early American jazz, jug bands, blues, and even some country music – includes songs by the State Street Ramblers, Joe Turner, Frenchy's String Band, Jimmie Rodgers, Sonny Greer, Sam Morgan's Jazz Band, Eddie South & His Orchestra, Duke Ellington, and more. 79 tracks total. CD

Three great albums from saxophone genius Joe Harriott! CD

The Chicago River famously flooded in 1992, but not in a typical way – as the flood was the result of an accident in which the river "leaked" into the city, rather than overtaking it – almost a comical accident that is memorialized here in a benefit performance by the great Hal Russell! Hal's at his most charming here – speaking a bit with that burnt-out voice that he could do so well, as he reads some poetry by Philip Egert, then moves over to blow tenor, soprano, and trumpet – as well as handle drums and percussion – all in duo formation with Joel Futterman, who plays piano, Indian flute, curved soprano sax, and more percussion. The very extended set was performed live at the city's Southend Music Works – and is very much in the looser, unbridled, sometimes shaggy spirit of the free jazz scene in Chicago from the time! CD

An overlooked moment of genius from Canadian bassist Neil Swainson – maybe the only album of his we've seen as a leader, and a tremendous showcase for the talents of Joe Henderson on tenor and Woody Shaw on trumpet! The album's a beautiful burner – filled with original songs by Neil, and handled by the group with some of the soulful flow you'd find on the best Woody Shaw albums for Muse Records in the 70s – a mode that's very much out of time, especially as the whole thing was issued on the Concord label, which isn't usually such a strong showcase for material as soulful and expressive as this! The rest of the combo features Jerry Fuller on drums and Gary Williamson on piano – and titles include "Don't Hurt Yourself", "49th Parallel", "Port Of Spain", "On The Lam", "Labyrinth", and "Southern Exposure". CD

An overlooked moment of genius from Canadian bassist Neil Swainson – maybe the only album of his we've seen as a leader, and a tremendous showcase for the talents of Joe Henderson on tenor and Woody Shaw on trumpet! The album's a beautiful burner – filled with original songs by Neil, and handled by the group with some of the soulful flow you'd find on the best Woody Shaw albums for Muse Records in the 70s – a mode that's very much out of time, especially as the whole thing was issued on the Concord label, which isn't usually such a strong showcase for material as soulful and expressive as this! The rest of the combo features Jerry Fuller on drums and Gary Williamson on piano – and titles include "Don't Hurt Yourself", "49th Parallel", "Port Of Spain", "On The Lam", "Labyrinth", and "Southern Exposure". CD

An excellent set of material from the Bay Area bassist James Leary – a package that brings together one rare album, and a whole host of unreleased recordings as well! The core album is Legacy – originally issued on the tiny Blue Collar label at the start of the 80s, and a wonderful set that features plenty of tenor work from Joe Henderson – a really much-needed document of Joe's tremendous sound during this under-recorded period of his career – and very heavy in those sharp, dark tones he used on the Mirror Mirror album! The rest of the group is great – a core combo with George Cables on piano, Eddie Marshall on drums, and Kenneth Nash on percussion – augmented by some larger backings at times, but always in a relatively subtle way that preserves the energy of the core. Titles from that session include "Twenty Five/Mister X", "Remember To Smile", "Today's Song", "So Far So Good", "Legacy", and "Wajumbe". CD also then features 90s recordings made by Leary with some mighty hip players in the southern Cali scene – a shifting lineup that features vocals from Dwight Trible on two numbers, plus trumpet from James Smith, tenor from George Harper, and piano from Eric Reed. Titles include "Song For My Mother", "Little Birds", "Come & Talk", "Together", and "Expose". CD

Not a set of world music-inflected jazz – although there is a bit of that – and instead, a wonderful collection of spiritual numbers from around the world – most recorded in the 70s, at a time when barriers were really breaking down in jazz music! All tracks here are nice and long, and most are groovers – but not in the typical funky jazz way – as the album is mostly earthy and organic, and mostly acoustic too – with musicians that work together wonderfully in ensemble format, and often find ways to incorporate non-traditional instruments into a jazz-based perspective! Titles include "Souffle (part 2)" by Armand Lemal, "Ismaa" by The Jazz Committee For Latin American Affairs, "Timbuktu" by Theo Loevendie Consort, "Fonetik A Velo" by Kafe, "Martinica" by Michel Sardaby, "Illustration" by Billy Bang's Survival Ensemble, "Pumu 1" by Masabumi Kikuchi, and "Itwenty Five" by Joe Malinga & The Southern African Force. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) CD

One of the coolest, grooviest albums you'll ever hear from the legendary percussionist Airto – a set that mixes his own Brazilian roots with the electric genius of 70s CTI – all with stunning results! Airto's in the lead – and blows some beautiful wood flute lines alongside percussion – but the album also features killer contributions from Joe Farrell on soprano sax, Hubert Laws on flute, Keith Jarrett on piano, and Chick Corea on Fender Rhodes – as well as a hip bit of vocals from Flora Purim as well! There's some added horns at parts – but the arrangements are relatively spare and subtle – so that most tracks have a core organic quality, very similar to Airto's work on Buddah/Cobblestone, but given a bit more of a CTI twist. Most tunes are quite long and free-flowing – and titles include "Lucky Southern", "Flora's Song", "Creek (Arroio)", and "Return To Forever". LP, Vinyl record album

Not a set of world music-inflected jazz – although there is a bit of that – and instead, a wonderful collection of spiritual numbers from around the world – most recorded in the 70s, at a time when barriers were really breaking down in jazz music! All tracks here are nice and long, and most are groovers – but not in the typical funky jazz way – as the album is mostly earthy and organic, and mostly acoustic too – with musicians that work together wonderfully in ensemble format, and often find ways to incorporate non-traditional instruments into a jazz-based perspective! Titles include "Souffle (part 2)" by Armand Lemal, "Ismaa" by The Jazz Committee For Latin American Affairs, "Timbuktu" by Theo Loevendie Consort, "Fonetik A Velo" by Kafe, "Martinica" by Michel Sardaby, "Illustration" by Billy Bang's Survival Ensemble, "Pumu 1" by Masabumi Kikuchi, and "Itwenty Five" by Joe Malinga & The Southern African Force. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A double-length collection of key 50s work from saxophonist Sahib Shihab – a wealth of small group recordings made in the US before leaving for greater fame overseas! First up is material from the rare Savoy album Night People – an obscure session issued under the leadership of bassit Mort Herbert – but one that features some great work from Sahib throughout! The session's based mostly around original compositions from Herbert – playful numbers that are handled by two different groups – one that includes Shihab, Joe Wilder, Bobby Jaspar, and Kenny Clarke; another that features Shihab and Clarke with trumpeter Don Stratton and pianist Ronnie Ball. Much of the work here is in the Savoy mode of the time – tight on the head, but lots of room for solo voicings – always a treat with Sahib in a set like this! Titles include "Son Of The Preacher", "Blues For Fred & Ray", "Mitch's Carol", "Swiss Movement", and "Night People". Another big chunk of work on the set is from Jazz Sahib – an album that's broken into two different groups. Both have Sahib playing with Phil Woods on alto and Benny Golson on tenor, but one rhythm section is Hank Jones on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Taylor on drums – and the other is Bill Evans on piano, Oscar Pettiford on bass, and Taylor again on drums. Tracks are long, and mostly have a hardbop sort of approach – but there's also a slight undercurrent of mysticism too, of the sort that would show up more strongly in Sahib's later work. Titles include "Ballad To The East", "Jamila", "Le Sneak", and "The Moors". Next up is half of the album The Jazz We Heard Last Summer – an almost-overlooked session on Savoy, but a great one, and a record that really carries that raw blowing session energy of the best work on Prestige at the time! The work here is from side one of the album – which features a killer lineup that includes Sahib Shihab on baritone, Clifford Jordan on tenor, and John Jenkins on alto – all blowing in the front line with rhythm from the trio of Hank Jones on piano, Addison Farmer on bass, and Danny Richmond on drums. Titles include "SMTWTFSS Blues", "Rockaway", and "The Things We Did Last Summer". Additional material on the 2CD set includes "Hum Bug" and "Southern Exposure" – from an Epic album titled After Hours Jazz – plus "Sugar Dugar" from the Jazz Is Bursting Out All Over album on Savoy – and the bonus tracks "Lo Ba" and "Ba Dut Du Dat", also recorded for Savoy. CD

A really incredible spiritual jazz treasure from the New Orleans scene – one that features a student group led by legendary Nola musician Alvin Batiste, but delivered in a style that's much more like some of the hipper jazz collectives in cities like Detroit, Chicago, or Philly at the time! The tracks are long and flowing – filled with rhythm progressions that run deep, often with some modal energy – and almost all tracks have these really great vocals from Eddie Perkins, a soulful singer with a style that's in the territory of Andy Bey or Joe Lee Wilson – which, as you can imagine, makes for a really great addition to the music! Other players include Batiste on clarinet, James McElroy on soprano, Ernest Nation on trumpet, Alphonso Rodriguez on guitar, Richard Hunter on percussion, and a young Charlie Singleton on bass – and this rare set was only originally given away as a souvenir for the group's trip to West Africa in 1973. Titles include "Clean Air", "Holdin Meetin", "Nanigo", "Samba Dee", "Ah Je Gu Da Ba", and "Music Came". This reissue also features two rare bonus instrumentals – "Samba Dee" and "Music Came". LP, Vinyl record album

Bill Evans returns to his alma mater – playing a live set at Southern Louisiana University in the late years of his career – recorded in a way that's quite different from some of his other concert sets of the time! There's a nice amount of echo in the recording – so you really have a strong feel for the room – Bill's lines stretching out beautifully in space, filling the room with waves of sound that might be more at home on the ECM label, especially given Evans' laidback playing at points. Trio members include Marc Johnson on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums – and titles include "Very Early", "Turn Out The Stars", "MASH", "Re Person I Knew", "Midnight Mood", and "Minha". CD

Featuring Kirk Brown, Harrison Bankhead, Hammid Drake, Reto Weber, Mike Allemana, and Joe Jenkins. CD

An overdue look at the great range of sounds that came from Inner City Records at the end of the 70s – a hip American indie with a strong specialty in soulful fusion, hip vocalists, and a range of other great styles too – all brought together here by London DJ Kev Beadle! Inner City's often a bit overlooked – as the label flourished most strongly in the years after some of the better-known soulful imprints of the 70s – and the label always had a great ear for new sounds, fresh ideas, and the kind of compelling global elements that often led them to license key tracks from overseas, and bring them to the US market. This collection's heavy on singers – the kind of cool, underground jazz vocalists that Inner City captured so well – and it's also got a nice mix of funky fusion, modal numbers, and spiritual currents – on titles that include "The Other World" by Judy Roberts, "Hunt Up Wind" by Hiroshi Fukumura, "Vera Cruz" by Helen Merrill, "Lucky Southern" by Tom Lellis, "Quickie Nirvana" by Kellis Ethridge, "Samba De La Cruz" by Terumasa Hino, "So High" by Janet Lawson, "The Samba" by Jeff Lorber, "Return Of The Prodigal Son" by Joe Lee Wilson, "Shenkansen" by Urszula Dudziak, "To An Elfin Princess" by Charlie Mariano, "Pandora" by Carlos Franzetti, and "Jennine" by Eddie Jefferson. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

Three great 70s albums from keyboardist Mike Longo! First up is Awakening, killer electric piano work from the mighty Mike Longo – recorded at a time when he was definitely at the height of his powers! The album sports a rare Mainstream Records appearance from James Moody – who was a frequent partner of Longos on sessions at the time – particularly on some of Dizzy Gillespie's funky records – which bear a lot of similarity to the sharp-edged grooves on this one! The rhythm section is wonderfully tight, and a big part of the success of the set – as they keep things grooving with a slightly sharper edge than some of Longo's other records – thanks to bass from Ron Carter, drums from Mickey Roker, and even a bit of extra congas from Dizzy Gillespie, of all people! Other players include Moody on alto, tenor, and flute – plus Virgil Jones on trumpet and Curtis Fuller on trombone. Titles include "Just To Let You Know", "A Piece Of Resistance", "The Awakening", "Pass It", and "Bitchin". Funkia is quite possibly the greatest record ever by Mike Longo – a wicked batch of electric funky piano tunes, recorded with a sublime 70s feel! The set's got a really stripped down group – with Ron Carter on bass, Mickey Roker on drums, and Patato Valdez on percussion – all grooving behind Longo's work on electric and acoustic piano, creating some magical rhythms that snap a groove out of just about every single tune! The whole set's great – not just a "one number" funky jazz set – and titles include versions of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On", Dizzy Gillespie's "Ole' For the Gypsies", Les McCann's "Samia", and Longo's own "Southern Soul" and "Funkia". 900 Shares Of The Blues is stone funky, and one of his best albums ever! The whole thing's done in a really laidback style that's simply amazing – a lot like the best CTI work of the time, but somehow rougher, and with a darker edge. Longo riffs out on the keys over rhythm by Ron Carter, Mickey Roker, and Ralph MacDonald – and Joe Farrell and Randy Brecker add in some great horn work that fleshes out the tunes with a deeply soulful jazzy feel. The whole album's great, with a range of moods, emotions, and grooves that Longo hardly ever hit again – and titles include "Summers Gone", "El Moodo Grande", "Like a Thief In the Night", "Ocean Of His Might", and "Magic Number". CD