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

Natural Information Society have been a key force on the Chicago underground for a number of years – and here, they go back even further, to open the door to the legendary saxophonist Ari Brown – who joins the group on tenor! You might know Brown's music as a member of 70s spiritual group The Awakening, or his later solo albums – and his time-schooled spirit is a perfect match for the ensemble led by bassist Joshua Abrams, who also plays some guimbri on the set. Other players include Ben Lamar Gay and Josh Berman on cornets, Jason Stein on bass clarinet, Lisa Alvarado on harmonium, Kara Bershad on harp, Nick Mazzarella on alto, and Hamid Drake on congas and tablas – a group who work together with the richly organic vibe we always love in projects from Abrams. Titles include "Moontide Chorus", "Is", "Murmuration", "Wane", "Wax", "Immemorial", and "Stigmergy". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic comeback moment for the great Andy Bey – a singer who did incredible work in the 60s and 70s – then disappeared from the recording scene for awhile! The set's a compelling batch of jazz vocal tracks that show Andy reinventing himself for a whole new generation of jazz listeners. The backing's by a nice small group that includes Gary Bartz on alto, with whom Andy recorded extensively in the 70s – and other players include Geri Allen on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums. The album includes a haunting reworking of Nick Drake's amazing song "River Man", plus a version of Dori Caymmi's "Like A Lover", Monk's "Straight No Chaser", and the moody "Dark Shadows", which was a page from Earl Coleman's songbook. (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

A gem of a record from the late 60s British scene – one based around the sound poems of writer and poet Terry Durham! The record features Duram speaking and singing his own lyrics – supported by musical backings arranged by John Coleman, shaded in by some wonderful work by players that include Alan Parker on guitar, Evan Parker on saxes, and Chris Karan (from the Dudley Moore and Roy Budd trios) on some especially nice drums! Despite the poetic approach of the session, Durham's rough vocals give it a real sense of humanity – with none of the high-art pretension you might expect, and a real "everyman" sort of feel that comes from the overall delivery of the tunes. There's a nice link here between the other British jazz and rock experiments of the time – and in a way, Durham's a lost link in a lineage of hipper British artists that include Nick Drake and Scott Walker. A few tracks even get a bit funky, and titles include "The Fortunate Isles", "Sleep Train", "White Room Dreaming", "Branwells Corner", "Crystal Telephone", "Moving Through My Life", and "Stills From A Late Nite Movie". CD

A really fantastic album from bassist Joshua Abrams – a set that may well be his greatest to date – and that's saying a lot, given all the other work he's given us in recent years! The double-length set has Abrams working with this lineup of improvising jazz talents, but in a way that's very rhythmic, and very organic – slow-building songs that almost seem to mix jazz with inspiration from gamelan music, but with very spiritual currents overall – music that builds slowly and flows to the cosmos – almost in a way that reminds us of the seminal "On The Beach" by Phil Cohran & The Artistic Heritage Ensemble! Yet Abrams is very much in his own territory here – working with a lineup that features the leader on guimbri, Lisa Alvarado on harmonium and gongs, Mikel Avery on tam-tam and gongs, Ben Boye on electric autoharp and piano, Hamid Drake on tabla and tar, Ben Lamar Gay on cornet, Nick Mazzarella on alto saxophone, and Jason Stein on bass clarinet – with every member of the ensemble also performing on flutes. The sound is incredible – music to build a bridge to the heavens – and titles include "In Memory's Prism", "Finite", "Shadow Conductor", and "Agree". CD

Natural Information Society have been a key force on the Chicago underground for a number of years – and here, they go back even further, to open the door to the legendary saxophonist Ari Brown – who joins the group on tenor! You might know Brown's music as a member of 70s spiritual group The Awakening, or his later solo albums – and his time-schooled spirit is a perfect match for the ensemble led by bassist Joshua Abrams, who also plays some guimbri on the set. Other players include Ben Lamar Gay and Josh Berman on cornets, Jason Stein on bass clarinet, Lisa Alvarado on harmonium, Kara Bershad on harp, Nick Mazzarella on alto, and Hamid Drake on congas and tablas – a group who work together with the richly organic vibe we always love in projects from Abrams. Titles include "Moontide Chorus", "Is", "Murmuration", "Wane", "Wax", "Immemorial", and "Stigmergy". CD