A landmark first album from drummer Norman Connors – a spiritual jazz masterpiece that builds wonderfully on the post-Coltrane tradition! Norman is years away from his smoother soul recordings at this point, and coming out of a righteous jazz background that included work with Marion Brown and Archie Shepp. For this initial set, Norman's in incredible company – working with players that include Herbie Hancock on both electric and acoustic keys, plus Eddie Henderson on trumpet, Gary Bartz and Carlos Garnett on saxes, Stanley Clarke on bass, and Billy Hart and Airto on percussion – plus a chorus of vocalists on the album's mighty title cut! Tracks are all long, spiritual, and freely exploratory – but never in a style that goes too far outside, or that forgets the joy and love that can spring forth in a forward-thinking session like this one! Titles include "Dance Of Magic", "Give The Drummer Some", "Morning Change", and "Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

Early genius from drummer Norman Connors – a sensational bit of righteous soul jazz – right up there with the best work on Strata East and Black Jazz from the time! The sound here is full, soulful, and spiritual – as Connors heads up a large ensemble that includes luminaries like Herbie Hancock, Eddie Henderson, Gary Bartz, Carlos Garnett, Buster Williams, and Dee Dee Bridgewater – all working together in a formation that's free spirited, yet tightly unified – often at a level that's even stronger than their own recordings! The album mixes a few longer tracks with shorter numbers – in a mode that reminds us a lot of Garnett's classic Black Love album – and titles include "Song For Rosa", "Black Lightnin", "Dark Of Light", "Butterfly Dreams", and "Laughter". LP, Vinyl record album

Early genius from drummer Norman Connors – a sensational bit of righteous soul jazz – right up there with the best work on Strata East and Black Jazz from the time! The sound here is full, soulful, and spiritual – as Connors heads up a large ensemble that includes luminaries like Herbie Hancock, Eddie Henderson, Gary Bartz, Carlos Garnett, Buster Williams, and Dee Dee Bridgewater – all working together in a formation that's free spirited, yet tightly unified – often at a level that's even stronger than their own recordings! The album mixes a few longer tracks with shorter numbers – in a mode that reminds us a lot of Garnett's classic Black Love album – and titles include "Song For Rosa", "Black Lightnin", "Dark Of Light", "Butterfly Dreams", and "Laughter". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the songs "So Hard To Say Goodbye", "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)", "Cobra", "You Are My Starship", "Eternity", "Conditions Of The Heart", "River Of Love", "You Can't Hurt Me Anymore", "Feel The Heat", "We're Still Friends", "You're Making Me High", "K.C.", "Not Just Another Love Song", and "Can't Say No". CD

A spiritual jazz masterpiece from drummer Norman Connors – one of those unique albums he cut before moving into soul music – done at a level that rivals the early 70s genius on labels like Strata East or Impulse Records! Connors worked with many contemporaries on those labels, and gets a good degree of help from them here, too – in a massive lineup that includes Eddie Henderson on trumpet, Herbie Hancock on keyboards, Gary Bartz on alto, Carlos Garnett on tenor, Buster Williams on bass, Bill Summers on drums, and even Dee Dee Bridgewater on a bit of vocals too! With a lineup like that, it would be easy to lay back and just do nothing – but you can really hear Connors' musical vision taking the lead – that warmly soulful approach that was there right from the start, given some great focus here by producer Skip Drinkwater. Tracks are all long, and free-flowing – a bit out at times, but always returning to the modal pulse of Connors' soulful rhythms. Titles include "Carlos II", "Kumakucha", "Holy Waters", "Revelation", and "Love From The Sun". LP, Vinyl record album

A great compilation of tracks from 70's soul jazz reed player Carlos Garnett. Garnett recorded with players like Miles Davis and Norman Connors as a firey sideman, but this set brings together tracks from a number of his different Muse recordings from the 70s – most of which are pretty tough to find on vinyl! The tracks have a nice spacey soul jazz sound, similar to work that you might find on Strata East or Black Jazz – and titles include "Chana", "Let Us Go (To Higher Heights)", "Senor Trane", and the classic "Taurus Woman", which was one of the big early cuts on the acid jazz scene! CD

Soaring soul from Carlos Garnett – one of the reedman's key 70s sides for the Muse Records label – work we'd rank right up there with the spiritual best of Gary Bartz or Norman Connors at the time! Like both of those contemporaries, Garnett's really reaching for something new in the post-Coltrane generation – mixing electric and acoustic instrumentation with compelling rhythmic changes – and often letting in a bit of vocals as well. Most of the music here is instrumental – with Garnett on tenor and baritone sax, plus the great Hubert Eaves on keyboards and Reggie Lucas on guitar – but some tracks also feature very nice vocals from Prema, a female singer who takes up the same sort of role you might find Dee Dee Bridgewater doing with Connors, or Jean Carn with husband Doug. The blend is wonderful, and the vocals really help give the musical message some weight when the come into the mix – and titles include "Panama Roots", "Senor Trane", "Samba Serenade", and "Ghetto Jungle". CD

A nice change from some of Sam Rivers' more extended modes of the time – with tracks that are a bit shorter, with a bit more focus – yet still a relatively loose approach overall! The album features a few differeing trios – with Rivers on flute, tenor, soprano sax, and piano – plus Richard Davis, Cecil McBee, or Avild Andersen on bass – and either Norman Connors, Warren Smith, or Barry Altschul on drums. Titles include "Amber", "Rose", "Mauve", and "Violet". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of Sam Rivers' best remembered work from the post-Blue Note years – hard-blowing trio material that features Sam on a range of reeds, plus piano, and occasional vocalisation, working with bassists that include Cecil McBee, Arild Anderson, and Richard Davis, and drummers that include Norman Connors, Warren Smith, and Barry Altschul. Although he works great in a larger setting, we think this is where he really shines, given rom to breathe and move. This release features material from the Streams LP, including one track that appears in a longer form from that one, plus tracks that were issued on other ABC albums at the time. Titles include "Hues Of Melanin (in 4 parts)", "Suite For Molde (in 2 parts)", "Indigo", "Mauve", and "Encore". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic live set for Impulse that marked Rivers' shift from a player who kept slightly inside in a modernist vein, to one who burst out in a very free style. Rivers plays long flowing lines on both flute and tenor, and he's backed by Cecil Mc Bee on bass and Norman Connors on drums. The whole LP is one long track, with Rivers alternating between different reed instruments and piano. CD

A record with a really timeless feel – a jazz set from the early 80s scene in Oakland, and one that opens up in so many wonderful flavors! A few cuts have a soul style – with female vocals in the lead, amidst warmer, jazzier backings – and other tracks have an instrumental approach, but one that's a bit different than straight jazz – almost spiritual fusion, in a way that nicely echoes some of the lyrical passages. We'd almost place the set in the same company of the work of Norman Connors in the mid 70s – although the overall sound is somewhat different – the driving creative force here is Umlah Sadau-Holt, who plays Fender Rhodes, soprano sax, tenor, flute, and even percussion. Titles include "African Violet", "Premonition", "Outer Space Blues", "You Make The Sunshine", "Black Encounters", and "Children Of The Universe". CD

A righteous cover, a righteous title, and a righteous little session that features one long song that spans the entire length of the album! "Black Unity" may well be Pharoah Sanders' freest expression on record to date – but it's also still got all the hallmarks of his best moments on Impulse – especially the tighter rhythmic focus that always makes his work so compelling – and which has kept his legacy fresh for generations and generations of new jazz listeners! The group here is wonderfully put together – with Joe Bonner on piano, Carlos Garnett on tenor, Marvin Hannibal Peterson on trumpet, Cecil McBee and Stanley Clarke on basses, and Norman Connors and Billy Hart on drums – all with plenty of space to stretch out, open up, and really do their thing! In contrast to some of the totally free work coming out of the European scene during the same stretch – especially that by American players overseas – the album's a great reminder that rhythm in jazz is always a key component – as Pharoah finds a way to make things swing, even at unexpected moments! CD

A righteous cover, a righteous title, and a righteous little session that features one long song that spans the entire length of the album! "Black Unity" may well be Pharoah Sanders' freest expression on record to date – but it's also still got all the hallmarks of his best moments on Impulse – especially the tighter rhythmic focus that always makes his work so compelling – and which has kept his legacy fresh for generations and generations of new jazz listeners! The group here is wonderfully put together – with Joe Bonner on piano, Carlos Garnett on tenor, Marvin Hannibal Peterson on trumpet, Cecil McBee and Stanley Clarke on basses, and Norman Connors and Billy Hart on drums – all with plenty of space to stretch out, open up, and really do their thing! In contrast to some of the totally free work coming out of the European scene during the same stretch – especially that by American players overseas – the album's a great reminder that rhythm in jazz is always a key component – as Pharoah finds a way to make things swing, even at unexpected moments! CD

A righteous cover, a righteous title, and a righteous little session that features one long song that spans the entire length of the album! "Black Unity" may well be Pharoah Sanders' freest expression on record to date – but it's also still got all the hallmarks of his best moments on Impulse – especially the tighter rhythmic focus that always makes his work so compelling – and which has kept his legacy fresh for generations and generations of new jazz listeners! The group here is wonderfully put together – with Joe Bonner on piano, Carlos Garnett on tenor, Marvin Hannibal Peterson on trumpet, Cecil McBee and Stanley Clarke on basses, and Norman Connors and Billy Hart on drums – all with plenty of space to stretch out, open up, and really do their thing! In contrast to some of the totally free work coming out of the European scene during the same stretch – especially that by American players overseas – the album's a great reminder that rhythm in jazz is always a key component – as Pharoah finds a way to make things swing, even at unexpected moments! LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful little record by Pharoah Sanders – quite different than most of his other recordings of the 70s, and done in a smoothly jazzy mode that also features plenty of soul! Sanders did the set in collaboration with Norman Connors – and the style is in that same great mix of mellow soul and deeper jazz that Connors used on his own brilliant records from the time. Instrumentation includes some keyboards and guitar mixed in with Sanders' always-soulful work on sax – and a number of cuts have vocals, either by a chorus shading in the tunes, or by Phyllis Hyman in the lead. The whole thing's great – warmly soulful, and almost a tighter extension of the modes that Sanders was exploring on his last album or two for Impulse. Titles include "As You Are", "Everything I Have Is Good", "Got To Give It Up", "Love Will Find a Way", "Love Is Here", and "Pharomba". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked gem from Pharoah Sanders' years on Impulse – one that has him breaking the pattern a bit, but in a really great way! The session mixes up more shorter songs than before – still all quite spiritual, but also a bit more focused – in a way that packs an incredible punch, even at more contemplative moments. Players include Sanders regulars – like Norman Connors on drums and Cecil McBee on bass – but also some key newcomers, like Art Webb on flute, Joe Bonner on piano, and Jimmy Hopps on drums – making one of his excellent Impulse appearances for the record. But perhaps even more striking are the vocals on the set – done often by Sedatrius Brown, who sings partially in a Leon Thomas spiritual mode – but also hits notes that are a bit earthier, and which are picked up in added vocalizations by members of the group. Sanders himself plays soprano and tenor sax – and titles include the expanded "Village Of The Pharoahs" suite, plus "Went Like It Came", "Memories Of Lee Morgan", "Myth", and "Mansion Worlds". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautifully balanced 60s work from Archie Shepp – a record that mixes newer freedoms with sharper vision – all wrapped up with some wonderfully intense solo work! As with some of Shepp's other great dates for Impulse at the time, the group's a largeish one – a nonet of players who are arranged tightly at some moments, but set loose on their own at others – in a style that many other leaders would copy in years to come, but never really match as strongly! Trumpet is by Martin Banks and Michael Zwerin, the latter of whom also plays trombone – and other players include Reggie Workman on bass, Beaver Harris and Norman Connors on drums, and added percussion from Ed Blackwell, Frank Charles, and Dennis Charles. Shepp wrote all titles for the date – and there's a great mixture of soulful undercurrents and more angular modern edges in every tune. Titles include "The Magic Of Ju Ju", "You're What This Day Is All About", "Shazam", and "Sorry 'Bout That". CD

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

Lonnie Liston Smith is really tightening up his groove on this one – bringing a bit more funk into the mix, and creating that amazingly sweet glide in his keyboard sound! The record's still steeped in the righteous influences of years past, but it brings the message out to a bigger audience – letting soul flow into the jazz-based tunes in the same way that Norman Connors was doing at the time – and creating the same sort of warm glow through a mix of earthy percussion and electric keys. Vocals on most numbers are by Donald Smith, who has a great approach that has the depth of Leon Thomas but the warm focus of Michael Henderson – and he's a perfect fit for Lonnie's well-crafted tunes on the set! Titles include the nicely breaking "Devika", plus "A Chance For Peace", "Colors of The Rainbow", "Visions Of A New World", and the killer mellow track "Summer Nights", a very warm electric piano cut, with a nice sort of "Summer Madness" feel! CD

Lonnie Liston Smith is really tightening up his groove on this one – bringing a bit more funk into the mix, and creating that amazingly sweet glide in his keyboard sound! The record's still steeped in the righteous influences of years past, but it brings the message out to a bigger audience – letting soul flow into the jazz-based tunes in the same way that Norman Connors was doing at the time – and creating the same sort of warm glow through a mix of earthy percussion and electric keys. Vocals on most numbers are by Donald Smith, who has a great approach that has the depth of Leon Thomas but the warm focus of Michael Henderson – and he's a perfect fit for Lonnie's well-crafted tunes on the set! Titles include the nicely breaking "Devika", plus "A Chance For Peace", "Colors of The Rainbow", "Visions Of A New World", and the killer mellow track "Summer Nights", a very warm electric piano cut, with a nice sort of "Summer Madness" feel! LP, Vinyl record album

Lonnie Liston Smith is really tightening up his groove on this one – bringing a bit more funk into the mix, and creating that amazingly sweet glide in his keyboard sound! The record's still steeped in the righteous influences of years past, but it brings the message out to a bigger audience – letting soul flow into the jazz-based tunes in the same way that Norman Connors was doing at the time – and creating the same sort of warm glow through a mix of earthy percussion and electric keys. Vocals on most numbers are by Donald Smith, who has a great approach that has the depth of Leon Thomas but the warm focus of Michael Henderson – and he's a perfect fit for Lonnie's well-crafted tunes on the set! Titles include the nicely breaking "Devika", plus "A Chance For Peace", "Colors of The Rainbow", "Visions Of A New World", and the killer mellow track "Summer Nights", a very warm electric piano cut, with a nice sort of "Summer Madness" feel! LP, Vinyl record album

An 80s album by McCoy Tyner, but easily one of his most soulful sessions ever – thanks to help from Phyllis Hyman and a host of great guest stars! The sound's a bit more tightly arranged than some of Tyner's 70s sessions, but there's still plenty of fire here too – a bit of a Latin inspiration in the rhythms, really giving new focus to McCoy's post-Coltrane sense of searching spirituality! Hyman sings wonderfully on the album's classic "Love Surrounds Us Everywhere", a brilliant blend of jazz and soul that recalls mid 70s Norman Connors – and on the beautiful ballad "I'll Be Around". Other players here include Gary Bartz, Stanley Clarke, and Carlos Santana – who comes off surprisingly nicely in this setting. Tracks include "Love Surrounds Us Everywhere", "Hannibal", "I'll Be Around", "Senor Carlos", "In Search Of My Heart", and "Island Birdie". LP, Vinyl record album

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

A wild and wonderful collection that mixes together music from Roland Kirk, The Pop Group, Sun Ra, Norman Connors, Gil Melle, 23 Skidoo, Alice Coltrane, Tony Williams, and many others! CD

There's two stylish British hipsters on the cover, but the album's filled with classic American jazz tracks – each hand-picked by Martin Freeman and Eddie Piller, and served up with plenty of soul! The work here begins in hardbop territory, and moves through 60s soul jazz and more righteous moments in the 70s – and while there's a few more recent tracks, the vibe of the record is very vintage throughout – and really reflects that longtime London love of obscure American records – sounds from a scene that has really taught us a lot over the decades! There's a few tracks here we haven't seen in years, and some great old favorites too – and titles include "Now At Last" by Blossom Dearie, "Trees & Grass & Things" by Charles Williams, "The Hipster" by Harold McNair, "Chains" by Blacks & Blues, "Bend Your Head Down Low" by Geoffrey Stoner, "Sphynx" by Brand New Heavies, "Look At Me Look At You" by Marlena Shaw, "Get Up Off Your Knees" by David Axelrod, "Psychedelic" by Lee Morgan, "Terra Firma Irma" by Joe Gordon,"The Rhythm Changes" by Kamasi Washington, "Just In Time To See The Sun" by Leon Thomas, "Mother Of The Future" by Norman Connors, and "Mi Hermano" by Blue Mitchell. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album