Maybe the best album ever from this seminal British jazz rock combo – a record that really has the group stretching out in the expanded space of a concert setting! Colosseum were already one of the best groups to mix jazzy currents and heavy rock modes – but they really set a fire with this brilliant live album – which really gave the group plenty of room to show off their instrumental chops! Immediate Records star Chris Farlowe is on vocals – but the real charm of their sound comes from the tenor and soprano sax work of Dick Heckstall Smith, the Hammond and vibes of Dave Greenslade, and the heavy drums of Jon Hiseman – who really keeps things in the pockage, and provided more than a few funky passages on the album. Titles include "Lost Angeles", "Rope Ladder to The Moon", "Walking In The Park", and a version of Michael Gibbs' "Tanglewood 63". (Rock, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

One of Hank Crawford's first big records of the 70s – a really great set that helps him shake off some of his stock modes of the 60s and find a very different groove! A big part of the album is arranger Don Sebesky, who gives Hank a backdrop that's sophisticated and smooth, yet still pretty soulful in all the right places – a style that's almost a bit like mainstream soundtrack work of the time, but a bit more jazz focused overall. Hank's solos are right out front on most tracks – blown with that nicely pinched tone that made him a standout back in the day – and other players include Richard Tee on both organ and piano, as well as Idris Muhammad and Bernard Purdie on drums. Titles include "Uncle Funky", "Imagine", "The Sun Died", "Brian's Song", and "Ham", which was arranged by Pee Wee Ellis. LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet bit of electric funk, and one of Hank Crawford's greatest records from the 70s – thanks in large part to the great Bob James – who arranged and produced the record with a mighty soulful vibe – leaving Hank lots of room to solo on his own over the top! The groove is really great – and the record gets surprisingly chunky in parts – with heavier rhythms than you might expect from a Crawford album from the time – not exactly the heavier funk of other CTI records, but with a definite taste of that style too. Arrangements are fairly large, and feature keyboards from Richard Tee – plus backing vocals at a few spots – and titles include great versions of "You've Got It Bad Girl" and "Corazon", plus the tracks "Good Morning Heartache" and "Wildflower". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite albums ever from The Crusaders – a set that really sums up all the tightness they'd forged in the 70s, while still showing a new sense of soul and funk as well – expertly balanced with flawless LA production! The album may well be the group's equivalent of a Steely Dan album – no surprise, given the work they'd done on sessions for that group – and the title cut is the massive extended version of "Street Life", with killer vocals from Randy Crawford – and other titles include "My Lady", "Night Faces", "The Hustler", and "Rodeo Drive". LP, Vinyl record album

Man, it's like a talent bomb exploded! This set's stuffed with work by some of the greatest jazz funk players of the early 70s – Johnny Hammond, Bob James, Deodato, George Benson, Joe Farrell, Stanley Turrentine, Freddie Hubbard, Grover Washington Jr, Hubert Laws, and others – all playing together at a massive live concert recorded in Hollywood in 1972! And although you might worry that the collection of so many great talents on one stage might just create confusion – don't! The quality of the work is excellent – almost better than the best of the CTI studio sides, with a lean, clean sound that's really really tight – never overblown, just sweet electric funk with loads of great space for solo work. This second volume of the 3 LP set includes takes of "Blues Force", "Rock Steady", "People Make The World Go Round" and a medley of "Ithe From Love Story", "Pavane" and "Fire & Rain". LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal work from trumpeter Ted Curson – a set that's issued under his own name, but which continues a string of key early 60s performances with tenorist Bill Barron – who's work together here with Ted is fantastic! The group has no piano – just Herb Bushler on bass and Dick Berk on drums – both players with a fluid, open sense of rhythm – one that allows for plenty of horn interplay, at a level that almost has Curson borrowing some of the lessons he learned from Mingus, then taking them into small group formation and really opening things up! Curson also blows a bit of pocket trumpet, and Barron handles some clarinet – on a set of all original material that includes a great version of Curson's "Quicksand", plus the tracks "Kassim", "East 6th Street", "Tears For Dolphy", "7/4 Funny Time", and "Desolation". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful live representation of the energy of the Bitches Brew years – one that has Miles Davis and the group really letting loose with free-flowing, modally-inspired lines – cooking up an incredible blend of acoustic and electric sounds at once! There's a bit of funk here, but not much – and although guitar is sometimes used strongly, it's often not as noisy as in later live sides. Instead, the whole group gels together beautifully – an unlikely assortment of players that includes Gary Bartz and Steve Grossman on reeds, John McLaughlin on guitar, Herbie Hancock on keyboards, Hermeto Pascoal on percussion, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – all given new focus, direction, and inspiration by Miles! Titles include "What I Say", "Sivad", "Selim", "Funky Tonk", and a great medley of "Gemini/Double Image". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice little later album from Miles Davis – one that still has some sharp edges and interesting moments that refine the earlier electric sound of the 70s! Teo Macero's still producing here, and he gives the record a focus that really brings the best sound out of the tunes – and although there's not as much noise, funk, or raw energy as before, there's still a shimmeringly modern style that's quite different from most other electric jazz of the time – proof that Davis was still an innovator even in these years! Other instrumentation includes electric piano, guitar, and soprano sax – and titles include "Fat Time", "Aida", "The Man With The Horn", "Ursula", and "Back Seat Betty". LP, Vinyl record album

A much different album than you might expect from the cover – hardly the funky 70s set implied by the Big Fun-styled cover – and instead a lost slice of work from his groundbreaking late 60s years! The set was recorded in 1967, but unissued until Miles late 70s time away from the studio – hence the cover, which attempts to contemporanize the record – and the music is very much in the dark moods and sharp tones of Filles De Kilimanjaro, and features a somewhat similar group! The core quintet of Wayne Shorter on tenor, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums handles the first half of the set – but the group's then expanded to include Chick Corea on electric piano along with Herbie on keys – and Ron Carter steps out so that Dave Holland can bring some more modern tones to the bass. Tracks are all somewhat long, and titles include "Capricorn", "Water Babies", "Sweet Pea", and "Two Faced". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet funky fusion from one of the hippest drummers of the 70s – the mighty Les DeMerle, a player who's given the world plenty of samples over the years! The grooves on the set are some of Les' best – tightly snapping in a warm mix of electric and acoustic playing – with tight bass work that matches Les' drums perfectly, and lots of snaking horn solos from the great Don Menza. Josh Hanna sings on a few cuts, giving the record a more soulful feel than any of Les' other albums – and the whole thing's smoking at a level that really almost surpasses the best of DeMerle's studio work. Titles include "San Quenti Quail", "Freedom Jazz Dance", "Sambandrea Swing", "Quetzal", "Ambidextrous", and "Island Winds". LP, Vinyl record album

A live set from Deodato – but one that's very much in the mode of his best CTI studio sessions – with soaring, over the top keyboard work that's totally great – backed by some tightly compressed guitar, bass, and drums, with just enough funk in the mix to keep things interesting! As with other Deodato records from the time, there's a mix of moods here that comes together nicely – a range that goes past his easy hits, and shows Deodato to be one of the hippest, most soulful keyboard talents of his generation. Titles include a great version of "Super Strut" that grooves for over 8 minutes, and which has some firey guitar that really competes with Deodato's work on the keys – and other tracks include "Farewell To A Friend", "Pavane For A Dead Princess", "Rio Sangre", and "Jivin". LP, Vinyl record album

Funky keyboards galore – and one of the greatest records ever from this legendary Brazilian jazz talent! The album follows nicely off Deodato's Prelude classic for CTI – and like that one, this set's built on long-flowing tunes that rise and fall with a wonderful sense of rhythm – a sublime electric piano groove that's quite different than anything Deodato recorded before – and possibly never realized this perfectly again after his CTI years. Other players include Stanley Clarke on bass, Billy Cobham on drums, and Hubert Laws on flute – and titles include the massive Latin funk track "Super Strut", plus the tunes "Pavane For A Dead Princess", "Skyscrapers", and a great version of "Nights In White Satin". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary album from the 70s funk scene – and one of the crowning achievements of keyboard maestro Eumir Deodato! Deodato got his start during the bossa years of the 60s – where his sophisticated charts were already enough to make his career a landmark – but in the following decade he picked up the Fender Rhodes, and really took off in a great new direction with classic records like this! The set's a wonderful blend of larger charts and jazzy soloing – with sublime Rhodes lines from the leader, plus a mix of acoustic and electric instrumentation in the best CTI mode – underscored by percussion from both Ray Barretto and Airto. The features Deodato's remake of "Also Sprach Zarathustra" into the funky "2001" – soaring with Fender Rhodes lines that set a new standard for the instrument, with a funky undercurrent that few would have expected for the tune. Other tracks are nice too – and include a great bossa-y version of "Baubles Bangles & Beads", plus "Spirit Of Summer", "September 13", and "Carly & Carole". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet keyboard soul from Deodato – a set that steps off nicely from the strengths of his big hits on CTI, hitting a similarly flowing groove that's really great! The instrumentation here is a bit more expanded than before, but never in a way that buries the keyboards – and Deodato's right out front on a range of electric keys that get some great support from John Tropea's finely-honed work on guitar! Titles include "Havana Strut", "Whirlwinds", "West 42nd Street", and a nice cover of Steely Dan's "Do It Again". And heck, even the album's version of Glen Miller's "Moonlight Serenade" manages to come off like a funk tune! LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic set from the young tenorist Klaus Doldinger – hardly jazz made in Germany, as the whole thing has a smoking soul jazz quality to rival the best on Prestige Records at the time! Klaus plays tenor throughout – in a fantastic combo that features Hammond organ from the great Ingfried Hoffman, and drums from Klaus Weiss – who'd later go onto great fame in funk and fusion. Titles include "Signal", "Solar", "Blues For George", and "Bluesy Toosy". LP, Vinyl record album