An ear-opening set of Japanese jazz from a time when that nation's scene was really taking off – a period in the 70s when all sorts of new artists and new ideas were really flying around – and leaving behind a huge recorded legacy that's been mostly out of reach for us in the west! Japan always had a few big names in jazz that got exported overseas, but the work here is from some of the smaller names who were still turning out incredible music – much of it only issued on vinyl, and not reissued later – brought together here with copious notes that really tell you a heck of a lot about the music! There's definitely a post-Coltrane vibe going on – lots of spiritual elements, mixed with both moments that are funkier and more soulful, and others that are a bit more freewheeling – often stretched out on extended tracks that really let the artists take off and find their space. Titles include "Black Nile" by Hideyasu Terakawa, "Kirisame" by Ryusei Quartet, "Honey Sanba" by Katsuyuki Itakura, "Cumulonimbus" by Shigeharu Mukai, "Song Of Island" by Yasuhiro Kohno Trio + One, "Phoebus" by Hiroshi Murakami & Dancing Sphinx, "Morning Tiede" by Kohsuke Mine, "Kemo Sabe" by Masao Nakajima, "Song For Hope" by Aki Takase, "Planets" by Masaru Imada Trio + 1, "1/4 Samba" by Tatsuya Nakamura, "Acoustic Chicken" by Koichi Matsukaze, and "Cumorah" by Eiji Nakayama. CD features bonus tracks – "Wolf's Theme" by Seiichi Nakamura, "Burning Cloud" by Ryojiro Kurusawa, and "Groovy Samba" by Hideo Shiraki. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) CD

A killer early groover from trumpeter Tom Harrell – proof that he was a killer right from the get-go! The album's got some sweet funky cuts with a warm soulful sound – kind of halfway between Freddie Hubbard on CTI, and some of the more organic sounds on Muse in the 70s – handled by a group that includes Tom on trumpet, Bob Berg on tenor, Barry Finnerty on guitar, Mike Wolff on electric piano, Lenny White on drums, and Muhammad Abdullah on lots of cool percussion! Titles include "While There's Time", "The Water's Edge", "On The Roof", "Aurora", and "Outdoor Cafe". LP, Vinyl record album

A really tripped-out, messed-up session from Don Sugarcane Harris – recorded live in Berlin, but with a freaky experimental style that's much farther out than most of his studio work! The group here is totally hip – a combo of mad hippies that includes Robert Wyatt on drums, Wolfgang Dauner on keyboards and electronics, and both Terje Rypdal and Volker Kriegel on guitars – playing with twin electric frenzy that adds a lot of great sound to the album! Sugarcane plays electric violin and sings just a tiny bit – and despite the "blues" in the title of the record, the album's more of a freaked-out fusion record than anything else – in the best MPS electric tradition of the time, thanks to the presence of Dauner and Kriegel. Titles include "Sugar Cane's Got The Blues", "Where's My Sunshine", "Liz Pineapple Wonderful", and "Song For My Father". LP, Vinyl record album

Ahmad Jamal on piano, Ephraim Wolfolk on bass, and Arti Dixson drums. Tracks include "Prelude To A Kiss", "I Got It Bad", "My Flower", "Chelsea Bridge" and "Never Let Me Go". CD

A wonderfully ambitious project from these two legendary improvising musicians – a larger project for stage that was created by both pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach and drummer Sven Ake Johansson – the latter of whom here is very much into his later life role as a composer! The set features a mix of voice, vocals, and music – some spoken parts by Johansson, sung passages by the great Shelly Hirsch – and work from a very hip group that includes Wolfgang Fuchs and Dietmar Diesner on saxes, Paul Lovens on drums, Tristan Honsinger on cello, Anne Le Baron on harp, and Schlippenbach on piano. There's a mixture of free jazz, structure, and voice that almost feels as if Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill had the chance to record an album for FMP – and this beautiful set presents the first-ever release of the important 1994 performance of the material. LP, Vinyl record album

A funky treasure from the glory days of the De Wolfe sound library – and one of the rarer titles on the label too! (Sound Library, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual session for Robin Kenyatta – featuring the leader on alto and flute, plus Wolfgang Dauner on clavinet and piano, Arild Andersen on bass, and Fred Braceful on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic work from avant saxophonist Hans Koller – rare material that stands with the best Free Sound albums he released for MPS in the 70s! By this point in his career, Koller was really exploding with talent – a sax player who first begun in the postwar years with modes that were more California modern, but expanded and changed throughout the 60s – to the point where Hans was one of the most open-minded, freely-creative musicians on the central European scene! If you've only heard Koller's straighter tenor, you'll really be blown away here – as Hans blows both that horn and soprano sax, in a freewheeling group that also features Wolfgang Dauner on piano, Zbigniew Siefert on alto and violin, Adelhard Rodinger on bass, and Janusz Stefanski on drums. And while the music definitely lives up to the Free Sound name of the group, it's also not entirely free jazz – as there's a sense of structure and larger modern ideals that hearkens back to some of Koller's earlier music, even while the soloists are taking off. Titles include the 40 minute workout on "Nome", the 11 minute "Ulla M Kompanie 22/8", and the surprisingly spiritual "Kunstkopfindianer/Adea". CD

With Bireli Lagrene on solo guitar and bass, Gaiti Lagrenen and Tschirglo Loeffler on rhythm guitar, Jan Jankeje on bass, Jorg Reiter on piano, Wolfgang Lakerschmid on vibes, Bernd Marquart on trumpet, and Schmido Kling on violin. LP, Vinyl record album

The Manhattan Jazz Quintet play the music of Blue Note Records – but they also get some fresh tunes of their own from leader David Matthews – whose writing at this point is really at the top of his game! Core Blue Note tunes include Bud Powell's "Cleopatra's Dream", Woody Shaw's "Sweet Love Of Mine", Bobby Timmons' "Moanin", Sonny Clark's "Cool Struttin", and Dexter Gordon's "Cheese Cake" – all handled in arrangements that are way more than just a copycat of the Blue Note originals, and which instead show Matthews' arrangements really opening up the songs into vibrant new territory. In fact, David's own originals may well be the most Blue Note-like titles on the set – the songs "Wolff Pack" and "For Alfred" – played by the group that features Lew Soloff on trumpet, George Young on tenor, John Patitucci on bass, and Dave Weckl on drums. CD

A great revisiting of Michael Mantler's Jazz Composer's Orchestra – that crucial large ensemble that gave the New York underground a great chance to express larger ideas in the 60s and 70s! This version of the group has a much more international vibe – as the music was recorded in Vienna, with Mantler on trumpet, Harry Sokal on tenor, Bjarne Roupe on guitar, David Helbock on piano, and Wolfgang Puschnig on alto – along with larger backings from the Nouvelle Cuisine Big Band, and added string quartet as well. But overall, the sound has that great mix of larger vision and personal moments that we loved in Mantler's music decades back – and even the use of guitar here underscores some of the darker currents that he'd sometimes use on his best records. CD

Wynton Marsalis on trumpet, Victor Goines and Walter Blanding on tenor sax, Wessell Anderson on alto sax, Wycliffe Gordon on trombone, Eric Reed on piano, Ben Wolfe and Reginald Veal on bass, and Herlin Riley on drums. CD

A fantastic lost legacy in European free improvisation – the complete works of a group who were first known as Modern Jazz Quintet Karlsruhe, then later as Fourmenonly – presented here in a beautiful 3CD set! First up is the album Trees – issued on a small label in 1968, but a set that matches the groundbreaking energy of the early work on FMP – played by a group that features Helmuth Zimmer on piano, Wilfreid Eichorn on tenor and soprano sax, Claus Buhler on bass, Rudi Thielmann on drums, and Herbert Joos on flugelhorn, Mellophon, piston, and percussion! The group have a melodic vibe at the core – often feeling out the initial space as a unit, then exploding with sound and color – and really making especially great work of the talents of Joos and Eichorn – players who work together with great power, driven on by the others. Titles include "Lonely Time", "Trees", "Schnee Verbrennt", "Change Of Beauty", and "The Devil Is Green Blue Yellow". CD also features a bonus unreleased improvisation too! Next is Position 2000 – a record of even longer improvisations, and one that shows the quintet really developing their sound – strongly aware of the farther reaches, but always beginning in some more colorful passages that almost have a melody, before exploding out with very vibrant energy! The lineup is the same as on the debut – with Herbert Joos on flugelhorn, mellophone, Indian flute, and percussion – and Wilfried Eichorn on tenor, soprano sax, bass clarinet, flute, and percussion – alongside Helmuth Zimmer on piano, Klaus Buhler on bass, and Rudi Thielmann on drums. Titles include "The Sun Is Coming Over", "Position 2000", and "Where Love Forever Shines". CD also features an unreleased improvisation. For the next album, bassist Buhler has departed the group – who are renamed Fourmenonly! Their first record is a brilliant set of free jazz from the German scene of the 70s – very different than other work of the time, in that there's maybe more of a future-thinking balance between sounds and silence, frenzy and fragility – all served up by a quartet that features Herbert Joos on trumpet and flugelhorn, Wilfried Eichhorn on tenor and soprano sax, Helmuth Zimmer on piano and percussion, and Rudi Theilmann on drums and percussion. Titles include "Viridiana/Ich Und Meine Bruder/Compulsion" and "Count Down/Excess". On the album Eight Science Fiction Stories, the Fourmenonly lineup is expanded by trombonist Wolfgang Czelusta – and perform some fantastic work billed as "science fiction stories", all composed by Herbert Joos. The sound is as revolutionary as on the group's earliest material, but also maybe more compact as well – nicely focused, with especially strong emphasis on the interplay between Czelusta on trombone, Wilifried Eichorn on bass clarinet, flute, and oboe, and Herbert Joos on flugelhorn, trumpet, and mellophone. The piano of Helmuth Zimmer is amazing – almost Cecil Taylor-like in intensity at times – and drummer Rudi Theilmann does a great job of moving from passages of full-on power to more spacious percussion. Titles include "Lucifer Is Marching On", "Dead Season", "The Beauty Without A Face", "Departure", "Plastic Happiness", and "Space Wall". CD

5 albums from Lee Morgan – one of the coolest cats to ever handle a trumpet for Blue Note! First up is Delightfulee – really unique album from the great Lee Morgan – a set that features the trumpeter in two different settings, but in a way that really works well together! Most of the album has Lee blowing in a very cool quintet – with Joe Henderson on tenor, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – a group who maybe bring out a slightly hipper vibe that really points the way to the rest of Morgan's direction in the late 60s, when he was really letting some more spiritual currents loose. The other two tracks on the record feature a hip larger band directed by Oliver Nelson – swinging hard in a really soulful style! Nelson's arrangements on these two tracks are great – quite progressive, with a soul jazz big band style that seems to point the way towards the 70s – and the band provides a raging backdrop that lets Lee's trumpet soar over the top in beautiful crystal clear solos. Titles include "Nite Flite", "Delightful Deggie", "Ca-Lee-So", and "Zambia". Also features a few bonus tracks. The Cooker is a very appropriate title for a very cooking little album – one of Lee Morgan's first efforts as a leader, cut back during his first years of late 50s fame! The style here is a bit less Morgan-esque than some of Lee's later 60s classics – but the record is rock-solid throughout, and proof that Morgan was every bit as great a leader in a hardbop session as Hank Mobley or some of the other emerging heavyweights at Blue Note! The strength of the group really helps keep the fire stoked on the set – and Bobby Timmons turns in some amazing piano work alongside a lineup that includes Pepper Adams on baritone sax, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The Adams presence gives the record a bit of the feel of some of Pepper's sessions with Donald Byrd – but the sparkling, soaring sound of Morgan makes the record way more than just a copycat set. Titles include "New-Ma", "Night In Tunisia", "Lover Man", "Just One Of Those Things", and "Heavy Dipper". Lee Way is an undisputed masterpiece by Lee Morgan – and one of the first records in which he shed his straight bop sensibility, and began evolving into a soulful genius for the 60s! The album's got 4 long tracks that all build beautifully – really extended numbers that break the format of some of Lee's earlier work, and hint a bit at some of the more complicated touches he'd use on later sessions. All players are great – and include fellow Jazz Messengers Bobby Timmons on piano and Art Blakey on drums, plus Jackie McLean on alto and Paul Chambers on bass. Titles include the sublime "These Are Soulful Days" – a perfect model of soulful lyricism – plus "Midtown Blues", "Nakatini Suite", and "The Lion & The Wolff". Rumproller often gets too easily lumped next to The Sidewinder – because of an obvious title and cover similarity to that hit record – but like that one, the album's far more than jazz cliche – and shows Lee Morgan to be one of the greatest jazz musicians of the 60s. The set starts off with the title cut, "The Rumproller" – hard-wailing soul bop, in the manner of Lee's most popular work – but then it easily flows into more sensitive material that has a freer, lyrical feel – like the great original tune "Eclipso" and Wayne Shorter's "Edda" – both of which are superb. Lee is astounding, as always, on trumpet – and the rest of the group includes the great Ronnie Matthews on piano, plus Joe Henderson, Victor Sproles, and Billy Higgins. Search For The New Land is a brilliant album that proves that even at the height of his success, Lee Morgan was one of the freest thinkers on Blue Note – always coming up with fresh ideas that continued to grow his talents! The first cut on the album is keen poof of that fact – the title track "Search For The New Land" – a beautiful 16 minute exploration of modal jazz themes, with an unusual stop/start device as a means of ushering solos by different bandmates – including Wayne Shorter on tenor, Grant Green on guitar, and Herbie Hancock on piano! The approach is unlike anything that Morgan ever did before – and unlike most of other Blue Note as well – and it also benefits from great rhythmic help from Reggie Workman on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. Other tunes are a bit more conventional, but still pretty special – like some of Morgan's inventive work on the Rajah albums – with titles that include "The Joker", "Melancholee", "Mr. Kenyatta" and "Morgan The Pirate". CD

An undisputed masterpiece by Lee Morgan – and one of the first records in which he shed his straight bop sensibility, and began evolving into a soulful genius for the 60s! The album's got 4 long tracks that all build beautifully – really extended numbers that break the format of some of Lee's earlier work, and hint a bit at some of the more complicated touches he'd use on later sessions. All players are great – and include fellow Jazz Messengers Bobby Timmons on piano and Art Blakey on drums, plus Jackie McLean on alto and Paul Chambers on bass. Titles include the sublime "These Are Soulful Days" – a perfect model of soulful lyricism – plus "Midtown Blues", "Nakatini Suite", and "The Lion & The Wolff". CD

An undisputed masterpiece by Lee Morgan – and one of the first records in which he shed his straight bop sensibility, and began evolving into a soulful genius for the 60s! The album's got 4 long tracks that all build beautifully – really extended numbers that break the format of some of Lee's earlier work, and hint a bit at some of the more complicated touches he'd use on later sessions. All players are great – and include fellow Jazz Messengers Bobby Timmons on piano and Art Blakey on drums, plus Jackie McLean on alto and Paul Chambers on bass. Titles include the sublime "These Are Soulful Days" – a perfect model of soulful lyricism – plus "Midtown Blues", "Nakatini Suite", and "The Lion & The Wolff". CD

(Sound Library, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

With Bob Berg on tenor saxophone. CD

Guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel has been giving us music for years – but on recent releases, he really seems to have found a great place to express himself – a quintet that includes work from Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet and Brad Mehldau on piano – both musicians that seem completely transformed in the presence of Wolfgang! The sound is open, spare, and often somewhat tentative – as befits Muthspiel's legacy – but there's also these shimmering moments that come from Akimusire on trumpet, and occasional currents of sentiment from Mehldau's piano – both forces that really open up the sound of the record. The group also features Larry Grenadier on bass and Eric Harland on drums – and titles include "For Django", "Descendants", "Clearing", "Panorama", "Blueshead", "Buenos Aires", "Where The River Goes", and "One Day My Prince Was Gone". CD

A record that's maybe one of the most tuneful, lyrical we've ever heard from guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel – and that may have a lot to do with the wonderful help in the trio from Scott Colley on bass and Brian Blade on drums! The tunes still have some of the abstract qualities of Muthspiel's other work, and certainly continue his very distinct exploration of color and tone – but there's this sparkle, almost a sense of joy about most of the numbers – very present when things are grooving and moving fast, but also really there in a sense of subtle bounce when they're a bit more mellow. The quality's a bit hard to describe, but it's there right from the start, and holds up beautifully throughout – on titles that include "Wondering", "Angular Blues", "Everything I Love", "Kanon In 6/8", "I'll Remember April", "Ride", and "Camino". LP, Vinyl record album

Wolfgang Muthspiel on guitar, with the wonderful help from Scott Colley on bass and Brian Blade on drums. CD

One of the greatest albums of European jazz from the early 60s – a tremendous effort from pianist Michael Naura, working here with lots of vibes and a fair bit of grooves – in a style that sounds a lot like some of the best early recordings made by the team of Roy Ayers and Jack Wilson! The groove here is definitely modern, but also plenty darn soulful too – and thanks to some alto sax in the mix, the tracks have a cutting quality that really gives them an edge – a kind of rasp that predates some of the late 60s soulfulness of the Saba/MPS scene, of which this album is a definite precursor! Alongside Naura's piano, the group also features vibes by Wolfgang Schluter, alto sax by Peter Reinke, bass by Wolfgang Luschert, and drums by the great Joe Nay – soaring together on tunes that includes Tubby Hayes' "Down In The Village", Oliver Nelson's "Three Seconds", Jackie McLean's "Dr Jekyll", and the originals "Night Flower", "Stratosphere", and "Grunga Mood". LP, Vinyl record album

With Curt Cress on drums and berimbau, Roy Louis on guitar, Elmer Louis on percusion, Kristian Schultze on piano and organ, Wolfgang Schmid on bass, and Klaus Doldinger on tenor and soprano, organ, Moog, and flute; plus guests Clelio Ribeiro, Wilson Das Neves, Pedro Sorongo Santos, Noel Manuel Pinto, Marcello Salazar, and Mats Bjorklund. LP, Vinyl record album

A really beautiful early album from the legendary Jean-Luc Ponty – a set that's maybe more straight jazz than some of his later work, and which also represents a pivotal shift in the use of the violin in jazz! Ponty's phrasing here is very different than previous players who handled the instrument in such a setting – almost more informed by a saxophone than earlier instrumentalists – often with notes that are not nearly as sweet as others, and heard to perfection in the company of this quartet! The whole group is great – Wolfgang Dauner on acoustic piano, also straighter than in later years – plus Niels Henning Orsted Pederson on bass, and Daniel Humair on drums. Titles include "Sunday Walk", "Cat Coach", "Suite For Claudia", and "Carole's Garden". LP, Vinyl record album

A really beautiful early album from the legendary Jean-Luc Ponty – a set that's maybe more straight jazz than some of his later work, and which also represents a pivotal shift in the use of the violin in jazz! Ponty's phrasing here is very different than previous players who handled the instrument in such a setting – almost more informed by a saxophone than earlier instrumentalists – often with notes that are not nearly as sweet as others, and heard to perfection in the company of this quartet! The whole group is great – Wolfgang Dauner on acoustic piano, also straighter than in later years – plus Niels Henning Orsted Pederson on bass, and Daniel Humair on drums. Titles include "Sunday Walk", "Cat Coach", "Suite For Claudia", and "Carole's Garden". LP, Vinyl record album

Two older greats from the MPS label scene of the 70s – coming together here in a later set that shows a wonderful maturation of their talents! Both Jean-Luc Ponty and Wolfgang Dauner had an early talent to stun the ears with great use of electronics – but both musicians are all-acoustic here, and really sounding wonderful in a set of extended duets recorded at the Bern Jazz Festival! Dauner's got a stunning ear for the full range of tones and colors in the piano – almost as if he inherited a new sonic spectrum from his early electronic experiments, then turned them back to straighter jazz – in modes that also have Ponty following suit with these long-flowing lines that remind us how great he can be in just the right mode. Each player gets one solo track, but the record is mostly duet material – and titles include "Suite For Claudia", "Once Upon A Dream", "Pamukkale", "Sketch Up & Downer", "Hong Kong Fu", and "Two Thousand One Years Ago". CD

Two older greats from the MPS label scene of the 70s – coming together here in a later set that shows a wonderful maturation of their talents! Both Jean-Luc Ponty and Wolfgang Dauner had an early talent to stun the ears with great use of electronics – but both musicians are all-acoustic here, and really sounding wonderful in a set of extended duets recorded at the Bern Jazz Festival! Dauner's got a stunning ear for the full range of tones and colors in the piano – almost as if he inherited a new sonic spectrum from his early electronic experiments, then turned them back to straighter jazz – in modes that also have Ponty following suit with these long-flowing lines that remind us how great he can be in just the right mode. Each player gets one solo track, but the record is mostly duet material – and titles include "Suite For Claudia", "Once Upon A Dream", "Pamukkale", "Sketch Up & Downer", "Hong Kong Fu", and "Two Thousand One Years Ago". LP, Vinyl record album

With Monty Alexander on piano, Ben Wolfe on bass, and Clyde Lucas on drums – plus special guests Hendrik Meurkens on harmonica and vibes, and Dick Oatts on flute and soprano sax. (Vocalists, Jazz) CD

Bop, ballads, and lots more too – played by reedman Lucky Thompson at a time when he was really picking up some new ideas on the European scene! As with contemporaries like Sonny Criss or Benny Bailey, Thompson was great before he hit the continent – but then came back from Europe a completely changed man – a musician whose sense of expression had evolved strongly in a very short time – to a point where the music on these recordings from 1959 and 1960 is quite different than his American records from a few short years before! Part of the change might come from pianist Michael Naura – who's on all these sides, and is one of the hippest cats working in Germany at the time – but you can already hear Lucky opening up his tone and his inflections, especially on the numbers that feature soprano sax. Other players include Jimmy Gourley on guitar, Hans Koller on tenor, and the great Wolfgang Schulter on vibes – on titles that include "The World Awakes", "Brother Bob", "Yesterdays", "Deep Passion", "Thin Ice", and "Summertime". CD

Man! This one's a stunning 70s set from the great Cal Tjader – a set that features Charlie Byrd on guitar, and some especially great electric piano lines from Mike Wolff – which makes for a cool electric/acoustic combination that really sends the album home nicely! The record's light years away from Byrd's Brazilian work of the 60s, or any of his mellower dates from later years – and Tjader really seems to have picked up a freer sense of rhythm from the Airto/Flora generation, which is no surprise, given their prominence on his local Bay Area scene. Other players include John Heard on bass, Joe Byrd on electric bass, and percussion from Mike Stephans, Dick Berk, and Mayuto Correa – all players who help change out the bottom grooves nicely from track to track. Titles include Joe Henderson's "Black Narcissus", Airto's "Tambo In 7/4" and "San Francisco River", Jobim's "Tereza My Love", Wolff's "Sad Eyes", and a version of "My Cherie Amour". LP, Vinyl record album

Gilles Wolff on tenor saxophone, James Mac Gaw on bass, and Daniel Jeand'heur on drums. CD

A totally killer sound library set – every bit as funky as others that have been issued under the Afro Rock title – but a lot more obscure! The group here has wicked bass and plenty of percussion next to the drums – and the top of the sound also has some horn work that underscores more contemporary soul touches – as the whole thing holds together like some of the best Afro-inspired work on the London scene at the time, with maybe some keyboard touches that feel like they're lifted out of the Bay Area or East LA! The whole thing is a wonderfully rhythmic, totally funky party – and titles include "Facade", "Renegade", "Megaton", "Boss", "Nsambei", "Cult", "Green Hell", and "Waboco". (Sound Library, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

A totally killer sound library set – every bit as funky as others that have been issued under the Afro Rock title – but a lot more obscure! The group here has wicked bass and plenty of percussion next to the drums – and the top of the sound also has some horn work that underscores more contemporary soul touches – as the whole thing holds together like some of the best Afro-inspired work on the London scene at the time, with maybe some keyboard touches that feel like they're lifted out of the Bay Area or East LA! The whole thing is a wonderfully rhythmic, totally funky party – and titles include "Facade", "Renegade", "Megaton", "Boss", "Nsambei", "Cult", "Green Hell", and "Waboco". (Sound Library, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

With Christian Wolfarth on drums. CD

A quintessential MPS session – a tribute to the psychedelic influences of Timothy Leary, put together by the famous French tenor player Barney Wilen in an amazing mix of funk, jazz, and jamming! The sound is incredible – a perfect illustration of the mindblowing genre-blurring sound going on at the MPS label during these key years – recorded with top-shelf production that really makes the whole thing explode! Wilen plays here with his "Free Rock Band" – an electrified collective that features Aldo Romano on drums, Joachim Kuhn on organ, Mimi Lorenzini on guitar, and Gunter Lenz on bass – all working in a similar vein to some of Dave Pike's wilder albums, or the legendary Oimels album by Wolfgang Dauner! The band performs an incredible stoner funk version of "Ode To Billy Joe", a wildly spacey take on "The Fool On The Hill", the tight funky jammer "Dur Dur Dur", and a haunting moody electric version of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman". The whole thing caps off with a wild avant funky version of Otis Redding's "Respect" – and the record's a stone winner all the way through! CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Michael Wolff on piano, Alex Foster on reeds, and Victor Jones on drums. CD

Michael Wolff on piano, Christian McBride on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. CD

Michael Wolff on piano, Levon Lee Dorsey on bass, and Mike Clark on drums. CD

With Oliver Lake on alto saxophone. CD

An overlooked gem from the German scene of the 80s – at a time when the prog and free jazz experiments of the previous decade had calmed down a bit, yet German musicians were still coming up with lots of new and amazing ideas! Here, there's definitely a bit of inspiration from Brazilian music, but mixed with some of the new generation of vocals from jazz singers like Karin Krog or Monica Zetterlund – handled by singer Beate Kynast on the record, in a way that's light years away from more traditional jazz vocals! There's a fluid, soaring sensibility to the music – modal mixed with post-bossa rhythms, on instrumentation that includes trumpet from Robert Schulte Hemming, alto and flute from Wolfgang Puschnig, keyboards and piano from Martin Kubert, drums from Peter Wirth, and bass from Rudi Engel. Instrumentation has a warm blend of acoustic and electric elements – very much like some of the best Nabel releases, or the sort of work later compiled in the Glucklich series – on titles that include "Rush Hour", "Impressions Of Autumn", "Bluze", "Number Four", Lament", and "Scarcely Had We Left The House". CD

An overlooked gem from the German scene of the 80s – at a time when the prog and free jazz experiments of the previous decade had calmed down a bit, yet German musicians were still coming up with lots of new and amazing ideas! Here, there's definitely a bit of inspiration from Brazilian music, but mixed with some of the new generation of vocals from jazz singers like Karin Krog or Monica Zetterlund – handled by singer Beate Kynast on the record, in a way that's light years away from more traditional jazz vocals! There's a fluid, soaring sensibility to the music – modal mixed with post-bossa rhythms, on instrumentation that includes trumpet from Robert Schulte Hemming, alto and flute from Wolfgang Puschnig, keyboards and piano from Martin Kubert, drums from Peter Wirth, and bass from Rudi Engel. Instrumentation has a warm blend of acoustic and electric elements – very much like some of the best Nabel releases, or the sort of work later compiled in the Glucklich series – on titles that include "Rush Hour", "Impressions Of Autumn", "Bluze", "Number Four", Lament", and "Scarcely Had We Left The House". LP, Vinyl record album

Way more than just a regular set of 60s soul jazz – as the package offers up a wide variety of styles, genres, and work from both European and American sources – all at a ridiculously low price! The set brings together 18 numbers from key 60s labels like Verve, MPS, and Impulse – all grooving together nicely in an upbeat mode that brings in plenty of Latin, Brazilian, and slightly funky touches too! All these tunes are plenty darn hip – longtime favorites at Dusty Groove that include "Jive Samba" by Peter Herbholzheimer, "Crickets Sing For Anamaria" by Marcos Valle, "Evil Ways" by Willie Bobo, "Terra Samba" by Fritz Pauer, "Um Grao De Areia" by Clarke Boland Big Band, "Cubano Chant" by Wolfgang Dauner Trio, "For Mods Only" by Chico Hamilton, "Love & Happiness" by Monty Alexander, "The Fakir" by Cal Tjader, "Big Schlepp" by Dave Pike Set, "Watermelon Man" by Jon Hendricks, "Why & How" by Mark Murphy, and "Sunshine Of Your Love" by Ella Fitzgerald. (Funky Compilations, Jazz) CD

Wild sounds in a range of different styles – jazz, rock, and more outside modes – all served up in support of a legendary list made years ago by the group Nurse With Wound! The list was a secret guide to all things weird and unusual – put together decades back, and now famous as kind of a Rosetta Stone for stepping into music from the farther left side of the spectrum – here served up from a range of German recordings from back in the day, most recorded during a key moment when the scene was really breaking down boundaries in styles! There's a fair bit of electric elements here, and you'll recognize a few artists as being heroes from the prog and MPS generations – on titles that include "Fritz Muller Traum" by Fritz Muller, "Jazzi Jazzi" by Tomorrow's Gift, "Output" by Wolfgang Dauner, "Black Sand" by Brainticket, "Trauma" by Gomorrha, "Big City" by Thirsty Moon, "Snakeskin Tango" by Brainstorm, "Scorpion" by Association PC, "The Executioner" by My Solid Ground, "It Loves Want To Have Done" by Anima Sound, and "It's So Nice" by Ex Magma. (Rock, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album