A long-awaited full length set – one that finally brings together all of the amazing Tony Allen reworks done by the Honest Jon's label! These "chop up" tracks were originally issued over a range of limited 12" singles, and they're really amazing stuff – not just remixes of Tony Allen's work, but re-recordings and re-interpretations as well – a batch of music that stands amazingly well on its own, even if you're not a fan of Tony originally – and which takes his music into even more exotic territory than just Afro Funk! The choice of artists here is key to the set – as players from other Afro-influenced genres really take a new spin on Allen's music – and are allowed to strongly bring their own sounds to the set. Titles include "Ole (Cairo version)" by Salah Ragab, "Sankofa" by Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, "Kilode (rmx)" by Carl Craig, "Awa Na Re (rmx)" by Bonde De Role, "Mark's Disco Dub" by Mark Ernestus, "Reggae Land Dub" by Wareika Hill Sounds, "Samba" by Son Palenque De Colombia, "Kilode (rework)" by Wajeed, "Ole (rmx)" by Moritz Von Oswald, "Fuji Ouija" by Diplo, and "One Tree (TP's spirit of unity mix)" by Terrence Parker. (Global Grooves, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

Way more than snacks, as the great Mark De Clive-Lowe serves up a full meal of keyboard-driven goodies here – just the kind of jazzy gems that make his work over the years so wonderful, and just seem to get better and better with the passage of time! Here, Mark uses some of the more spiritual jazz experiences of his past decade or so, and reworks them to more beat-heavy territory, of the sort that you'll know from his roots – never stiff or cliched, and working with a really masterful sense of flow throughout! Titles on this second volume include "Float Into Ether", "Joyful Resistance (part 1)", "Crush Velvet", and "Sorceress". 12-inch, Vinyl record

There's never been a better bit of throwback dancefloor fodder ever! Sure, these guys were blaring out of every cheap radio at the time, and it was just about impossible to walk into a shopping mall without hearing "Groove Is In The Heart" for about 5 years after the album came out – but to us, that was a great thing, and the record represents one of the high points in pop music of the past few decades. Thanks to some skillful sampling by Towa Tei, the group were grounded in a rich history of funk, house, disco, soul, and Brazilian influences – all of which they managed to blend with a postmodern perfection that other groups could only ever dream of! The big hits are certainly very familiar, but the whole album's a delight – and tracks include "Who Was That?", "Smile On", "Try Me On . . . I'm Very You", "World Clique", "ESP", and "Good Beat". This great expanded 2CD edition includes a full CD of remixes, too – 26 tracks in 2CDs! Given that the weird mixes and extrapolations of tunes by the group were such a big part of their larger sound, the extra material really helps get a full picture of the album's greatness! (Soul, New Grooves) CD

While most collaborations between hip hop producers and jazz players have been mediocre at best, neither really being able to get invloved enough in each other's music, this collaboration between Kondo and Krush is almost entirely successful. Kondo's played in just about every style from all out free jazz to hard bop, and Krush's spare and slightly abstract approach to both the turntables and with his beats creates just the right backdrop. We got open on "Ha Doh", "Sun Is Shining", "Fu Yu" and "Ki gen". 13 tracks in all. (Hip Hop, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

Incognito never lets us down – and records like this keep us listening strongly year after year! The set's got all the core brilliance of Incognito at their best – a really classic approach to jazzy soul, served up with top shelf instrumentation by the group – and sent home strongly by a range of singers who include Vanessa Haynes, Tony Momrelle, Chiara Hunter, Imani, Deborah Bond, and the great Carleen Anderson! Nobody can do it as well as these guys – tight, but never uptight – smooth, but never sleepy – really right on the money from the production on down to the bottom – the kind of careful, classy soul that almost makes Incognito a genre unto themselves. Titles include "Wind Sorceress", "Rapture", "Hands Up If You Wanna Be Loved", "Hats", "I Couldn't Love You More", "Something Bout July", and "Silver Shadow". Japanese CD features the bonus track "Part Of The Plan". (Neo Soul, New Grooves) CD

Quite an unusual project from Jazzanova – a mixture of older tracks and newer ones, all brought together for an erotic German stage production! The theme of the show really unifies the tracks in a great way – bringing out qualities in Jazzanova's music that we've never noticed before, especially as their own tracks come into play with other numbers from different Sonar Kollektiv artists. There's a groove here that's straightforwardly slinky, and often a bit funky too – one that shakes off some of the too-abstract moments that sometimes get in the way with recent Jazznova projects, and focuses on the most cohesive part of their groove! Titles include the Jazzanova tracks "Behold These Days (Berlin 74)", "This Is The Place", "Glow & Glare", "Theme From Belle Et Fou", "That Night (Live At The SK Office with Clara Hill)", "Keep On Making Me High", and "Am I Losing You" – plus "Maybe Now" by Clara Hill, "Just A Lil Lovin (DJ edit)" by Outlines, "Flickermood" by Forss, "Sun In My Candlelight" by Wahoo, and "Caprice" by Extended Spirit. CD

Don Leisure is more of a producer and beatmaker than a jazzman – but he's got a very spiritual vibe here, thanks in part to very strong participation on the album from harpist Amanda Whiting – who brings in this amazing cosmic energy that's very similar to the vibe on her own great records! Most tunes have a mellow groove – laidback beats with harp from Amanda, and saxophone solos on three tracks, trumpet on one more – and two of the selections also feature excellent vocals from Deborah Jordan, the British soul singer we've dug for many years! There's a great blend of slow funk soundscapes and jazzy solos on the set – and titles include "Walk With Us", "Peace Of Mind", "The First Chant", "Just Be Free", "Crying Tiger", "Beyond The Midnight Sun", and "Third Bass". LP, Vinyl record album

Jazzy takes on familiar tunes – a great little record that rummages through the pop canon of the past few decades, then comes up with vocal jazz versions of the tunes that are totally great – really transforming the original compositions in a totally great way, all without any sort of gimmicks! Instrumentation is pretty spare – just keyboards, bass, and drums – with vocals handled by soulful Scandinavian singer Caroline Ekstrom, whose tones really bring a lot of magic to these tracks originally recorded by The Police, Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, and others. The whole project's a lot like some of the Re:Jazz sides in recent years – save for the fact that these tracks were originally even more mainstream than those selected for the Re:Jazz project – which makes their transformation here all the more impressive. Titles include "Is It A Crime", "Dazed & Confused", "I Feel The Earth Move", "Money", "It's Too Late", "Message In A Bottle", and "In The Waiting Line". CD

Clara Moreno's working here with some famous help in the credits – but the sound of the album is definitely all her own, and even better than some of her other great sets in recent years! The style is mostly bossa, but served up with a slightly modern approach – not one that's electrified or remixed, but nicely free of cliches that try to hard to conjure up images from the old days – done in a sparely evocative mode that really gets to the best heart of the bossa, and re-presents it wonderfully with Clara's youthful talents! Moreno's on vocals throughout – although Celso Fonseca sings a bit on a few duets – and instrumentation includes acoustic guitar from both Fonseca and Joyce on some tracks, plus drums by Tutty Moreno. Most instrumentation is acoustic, and quite stripped down – sometimes only a bit of guitar, bass, and percussion behind the vocals – giving Clara plenty of room to stand on her own, center stage. Titles include "Rosa De Ouro", "Litoranea", "Sabe Quem", "Sei La", "Moca Flor", "Mon Manege A Moi", "Tenderly", "Ela Vai Pro Mar", "Vem Morena Vem", and "Copacabana". (Brazil, New Grooves) CD

Osunlade's always had a sound that's deep, but this time around his entire approach seems even deeper than ever – maybe because this lavish package is as much a visual treat as it is an audio one! The set's as much of a book as it is a record – a heavy, hardcover package that has beautiful images on each page, writings too – all in tribute to the Orishas who've become a continuing inspiration for Osunlade – and helped move his music away from just simple dancefloor fare! And yet the tracks groove nicely, too – all in that deepest of house modes that the man's been giving us for many years – woven from strands of different cultural inspiration, and given a contemporary soulful spin – mostly from Osunlade himself on live drums, moog, Fender Rhodes, theremin, and other instrumentation – as well as vocals, and some guest help from Gabriele Poso, Oveous Maximus, Chateau Flight, and Tanya Blount. Titles include "No Way", "Pheramones", "Ser Al Santismo", "A Day Without", "Yeku Yeku", "Man O Wirdz", "Trinity Ov Me", "Idiosyncracy", and "Walkin In Paris". LP, Vinyl record album