JT Lewis on drums, Melvin Gibbs on bass, and Brandon Ross on guitar – plus Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet! (Jazz, New Grooves) CD

Hunter's getting a lot more sophisticated in his style, and is moving past the heavy funky sound of early days – to a mix of soulful styles that opens him up a lot more. This sextet session features drummer Leon Parker, who always works well with Hunter – plus tenorist Peter Apfelbaum, and percussionists Stephen Chopek and Robert Perkins. Titles include "Two For Bleu", "Al Green", "Rendezvous Avec La Verite", "Flau Flau", and "Cloud Splitter". Also features a nice solo version of Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free". (Jazz, New Grooves) CD

A completely different side of Colombian music than you'd know from Discos Fuentes and some of the other mainstream outlets from that scene – as the tracks here are all from the contemporary underground, and represent a really rich flowering of creative grooves and soulful modes! In truth, most of this work might hail from any hip spot in the global underground – save for the fact that the lyrics are often in Spanish, and many tunes have some slight reference to older musical modes – sometimes an acoustic element mixed in with more electronic instrumentation, sometimes a more direct reference! The quality of the tracks is wonderful – a really strong surprise to our ears, as we never would have discovered this music otherwise – and it represents a really great alternative so some of the more staid, often boring attempts to create a global fusion of elements in the mainstream. Titles include "Cada Paso" by Liannia, "Cumbia Lobina (ext mix)" by Dragao featuring Nidia Gongora, "Aquazero" by Systema Solar featuring Pedro Ramaya, "Oyele" by Jimena Angel, "Cuando Canto Grito" by Cerrero featuring Lucia Pulido, "El Leopardo" by El Leopardo, "Mujer Divina" by Salsangroove, "Gualayo" by Radio Rebelde Soundsystem, "La Negra Y El Fantasma" by Bareto, "Nunca Termina" by David Caneva Akle, "Manana Sera" by Ruzto, and "De Donde Vengo Yo" by Los Transatlanticos featuring Pilar Matarola. CD

Heavy grooves from the Far Out label – a set of cuts from the company that don't just fall into their usual Brazilian bag – and which stretch out in a sweet array of styles that include funky fusion and African-inspired rhythms! Most of the artists here normally work in a Brazilian vein, but the collection offers up some fresh takes on their sound – and also manages to pull together some more obscure Far Out tracks, including a few unreleased cuts too! Titles include "Poweride" by Marcos Valle, "Pembe (unreleased version)" by Future Warriors, "Somewhere Beyond (unreleased version)" by 4Hero Presents Natures Plan, "Eighties Times" by Jose Roberto Bertrami, "Magnetic Feel (unreleased version)" by Roc Hunter, "Chameleon (Offworld rework)" by Azymuth, "Strike Hard" by Troubleman, "Jazz Carnival" by Azymuth, and "New Morning" by Sabrina Malheiros. (Funky Compilations, New Grooves) CD

Tracks from L.T.J Bukem, Chameleon, PFM, Aquarius & Tayla, Peshay, Funky Technicians, Form Form, F. De Wolf, Axis, JMJ & Flytronix, and more. CD