Herb Alpert's definitely Going Places by the time of this set – and his trademark Tijuana Brass sound proves itself to be a great fit for just about any sort of number! The album kicks off with the wonderful "Tijuana Taxi", a sublimely jaunty tune that almost takes Herb into Bacharach territory – and which is followed up by the even-greater "Spanish Flea" – an ear-popping anthem that's one of the greatest bits of 60s instrumental pop ever recorded! And over and above those two tunes, the album's still got plenty more to offer too – a wonderful array of tracks all given the Tijuana touch, with titles that include "More & More Amor", "Mae", "Walk Don't Run", "Felicia", and "Cinco De Mayo". LP, Vinyl record album

A great bit of jungle exotica from funky sitar player Ananda Shankar – composed as a full piece with an "atmosphere of twilight and the feeling of watching animals at a water hole", but with a sweeping soundtracky feel that makes it more like some lost 70s film gem in the best places! There's some nicely subdued funk in the mix – as Ananda's sitar grooves over guitars, keyboards, and compressed bass and drum parts, occasionally touched with modern exotica styles, as in the work of Mandingo. Titles include "Night In The Forest", "Jungle King", "Jungle Symphony", "Sa Ra Ga Machan", "Romantic Rhino", "Charging Tiger", and "Monkey's Tea Party". (Global Grooves, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

Some sweet Liquid Sounds from pianist Paul Smith – one of the grooviest players to recorded for Capitol Records in the 50s! At some level, Smith has a sound that really prefaces lots that would go on in the west coast scene of the 60s – an approach to jazz that's still somewhat composed, but which has a breezier feel than most of the other players of his time – openly swinging with a lightness that's mighty nice, in ways that never get too stiff or stodgy. Think of this one as a precursor to Verve Records grooves from a decade later – and you'll see what we man – as Paul's piano moves nicely with guitar from Tony Rizzi, flute from Julie Kinsler, alto from Ronny Lang, and clarinet from Abe Most and Willie Schwartz. Titles include "Little Slam", "The Gnat", "Betsy Moo", "No Trump", and "Why Shouldn't I". (Jazz, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool album put out by the Muzak corporation to promote their world-wide takeover of all sonic spaces! It seems strange that Muzak would actually produce a record – but we're happy they did, as the cover has a cool abstract painting, some great notes, and a few photos of Muzak musicians and scientists at work! Tracks include "The Happening" by Sid Bass, "Amy's Theme" by Phil Bodner, "Where's The Melody" by George Siravo, "Sunday Will Never Be The Same" by Charles Grean, and "It Must Be Him" by Dave Terry. Wild! (Sound Library, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

An Italian funk double-header – a sweet little set from the end of the 60s, and one that features killer cuts from both Sandro Brugnolini and Stefano Torossi! We love either artist on their other own records, but there also seems to be something about putting them together here that makes them even better than before – certainly funkier, as the album's full of the kind of sharp, hard-grooving titles that first made us fall in love with sound library records in the first place! The date of the album's 1969, and both musicians make nice use of psych elements in their instrumentation – adding a bit of fuzz, wah-wah, or trippy guitar in just the right spaces – never going over the top, or getting too indulgent – but just moving in a groove that's tightly jazz funky at the bottom, and maybe a bit freaky at the top. Wonderful work throughout – and titles include "Sweet Beat", "Repetition", "Starter", and "Makkaresh" by Stefano Torossi – and "Wawa", "Motuproprio", "Polyphony", and "Flyer" by Sandro Brugnolini. (Sound Library, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

A great illustration of the way that Martin Denny expanded his groove in the 60s – on some sweetly inventive records like this! On Latin Village, Martin Denny changes the rhythms from tropical to Latin – but the overall groove is still highly in his best exotica mode, and nicely augmented by some additional instrumentation! There's some traces here of the shift in production for instrumental music from the time – a bit of electric bass echoing out at the bottom of some cuts, more echo than usual on the piano lines, and a floating quality that's almost even more sublime than the original Liberty sessions. But the core Denny elements are also still in place – tinkling piano, island percussion, and a playful approach to familiar rhythms that never fails to please. The Latin is more of a nod to harder Latin modes than anything else, but it does make for a nice, if subtle change – one that works especially well when Denny's piano is out front, but compressed a bit in the mix. Titles include "Flying Down To Rio", "Ho Ba La La", "Something Latin", "Girl From Ipanema", and "Latin Village". The Versatile Martin Denny definitely lives up to the versatile in the title – working through a whole host of different 50s and 60s easy tunes – played in ways that are much wider-ranging than usual! Some are percussive and slightly exotic, some have more strings and tinkling piano, and some get slightly playful instrumentation – in a very nice way. Titles include "Little Bird", "Theme From Mondo Cane", "Exotique Bossa Nova", "Quiet Village Bossa Nova", and "Strawberry Tree". CD