A wonderful album from the great Gary McFarland – and completely sublime all the way through! The record's part jazz, part easy, and all McFarland, with a cool compressed breezy vibe that's just about impossible to describe accurately. Gary's vibes are wonderfully set in a small combo with reeds by Jerome Richardson, bass by Richard Davis, organ by Warren Bernhardt, and guitar by Sam Brown. The group play haunting, almost-invisible versions of 60s pop tunes, like "God Only Knows", "Here, There & Everywhere", and "O Morro" – plus a jaunty McFarland original called "Flea Market". (Jazz, Now Sound) CD

Groovy groovy work from the Japanese scene of the late 60s – performed by a cool quartet who harmonize vocally along with their instruments! The group's got a jazzy style – using piano, guitar, bass, and drums to lay down a groove – but their real charm comes from their harmonies, which are often recorded with a bit of echo, and which sound quite different than American or Brazilian work of this type, due to the Japanese lyrics! Many tunes appear to be original – which is great, as these cats aren't just harmonizing 60s hits, like so many other groups did at the time – and the record has a fresh feel that we really like, kind of a cross between American and Euro easy vocal group modes of the 60s. Song titles are all in Japanese, as are the notes – but there's a definite appeal here to Western ears! (Vocalists, Now Sound) CD

The birth of genius – 2 key mid 60s albums from swinging Brit jazzer Johnny Keating – both of which showcase his tightly rhythmic "Keating Sound" approach! Keating had originally worked as an arranger in the 50s group of Ted Heath, but after stepping out on his own in the 60s, he came up with a really fresh approach to big band grooving – one that was highly syncopated, in a choppier style of rhythm than many other groups were using at the time, and which was very much in the snapping mode of the best 60s pop work of the time. This new sound meant that Keating could take just about any tune and swing it on its ear – cutting up the basic structure of the song, and rebuilding it in sharper, tighter blocks of sound. The result is a style that's quite different from the usual big band groove – one that makes for some extremely playful instrumentation, but which manages to still keep moving strongly ahead without resorting to too many tricks or gimmicks. For both albums, Keating's working with some great British talents that include Shake Keane on trumpet, Tubby Hayes on saxes, David Snell on harp, and Jim Sullivan on guitar. The CD features a total of 24 tracks that are a wonderful introduction to the Keating Sound of the 60s – with titles that inlcude "Paris", "Brave New World", "Serenata", "Speak Low", "Listen", "The Preacher", "Hey Girl", "Bee Bom", "My Kind Of Girl", and "The Chihuahua". (Jazz, Now Sound) CD

Mad mad work from the great Nino Nardini – one of the greatest keyboard players to ever grace the sound library scene! This album was never officially issued, but is an incredibly strong bit of "commercial music", created initially for use by radio and TV stations, but just as good as anything that was on the market at the time. The music is a mix of jazz funk and 70s exotica – played on electric and acoustic instruments, mixing piano, moog, and congas into a swirling blend that's similar to the group Mandingo, but which also has lots of other 70s soundtrack elements. The track "Jungle Obsession" begins with a nice little drumbreak, then rolls into some wild bass-y moog riffs punctuated by other bits of computer music. Other tracks have voices, percussion, and even a bit of strings – and the whole thing's an extremely fresh bit of jungle funk! Titles include "White Snake", "Bali Girl", "Murmuring Leaves", "Jungle Spell", "Creeping Danger", and "Mowgli". Features the bonus tracks "Tropical" and "Safari Park". (Sound Library, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album