A fantastic album from tenor legend Benny Golson – one in which he reinvents his sound for the 70s, but still keeps all the tight sense of arrangement we loved in his earlier work! Benny's going for a funky jazz groove on most cuts – a bit clubby, in a Kudu Records mode – with a fair bit of tracks recorded at Sigma Sound in Philly, some with a female chorus adding in vocal lines from time to time. But this approach isn't clunky or commercial, and actually works a lot better than so many other tenorists who tried this mode at the time – thanks both to Benny's sense of arrangement, which graces most tracks – and his way of hitting a solid, soulful solo that really fills out the tunes from the middle. The album is worth it alone for its sweet remake of "Killer Joe" – the tune he first made famous with the Jazztet, recut here with a nice 70s vibe! The cut begins with Benny doing a cool monologue at the beginning, then hitting the "New Killer Joe" groove – and other cuts include "Tomorrow Paradise", "Walkin & Stalkin", "Love Uprising", and "Timbale Rock". CD features some bonus tracks – including "I'm Always Dancin To The Music (orig 12" single)", "Walkin & Stalkin", and "The New Killer Joe" – in a version with Mortonette Jenkins on vocals. (Jazz, Soul) CD

Features Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Joe Lovano, and Houston Person – plus arrangements by Hank Crawford and Benny Golson. (Cassettes, Soul) Cassette

Features Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Joe Lovano, and Houston Person – plus arrangements by Hank Crawford and Benny Golson. CD

On the one hand, our jazz snob side wonders why Diana Ross would be picked to star as Billie Holiday, but on the other, it makes perfect sense, as this soundtrack to the film was made during the early 70s, when she was at the top of her career, and one of the highest profile female soul singers. And she acquits herself quite well, with a solid performance that's more than respectable, helped along the way by sympathetic orchestral arrangements from Benny Golson and Oliver Nelson. While we may not turn to this recording over any of Billie's originals, it's a pretty remarkable turning point for Diana, establishing her "diva" status and helping to launch her solo career to new heights. 34 numbers in all, though many of them are dialogue or musical bits lifted from the film. Includes "All Of Me", "the Man I Love", "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do", "Fine & Mellow", "You've Changed", "My Man", "Strange Fruit" and "God Bless The Child". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer early work from Freda Payne – an early album recorded for MGM many years before her later hit "Band Of Gold" – and a set with a great mix of soul and jazz modes, all arranged by the mighty Benny Golson! The record's got a really classy feel – one that has a lot more poise than some of Freda's later soul, and shows elements of the jazz she'd bring more to the forefront on Impulse Records. Yet Golson's backings also still keep plenty of soul in the mix too – using full arrangements to almost give Payne an uptown soul sound, with a heavy groove on some of the album's most memorable numbers. Titles include "San Juan", "I Don't Love You Anymore", "Too Late", "You Never Should Have Loved Me", "Feeling Good", "It's Here For You", "If You Loved Me", and "Sad Sad September". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of our favorite work ever by Esther Phillips – served up on a compilation that does a great job of sorting through her classic 70s sides for Kudu, CTI, and Mercury! Back in the 60s, Esther sung in a sad and bluesy sort of soul style – but in the 70s, at the time of these recordings, Esther picked up a sweet electric vibe, really hipping up her sound with lots of funky guitar, bass, and keyboards. The result is tremendous – as you'll hear on this set – as Esther works with arrangers that include Pee Wee Ellis, Bob James, Benny Golson and Harvey Mason to cut some wickedly soulful tunes! The set includes 18 tracks in all, with titles that include "Use Me", "Home Is Where The Hatred Is", "That's All Right With Me", "I've Never Found A Man", "Brother Brother", "From A Whisper To A Scream", "All The Way Down", "Black Eyed Blues", "Native New Yorker", "Changing", "SOS", "We've Got A Good Thing Going", "You Think Of Him", "Bedtime Stories", and "I Hope You'll Be Very Unhappy About Me". CD

On the one hand, our jazz snob side wonders why Diana Ross would be picked to star as Billie Holiday, but on the other, it makes perfect sense, as this soundtrack to the film was made during the early 70s, when she was at the top of her career, and one of the highest profile female soul singers. And she acquits herself quite well, with a solid performance that's more than respectable, helped along the way by sympathetic orchestral arrangements from Benny Golson and Oliver Nelson. While we may not turn to this recording over any of Billie's originals, it's a pretty remarkable turning point for Diana, establishing her "diva" status and helping to launch her solo career to new heights. 35 numbers in all, though many of them are dialogue or musical bits lifted from the film. Includes "All Of Me", "the Man I Love", "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do", "Fine & Mellow", "You've Changed", "My Man", "Strange Fruit" and "God Bless The Child". CD

On the one hand, our jazz snob side wonders why Diana Ross would be picked to star as Billie Holiday, but on the other, it makes perfect sense, as this soundtrack to the film was made during the early 70s, when she was at the top of her career, and one of the highest profile female soul singers. And she acquits herself quite well, with a solid performance that's more than respectable, helped along the way by sympathetic orchestral arrangements from Benny Golson and Oliver Nelson. While we may not turn to this recording over any of Billie's originals, it's a pretty remarkable turning point for Diana, establishing her "diva" status and helping to launch her solo career to new heights. 35 numbers in all, though many of them are dialogue or musical bits lifted from the film. Includes "All Of Me", "the Man I Love", "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do", "Fine & Mellow", "You've Changed", "My Man", "Strange Fruit" and "God Bless The Child". CD

Lloyd Price steps off to the side a bit, and allows his great backing band to really get some time in the spotlight – on this smoking set that was issued on LLoyd's own LL label! The group have this wicked mix of jazz, R&B, and mod soul – and often use sweet Hammond in the lead, in a way that makes the whole thing feel a bit like some of the Jimmy McGriff albums on Sue Records or Veep, or maybe like some of the most soulful Benny Golson arrangements on Prestige, when the horn players step out more in the front! There's a great mod soul groove to the whole thing – a style that's quite different from the vocal material that Price gave us on his own records, with more mof a jukebox-thumping style on cuts that include "Brother Eliajah", "Go Straight Ahead", "Soulful Waltz", "Oh Pee Day", "Number Four", "Trouble (parts 1 & 2)", "No Limit", and "Cool Blue". LP, Vinyl record album