Later work from the great Roy Brown – captured here in some relatively hip LA company – with work from Don Randi on piano, Clifford Scott on tenor, Dennis Budimir and Charles Wright on guitars, and Earl Palmer on drums – working with arrangements from HB Barnum and Arthur Wright! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first great R&B artists on the New Orleans scene in the 50s – and one who never got the same sort of fame as some of his contemporaries! Yet that doesn't stop Paul Gayten from being one of the greats – as you'll hear on this excellent collection that brings together a range of rare material originally issued only as singles – for the Checker and Argo labels, and for the smaller Anna label as well. The groove is prime Crescent City at the time – with Gayten on piano and vocals, and work by players who include Alvin Red Tyler on baritone and Earl Palmer on drums. Some tunes are vocals, some instrumentals – and titles include "Windy", "Get It", "Tickle Toe", "For You My Love", "The Sweeper", "Nervous Boogie", "Hot Cross Buns", and "The Hunch". CD features three bonus tracks – "Driving Home Part 2", "Right To Love You", and "Flat Foot Sam". CD

A legendary Latin funk album – spearheaded by Eddie Palmieri! The record is a landmark crossover album from the early 70s – cut at the end of the Latin soul era, but featuring that genre's wonderful mix of Puerto Rican soul, Spanish Harlem Latin, and New York funk – which are then given a new sort of push in this era of strong Latin pride and new opportunities for the youthful scene in New York! The grooves are all nice and long – with plenty of hard jamming, Latin rhythms, funky solos, and even soulful lyrics in English – sung with a very righteous, positive message that's kept the album at the top of the stacks for years. Eddie Palmeri plays piano and directs the group – and titles include "Seeds Of Life", "Harlem River Drive", and "Idle Hands". (Latin, Soul) CD

A legendary Latin funk album – spearheaded by Eddie Palmieri! The record is a landmark crossover album from the early 70s – cut at the end of the Latin soul era, but featuring that genre's wonderful mix of Puerto Rican soul, Spanish Harlem Latin, and New York funk – which are then given a new sort of push in this era of strong Latin pride and new opportunities for the youthful scene in New York! The grooves are all nice and long – with plenty of hard jamming, Latin rhythms, funky solos, and even soulful lyrics in English – sung with a very righteous, positive message that's kept the album at the top of the stacks for years. Eddie Palmeri plays piano and directs the group – and titles include "Seeds Of Life", "Harlem River Drive", and "Idle Hands". (Latin, Soul) CD

BB King brings in a sweet dose of jazz to his work – just a touch of the funkier backings that some of his electric contemporaries were getting at the time – maybe not as hard-wailing as some of the Chess funky blues records, but definitely somewhere in that direction! Players on the date include Mel Brown and Jesse Davis on guitars, Bobby Bryant on trumpet, Red Holloway on tenor, Plas Johnson on baritone, Clifford Coulter and Victor Feldman on piano, and the great Earl Palmer on drums. Titles include "Help The Poor", "Can't You Hear Me Talking To You", "Midnight", "I Got Some Help I Don't Need", "I've Been Blue Too Long", "Lucille's Granny, and "Can't You Hear Me Talking To You". (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A massive record – and an instant legend the day it was released! Masters At Work host the beautiful meeting of a host legendary artists – Roy Ayers, George Benson, Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Jocelyn Brown, Vince Montana, and others – all united in a magical session that brings Latin firmly back to the dancefloor with the power and majesty of the best 70s recordings! The whole thing's amazing – a fantastic mix of Latin, funk, jazz, and house that's inspired a whole new generation of musicians – and which has still yet to be duplicated years later! Includes the massive remake of "I Am the Blackgold of the Sun", plus "Runaway", "Sweet Tears", and the great cover of Bob James' "Nautilus". (New Grooves, Soul) CD

Gary Numan plays on the Numan-penned song, "I Dream Of Wires". Chris Franz from Talking Heads also makes a guest appearance. (Rock, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

(Rock, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Pressure Drop", "Give Me An Inch", "Work To Make It Work", "Here With you Tonight", "Which Of Us Is The Fool", and "Fine Time". (Rock, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

(Rock, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

(Rock, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

One of Charlie Palmieri's best records from the 60s! The session is an obscure one-off done for Atlantic in 1968 – and for some reason, the record was never issued as widely as some of Charlie's other sides for smaller labels during the time, making it one of the most hard-to-find chapters of his career. The tracks are played by a tight little Latin jazz combo – with Charlie on piano, Julian Priester on trombone, and Louis Ramirez on timbales – and the set is filled with some great original tunes that mix together boogaloo rhythms and straight ahead Latin jazz. Tracks include "Bugalu", "Mambo Show", "Panama's Boogaloo", and "Bitter Sweet" – plus a Latin soul instrumental reading of "Up Tight". (Latin, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Landmark work from Eddie Palmieri – a stunning performance by his Harlem River Drive band, recorded live before a very wild crowd at Sing Sing Prison! The feel here is a blend of the sound heard on the legendary Harlem River Drive album – a unique fusion of Latin, soul, and political consciousness – and some of the styles of Eddie's own groundbreaking albums of the early 70s – and it's made all the much deeper by its performance in front of an audience who was very receptive to the message of the tracks. All tracks are long and very hip, and titles include the protest poetry cut "Jibaro/My Pretty N*****", plus the groovers "Azucar (parts 2 & 3)", "Muneca", "VP Blues", and "Pa La Ocha Tambo". (Latin, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest albums to ever sum up the genius of Lou Rawls in the 60s – a brilliant live set put together with the talents of David Axelrod! The record perfectly captures the easy-going soul of Rawls in the early years – a natural approach to his music that made him one of the best singers of his genre at the time, and which comes out especially strong in the album's upbeat monologues, which are often delivered by Lou with musical accompaniment, then leap strongly into the lyrics of a tune. Backing is by a small jazzy combo that includes Herb Ellis on guitar and the great rhythm team of Jimmy Bond on bass and Earl Palmer on drums – both of whom bring a nice little groove to most of the album's numbers. Titles include "Street Corner Hustler's Blues/World Of Trouble", "Southside Blues/Tobacco Road", "The Shadow of Your Smile", "In The Evening When The Sun Goes Down", "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good", and "The Girl From Ipanema". LP, Vinyl record album

Features work with The Clowns, Bobby Marchan, and Frankie Ford too! Musicians include Dr John, Allen Toussaint, James Booker, Alvin Tyler, and Earl Palmer. CD

Later work from guitar genius T-Bone Walker, but still very much in the style of his best R&B work! The album features small group backings that do the best to bring out the jazzier side of T-Bone's style – one that was a direct influence on countless jazz funk guitarists in later years – and players include Plas Johnson, Earl Palmer, Lloyd Glenn, and Barney Kessell playing some second guitar. Titles include "T Bone Blues", "Papa Ain't Salty", "Two Bones & A Pick", "Mean Old World", "T Bone Shuffle", and "Blues For Marili". (Blues, Soul) CD

Later work from guitar genius T-Bone Walker, but still very much in the style of his best R&B work! The album features small group backings that do the best to bring out the jazzier side of T-Bone's style – one that was a direct influence on countless jazz funk guitarists in later years – and players include Plas Johnson, Earl Palmer, Lloyd Glenn, and Barney Kessell playing some second guitar. Titles include "T Bone Blues", "Papa Ain't Salty", "Two Bones & A Pick", "Mean Old World", "T Bone Shuffle", and "Blues For Marili". (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Mellow blues with a touch of jazz – a really great session cut by Jimmy Witherspoon, with backings by Bob Florence – played by a smallish group that includes Gerald Wilson, Herbie Harper, Earl Palmer, Gerry Wiggins, and Teddy Edwards! The sound here is nicely subdued – not that hokey, overdone blues-based mode used already as a "revival" of the genre in the early 60s – and instead a smokey, adult, sophisticated approach that was very much in keeping with Witherspoon's best talents, and that sound of his that paved the way for bigger crossover names in the 60s. Titles include "Blues Serenade", "Music Maestro Please", "Don't Worry Bout Me", "Lover Come Back To Me", "Do Nothin Till You Hear From Me", and "Just One More Chance". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A treasure trove of rare soul from Detroit – rare material from the hands of producer/guitarist Dave Hamilton, a good deal of which was never issued back in the 60s! As you may know from Dave's own recently reissued work, the Hamilton sound is nice and hard – a version of Detroit soul that's got a bit more beat on the bottom than the better known Motown groove – and which was a perfect setting for some of the excellent lesser-known singers that Dave chose to record. Few of the artists here ever broke big on their own, but that doesn't stop the work from being totally great – and the 25 track set is overflowing with great work that shows a whole new side of the almost-infinite Detroit scene of the late 60s. Some material was issued on 45s for the TCB, Topper, and Palmer labels – but much more of the work here is previously unissued in any form – and totally great all the way through! Titles include "Challenge My Love" by Tobi Lark, "The Two Of Us" by Danny Cobus, "Who Are You Trying To Fool" and "One Way Street" by Little Ann, "You Got Me Turned Around" and "That's Enough" by OC Tolbert, "I'll Give You My Love" by Sue Ann Jones, "We're In Love" by The Additions, "Ain't That Groovy" by The Dave Hamilton Band, "All I Want Is You" by JT Rhythm, "Tears Running & Falling From My Eyes" by James Lately, and "My Sweet Baby" by The Mark-Keys. CD