One of our favorite albums of all time – and a legendary testament to the greatness of the Chicago music scene in the late 60s! Melvin Jackson was the bassist in Eddie Harris' very successful group of the time – and his playing on Eddie's trippy and funky records for Atlantic is one of the factors that made them so great. Here, he's working with an acoustic bass, amplified with electronics like a Varitone sax – and this strange-sounding instrument is set up in a hip group that mixes Cadet funky studio players (Phil Upchurch, Morris Jennings, Jody Christian) with some of the brighter young players of the AACM (Roscoe Mitchell, Lester Bowie, and Leo Smith.) Jackson's bass is looped through all sorts of crazy effects, and the result is this amazing blend of avant garde playing and groovy rhythms that is beyond compare! The album includes great reworkings of two Eddie Harris funk tracks – "Bold and Black" and "Cold Duck Time" – plus monster originals like "Funky Doo", "Say What", "Dance Of The Dervish", and "Funky Skull (parts 1 & 2)". (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album of Latin funk – the only-ever record from this west coast combo headed by the legendary Benny Velarde! Benny's a name that you might recognize from earlier, straighter Latin dates for Fantasy – or for countless studio work during the 70s – but here, he's really got a talent for a funky 70s groove – and manages to hit a unique space that's somewhere between conventional funk, west coast Latin, and some of the hippest blacksploitation grooves of the time! The album also features some under-credited work from Lalo Schifrin – who was tied to the project somehow (Velarde claims that the record was killed by MGM upon release because of a feud with Lalo) – but never really fully credited in the notes. There's a definite link here with some of Schifrin's funkier soundtrack of the period – a great blend of jazzier elements and headier 70s funk – all served up with a tightness that has made the record one of our favorite funky treasures for years! Titles include "The Ghetto", "Latin Slide", "Who You Fooling", "Road Runner", "Soul Sauce", "Cocoa Leaf", and "Move Your Hands". (Latin, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Sublimely soulful work from Irene Reid – at one level a record that's in the field between jazz and soul, like albums from Gloria Lynne or Nancy Wilson at the time – but at another level, a key indication of Irene's strong strong vocal approach – one that's much deeper and more soulful than most of her contemporaries in the genre! Clyde Otis handles the arrangements, often using strings in a sweeping way in the background – never sleepy, but to emphasize the richness of Irene's vocals – but the real star of the set is Reid herself, singing in a majestically powerful mode that would captivate even without any other instrumentation at all! Titles include "This Bitter Earth", "If He Walked Into My Life", "A Man Only Does", "For Once In My Life", "I'm Too Far Gone To Turn Around", "Why Did I Choose You", and "Somewhere Along The Line". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked album from the legendary Nina Simone – recorded in Paris in the early 80s, and not circulated as much as some of her records from the 60s and 70s – but every bit as compelling in its own sort of way! Nina's working here with a greater array of global elements than on previous recordings – very much in that way that the French scene was embracing sounds from the Caribbean and African cultures in these post-colonial years, and using them to forge a wealth of wonderful new styles in the studios of Paris. The approach is still jazz-based, but with lots of earthy percussion, including some handled by Nina with her own piano work – a mode that's not foisted on Simone by another producer, but arranged and conceived by the lady herself. Lyrics are in French and English, and titles include "I Sing Just To Know That I'm Alive", "They Took My Hand", "Stop", "Liberian Calypso", "Vous Etes SEuls Mais Je Desire Etre Avec Vous", "Fodder In Her Wings", "Thandewye", "Heaven Belongs To You", and "Le Peuple En Suisse". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Classic work from Nina Simone – and an album that definitely lives up to its title! Nina Simone certainly emerged as the high priestess of soul during her monumental stretch for Philips Records in the 60s – as she moved way past jazz, way past some of the folk she'd begun tapping into, and into this new righteous territory that paved the way for countless other hip singers to come! Simone does a great job of mixing gutbuckety roots with hipper, 60s soul inflections – and the set's a treasure trove of great tunes – including her awesome reading of "Work Song", plus "Brown Eyed Handsome Man", "Come Ye", "I Hold No Grudge", "I'm Going Back Home", "I'm Gonna Leave You", "Take Me To The Water", and "The Gal From Joe's". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A mid-80s comeback album from Nina Simone – and a set that shows her continuing to experiment with new modes as the years move forward! Back in the 60s, Nina effortlessly folded together her jazz vocal roots with new ideas in folk, soul, and other styles – and here she expands that approach to embrace some currents of 80s soul – sometimes with a quality that really has her trying to evolve into the new generation. The set features keyboards and arrangements from Hence Powell, guitar from Arthur Adams, and backings from the Waters – on titles that include "Fodder On Her Wings", "I Sing Just To Know That I'm Alive", "For A While", "Touching & Caring", "Saratoga", and "It's Cold Out Here". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic live album from Nina Simone – recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1966, and delivered with that hard-burning energy that always makes Nina's concert performances so mindblowing! There's a lean, mean groove to the record – sharply soulful piano from Simone, and backing from a group that includes some exceptional work on drums from Robert Hamilton – a player who really helps kick up the rhythms at times – while Nina delivers these searing lyrics that definitely showcase the more righteous, political side of her spectrum! The set's a great addition to the Philips material from this period – and titles include a killer version of "Mississippi Goddam", plus "You've Got To Learn", "Blues For Mama", "Be My Husband", "Music For Lovers", and "I Loves You Porgy". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic live album from Nina Simone – recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1966, and delivered with that hard-burning energy that always makes Nina's concert performances so mindblowing! There's a lean, mean groove to the record – sharply soulful piano from Simone, and backing from a group that includes some exceptional work on drums from Robert Hamilton – a player who really helps kick up the rhythms at times – while Nina delivers these searing lyrics that definitely showcase the more righteous, political side of her spectrum! The set's a great addition to the Philips material from this period – and titles include a killer version of "Mississippi Goddam", plus "You've Got To Learn", "Blues For Mama", "Be My Husband", "Music For Lovers", and "I Loves You Porgy". (Vocalists, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Chicago blues, but plenty darn funky – recorded with a sharpness and tightness that shows a strong soul-based influence in the second-generation electric work of James Cotton's generation! The core group here features James on harmonica and vocals – backed by piano, guitar, bass, and drums – plus a great horn section that has a distinct Chess Records feel – no surprise, given that it features Gene Barge, Paul Serrano, and Louis Satterfield! The production is by Barry Goldberg and Mike Bloomfield – and they're clearly helping Cotton tighten up his groove – and almost hit some Atlantic soul-styled modes at times. Titles include "Knock On Wood", "Sweet Sixteen", "Feelin Good", "Off The Wall", "Good Time Charlie", "Turn On Your Lovelight", "Something On Your Mind", and "Don't Start Me Talkin". (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

No honking here, as Sil Austin takes his deeply soulful tenor sax, and turns it to a set of creamy late-nite tracks – all done over some very "pretty" backings, ala the Verve strings work of Ben Webster or Lester Young. Most cuts have voices in with the orchestrations – and titles include "I'll Walk Alone", "Call me", "Ruby", "My Mother's Eyes", "Stardust", "Prisoner Of Love", and "Sweet Slumber". (Jazz, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful chapter in the career of Ray Charles – and a key album in helping raise his respect level a notch or two in the early 60s! We might argue with the mathematics in the title – or at least joke that Ray was using equations as titles years before Anthony Braxton – but you can't contest the fact that this one's a classic treat, and a legendary attempt to class up Ray's bluesy style for the masses. Quincy Jones and Ralph Burns handled the arrangements, and given that the record was issued by ABC a few years before they brought Ray into a country mode, it's interesting to think what might have happened had his career continued this way. There's only a small number of vocal tracks on the record, and most of the rest feature Ray at the organ, grooving away very nicely! Titles include "One Mint Julep", "Moanin", "I've Got News For You", "Mister C", and "Stompin Room Only". LP, Vinyl record album