Piero Umiliani gave the world some fantastic soundtracks in the 60s, and incredible electronic and sound library work in the 70s – but in the immediate postwar years, he was a jazz musician at heart – as you'll hear in this great set of small combo jazz from 1959! The vibe is right up there with some of the hippest Italian moderns of the period – like the Basso/Valdambrini group, or work by Gil Cuppini – and if you've heard some of the early 60s jazz soundtracks from Piero, you'll know that he can definitely serve up straight jazz work when he wants to! Umiliani plays piano, and other musicians include Marcello Boschi on alto and flute, Ivan Vandor on tenor, Bill Gilmore on trombone, Peppe Carta on bass, and Roberto Zappulla on drums. All tracks are originals – and include "Tempo Jazz", "Tema In Blues", "Mezza Cottura", "Tipi Misteriosi", and "Battesimo Dell'Aria". LP, Vinyl record album

A fab little soundtrack from one of our favorite Italian composers – a lost gem originally issued in 1971, with a very groovy sound! The score has Piero Umiliani picking up a bit more funk than usual – working with electric bass and keyboards to come up with some totally great tracks that kind of pick up a sexy Euro funk groove from the Serge Gainsbourg generation, and give it some excellent soundtracky touches in terms of tone, color, and melody. The tracks are all pretty darn great – bouncy, sunny, and with funk at just the right moments – and a few nice numbers even have a bit of scatting vocals, an element that makes them all the more pleasing to our ears! Titles include "Mah Na Cowboy", "Holiday Inn", "Love In", "Il Mondo Dell Infanzia", "Luna Di Miele", "Pepito", and "La Nuova Frontiera". LP, Vinyl record album

A fresh take on one of the most unusual soundtracks ever created by legendary Italian group Goblin – music for a film that's a bit more light-hearted than some of the others they scored, and which gets a great blend of funky and breezy tunes throughout! The film's a cop comedy, and Goblin set things up with lots of great keyboards, but used in ways that are less prog-oriented than their other soundtracks – and more towards funk or sound library modes – styles that are carried out here perfectly by the contemporary group Girodivite, who recreate the music as the tapes have been lost to time – carrying things off so well, the recording really does feel like a late 70s vintage one, even right down to the production. The whole thing is great – and the CD features 14 tracks in all – a great discovery of this rare chapter in the long career of Goblin! LP, Vinyl record album

Disco 9000 is Johnnie Taylor's 3rd release for Columbia – a great batch of smooth soul tracks with a lot less of the "disco" that you'd expect from the title! Johnnie produced the session himself – and the album was recorded as a soundtrack (to a film that was later retitled Fass Black), but works well on its own as a straight soul release. Most tracks are relatively long, in that smooth midtempo groove that Johnnie was using at the time – and the combination of his bluesy vocals and modern soul production really makes the set sparkle! Titles include "I Love You Woman", "Right Now", and "I Don't Know What I'd Do Without You". (Soul, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album