Incredible work by Oneness Of Juju – a lost third LP, recorded in the late 70s, but never issued until years later! The album has the group tightening it up a bit from the first two records – picking up some funky influences that are more than welcome to our ears – doses of ... LP, Vinyl record album
William Bell was one of the first great soul singers to record for the legendary Stax Records in Memphis – an artist who really helped set the tone for deep soul singles to come from the likes of Otis Redding and Johnnie Taylor – and one whose early work is still some of the best he ... CD
The monumental debut of BT Express – and an excellent funk album that often gets overlooked by fans of the music because of the band's bigger fame as a disco group! This first record has the combo grooving hard and instrumentally – in the mode of a tight blacksploitation soundtrack, ... CD
Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad with Jean Carne
An album that has the legendary Jean Carne in the most righteous setting we've heard in years – a mode that hearkens back to the vocals she provided for organist Doug Carn on their classic 70s albums together for the Black Jazz label! Jean's a singer that we love in just about any format ... CD
Trombonist Steve Davis always gives us something great with each new release – and that's definitely the case here, in a set with a rock-solid group, filled with all original material that really soars right from the very first note! In addition to Davis on trombone, the group also features ... CD
An obscure one – but with some great funky jazz moments! The album features the work of The St. Thomas Jazz Quartet – a group that might conjure up images of the Carribean, but who were really just a great soul jazz combo from Cleveland. David Thomas plays some excellent Hammond B-3 ... LP, Vinyl record album
A legendary project from Tortoise – kind of the "part 1.5" to their tremendous debut – as it features material from that record, remixed by members of the group and other key figures on the Chicago scene – all as a real testament to the many criss-crossing styles and ... LP, Vinyl record album
A stunning solo project from drummer Daniel Villarreal – a musician you might know in the group Dos Santos, yet one who's in very unique territory here on his own! The album was recorded in both Chicago and Los Angeles – and it's got a vibe that really reflects that process – ... CD
An incredible tribute to the legendary Strata Records in Detroit – performed by Jazzanova with a host of other guests – and at a level that's maybe the greatest thing the group has ever given us on record! The vibe here is a lot more Strata and spiritual than the style you'd expect ... CD
One of the standouts in a great 70s run of albums from trumpeter Charles Tolliver – standard-setting records for the spiritual jazz scene of the time – and maybe one of his most far-reaching records for the Strata East label! Toilliver's in very strong company – as the group on ... LP, Vinyl record album
Bruce Springsteen famously gave Patti Smith a song to sing back in the 70s, then the Pointer Sisters had a hit with another tune of his – and that began a surprisingly long legacy of female artists picking up on his songs! We're not saying that Bruce is a feminist or anything – but his ... CD
Ruben Blades is way more than just a superstar in Latin music – over the decades, he's become a key global figure, and one with much diversity in his work – as you'll hear on this great collaboration with the Brazilian quartet Boca Livre! Boca Livre have a warm harmony vocal style that ... CD
A stone classic from the Isleys – the album that kicked off their successful T-Neck label, and established that mighty Isleys sound that would have such a huge influence in the 70s! The title cut of the set – "It's Your Thing" – is a well-known classic that really sets ... CD
The cover's a bit cheesy, but the grooves are great – very much what we've come to expect from this long-running series that always serves up some great funky tracks! Mood Mosaic's been around for a long time, and they've got a great reputation for mixing together tracks you might not ... CD
A key album in the post-Hendrix tradition of funky black rock – and the only album ever recorded by Cleveland's Purple Image! The approach here follows nicely in the same territory worked by Funkadelic and Fugi in the early days – a heady, fuzzed-up blend of trippy guitars, heavy ... LP, Vinyl record album
A real gem from Lonnie Liston Smith's early years in the studio – and a record that's perhaps a bit more "cosmic" than it is "funk" – but that's why we like it so much! The session has Lonnie stretching out a bit more than usual – borrowing some of the ... CD
Funky genius from the mighty K Frimpong – an album recorded in Germany in the mid 80s – but a set that cooks like some of the best West African funk from the decade before! The sound is lean and mean, and there's plenty of grit in the grooves – a lot more bass and funky drums ... LP, Vinyl record album
Angular Monk meets hard-driving Art Blakey – in a session that's quite unique, and which has gone onto become one of the best-remembered Atlantic jazz sessions of the late 50s! The album features Blakey in that key non-Blue Note year of 1957 – a time when he was working with a variety ... CD
A much-needed look at the farther reaches of the legendary 60s Jamaican imprint Beverley's – headed by important producer Leslie Kong, and a launching pad for some of the bigger names in Jamaican music in the years to come! Yet here, the focus is on a less-exposed side of Kong's imprint ... CD
A record that's as striking as the image on the cover – a wonderful set that mixes the soulful vocals of the great Elza Soares with some larger samba backings from Oswaldo Borba – a leader we don't know at all, but who really knocks it out of the park on the set! Elza always seems to ... LP, Vinyl record album