An unusual project from Chico Mann – one first conceived when he moved to LA, and had the desire to start an Afro Funk band – music penned for that idea, but performed here with the stripped-down style of some of Chico's other work! You can definitely hear how the tunes might sound with fuller horns in a larger lineup – but the instrumentation here is a lot leaner – beats, keyboards, guitar riffs, and some likely samples – all served up with plenty of grit, and a sound that really takes us back to the vibe we loved in the earliest records we heard from Chico Mann! Titles include "Hell", "Taking The Blame", "Here Likes Man", "That Much Closer To Nothing", "Sorrow Tears & Blood", "When I Come To", "Fighting", and "Summon Fire". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from a fantastic period of drummer Chico Hamilton – a time when he'd moved way past the chamber jazz of his 50s years, and even some of his more freewheeling 60s modes on Impulse Records! Here, Chico seems really obsessed with rhythm – to a level where he's not afraid to complicate things, even in search of a groove – working with odd timings and changes that are still pretty groundbreaking, even all these many years later! As with previous records, Hamilton shows a great ear for picking unusual and inventive players – as the set includes Arnie Lawrence doing some incredible work on electric alto sax, and Bob Mann adding in trippy guitar fills that give the tracks a wild stoner feel. Chico's drums are freer than ever – and the album's a real lost gem in the Flying Dutchman mode – with titles that include "Volvos", "Up Front What Counts", "Swingin On A Sitar", "How 'Bout Bobby", "As I Open My Eyes", and "Gonna Get Some Right Now". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic early work from Chris Hills – an artist you might know most from later work as part of Players Association – but who here is in an equally soulful sort of mode! The guy on the cover might look a bit unlikely as a soul artists – especially given that he's fading away in the photo – but the record's got a rock-solid approach right from the start, very similar to the best of the other funk groups recording for Atlantic at the time! The set is one of the deepest issued on Herbie Mann's Embryo imprint for Atlantic – and although Chris is the main creative talent on vocals, arrangements, and lots of instruments – the set also features strong organ work from Lee Reinoehl, and additional vocals from soul singer Chico Waters. Titles include "Comin Outta The Ghetto", "Sweet Joanne", "Six Of One", "Mean Old Love", "Sure As Shootin", and "Talkin Bout Soul". CD

Forget the format – as the album's one of those jazz-meets-show albums from the early 60s – and just focus on the sound – as Chico Hamilton really knows how to make the music groovy! The group here is an unusual lineup with Charles Lloyd on flute and sax, plus guitar by Harry Pope, bass by Bobby Haynes, and cello from Nat Gershmann – working with Hamilton in an inventive set of rhythms that really opens up the tunes, while also allowing Lloyd to add a few exotic touches. The best tunes pick up on the modal groove that Chico was sneaking into his work – and titles include "Our Language Of Love", "A Lot Of Living To Do", "Baby Talk To Me", "She's Got The Lot", and "From A Prison Cell". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty darn sweet vocal session from the duo of Miucha and Antonio Carlos Jobim – recorded with lots of bossa overtones, very much the same spirit as the legendary Elis & Tom album of the mid 70s! Chico Buarque participates in the session, and Jobim even lends his vocal talents to a track or two – but his real talent, though, is his work on the arrangements – as he gives the whole thing a beautifully dreamy quality, in the manner of his best 70s work, with lots of strange off-kilter melodies floating around the mix of strings, piano, and flute! Miucha's vocals are lovely, and titles include "Sei La A Vida Tem Sempre Razao", "Vai Levando", "Comigo E Assim", "Samba Do Aviao", and "Saia Do Caminho". LP, Vinyl record album

New Orbits In Sound is an obscure west coast set – featuring some very hard-driving big band arrangements, short but with breakout solos that really keep things moving along at a good pace. Murphy wrote and arranged most of the material – cool little offbeat tunes, many with a space theme to match the cover of the album. Players include Frank Morgan, Milt Bernhart, Chico Hamilton, Buddy Colette, and Bob Gordon – and titles include "Lost In A Fugue", "Frantastic", "Frankly Speaking", "Tone Poem", and "Orbit". Gone With The Woodwinds is a rare bit of mid 50s modernism from composer Lyle Murphy – one of the most angular talents on the west coast scene of the time, but an artist who also manages to swing with a nice little groove! On one hand, Murphy's got some key academic inspiration behind his music – as you might guess from the "12 Tone" title – but on another, he still works with a sense of jazz solo energy, so that he lets the players in his group get enough voice into the tunes to shape them into their own. Members of the group include Buddy Collette, Abe Most, Russ Cheever, Jack Dumon, and Chuck Gentry on reeds – plus rhythm from Andre Previn on piano, Curtis Counce on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums. Most tunes have complicated reed interplay, supported by more swinging jazz rhythms – and titles include "Poly Doodle", "Perdido", "Triton", "Fourth Dimension", "Seismograph", and "Pemba". CD

A great Dizzy Gillespie Latin session recorded during the mid 70s – proof that he could still hold onto the cubop spirit of the old days! The session features a larger group arranged and conducted by Chico O'Farril – who manages to keep a solidly Cuban groove at the base, but really let Dizzy open up with some broader horn flourishes at the top. Given the quality of actual Cuban jazz at the time, this set may well beat most of what was going on in Havana – thanks to solid solos from Dizzy, and backings from a group led by Machito, and featuring players who include Mario Bauza, Jorge Dalto, Manny Duran, Mauricio Smith, and Victor Paz. Side one features the extended "Oro, Incienso y Mirra", and side two is a 3-part suite, "Three Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods". CD