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A fantastic classic from Savoy Brown – one of those records that shows just why these guys were so great during their short early run! The approach is maybe familiar blues rock, but the sound is also very special – with a great sense of fusion of all the elements, so that vocals, guitar, and rhythms all seem tightly tied together – still with the kind of bravado you might expect, and plenty of strong guitar from Kim Simmonds – but also given this focus that's really wonderful, especially when heavy piano lines come into the mix to almost give things a Mose Allison vibe, and added horns open up some currents of soul. A strong cut above the competition – with titles that include "Master Hare", "Needle & Spoon", "A Hard Way To Go", "That Same Feelin", "A Little More Wine", "I'm Crying", "Is That So", and "Stay While The Night Is Young". CD

Maybe the warmest record by the Sea & Cake – drawing a lot more from their earlier The Biz and Sam Prekop's solo album than their previous The Fawn, adding strings to a lot of the melodies instead of the electronic sounds. Sunny avant pop that manages to pull off a little bit of soulfulness with their trademark laidback charm. Tracks include "Afternoon Speaker", "All The Photos", "You Beautiful Bastard", "The Colony Room", "The Leaf", "Everyday", "Two Dolphins", "Midtown", "Seemingly", and "I Missed The Glance". CD

An obscure late ESP session featuring Don Rafael Garrett and Zusann Fasteau Garrett in a set of duets on percussion, bass, clarinet, and voice. The sound's a bit hippy dippy in parts, with a vibe that's kind of groovy and optimistic – but at other times, the playing is nice and spare, with a good east coast avant sound, in that mid 70s loft jazz mode. Titles include "Wave Hands Like Clouds", "Stork Cools Its Wings", and "Snake Creeps Down". CD

Fantastic stuff – easily one of Archie Shepp's greatest albums, and certainly one of the pivotal points of 60s avant garde jazz! The album features Shepp leading a crack "new thing" line up that includes Ted Curson on trumpet, Marion Brown on alto, Joe Chambers on drums, Reggie Johnson on bass, and the lesser-known Joseph Orange on trombone – all playing in a beautifully poised manner, never too far out and free, but with all the dynamic energy of the best jazz changes of the 60s! There's a vibe here that's similar to some of the Blue Note "new thing" work by players like Grachan Moncur, Jackie McLean, and Tony Williams from the time – but there's a vision that's also wider and deeper, too, given the size of the group and the way they interact. Titles include "Hambone", "Los Olvidados", "Malcolm Malcolm–Semper Malcolm", and an insane cover of "Girl From Ipanema". You can't go wrong with this one – trust us! CD also features a bonus live version of "Hambone"! CD

A nice small group set – with Shepp on tenor and vocal, plus Enrico Rava on trumpet, Siefried Kessler on piano and keyboards, Wilbur Little on bass, and Clifford Jarvis on drums. Includes the long title track "Little Red Moon", and a version of "Naima". CD

One of the most perfectly-realized early Archie Shepp albums on Impulse Records – a set that brilliantly brings together all the different influences that inspired his sense of creation, but with a lean energy that takes everything far from its roots – and puts the music firmly in the best "new thing" territory of the mid 60s! The players shift around a bit from track to track – that sense of creative combination that really marked this moment in avant jazz expression – and about half the record features Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, in a lineup that also includes Henry Grimes and Barre Phillips on bass, and David Izenzon, Rashied Ali, and Joe Chambers on drums and percussion! Shepp contributed some of his most haunting compositions to the set – including "On This Night", "The Mac Man", and "The Pickaninny" – and the whole thing's amazing enough to make you an Archie Shepp convert for life! CD

One of the more avant-oriented 60s sessions cut by Wayne Shorter for Blue Note – a record that's not entirely part of the "new thing" generation, but which definitely has Shorter pushing the boundaries from his previous records for the label! The lineup here is a key batch of players who can handle both sides of the fence – inside and outside – Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Grachan Moncur on trombone, Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto, Ron Carter on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums – all players who were really breaking their own boundaries at the time. The set also features work from Wayne's Brother on one track – avant trumpeter Alan Shorter, who's only known for a few records under his own name, and who really brings a great sound to play here. At times, the record builds into a sound that's freer and more challenging than on some of Shorter's other albums from the time – but less in a free jazz mode, than with an overall sense of purpose that really keeps the message clear. Features all original compositions by the Shorter brothers – and cuts include "Chaos", "Face Of The Deep", "Mephistopheles", and "Genesis". CD

5 classic albums from Nina Simone – packaged together in one sweet little set! First up is Nuff Said – a great little album from Nina – mostly recorded live at the Westbury Music Fair, with a hip mix of jazz, soul, and folk that's stretched out in a slightly informal setting that always brings out the best of Nina's vocals! Tracks include "The Backlash Blues", "Please Read Me", "Sunday In Savannah", "Why? (The King Of Love Is Dead)", and the nice jazzer "In The Morning". Plus, the album also includes one straight soul number – "Do What You Gotta Do", with some great arrangements by Horace Ott. Next is To Love Somebody – one of Nina's greatest records – recorded with her cool combo that included Weldon Irvine! Weldon's on organ on the set, and he co-wrote the two-part track "Revolution" with Simone, one of the album's strongest numbers! That track is set amidst covers of other hip 60s material, including "Turn Turn Turn", "To Love Somebody", "I Can't See Nobody", and "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" – all done with a freely righteous style that has Nina cutting loose at the end of the 60s! Black Gold is a real classic from Nina, one of the excellent sets she cut with the Stroud Productions imprint during the early 70s! The style here is even hipper than her late 60s work on Philips – with a mixture of open-ended jazz and soul that's best summed up in the album's extended reading of "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair", and a great version of "To Be Young Gifted & Black", which was written by Weldon Irvine, who's probably playing piano here with Nina. It Is Finished is the kind of record that once made purists turn up their noses, but which is now being rediscovered as a unique jazz/soul crossover album, filled with loads of nice moments! The instrumentation's pretty darn interesting – and includes sitar, harp, Spanish guitar, and other odd percussion instruments. Includes Nina's nice version of "Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter", plus "I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl", "Dambala", "Obeah Woman", and "The Pusher". Nina Simone & Piano is a strong back to basics session for Nina, one that featured her piano and vocals only, a very spare approach that was markedly different from her work a few years previously for other labels. Nina's tone on the piano is incredible – and she's working with some striking modern jazz changes that offset the folksiness of her vocals in a fantastic way, creating a sound that's a lot fuller than you'd expect! Titles include "Seems I'm Never Tired Lovin You", "Compensation", "Everyone's Gone To The Moon", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", "I Think It's Going To Rain Today", "The Desperate Ones", "The Human Touch", and "Another Spring". CD

Jimmy Smith heard in the kind of setting that spawned him – playing live at Delaware's Club Baby Grand – just the sort of smoky little jazz room that initially fostered his talents! The liveness of the set brings a really nice edge to the album – a sound that's grittier than some of Jimmy Smith's studio work of the early Blue Note years – and which features him really stretching out on the Hammond, taking close to 10 minutes to run through each tune – and that's saying a lot, given that there's hardly any other soloists! The rest of the group features Thornel Schwartz on guitar and Donald Bailey on drums – and tracks on this second volume include "Caravan", "Get Happy", "It's All Right With Me", and "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing". CD

Jimmy Smith heard in the kind of setting that spawned him – playing live at Delaware's Club Baby Grand – just the sort of smoky little jazz room that initially fostered his talents! The liveness of the set brings a really nice edge to the album – a sound that's grittier than some of Jimmy Smith's studio work of the early Blue Note years – and which features him really stretching out on the Hammond, taking close to 10 minutes to run through each tune – and that's saying a lot, given that there's hardly any other soloists! The rest of the group features Thornel Schwartz on guitar and Donald Bailey on drums – and tracks on this second volume include "Caravan", "Get Happy", "It's All Right With Me", and "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing". CD

The Blue Note debut of tenorist Walter Smith III – a player who's been making great music for almost 20 years on record, yet who really seems to push himself even more here! The album seems to mark a new chapter in Smith's music, and one that also really has a distinct voice on the tenor as well – a mode that's pointed and personal, yet sometimes understated too – at a level that has Walter's role in the rest of the group's sound as important to his individual presence as a soloist. The group sparkles with work from Taylor Eigsti on piano, Matt Stevens on guitar, Harish Ragavan on bass, and Kendrick Scott on drums – and Ambrose Akinmusire guests on trumpet on one key track too. But throughout, the vision is that of Smith – not just for his own horn, but that of the whole group – as they move through tunes that include "Shine", "Contra", "Lamplight", "Mother Stands For Comfort", and "Pup Pow". CD

Includes the songs "Gangsters", "Rudi, A Message To You", "Nite Club", "Too Much Too Young (Live)", "Guns Of Navarone (Live)", "Rat Race", "Rude Boys Outta Jail", "Maggie's Farm", "Do Nothing", "Stereotype", "Ghost Town (12" Vers.)", "Why?", "Friday Night, Saturday Morning", "Racist Friend",and "Free Nelson Mandela (Ext. Vers.)"0 CD

One of a rare few albums done by pianist Cecil Taylor for the Blue Note label in the 60s – some of the most outside work recorded for the imprint at the time! The word "structures" here is perhaps a bit misplaced – as the work has a strong sense of freedom with the soloists – who operate based on a system of energy and impulses described by Taylor in the notes, at a level that's maybe one of his most inventive, ambitious expressions of the decade! The whole lineup is great – with especially strong horn work from Eddie Gale on trumpet, Jimmy Lyons on alto, and Ken McIntyre on alto, oboe, and bass clarinet – and Taylor's piano gets accompaniment from two groundbreaking bassists – Henry Grimes and Alan Silva – plus drums from Andrew Cyrille. Given the lineup, and the format, the whole thing almost feels more like one of the BYG/Actuel avant sessions than Blue Note in the 60s – and titles include "Steps", "Enter Evening (Soft Line Structure)", "Unit Structure/As Of A Now/Section", and "Tales (8 Whisps)". CD

A very unusual work from the Territory Band – one of the more avant-oriented projects of Chicago's sax powerhouse Ken Vandermark. The group's much more spatially and compositionally oriented than any of Ken's other projects, and the feel of the set is in an ambitious mode – almost like some of the work of the London Jazz Composer's Orchestra from the 80s. The group on the set is much larger than on the first Territory Band album – with a mixture of Chicago and European players that include Kevin Drumm, Paul Lytton, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Kent Kessler, Tim Mulvenna, Jim Baker, Jeb Bishop, and Axel Doerner. Tracks are all tributes, in the Vandermark mode – and titles include "Now", "Add & Subtract", "Neiger", and "Catalog". CD

With Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento, Edu Lobo, Joao Bosco, Elaine Elias, Djavan, Ivan Lins, Dori Caymmi, and Gilbert Gil. Produced by Oscar Castro-Neves. CD

A fantastic record – and one of those rare moments when an avant group can serve up a bit of funk! This lost bit of work was recorded live in St Louis in 1973 – part of the Black Artists Group scene that was the city's answer to Chicago's AACM movement of the late 60s. Alto player Luther Thomas heads up the group, which features Charles Shaw on drums, JD Parran on reeds, Marvin Horne on guitar, Eric Foreman on bass – plus guest work from AACM visitors Joseph and Lester Bowie! The set kicks off with the 18 minute monster track "Funky Donkey" – an unbridled funky jam that mixes tight fast rhythms with skilled way-out solos, very much in the mode of "Nation Time" from Joe McPhee's album of similar vintage. The cut's a stone monster – and it's backed here by "Una New York" and "Intensity", which has a more avant feel, but an equally exciting mix of styles. CD

Quite possibly one of the most successful Japanese piano trio recordings of the 70s – a super-session performed by a group that includes Joe Sample on acoustic piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums! Given that Sample's best known during the era for his electric keys with the Crusaders (and on countless studio sessions), it's a real treat to hear him tickle the ivories in an acoustic way – and a genuine surprise to hear how strong his work is in such a format. Joe manages to swing the tunes with plenty of creative improvisation, but also keeps a strong focus on the groove too – making for an album that's got some of the rhythmic flourishes of the best work of the Oscar Peterson trio in later years, but with some of the added freedoms of the Japanese scene. Titles include "On Green Dolphin Street", "Round Midnight", "Funky Blues", "Manha Do Carnaval", "Yearnin", and "Satin Doll". CD

A beautifully overstuffed collection of early work from New Orleans soul legend Allen Toussaint – a set that not only includes many of his key recordings from the scene in the 60s, but also some of his important productions for other artists too! The package begins with Toussaint in the lead on a series of sides on CD one – working either as himself, or as Al Touson, or with The Stones, The Rubyiats, or Allen & Allen – all with these choppy, loping, heavy-grooving rhythms that were Toussaint's huge contribution to New Orleans soul right from the start! Titles include "Whirlaway", "Whipped Cream", "Moo Moo", "Wham Tousan", "Omar Khayyam", "I Don't Need One", "Baby Do Liddle", "Tomorrow", "Fat Cat", "Banana Split", and "Java". CD2 features a series of recordings done for the Minit, Instant, and Sansu labels – all with Toussaint involved either as producer, arranger, or musician – on material that forever shaped the sound of New Orleans – titles that include "A Certain Girl" by Ernie K Doe, "Over You" by Aaron Neville, "I Like It Like That (parts 1 & 2)" by Chris Kenner, "Sophisticated Cissy" by The Meters, "Holy Cow" by Lee Dorsey, "I'm Evil Tonight" by Betty Harris, "Oogsey Moo" by Jessie Hill, "It Will Stand" by The Showmen, "Ruler Of My Heart" by Irma Thomas, "Fortune Teller" by Benny Spellman, and "Hot Tamales (parts 1 & 2)" by The Primemates. 50 tracks in all! CD