Titles include "Walkin Blues", "Get Out Of My Life Woman", "Mary Mary", "East West", "Two Trains Running", and "Work Song". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

The bands of Bobby Byrne and Kai Winding playing four tunes each in their own style – "Perdido", "That's A Plenty", "Get Happy", and "Hot & Cool Blues" – with Byrne playing with Yank Lawson, Arrtie Baker, Jack Lesberg, and more, and Winding with Howard McGhee, John Lewis, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke! LP, Vinyl record album

Contemporary funk singer Rickey Calloway owes plenty to James Brown's work of the 60s – and he makes that connection very clear here, by serving up a totally smoking version of James' classic "There Was A Time"! Rickey takes the track at a clip that's amazing – even faster than some of The Godfather's live recordings – and his group keep things lean and funky throughout – even on the instrumental! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Brilliant brown-eyed soul from Ray Camacho – an artist who was previously known for more border-styled work with his Teardrops band, but who steps out here with a surprisingly great blend of electric jazz and boogie! The approach is wonderful – a real re-direction of Ray's earlier groove into even more soulful territory – handled with that unique fusion that was happening in just a few of the best Texas spots, like the scene in Austin at the time. The album's equal parts soul and funk, but still has a few Latin roots too – and had this gem come out on Fantasy Records at the time, it would have pushed Ray and group into much headier territory. But we're also happy the set's been undiscovered for so many years (consider it our little secret) – and titles include "Reach Out", "Diggin Deep", "Shake What You Got", "Nobody But You", "Nothing But A Party", and "What A Day". CD

An incredible record – and the kind of rare LA bop session that got totally lost because it was never packaged properly! This obscure set was issued by the Crown label under a number of names – both the Conte Candoli All Stars and Vince Guaraldi – and the group includes Conte Candoli, Buddy Collette, Vince Guaraldi, Leroy Vinnegar, and Stan Levey – all playing with a fantastically tight and incredibly soulful bop groove, of the sort you always hear them credited for, but which you can never find on any of their snoozy more famous records. Vince Guaraldi plays some incredibly soulful piano, in a manner that's very different than his Fantasy recordings – and he's playing here with a killer group of LA players who deliver some of their finest recorded work! Trust us, the session's a gem – and it's one of those you can put on and surprise your friends, and yourself! Tracks include "Muggin The Minor", "Mambo Diane", "Macedonia", and "Little David". CD

A set that's maybe a bit more standard song-based than some of the Captain's other records, but an album that's still filled with all the special magic that makes Beefheart so great! The magic band includes work from Zoot Horn Rollo on some wonderful glass finger guitar, plus keyboards from Mark Marcellino, bass from Rockett Morton, and plenty of vocals and harmonica from the Captain. Titles include "Upon The My-O-My", "Sugar Bowl", "New Electric Ride", "Magic Be", "Full Moon, Hot Sun" and "This Is The Day". LP, Vinyl record album

A group that's a lot greater than you'd guess from its name – with performances by Lewis Nash, Peter Washington, Steve Turre, Slide Hampton, Renee Rosnes, Jerry Dodgion, Ted Nash, and Ralph Lalama – plus Jon Faddis, who directs the group too! CD

A side's worth of material from each of the band leaders with their orchestra! Benny Carter tracks feature sidemen that include Bumps Myers, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, JJ Johnson, and Idrees Sulieman; and Cootie Williams tracks feature Bob Horton, Eddie Vinson, and Sam Taylor. LP, Vinyl record album

With Don Kinch on trumpet. CD

An excellent bossa session led by pianist Oscar Castro-Neves and his band, and recorded during the blitz of early bossa sessions by the Audio Fidelity label! The group's a large one, but not too large to lose the groove – and Castro-Neves put the whole thing together so that the album's always got a nice bounce to it, and so that the jazz component comes through nice and strong! There's loads of good groovers on here, all played with a very strident hard bossa feel – and tracks include "Outra Vez", "O Menino Desce O Morro", "Chora Tua Tristeza", "Zelao", "Doralice", and "Patinho Feio". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Rare work from the Circle City Band – the first-ever full length album from the group – and a set that brings together their few club singles and a host of previously unreleased tracks! The CCB are well remembered for the roller skating jam "Magic" – and the rest of this set is equally great – with lots of bouncing basslines, snapping beats, and warmly soulful grooves that really sparkle with lots of early 80s funky touches – from the sweet keyboards over the top right down to the crackling rhythms on the bottom! The package is a great discovery – one of those moments when you realize there's a lot more to a group than you'd ever heard before – and the album's way more than a reissue, given the treasure trove of previously unheard 80s grooves in the set! Titles include "Love", "Time Tunnel", "Hello Stranger", "Magic", "Gladiators", "My Place", "Party Lights", "Lonely", and "Hold On". CD

An excellent Clarke Boland Big Band LP – very much in the spirit of the group's best work of the era – one that uses the blues of the title merely as springboard for their ebullient big band groove! The album featuring a stellar array of soloists, including Tony Coe on clarinet, Sahib Shihab on flute, Ake Persson on trombone, Benny Bailey on trumpet, and others – on top of stellar work from the leaders! The tunes are wonderful throughout – tightly jazzy, played in a full on big band mode, but with plenty of breakout solos that really showcase the excellent talents in the group! Cuts include "At Ronnie's", "The Wildman", and Francy Boland's "All Blues" suite. LP, Vinyl record album

A large group in a small club – the legendary Clarke Boland Big Band, playing at the home turf of one of their key members – tenorist Ronnie Scott! The set features a very legendary performance by the ensemble – a crack lineup that's easily one of the best ever sported by the CBBB – perfectly mixing American rhythms, and a trans-Atlantic lineup of soloists – all tied together with just the sort of rich arrangements that make the group so great! Things groove right from the get-go – thanks to a rhythm lineup that features Kenny Clarke on drums, and Francy Boland on piano – plus bassist Ron Matthewson, sitting in for the usual Jimmy Woode. The horn players really send things off, though – tight trumpets from Benny Bailey, Idrees Sulieman, and Dusko Goykovich; bold trombones from Ake Persson and Nat Peck; and some searing reed lines from Johnny Griffin and Ronnie Scott on tenor, Derek Humble on alto, Sahib Shihab on baritone, and Tony Coe on both tenor and clarinet. This CD features both the first and second sets at Scotts by the group – albums titled Volcano and Rue Chaptal – with titles that include "Volcano", "Griff's Groove", "Now Hear My Meanin", "Box 703 Washington DC", "Thence We Issued Out Again to See the Stars", "Rue Chaptal", "I Don't Want Nothin From Nobody & I Ain't Giving Nothin Away", "Sax No End", "Minor Blues", and "The Girl & The Turk". CD

Great live material from the best years of this amazing ensemble that included some of the finest American and European players of the 60s! The band's at its best here – wailing away in a firey live setting, recorded with high quality by Europe 1 Radio in 1969. Players include Tony Coe, Johnny Griffin, Benny Bailey, Art Farmer, Sahib Shihab, and Derek Humble – plus the great rhythm team of Jimmy Woode, Francy Boland, and Kenny Clarke! Most of the tunes are classics of the band – and titles include "All Through The Night", "Now Hear My Meaning", "New Box", "Volcano", "Box 702", "Sax No End", "Sonor", "The Jamfs Are Coming", "Doing Time", and "Evanescence". CD

One of the most striking albums ever recorded by the legendary Clarke-Boland Big Band – a suite of tracks composed by leader Francy Boland, swinging with a style that stands with the best MPS work of the time! Boland's clearly taking his cue from the sophisticated later work by Duke Ellington – but he's also inspired by the groovier soundtrack styles bubbling in Europe during the 60s, as well as the other incredible genre-blurring work on MPS at the time. The tracks are all nice and long, and swing with an exotic groove that keeps very much with the Fellini title – offering plenty of space for a range of great soloists that include Tony Coe, Sahib Shihab, Benny Bailey, and Idrees Sulieman. Brilliant throughout – an under-discovered jazz classic – with a suite of 3 movements that include "Rosati At Popolo Square", "Tween Dusk & Dawn In Via Urbana", and "Villa Radieuse". CD

Great work by this legendary hard swinging band – an early 60s American album issued on Atlantic Records, in the years before the Clark Boland Band's legendary run on MPS! Despite the early date, the album's got all the core elements of the band's sound in place – soaring rhythms, sharp-edged frontlines, and some great solo work by players who include Benny Bailey, Derek Humble, Jimmy Woode, Shahib Shihab, Idrees Sulieman, and Fats Sadi – coming together in a brilliant trans-Atlantic meeting of jazz talents! Tracks include "Long Note Blues", "Speedy Reeds", "Sonor", and "Om Mani Padme Hum". CD

A rare treat from the legendary Clarke-Boland Big Band – a sublime set of Italian soundtrack numbers first recorded in 1968! The set was cut at the height of the Italian soundtrack golden age, in Italy, where the group had been working and recording heavily – making for a perfect fit of styles: the sweet and groovy compositions of talents like Nino Rota, Armando Trovajoli, Piero Piccioni, and others, handled with the fire and energy that had become the trademark of the Clarke-Boland ensemble! The set grooves very nicely – with hard-swinging versions of tracks that include "More", "Seven Golden Men", "Your Smile", "Saxology", "La Hora De La Verdad", "Canto D'Amore", and "Questi Vent Anni Miei". CD

One of the greatest records ever by this hip jazz ensemble – and one of their most unique! The record has the band grooving hard through two incredible suites of Latin music – Gary McFarland's "Latin Kaleidoscope" and Francy Boland's "Cuban Fever" – each of which takes up a side of the record, both driving the band to new solo heights with a very hip edge! Players include the usual cream of the crop of European jazz residents – like Sahib Shihab, Dusko Goykovich, Jimmy Deuchar, Phil Woods, Tony Coe, and Benny Bailey – and the tracks include "Uno Graso De Areia", "A Rosa Negra", "Olhos Negros", "Cara Bruja", and "Fiebre Cuban". Wonderful all the way through – and always a treasure! One of the shining jewels in the crown of MPS – and a Gilles P classic all the way through! CD