Culled from the rich history of the Atlantic records label, and lovingly put together with great notes and everything! Tracks include "Lowe Groovin", "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere", & "Applejack" by Joe Morris, "That Old Black Magic", "Annie Laurie", & "Midnight Special" by Tiny Grimes, "Cole Slaw", by Frank Cully, "So Long", "I'll Get Along Somehow", "Daddy Daddy", & "5-10-15 Hours" by Ruth Brown, "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show" & "Drinkin Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" by Stick Mcghee, "The Chill Is On", "Chains Of Love", & "Sweet Sixteen" by Joe Turner, "Hey Little Girl" & "Mardi Gras In New Orleans" by Professor Longhair, "Fool Fool Fool" & "One Mint Julep" by the Clovers, and "The Midnight Hour" by Ray Charles. LP, Vinyl record album

Heady sounds from a variety of different scenes – served up here in a compilation that was one of the first to turn western ears onto the sounds of the east! The music is a fuzzy blend of sounds from Southeast Asia, Korea, India, and even Turkey – and the package was one of the first times we'd ever heard some styles that have now become much more common in the psych market – the kind of groundbreaking overseas moments that we love on labels like Guerssen/Pharaway or Finders Keepers! Titles include "Simla Beat Theme" by The Fentones, "Gonul Sabreyle Sabreyle" by 3 Hur El, "26 Miles" by The Quest, "Korean Titel A2" by Jung Hyun & The Men, "Istemem" by Erkin Koray, "Magic Colors" by Teddy Robin & The Playboys, "A2" by Cambodian Rocks, "Blind Bird" by The Mpos, and "You Know What I Mean" by Justin Heathcliff. LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible collection – and one that fills in a crucially under-documented side of the New York dancefloor generation – the wealth of special mixes and edits that were made for that city's important DJs for their own use in clubs! The package sorts through a mountain of never-issued acetates, and goes way past conventional disco or rare club collections – to showcase the special mixing talents these DJs brought to their re-presentation of the material – which was usually done on tape, then pressed onto acetate discs for their own private use! Those rare treasures are brought forth here – in a beautiful package that's also overflowing with fantastic notes that finally give this lost history its due – all handled by Al Kent – who's a hell of a mixer himself, as well as an underground club historian. Vinyl part 1 features five different records, all with lots of space for the tunes to stretch out – and titles include "I Just Wanna Say I Love You (John Luongo rmx)" by Leon Collins, "What About Love (Tony Gioe rmx)" by Marboo, "Ten Percent (Walter Gibbons Sunshine Sound acetate edit)" by Double Exposure, "Inside America (Rick Gianatos disco queen acetate edit)" by Juggy Murray Jones, "Dancing Free (John Luongo rmx)" by Hot Ice, "Black Water Gold (Sunshine Sound acetate edit)" by The Sunshine Band, "Magic Bird Of Fire (Francois Kevorkian Sunshine Sound acetate edit)" by Salsoul Orchestra, "It's Good For The Soul (Jay Negron Sunshine Sound acetate edit)" by Salsoul Orchestra, "My Love Is Free (Walter Gibbons disco madness rmx)" by Double Exposure, "Reaching Out For Happiness (Jonathan Fearing rmx)" by Fay Hauser, "Let Me Be Your Fantasy (Tom Savarese rmx)" by Love Symphony Orchestra, "The Beat Goes On & On (Jim Burgess rmx)" by Ripple, "I Wanna Be Near You (John Morales Sunshine Sound acetate edit)" by Ruby Andrews, "I've Been Looking For Somebody (Walter Gibbons rmx)" by TC James & The Fist O Funk Orchestra, "The Disco Scene (Rick Gianatos rmx)" by Lake Shore Drive, "Bumpsie's Whipping Cream (Tom Savarese rmx)" by TC James & The Fist O Funk Orchestra, and "Janice (Bobby DJ Guttadoro rmx)" by Skip Mahoney. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most legendary albums on Blue Note – or maybe THE most legendary albums on Blue Note – a stunning session that shows what the label was capable of when it was really hitting on all burners – from the lineup to the music to the production – and even the classic cover art on the front! The album's a crowning achievement for pianist Sonny Clark – a player who'd already brought greatness to the world before the record, but really knocks it out of the park during the session – leading a razor sharp lineup that includes Art Farmer on trumpet, Jackie McLean on alto, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – all coming together with some magic in the studio, crafting a sound that forever put Blue Note on the map! Tracks are long, open-ended, and almost effortlessly soulful – and titles include Clark's classics "Cool Struttin" and "Blue Minor", plus versions of "Sippin At Bells" and "Deep Night". LP, Vinyl record album

Piano blues from the legendary Curtis Jones – a Texas player who first rose to fame in the late 30s, and who here still has a way with the keys and a vocal style that nobody else can touch! It's a bit hard to put the distinctness of Jones in words, but it definitely comes through on the record – piano lines that often feel as if two different musicians are playing the instrument at the same time, mixed with these casual and confident vocals that almost feel like Curtis is also standing off to the side, making commentary on the proceedings! There's no other instrumentation on the record at all – none is needed, either – and titles include "Evil Curse Blues", "Highway 51", "Curtis Jones Boogie Woogie", "Tin Pan Alley", "Black Magic Blues", and "Lonesome Bedroom Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

The title says "57", but the music's from a few years before – yet that's OK with us, because Bud Powell always has a sound that's instantly timeless no matter what the year! The album brings together sides from Verve dates in 1954 and 1955 – one featuring Art Blakey on drums and Lloyd Troutman on bass, the other featuring Max Roach and Percy Heath. Given the presence of the strong drummers, there's a drive here that's a bit harder than on some of the other Verve dates – a highly rhythmic component that often brings a real focus to some of the more upbeat numbers, but which lays back nicely on the mellower ones to let Powell hit some especially dark notes. Titles include "Deep Night", "That Old Black Magic", "Round Midnight", "Thou Swell", and "Tenderly". LP, Vinyl record album

2 trumpets, 2 tenors, and a heck of a lot of open-ended blowing session magic! The format for this one's incredibly loose – as might be guessed by the "leaderless" nature of the record – but the session's a great example of the Prestige blowing session mode at its best – as it brings together unlikely groupmates, and really lets them feel each other out in the studio. On tenor, John Coltrane's deeper sound is matched with lightness of Bobby Jaspar's tone – and on trumpet, blowing session regular Webster Lewis and Idrees Sulieman show their talents at working strongly in a less-fettered format. The rest of the group includes Kenny Burrell on guitar, Mal Waldron on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Taylor on drums – and the album's 4 tracks are all nice and long – and include "Interplay", "Anatomy", "Light Blue", & "Soul Eyes". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing little set that's as compelling as the title and cover might imply – and easily one of our favorite Martin Denny albums ever! There's a sound here that is, actually, quite "hypnotique" – as Denny's core combo is expanded by some larger arrangements, Japanese instrumentation, and even some cool vocals by the Jack Halloran singers – all of which serve to create these pulsating musical lines that shift and sway with an extremely dreamy quality, one that can easily hypnotize us with its musical magic! The added sound really adds a lot to Denny's core group – and the record has some great tracks like "Jungle Madness", "American In Bali", "Chinese Lullaby", "Hypnotique", "Scimitar", and "Voodoo Dreams". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most memorable Esquivel albums, and perhaps the first record that really let him hit his fantastic mix of off-beat orchestrations and spacey electronicized production! The arrangements are splendid, with echoey piano lines in the front that seem to trail off into the stratosphere. Behind them, the orchestra swings in a tight rocket-fueled way, soaring and dipping to match the oddly arranged piano lines. Titles include "Playfully", "That Old Black Magic", "Speak Low", "It Had To Be You", and "Night & Day". Plus, the cover's got a groovily attired model, hanging out in a very green lunar scene! LP, Vinyl record album

With "Shot Face", "Ugly Folks", "Knock Knock", "Puke", "That Old White Magic", "White Folks", "Got A Dollar", "Wino Panthers", "Black & Proud", "Getting The Nut", "Faggot", "Passin Gas", "Compact Spooks" and "Grandma". LP, Vinyl record album

Despite the fact that he's one of the most influential jazz singers of all time (and certainly one with the biggest hit, as the original recording of "I'm In the Mood For Love" probably sold more copies than most other vocalese recordings combined), King Pleasure only ever cut three full albums – and this third one is the hardest to find! The album was recorded for United Artists during the time when Alan Douglas was cutting sides for the label, and it's very much in the same mode as his earlier recordings for Prestige and HiFi, apart from some occasional spare string backing that's added to the small group jazz playing. Pleasure's vocals are wonderful – incomparable, and right at the peak of vocalese sublimity – and the album's filled with great numbers like "That Old Black Magic (Diaper Pin)", "This Is Always", "Jazz Jump", "Don't Get Scared", "Swan Blues", and "Mean To Me", all completely transformed by Pleasure! LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's way more than the classic rock outing of some of the group's Bay Area contemporaries – as the young Carlos Santana finds a way to mix inspirations from blues and Latin music into this fierce fusion of so many different elements at once – stretching out, jamming, and touching decades of listeners in the process! The whole thing's a perfect sonic blend – guitar, keyboards, and plenty of percussion – on the group's stunning remake of "Oye Como Va", their fusion of "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen", and the cuts "Se A Cabo", "Samba Pa Ti", "El Nicoya", and "Singing Winds Crying Beasts". LP, Vinyl record album

The 3rd in Lorez's excellent series of albums dedicated to the songs of Johnny Mercer – and like previous volumes, recorded with some very soulful backing from the Gildo Mahones quartet! Gildo brings a gentle swing to the tracks that lets Lorez sing in a free and open range – one that she often didn't reach in earlier, more restricted albums. The set doesn't have any of the standout funk numbers of some of Lorez's other Mahones sets – but it is a really tasty one overall, with tracks that include I'm Building Up To An Awful Let Down", "Day In Day Out", "That Old Black Magic", "Bittersweet", "Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home", and "Midnight Sun". LP, Vinyl record album

The pious bird of good omen might well be the track "Albatross" here – nestled in the middle of the record, and a key sign that Fleetwood Mac were ready to break from their roots! But this is no heavy bird hanging around the group's neck – as the groundbreaking instrumental really set them free from their straight blues rock expressions, and is mixed here with a great range of material that really shows Peter Green and the group ready to take on the 70s. If you loved Green's blues guitar work on other records, don't worry – there's still plenty of it here – but the range of songs is great, and in addition to the amazing "Albatross", other tunes include the fantastic original version of "Black Magic Woman", plus "The Big Boat", "Rambling Pony", "Just The Blues", "Looking For Somebody", "Stop Messin Round", "The Sun Is Shining", "I Believe My Time Ain't Long", and "Coming Home". LP, Vinyl record album

The set was recorded after King's earlier sides for the Prestige and HiFi jazz labels, but it's in a very similar style, with some wonderful vocalese-ing done in Pleasure's landmark style. He's really one of the greatest jazz singers of the 20th century, and it's unfortunate that apart from the big hit fame of "Moody's Mood For Love" (recorded here once again), King never got strong recognition as a richly talented singer. A number of cuts on here are re-recordings of earlier work – like "Don't Get Scared" and "Sometimes I'm Happy" – and other tracks include "It Might As Well Be Spring" and "Old Black Magic". LP, Vinyl record album

We're not sure what "lion style" is, but we can definitely say that the album's heavy on dub – a darkly bubbling masterpiece with Prince Jammy at the controls – crafting his magic to grooves by a top-shelf set of Kingston musicians! Winston Wright plays lots of keyboards – organ, clavinet, and even some harpsichord – and the real energy of the rhythms come from the young Sly & Robbie – very much in their prime here, without some of those later modes when they were trying to recopy themselves for the mainstream. Chinna Smith throws in lots of riffing guitar to the echoey brilliance – and titles include "No Bride", "Jammy's In The Arena", "Black Trap", "The Big Apple", "Rough Voyage", "Uhru Express", "King Forever", "Tiger Dub" and "Mystic Feelings". LP, Vinyl record album

A truly unbelievable album from Billy Stewart – maybe his standout moment of the 60s, and a record that set him apart from every other singer of his time! Stewart's famous vocals break out instantly on the huge hit "Summertime" – a leadoff number that really sets the record on fire – and sets the scene for an amazing batch of tunes that follow a similar format – familiar tracks that are completely recast in a new mode by Billy – pyrotechnic soul vocals that are as filled with feeling as they are shaped by technique! Backings are great, too – full and a bit jazzy at points – and with just the right sort of energy to keep things bouncing along all the way through. Titles include "Summertime", "A Foggy Day", "Canadian Sunset", "Time After Time", "Misty", "Moon River", "My Funny Valentine", and "That Old Black Magic". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Paradise", "Time On My Hands", "Make Yourself Comfortable", "Honey", and "It's Magic". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent 2LP set that compiles Grover's killer funky cuts for Kudu – packaged here in an expanded best-of set that Motown issued when they took over the Kudu distribution. We hardly need to tell you how great these cuts are – as the set includes classics like "Mister Magic", "Black Frost", "Do Dat", "Summer Song", "Feels So Good", and "Ain't No Sunshine" – all stone winners from Grover's best years! LP, Vinyl record album

Groundbreaking early work from Stan Getz – a 12" LP that compiles earlier recordings made for Prestige at the end of the 40s – all of which are a perfect exercise in tone, timing, and balance! The setting is simple – quartets with either Al Haig or Tony Aless on piano – but Getz makes magic from the start, flowering the tunes with inventive twists and turns in his horn – not in a simple boppish copycat mode, but in a style that's dripping with soul and feeling all the way through! The record won't hit you over the head as much as some of Stan's later Verve work, but it's almost even better because of that – as even in the simplest of settings, Getz really manages to grab our ear right away, and amaze us with his deft command and personal direction of his instrument! Titles include "Long Island Sound", "Mar-Cia", "Indian Summer", "Crazy Chords", "There's A Small Hotel", "The Lady In Red", "My Old Flame", "What's New", and "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album from Nina Simone – a set that really pushes her far past just the standard realm of jazz vocals, and which also helped really establish her role as one of the most righteous singers of the 60s! The set's maybe extremely noteworthy for Nina's original tune "Four Women" – a righteous portrait of four different women and their struggles – unique for its time, and a key part of the early Women's Liberation movement! The rest of the album has a similar political undercurrent – sometimes subtle, but there nonetheless – as Nina works magic on tunes that include "Break Down & Let It All Out", "Either Way I Lose", "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair", and "That's All I Ask". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Glad", "Freedom Rider", "Tragic Magic", "Shoot Out At The Fantasy Factory", "Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys", and "Light Up Or Leave Me Alone". LP, Vinyl record album

A very unique album by Curtis Fuller – quite different than any of his other records at the time! The session has Curtis blowing on tunes from the score to Cabin In The Sky – arranged by Manny Albam, and performed by a large group that includes Freddy Hubbard, Hank Jones, and Bob Brookmeyer. Far from the snoozy outing that you might guess from the title, the album's actually a deeply spiritual album that has Fuller playing in warm rich tones that he rarely achieves elsewhere. The backing is sensitive, and doesn't get in the way – and instead creates a magical pillow of sound that allows Fuller to craft these warm and sweet notes that are really wonderful. Titles include "The Prayer", "Savannah", "Love Turned The Light Out", and "Love Me Tomorrow". LP, Vinyl record album

Grover Washington blows over some great arrangements from William Eaton – full, but lean too – and with the same sort of slinky groove that always worked best for Grover back at Kudu Records! The sound is tight, but never too slick – that magically soulful approach that always made Grover a real standout from his contemporaries – one of the few cats who could smooth out jazz without ever losing its soul – thanks to lots of well-crafted lead lines on soprano sax! Titles include "East River Drive", "Jamming", "Little Black Samba", "Be Mine", and "Reaching Out". LP, Vinyl record album

The last album that Felt recorded for Cherry Red – and maybe their biggest early success too! The tracks are shorter and tighter than earlier releases – still very much concerned with the group's magical interplay of guitar and keyboards, but also going for a mode that really pushes Lawrence forward as a front man – singing in one of the most enigmatic pop voices of the 80s, with a style that stretches back to Dylan, but which also has a colder, more self-conscious style of the post-punk years. Titles include the group's seminal "Primitive Painters", a duet with Liz Frasier – plus the tracks "The Day The Rain Came Down", "Scarlet Servants", "My Darkest Light Will Shine", "Black Ship In The Harbour", and "Southern State Tapestry". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark in jazz – easily one of Thelonious Monk's greatest albums ever, and a magical crossroads of talents that brings together a variety of jazz traditions! The work is performed by an ambitious Monk septet that includes both Coleman Hawkins and John Coltrane on tenor – and if you've ever doubted the brilliance of Hawk, this is the record to change your mind. The rest of the group is equally great – with Ray Copeland on trumpet, Gigi Gryce on alto, Wilbur Ware on bass, and Art Blakey on drums – all coming together with Monk to craft a perfect set of tunes that are virtually the definition of "modern jazz". Titles include "Abide With Me", "Off Minor", "Crepuscule With Nellie", and "Epistrophy". LP, Vinyl record album