An amazing blend of astral jazz and atmospheric orchestral soundscapes – composed and directed by coronetist Rob Mazurek! Exploding Star Orchestra is an apt name, but it's more of a bright and glorious explosion than a calamitous one – a sweeping couple of soundtracky suites that's the culmination of a couple years of work by Mazurek and a major contribution from Nicole Mitchell on flute – plus Jeb Bishop on trombone, Corey Wilkes on flugelhorn, Jeff Parker on guitar, John McEntire on marimba and tubular bells, John Herndon on drums, Jim Baker on piano & ARP, Jazon Adasiewicz on vibes, Matthew Lux on bass, Mike Reed on drums, percussion & saw, and others. It's part informed improvisation, part boundary free composition, and pretty wonderful all the way through! We expected something special, but this one goes above and beyond. Following the Frequency project by about 6 months, this is the second near classic avant garde jazz album on Thrill Jockey in a relative short stretch! 2 multi-part titles: The 70s style soul jazz groover "Sting Ray And The Beginning Of Time" (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 – Psycho-Tropic Electric Eel Drum and Part 4), "Cosmic Tomes For Sleep Walking Lovers" (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 – Fifteen Wais Towards A Finite Universe, and Part 5) – and the mellow, piano led centerpiece "Black Sun". CD

Luques Curtis, Mark Przybylowski, and Mike Boone on bass, Mark Allen and Todd Marcus on bass clarinet, Anwar Marshall, Donald Edwards, and Gene Jackson on drums, Jim Holton, Neil Podgurski, and Orrin Evans on piano, Chelsea Baratz, Darryl Yokley, Doug DeHays, Jaleel Shaw, Mark Allen, Ralph Bowen, Rob Landham, Tia Fuller, Tim Warfield, Todd Bashore, Victor North, Wade Dean and Wayne Escoffery on saxophone, Brent White, Ernest Stuart, Frank Lacy, Joe McDonough, and Stafford Hunter on trombone, and Brian Kilpatrick, Curtis Taylor, Daud El-Bakara, Josh Evans, Leon Jordan Jr, Luke Brandon, Tatum Greenblatt, Tim Thompson, and Walter White on trumpet. CD

One of the fantastic electric Cal Tjader sessions from the 70s – with that mixture of vibes and electric piano that made his work of the time take on an even funkier sound than before! Lonnie Hewitt's at the keyboards here – and he's got a sly, slinky groove that's totally great – a sound that's even more spacious than Tjaders' vibes, and which seems to push Cal into a whole new space in sound. The rest of the group includes Rob Fisher on acoustic bass, Pete Riso on drums, and the great Pancho Sanchez on congas – who further helps hold down the Latin side of the sound. Titles include a stellar 12 minute reading of Cal's "I Showed Them", which is pure funk all the way through – plus "Bluesology", "Body & Soul", and the extended "Black Orpheus Medley". CD

Herbie reinvents himself for the 21st Century – and ends up turning out one of his most compelling albums in years! As with his Future Shock years, Herbie's working here with Bill Laswell – but if that scares you a bit (it did us!), don't worry, because Laswell's much more in the background than you'd think, and instead, Herbie relies on some strong work by guests that include Carl Craig, Chaka Khan, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, and Rob Swift, to help take the groove to a whole new level. Titles include "The Essence", "This Is Rob Swift", "Black Gravity", "Tony Williams", "Ionosphere", "Alphabeta", and "Virtual Hornets". CD

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Music from Riton, Morgan Geist, Black Strobe, Meitz, J Rawls, Jazzanova, Ursula Rucker. Ame, Ayro, Soha, John Tejada, Atjazz & Jaydee. CD

A long-overdue album from saxophonist Bukky Leo – a player with roots in 70s Ethiopia, and a range of experiences that also includes key recordings in the early British acid jazz scene! Bukky's got a resume that includes work with Fela and Tony Allen – and he's working here in a mode that's very similar to recent work by the latter – an updated version of older Afro Funk styles, augmented slightly by additional keyboards and a warmer, more dancefloor-styled groove – but a core sound that's highly rhythmic, very acoustic, and filled with great work on guitar, sax, and flute! Bukky's also singing a fair bit on the record too – calling out the lyrics with a raspy warmth that's a lot more personal than some of Tony Allen's more abstract vocalizations on recent work – and the record's got a really focused feel that makes it one of the best takes on Afro Funk we've heard in a good number of years! Titles include "Ake Bo Je", "Times Like These", "Dreamer", "Dem Go Shout", "Secular Society", "His Majesty", "The Vision", and "Why Can't We Live Together". CD

The start of an amazing new chapter in the career of Robert Glasper – one that would soon set the tone for a number of other records to come! This set features loads of Glasper's enigmatic piano lines – those fluid, elliptical sounds that are always filled with plenty of soul and imagination – matched here with guest vocals from a host of key talents – including Erykah Badu, Lalah Hathaway, Musiq Soulchild, Meshell Ndegeocello, Bilal, and Lupe Fiasco! The blend is surprisingly wonderful – not a sell out at all, but a way for Glasper's music to reach a rich new level of expression – as the vocals really help the instrumental elements come alive – and unlock this side of Robert's potential that was always lurking in the background. One of the best musical moments from Blue Note at the time – with titles that include "Always Shine", "Move Love", "Ah Yeah", "Lift Off", "Afro Blue", "Cherish The Day", "Black Radio", and "Letter To Hermione". Japanese pressing includes the bonus track "Twice". CD

A wonderful set from this mighty ensemble – a record that opens up immediately in a range of complex colors and tones, yet all with a quality that still manages to swing throughout! That balance is part of the real strengths of pianist/arranger David Matthews at this point in his career – able to draw on a few decades' worth of innovation in big band material, yet all without hitting you over the head with it – almost a return to the more organic shifts of sounds you'd get in a 50s arranger like Ralph Burns. The players are all great – and include Randy Brecker and Byron Stripling on trumpet, George Young and Chris Hunter on saxes, and Danny Gottlieb on drums – and titles include "Doxy", "Spanish Blue", "Sir Duke", "One Black Orchid", and a great take on Duke Jordan's "No Problem". CD

Music from John Snipes, Dink Roberts, Joe Thompson & Odell Thompson, Etta Baker & Cora Philips, John Jackson, Homer Walker, Irvin Cook & Leonard Bowles, 'Big Sweet' Lewis Hairston, John Tyree, Rufus Kasey and more. CD

Four sides of noisy, funky, stretched-out playing from Miles Davis – recorded at the Fillmore West, but with an intensity that matches some of Miles' crazy electric recordings from Japan during the early 70s! The music is a powerful blast of music that stretches out over the double-length set of the package – with a style that moves from heavy-duty avant playing, then back to more mellow grooving, then kicks it out nice and hard again – a heavy dose of rock mixed in with the fusion, but still plenty jazzy throughout. In all, the record is probably one of the most heavy-duty that the Miles electric group recorded in the 70s – and the lineup on the set features Steve Grossman on saxes, Chick Corea on electric piano, Jack DeJohnette on drums, and Airto on percussion. Tracks include "Spanish Key", "Directions", "Masqualero", "It's About That Time", "I Fall In Love Too Easily", "Bitches Brew", "Willie Nelson", and "Sanctuary". CD

A brilliant pairing of two generations of the AACM – as Roscoe Mitchell writes and conducts, and the group's led by Nicole Mitchell – and features a great assortment of very creative musicians! The blend of talents is key to the strength of the set – as the record avoids some of the coldness that you might find in some of Mitchell's other recent compositions – and really brings in the kind of warmth and humanity we've always loved in Nicole's recordings! In addition to Nicole Mitchell on flute, the set also features work by David Boykin on tenor, Josh Abrams on bass, Maia on harp, Tomeka Reid on cello, Greg Ward on alto, Robert Griffin on trumpet, Myra Melford on piano, and Mankwe Ndosi on voice – on titles that include "Quintet 1 For Eleven", "Cards For Orchestra", and "Quintet 9 For Eleven". 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

Music from the Hepsters, Barney & the Googles, Marvin & the Chirps, the Corvairs, the Robins, the Shields, the Cameos, the Superiors, the Octaves, the Headspinners & more. CD

Excellent compilation of some of the earlier material by Black Uhuru, before they were signed to Island, but after the Jammy produced Black Sounds of Freedom set. This is the stuff that really set them at the forefront of the 80s reggae scene, with sharp production by Sly & Robbie, and the Puma Jones, Duckie Simpson & Michael Rose lineup on vocals. Huge singles like "Shine Eye Gal", "General Penitentiary", "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" and "Abortion" are included, plus "Leaving To Zion", "Natural Reggae Beat" and "Plastic Smile". CD

A killer solo set from DeRobert – a cat you might know as the lead singer for the Half-Truths, but an artist who's maybe even greater here on his own! The style of the record is more blacksploitation soul than the straighter funk of DeRobert's other records – this cool, crispy sound on the rhythms that merges 70s inspiration with contemporary execution – an approach that gives the singer a lot more edge, and a lot more bite than before! The album's relatively short – only 6 full tracks, plus intro and outro numbers – but it may well deliver twice as much as any other DeRobert record that's come before. Titles include "Ask Of Me", "Let It Go", "Life Support", "Moody Tuesday", and "The More & More". CD

This King Crimson line-up featured David Cross on violin & keyboards, along with John Wetton, Bill Bruford, and of couse Robert Fripp. Eight tracks in all, including "The Night Watch", "Fracture", "The Great Deceiver", "The Mincer", "Lament", and "Starless & Bible Black". CD

One of the greatest contributions made by the 32 Jazz label so far has been the rich amount of classic Roland Kirk material they've released on the market. The best of Kirk's work has been out of print for years, and like the folks at 32 Jazz, we think that's a darn shame – which is why we're extra-excited about a set like this! This nicely (and strangely) packaged 3 CD set features 2 CDs worth of previously unreleased live material – recorded in the years 1964 to 1975, by jazz recordist/archivist George Bonafacio. The material is amazing, and definitely gives proof to the claim that Kirk's live sets were even more amazing than his studio recordings. There's a wealth of great stuff here that really opens up an understanding of Kirk's 60s and early 70s years – and titles include "Rahsaantalk", "Misterioso", "Jammin With A Wolf", "Sister Sadie", "Blues For Alice", and a very groovy "Multi-Horn Medley". And if that's not enough, the 3rd CD of the set features the totally rare Natural Black Inventions album, which Kirk recorded for Atlantic. The record's got an amazing sound: Roland plays solo (mostly), and without the aid of overdubbing, to create these amazing soundscapes of multiple horns and circular breathing. It's filled with these fantastic throbbing pulsating reed lines, with one horn blowing rhythm, and one playing an adventurous solo – and both being blown live a the same time! Tracks include "Black Root", "Raped Voices", "Day Dream", and "Something For Trane That Trane Could Have Said". 3 great CDs of material by one of our favorite-ever reed players – and nicely priced, if we do say so ourselves! CD

Four sides of noisy, funky, stretched-out playing from Miles Davis – recorded at the Fillmore West, but with an intensity that matches some of Miles' crazy electric recordings from Japan during the early 70s! The music is a powerful blast of music that stretches out over the double-length set of the package – with a style that moves from heavy-duty avant playing, then back to more mellow grooving, then kicks it out nice and hard again – a heavy dose of rock mixed in with the fusion, but still plenty jazzy throughout. In all, the record is probably one of the most heavy-duty that the Miles electric group recorded in the 70s – and the lineup on the set features Steve Grossman on saxes, Chick Corea on electric piano, Jack DeJohnette on drums, and Airto on percussion. Tracks include "Spanish Key", "Directions", "Masqualero", "It's About That Time", "I Fall In Love Too Easily", "Bitches Brew", "Willie Nelson", and "Sanctuary". CD

Keyboardist Sonny Phillips was one of the lesser-known talents on the Prestige roster of jazz funk greats in the early 70s – and this nice 2-in-1 CD brings together his 2 best albums for the label, both of which feature Phillips on organ, along with giants like Ivan Boogaloo Joe Jones on guitar, Bernard Purdie on drums, and Rusty Bryant on tenor. The album Sure Nuff is probably Phillips' best for the label – a set that's done with the lean, hard funky sound of other greats working for Prestige during the same time – especially on the cuts "Sure Nuff, Sure Nuff", "The Other Blues", "Be Yourself", and "Oleo". Black On Black has a bit more of a mellow groove, but still kicks nicely, especially on the tracks "Check It Out", and "Black On Black". 10 tracks in all, with the usual "Legends Of Acid Jazz" package. CD

A creative left turn for Waits – written for an ambitious theatrical project, which to a certain degree takes him into surprising new territory and is all the more exciting for it – but still comes through as great late Island-era Tom Waits album in its own light! The Black Rider stage work was written in collaboration with Waits, director Robert Wilson and William Burroughs, and while the songs have the overtures and shaggy orchestral flourishes inherent to and geared to theater, the songs are still so distinctively Waits-ian in all its woozy glory. Includes "November", "Just The Right Bullets", "Black Box Theme", "Russian Dance", "I'll Shoot The Moon", "Crossroads", "Ain't No Sin", "Lucky Day", " The Briar And The Rose" and more. CD

A killer collection of east coast soul from the 70s – work that originally appeared on a handful of different labels, but which was all put together by Robert Hosea Williams – an unsung producer working out of a small studio in Silver Springs – with an incredible ear for up-and-coming talent! The music here is totally deep and righteous throughout – the hippest of the indie label scene on the east coast – and work that really lives up to the progressive, righteous reference you'd get from the Red, Black, & Green in the title! There's plenty of group soul here – of a type that mixes older harmony modes with hipper 70s references – creating a really badass approach to soul music that's simply mindblowing – and way different than the mainstream variants that were hitting the charts at the time. The whole thing's great – one of the best Numero comps in years – and titles include "Phoney People" and "I Really Really Love You" by Father's Children, "Sleepwalking" and "Let's Do It Over" by The Summits, "Don't Worry About The Joneses" and "We're Two Fools In Love" by Dysons Faces, "Day By Day" and "It Must Be Love" by The Exceptions Featuring Mark Greene, "Town Called Nowhere" and "I Need Your Love" by Skip Mahoney & The Casuals, and "Summer In The Parks" and "Generation" by East Coast Connection. CD

Includes music by Mahalia Jackson, The Trumpeteers, Roberta Martin Singers, Famous Blue Jay Singers of Birmingham, Angelic Gospel Singers, Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet, Georgia Peach & Her Gospel Singers, the Soul Stirrers, Swan Silvertones, Shirley Caesar, and more – 18 tracks in all! CD

Richly complicated work from reedman John Carter – working here at a level that's a great change from his smaller combo work of the early years! Carter plays clarinet throughout – at the head of an octet with a very cerebral feel – a group who almost bring more of a serious music sort of style into play at times, yet still have enough jazz-based energy in their work too. The approach is a bit like that of Muhal Richard Abrams or Henry Threadgill – but the set also has a definite LA underground bent too, thanks to work by Bobby Bradford on cornet, Red Callender on tuba, James Newton on flutes, Charles Owen on soprano sax, Roberto Miranda on bass, William Jeffrey on drums, and Luis Peralta on waterphone and percussion. Titles include "Dauwhe", "Enter From The East", "Soft Dance", "The Mating Ritual", and "Ode To The Flower Maiden". CD