... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

The legendary alto saxophonist Paul Desmond serves up his own versions of key tunes by Simon & Garfunkel – with results that are simply amazing, and very different than the originals! The style here takes all the airy brilliance of the original S&G tunes, and turns it towards a more jazz-based mode – one that has some of the slight Brazilian undercurrents in the rhythms that you'll find on Desmond's previous two albums for CTI! The full arrangements are by Don Sebesky, who brings a great sense of balance to the set – and Herbie Hancock plays some great electric piano, in a group that also features Airto on percussion and Gene Bertoncini on guitar. But the real star of the set is Paul Desmond – blowing with that amazing tone of his – and sliding from tune to tune with effortless ease, in a way that really transforms these tunes in their instrumental readings. Titles include "Cecilia", "Mrs. Robinson", "America", "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright", and "Scarborough Fair" – all done with a sweet jazzy A&M approach! LP, Vinyl record album

DJ Kawasaki has given the world plenty of great club tracks over the years – but here, he reworks his music in a variety of different styles – sometimes funk, sometimes soul, sometimes a bit of jazz – all with a level of expression that really takes us back to that moment when the Japanese scene was really crossing over with American soul! The vibe here is much richer than if you've just caught some of Kawasaki's tracks floating around the digital world – and the whole thing works really well as a whole – with guest work from Bird, N'Dea Davenport, Karin, and others – on titles that include recreations of the tunes "I'm So On Your Mind", "Let The Music Play", "Shooting Star", "Blazin", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Bright Like Light", "So Far Away", and "Planetary Track". LP, Vinyl record album

Late 60s hard blues & psychedelia infused rock from Floating Bridge – a group that sounds clearly indebted to fellow Pacific Northwester Hendrix – but hold their own very well on a hard grooving mix of covers and originals. The group either gigged a ton back in the day or were simply a natural fit, because they sound together in both the tightly grooving and more loose-limbed grooves. LP, Vinyl record album

Quite a groovy soundtrack – a mixture of vocal and instrumental numbers written by Billy for this groovy film about the liberated woman of the late 60s! The album sports a few vocal numbers by bigger stars – "Look Again" by the Brooklyn Bridge, "Used To Be" by Vicki Lawrence, and "As Far As I'm Concerned" by Bobby Russell – but the best tunes are the shorter instrumental ones by Goldenberg. These have a sparkling quality that mixes easy instrumentation, some slight grooves, and a few mode touches of instrumentation – like electric sitar, guitar, and more. What this means is that about half the album is very nice groovy music – with titles that include "La De Da", "Tommy Doesn't Like Rosie At All", "Traveling With A Star", "Christine In Las Vegas", "Bonanza Paree", and "Soft Music For Rosie". LP, Vinyl record album

Bobby Harden's got a great way of putting over a tune – he's not a soul singer out to top James Brown, or try to leap into the fray with a real funky frenzy – and instead, he approaches the material with the laidback confidence of some of our southern soul favorites from years past – all with a vibe that really makes the album shine! The presentation of the songs by the Soulful Saints is great – themselves an equally understated group, and clearly aware that Bobby's the main attraction of the set – which he definitely is, in this overdue debut that's clearly going to make him one of the best underground soul singers in years to come. Titles include "One Tribe", "Wounded Hearts", "Bridge Of Love", "Runnin", "Raise Your Mind", "It's My Time", "Feels So Good", and "One Night Of The Week". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Bakersfield genius Buck Owens is best known for his trailblazing, electric honky tonk sound (on top of hamming it up on Hee Haw), but by the late 60s and into the 70s the ever restless Buck tried on a number of different styles – including well known folk rock hits for this set! Rather than adapting tunes by Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Donovan and others as honky tonk numbers, Buck sort of meets the tunes halfway. (That makes sense – why would he take a turn onto a new neighborhood if he wasn't interested in a different path?) He does inject the Buckaroo twang, but he smooths out his usual punchy vocals, and projects a warmth that would have been impossible if Buck wasn't really feeling it. Great stuff – a left turn for both mainstream folk fans and honky tonk purists, but one worth taking! Tracks include "Bridge Over Troubled Waters", "Within My Loving Arms", "The Devil Made Me Do It", "San Francisco Town", "Love Minus Zero-No Limit", "I Am A Rock" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The fourth Prince soundtrack in less than a decade – and a record that follows nicely after Purple Rain, Batman, and Parade, but with a slightly different spirit too – thanks to an ever-expanding Paisley Park family that included George Clinton, Morris Day, and Mavis Staples! The older funk acts are fine, and add to the spice – but it's clear that the main attraction here is Prince, although The Time are pretty darn welcome too! The set features vocal performances from Tevin Campbell, George Clinton, Mavis Staples, TC Ellis, and Robin Power – and titles include "New Power Generation", "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got", "Love Machine", "Tick Tick Bang", "Shake", "Thieves In The Temple", "Still Would Stand All Time", "Graffiti Bridge", and "The Latest Fashion". LP, Vinyl record album

The fourth Prince soundtrack in less than a decade – and a record that follows nicely after Purple Rain, Batman, and Parade, but with a slightly different spirit too – thanks to an ever-expanding Paisley Park family that included George Clinton, Morris Day, and Mavis Staples! The older funk acts are fine, and add to the spice – but it's clear that the main attraction here is Prince, although The Time are pretty darn welcome too! The set features vocal performances from Tevin Campbell, George Clinton, Mavis Staples, TC Ellis, and Robin Power – and titles include "New Power Generation", "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got", "Love Machine", "Tick Tick Bang", "Shake", "Thieves In The Temple", "Still Would Stand All Time", "Graffiti Bridge", and "The Latest Fashion". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album from Sonny Rollins – one that marked his comeback in the early 60s, after a brief period of retirement, and which also initiated a string of incredible recordings with guitarist Jim Hall. Given Hall's gentleness and spare modernity on the guitar, a fan of Rollins' hard-blowing late 50s sessions might not expect the album to work – but instead, it sets up his playing in a whole new mode that brings out a leaner, more confident, more sophisticated solo mode that shows that his time woodshedding in retirement was well spent. Rollins playing is impeccable, with a maturity not heard in his late 50's work, and the whole album is a beautiful study in measured, thoughtful soloing. Tracks include "John S.", "The Bridge", and "God Bless the Child". LP, Vinyl record album

2 Sonny Rollins classics back to back in a 2LP set! The Bridge is a landmark album from Sonny Rollins – one that marked his comeback in the early 60s, after a brief period of retirement, and which also initiated a string of incredible recordings with guitarist Jim Hall. Given Hall's gentleness and spare modernity on the guitar, a fan of Rollins' hard-blowing late 50s sessions might not expect the album to work – but instead, it sets up his playing in a whole new mode that brings out a leaner, more confident, more sophisticated solo mode that shows that his time woodshedding in retirement was well spent. Rollins playing is impeccable, with a maturity not heard in his late 50's work, and the whole album is a beautiful study in measured, thoughtful soloing. Tracks include "John S.", "The Bridge", and "God Bless the Child". Sonny Meets Hawk is one of the best-ever Sonny Rollins albums, and proof that Hawk was a modernist who could match wits with the best players of the 60's. The group that backs the two tenor giants up includes Paul Bley on piano, Henry Grimes on bass, and Roy McCurdy on drums, and they spur both Hawk and Sonny into solos that are totally amazing, and which stand as some of the best recorded work the two of them did in the 60's. Tracks include "At McKies", "All The Things You Are", "Summertime", and "Yesterdays". Fantastic stuff, and a darn hard album to find! LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Bridge Over Troubled Water", "El Condor Pasa", "Cecilia", "So Long Frank Lloyd Wright", "Baby Driver", "The Boxer", "The Only Living Boy In New York", "Keep The Customer Satisfied", and "Song For The Asking". LP, Vinyl record album

2nd solo album from the former Procol Harum guitarist. LP, Vinyl record album

A great record – and the kind of lost soul that has group collectors digging through the used bins year after year! Smoke hailed from Kansas City, and they were sweet harmony group in the mode of many of their east coast contemporaries. The record was recorded in 1976, but has a sound that's more 1972 or 1973 – with some uptempo righteous cuts, and some heavenly floating ballads that really hit the best sort of group soul harmony heaven! The record appears to have been recorded in Chicago – as the engineer is Paul Serrano, and the arrangements were handled by Benjamin Wright. Tracks include "I Can Feel Your Love (Comin' Down On Me)", "Cream Of The Crop", "I'm So Lonely", "Have I Really Lost You", and "Don't Take Your Love". A smooth groove classic through and through! LP, Vinyl record album

Gene Ammons has some pretty hip friends here – a roster of talent that includes guest appearances by hornmen Cannonball Adderley, Dexter Gordon, and Nat Adderley on one long jam number – plus Hampton Hawes on electric piano on the entire set! The work's done in a laidback, long-blowing way – more the Gene Ammons of earlier live dates than the revived funk hero of the early 70s Prestige years – but thanks to some nicely spacious keyboards from Hawes, the record's got a more modern sound than you might expect, and is a good bridge between 60s and 70s soul jazz modes. Titles include "New Sonny's Blues", "Treux Blue", "Sophisticated Lady", and "Yardbird Suite". LP, Vinyl record album

Aum definitely have some of the bluesvibes mentioned in the title – but as the cover would imply, they're also in trippier territory too – a tight power trio of the late 60s generation when less members in a group could often mean an even heavier sound – with lots more focus on the guitar, bass, and drums! Wayne Ceballas handles lead vocals, guitar, organ, and harmonica – and the group hail from San Francisco – where their appreciation of blues roots was mixing with lots of the freewheeling energy of the Fillmore scene – and we mean that in the best way possible! Titles include "Bay Bridge Blues", "Chilli Woman", "A Little Help From You", "Movin Man", and "You Can't Hide". LP, Vinyl record album

A searing set from Bedlam – a group who only ever gave the world one full album at the time, a set that stands as a great bridge between generations and styles on the UK hard rock scene! The group's most famous member is drummer Cozy Powell – the ersatz leader of the lineup – but the whole combo hits on all burners, with great lead vocals from Frank Aiello, guitar from Dave Ball, and bass from Dennis Ball – plus keyboards on the set from both Max Middleton and Felix Pappalardi – the latter of whom produced. Powell's drums are fantastic throughout – really driving the whole thing along – and Aiello comes across like some lost lead act from the glory days of the arena scene. The set features one killer break track called "Seven Long Years" – a stone jammer that begins with some great drums that break nicely into guitars – and other titles include "Believe In You", "Hot Lips", "Sweet Sister Mary", "Putting On The Flesh", "Set Me Free", and "The Beast". LP, Vinyl record album

Socking soul from the 60s – a record with American roots and a very groovy British sound! The set was the second full length album from Madeline Bell – an American singer transplanted to the mod UK scene of the 60s, where she really flourished in a rich career of hit singles, endless session work, and later fame with the group Blue Mink. The tunes on this set are a wonderful bridge between Madeline's two worlds – and have a sound that's a lot like the uptown soul coming out of the US at the time – sweet and smooth arrangements, topped by deeper soul vocals that make for a wonderful juxtaposition. Arrangements are by British talents Arthur Greenslade, Ian Green, and Keith Mansfield – and titles include "Step Inside Love", "Hold It", "Help Yourself", "After All Is Said & Done", "For Your Pleasure", and "It's Up To You". LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection of Maybelle's big early hits for Savoy – all featuring backings directed by Ernie Wilkins, with a nice jazzy undercurrent. Maybelle's got a robust voice that was one of the first key attempts to bridge gospel, R&B, and jazz – and the album features 10 tracks that include "Rock House", "I Don't Want To Cry", "Jim", "All Of Me", and "It's A Sin To Tell A Lie". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer little soundtrack – and one that's quite different than the usual blacksploitation set, but still pretty funky overall! The film Black Girl was a surprisingly sensitive movie directed by Ossie Davis in the early 70s – not as much about action as it was about the everyday life, and the hopes and dreams of the lead characters – all of which made for some really well-rounded music, of the sort you'd find on some of the other great Fantasy Records soundtracks of the time, especially the classic Cornbread Earl & Me score. Ed Bogas and Ray Shanklin put together the whole thing, and the album's a mix of hip instrumental tracks with some other vocal ones – a really nice range that draws from singers like Betty Everett, Rodger Collins, and JJ Malone – and jazz players like Sonny Stitt and John Hunt (plus organ from Merl Saunders on one cut.) Titles include "BJ's Step", "Black Girl", "Sister", "Earl (Still A Pearl)", "Mothers Day Song", "Power", "Get Me To The Bridge", "Chock-lite Puddin", and "Black Girl Cue". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best debuts in the history of hip hop – and one of the most important albums the genre ever produced! Criminal Minded is landmark for a number of reasons. Among the biggest is, of course, that it was recorded with the late great DJ Scott La Rock – and he was soon to fall prey to the very street violence that BDP documented with such raw brilliance, courtesy the lyricism and delivery of KRS-One. Importance aside, though, Criminal Minded is simply a great, timeless record that no true fan of gritty classic hip hop should be without. The track list alone is a full chapter in the hip hop book of legends – with tunes like "Poetry", "Elementary", "South Bronx", "Super-Hoe", "Bridge is Over", and the "P is Free" remix. Also includes "Criminal Minded", "Dope Beat", and "9mm Goes Bang". LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant work by the team of Clifford Brown and Max Roach – a seminal hardbop album that was one of the few to bridge the east and west coast scenes! The set was recorded in LA under the joint leadership of Brown and Roach – and features the classic quintet lineup that included Harold Land on tenor, Richie Powell (Bud's brother!) on piano, and George Morrow on bass. The mix of Roach's heavy full-on drumming and Brown's lyrical beauty is beyond compare – and Land's angular and sensitive tenor lines provide a perfect link between the two. 5 tracks in all, including classics like "Parisian Thoroughfare", "Delilah", "Daahoud", "Jordu", and "Joy Spring". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of rare records by Sidiku Buari – issued back to back on a single CD! Feelings is a record that was issued on the tiny Precious label – home to only two Buari albums in its tiny catalog – and the set follows strongly on the work that Sidiku recorded in New York during the 70s, records that were initially issued just under his last name! The groove on some tracks is full of early 80s NYC touches – sweet electro keyboards that provide some great middle-ground shocks to the tunes – while beats crackle crispy at the bottom, and Buari sings these slinky soul vocals that are a lot more American than you'd guess from the Ghanaian recording of the album. But other numbers have more of a West Africa vibe – that updating of older modes that was taking place in Nigeria too. Titles include "Music", "Feelings", "Anowar", and "Yayo Papa". Sidiku Buari & His Jam Busters has a groove that definitely lives up to its name – a sweet 80s crackle with lots of tunes that jam in an old school funk style – keyboards, basslines, and rhythms right on the money – in a great Transatlantic bridge between Ghana and New York City! The set begins with the super-funky "Let's Go To Funky Town" – a tune with a break on the intro to rival some of the best funky club work of the time – and the vibe continues strongly through the rest of the set, on titles that include "Sophisticated Jammer", "Power To My People", "Rhythm Of Africa", "Minsumobo", and "Karambani". LP, Vinyl record album

An album of stunning beauty, and one of Solomon's best-ever! He's recording here in a vein that's more in keeping with the smoother Southern soul sound that began to dominate later in the generation – with weeping guitars, soaring strings, and smooth keyboards – and the sound is a perfect accompaniment to Solomon's raspy voice, and actually brings out a lot more soul than his rootsier recordings. The title cut is a stunning love song that taps into the natural force of magnetism, and which shows that Solomon hasn't lost an ounce of his talent. Other cuts include "Stand", "No Man Walks Alone", "Bridge Of Life", and his weird medley of Elton John tracks, called "Three Psalms of Elton". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful live work from RL Burnside – done in that instantly-timeless style that he brought to recordings right from the start – maybe even more so here, as the acoustics are fantastic, and really capture the spirit of the man and his guitar! As most folks know, Burnside was a bit late to the rural blues game – but because of that fact, he's also been a key bridge between the past and the present – especially with recordings like this, which bristle with a sort of honest, back to basics vibe. Titles include "Short Haired Woman", "Sweet Black Angel", "If You Don't Want Me Baby", "Long Distance Call", "Walkin Blues", "Death Bells Ringing", and "When My First Wife Left Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic work from one of Brazil's greatest soul singers of the 70s – an album of rich feeling that's a wonderful bridge between American soul music and some of the sophisticated song stylings of the MPB generation! Cassiano's somewhere in the territory of contemporary Tim Maia – but is a bit smoother and more sophisticated – more of a mature soul mode next to Maia's rougher funk – served up here with impeccable arrangements that really draw from all the best changes in Brazilian music during the early 70s. The album includes the funky "Central Do Brasil", the extended midtempo groover "Onda", the semi-hit "Hoje E Natal", and the cuts "De Bar Em Bar", "Ana", "A Lua E Eu", and "Salve Essa Flor". LP, Vinyl record album

Never-issued work from Don Cherry – and a really key piece of the puzzle in the career of this legendary trumpeter! The recordings were done for Swedish Radio, with great fidelity – more than just live tracks captured in a club, and instead some really thoughtful material that marks an early pairing of Cherry's talents with the Swedish scene that he would soon call home! Don plays cornet, and the music is maybe a bit inside compared to some of his later Swedish experiments – but still pretty amazing, and a great bridge from his work with Ornette Coleman and Sonny Rollins. Players include Mogens Bollerup on tenor, Atli Bjorn on piano, Benny Nielsen on bass, and Simon Koppel on drums – and titles include the Cherry originals "Priceless", "Nigeria", and "The Ambassador From Greenland" – plus a reading of "You Took Advantage Of Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Here's a summer house we'd really like to visit on our next vacation – a legendary spot in Sweden, where Don Cherry created freely with some of the hippest players on the local scene in 1968! The tracks here were all recorded for later commercial release, which never ended up happening – and they represent a key bridge in Cherry's career between his important American work of the mid 60s, and his growing global consciousness to come – maybe a first chapter in the sound that would become the Organic Music Society! The set features work from an array of musicians that includes Cherry on pocket trumpet and flute, Bernt Rosengren on tenor and flute, Gunnar Lindqvist on reeds, Tommy Koverhult on tenor and a variety of flutes, Jacques Thollot and Leif Wennerstrom on drums, Torbjorn Hultcrantz and Kent Carter on bass, and percussion from Bulent Ates – plus other members of the group! There's no vocals, but there's a strong sense of rhythmic cohesion throughout – freewheeling jazz, but not entirely free either – and filled with a global inspiration that makes the whole thing come off with an organic sense of beauty. Titles include "The Machine Age", "Sir Charles Brackeen A", "Mao", "Samba", "Plotslight", and "Human". LP, Vinyl record album

Way more than just the usual snoozer you might expect from Clebanoff – thanks to a good dose of bossa in the mix! The style here is still heavy on the strings, as in the usual Clebanoff mode – but the overall arrangements are also considerably lighter, and trade previous romantic shadings for a breezier Brazilian mode – one that's carried off by lots of lightly snapping percussion at the bottom, and some great instrumental touches on guitar, vibes, and just a bit of flute! In a way, the record's almost a bridge between the older American and European instrumental style of the 50s and some of the new orchestrations that were being penned in Brazil in the 60s – a key early example of that influence on these shores, and featuring tunes that include "Land Of My Land", "Poinciana", "O Passaro", "Jazz Samba", "Mima", and Lalo Schifrin's "Whispering Bossa Nova". LP, Vinyl record album

Linda's first effort for Curtom, and a record that's got a bit more soul than some of her later more disco-oriented albums. Unfortunately, it's also got a bit more schmaltz – but if you stay away from the sillier cuts, you'll get some tasty mellow soul that's a good bridge between Linda's earlier singles and her later hits. Leroy Hutson produced the sophisticated stepper "Only Fooling Myself", and the rest of the material was handled by Gil Askey, including a good cover of Al Green's "Still In Love With You", Bunny Sigler's "From Now On", and the track "You Can Do It". LP, Vinyl record album

Nobody handled a fuzz guitar better than Dennis Coffey back in the early 70s – and this album's one of his masterpieces of funky instrumental work for the Sussex label – cuts that show just how much command Coffey had of the electric strings after a number of years working in both the studios and the clubs of the Detroit scene! Coffey's work here is between the genres in a really great way – heavier than soul instrumental material of a few years before, tighter than electric guitar jazz funk of the time, and with some of the understanding of new phrasing that the psych years brought in – all served up perfectly on a set of wicked cuts co-arranged with longtime musical partner Mike Theodore. Titles include the classics "Ride Sally Ride" and "Taurus" – the latter of which was his similar sounding follow-up to "Scorpio" and other titles include "Can You Feel it", "Midnight Blue", "Toast & Jam", "Man & Boy", "It's Too Late" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great late 60s session from Ornette Coleman – one that shows is increasing expansion in sounds and styles, and which also offers a bridge between avant jazz generations too! That bridge comes in the presence of Jimmy Garrison on bass and Elvin Jones on drums – a surprising Coltrane rhythm duo, working here with Ornette's mindblowing work on alto sax, and tenor from a young Dewey Redman – already a crucially intense player here next to Coleman, as both are set free in a group without any piano – that Ornette melding of rhythm and melody, but with a very different vibe than the Atlantic years! Coleman blows trumpet on one tune – and titles include "Love Call", "Airborne", "Check Out Time", and "Open To The Public". LP, Vinyl record album

A perennial favorite in the John Coltrane catalog – a beautiful set of standards, handled in a warm laidback style – but which still has some of the depth of soul that John Coltrane brought to his more experimental work on Impulse Records! The album's a classic introduction to the music of Trane – and maybe is tied more closely to the spirit of some of his work on Atlantic Records, and makes a nice bridge between the two bodies of work – as the Great One takes on older jazz tunes, but really transforms them, thanks in part to the sublime work of Jimmy Garrison on bass, Elvin Jones on drums, and McCoy Tyner on piano. The album's completely solid all the way through – and although it won't change your life as much as A Love Supreme, it will show what a fantastically strong player Coltrane was, in any sort of setting! Titles include "I Wish I Knew", "What's New", "Nancy", "You Don't Know What Love Is", and "All Or Nothing At All". LP, Vinyl record album

A perennial favorite in the John Coltrane catalog – a beautiful set of standards, handled in a warm laidback style – but which still has some of the depth of soul that John Coltrane brought to his more experimental work on Impulse Records! The album's a classic introduction to the music of Trane – and maybe is tied more closely to the spirit of some of his work on Atlantic Records, and makes a nice bridge between the two bodies of work – as the Great One takes on older jazz tunes, but really transforms them, thanks in part to the sublime work of Jimmy Garrison on bass, Elvin Jones on drums, and McCoy Tyner on piano. The album's completely solid all the way through – and although it won't change your life as much as A Love Supreme, it will show what a fantastically strong player Coltrane was, in any sort of setting! Titles include "I Wish I Knew", "What's New", "Nancy", "You Don't Know What Love Is", and "All Or Nothing At All". LP, Vinyl record album