A set of rare tracks from the vaults of CBS Records in Kenya – tunes that really show a nicely complex approach to the groove! Black Fire kick things off with "Fire" – a tune that's got a reggae vibe, but a sound that's quite different than the style of Kingston! The cut's followed by "Got The Feelin" by S&D Majek, which bounces and bubbles along with a bassline that might have made Cymande proud – but with a very different vibe overall! Ovid handles the two tracks on the flipside – "Operator", which is more in the Kenyan reggae mode – and "Karibun", which has more of an upbeat clubby groove! 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

With Eddie Gomez & Jack DeJohnette. LP, Vinyl record album

A dozen tracks from the 3rd Festival of Popular Music in Brazil – with "A Estrada E O Violeiro", "Ponteio", "O Cantador", and "Domingo No Parque" by Cynara E Cybele – worth the price of the album alone – plus "Diana Pastora" and "Roda Viva" by Ellen De Lima, "O Milagre" and "De Como Um Homem Perdeu" by Chico Feitosa, "Maria Carnival E Cinzas" by Roberto Carlos, and "Alegria Alegria" and "Uma Duzia De Rosas" by Maria Isabel. LP, Vinyl record album

Produced by Sivuca – with titles that include "Cidade De Conde", "Eramos Dois", "Papo De Anjo Baba De Moca", "Evocacao No 1", "Dom Divino", and "Atras Do Circo Voador". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Includes the excellent "Diary Of Horace Wimp" – one of our favorite ELO songs ever! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

The second set from this early 80s disco trio – a Tony Valor side project, served up with all the soaringly soulful lines we love in his work from the 70s! Fantasy features two male singers and one female – trading back vocals nicely over catchy rhythms that sparkle with plenty of soul – and a surprising amount of warm instrumentation, much more so for clubby projects like this from the time. A few cuts get a bit mellower – almost going for a crossover soul feel, but in a nice way – and titles include "Believe Me", "Hold On Tight", "So Easy To Say", "Too Hot For Love", and "If It Don't Fit Don't Force It". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent Japanese-only album by Herbie – featuring all acoustic playing, recorded in San Francisco, in 1977 – in an incredible trio setting with Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums! Really, really wonderful stuff – right at home among many of Herbie's electric recordings at the time! Despite the absence of electric keyboards, there's a bit of a light funky groove on some tracks – with lots of warm bass sounds from Carter, and some beautiful light work on the drum kit from Williams. Titles include "Watch It", "Speak Like A Child", "Look", "Milestones" and "Whatcha Waitin For". All tracks are long, and the record's got a nice sweet mellow vibe! LP, Vinyl record album

A killer double album – with Terumasa Hino on trumpet, Hideo Miyata and Takao Uematsu on tenor, Mikio Masuda on piano, Tsutomo Okada on bass, and Motohiko Hino on drums! LP, Vinyl record album

A classic album of 70s soul from Brazil – put together with a warm sunny finish that seems to unify the best modes of Rio and LA at the time! Singer Robson Jorge works here with frequent partner Lincoln Olivetti – and both artists handle plenty of keyboards throughout – lots of warm Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, and minimoog that makes the album sparkle throughout – with this polish that's a nice balance to the raspier vocals of Robson – as he delivers lead lyrics on a host of self-penned numbers! The style's maybe a bit like that second wave of Tim Maia music at the end of the 70s – mixed with some of the keyboard currents of Brazilian funk groups – and the tunes are so catchy, you'll still be humming them all day long – even if you can't understand the lyrics. Titles include "Nao E Assim", "Amei Voce", "Cantar Comigo", "Num Dia Qualquer", "Um Amor Tao Lindo", "Tudo Bem", "Pra Lhe Fazer Feliz", "Entr O Ceu E O Mar", "A Cada Instante", and "Sorriso Falso". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those great 70s albums from Japanese vocalist Kimiko Kasai – a singer who started in jazz, but was equally well-suited to classy, contemporary soul – a mode that maybe made her the equivalent of Marlena Shaw or Nancy Wilson at the time! In keeping with Shaw, Kimiko works here with the legendary Chess/Cadet arranger Richard Evans – whose approach is as perfectly balanced as his own great music of the time – more modern soul than the decade before, but still with the richer sophistication of his years in jazz and experience doing larger arrangements. Titles include "Being In Love", "Along The Nile", "We Can Fall In Love", "In Common", and "Love Don't Love Nobody". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Groovy groovy groovy! Les Masques were a 60s vocal-oriented Brazilian combo from France, and they had a tight jazzy approach that was similar to Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66! That alone would be enough to make them #1 in our book – but they also get some excellent backing from the Trio Camara, who back the band with some nice organy riffs, and a very tight rhythm section! The whole thing's a great lost bit of Braziliana – with that crossover sound that you'll hear on the best 60s and 70s European recordings of this sort. Includes the great groover "Il Faut Tenir", which has shown up on a few compilations over the years – plus "Mais Un Jour", "Enfer", "Echo", "Un Regard .. Un Sourire", "L'Oiseau", and "Les Filles et Les Garcons". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A rare Mexican set from Chico O'Farrill – cut during a time when he was also doing some great records up in the US! Includes jazzy Latin takes on "More", "Girl From Ipanema", "Misty", "Days Of Wine & Roses", and "April In Paris". LP, Vinyl record album

The rarest of the "time" trilogy albums albums that Brubeck started with Time Out – and the most compelling, too! The classic quartet is in excellent form here – and drummer Joe Morello is especially excellent, as he's working in new rhythms and new percussive modes that you'd never expect from the group's earlier recordings. The best cuts have a slightly exotic tone to them, made even better by Desmond's snaking alto work – and titles include "Fast Life", "Waltz Limp", "Castillian Drums", "Back To Earth", "Danse Duet", and "Countdown". LP, Vinyl record album

The second album from Leonard Cohen – a more stripped down effort produced by Bob Johnston, with some really odd washes of sound on the outer edges of the sound – adding some slightly uneasy atmosphere that's paired masterfully with Cohen's moody pen. An album full of subtle triumphs, with a few of his more iconic songs and certainly in the upper regions of best work. Titles include the classic "Bird On The Wire", "Story of Isaac", "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy", "The Butcher", "You Know Who I Am", "Lady Midnight" and "Tonight Will Be Fine". LP, Vinyl record album

Legendary early live work from Miles Davis – one of the first examples on record of the way that Davis could really stretch out in a concert setting! The music's a bit more straight ahead than later live dates, but still pretty open and exploratory – and in addition to Davis' sparkling work on trumpet, the album also features some killer tenor lines from Hank Mobley – working here as a key part of Miles' group, and blowing with a hell of a lot of soul. Rhythm is by the rock-solid trio of Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums – and titles include "All Of You", "No Blues", "Bye Bye" and "Walkin". LP, Vinyl record album

The first album in Dylan's so-called "Christian Period", but it's not really the uber-dramatic departure from the "old" Dylan that it was treated as at the time – gospel soul backing vocals and testifying lyricism for sure, but it sounds more like gospel has come to Dylan than it sounds like Dylan has "gone gospel". Slow Train Coming has a focused approach, ala Blood On The Tracks, even if this train doesn't come close to crossing over onto those particular tracks – and the return to a leaner, more focused vibe is welcome one. It's got stellar studio players in the mix, and producer Jerry Wexler's production touches on a soul sound, but smartly hews to Dylan's vocal style and lyrical focus. Dylan's high bar for a masterpiece given his trailblazing past didn't give this record or the following couple much a chance to succeed on their own merits back in the day, but all these years later...wow, this is really good, passionate stuff. Includes "Gotta Serve Somebody", "Precious Angel", "I Believe In You", "Slow Trait", "Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking", "Do Right To Me Baby (Do Unto Others)", "When You Gonna Wake Up", "Man Gave Name To All The Animals", "When He Returns". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few American albums ever issued by Georgie Fame – a great set of tracks from his early CBS years, put together with a package that was bound to appeal to US fans digging the Bonnie & Clyde movie! The work here is a hip mix of jazz, soul, and R&B styles – all served up with that Georgie Fame charm that made his music unlike anyone else's at the time. And although we're not sure, it appears that there's a few tracks here that might not have been issued on LP back in the UK – as the set list features 11 tracks that include "Mellow Yellow", "Bullets La Verne", "This Is Always", "Side By Side", "Blue Prelude", "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Ask Me Nice", "When I'm Sixty Four", and "The Ballad Of Bonnie & Clyde". LP, Vinyl record album

Smooth as silk, with plenty of soul – a classic set that has the guitar of Eric Gale produced by the legendary Allen Toussaint! The cross of talents is pretty compelling – and although the album's not a New Orleans funk outing, it definitely shares some of the more creative elements that you'd get from some of Toussaint's other side projects at the end of the 70s. A few numbers definitely have a bit more bump than you'd expect from a fsuion date like this – and Toussaint himself plays piano and moog on the record, and even sings a tiny bit. Robert Dabon plays Fender Rhodes – and titles include "You Got My Life In Your Hands", "War Paint", "Touch Of Silk", "Au Privave", "With You I'm Born Again", and "Once In A Smile". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

An amazingly unique little group – one that kind of stepped in the Impulse Records back door from the Coltrane galaxy, but which features some very unique aspects overall! As the cover states, the ensemble's led by bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones – and also features McCoy Tyner from Coltrane's quartet – yet the real charm of the record comes from the reed men, who include Prince Lasha on flute and clarinet, Sonny Simmons on alto and English horn, and Charles Davis on baritone sax! All players are free-thinking modernists, with ties to some of the farther reaches of 60s jazz – yet they work here in a beautifully inside mode, similar to Lasha's excellent Insight album on CBS UK – a vibe that takes all the most wonderful aspects of the Coltrane generation, but pushes them even further with some deeply personal expressions. Tracks include the seminal "Half & Half" – plus "Aborigine Dance In Scotland", "Oriental Flower", and "Nuttin Out Jones", and "Gettin On Way". LP, Vinyl record album

An almost all-jazz release by Soft Machine – and a tasty bit of proggish tunes with a spare electric modal groove. Robert Wyatt's still on drums, and the rest of the group features Hugh Hopper on bass, Mike Ratledge on organ and piano, and Elton Dean on saxes. Titles include "Teeth", "Kings & Queens", and the "Virtually" suite, which takes up all of side two. LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty sweet late 70s set from Deniece Williams – produced by Maurice White of Earth Wind & Fire – and it sounds like it! The set ranges from catchy, crossover ready funky soul sweetened ever more by Deniece's amazing voice, to more stripped down and intimate numbers. There's a couple of stylistic detours, one bright eyed gospel soul tune and a more grandly furnished ballad or two – but for the most part it's a wonderfully produced late 70s funky soul set that takes flight even higher thanks to Deniece's incredible range! Titles include "Time", "We Have Love For You", "Season", "Be Good To Me", "The Paper", "Boy I Left Behind", "Baby, Baby My Love's All For You" and "God Is Amazing". LP, Vinyl record album

The sound of Ipanema in the 60s – served up here in a great partnership between American jazzman Paul Winter, and bossa composer Carlos Lyra! The album's an excellent bossa jazz session all the way through – with alto from Winter that's some of his sharpest on record in the 60s, and both guitar and vocals from Lyra – who's getting his American time in the spotlight here, in the way that Joao Gilberto got with Stan Getz! Yet this album's much more of a core bossa jazz combo set than the Getz/Gilberto records – with work from a quintet that includes Sergio Mendes on piano, Milton Banana on drums, and Sebatiao Neto on bass. Titles include "O Morro", "Voce E Eu", "Maria Ninguem", "De Quem Ama", "Lobo Bobo", and "Tem Do De Mim". LP, Vinyl record album

Betty Wright looks a lot different on the cover than during her early Alston Records years – and she sounds a lot different here, too – but in a way that really has the soul singer stretching out her wings! Most of the record was handled by Marlon Jackson – of Jacksons fame – and the sound is a mix of smooth modern soul groovers and a few more upbeat numbers that really push Wright's vocals in a great way! A few numbers here are definitely hitting that crossover mode that CBS was using with Denise Williams, Cheryl Lynn, and a few of its other soul singers at the time – but the best numbers are deeper, more mellow, and have a warmly sophisticated mode that really gets Betty past the rougher moments of her youth, and takes her into a more adult territory that we really like. These tracks include "Special Love", "I Promise You", "Show Me", and "She's Older Now" – alongside other numbers that include "Burning Desire", "Be Your Friend", and "Live Love Rejoice". LP, Vinyl record album

Vintage work from the earliest days of this legendary venue – featuring tracks by Bessie Smith, Mamie Smith, Moms Mabley, Spirits Of Rhythm, Buck & Bubbles, Sarah Vaughan, Cab Calloway, Big Maybelle, and many others! LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked gem in the Dave Brubeck Columbia catalog – and a very hip set of "Eastern" tinged tracks! The album's theme is obvious from the title – as Dave pens a set of tracks reflecting his experiences on recent visits to Japan – but the sound and the style moves way past the simple approach that might have been used, into territory that has the exotic feel of early 60s work by Yusef Lateef, Horace Silver, and some of the other hardbop-exotics around at the time. Of course, a big factor in the success of the record is the crisp and willowy alto of Paul Desmond – working here to create snakey lines that really support the mood of the tracks. Titles include "Osaka Blues", "Koto Song", "Zen is When", "Tokyo Traffic", and "Toki's Theme". LP, Vinyl record album

The electrifying debut of Bruce Springsteen – flying the flag for earnest souls in the strange years of the early 70s, and busting right out of the gets in prime form! Loads of classics – including "For You", "Blinded By The Light", "Mary Queen Of Arkansas", "Growing Up", "Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?" and "It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City". LP, Vinyl record album