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The killer debut of Keith Sweat, and a record that really set a whole new tone for mainstream soul at the end of the 80s! Teddy Riley's definitely got a hand in the sound here – adding drums and some production – all with a sweet bumping groove that works great for Keith's vocals – very new jack, but maybe a little bit more too! The rhythm is center stage on most tracks – and titles include "Make It Last Forever", "Something Just Ain't Right", "Tell Me It's Me You Want", "Right & Wrong Way", "How Deep Is Your Love", and "In The Rain". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked treasure from the great Jorge Ben – an album recorded between the fame of his "Taj Mahal" hit and Africa Brasil classic – and a set that's every bit as wonderful as those two records! There's a tight, choppy groove to most of the set – that mix of samba, soul, and currents of American funk that Jorge created in his music – turned here towards some of the unusual themes that showed up on his Tabua De Esmeralda album, but maybe given a bit more punch, too – so that even without the benefit of language, the vocals and grooves on the set are completely captivating to a global audience! There's loads of fresh sounds here – some real under-discovered gems from Jorge's key 70s years – and titles include "Cuidado Com O Bulldog", "Zagueiro", "Para Ouvir No Radio (Luciana)", "Jorge De Capadocia", "Dumingaz", "Se Segura Malandro", and "Jesualda". LP, Vinyl record album

A great move in a fresh direction for the Flaming Groovies – a set that has the group working with producer Dave Edmunds, and hitting this sweet power pop sort of sound! The Groovies still have all the tight energy of before – but they also seem to be paying tribute to an older vintage of British material – as evidenced by their 60s look on the cover, and the album's back cover parody of a stance by The Beatles! The short tracks are plenty tuneful, and Edmunds has a way of compressing the fuzz down tightly, but never in a way that makes things sound slick or commercial. Vocal chorus bits are especially great – surprisingly catchy, almost in a Brit Invasion way – and titles include "Shake Some Action", "You Tore Me Down", "I Saw Her", "Teenage Confidential", "I Can't Hide", "She Said Yeah", and "Sometimes". LP, Vinyl record album

A Japanese take on the sound of late 60s Woodstock – one that kind of takes all the best songs from the famous festival, then distills them into a batch of short, tight, funky jazz instrumentals! The approach is very cool – more funky than hippie, especially since the album begins with a massive drum break – although the instrumentation does have some nice fuzzy touches around the edges, particularly on some of the guitars and maybe a bit of the keyboards. There's brassy horns on the top, and lots of great rhythms on the bottom – and titles include "The Ground For Peace", "Spoonful", "Summertime Blues", "Mama Told Me", "I Want To Take You Higher", "Woodstock", "Knick Knack", and "Head Rock". LP, Vinyl record album

It's Christmas time in East LA – and Los Lobos have gotten together to give us a real standout of a holiday album! The tunes are mostly originals by the group, and done up in that mix of modes that's always made them so great – border-styled instrumentation on some cuts, straighter sounds on others – and all recorded with a stripped-down, personal vibe that may well make the record one of their most satisfying in years! But, if anything, the group have seemed to just get better with age – something we might never have expected decades ago – and a record like this is proof that they're one of the few older groups who deserve to keep on creating into their twilight years. Titles include "La Rama", "Donde Esta Santa Claus", "La Murga", "Christmas & You", "Regalo De Reyes", "Feliz Navidad", "Reluciente Sol", and "It's Christmas Time In Texas". LP, Vinyl record album

The cover looks a bit goofy, but the set's one of the strongest that Ludacris ever recorded – a rock-solid effort that has him completely on track throughout, in one of those sets that really stood as a calling card for the Atlanta scene in the 21st Century! Yet there's also a nice difference here from some of Ludacris' southern contemporaries – that sense of humor that really comes through in the skits, but which also seems to grace the lyrics in a more subtle way – balancing the record in a way that showcases that range that often set the rapper apart from the rest of the pack. Titles include "Rollout (My Business)", "Area Codes", "Saturday", "Freaky Thangs", "Cold Outside", "Cry Babies", "Go 2 Sleep", "Growing Pains, "Keep It On The Hush", "She Said", and "Word of Mouf". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the weirdest records Sun Ra ever made – music to accompany the strange film Space Is The Place – which itself was an odd mixture of science fiction and blacksploitation-type action! The sounds here are sometimes in the usual Arkestra mode – wonderfully exotic rhythms mixed with freewheeling jazz solos – but other parts seem to follow more of a soundtrack-styled need – and include some bolder action riffs, spare scene-setting moments, and even some strong vocal themes. Titles include "Watusa", "Calling Planet Earth", "Mysterious Crystal", "Outerspaceways Incorporated", "Cosmic Forces", "Satellites Are Spinning", and a version of "Space Is The Place". This special set also includes the bonus Mathematics Of The Altered Destiny, a full LP of unreleased music from Sun Ra featuring June Tyson – and the first ever US Blu-ray release of the film, and a standard DVD as well! LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool collection of tracks, pulled from the glory days of the jingle-oriented television ad – a time when artists like Ginny Redington would pen short little songs that were every bit as catchy as songs on the charts – to sell everything from hamburgers to soft drinks, bank services, and weight control! The tunes here are all from the vaults of Redington – and feature cool little tunes written for Coca Cola, Sprite, Canada Dry, Gino's, Minute Maid, and a number of other big brands in the 70s – some spare with just Ginny on vocals and a bit of keyboards, some with a fuller, richer style that uses more instrumentation and additional singers! The package is totally cool – and titles include "Coke Ads Life", "Open Wide America", "Plop Plop Fast Food", "Now We're Talkin Beer", "Oh Canada", "Women In Business", "The World's Best Fit", and "The Clean In Your Mouth". LP, Vinyl record album

Instrumentals version of one of the most influential albums of recent hip hop history! Fantastic wasn't considered a masterpiece upon its long-delayed original release, but, we all now know there is no denying the genius of Jay Dee's production. Lots of straight soul, deep funk, and mellowed out jazzy touches that became a staple in underground soul and hip hop, influencing everyone from ?uestlove and the Roots to D'Angelo, Jill Scott, Macy Gray, and tons of other artists. Tracks include "Conant Gardens", "I Don't Know", "Jealously", "Fall In Love", "Get Dis Money", "Once Upon A Time", "Go Ladies" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album from the Japanese scene at the start of the 70s – served up by a group with a name that might be clunky, but which also belies one of that nation's heaviest combos of the time! The approach here is a bit like some of the tripped-out blues-influenced rock of the Led Zep generation in the UK – but as with some of this band's contemporaries in Japan, there's also a wilder, wiggier vibe going on too – more freewheeling, especially on the fuzz – and driven by tremendous drums that make for some great changes in some of the more hard-rocking numbers. Titles include "Mr Walking Drugstore Man", "Stoned Out Of My Mind", "Big Headed Woman", and "Ode To The Bad People" – plus the experimental "M Glue", and the acoustic "Sometime We'll All Fall Down". LP, Vinyl record album

2 Chainz was bubbling up in the underground for a number of years before this full length debut – including work under his earlier name of Tity Boy – and that experience clearly gave him plenty of muscle to burst upon the scene with the kind of intensity that made the record a big burner right from the start! Production has plenty of those sinister elements that were really popping big at the time – and titles include "Dope Peddler", "Crack", "I Luv Dem Strippers", "Stop Me Now", "Ghetto Dreams", "In Town", "Money Machine", "Extremely Blessed", and "No Lie" – with features from Drake, Kanye West, Dolla Boy, John Legend, Lil Wayne, and Nicki Minaj. LP, Vinyl record album

Usher comes home strong on his first album in nearly a decade –with his ageless voice, overall presence, and almost unrivaled way of fitting right in while also slyly transcending the reigning sounds of pop, soul and R&B of any given day! It's a 20 track set that's surprisingly strong throughout, giving him plenty of space to do just about everything he does so well – tight collaborations, tender balladry, dancefloor ready jams and all. He's still a king! Includes "Keep On Dancin'", "Good Good" with Summer Walker & 21 Savage, "Kissing Strangers", Risk It All" with with HER, "Big", "On The Side", "I Am The Party", "Luckiest Man", "I Love U", "Please U", "Room In A Room", "Bop", "Stone Kold Freak", "Coming Home" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest albums ever from Caetano Veloso – a rare all-English language set, recorded in London during the years of his exile! The post-Tropicalia set is a fair bit different than any other Veloso album we can think of – not just because of the English language, but also because the approach is somewhat gentle, and almost folksy at times – a real change from his experimental modes of the late 60s, and easily his most personal statement to date. The tunes are incredibly beautiful – filled with themes of loss and longing that no doubt come from his separation from Brazil – and although a few tunes feature light strings from Phil Ryan, most of the backings are relatively light, and almost acoustic. Titles include the classics "Shoot Me Dead", "If You Hold a Stone", "Maria Bethania", "In The Hot Sun Of A Christmas Day", and "London, London" – plus a cover of "Asa Branca". LP, Vinyl record album

Bright pop soul from The Weeknd! This one's bookended by great couple of collaborations with Daft Punk – and yeah, the gentle sounding, yet plenty soulful and sometimes moody Weeknd vocals are as perfectly paired with the neon electro sheen of Daft Punk as you'd imagine – and this one also features appearences by Future, Kendrick Lamar and Lana Del Rey, a diverse roster for sure, and it's a testament to The Weeknd's depth and far-reaching taste that they all fit right into the overall vibe. Titles include "Starboy", "I Feel It Coming", "Reminder", "Party Monster", "Attention", "Sidewalks", "Love To Lay", "A Lonely Night", "Die For You" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A sprawling triple length set from Young Jeezy – his first for Def Jam, and a set that was delivered at that moment when it seemed like the southern scene could just spin out material like this with effortless ease! Jeezy's position amidst boxes of money on the cover will give you an idea of some of the vibes on the set – definitely the sort that showed that the rapper was one of the bolder youngsters from the Atlanta scene! The set has features from TI, Mannie Fresh, Young Buck, and Lil Will – and titles include "Go Crazy", "Standing Ovation", "Let's Get It/Sky's The Limit", "My Hood", "Bottom Of The Map", "Bang", "Soul Survivor" and "Tear It Up". LP, Vinyl record album

A totally cool bit of French prog from the 70s – served up by a group who definitely have some vocals, but who often seem very content to just focus on their instrumentation – a warmly wonderful blend of guitar, organ, bass, and drums! There's a quality here that's really nice – never too-jamming, nor too concerned with trying to show off the way they can be complex with their instrumentation – and instead, the group are happy to let the sounds gel nicely, often with a slightly gentle vibe – in that laidback way that can make French prog so different than other work on the Euro scene. Titles include "L'Arbre", "La Montre", "Cages En Beton", "Sans Nom", and "Passant De La Nuit". LP, Vinyl record album

From its booze-soaked title cut, to its haunting selection of lonely ballads like "Midnight Sun" and "Stranger Called The Blues", this is one of the most fantastic vocal jazz albums of all time – and a record that we'd recommend instantly to anyone! June Christy has an incredibly icy tone on the record, filled with sorrow, regret, and loneliness – all of which are amplified even more deeply by Pete Rugolo's eerie, off-kilter arrangements. Titles include "Something Cool", "It Could Happen To You", "Lonely House", "I'm Thrilled", and "The Night We Called It A Day". Fantastic stuff! Stereo re-recording of the full LP – from the late 50s. LP, Vinyl record album

A group with a name that might not easily roll of the tongue, but one who've got a sublime harmony sound that's wonderfully fluid overall – a combination of nine young voices from the scene in Soweto, working without any other instrumentation at all! The combination of vocals almost takes us back to the sound of Take 6 on their first album – and as with that group, the message here is spiritual, but not entirely pointed at the church – with much more of a universal appeal that's perfect for the subtly righteous power of the harmonies! Titles include "Too Late For Mama", "Nomalizo", "My Brother", "Who Knows", "Sip", and "Baninzi". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the all-time classic MPS sessions! Erwin Lehn leads a very tight grooving combo that mixes hard big group arrangements (in the style of the Clarke-Boland or Peter Herbholzheimer groups), with some extremely powerful solos and very inventive arrangements. There's lots of wonderful little elements in here – like some hard tenor (from Joki Freund), groovy organ, and a very slinky brass section. The instruments wail in and out of each other, with a sound that mixes rich colors and emotions with quick darting grooves – and the session's a winner all the way through! Titles include "Alfredo", "Atlantic II", "El Cuervo Nuevo", "Lift Up", and "Color". LP, Vinyl record album

There's plenty of electric colors here – a great blend of the many elements from this large European funk ensemble, all filtered down into a mighty nice groove from Misha Panfilov! Penza Penza are one of Misha's most lively projects – and the group have this energy that draws on classic American instrumental soul from the 60s and 70s, but trips things out nicely in that style that Panfilov does so well with other acts – a slight dose of psychedelic colorings around the edges, but never in a way that obscures the sharp instrumentation at the core! Titles include "The World Of High Voltage Badgers", "Der Himmel Uber Kakumae", "Color My Coffee", "Deep Dive", and "Electricolor". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark set from the freer side of the British jazz scene at the end of the 60s – a relatively open-ended session cut by alto saxophonist Trevor Watts with his Amalgam trio – a great group that features John Stevens on drums and Jeff Clyne on bass (although Barry Guy also sits in on bass for one of the tunes!) The sound here is somewhere between the original trio formation of the ESP groups of the mid 60s and the more freely expressive groups of the FMP years – but is also touched with a good deal of that sense of sadness and depth of emotion that colored some of the best modern British jazz sessions of the period. Watt's work on alto is incredible throughout – dominating the record more than most players we could imagine on the instrument in such a setting – and titles include "Tales Of Sadness", "Judy's Smile I", "Judy's Smile II", and "Prayer For Peace". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful early Verve recording by Basie – one that's packaged here in a great David Stone Martin cover, with a red and blue watercolor of Basie himself. Players include Frank Foster, Frank Wess, Ernie Wilkins, Marshall Royal, Joe Newman, Thad Jones, Bennie Powell, and Freddie Green – plus Basie, of course. Titles include "Two Franks", "Ska Di Didle Dee Bee Doo", "Rails", "Blues Backstage", and "Perdido" – and there's a very strong focus on the best soloists in the group! (Note: this material was also issued under the title The Band Of Distinction – but this is the first version.) LP, Vinyl record album

Quite a different album than usual for John Coltrane, but a classic one too – and a set that has the great one exploring his ideas in a set of longer tracks recorded with an expanded jazz orchestra! The format's hardly the mainstream big band of the time – as Coltrane's filled the group with very hip players – including Booker Little, Freddie Hubbard, Julian Priester, and Eric Dolphy – in addition to usual compatriots who include McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman, and Elvin Jones. The tunes have a soaring, modal sort of pulse – one that's filled with color and light from the addition of the other horn players, but which still has plenty of space for extended, exploratory solos. Coltrane plays both tenor and soprano sax – and titles include the legendary 16 minute track "Africa", a classic reading of "Greensleeves", redone here as a modal searching spiritual track, and "Blues Minor". LP, Vinyl record album

Tremendous work from this lesser-known combo from Detroit – a session of work that builds strongly on the colors and changes explored by Miles Davis earlier in the 60s, but which takes things off into a whole new direction! (A Multidirection?) The horns on the record have incredible interplay – trumpet by Charles Moore and tenor from Leon Henderson, playing together with a sense of dexterity that may even beat the team of Davis and Wayne Shorter – angular one moment, softly lyrical the next, and always in pursuit of fresh tones and righteous sounds. Kenny Cox's piano is great too – an exercise in understatement at times – getting as much done with one note as other players would with five – as he slowly guides the group along, and grounds their freer expressions with a good sense of humanity. Rhythm is by Ron Brooks on bass and Danny Spencer on drums – and titles include "What Other One", "Gravity Point", "Spellbound", "Snuck In", and "Sojourn". LP, Vinyl record album

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Classic early work by modern tenor genius Joe Henderson – very well titled with the use of "mode", given the new sound and new direction Henderson was taking his tenor in the 60s! The album's got Joe working at the head of an all-great lineup that includes Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Cedar Walton on piano, and Bobby Hutcherson on vibes – the last of whom really brings in some tremendous moments to the record, using his instrument to create a slightly off-kilter feel that pushes the set from straight hardbop into the modern realm with traces of "new thing" tones and colors. Joe's solos are incredible – searing, searching, yet still pulsing with an undeniably soulful rhythm – and titles include the essential track "Black", plus "Caribbean Fire Dance", "Free Wheelin", and "Shade Of Jade". LP, Vinyl record album

Hard to hold your horses with music this great – a really great moody take on deep funk territory – nicely laidback, and served up in a way that really lets the group enjoy all the rich tonal colors they produce along the way! The lineup is spare, and nicely kicked back – chromatic guitar riffs, watery keyboard lines, slow-stepping bass, and drums that kind of jitter nervously at points – all of which creates a nice sense of tension in the grooves! The whole thing's definitely a standout set in the world of instrumental funk – and titles include "One Hand One Bounce", "8th Movement", "Incredible Wonderful", "Not For The First Time", "Eyes On The Prize", "The Early Bird Catches", and "All Aboard". LP, Vinyl record album

Hard to hold your horses with music this great – a really great moody take on deep funk territory – nicely laidback, and served up in a way that really lets the group enjoy all the rich tonal colors they produce along the way! The lineup is spare, and nicely kicked back – chromatic guitar riffs, watery keyboard lines, slow-stepping bass, and drums that kind of jitter nervously at points – all of which creates a nice sense of tension in the grooves! The whole thing's definitely a standout set in the world of instrumental funk – and titles include "One Hand One Bounce", "8th Movement", "Incredible Wonderful", "Not For The First Time", "Eyes On The Prize", "The Early Bird Catches", and "All Aboard". LP, Vinyl record album

A great set by Stan Kenton – one that applies the dark tones of his style to a range of popular numbers that end up completely transformed! The album features some wonderful charts from arranger Lennie Niehaus – emerging here as one of the more complicated talents of the west coast scene of the time – and stepping off the strength of his 50s small group sessions, into a realm that really points the way towards his later soundtrack work. The sound is lush and filled with colors from the dark end of the spectrum – mostly carried by a mellophonium-heavy horn section, but also featuring some redemptive moments on breakout solos. Titles include "Darn That Dream", "Moonlight Becomes You", "How Do I Look In Blue", "Time After Time", "My One And Only Love", and "You Stepped Out Of A Dream". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning second album from Love – a set that's still without the fuller orchestrations and baroque touches of Forever Changes – but which already shows the group moving in that direction! The rough, gritty edge of the group is very firmly intact – but they've already got a really fresh way of putting over a song – by complicating the rhythms a bit, going for unusual tonal colors, and furthering the really imaginative songwriting of Arthur Lee. Side one features some incredibly haunting shorter tunes that point the way towards Forever Changes – including the insanely wonderful "She Comes In Colors", the Latin-tinged "Que Vida", and the cuts "Stephanie Knows Who", "The Castle", and "Seven & Seven Is". Side two is a total freak-out – an 18 minute bluesy guitar jam, very over the top stuff – and quite unusual in length for a rock album in 1966! LP, Vinyl record album

Beautifully spacey work from the Modern Jazz Quartet – a record that more than earns its enigmatic title! The session's an odd one – in that the MJQ are recording for the Beatles' famous Apple label – but that fact is also one of the best aspects of the record, as it seems to push the group past the staid third stream sound of some of their 60s recordings for Atlantic, into territory that's a bit more experimental, and concerned with sound, colors, and texture. The album's got 2 incredible originals from John Lewis – "Visitor From Mars" and "Visitor From Venus" – plus the tracks "Dilemma" and "Adagio From Concierto De Aranjuez". LP, Vinyl record album

A lucky seventh album from Roberto Roena and his groundbreaking Apollo Sound combo – a set that's filled with spectacular arrangements and a new level of sophistication for the group – yet one that's still firmly pointed towards the dancefloor! There's a richness here that's really great – an array of tones and colors that flows out from some incredibly strong charts for the horn players – who include Miguel Rodriguez on tenor and flute, set in amidst the brassier players to give the record a nice shade of soul. Vocals are by Papo Sanchez and Sammy Gonzalez, and titles include the classic "Mi Desengano", plus "Que Me Castigue Dios", "A Bailar Mi Bomba", "Te Voy A Tratar", "La Mala Mana", "Hoy Mi Dia Triste", and "Estas Equivocada". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful late 80s work from Pharoah – a wonderfully uncomplicated session that still has a great degree of soul! The album was recorded in Paris, with a quintet that includes William Henderson on acoustic piano, Stafford James on bass, Eddie Moore on drums, and Cheikh Tidiane Fale on percussion – and the overall approach is a bit more straight ahead than on some of Sanders' other albums – but in a really great way! The tunes are long and introspective – all done with spiritual rhythmic approaches, letting Pharoah open up on tenor and soprano sax – but never in a way that's overblown or overdone. The solos are perfectly placed – with wonderful phrasing and tone, rich in the colors that we've always loved on Sanders' work, but which can sometimes get lost in the confusion of an over-ambitious session. Titles include "Moon Child", "Moon Rays", "Soon", "Moniebah", and "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most amazing jazz vocalists of our generation returns here with an incredible group – a majestic combo to match all the spiritual inclinations in his music – with work from Kamasi Washington on tenor, Mark De Clive-Lowe on piano, Miguel Atwood Ferguson on viola, and both Carlos Nino and Derf Reklaw on percussion! Dwight Trible on his own is already more than enough to get us to run out and buy a record – but here, the combination of his unique voice with these musicians makes for an album that's an instant masterpiece – and one that even has lots of new colors and styles compared to some of Dwight's previous work! Songs include numbers by older west coast spiritual jazz heavyweights – like Horace Tapscott, Linda Hill, Nate Morgan, James Leary, and Jesse Sharps – mixed with some of Trible's own songs, and versions of work by Carmen Lundy, Oscar Brown Jr, and Donny Hathaway. From top to bottom, start to stop, the album's a treasure – with tracks that include "It's All About Love", "Thank You Master", "Song For My Mother", "Brother Where Are You", "Some Other Time", "These Things You Are To Me", "Desert Fairy Princess", and "Mothership". LP, Vinyl record album

Tremendous work from this lesser-known combo from Detroit – a session of work that builds strongly on the colors and changes explored by Miles Davis earlier in the 60s, but which takes things off into a whole new direction! (A Multidirection?) The horns on the record have incredible interplay – trumpet by Charles Moore and tenor from Leon Henderson, playing together with a sense of dexterity that may even beat the team of Davis and Wayne Shorter – angular one moment, softly lyrical the next, and always in pursuit of fresh tones and righteous sounds. Kenny Cox's piano is great too – an exercise in understatement at times – getting as much done with one note as other players would with five – as he slowly guides the group along, and grounds their freer expressions with a good sense of humanity. Rhythm is by Ron Brooks on bass and Danny Spencer on drums – and titles include "What Other One", "Gravity Point", "Spellbound", "Snuck In", and "Sojourn". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic work from Khruangbin – a group with a name that's hard to pronounce, but who just keep getting better and better with each new release – to the point where on this record, they're definitely in a genre by themselves! Khruangbin blend together lean funky instrumentation with some slightly more progressive elements – never too jamming to get in the way of the groove, but with a complexity that shows us that these guys are really amazing musicians – steeped in the best influences from the past, but never copycats at all – and always with a very original sound! The core trio is expanded just slightly here on a few tracks – with the spare addition of elements like vibes, percussion, or pedal steel – each used sparingly, but to create some great sonic colors in the mix. Titles include "First Class", "Pelota", "Dearest Alfred", "If There Is No Question", "One To Remember", "So We Won't Forget", "Shida", and "Father Bird Mother Bird". LP, Vinyl record album

Duke Pearson knocks it out of the park with this one – perfectly summing up all the new ideas in jazz arranging and large ensemble work he'd been exploring at Blue Note – and pushing things way way past his previous small group material as well! The album's quite different than most other 60s iterations of big band jazz – as Pearson's got a way of making all instruments come together on the rhythms, then exploding with subtle colors and soulful tones – yet all at a level that's never forced or gimmicky at all. It helps that he's got a tremendous lineup of players here – both Lew Tabackin and Frank Foster on tenor (the latter of whom does some arranging for the record) – plus Pepper Adams on baritone, Marvin Stamm and Randy Brecker on trumpets, Garnett Brown and Jimmy Cleveland on trombones, Jerry Dodgion and Al Gibbons on alto, and the rhythm team of Bob Cranshaw on bass and Mickey Roker on drums. Duke plays superb piano with a really sophisticated touch, but it's really his strength as an arranger that makes the whole thing come together beautifully. Andy Bey sings on a version of "I'm Tired Cryin Over You" – and other titles include "Amanda", "Tones For Joan's Bones", "Dad Digs Mom", "Disapproachment", and "Make It Good". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly the best-remembered album from Pharoah Sanders' legendary run at Impulse Records – a set that crossed over big, and sold to countless folks who might not have bought a jazz album this hip otherwise! The record was Sanders' first in the wake of Coltrane's passing – and it's a beautiful extended suite of tracks that flows with a sense of grace, power, and majesty that's simply breathtaking – a new level of expression in spiritual jazz – and virtually the blueprint for an entire generation to come! The album features the classic track "The Creator Has a Master Plan" – spanning a tremendous amount of space and time – and featuring Leon Thomas' classic vocals on the lyrics! Thomas also returns on the cut "Colors", which is a bit more outside, and quite free overall – and other players on the date include Lonnie Liston Smith on piano, James Spaulding on flute, Julius Watkins on French horn, Ron Carter and Richard Davis on bass, and Freddie Waits and Billy Hart on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

A lost landmark in early 70s roots rock – the first solo album from Bobby Whitlock – an artist who'd previously played with Derek & The Dominoes, George Harrison, and Delaney & Bonnie – and who's getting a bit of help here from both Harrison and Eric Clapton in the studio! Yet the set's definitely Bobby's own – rooted in his Memphis background, and fusing together rock and soul with the same sort of core charm you might hear from Delaney & Bonnie – a quality that's almost color-blind at times, and which has the same sort of new southern appeal as music from The Allman Brothers or some of Bobby's bigger contemporaries. Titles include "Where There's A Will", "Song For Paula", "A Game Called Life", "Back In My Life Again", "Back Home In England", and "The Dreams Of A Hobo". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful 60s album from Duke Ellington – one that features some of his more popular numbers, as you'd guess by the title – but captured in these sublime, sophisticated arrangements that really reflect the genius sound of his group during the later years! The tracks are familiar, and the arrangements are maybe never too way out – but they're also these mini-masterpieces in color and tone – carried off by a fantastic group of all-stars who've matured and grown as much as the Duke himself – Cootie Williams and Cat Anderson on trumpets, Lawrence Brown and Buster Cooper on trombones, Jimmy Hamilton on clarinet, Johnny Hodges on alto, Paul Gonsalves on tenor, and Harry Carney on piano. There's a darkness in Duke's piano that's maybe missing from earlier versions of this material – that great modern undercurrent of the late years – and titles include "Black & Tan Fantasy", "The Twitch", "Perdido", "Solitude", "The Mooche", "Creole Love Call", "Take The A Train", and "Sophisticated Lady". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Bobby Hutcherson's most important albums ever – and an essential piece of "new thing" jazz that ranks up there with such key Blue note sessions of the genre as Tony Williams' album Life Time, Dolphy's Out To Lunch, and Jackie McLean's One Step Beyond! Hutcherson's sound on the vibes is amazing – metallic, yet melodic – in a sublime blend of the modern and the soulful, all wrapped up in tones and colors that few other players have ever managed to get from the instrument! All the other players on the session really rise to the occasion too – and the album features tremendous work from Sam Rivers, Freddie Hubbard, Andrew Hill, and Joe Chambers. Titles include "Ghetto Lights", "Catta", and "Idle While". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best of the early 60s comeback albums by the legendary bop trumpeter Howard McGhee – and a record that really has the player finding a whole new groove in his music! At this point, Maggie's got a fantastic tone that was missing from his earlier records, filled with pain and raw emotion – but also measured with a maturity that gives his solos an incredible sense of economy that delivers a whole hell of a lot with just a few simple notes – a balance that comes through beautifully here, maybe even more so than on any other record by Howard from the time! He's playing here in a great group that includes Roland Alexander on tenor, Bennie Green on trombone, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and Pepper Adams on baritone – and tracks include "Dusty Blue", "Groovin High", "Cottage For Sale", "Flyin Colors", and "With Malice Towards None". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite 60s surf soundtracks ever – an amazing blend of Stu Phillips orchestrations with some key vocal moments from the trio of Dino Desi & Billy! The album's got a wonderful theme – "Thru Spray Colored Glasses" – sung initially by the trio, then served up by Stu in a number of variations that change with the different exotic locales of the film – India, Hong Kong, Hawaii, and Morocco – all referenced slightly in the instrumentation, but in ways that always retain Phillips' grooviest inspirations! Strings blend with bits of harpsichord, vibes, voices, Spanish guitar, and these "watery" woodwinds that almost remind us of Australian jazz in the same period – and titles include "Thru Spray Colored Glasses", "Big Wave Bay", "Incinerator", "Ranee Express", "Nazare", and "Cascis". LP, Vinyl record album

The debut of a legendary British jazz group – one who not only gave that nation's scene a fresh voice in music, but who also really set the tone for many other acts to come! After a stretch when the London scene was doing a great job of matching American efforts in bop and swing, players like Don Rendell and Ian Carr found a way to really carve out some bold space of their own – here, by matching their own strong sense of writing and arranging, always filled with beautiful tone and color, with some of the more modern phrasing and styles that were just creeping up around town. The set's not nearly as experimental as the work of Joe Harriott, but has all the hallmarks of that generation's openness to new ways of expression – often given a surprisingly soulful swing, and captured perfectly as one of the early entries in the famous Lansdowne Series recordings. The rest of the group is equally great – and in addition to Rendell on tenor and soprano sax, and Carr on trumpet and flugelhorn – the combo includes Colin Purbrook on piano, Dave Green on bass, and Trevor Tompkin on drums. Titles include "Garrison 64", "Blue Mosque", "Just Blue", "Latin Blue", "Sailin", and "Big City Strut". LP, Vinyl record album

The debut of a legendary British jazz group – one who not only gave that nation's scene a fresh voice in music, but who also really set the tone for many other acts to come! After a stretch when the London scene was doing a great job of matching American efforts in bop and swing, players like Don Rendell and Ian Carr found a way to really carve out some bold space of their own – here, by matching their own strong sense of writing and arranging, always filled with beautiful tone and color, with some of the more modern phrasing and styles that were just creeping up around town. The set's not nearly as experimental as the work of Joe Harriott, but has all the hallmarks of that generation's openness to new ways of expression – often given a surprisingly soulful swing, and captured perfectly as one of the early entries in the famous Lansdowne Series recordings. The rest of the group is equally great – and in addition to Rendell on tenor and soprano sax, and Carr on trumpet and flugelhorn – the combo includes Colin Purbrook on piano, Dave Green on bass, and Trevor Tompkin on drums. Titles include "Garrison 64", "Blue Mosque", "Just Blue", "Latin Blue", "Sailin", and "Big City Strut". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime guitar work from the great Johnny Smith – a musician who was years ahead of his time, and influenced a generation with his clean, clear tone on the instrument! Smith's in a perfect setting here – a Roost label quartet date that includes Bob Pancost on piano, George Roumanis on bass, and Mousie Alexander on drums – a very understated group that really lets Johnny's wonderful tones and colors stand strongly out front! Titles include "0500 Blues", "Old Girl", "Tired Blood", "Un Poco Loco", and "More Bass". LP, Vinyl record album

Roy Ayers in a very Afro-styled mode – working here on his own after a famous collaboration with Fela Kuti – in a set that's filled with the same sort of hard-driving Afro-Funk grooves that you'd find in Fela's classic recordings! The songs are shorter than Fela's, and with more of Roy's usual smooth jazzy production style – but the overall influence is very much in the Afro-Funk vein, and the album's sort of a "part 2" to the Music Of Many Colors set that was cut a few years before. William Allen worked on the record with Roy – playing choppy Afro-Funk bass, and arranging and producing a lot of the material with Roy and Jaymz Bedford – and the record also features a host of extra percussion players, as well as some vocals by the lovely Sylvia Striplin. Includes the great groover "Africa, Center Of The World", plus "The River Niger", and a great remake of "Third Eye", which was on Everybody Loves The Sunshine, but is redone here with a heavier sound! Other tracks include "There's A Masterplan", "I'll Just Keep Trying", and "Destination Motherland". LP, Vinyl record album

A record of rich textures and layers – music that swings, but also swirls – thanks to work on the set from Kurt Rosenwinkel on guitar, Myron Walden on alto and bass clarinet, and Melvin Butler on tenor and soprano sax – all brewing together over the drums of Brian Blade! Pianist Jon Cowherd has a part in the colors and tones too – punctuating the proceedings, while also illuminating them too – adding his own sound to the mix, as the whole group moves together as a very cohesive whole! There's no bass at all – which further shines a light on the diversity of Blade's drumming – on titles that include "Catalysts", "Peoples Park", "Until We Meet Again", Look To The Hills", "Migration", and "Kings Highway". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderfully moody piano work from Joe Bonner – working here in spare solo space on one of his most evocative albums of the 70s! The album's filled with swirling piano lines, played in the usual sensitive Bonner style – stark single-note melodies standing out, couched by fuller chords that are dripping with color. The piano's acoustic throughout, but as with Kenny Barron at this time, there's a slight hint of electricity in the phrasing – and titles include "Tattoo", "Little Chocolate Boy", "Native Son", "The Lifesaver", and "The Observer". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that some might call the last truly great Peter Gabriel album – and a key cap to his excellent initial solo run! The album's got a deeper feel than before – slightly richer colors, more spiritual themes, and arguably more of a sense of majesty – almost an echo of some of the Native American modes explored by Laurie Anderson, who was then a recent collaborator of Gabriel! Instrumentation builds a bit more than before – with less guitars in parts, more percussive bits, and some funkier elements at the bottom that aren't exactly funky – more just a punch in force from the ground up. Gabriel's definitely feeling a sense of power here – and titles include "Lay Your Hands On Me", "Shock The Monkey", "San Jacinto", "I Have The Touch", "The Family & The Fishing Net", and "The Rhythm Of The Heat". LP, Vinyl record album

A gem of a record from the great Sonny Greenwich – an open-toned guitarist with a style that's unlike anyone else we can think of – a Canadian player who never got much exposure down here in the US, but who really stands apart from most of the jazz guitarists of his generation! There's this unusual sense of color and phrasing that really makes Sonny stand out – chords that almost feel as if they're broken open and exposed from a Wes Montgomery sort of tightness – able to move with a sense of fluidity, but a unique sense of rhythm that's definitely Greenwich's own. The rest of the group here really match the spirit of his music – maybe more so than on any other record of his as a leader – a great lineup that includes Don Thompson on electric and acoustic piano, Rick Homme on bass, Terry Clarke on drums, and Clayton Johnson on percussion. All tracks are nice and long – and titles include "Peace Chant", "Lilly Lotus", "Parting", and "Starlight". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic early work by modern tenor genius Joe Henderson – very well titled with the use of "mode", given the new sound and new direction Henderson was taking his tenor in the 60s! The album's got Joe working at the head of an all-great lineup that includes Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Cedar Walton on piano, and Bobby Hutcherson on vibes – the last of whom really brings in some tremendous moments to the record, using his instrument to create a slightly off-kilter feel that pushes the set from straight hardbop into the modern realm with traces of "new thing" tones and colors. Joe's solos are incredible – searing, searching, yet still pulsing with an undeniably soulful rhythm – and titles include the essential track "Black", plus "Caribbean Fire Dance", "Free Wheelin", and "Shade Of Jade". LP, Vinyl record album

A quartet session that mixes vibes and piano – the former from Aleksander Sever, the latter from Floris Kappeyne – but in a way that's nicely different from any sort of historical precedents – such as work from the MJQ or George Shearing, and maybe even more recent recordings from duos like Joe Locke and Kenny Barron! There's a round sort of warmth going on here – a flow that's maybe directed first by piano, then followed by the vibes – and driven equally by the richness of the rhythm work of Omer Govreen on bass and Wouter Kuhne on drums, both players who give the record a dynamic energy that's a really nice change from some of the colder, gentler efforts that might feature vibes and piano. As with other albums on the JMI label, the recording quality really brings out a great deal of color in the performance – on titles that include "Tired", "Trust", "God's Word", "Maya", "Heal", "Fragility", and "Inwoods". LP, Vinyl record album

Blue-eyed soul from the legendary Mitch Ryder – and pretty darn gritty at that – steeped in styles borrowed from Memphis and Muscle Shoals, and given a bit of a color-blind twist on the Detroit scene of the late 60s! Mitch clearly loves the motor city sound of the 60s, but also takes things to farther points south, too – using elements that would be right at home on Stax or Atlantic Records, and coming up with a crossover sound that had his recorded almost ending up in more soul collections over the years than rock ones! Production is by pop maestro Bob Crewe, but it's surprisingly unadorned compared to some of Crewe's other work of the time – and the album bristles with sock-soul instrumentation from the Detroit Wheels, and loud, proud vocals from Mitch. There's a bit of garaey guitars in the mix, too – making for a mighty nice hybrid of styles – and titles include "Shakin With Linda", "You Get Your Kicks", "Any Day Now", "I Need Help", "Little Latin Lupe Lu", "Walkin The Dog", "I Had It Made", and the classic "Breakout". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly the best-remembered album from Pharoah Sanders' legendary run at Impulse Records – a set that crossed over big, and sold to countless folks who might not have bought a jazz album this hip otherwise! The record was Sanders' first in the wake of Coltrane's passing – and it's a beautiful extended suite of tracks that flows with a sense of grace, power, and majesty that's simply breathtaking – a new level of expression in spiritual jazz – and virtually the blueprint for an entire generation to come! The album features the classic track "The Creator Has a Master Plan" – spanning a tremendous amount of space and time – and featuring Leon Thomas' classic vocals on the lyrics! Thomas also returns on the cut "Colors", which is a bit more outside, and quite free overall – and other players on the date include Lonnie Liston Smith on piano, James Spaulding on flute, Julius Watkins on French horn, Ron Carter and Richard Davis on bass, and Freddie Waits and Billy Hart on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Though one of her groovy Hazlewood produced albums, she only does two Hazlewood-penned tunes on this one: "Coastin", and "Sugar Town". The rest of the songs are the old-timey standards like "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Vagabond Shoes", "Let's Fall In Love", "Oh! You Beautiful Doll" and "Hard Hearted Hannah", though you might not guess that from the hot front cover featuring Nancy posing in a mod pink bikini. LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent work from one of the funkiest steel bands around – a totally hip combo who just seem to be getting better and better with each new release! This time around, they've stepped up the beats even more than before – mixing their 70s funk and steel drum work with just a slight current from hip hop production – all of which almost makes you feel like Wu-Tang made a trip to the Caribbean, then came back with these tapes as a result! There's also some additionally cool touches in the horns – used with maybe some slight Ethio jazz inflections at points – alongside other elements that really help move the Bacao aesthetic forward in a mighty nice way. Titles include "Hotline Bling", "Grilled", "How We Do", "Hazy Memories", "In The Crosshairs", "The Champion's Walk", and a very cool take on the "Stranger Things Theme"! LP, Vinyl record album

An album that really lives up to its title – as the record sets out to prove to the world that Isaiah Collier is one of the most almighty talents on the saxophone in recent years! The album has a spiritual majesty that tops even the previous album with the Chosen Few group – as in addition to work from the quartet that includes Julian Davis Reid on piano, Jeremiah Hunt on bass, and Michael Shekwoaga Ode on drums – the group adds in extra instrumentation, light strings, and added horns at times too – all of which push the music into territory that's right up there with Nimbus or Strata East back in the glory days! Collier is a true jazz visionary, and his message here is bold and brilliant – given some key support from older Chicago legends who include saxophonist Ari Brown on one track, and vocalist Dee Alexander on another – getting maybe one of her most beautiful showcases ever on record. Titles include "Love", "Compassion", "Duality Suite", "The Almighty", and "Perspective (Peace & Love)". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few albums cut by this oft-overlooked southern soul diva – and one that mixes Muscle Shoals production with some nice uptown touches! Produced by Jerry Williams, Jr., aka Swamp Dogg! While the title comes of a bit flamboyantly, in truth, this record is an honest, personal, and earthy southern soul should-be classic. It's not only a personal triumph for Doris Duke, it's also one of greatest Swamp Dogg-produced records! Includes "I Wish I Could Sleep", "It Sure Was Fun", "He's Everything I Need", "Since I Fell For You", "Let Love Touch Us Now", "Bad Water", and a cool cover of "By The Time I Get To Phoenix". LP, Vinyl record album

Al Green, 1973 – what could be better? The king of Memphis soul is at the height of his powers here – working in a setting that yielded less chart hits than some of his other albums for Hi Records, but which is still as sublime as the rest – thanks to an undeniable studio magic guided by Willie Mitchell! The sound is full, but never slick or smooth – and Al's vocals are tremendous throughout (but honestly, did you expect anything less?) Titles include "Call Me (Come Back Home)", "Here I Am (Come & Take Me)", "Funny How Time Slips Away", and the beautiful "Have You Been Making Out OK?" LP, Vinyl record album

What the what?!? Soul sides so great they'll blow your mind – even though none of them have ever been issued before! George Jackson is one of the great lost talents of southern soul – an artist who often stayed in the background, lending his talents to others in the studio, or as a writer – but a hell of a strong artist on his own – as you'll hear in this package of 24 recordings done at the legendary Fame Studios! Jackson's vocals are great – nice and gritty, plain and honest, and with just the right sort of focus to perfectly serve up the poetry of his lyrics. And the backings are wonderful, too – that simple, soulful groove that Fame did so well – often slow-burning on the rhythm tip, with production that lets George shine right out front in the mix. Why these cuts were never issued at the time is a mystery to us – as they could have made George and a few other folks a nice little fortune and a good deal of fame. But as with most discoveries like this, the obscurity of the tracks also makes for a freshness that we love too – as if we've taken a time machine back to a period we love, and found a way to hear the "real deal" right up close! Special LP version – featuring a dozen tracks from the Fame CDs – including "Greedy Over You", "Double Lovin", "Don't Count Me Out", "Save Me", "That From The Heart", "Add A Little Sunshine", "Let The Best Man Win", "I Bit Off More Than I Can Chew", and "Bite The Hand That Feeds You". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

The first-ever solo album from Doug McCombs – the well-known bassist with a huge legacy that includes work in Eleventh Dream Day and Tortoise – finally getting a chance to shine in the spotlight on his own! The vibe here is more like Doug's work in Brokeback, but even more open and improvised – as McCombs plays guitar and bass on the record, on long tracks that feature some guest instrumentation at points – electronics from Sam Prekop and drums from John Convertino on "Two To Coolness" – and drums and keyboards from James Elkington on "To Whose Falls Shallows". The album's remaining long song, "Green Crown's Step", is solo McCombs. LP, Vinyl record album