A fantastic window into the record bar scene in Japan – served up here in a beautiful publication that's filled with photos of all these cool little clubs that are stuffed full of records – dedicated to presenting quality jazz music on vinyl, over a top-notch sound system – all while also serving up great drinks and light food in an intimate setting! These aren't the kinds of clubs where DJs go nuts for dancers – and instead, the experience is very intimate, very relaxing, and very Japanese – a way of digging jazz in a public space that's beyond compare, and which is very unique to their scene. The rooms are often little temples to vinyl and jazz – filled with thousands of records in a beautiful space, as you'll see as you flip through the many full color images in the book. This first volume documents bars in and around Tokyo – special spots with names that include Mingus, Half Note, Candy, Jazz Time Disk, Brooklyn, and dozens of others – served up in a beautiful softcover edition, 140 pages, full color throughout – and stuffed with fantastic photos! Book

A fantastic window into the record bar scene in Japan – served up here in a beautiful publication that's filled with photos of all these cool little clubs that are stuffed full of records – dedicated to presenting quality jazz music on vinyl, over a top-notch sound system – all while also serving up great drinks and light food in an intimate setting! These aren't the kinds of clubs where DJs go nuts for dancers – and instead, the experience is very intimate, very relaxing, and very Japanese – a way of digging jazz in a public space that's beyond compare, and which is very unique to their scene. The rooms are often little temples to vinyl and jazz – filled with thousands of records in a beautiful space, as you'll see as you flip through the many full color images in the book. This second volume includes a great array of unique spots in Japan – clubs with names that include Blue Note Kanagawa, Billie's Bar, Clart, Jazz Bar Herbie, Jazz Time Kelly, Joe Pass, Lady Jane, Elvin, and dozens of others – all with these fantastic full color photographs, spread out over a total of 157 pages, with some text in Japanese and English. Book

A really sweet electronic album from Dan Lacksman – one that's a lot more instrumental than his debut album, but which still sounds different than some of the moog records that came before! Dan's really opening up his analog skills here – and he uses the world of electronics in ways that are sometimes dreamy and easy, sometimes more straightforwardly tuneful – almost Hot Butter territory, but more complex and with all the sorts of cool, unusual touches that make his work in the studio such a standout – and such a nice step forward from the work of Perry & Kingsley, or Walter Carlos. Titles include "Electronic Fair", "Plic Ploc", "Top Tang", "It's Raining Today", "Top Jerk", and "Dedicated To Gerard". CD

Sweet electric magic from Ramsey Lewis – four 70s albums in a single collection! First up is Don't It Feel Good – massive keyboard work from the great Ramsey Lewis – easily one of his best records ever, thanks to some spaciously funky production by Charles Stepney! Stepney plays keyboards here along with Ramsey, and the twin-keys approach makes for a sound that's extra-special – one that sums up all the earlier soulful creativity of both artists in their late 60s Cadet Records years, and hones it down to an even sweeter groove for the 70s! A number of tracks have some sort of vocal component, but usually in a chorus mode that soon drops out when the keyboards hit home – and the record features a few great short "interlude" tracks that are almost as great as the longer numbers! Titles include the classic "Juaacklyn", a cover of Earth Wind & Fire's "That's The Way Of The World", and the tracks "I Dig You", "Fish Bite", "Don't It Feel Good", "Something About You", and "Can't Function". Salongo is a tremendous little record, and one of the funky 70s sets that Ramsey Lewis recorded with Earth Wind & Fire! Well, not Earth Wind & Fire entirely – but the Kalimba Productions team of Maurice White and Charles Stepney that gave the group its sound – plus a nice sprinkling of other players that were often associated with sessions by the group! Ramsey's own combo here includes Steve Cobb on drums and vocals, and Derf Reklaw on reeds and vocals as well – and the overall sound has bits of African and Brazilian influences, worked into a soulful fusion groove that sounds a lot like the instrumental backings EWF were using at the time. Titles include "Brazilica", "Slick", "Rubato", "Salongo", and "Seventh Fold". Tequila Mockingbird is an overlooked gem from the Columbia Records years, filled with loads of great grooves, and some pretty mighty keyboards! Part of the record has Ramsey working with Larry Dunn of Kalimba Productions – getting plenty of the Earth Wind & Fire groove that made so much of his Columbia sessions sparkle – while the rest of the set has the great Bert DeCoteaux handling things, and giving Lewis just the right mix of sophistication and soul he was using with other Columbia acts at the time. The album's a perfect example of the way that Ramsey stepped way ahead of the pack during this time in his career – using keyboards and grooves together in ways that so many artists today are still trying to match – but never hit it this right! Titles include "Camino El Bueno", "Caring For You", "Intimacy", "That Ole Bach Music", "Skippin", "Tequila Mockingbird", and "Wandering Rose" – that cool cut by Neal Creque! Love Notes is a great little album of mid 70s funk from Ramsey Lewis – very much in the mode of his Earth, Wind, & Fire related work – no surprise, since the album's dedicated to Charles Stepney, whose influence was such a key part of the sound of the group, and of some of Ramsey's other Kalimba-produced albums from a few years before! Ramsey plays Fender Rhodes, mini moog, and Arp – and he gets help on keyboards from Stevie Wonder and Derf Reklaw, who also plays saxes and percussion on the set. Features versions of Wonder's "Love Notes" and "Spring High", plus Reklaw's "Chili Today Hot Tamale", "Shining", and "Stash Dash". CD

Sweet electric magic from Ramsey Lewis – four 70s albums in a single collection! First up is Don't It Feel Good – massive keyboard work from the great Ramsey Lewis – easily one of his best records ever, thanks to some spaciously funky production by Charles Stepney! Stepney plays keyboards here along with Ramsey, and the twin-keys approach makes for a sound that's extra-special – one that sums up all the earlier soulful creativity of both artists in their late 60s Cadet Records years, and hones it down to an even sweeter groove for the 70s! A number of tracks have some sort of vocal component, but usually in a chorus mode that soon drops out when the keyboards hit home – and the record features a few great short "interlude" tracks that are almost as great as the longer numbers! Titles include the classic "Juaacklyn", a cover of Earth Wind & Fire's "That's The Way Of The World", and the tracks "I Dig You", "Fish Bite", "Don't It Feel Good", "Something About You", and "Can't Function". Salongo is a tremendous little record, and one of the funky 70s sets that Ramsey Lewis recorded with Earth Wind & Fire! Well, not Earth Wind & Fire entirely – but the Kalimba Productions team of Maurice White and Charles Stepney that gave the group its sound – plus a nice sprinkling of other players that were often associated with sessions by the group! Ramsey's own combo here includes Steve Cobb on drums and vocals, and Derf Reklaw on reeds and vocals as well – and the overall sound has bits of African and Brazilian influences, worked into a soulful fusion groove that sounds a lot like the instrumental backings EWF were using at the time. Titles include "Brazilica", "Slick", "Rubato", "Salongo", and "Seventh Fold". Tequila Mockingbird is an overlooked gem from the Columbia Records years, filled with loads of great grooves, and some pretty mighty keyboards! Part of the record has Ramsey working with Larry Dunn of Kalimba Productions – getting plenty of the Earth Wind & Fire groove that made so much of his Columbia sessions sparkle – while the rest of the set has the great Bert DeCoteaux handling things, and giving Lewis just the right mix of sophistication and soul he was using with other Columbia acts at the time. The album's a perfect example of the way that Ramsey stepped way ahead of the pack during this time in his career – using keyboards and grooves together in ways that so many artists today are still trying to match – but never hit it this right! Titles include "Camino El Bueno", "Caring For You", "Intimacy", "That Ole Bach Music", "Skippin", "Tequila Mockingbird", and "Wandering Rose" – that cool cut by Neal Creque! Love Notes is a great little album of mid 70s funk from Ramsey Lewis – very much in the mode of his Earth, Wind, & Fire related work – no surprise, since the album's dedicated to Charles Stepney, whose influence was such a key part of the sound of the group, and of some of Ramsey's other Kalimba-produced albums from a few years before! Ramsey plays Fender Rhodes, mini moog, and Arp – and he gets help on keyboards from Stevie Wonder and Derf Reklaw, who also plays saxes and percussion on the set. Features versions of Wonder's "Love Notes" and "Spring High", plus Reklaw's "Chili Today Hot Tamale", "Shining", and "Stash Dash". CD

A great little album of mid 70s funk from Ramsey Lewis – very much in the mode of his Earth, Wind, & Fire related work – no surprise, since the album's dedicated to Charles Stepney, whose influence was such a key part of the sound of the group, and of some of Ramsey's other Kalimba-produced albums from a few years before! Ramsey plays Fender Rhodes, mini moog, and Arp – and he gets help on keyboards from Stevie Wonder and Derf Reklaw, who also plays saxes and percussion on the set. Features versions of Wonder's "Love Notes" and "Spring High", plus Reklaw's "Chili Today Hot Tamale", "Shining", and "Stash Dash". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Julie London's wildest albums – and one of her sexiest too! The record has Julie running through the calendar – singing a song a month, dedicated to January, February, March, and so on – a really great concept for a record like this, in ways that set the album apart from some of London's other classics of the time! The record's certainly one of her campier efforts – but in a great way – and it's further augmented by a great cover that has pinup images of Julie in a setting specific to each month – a cheesecake spectacular that's almost worth the price of admission alone. Titles include "June In January", "February Brings The Rain", "Melancholy March", "Memphis In June", and "Time For August". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderfully dark harmonies from The Mamas & The Papas – one of those amazing late 60s albums from the group that was pop on the outside, but something very else underneath – a wonderful blend of modes that was hardly duplicated this well again! There's a slightly spooky feel to some of the music – even their leadoff cover of "Dedicated To The One I Love", which has an eerie quality that's way different than any previous readings – possibly a hint of the trouble between the group members – although maybe that's reading too much into it! Whatever the case, though – there's a special magic here that goes way beyond any understanding of the group you may have from oldies radio, and the set features some great original compositions by the young John Phillips too. Titles include "Creeque Alley", "Boys & Girls Together", "Look Through My Window", "Sing For Your Supper", "Free Advice", "Did You Ever Want To Cry", and "String Man". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little album from Teena Marie – one that's dedicated to the late Minnie Riperton (who'd passed during the previous year), and which is produced by Riperton's husband/collaborator Richard Rudolph. Teena's got more than a few of Minnie's tricks up her sleeve on the best cuts, singing in a smooth sweet soulful style that makes for some of her best vocals on record at the time. Lovely, soulful work from Teena – one of her best! Titles include "Behind The Groove", "Aladdin's Lamp", "Now That I Have You", "Can It Be Love", "Too Many Colors", and "Young Girl In Love". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most striking projects we've heard from Ken Vandermark in years – work with a younger group with a sound that seems equally balanced between free jazz, post-punk, and no wave energy – heard here on a set of live material, and a full session recorded in the studio! The quintet features two guitarists – Andrew Clinkman and Steve Marquette, one in each channel of the recording – alongside Macie Stewart on keyboards and violin, Phil Sudderberg on drums, and Ken Vandermark on reeds – all playing together at a level that bristles with the combination of electric and acoustic energy. The studio material is as intense as the live set – and as usual with Vandermark, there's some really surprising influences going into the songs – the live set is dedicated to Elza Soares, the studio one to Robert Bresson. Titles include "Key For 23", "Alphaville #2", "Trance", "L'Argent", "Roulette", "Two Or Three", "Baal", and "Porto". CD

A record of pure genius – and one of the greatest albums ever to come out of the British jazz rock scene! Matching Mole was a bit of a supergroup at the time – one that featured the piano, drums, and voice of Robert Wyatt next to the guitar of Phil Miller – topped off by additional piano, organ, and electric piano – in a wonderfully spacey, wonderfully mellow style that's never been matched again! If you dig the quieter, gentler side of Wyatt's work – or some of Miller's most intimate recordings on Virgin – you'll totally flip over the album – but even that's not giving it it's full due, because the sound is totally unique. Wyatt's vocals are wonderfully personal, and almost heartbreaking at times – handled with a fragility that few others of his generation had the courage to match! Titles include "Part Of The Dance", "Signed Curtain", "O Caroline", "Instant Kitten", "Beer As In Braindeer", and "Dedicated To Hugh But You Weren't Listening". LP, Vinyl record album

The most cosmically expansive and exciting work yet from composer/coronet player Rob Mazurek's Exploding Star Orchestra – dedicated to Amiri Baraka, and infused with the righteous, poetic spirit of Baraka's work with Sun Ra! The Exploding Star players include some Chicago underground heroes and heroines of longstanding brilliance, including flautist Nicole Mitchell, guitarist Jeff Parker, drummers John Herndon and Chad Taylor, bassist Matthew Lux, and Damon Locks on electronics and with some subtly righteous spoken word – along with Mazurek's Sao Paolo Underground cohorts Mauricio Takara and Guilherme Grandando, and last but not least, pianist Angelica Sanchez – all of whom have ample space to shine. Galactic Parables Vol 1 is a 2 disc set, one featuring the compositions as performed in Sardinia, and a second CD of their performances at the Chicago Cultural Center, which is a smart approach, given the improvisational nature of the material. There's plenty of space for the players to explore, and the differing performances are no doubt colored and shaded in different ways by different environments. Amazing stuff! Titles include "Free Agents Of Sound", "Make Way To The City", "The Arc Of Slavery #72", "Helmets Of Our Poisonous Thoughts #16", "Collections Of Time" and "Awaken The World #41". CD

A great Latin groove from the mighty Les McCann – a smoking set that adds in extra percussion from Willie Correa – who gives the record a sound that's quite a change from the usual McCann groove! The percussion is wonderful throughout – and given that the great Paul Humphrey is already playing drums in the trio, the whole thing's got a rhythmic zest that never lets up – way different than just the usual "with conga" style you'd hear on a Prestige Records piano trio record – and instead a groove that's definitely dedicated to the boldest Latin piano modes of the time! The track list includes a lot of originals, such as "McCanna", "Zulu", "Bastuto Baby", "Shaam-Pu II", and "Narobi Nights" – plus versions of "Que Rico" and "It Had Better Be Tonight". LP, Vinyl record album

Great stuff from Gary – one of his more obscure albums, and a record dedicated to the signs of the Zodiac! The tracks are a mixture of Gary's usual easy jazz approach – with vibes, whistling, and bossa-style rhythms showing up a lot – plus a few more driving numbers that are more like his arranged work for other players, and which even include some nicely funky tunes! A real gem – lost amidst most of his catalog – possibly because the marketplace wasn't ready for such zodiacary! Titles include "Sad Eyes", "Long Live The King", "Close Your Eyes & Follow Me", "Can't Help Dancing", "Runaway Heart", "Thanks But No Thanks", and "Days Dipped In Dreams". LP, Vinyl record album

The title really gets things right here – as Joe McPhee is in some of his most sonic territory – really working sometimes at a level that's way beyond music, yet still managing to bring a strong sense of soul to the set too! The album begins with "Episode One", dedicated to Don Cherry – and really featuring some incredible pocket trumpet work from McPhee – blown at a level that's very subtle in shape and texture, but which gains power as the track moves on. "Episode Two" is dedicated to Ornette Coleman, and features much more dynamic alto sax – handled at a level that's more tenor-like than Coleman ever would have done – with a free-flowing vibe that's really wonderful! CD

A pretty powerful record – as you might imagine from a set dedicated to both John Coltrane and James Baldwin – both inspirations that Joe McPhee seems to channel, but in a very personal way! The 2020s seem to be a time when McPhee's got this whole new level of power and presence – and that's definitely the case here, as his horn has this sense of urgency that almost blows away work from just a few years before – and which is matched at times by a spoken presence that has an equal sense of righteous authority. Bassist John Edwards is a key part of the sound – especially as the pair are just performing as a duo – but it's the intensity of McPhee that really sends the whole thing over the top! Titles include "Whispers Of Naima", "Tell Me How Long Has Trane Been Gone", "A Sojourner's Truth", and "The Oneliest Monk". CD

A really cool look at a label that was maybe one of the hippest things the Beatles ever did – the short-lived Zapple imprint – which was part of their main Apple label, but dedicated to more experimental work from a variety of musicians and writers! The imprint is perhaps best remembered as the home of more avant recordings by John & Yoko, and by George Harrison – but it also presented material by Allen Ginsberg, Charles Bukowski, Charles Olson, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and other key underground figures – a legacy that would have been enormous, had it continued. The book is put together by Zapple label manager Barry Miles – and includes loads of photos and images too – studio shots, ads, and a lot more elements that help bring this lost label to life once again! 272 pages, hardcover, with some black and white images. Book

A wonderfully weird little record – one that brings together an assortment of rare tracks recorded by French underground hero Miquela – a female artist who was dedicated to only working in the Occitan variation of her language! The approach here is almost timeless – hardly the punk that you'd expect from the time, although Miquela clearly has some of the DIY energy of the period – and often more acoustic, in a mix of jazz and folk styles – almost as if you'd find if Saravah Records had recorded this material a few years before – with really dynamic vocal leads from Miquela, and backing from a shifting array of female singers who make up Lei Chapacans over the course of the tracks on the record. There's a breezy brilliance to the whole thing – an understated sophistication that's similar to some of our favorite French work of the 70s – on titles that include "Dizo Rural", "La Pub", "Airplane", "Leberon", "Me Demandes Pas", "Siau Pas Poeta", "Au Jardin", and the tune "Basta" – which is a wonderful reworking of the John Coltrane song "Naima". LP, Vinyl record album

A great set of samba soul tracks – new, but with a classic feel, and dedicated to soul legend Tim Maia! The record's led by singer/percussionist Dom Mita – and features work by members of Banda Black Rio, Os Devaneios, and others. The production's a bit modern – but the record's got the same jazzy approach to soul that you'll find in later work by Band Black Rio or some of the other Brazilian funk groups of their generation, touched with some of the later modern soul of Tim Maia's work at the end of the 70s. Titles include "O Som Do Tim", "Menina Do Corao", "Que Sorte A Minha", "Libra", "Te Amo Demais", "Rio Sem Voce", and "No Pique Do Amor". CD

The title's an apt one, as Roscoe Mitchell's working here in a rich flowing style – stepping off of a series of performances dedicated to the music of John Coltrane, but taking Coltrane's inspiration into an area of sound and space that's distinctly Mitchell-like! The title composition – "The Flow Of Things" – is presented in three variations, each slightly different, but all elliptically shaped, with an interweaving play of improvisation that's wonderful. The set's completed by the sparer "Cards For Quartet" – and the recording features Mitchell on alto and soprano sax, in a quartet with Jodie Christian on piano, Malachi Favors on bass, and Steve McCall on drums. CD