Incredible work from keyboardist George Duke – a killer collection of his earliest recordings for the MPS label – all of them great! Although Duke's probably best known for his smoother, more soul-based sides for Columbia, he got his biggest start on the MPS label in the early 70s – working out a groove that was part jazz, part fusion, part funk, and part cosmic soul – wrapped up in keyboards, and often served up with a righteously tripped-out edge! The collection is a completely essential look at this period – the first bold flowering of genius, at a level that would hardly be matched again. George plays plenty of Fender Rhodes, mini moog, and Arp on these sides – and most numbers feature small combo instrumentation, which really helps keep a nice sort of edge. Titles include "Feel", "Capricorn", "Au Right", "Funny Funk", "The Opening", "That's What She Said", "Uncle Remus", "North Beach", "Foosh", "Love", "Cobra Jobege", "Someday", "Feels So Good", and "Love Reborn". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic set that features the best recordings ever done by George Duke for MPS! The set's a 2LP package that compiles the sessions Solus and The Inner Source – both of which feature Duke in his purest form, at the height of his spacey keyboard powers, in settings that are neither too funky, too goofy, or too over the top. There's a lively mixture of jazzy playing, Latin riffing, and pure MPS modal grooving – and the record contains the material by Duke that always shows up on MPS comps, but which you can never actually find. Duke doesn't sing, and instead concentrates on leading the group and hitting some wonderful solos on the keys. Players include Armando Peraza on percussion, Luis Gasca on trumpet, and Jerome Richardson on reeds – and the vibe is warm, wonderful, and extremely soulful. If you've ever wondered why people consider George so great, this is the stuff to check out – as it's amazingly put together, with a sound that blows away most of his other albums. Titles include "Au-Right", "My Soul", "Manya", "Sweet Bite", "Always Constant", "Solus", "Nigerian Numberuma", "Feels So Good", and "Some Time Ago". Great stuff, and extremely difficult to find! LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully soulful session from percussionist Babatunde Lea – and a shining example of the warm spirits and cross-cultural experimentation going on in the Bay Area scene of the 70s! The record mixes 70s soul jazz with bits of funk, Latin jazz, and breezy west coast touches – making for an album that's got some of the earthy charm of work on labels like Strata East or Black Jazz, mixed with the tighter soulful production of some of George Duke's early 70s sides for MPS. The vibe is incredible – a beautiful mix of warm vocals, tight soloing, and message-oriented grooves – and the whole thing's great all the way through! Titles include "Thailand Stick", "Use Your Hands", "Merely A Suggestion", "Levels Of Consciousness", "Thang", and "Plea From The Soul". LP, Vinyl record album

Very groovy work from these two Brit sound library greats – loads of funky tunes, and great keyboards too – all served up in a massively funky record that was never issued to the public at large! Had this set hit the real record racks in 1974, it might well have challenged some of the greatest material from George Duke or Herbie Hancock – as the tunes are mostly funky, and feature lots of wonderful work on a wide variety of keyboards – sometimes getting all cool and wigged-out, even when the grooves are upbeat – a bit like Herbie in his Sextant years! Titles include "Hit Me Hit Me", "Big Black Cadillac", "Collision Course", "The Executive", "Hovercraft", "Mermaid", "Auto Glide", "Where The Action Is", and "Getting It Together". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's maybe a bit more searing than earlier records from Cameron Graves – more full-on fusion at times, although still with some of the spacier elements we liked from before – yet definitely driven at points with the kind of energy that recalls the George Duke/Stanley Clarke experiments of the 70s! The rhythms at the core are really on fire – drums from Mike Mitchell and bass from Max Gerl – and the guitar of Colin Cook often matches the bold lines of Graves on piano and keyboards. Kamasi Washington guests on two tracks, Graves sings on one other cut – and titles include "Red", "Super Universes", "Sons Of Creation", "The Life Carriers", "Sacred Spheres", "Master Spirits", and "Eternal Paradise". LP, Vinyl record album

Really creative work from the South African scene of the 70s – a jazz record, but one that was done at that moment when musicians on the scene were throwing so many other great elements into the mix as well – really moving past any conventions in standard jazz, to create some very memorable sounds of their own! There's currents of funk and blues in the music, and tracks are long and really stretch out with some relaxed interplay between the musicians, with plenty of room for solos – work from leader Pat Matshikiza on piano and keyboards, the great Kippie Moketsi on alto, Duke Makasi on tenor, George Tyefumani on trumpet, and Sandile Shange on guitar – on titles that include "Sikiza Matshikiza", "Dreams Are Wonderful", "Durban Blues", and "Datata". LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant album from Kaidi Tatham – deeper by far than anything we've ever heard from him, and way more than you might expect if you only know his singles from the London scene! This set's got a very strong jazz component – monstrous keyboard work from Kaidi that stretches and soars with the kind of sound you might expect from George Duke on MPS – coupled with some leaner, more rhythmic elements that show Tatham's strong ties to the London scene – yet still in ways that really break from its conventions! There's a warmth, depth, and spirituality to the record that's really amazing – the kind of new territory that others have found on the excellent Freedom School label – a place that offers a rare outlet for creative expression in times like these. The whole thing's instrumental, and Kaidi played all instruments himself – mixing acoustic percussion with beats, electric keyboards with piano, and coming across with a sound that's far richer than the sum of its core elements. Titles include "Simiya", "I'm High", "So Amazed", "Swift Inspiration", "In Search Of Hope (part 1)", "Do What You Gotta Do", "On A Vibe", "These Things Will Pass", and "He Laughs She Cries". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive bit of funk – and from 70s France, no less! These guys clearly come from a jazz-based background – and have absorbed some of the best electric influences of their time – working in a keyboard-heavy mode that's clearly inspired by Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul, and George Duke – yet also kicking up a groove that's a bit more down and dirty, and more in the instrumental funk mode overall. The sound of the set's incredible – really raw, riffy, and filled with plenty of snapping hard grooves – and the used of the keys is sublime throughout, changing mood from track to track, but always staying funky! Titles include "Penwick", "Marathonic", "Ergocentric", "La Moto Verite", "Psychocross", "Ring Modulator", "Plongee Synthetique", "Kayak", and "Cache Catch". LP, Vinyl record album

A monstrous bit of jazzy fusion from the 70s – and the record that really put drummer Billy Cobham on the map – virtually creating his own sort of space between jazz, funk, and prog – thanks to the help of an all star lineup too! Cobham is tremendous on drums – and is joined on most of the record by guitarist Tommy Bolin and keyboardist Jan Hammer – both at the height of their early powers – and a few other tracks feature a slightly different lineup, with great work from saxophonist Joe Farrell and trumpeter Jimmy Owens! The drummer is definitely in the space of the territory he would explore with George Duke – but is also maybe looser and more open to new sounds too – really stepping out on cuts that include the slow mellow funk number "Red Baron", which has great breaks and nice electric piano – plus "Stratus", "Taurian Matador", "To The Women In My Life", and "Quadrant 4". LP, Vinyl record album

A lost jazz-funk gem – originally recorded at Club Mozambique in Detroit in 1970, but not issued by Blue Note until the mid 90s! The set's right up there with Lonnie's classic Move Your Hand live set – as the tracks are long, free, and very funky, performed by a hip group that includes Joe Dukes on drums, Dave Hubbard on tenor, Ronnie Cuber on baritone, and George Benson on guitar. Lonnie's organ is harder than you'll ever hear it in later years – and tracks include "Scream", "Expressions", "I Can't Stand It", "Peace Of Mind", "Love Bowl", and "Play It Back". LP, Vinyl record album