LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous album from The Beau Brummels – one of the lesser-remembered groups from the late 60s Warner hipster heyday! At some level, the group's a folk-rock outfit – with the left-of-center feel of some of Fred Neil's best work for Capitol, and a similar blend of east coast honesty and west coast mind expansion. The format here is remarkably simple, but handled with some nice touches by producer Lenny Waronker, who really brings a lot more out of the band than on their earlier indie recordings. Titles include "Are You Happy", "The Wolf Of Velvet Fortune", "The Keeper Of Time", "Only Dreaming Now", "Magic Hollow", "Painter Of Women", and "Triangle". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly the best album to feature the talents of Chico Hamilton and Eric Dolphy – a set recorded at a time when Dolphy was an up-and-coming player on the west coast scene! Although Chico Hamilton had recorded with unusual reed players before, Dolphy brings a depth of soul and spirit to this album that's missing from a lot of Chico's earlier work at the time – a style that still holds onto some of the measured qualities of the Pacific Jazz work by the Hamilton group, yet which also opens up into some of the darker corners that Dolphy would explore more on his own recordings of the 60s. The group also features some great guitar by Dennis Budimir and cello by Nathan Gershman – but the real standout aspects of the set come from Dolphy's work on flute, alto, and bass clarinet. Titles include "Where I Live", "Passion Flower", "Tuesday At Two", "Nature by Emerson", "Far East", and "Good Grief, Dennis". LP, Vinyl record album

Superb work from Steely Dan – and a record that really shows them hitting perfection in the studio! The core sound of this one's jazzier than before – with some great help on instrumentation from Victor Feldman, Lanny Morgan, Bill Perkins, and other west coast jazzers – all helping the group sound great on some of the tightest tracks ever written by the team of Becker and Fagan! Ecstasy is definitely in reach with the sound of this set – a sublime effort all the way through that really set a whole new standard in 70s rock! Includes classics like "Bodhisattva", "Your Gold Teeth", "My Old School", and "Show Biz Kids". LP, Vinyl record album

Chet's only session for Columbia, arranged in conjunction with the Pacific Jazz label – which seems strange for some reason, because Baker hardly needed to move to a big label, given his success on the LA indie scene. Still, Richard Bock and the Pacific Jazz crew are firmly in place here – and despite the presence of added strings, players like Zoot Sims, Russ Freeman, and Bud Shank keep a nice west coast groove that fits well with Baker's breathy trumpet. Titles include "Love", "The Wind", "A Little Duet", and "Trickleydidlier". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic east coast duo hip hop from Greg Nice & Smooth Bee – one of the last great things to come out on the Fresh label! The self-titled Nice & Smooth album has some good-natured jams, some straight-faced, semi serious stuff, and even the odd hip hop ballad (what ever happened to that genre?) – and they pull it all off with ease. With "Early To Rise", "More & More Hits", "We Are No. 1", "Nice & Smooth" and "Funky For You","Dope On A Rope", "Sum Pimped Out", "Gold", "Hit Me", Ooh Child" and "Skill Trade." LP, Vinyl record album

An insane record – simply insane! Mel Torme wrote the California Suite as a tribute to his home state during the glorious postwar years of growth and boom – and it contains some of the weirdest songs he ever sung! At the base, the work is driven by the same west coast jazz arrangements by Marty Paich that you'll find on some of Mel's other Bethlehem albums – but the songs can be incredibly goofy, rhyming towns in CA with catchy words and phrases, pairing Marines in San Diego with wealthy old widows, and leveling San Francisco with one of the worst puns on "Golden Gate" that we've ever heard! Still, the album's an essential one if you're a fan of Mel Torme – not only because it's got some wonderful vocals in the best parts, but also because it's a true reflection of his deep commitment to pushing the boundaries of jazz music. Tracks include "West Coast Is The Best Coast", "They Go To San Diego", "LA", and "Poor Little Extra Girl". LP, Vinyl record album

West coast vocal group work from the Combo label – with tracks by The Paramounts, Native Boys, Echoes, Sharps, Debonaires, Savoys, Buddies & Carl Ell, and Nutones! LP, Vinyl record album

LP, Vinyl record album

It's the mid 70s, and the Ohio Players were certainly turning out a lot of gold! Their move to Mercury Records from the smaller indie Westbound was a real winning move – as it gave them a smoother soul feel that only expanded their groove, not restricted it! This tasty "best of" set features most of their top work from those years – with killer tunes that include "Love Rollercoaster", "Fire", "Skin Tight", "Who'd She Coo?", and the great "Sweet Sticky Thing"! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest jazz soundtracks of all time! Elmer Bernstein wrote the score to Otto Preminger's chilling film version of Nelson Algren's book The Man With The Golden Arm – a sad tale of jazz, gambling, and heroin addiction on the streets of Chicago (not far from Dusty Groove, in fact!) – and in doing so, he came up with one of the first jazz soundtracks to really work strongly with a dramatic narrative. The film's striking theme is played in a number of variations, either with orchestral backing, or in small combo format by Shorty Rogers & His Giants, a crack west coast group that features work by Bud Shank, Shelly Manne, Bob Cooper, and Pete Candoli. The tracks work perfectly together as a suite of tracks, even without the images of the film – telling a tale of temptation, sadness, tragedy, and rebirth. Titles include "Clark Street", "Breakup", "The Fix", "Zosh", "Frankie Machine", and "Audition". Worth the price for the Saul Bass cover alone! LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic stuff – a landmark in New Orleans soul, and a rare turning point for singer Aaron Neville! This one was cut before Aaron softened things up on the coast – working in the Par-Lo studios with George Davis on arrangements, in a style that's part sweet, part deep, and done in that strangely honest mode that you'll recognize instantly in the title hit "Tell It Like It Is" – but which goes way way deeper over the course of the whole album! All cuts are great – and titles include "She Took You For A Ride", "Why Worry", "A Hard Nut To Crack", "Love Love Love", "Space Man", and "Since You're Gone". LP, Vinyl record album

Furious, battle-tested early 90s mastery from Lord Finesse – with pitch perfect production by DJ Premier, Diamond D, Showbiz and Mike Smooth – an east coast golden age classic! Funky Technician is mysteriously slept on in too many discussions of the best hip hop of the era, but it's still way up there if you ask us. The backing is tight funky beatcraft from the above mention legendary producers and Finesse rocks the mic with long trails of busy rhymes. Greatness! Includes "Baby You Nasty", "Funky Technician", "Back To Back Rhyming", "Here I Come", "Slave To My Soundwave", "I Keep The Crowd Listening", "Bad Mutha", "Keep It Flowing", "Lesson To Be Taught", "Just A Little Something", "Strictly For The Ladies" and "Track The Movement". LP, Vinyl record album