The bottom is certainly "up" on this one – as the Three Sounds groove things from the ground up, taking soul jazz piano to the next level with an approach that quickly made them one of the most popular Blue Note acts of the early 60s! Gene Harris leads the group on piano – and also plays celeste on one track (!) – and the other Sounds at this point are Andrew Simpkins on bass and Bill Dowdy on drums – a really great rhythm section that have a way of being soulfully quiet, with a very subtle groove – one that's much more understated than you might find in the Ramsey Lewis trio, but equally hip. Tracks include "Jinne Lou", "Besame Mucho", "Love Walked In", "Angel Eyes", "Falling In Love With Love", and "Time After Time". CD

An expanded version of a really unique EP originally issued in the early 80s by Tomek Lamprecht – a set that uses a Fairlight synthesizer in all sorts of post-punk, art rock-styled ways – really creative, but catchy too – as Tomek takes on the new instrument and mixes it with more conventional work on funky bass and drums! There's a playfulness here that's right up there with some of the genre-stepping material of the New York downtown of the period – no regard for easy labels, and plenty of fun with new technology – but in a very down to earth way too. Titles on the original album include "Reminder", "Contract", "Talked", "Love Music", "Prelude", and "Jingle" – and this expanded edition includes the tracks "Kill", "Ok What", and "Things Will Come & Go". CD

An expanded version of a really unique EP originally issued in the early 80s by Tomek Lamprecht – a set that uses a Fairlight synthesizer in all sorts of post-punk, art rock-styled ways – really creative, but catchy too – as Tomek takes on the new instrument and mixes it with more conventional work on funky bass and drums! There's a playfulness here that's right up there with some of the genre-stepping material of the New York downtown of the period – no regard for easy labels, and plenty of fun with new technology – but in a very down to earth way too. Titles on the original album include "Reminder", "Contract", "Talked", "Love Music", "Prelude", and "Jingle" – and this expanded edition includes the tracks "Kill", "Ok What", and "Things Will Come & Go". LP, Vinyl record album

The first album from guitarist John Tropea – an ace 70s session musician, who played on countless records for other folks – and a surprisingly great leader and arranger in his own right too! Tropea's working here in a vibe that's clearly influenced by the CTI sound – smooth but funky fusion – laid down in prime studio conditions, but still nicely soulful throughout, and without any of the BS that crept into other overly-jamming or too-slick records from the time. Guitar's the lead solo instrument on the set, but the album has a lot of other strong work by players that Deodato, Steve Gadd, Rick Marotta, and Rubens Bassini – making for a very tight set that's stood up wonderfully through the years. Titles include "The Bratt", "Tambourine", "7th Heaven", "The Jingle", "Just Blue", "Muff", and "Dreams". LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal sounds from the Nigerian scene at the start of the 70s – music from the key figure of Celestine Ukwu, an artist who helped to reinvigorate the highlife style of years past, and pave the way for Afro Funk changes in years to come! Celestine's sound is nice and lean here – very rhythmic, with the guitar wrapped around the percussion and basslines in beautifully snakey action – while the vocals also have a quality that's maybe more personal than before – at points almost the raspy intimacy we love in some Brazilian singers! The package brings together work from three different albums from the early 70s – all long tracks that include "Tomorrow Is So Uncertain", "Onwunwa", "Ejina Uwa Nya Isi", "Ilo Abu Chi", and "Okwukuwe Na Ncheckwube". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful sound library set from the great Piero Umiliani – and a record that's filled with some of his coolest electronics ever! The feel of the record is very much in keeping with the image on the cover – kind of sci fi, but kind of playful too – a wonderful blend of keyboards and moogy bits, often played with a cool little groove – but one that's laidback enough to recall Umiliani's best soundtrack music! Tunes are relatively short – between one and four minutes in length – but really have a great sense of variety and imagination – at a level that goes way beyond some of the overdone repetition you might find in other albums of this nature. Really great all the way through – with cuts that include "Futuristic Jam", "Killer Robot", "Soft Key", "Bric Brac", "Soundmaker Blues", "Gadget", "Danza Galattica", and "Jingle No 1". CD

A wonderful sound library set from the great Piero Umiliani – and a record that's filled with some of his coolest electronics ever! The feel of the record is very much in keeping with the image on the cover – kind of sci fi, but kind of playful too – a wonderful blend of keyboards and moogy bits, often played with a cool little groove – but one that's laidback enough to recall Umiliani's best soundtrack music! Tunes are relatively short – between one and four minutes in length – but really have a great sense of variety and imagination – at a level that goes way beyond some of the overdone repetition you might find in other albums of this nature. Really great all the way through – with cuts that include "Futuristic Jam", "Killer Robot", "Soft Key", "Bric Brac", "Soundmaker Blues", "Gadget", "Danza Galattica", and "Jingle No 1". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Truly tremendous work from saxophonist Kamasi Washington – a set that may well even blow away his groundbreaking Epic album – given the scope of soul and spirit in the music! As with the previous project, this one's double-length, but maybe feels even more fitted to the mode – as Washington leads this incredible ensemble that unifies a jazz group, orchestra, and choir – all at a level that might even top some of Alice Coltrane's early 70s albums for Impulse! There's a richness in vision here right from the start – music that knows what it is, where it's going, and what it can accomplish – very personal, but also very welcoming too – just the right sort of spirit to help get the nation back on track! Washington blows tenor throughout – and gets great help from Cameron Graves on piano, Brandon Coleman on organ and keyboards, and Miles Mosley on bass – whose work alone really seems to drive the proceedings! Titles include "Can You Hear Him", "Fists Of Fury", "Will You Sing", "Journey", "Street Fighter Mas", "The Space Travelers Lullaby", "The Psalmnist", "One Of One", and "The Invincible Youth". Comes with a bonus CD called The Choice – with the Kamasi-composed "The Secret Of Jinsonson", "Agents Of Multiverse" and "My Family", plus covers of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Ooh Child" – it's another 38 minutes of music hidden in the center of the cover! CD

Brilliant work from a Long Island group who are really known for just one famous single, but who also managed to cut a few other tracks at the time – all brought together here to make a long-overdue album for the group! "Valley Of Death" is the group's sole single – a great garage reworking of the poem "The Charge Of The Light Brigade", taken into really sinister territory – issued under the name of The Whatever, although the group also existed as The Raincoats and The Lookouts, both of who are featured here – alongside two very cool car dealership songs the group cut for Wolfinger Dodge! Titles include "The Valley Of Death", "More Than Fair", "Conscience", "Stranger", "No More Do I Dream", "You're Mine", "Away From You", and "Talking Out Of Turn" – plus two cool "Wolfinger Dodge" jingles, with surprisingly profane announcements! LP, Vinyl record album

Not just a fantastic album from Ethiopia's legendary Asnakech Worku, but also a great setting for Hailu Mergia too – as he plays organ on the record, and produced the whole thing too! Worku sings and plays the krar – an Ethiopian harp, but one with a very raw sound – almost more metallic than melodic at times, and recorded with a lot of echo too – which seeps out to the vocals, and the eerie keyboard lines provided by Mergia – with only a small bit of drums for accompaniment! The echo really abstracts the vocals at times, and the whole thing has this amazing sound that's unlike anything else we can think of – including lots of 70s classics from the Ethiopian scene. Titles include "Tche Belew", "Awkew Beneber", "Jinyew", "Baynelay Yidal", "Sak Bleh Askegn", "Kand Yerega Deg New", and "Abyotegnaw Jegna". LP, Vinyl record album

Yo Yo's first LP with "Stompin' To Tha 90's", "You Can't Play With My Yo Yo" (featuring Ice Cube), and "IBWC National Anthem". The production credits say "Produced by Ice Cube and Sir Jinx... with the funky hip hop punch by Delvon, Tha Funkee Homosapien." CD

A really cool record by a very unique group – a set of singers from Guyana, working together in chorus formation – but with an approach that's nicely suited to the funkier modes of the instrumentation! The approach is a bit hard to describe – this isn't soul or jazz choral work, and the structure is often loose at points too – which means that there's almost a casual sense of collaboration as the vocals come together in all these really great ways – adding a heck of a lot of spirit to the percussion, guitar, and other elements that keep things nice and funky! Titles include "Ojinga's Own", "Stay Away", "Neighbor Jean", "Massacura Man", "Go Go", "Woman A Dead Ya Fuhn Man", "No Intention", "Ka Duma", and "I've Got To Be Somebody". LP, Vinyl record album

A great return for the legendary Tom Ze – an artist who'd been brought back to prominence via the efforts of a Luaka Bop compilation – then given this great chance to record for the label on his own! The set's a great return to form for Ze – who sprung from this moment into a renewed period of creative energy – really drawing on his crucial years of groundbreaking sounds in Brazil during the Tropicalia generation, and especially the 70s – when Tom had really moved off into a realm of his own. Most tracks are relatively short, and pretty enigmatic – a flurry of the sounds and verbal experiments that always made Ze so great! Titles include "Jingle Do Disco", "Cortina 3", "Amar", "Ogodo, Ano 2000", "Feira De Santana", "Fliperama", and "Tatuaramba". LP, Vinyl record album

A great side of the too-small Zombies catalog of the 60s – rare material recorded for BBC Radio – almost all of it with the same sort of great fidelity as their famous singles! The music here spans the years 1964 to 1968 – starting with some early material with a grittier edge, and featuring a surprising handful of soul music covers, too – including tracks by Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, and Bo Diddley – in addition to the group's own originals. Covers include "This Old Heart Of Mine", "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever", "Just A Little Bit", "Soulville", "It's All Right", and "For You My Love" – next to Zombies originals "She's Not There", "What More Can I Do", "Friends Of Mine", "Whenever You're Ready", and "Just Out Of Reach". Also includes some cool other bits – including "Kenny Everett Interview & Jingle", plus "Colin Talks About The Continent", "The Zombies Find America", and "Different Instruments" – all interview passages. LP, Vinyl record album

About as archetypal as you can get for a Christmas collection – but isn't that what the holiday's all about? The album's filled with classics from years back – including "Rockin Around The Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee, "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms, "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" by Spike Jones, "Do You Hear What I Hear" by Bing Crosby, "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" by Gene Autry, and "Santa Baby" by Eartha Kitt. LP, Vinyl record album

A host of raw rockers that were originally served up as 7" singles – all blasting out together with a tremendous amount of power – as if you're enjoying a night with choice cuts all stacked up in the jukebox pictured on the cover! The set's way more than any sort of oldies collection – as the music here is heavy on guitars, and effortlessly moves between blasts of fuzz and cleaner lines – sometimes instrumental, sometimes vocal – all with a sense of urgency that's delivered in the short space of the few minutes that would fit on a vintage 45! Richard Hawley curated the set, but even if you're not hip to his name, you'll find plenty here to dig if you love rare cuts of this sort – and as usual, Ace did a superb job with the presentation, sound quality, and notes! Titles include "Neb's Tune" by Ahab & The Wailers, "Cuttin Out" by The Pirages, "Feels Like A Woman" by The Troggs, "Buzzzzz" by Jimmy Cordon, "Bawana Jinde" by Al Duncan, "Dead End (part 1)" by The Executioners, "Where You Gonna Go" by Art Guy, "Long Line Rider" by Bobby Darin, "It's Nothing To Me" by Sanford Clark, "Jungle Walk" by The Dyna Sores, "Nasty" by The Timekeepers, "Quasimoto" by The Road Runners, "Swinging Drums" by Ronny Kae, and "Honky" by The Ho-Dads. CD

A host of raw rockers that were originally served up as 7" singles – all blasting out together with a tremendous amount of power – as if you're enjoying a night with choice cuts all stacked up in the jukebox pictured on the cover! The set's way more than any sort of oldies collection – as the music here is heavy on guitars, and effortlessly moves between blasts of fuzz and cleaner lines – sometimes instrumental, sometimes vocal – all with a sense of urgency that's delivered in the short space of the few minutes that would fit on a vintage 45! Richard Hawley curated the set, but even if you're not hip to his name, you'll find plenty here to dig if you love rare cuts of this sort – and as usual, Ace did a superb job with the presentation, sound quality, and notes! Titles include "Neb's Tune" by Ahab & The Wailers, "Cuttin Out" by The Pirages, "Feels Like A Woman" by The Troggs, "Buzzzzz" by Jimmy Cordon, "Bawana Jinde" by Al Duncan, "Dead End (part 1)" by The Executioners, "Where You Gonna Go" by Art Guy, "Long Line Rider" by Bobby Darin, "It's Nothing To Me" by Sanford Clark, "Jungle Walk" by The Dyna Sores, "Nasty" by The Timekeepers, "Quasimoto" by The Road Runners, "Swinging Drums" by Ronny Kae, and "Honky" by The Ho-Dads. LP, Vinyl record album

Classic Christmas cuts from a range of female singers – some jazzy, some a bit more pop – almost all recording these sweet little gems in the postwar years, during a huge boom of Holiday music in the US! Titles include "Snowbound" by Sarah Vaughan, "The Christmas Song" by Peggy Lee, "Winter Wonderland" by The Andrews Sisters, "I'd Like You For Christmas" by Julie London, "Santa Baby" by Eartha Kitt, "The Tree" by Peggy Lee, "Jingle Bells" by Dinah Shore, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" by Judy Garland, "The Man With The Bag" by Kay Starr, "Frosty The Snowman" by Ella Fitzgerald, and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Patti Page. LP, Vinyl record album

A set issued relatively early in the history of rap music – yet one that's still maybe one of the greatest-ever Christmas collection of hip hop tracks for the season! The album's from the glory days of Profile Records – from a time when the label was repping the New York scene strongly in the mainstream – thanks to the success of Run DMC, which let the label bring together some other top shelf-talent from the time! The set list here features some less-remembered acts, but all in top-shelf Holiday work – and titles include the classic "Christmas In Hollis" by Run DMC, which uses that perfect Clarence Carter "Back Door Santa" sample behind slice-of-life yet knowingly funny Run-DMC rhymes in their prime – plus other cuts that include Let The Jingle Bells Rock" by Sweet Tee, "Christmas In The City" by King Sun-D Moet, "Chillin With Santa" by Derek B, "He's Santa Claus" by Disco 4, That's What I Want For Christmas" by The Showboys, "Ghetto Santa" by Spyder-D, and "Dana Dan Is Coming To Town" by Dana Dane. The only clunker here might by "A Surf MC New Year" by Surf MCs – but that cut's the last, so you can easily pick up the needle before it starts! LP, Vinyl record album