A landmark of 70s Afro-styled jazz – and the first album by this famous underground collective! Oneness of Juju were a Washington DC-based group that grew out of the ashes of the Juju avant jazz ensemble – formed in the culturally rich African-American community of DC in the 70s, with spiritual and political aspirations that stretched far beyond the average funky combo. This first album is a masterful blend of percussion, jazz, and a slight bit of funk – alternating vocal tracks with harder-hitting jazz instrumentals, all held together under the leadership of sax player Plunky Nakabinde – a reedman whose work here alone is worth the price of admission – laid out nicely alongside some great percussion, Fender Rhodes, and wonderfully worm vocals on a few tracks. The album's one of the greatest independent soul jazz albums of the 70s – and it's filled with great tracks, such as the breakbeat classic "African Rhythms" and "Liberation Dues" – plus "Kazi", "Funky Wood", "Don't Give Up", "Poo Too", and "Incognito". CD

One of the best recordings we've heard in years from saxophonist Plunky Branch – and one of the few to really capture the glory of his 70s classics with Oneness Of Juju! Given the billing of this set, it's clear that the older soul jazz spirit of Oneness is very strong in the conception of the set – and the live performance features many classics from the group's 70s albums on Black Fire, played here with a good live energy and a strong sense of soul that's way way better than the smoother jazz Plunky has been putting down in recent studio sets. The lineup here is a small combo one – with Tanya Lazenby-Jackson on keyboards and vocals – working alongside Plunky's saxes, plus additional keyboards, bass, and lots of percussion. We'd even go so far as to say that the material here easily stands with the classic and all-too-small Oneness Of Juju catalog from the 70s – and the double-length 2CD set features 22 tracks that include "Up & Down", "Be About The Future", "Follow Me", "River Luvrite", "Space Jungle Luv", "Nia", "Sex Machine", "Kool/One World Music", "World Wide Party", and "Plastic (Is Easy To See Through)". CD

A fantastic look at the righteous current of energy that swept through American music at the end of the 60s – that huge wave of knowledge and political inspiration that still stands as one of our favorite moments in jazz and soul! The Civil Rights generation had gotten some things accomplished, but not everything – and a new wave of action arose in various scenes of the underground – not just pushing the musical formats past anything that had happened before, but also doing so with a strong message of pride and empowerment! This collection surveys some of the best tracks of that moment – and also provides a great batch of historical notes to put the whole thing in context – done in collaboration with the book of the same name, but equally great as a soundtrack and document on its own. The package is overflowing with Dusty Groove classics – and titles include "Sweet Songs" by Sarah Webster Fabio, "Surtal Ihklas" by Doug Carn, "Vibes From The Tribe" by Phil Ranelin, "Desert Fairy Princess" by Horace Tapscott & The Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, "Sounds From The Bush" by The Mandingo Griot Society with Don Cherry, "Is It Too Late" by Duke Edwards & The Young Ones, "Strong Men" by David McKnight, "Black Narcissus" by Joe Henderson, "Malcolm X" by Phil Cohran & The Artistic Heritage Ensemble, "Mother Of The Future" by Carlos Garnett, "Red Black & Green" by Roy Ayers, "African Rhythms" by Oneness Of Juju, and "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" by Gil Scott-Heron. CD

One of our favorite albums ever on the legendary Nimbus label – and the only set we've ever seen from pianist Linda Hill as a leader! The set's got the same open-ended, spiritually-expressive sound as Adele Sebastian's record for the label – and Sebastian's also a key part of the group, working here on vocal and flute, to give the album a richly righteous sound! The vocals are great, and often feature help from Jugeger Juan Grey – with more soul than usual for this sort of set, but still plenty of jazz elements too – with an offbeat quality that's almost like Oneness Of Juju – often used just to lead off a tune, before the solos come in strongly. Other musicians include Sabir Matteen on tenor, Roberto Miranda on bass, Everett Brown on drums, and Virjilio Figuera on percussion. Titles include "Lullaby For Linda", "Children", "Leland's Song", and "The Creator's Musician". CD

Spiritual sounds from reedman James Plunky Branch of Oneness Of JuJu fame! Songs include "Guide My Feet, Lord", "Just As I Am", "I Have Come Too Far", "Steal Away", "My Soul Has Been Anchored", and "Sweet Holy Spirit". CD