A classic soundtrack from Indian film composer Rahul Dev Burman – and one that reminds us just how important the voice was to the format over the years! Unlike some Bollywood soundtracks, which have long upbeat songs that are driving the dance numbers in the film – this score has a fair bit of mellower tracks, which really seem to bring out the best of the famous singers in the music – a lineup that includes Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Mohammad Rafi, and Kishore Kumar. Titles include "Dil Sajan Jalta Hai", "Pvar Hai Ik Nishan Qadmon Ka (part 1)", "Dance Music", "Lalla Lalla Lori Doodh Ki Katori", and "Suhani Chandni Raten". CD

A heck of a collection – and one that really gets at the amazing array of free-thinking jazz that was brewing up on the European scene during the 70s! The set brings together over eight hours of music recorded during two years of this legendary festival – and each new disc has some great surprises along the way! There's some possibly more familiar material here – such as long improvisations that include a solo piano performance by Joachim Kuhn, two by a Mal Waldron trio with Jimmy Woode on bass and Allen Blairman on drums, one by a trio headed by pianist Yosuke Yamashita and with Akira Sakata on alto, two more by the duo of Peter Brotzmann on tenor and Han Bennink on drums, and a final two long improvisations by a great Archie Shepp gruop with Richard Greenlee on trombone, Dave Burell on piano, Cameron Brown on bass, and Beaver Harris on drums! Yet that's only the tip of the iceberg – as there's a full CD of music by a group led by Hugo Heredia on saxes and flute – with Horace Parlan on piano, Dodo Goys on bass, Tullio D'Piscopo on drums, and Mandrake Ivanir Do Nascimento on percussion. And there's another CD that features an hour-long improvisation by a version of the Willem Breuker Kollektief with Leo Cuypers on piano, Maarten Van Norden on tenor, Boy Raaymakers on trumpet, and Bernhard Hunnekink and Willem Van Manen on trombones. There's also a very long track by a cool quartet headed by Polish alto giant Zbigniew Namyslowski – and one more by the French Machi Oul Big Band. There's also tracks by Riot, with Uli Beckerhoff on trumpet; Grumpff with Michael Schlaper on tenor and soprano, and Ekkehard Jost on baritone; Mumps with Albert Mangelsdorff on trombone and John Surman on tenor; and the Eddie Prevost Quartet with Geoff Hawkins on tenor and Gerry Gold on trumpet. And last but not least are two long trcks by the Czech group Celula Jazz Crew – with Laco Deczi on trumpet, Karel Ruzicka on electric piano, and Svatopluc Kosvanec on trombone. Phew – that's a lot of music, and the whole thing comes in a very cool 10" box set, complete with a booklet of notes, too! CD

Mighty nice grooves from a series that might be better named as "Prog Rock Underground" – as most of the work here is from the 70s, and most from those great years of the German scene where it also seemed like there was plenty of jazz in the music as well! A few of these cuts are downright funk, and all are filled with great instrumentation – in an approach that's a nice change from some of the more familiar Brit prog modes of the same generation. Vocals are often an afterthought to the impeccable instrumentation – and titles include "My Dear Groovin" by Sunbirds, "Thoughts" by Exponent, "Space Guerilla" by Missus Beastly, "Kollektivtat" by Gila, "Kassiopeia" by Reaktor 4, "Tiflis" by Embryo, "Teppich" by Panko, and "Mankind Where Do You Go To" by Virus. CD

Nicely dark-tinged sound from clarinetist Sylvain Kassap – always a musician who gives us amazing sounds from his instrument, but who may be at his most compelling here – in a fantastic group that features Sophia Domonich on piano and Fender Rhodes, Christiane Bopp on trombone, Aymeric Avie on trumpet, Fabien Duscombs on drums, and Helene Labarriere on some mighty nice bass! The tunes all have a sense of structure composed by Kassap, but are filled with moments of free play – never too noisy, but also nicely far from standard musical notes – little sonic bouquets that flower beautifully throughout the set. Titles include "Criniere", "Canturbury", "La Semaine Sanglante/The Loop Is Looped", "DMZ", and "Oktiabr". CD

A funky 70s classic from Freedom – a group who've got a vibe like some of the best groups on the De-Lite label up north during the 70s, but who issued this overlooked gem on the mostly-southern soul label Malaco Records! The vibe here is a lot more New York than Jackson, Mississippi – and the group have a great way of mixing these sharply funky numbers with some smoother mellow cuts that not only round out the record wonderfully, but also demonstrate that these guys were way more than just another funky 45 combo! Titles include their old school funky classics "Dance Sing Along" and "Get Up And Dance" – plus the great mellow numbers "Summer Memory" and "Wake Up Your Mind" – and the tracks "Farther Than Imagination", "Know You Better", and "You've Just Got To Be The One". CD features bonus tracks – 12" mixes of "Get Up & Dance" and "Dance Sing Along" – plus "Whodat", "At The Party", "The Funktionary", "All For You", and "Come On & Dance". CD