Heavy funk and mod grooves – the fab second installment in the Soul Shaker series, and even better than the first! Nick the Record has really sharpened his ear for a tune with this one – and has picked out some of the best bits from recent years of the funk and mod instrumental revival scenes – a great assortment of tunes from around the globe, showing a world that's wonderfully united through straight-grooving use of Hammond organ, soulful sax, electric guitar, and funky drums! CD features 17 tracks in all – including "Coming Back" by Smoov with Jess Roberts, "Gogo Sitar" by Kahuna Kawentzmann, "I Can't Believe What You Say" by Slow Slushy Boys, "Don't Joke With A Hungry Man" by Quantic with Spanky Wilson, "Sweet Little Apples" by Link Quartet, "If You Reap" by Boogaloo Investigators, "Just Dropped In" by Sharon Jones, "Kelvin Stardust" by Big Boss Man, and "Your Pleasure Is Our Pleasure by Voodoo Trombone Quartet. CD

A really unique chapter in the career of Ornette Coleman – an album that he produced by himself in 1962, away from any other label – as an effort to showcase the newly freer sounds of his music! The recording's the first in a really groundbreaking stretch for the 60s – and it was fortunately finally issued by ESP Records a few years after the recording – providing a nice link between Coleman's earlier experiments and the sound of the younger generation usually showcased by the label. The group's a trio, with a sound that's quite different than the more rhythmic modes of Coleman on Atlantic Records – a freer, less structured lineup that features percussion from Charles Moffett and bass from David Izenzon. One track also adds in a string quartet – making the record one of Coleman's first experiments with this format – and titles include a 23 minute recording of "The Ark", plus "Doughnut", "Sadness", and "Dedication To Poets and Writers". CD

Guitar genius Grant Green is definitely feelin the spirit here – as he mixes his lean 60s style with a host of traditional numbers from the spiritual canon – at a level that provided a whole new sense of soul at the time! There was plenty of music influenced by gospel during the decade – but here, Green makes the link a lot more explicit – taking traditional themes and turning them into jazz instrumentals – with the help of a lean quartet that features Herbie Hancock on piano, Butch Warren on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – all working with a feel that's a lot more like the Grant Green/Sonny Clark material than some of Grant's more organ or tenor-assisted albums! Garvin Masseaux provides a bit of extra percussion on tambourine – and titles include "Go Down Moses", "Just A Closer Walk With Thee", "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child", and "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen". CD

Two organ/sax cookers back to back – both featuring Don Patterson and Sonny Stitt! First up is the wonderful album Brothers 4 – a mighty pairing of organist Patterson and saxman Stitt – one of Don's grooviest late 60s outings, thanks to an excellent sound from all players involved! Stitt plays Varitone sax on the date, which gives his horn a cool electric feel that really sounds wonderful next to Don's work on Hammond – and Grant Green's also in the group, serving up some great single-line solos that are almost more in his early 60s style than his Blue Note work from this same period. The group's rounded out by Don's regular drummer Billy James – a wonderful player with a great ear for unusual rhythms! Tracks are nice and long – and titles include "Walk On By", "Creepin Home", and "Brothers 4". Donny Brook is a massively funky new groove from organist Don Patterson – done with a sound that's a great link between his early soul jazz years and the funkier Prestige sound to come! The group here is a rock-solid quartet – Sonny Stitt on Varitone tenor, plus a bit of alto sax – as well as Grant Green on guitar and Billy James on drums. The rhythms are great – often with a slight undercurrent of funk in the mix – and Grant lets loose beautifully on his guitar with that soaring, skipping sort of groove he picked up nicely near the end of the 60s. Patterson's Hammond is sgreat as always, and all tracks are nice and long – with plenty of solo room for everyone! Titles include "Mud Turtle", "Good Bait", "St Thomas", "Starry Night", and "Donny Brook". CD

Soulfully-blown tenor from Bennie Wallace – a record that really brings out the deepest, most heartfelt tones of his work on saxophone – yet also lets Bennie stretch out into somewhat free, unstructured territory too! The approach is one that Wallace forged right from the start of his career – a balance between a modern conception and an older sense of swing – one that seems to link together many traditions of tenor work in a single tune! The piano-less quartet has a great sound – with guitar from Jerry Hahn, bass from Bill Huntington, and drums from the mighty Alvin Queen – on titles that include "Thangs", "I Concentrate On You", "It Has Happened To Me", "The Picayune", and "Blues Velvet". CD

Guitar genius Grant Green is definitely feelin the spirit here – as he mixes his lean 60s style with a host of traditional numbers from the spiritual canon – at a level that provided a whole new sense of soul at the time! There was plenty of music influenced by gospel during the decade – but here, Green makes the link a lot more explicit – taking traditional themes and turning them into jazz instrumentals – with the help of a lean quartet that features Herbie Hancock on piano, Butch Warren on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – all working with a feel that's a lot more like the Grant Green/Sonny Clark material than some of Grant's more organ or tenor-assisted albums! Garvin Masseaux provides a bit of extra percussion on tambourine – and titles include "Go Down Moses", "Just A Closer Walk With Thee", "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child", and "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen". CD

A quartet of live performances from Sun Ra – all recorded within the span of a single week in 1983 – at a time when the Arkestra was clearly covering a fair bit of territory in Europe! As you might guess from the title, the concerts here were recorded in Milan, Zurich, West Berlin, and Paris – all during the last week of October and first day of November – in a whirlwind series of sets that also included Montreux material that ended up on the Hiroshima album (not included in this package.) Ra's at the start of his key 80s growth here – able to open up to new audiences in a range of styles, from freely experimental to more traditionally jazzy – all in ways that link together many traditions in a single set, and show that his talents were rooted in a deep tradition of musical expression. The 5CD set features a huge amount of material – and apart from Ra on piano and keyboards, other "all star" players include Lester Bowie and Don Cherry on trumpets, John Gilmore on tenor, Archie Shepp on tenor and soprano sax, Marshall Allen on alto and flute, Richard Davis on bass, Philly Joe Jones on drums, and Don Moye on percussion. CD

One of our favorite Dexter Gordon sessions for Blue Note – and a unique album that's one of the first to illustrate his growing role in the European jazz scene! The group's a quartet – which let's Dex stand out front with plenty of space for marvelous tenor work – and it features Parisian bassist Pierre Michelot, plus Americans Bud Powell on piano and Kenny Clarke on drums – two players who were already making a bit name for themselves overseas. The album's a perfect link between Gordon's earlier American work and his long string of European sessions to come – and titles include a great take of "Scrapple from the Apple", plus excellent readings of "Stairway to the Stars" and "Night in Tunisia". The format is simple, but the sound is magic – classic Dexter Gordon in a tight Blue Note mode! CD reissue also includes 2 non LP bonus cuts – "Our Love Is Here To Stay" and "Like Someone In Love". CD

One of our favorite Dexter Gordon sessions for Blue Note – and a unique album that's one of the first to illustrate his growing role in the European jazz scene! The group's a quartet – which let's Dex stand out front with plenty of space for marvelous tenor work – and it features Parisian bassist Pierre Michelot, plus Americans Bud Powell on piano and Kenny Clarke on drums – two players who were already making a bit name for themselves overseas. The album's a perfect link between Gordon's earlier American work and his long string of European sessions to come – and titles include a great take of "Scrapple from the Apple", plus excellent readings of "Stairway to the Stars" and "Night in Tunisia". The format is simple, but the sound is magic – classic Dexter Gordon in a tight Blue Note mode! CD reissue also includes 2 non LP bonus cuts – "Our Love Is Here To Stay" and "Like Someone In Love". This is the newly remastered version, too – with crisp sound and addional notes and photos! CD

The classic music of Kraftwerk – re-presented beautifully in this excellent box set! The package features material from famous recent live performances by the quartet – as they go back and present new takes on classic albums – from Autobahn through Radioactivity, Trans Europe Express, Man Machine, Computer World, and Techno Pop – all played live, with incredible sound that shows the way the group link their earlier analogue brilliance with the newly expanded sonic possibilities of the 21st Century! The set also features a full disc that expands on Tour De France, with other singles – and a CD titled The Mix – which also includes a special "headphone surround 3D" mix! Performances were recorded at the Museum Of Modern Art, Sydney Opera House, Tate Modern, Paradiso Amsterdam, and other global venues – and the package features eight full albums worth of material – all in a cool box with great graphics. CD

We'll be the first to admit that David S. Ware has made some clunky records over the years – but we love this album from 1992, and think it's one of the best that he ever made! The record is tighter than most, and Ware is nicely restrained, and locked into a spiritual groove that links him in a tradition with players like Billy Harper and Pharoah Sanders. He's also playing with his excellent quartet that includes Matthew Shipp, William Parker, and Marc Edwards. Shipp and Parker lay down these amazing modal grooves, and Ware dips in, searches around, and blows out incredibly soulful solos – filled with a lot more emotion and meaning than some of his other work from the mid 90s. Titles include "Aquarian Sound", "Yesterdays", "Infi-Rhythms #1", and "Sad Eyes". CD

The first new studio recording by tenorist Fred Anderson since 1980 – and a set that shows just how much he'd grown in the intervening years! Here, Fred's newly alive with a younger Chicago group – a great quartet with Jim Baker on piano, Harrison Baker on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums – all players openly fluid to move with Anderson from swinging passages to freer ones – a beautiful balance of soul and experimentation, captured in a way that maybe links Fred more closely to Von Freeman than any other record in his career – yet which still captures all the AACM vitality in his music too. Titles include "Birdhouse", "Bernice", "Like Sonny", and "Waiting For Me". CD

Sublime sounds from Piero Piccioni – one of the Italian soundtrack genius' best moments of the mid 70s! The album's got a nicely laidback, slinky sort of feel – one that's almost a 70s update of the vibe Piero first laid down in Tenth Victim – with snakey keyboard bits and sax lines – some sweet bossa moments, and other sexy touches. There's a few funky moments too, but these are in the minority – leaving most of the record to have this wonderfully mellow glow, but still with all the odd little twists we've come to love in Piccioni's music! Titles include "Number One Superman", "Let's Face Love", "Going My Round", "Guitars Improvviso", "El Agitato", and "Combinazione Special". Plus, this set features a bonus CD with 32 more bonus tracks – loads of variations, alternates, and outtakes – a real treasure trove of great music! CD

Very groovy work from the Four King Cousins – a sweet quartet of lovely voices peeled off of the larger King Family ensemble, singing here in a spare and syncopated groove with lots of late 60s Capitol touches! Maestro Lex De Azevedo produced, arranged, and conducted – and the album's got a really unified sound that links together harmonies from Sunshine Pop and a bit of the loping styles that were showing up in mainstream easy at the time – a sublime blend of vocals and lightly snapping rhythms that's totally outta site! All tracks are covers, but done in really wonderful versions – and tunes include the great Roger Nichols track "I Fell", plus "Love So Fine", "God Only Knows", "California Nights", "This Girl's In Love With You", and "I Wanna Be Free". CD