A comeback album of sorts for Lonnie Mack, recorded for Elektra with a really down-home sound that's almost verging on southern soul at points! In a way, the set's kind of a nod to the sorts of genres in rock that Mack's music first helped unlock in earlier years – done at a time when it was a bit more acceptable to cross boundaries and reference roots that weren't actually yours in your music! The execution here is surprisingly strong and without hoke – a few notches up from Leon Russell – and Mack's guitar is in fine fine form, supported by a good deal of organ in the backings. Titles include "Gotta Be An Answer", "Untouched By Human Love", "I Found A Love", "Baby What You Want Me To Do", "Mt Healthy Blues", "What Kind Of World Is This", and "Things Have Gone To Pieces". LP, Vinyl record album

The mighty Lonnie Liston Smith live – sounding every bit as great as he did on his famous studio sessions from the 70s – and maybe even more freewheeling too! The feel of the record is really tremendous – extremely soulful, with Lonnie jamming away on keyboards as the band grooves up these cool spacey rhythms – stepping out in territory that's definitely the more cosmic side of jazz funk, with those righteous currents that always made Lonnie so great. The whole thing's wonderful – with loads of great electric work, and an overall spiritual vibe that's every bit as great as his albums for Flying Dutchman – and players include Donald Smith on flute and a bit of vocals, Dave Hubbard on tenor and soprano sax, and Lonnie himself on Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and Arp. The set includes a nice extended take on "Visions of A New World", plus the tracks "Watercolors", "Sorceress" – which isn't on any of his studio albums, "Prelude", and the classic "Expansions". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Two Headed Man", "One More Shot", "Trading Post", "In The Dark", and "Eyeballin". LP, Vinyl record album

Funky funky funky! Lonnie plays live with a tight group that includes tenor, guitar, and some very heavy drumming – really wailing at a level that was surprising for funky organists of the time, and which really set the pace for a whole new generation! The players are more obscure than on the usual Blue Note sides – save for Ronnie Cuber, who played baritone with Mongo Santamaria, and is one of the most underrated 60s funky players. Recorded live at the Club Harlem in Atlantic City, and with a deep raw funky sound that must have blown the roof off the club! Titles include "Move Your Hand", "Layin' In the Cut", "Charlie Brown", and "Sunshine Superman". One of his best ever! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

A pretty sweet little solo album by Lonnie Jordan – a key War member during the group's biggest fame. The album lives up to its title, and serves up a number of different musical styles, all with Lonnie on keyboards and vocals – but the best work is the stuff that's still in the War-type groove, those cuts that have a Latiny funk groove, like "Junkie To My Music" and "Nasty", both of which are pretty tasty numbers with a heavy Chicano groove. "Junkie" is especially great – as it's got some very cool keybord soloing over a heavy conga groove, in kind of a nice stoner funk way. Other tracks include "Jungle Dancin", "Grey Rainy Days", and "He Used To Be A Friend Of Mine". LP, Vinyl record album

Smooth jazzy soul from Lonnie's mid 80s years, recorded when Lonnie was heavily under the sway of Guru Sri Chinmoy! If you've ever heard Chinmoy as a musician, you know that he's not very good – and fortunately, Lonnie keeps him away from the instruments on the record, and only lets him provide spiritual guidance. The style of the sets is surprisingly nice – a smooth extension of Lonnie's work for Columbia, with vocals by Donald Smith, bass by Marcus Miller, sax by David Hubbard, and work by other musicians who are very much in keeping with Lonnie's style. Titles include "A Garden Of Peace", "Divine Light", "The Love I See In Your Eyes" and "Dreams Of Tomorrow". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

Stevie Ray Vaughan plays and is the producer! Titles include "Hound Dog Man", "Stop", "Long Way From Memphis", "Strike Like Lightning", and "You Ain't Got Me". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Magical work from Lonnie Liston Smith – one of those players who actually seemed to get better the more he worked on major labels! The album's a really wonderful blend of mellow jazz and soulfully spiritual themes – at one level inspired by Roy Ayers-styled crossover material, but at another still very much in the righteous camp of some of Lonnie's earlier records. A few tracks have vocals, but others step along in a sweet and smooth instrumental mode that mixes up acoustic piano and keyboards very nicely! Titles include "In The Park", "Speak About It", "Love Is The Answer", "On The Real Side", "Give Peace A Chance", and "The Enchantress". LP, Vinyl record album

Smooth jazzy soul from Lonnie's mid 80s years – recorded when Lonnie was heavily under the sway of Guru Sri Chinmoy! If you've ever heard Chinmoy as a musician, you know that he's not very good – and fortunately, Lonnie keeps him away from the instruments on the record, and only lets him provide spiritual guidance. The style of the sets is surprisingly nice – a smooth extension of Lonnie's work for Columbia, with vocals by Donald Smith, and a nice soulful sound overall. Titles include "Summer Afternoon", "Warm", "City Of Lights", "Once Again Love", and "Just Us Two". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly the most celebrated album ever from keyboardist Lonnie Liston Smith – a groove-heavy classic that's burned up many a dancefloor in its day, yet also a record that features some great mellow moments as well! The title track "Expansions" is virtually a blueprint for the migration of the cosmic jazz sound onto the dancefloor – a tune that's as funky as it is righteous – but other cuts on the album slow down the pace a bit too, and show off the mellower, more introspectively spiritual side that's always made Lonnie way more than just a funky jazz artist. Easily the best place to start in the all-great Lonnie Liston Smith catalog – and featuring tracks that include "Expansions", "Summer Days", "Desert Nights", "Shadows", "My Love", "Peace", and "Voodoo Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Great work from Lonnie Smith – one of the few Hammond heroes from the past who's continued to give us fresh-sounding music over the years! Lonnie's been reinvigorated after returning to Blue Note – and this tight little set follows all the growth he's experienced at the label – organ lines that soar nicely, with a complexity that Smith never had in his early years – given strong rhythmic support from Johnathan Blake on drums and Jonathan Kreisberg on guitar! The middle core of the album is live – recorded at the Jazz Standard – and features work from John Ellis on trumpet, Jason Marshall on baritone, Robin Eubanks on trombone, and Sean Jones on trumpet – on titles that include "Bright Eyes", "Pilgrimage", "Two Damn Hot", "Track 9", and "World Weeps". The set also features two covers – both with surprising vocals from Iggy Pop – a nice take on the Timmy Thomas tune "Why Can't We Live Together", and a version of "Sunshine Superman". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal album from Hammond giant Lonnie Smith – a bold statement that really gives the organist his own identity after some killer work in the combos of Lou Donaldson and George Benson! Lonnie's one of the key flag-fliers of the new style of funky organ jazz – a mode different from the earlier styles of Jimmy Smith or Jimmy McGriff – leaner, cleaner, and often tied heavily to the drums – which, in this case, are handled by Marion Booker Jr, but in a way that recalls some of the Idris Muhammad greatness on other Blue Note albums of the time. The mighty Pucho (of Latin Soul Brothers fame) plays added timbales, and there's also two more conga players – ensuring a tight, yet complex sort of groove – and the frontline features Lee Morgan on trumpet, David Newman on tenor and flute, and Melvin Sparks on guitar. Tracks are long, with complicated rhythms – and soulful yet sophisticated solos to match – and titles include the seminal "Son Of Ice Bag", a great cover of "Think", and the tracks "Slouchin", "Call Of The Wild", and "Three Blind Mice". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little record from the days before George Benson had totally hit his smooth jazz sound of the 70s, and was being pushed by Columbia as a hard wailing soul jazz leader! The record features his classic quartet with Lonnie Smith on organ – grooving away hard hard hard, sometimes even harder than George! Benson's fresh off his work with the Jack McDuff quartet, and his style's nice and lean, with some good riffs, and a very tight approach to the strings. Titles include "The Cooker", "Benny's Back", "Bossa Rocka", and "Benson's Rider". LP, Vinyl record album

It's a pretty nice bunch of funk tracks with (supposedly) Jimi's guitar chopping away in heavy hard lines, and Lonnie Youngblood blowing away on hard heavy tenor. A number of tracks have vocals – we're not sure who by, although the record wants you to think that it's Hendrix. Good funky soul cuts include "Wipe The Sweat" – in three parts – and "All I Want". Other tracks include "Psycho", "Under The Table", and "Two In One Goes". Wild production values, too! LP, Vinyl record album

A stone classic from Roland Kirk – and a record that beautifully balances his modern ideas and playful energy – as you might guess from the title! While posing as the "whistleman", Roland's also pushing the boundaries of jazz a few steps forward too – not just in modern terms, but in spiritual ones too – showing that there's a way of letting loose that doesn't always have to be cold or artsy, but personal and soulful too. There's still echoes of the hardbop of the Mercury years, and plenty of inventive reed work from Kirk – on tenor, alto sax, manzello, stritch, and even nose flute too. The album was recorded live with a very hip cast that includes Lonnie Smith and Jaki Byard on piano, Charles Crosby on drums, and Major Holley on bass – and tracks include "Roots", "Here Comes The Whistleman", "Step Right Up", and "Aluminum Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful late 50s work by Yusef Lateef – played in that "jazz exotic" style he was using to perfect form at the time, a mixture of the lyrical hard bop of the Horace Silver group, with some of the more spare and eastern styles used by groups like the early Sun Ra Arkestra. The drummer, Frank Gant, makes ample use of brushes and mallets to keep the rhythms in a mode that works with the overall sound – and other players include trumpeter Lonnie Hillyer and pianist Hugh Lawson, both of whom were part of the super-hip Detroit scene that spawned Lateef. Titles include "Cry Tender", "Butter's Blues", "Dopolous", "Sea Breeze", and "The Snow Is Green". LP, Vinyl record album

Live material from Mingus' classic mid 60s period – one album recorded at Town Hall in New York in 1964, the other recorded at the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis in 1965. Town Hall set features Johnny Coles on trumpet, Clifford Jordan on tenor, and Eric Dolphy on flute, bass clarinet, and alto – on the tracks "So Long Eric" and "Praying With Eric". The Minneapolis set features Lonnie Hillyer on trumpet, Charles McPherson on alto, and Jaki Byard on piano – on another version of "So Long Eric" – this one recorded after Dolphy's death – plus a medley of standards, done the Mingus way! LP, Vinyl record album

"Hot Hot" is by Mad Skillz with Lonnie B and Danja Mowf, "Supa" is by the Supafriendz: Lonnie B, Danja Mowf and Mad Skillz, and 'Throw Dem Bows" is by Jo Doja with Danja Mowf, Lonnie B and Shawnee Poo. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Wonderful work from Leon Thomas – easily one of his greatest albums ever, and a set that was recorded at the same time he was working with Pharoah Sanders! Thomas really rose to fame on Sanders' classic "The Creator Has A Master Plan" – and this set really takes off from that moment – letting Leon spin out some spiritual vibes of his own, and step into a few fresh new styles as well! The album's plenty righteous right from the start – partly because the lineup includes James Spaulding on alto and flute, Lonnie Liston Smith on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and the enigmatic "Little Rock" on tenor – who is actually Pharoah Sanders – but also because Leon serves up a shorter take on "The Creator Has a Master Plan" – done in a great style! The album also features a classic vocal take on Horace Silver's "Song for My Father", with lyrics that we totally love – plus the frenetic "Malcolm's Gone" – and the tracks "One", "Echoes", "Let The Rain Fall On Me", and "Damn Nam". LP, Vinyl record album

Features work by Lonnie Johnson, Carl Kress, John Cali, Tony Guttouso, Eddie Lang, and Dick McDonough! LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant second set from Change – working here without Luther Vandross on lead vocals, but hardly missing a beat at all! As before, the basslines are at the core of the set – a sweet stripped-down approach that brings even more focus onto the bottom of the groove for early 80s dancefloors – with loads of numbers that step along in a really groovy mode – one quite far from the cliches of disco, and inflected by loads of jazzy elements that keep things fresh over the years! Vocals are by James Robinson – previously with Lonnie Liston Smith – Diva Gray, and Jocelyn Shaw – and titles include "On Top", "Paradise", "Hold Tight", "Your Move", "Stop For Love", and "Heaven Of My Life". LP, Vinyl record album

The title's no lie – because the album is one of the shining jewels of Lou Donaldson's legendary funk years for Blue Note – that second period when he returned to the label at the end of the 60s, and really helped redefine the sound of soul jazz at the time! The format here is very much the same as other Donaldson classics from the time – like Hot Dog or Possum Head – in that the tracks are long, open, and plenty darn grooving – locked in some funky rhythms that feature Idris Muhammad on some very heavy drums! Other players are great too – and include Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Melvin Sparks on guitar, and Lonnie Smith on Hammond – all cooking things up nicely on tracks that include "West Indian Daddy", "Donkey Walk", "Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky", and "Hamp's Hump". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive little record, and a real turning point for alto genius Lou Donaldson – as he uses the set to move from the tight bop of earlier years into a whole new spectrum of funky grooves! Key to this project is drummer Idris Muhammad – who's on the kit, already kicking it up in the way that would make him a jazz funk legend as the 70s began – but so young here, he's working under his original name of Leo Morris! The rest of the group is equally great – with the up-and-coming Lonnie Smith on Hammond and Jimmy Ponder on guitar – plus tight trumpet from Blue Mitchell, who's really hitting his most soulful sound of the 60s. Titles include Donaldson's fantastic funky reworking of "Ode To Billie Joe" – a very famous sample cut over the years – plus the soulful groovers "The Humpback", "Peepin", "The Kid", and a nice take on "The Shadow Of Your Smile". LP, Vinyl record album

A set with younger players – "New Faces" – including Kenny Kirkland on piano, Branford Marsalis on tenor, and Lonnie Plaxico on bass! Ttiles include "Birk's Works", "Tin Tin Deo", "Fiesta Mojo", and "Tenor Song". LP, Vinyl record album

Mingus live is always a treat – especially in these later years, when the fire seemed to go out of most of his studio recordings. Live, though, he always managed to kick it hard - with the sort of emotion that graced his strong early albums. And despite the fact that this one's conducted by Teo Macero, and features some remarks from Bill Cosby – the affair's still pretty hip, and the soloists go to town nicely – with those stretched-out performances that always made for the best individual moments in a Mingus record! The record features great work from Gene Ammons and Bobby Jones on tenor, Lee Konitz and Charles McPherson on alto, James Moody on flute, Randy Weston on piano, Lonnie Hillyer on trumpet, and Eddie Bert on trombone – and Honey Gordon sings a lovely vocal on the track "Eclipse". Other titles include "Jump Monk", "Us Is Two", "ESP", and "Ecclusiastics". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the last great records by Charles Mingus – a set of extremely compelling original compositions, played by a fresh group of younger players, plus a few older masters! The record's got a fire and sense of emotion that's missing from a number of other 70s Mingus sessions – and it's one of the few later albums we'd easily rank right up there with his late 50s and early 60s classics! Orchestrations were partially arranged and conducdted with help from Sy Johnson – and soloists include James Moody and Bobby Jones on tenor, Charles McPherson on alto, Snookie Young and Lonnie Hillyer on trumpet, and Roland Hanna on piano. Titles include "The Shoes Of The Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers", "Adagio Ma Non Troppo", "The Chill of Death", and "The I Of Hurricane Sue". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic spiritual soul jazz from Pharoah – recorded with an all star lineup that includes Lonnie Liston Smith, Cecil McBee, Roy Haynes, and Michael White. The album's got a strong influence from the members on the set – particularly Lonnie Liston Smith, who seems to bring in a very nicely soulful approach to a few of the numbers, and Michael White, whose spiritual consciousness is still a bit rough-hewn and personal at this point. The record oddly shifts mood from track to track – going from the mellow soul of "Astral Traveling", into the loud free jazz of "Red Black & Green", to the modal grooving of "Thembi", and into the spiritual joy of "Love" and "Bailophone Dance" – all of which makes for a really wonderful album, one of Pharoah's strongest statements of the time! LP, Vinyl record album

A great live set recorded in 1962 with some of Cal's best players in the group – pianist Lonnie Hewitt and drummer John Rae, joined by bassist Freddie Schreiber. The groove's a bit less Latin than usual, but the jazz vibe is very strong – and Tjader really shines with the local crowd at San Francisco's famous Blackhawk night spot. Titles include "222 Time", "Noonie's Groove", "Weep", and "Fred's Ahead". One of the more obscure Tjader Verve sides, too! LP, Vinyl record album

Pure genius from the B Baker Chocolate Company – a set that's equal parts fusion and soul, held together by these rich arrangements that really send the whole thing home! The album's never too slick, yet has a sense of perfection that matches some of the best soulful fusion dates at Blue Note or Fantasy in the mid 70s – a quality that's especially strong on the vocal tracks on the set – one of which features Lew Kirton in the lead! The players are all totally top-shelf – and include Lonnie Smith and Jimmy McGriff on keyboards, John Faddis and Marvin Stamm on trumpets, and Jimmy Ponder on guitar – and the set's got a beautiful balance that few other records like this can match. Lew Kirton sings on "It's Where You're Coming From", and "Dreamer" features Gene Scott – and instrumental tracks include the funky classic "Snowblower", plus "Carousel" and "Spirit Level". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best posthumous releases by the legendary John Coltrane Quartet – and a set that really captures the group at a perfect moment – when they were really beginning to stretch out a lot, yet still in a style that was mostly inside! The material was recorded in Berlin and Stockholm – and features wonderfully fresh versions of tunes you'll know from classic Impulse and Atlantic albums by Coltrane – really reworked in this live setting, and opened up in that magical style of the group! In addition to some wonderful soprano and tenor sax from Coltrane, the group also features McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – on titles that include "Lonnie's Lament", "Afro Blue", "Cousin Mary", "Spiritual", and "My Favorite Things". LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent funky work from Lou Donaldson – and a groundbreaking record that was the first to feature him playing on Blue Note with drummer Idris Muhammad – who is listed on the session under his birth name, Leo Morris! Muhammad gives the album that crackling funky bottom sound that instantly defined Lou's later years at Blue Note – a hard and heavy approach to soul jazz that's had incredible repercussions in the world of hip hop, as well as soul and funk. The rest of the group features soul jazz burners Lonnie Smith on organ, Melvin Lastie on trumpet, and George Benson on guitar – and the album includes the highly successful "Alligator Boogaloo", plus hard groovers "The Thang", "Aw Shucks!", and "One Cylinder". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive classic from Lou Donaldson's funky years with Idris Muhammad on drums – an album that's filled with lots of bottom-heavy grooves, plus some great work on alto, guitar, and organ! Muhammad's drums are in fine fine form here – right up there with his other LD Blue Note work, if not even better – and the rest of the lineup features Leon Spencer and Lonnie Smith on organ, Ted Dunbar and Melvin Sparks on guitar, and Blue Mitchell on trumpet – all top-shelf players who really make the album kick nicely. Titles include the classic cut "Pot Belly", which was sampled by Tribe Called Quest and about a hundred others – plus "Curtis Song", "Sassie Lassie", "Love", and a version of "Tennessee Waltz" that's even a nice one too! LP, Vinyl record album