A double-length live set – with cuts that include "Sympathy For The Devil", "Around & Around", "Crackin Up", "Little Red Rooster", "It's Only Rock N Roll", "Mannish Boy", "Tumbling Dice", and "If You Can't Rock Me". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

A dramatic soundtrack to this Douglas Sirk film! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Pretty hip stuff, with a definite Coltrane influence – and Larry Young in the group on organ, along with Billy Cobham on drums and Armando Peraza on congas. Titles include "Naima", "A Love Supreme", "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord", "Meditation", and "The Life Divine". LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

Groovy arrangements by Oliver Nelson – with a vibe that's even hipper than some of Bud Shank's other albums from the time! Titles include "Girl In Love", "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", "Lady Jane", and "When A Man Loves A Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

A great late 60s gem from pianist Horace Silver – and a great bridge between his earlier soul jazz for Blue Note, and some of his more righteous work to come in the 70s! At one level, the sound here steps off from classics like Serenade To A Soul Sister or The Jody Grind – but at another level, there's a more open approach to the music – one that has Horace sliding into new tones and colors, with a slightly lyrical undercurrent as well. As on some of his later dates, the mellower moments are often the most compelling – showing a newly mature side of Silver's talents, and a new love of space between the notes that really helps to break the mode of previous recordings! The group here features the great Bennie Maupin on tenor and flute, Randy Brecker on trumpet and flugelhorn, John Williams on bass, and Billy Cobham on drums – and titles include "Lovely's Daughter", "Risin Sun", "You Gotta Take A Little Love", "Down & Out", and "Brain Wave". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Musicians include Derek Smith on keys, Scott Hamilton on sax, George Mraz on bass, and Billy Hart on drums LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Something of a concept album from Jeri Southern – a record of familiar tunes, but all strung together as "the story of a love affair", and set to backings by Gus Levene! The approach here is a bit like some of the Sinatra Capitol sides of the mid 50s – with a really unified sort of mood overall, one that's mostly that of sadness and longing – thanks to Levene's darkly gentle string arrangements. Jeri's breathy vocals sound great in the setting, and the album's got a solidity that we really love. Titles include "Close To You", "Close As Pages In A Book", "The Touch Of Your Lips", "Please Be Kind", "Cross My Heart", and "Prelude To A Kiss". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

With Dres of the Black Sheep. 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet modern soul with a sound that would get picked up on years later by the LA G-Funk scene. The album's produced by War's Far Out production team – and it's got a smooth sound that's mixed with moogy keyboards and compressed instrumentation on the best cuts. Some tracks are a bit too funky, but the mellow ones are very tasty. Includes the excellent track "Summer Love", plus "Cream City", "Magic Night", "Lonely Princess", and "Jungle Desire". LP, Vinyl record album

The only full album from Johnny Ace – a key figure in the Memphis scene of the 50s, and one of the first great casualties of rock and roll! Johnny was one of the first singers to record for the legendary Duke label, and worked in a mode that helped transform the smoother style of the west coast postwar R&B singers into a rougher, rawer mode that would pave the way for Memphis soul in years to come. And although Johnny died a tragic early death (and partially because of it), the impact of his work was tremendous, even in the few short years for which he recorded for Duke – leading to countless posthumous collections, mostly illegitimate, which often presented Johnny's work in less-than-superior conditions. This set is still the best – and features 12 tracks that Ace recorded for the Duke label. Titles include "How Can You Be So Mean", "My Song", "The Clock", "Cross My Heart", "Anymore", "Don't You Know", "Saving My Love For You", "So Lonely", and "Pledging My Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album – even if it was the only session that Cannonball Adderley ever cut for Blue Note! The album was recorded at a time when Adderley was working with Miles Davis – and as such, the session features a group that includes Miles, blowing trumpet in a cool tone that's a perfect offset to Cannonball's more soulful style on alto sax – also different than the sound of his brother Nat, who was Adderley's more frequent partner on records. The rest of the group includes Hank Jones on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Art Blakey on drums – and like John Coltrane's Blue Train, the record's more of an "special session" than the usual Blue Note album, but the strength of the players make it one of the more memorable records of its day! Titles include "Somethin' Else", "One For Daddy-O", "Autumn Leaves", "Love For Sale", and a nice moody take on "Dancing In The Dark". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked gem from Airto – recorded after his 70s years on bigger labels, but a set that almost tops all of them in the end! There's a wonderful mix going on here – a blend of rootsy and electric, and Latin and Brazilian – the former clearly from the placement of the record on New York's Montuno label – an imprint that did plenty of great sessions filled with Latin jazz! The shift makes for a fresh one for Airto – still plenty of room to show off his famous percussion impulses, yet in a slightly different way – often grooving in a Latin fusion mode that's a nice maturation from the CTI years. The set's filled with all-star players – including Jorge Dalto on electric piano, Raul De Souza on trombone, Joe Farrell on flute, Alphonso Johnson on bass, and Oscar Castro Neves on keyboards, guitar, and cavaquinho – and the lovely Flora's also on board to sing a bit on the set. Titles include the extended jammer "Tombo", plus "Aqui Se Pede", "Jump", "The Return", "Sin Salida", and "Anatelio". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most sensitive 70s albums from guitarist Jan Akkerman – a set recorded with larger backings from Claus Ogerman, who really helps Jan find a newly mellow side of his sound! Gone are some of the too-jamming, rock-inspired modes of Akkerman's other records – and in their place are open, flowing lines on guitar – played with a sensitivity that reminds us a bit of some of Jim Hall's more ambitious albums of the same period – although even a bit more classically-oriented overall. Ogerman's arrangements are wonderful – full and lush, but never too sleepy – and titles include "Nightwings", "Modinha", "Espanoleta", "Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte", "Love Remembered", and "The Seed Of God". LP, Vinyl record album

Jan Akkerman did plenty of unusual projects in the 70s, and this album may well be the best of them – an outing with vocalist Kaz Lux, whose unique phrasing really helps give the music a lot of focus! Akkerman's still hanging nicely between rock, funk, and jazz – but the use of vocals means that some of his guitar lines are a bit more spacious in ways that we really love, especially when they mix in these cool cosmic passages with the MPS-like keyboards of Jasper Van't Hof. The album's hardly a straight fusion album, but it's also not really a rock one either – more like a fusion set with vocals in all the right places – on titles that include "Guardian Angel", "Tranquilizer", "Can't Fake A Good Time", "Naked Actress", "Wings Of Strings", and "Strindberg". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful album from Lorez Alexanderia – one of her two excellent sessions for Impulse! The record was cut after Lorez recorded some great sides for the Argo label – and it works off the strength of those sides, taking her unique vocal approach, forged in R&B, but smoothed by jazz, into a whole new level of expression! The backing is great – small combo, with featured musicians who include Bunk Shank and Paul Horn on reeds, and Victor Feldman and Wynton Kelly on piano – all working with moody, soulful arrangements that are a perfect accompaniment to Lorez' beautiful voice. Includes the cuts "Get Me To The Church On Time", "Satin Doll", "Show Me", "The Best Is Yet to Come", "I'm Through With Love", and 5 more! LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful vocal set – with jazzy backings by Bill Holman! Titles include "Impossible", "Hooray For Love", "Shake Down The Stars", "I've Got The Sun In The Morning", and "They All Laughed". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album from The Allman Brothers – and a set that forever set the standard for double live albums in the 70s! The expanded format really let the group open up and show the strengths they had already developed as a live act, long before they walked into the studio for their initial album – as the tracks are often quite long, and let you hear the way they approached the process of creation – using lots of jamming energy that's really let loose here on the longer tunes, which are awash in amazing guitar and organ solos! Dickey Betts and Duane Allman are fantastic together – and titles include the side-long "Whipping Post" and "You Don't Love Me" – plus "Hotlanta", "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed", "Statesboro Blues", "Stormy Monday", and "Done Somebody Wrong". LP, Vinyl record album

Breezy bossa nova – Hollywood 60s style! The album's one of the best cut for Capitol by guitarist Laurindo Almeida – and has a sweet groovy little style that features Laurindo's lovely guitar work over some lightly dancing small combo backings that include flute, harmonica, organ, percussion, and even a bit of whistling on a few tracks! The vibe's very much in the best Verve/Impulse takes on the bossa – done with a clear California influence, which keeps things cool and breezy – and which also pushes Almeida past his sometimes-staid style on guitar. Two cuts also feature some great vocals by Irene Kral – and titles include "Twilight In Rio", "Old Guitaron", "Sarah's Samba", "Izabella", "Winter Moon", "Girl From Ipanema", and "Choro For People In Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A whole new level of genius for Herb Alpert – a record that's light years away from his earlier work with the Tijuana Brass, and which has the trumpeter stepping strongly into the world of smooth jazzy fusion! The title track here went platinum the minute it was released – and became an end-of-the 70s instrumental anthem that seemed to drift out of speakers around the country. The rest of the album's pretty great too – built on the modes explored by Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, and other soulful fusion players of the 70s – but cast out with a bit more drama overall. Titles include the seminal jazz dance classic "Rotation" – plus "Rise", "Street Life", "Aranjuez (Mon Amour)", "1980", "Angelina", and "Love Is". LP, Vinyl record album

Warm, mellow, and completely sublime – the mighty America at the height of their powers – working with a quality that nobody else can match! The trio wrap together all the best ideas that were bubbling under in the LA scene of the late 60s – vocal harmonies, studio perfection, and even touches of rootsy instrumentation – yet find a space to work all these elements together in a rich sound that's completely unique – amazingly understated at times, despite a near-perfect level of production! The whole album's great – even their original version of "Muskrat Love" – nestled in here next to "Rainbow Song", "Submarine Ladies", "Molten Love", "Green Monkey", and "Goodbye". LP, Vinyl record album

A very groovy group, and one who've got the sunshine pop sound you'd expect from their image on the cover – bright, swinging, and upbeat – often harmonized, and set to cool Sidewalk Production work from Harley Hatcher! Titles include "Rainbow In The Rain", "Cold Wisconsin Nights", "Come On & Get It", "Keeping Your Love", "Prelude To Love", and "In The Late Afternoon". LP, Vinyl record album

Bossa with a great American twist! Nancy Ames was an American pop singer of the 60s – one who did mostly folksy tunes with a light California feel, and who here is coming up with some great bossa nova numbers, set to arrangements by Stu Phillips! The package has all the sunniness of a summer LA afternoon at the beach – with the driving groove of a pop bossa session from Rio. The album's perennial favorite is Nancy's remake of "Mas Que Nada" (done here as "Pow Pow Pow") – but there's loads of other wonderful numbers, and the whole album's great! Titles include "Laia La Daia", "Love's Like Wine", "So Nice", and "A Man & A Woman". As the song says – Pow Pow Pow! Her greatest LP by a mile, too! LP, Vinyl record album

Gritty live work from twin tenor giants Gene Ammons and Dexter Gordon – recorded in an open-ended style that's a bit like some of Gordon's famous early work on the Central Avenue scene in LA, or Ammons' famous live "battles" with Sonny Stitt! The date was recorded in Chicago at the North Park Hotel – with sound that's a bit more "live" than some of the other Prestige sessions at the time – and an unusual lineup that features local players Jodie Christian and John Young on piano, Cleveland Eaton on bass, and Steve McCall on drums. The lovely Vi Redd makes a vocal appearance on the track "Lonesome Lover Blues" – and other titles include "The Chase", "Polka Dots & Moonbeams", and "The Happy Blues" – all nice and long! LP, Vinyl record album

A nice little 2-fer collecting two great meetings of two greats! Jug and Stitt go head to head on Boss Tenors, a classic album of tracks that perfectly captures the joy and fury of their live performances from years before! The record was cut in Chicago with a very hard rhythm section that includes John Houston on piano, Charles Williams on bass, and George Brown on drums – and it's way heavier than the usual Verve "meeting of the masters" session, and feels more like a record that should have been issued on Prestige or Argo. Both players are impeccable, and the solos stretch out for a long long very live time. Titles include "Blues Up & Down", "The One Before This", and "Counter Clockwise" – but these guys even groove amazingly on standards like "Autumn Leaves" and "No Greater Love". Boss Tenors In Orbit was a follow up one year later, an obscure little session with the pair once again recreating the energy of their live shows – as they stretch out nicely on very long tracks that have spare backing by the Don Patterson trio! The cuts are mostly standard stuff – "John Brown's Body", "Walkin", "Long Ago And Far Away" – but the twin-tenor sound is great, and Patterson's free organ lines riff away nicely! LP, Vinyl record album

A great cooker from the glory days of Ernestine Anderson on Concord Records – a time when the singer was rediscovered, and revamped in a bit of a bluesy mode – reaching a wide new audience at the time! Her vocals really shine at this point in her career, as she lets loose with a bit more personality too – as you'll hear on this swinging set of down home numbers, cut with a combo that includes Red Holloway on tenor, Ray Brown on bass, and Gene Harris on piano! Titles include "Someone Else Is Steppin", "Goin To Chicago Blues", "Alone On My Own", "Mercy Mercy Mercy", and "I Love Being Here With You". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the standout moments in the career of Rod Argent – a record that gave his self-named group one of their biggest hits ever, yet a set that still kept all the depth and diversity of their other records too! The album starts out with the group's famous "Hold Your Head Up" – the anthemic strutter that crossed over big, and which burns here with plenty of great organ lines from Rod. Other numbers really mix things up – rocking harder than Rod's Zombies work, but also showing some complicated sensibilities too – brought out nicely by co-producer Chris White, who also wrote most of the songs on the date with Argent. Titles include "Pure Love", "He's A Dynamo", "Hold Your Head Up", "Be My Lover Be My Friend", "Keep On Rolling", and "I Am The Dances Of Ages". LP, Vinyl record album

Early 80s synthy soul and new wave sounds from Joan Armatrading – really taking her earlier, kind of folk soul based sound confidently into the early 80s keyboard heavy grooves with some pronounced Caribbean flourishes! Lots of punchy rhythms and neon bright 80s sounds, but it's the songs that transcend here – the tunes are always insistent, and Joan's voice is as warm and inviting as ever. Titles include "At The Hop", "I Wanna Hold You", "I'm Lucky", "The Weakness In Me", "No Love", "Romancers", "Ican't Lie To Myself", "Only One" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Near-perfect work from Ashford & Simpson – really grooving in full powerhouse mode here, and never missing a beat! By all rights, the team should have run out of steam by this point, but the album's another winner from their sublime Warner years – caught in a unique space between chart soul, ensemble funk, and disco – taking all the best elements of each, and really sending the whole thing home with some incredible vocals and impeccable production and arrangements! Titles include "Rushing To", "Love Don't Make It Right", "We'll Meet Again", "Get Out Your Handkerchief", and "I Ain't Asking For Your Love". LP, Vinyl record album