A group with vibes in the lead – which might already have been enough to win us over – save for the fact that everything else about the record is great, too – including its production by Wayne Shorter! Forget all about Shorter, though – because although he champions the group, they hardly need his help at all – as they're a wonderfully strong, very soulful ensemble who are very much headed in the right direction – with that kind of fresh, young voice in jazz that we maybe heard years ago when Black/Note first appeared on the scene – although these guys have a vision that's all their own, and a sound that gets nicely spiritual at times too. The group features vibes from Diego Urbano, alto from Josh Johnson, trumpet from Mike Cottone, trombone from Eric Miller, piano from Miro Sprague, bass from Dave Robaire, and drums from Jonathan Pinson – a big group, but one with a razor-sharp focus throughout – on songs that include "Santa Ynez", "Choose Your Adventure", "Three Song", "Pioneer", "Dream Space", "Light Magnet", "E Force 3", and "Invisible Cities". CD

Saxophonist Toshiyuki Honda evokes some of the spirit of his classic Burning Waves album here – working with some slight fusion touches, in a way that reminds us just how strongly his reedwork can soar in just the right setting! Honda blows both soprano and alto here, and shares arrangements on the album with Soichi Noriki, who plays both acoustic and electric piano – always with this soulful flow that really matches the crisp imagination of Honda's saxophone lines. The bassist, Gregg Lee, is also electric – and the rest of the combo features Shingo Okudaira on drums, and May Inoue on guitar, which is often used in these warmly chromatic ways. Titles include "Nile", "Magic Mushroom", "Horizon", "CC Rex", "Last Ballad", and a nice take on the Chick Corea classic "La Fiesta". CD

A really well-recorded set by Lightnin Hopkins – one that's got a crisper, cleaner sound than some of his others of the time – yet which still comes across with all his best rootsy modes too! The instrumentation here is quite spare – just Hopkins' acoustic guitar behind his vocals, with a bit of bass and drums too – recorded with some of the folksy undercurrents that were common in some of the Prestige/Bluesville dates of the period. Titles include "Shinin Moon", "The Walkin Blues", "Katie Mae", "Down There Baby", "You Better Watch Yourself", and "Automobile Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Moody work by Paul Horn – with a focus more on "images" of Brazil, than on the Brazilian jazz you might expect from the title! Like much of Horn's work from the time, the recording is very spacious – with Paul blowing on flute in a style that's as much about exploring space as it is creating a tune – working with a small group that includes percussion and acoustic guitar, plus a few additional percussion bits from Airto. Titles include "Amazonia", "Brazilian Images", "Streets Of Sao Paulo", "Mulher Solitaria", "Sambinha", and "Funky Town". CD

A sweet little record from this Japanese trio – all instrumental, and put together in a style that blends elements of electro pop, electric fusion, and maybe a bit of sound library funk! The tunes are all pretty vivid – maybe evoking the scene in the title – but they also have elements that tie them more strongly to the emerging electronic groove coming from the Japanese scene at the end of the 70s – almost as if you were stripping away vocals, and coming up with spare tracks that are heavy on keyboards and other eletric touches. Titles are all in Japanese – but translate as "Aegean Fantasy", "Rose Between The Waves", "Image", "Daybreak", "Aphrodite's Mourning", and "Mykonos' Bride". LP, Vinyl record album

An insider's view of the UK music scene from the punk years onwards – served up by Mick Houghton, who had close associations with KLF, Echo & The Bunnymen, Julian Cope, Jesus & Mary Chain, and other key acts! The "on the ground" tone of the book is a great look inside this key moment in music – and Houghton is especially great on the way things shifted in the 80s – from underground labor of love on the scene to much more big business – a trend that only continued into the 90s! Softcover edition is almost 300 pages, with a small amount of black and white images. Book

One of the most spiritual sessions we've ever heard from Noah Howard – a real gem from his 70s years on the European scene – and a record that takes all his previous avant explorations and gives them even more focus than before! The group's got a great way of building up a cosmic sense of energy before it takes off – real magic that comes from the Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano of Michael Smith, the bass of Bob Reid, and drums of Noel McGhee – the last of whom is a player who really drives the action along when needed – setting the spark that burns to a fire in Howard's bold alto solos. Noah also plays a bit of bells and tambourine – and Smith has a great way of resonating his acoustic keys in these wide waves of sound – very introspective, like some of Lonnie Liston Smith's early work with Pharoah Sanders. Titles include "Paris Dreams", "Lecke", and "Mardi Gras". CD

A real standout in the early career of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard – a very unique session that has him working with some larger arrangements in the background – blowing these magical solos over the top, while still hitting a great edge with the rest of the musicians as well! There's a sound here that's unlike anything else we can think of – including other big band trumpet dates of the time – partly because the set features a fair bit of arrangements by Wayne Shorter – a very rare side of his talents, but one that's equally as soulful as his sublime small group albums of the time. The record has an undeniable depth right from the start – magical, mystical, and very soulful – with a group that includes Eric Dolphy and Wayne Shorter on saxes, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Cedar Walton on piano, and Reggie Workman on bass. Tracks include "Chocolate Shake", "Thermo", "Clarence's Place", and "Aries". CD

Classic Freddie Hubbard on Blue Note – from the hip cover to the magical music in the grooves! The session is one of Freddie's all-time best from the early days – and features a very hard wailing lineup that mixes tight hardbop rhythms with some more adventurous soloing that almost has a modern jazz kind of tinge. Cedar Walton's on piano, Julian Preister's on trombone, and Jimmy Heath is on tenor – working with Freddie to craft some mindblowing work on titles that include the amazing "Plexus", plus "Hub Cap", "Cry Me Not", and "Earmon JR." CD also features a bonus alternate of "Plexus". CD

An album with a classic modernist cover image – and one that's also got the same sort of sound to match – brilliant early work from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who's really coming into his own as a leader with this date! Freddie's really finding a voice here – a sharper edge than on some of his later albums, at the beginning of a more modernist phase in the mid-60s – when his efforts would mark him as one of the more straight ahead players of the "new thing" scene. There's a careful balance in Hubbard's work here – spurred on by youthful energy of group mates Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto and flute, Reggie Workman on bass, and Clifford Jarvis on drums. Hubbard is really brimming over with new ideas – as are the other players – and titles include "Lament for Booker", "Prophet Jennings", "Hub Tones", "For Spee's Sake", and "You're My Everything". LP, Vinyl record album

An album with a classic modernist cover image – and one that's also got the same sort of sound to match – brilliant early work from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who's really coming into his own as a leader with this date! Freddie's really finding a voice here – a sharper edge than on some of his later albums, at the beginning of a more modernist phase in the mid-60s – when his efforts would mark him as one of the more straight ahead players of the "new thing" scene. There's a careful balance in Hubbard's work here – spurred on by youthful energy of group mates Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto and flute, Reggie Workman on bass, and Clifford Jarvis on drums. Hubbard is really brimming over with new ideas – as are the other players – and titles include "Lament for Booker", "Prophet Jennings", "Hub Tones", "For Spee's Sake", and "You're My Everything". CD also includes 3 alternate takes of titles on the album. CD

An album with a classic modernist cover image – and one that's also got the same sort of sound to match – brilliant early work from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, who's really coming into his own as a leader with this date! Freddie's really finding a voice here – a sharper edge than on some of his later albums, at the beginning of a more modernist phase in the mid-60s – when his efforts would mark him as one of the more straight ahead players of the "new thing" scene. There's a careful balance in Hubbard's work here – spurred on by youthful energy of group mates Herbie Hancock on piano, James Spaulding on alto and flute, Reggie Workman on bass, and Clifford Jarvis on drums. Hubbard is really brimming over with new ideas – as are the other players – and titles include "Lament for Booker", "Prophet Jennings", "Hub Tones", "For Spee's Sake", and "You're My Everything". CD reissue also includes 2 bonus tracks which are alternate takes of titles on the album! CD

A beautiful solo set from John Hulburt – a little-known Chicago guitarist in the early 70s, and almost our city's answer to the beauty of John Fahey at his best! Hulburt's music is a bit more straightforward, and his tunes a little shorter – but the overall sense of conception is equally imaginative – and we love the way he can spin out these wonderful lines on acoustic guitar, seeming to wrap together a hundred years' worth of musical history, but coming across with a very fresh, personal vision throughout! John's way more than a folk artist, and also isn't one of the precursors of the new acoustic movement to come – and instead, he's got this sound that's incredibly moving and powerful, but in very subtle ways. Titles include "Libby", "Inner Garden", "Evil Olive Waltz", "Guitar On My Knees", "Inside & Otherwise", "All Night Waitress", "Freak On The Black Harley", and "Clark Street". CD

Arranged by Marty Paich – with cuts that include "I Want A Roof Over My Head", "If I Could Be With You", "You're Driving Me Crazy", "My Old Flame", and "Imagination". LP, Vinyl record album