Great work from this ultra-hip trio – an amazing combination of keyboards, bass, and drums – served up in styles that are rooted in funk and jazz, but go to so many other places as well! The drums crackle with a quality schooled in 70s breaks and beats, stripped down to their core – and the mix of keyboards echo a range of innovators from CTI to Money Mark, with a spacious flow that leaves plenty of room for the basslines to drive the tunes! Other instrumentation includes bits of guitar and percussion from the group, plus some guest tenor and strings as well. Titles include "Hedron", "Differently Still", "Confessions", "Triangle", "Can't Leave The Night", "CS60", and "Since You Asked So Kindly". LP, Vinyl record album

The Blue Note debut of tenorist Walter Smith III – a player who's been making great music for almost 20 years on record, yet who really seems to push himself even more here! The album seems to mark a new chapter in Smith's music, and one that also really has a distinct voice on the tenor as well – a mode that's pointed and personal, yet sometimes understated too – at a level that has Walter's role in the rest of the group's sound as important to his individual presence as a soloist. The group sparkles with work from Taylor Eigsti on piano, Matt Stevens on guitar, Harish Ragavan on bass, and Kendrick Scott on drums – and Ambrose Akinmusire guests on trumpet on one key track too. But throughout, the vision is that of Smith – not just for his own horn, but that of the whole group – as they move through tunes that include "Shine", "Contra", "Lamplight", "Mother Stands For Comfort", and "Pup Pow". LP, Vinyl record album

The continuing genius of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band – a group who are certainly as experimental as their name would imply, but who can also come across with some warmer Sunshine Pop touches too! And it's that which makes the group so wonderful – the blend of freak and sweet, of fuzz and fun – all given a special shape in the studio through the genius of producer Jimmy Bowen, whose work here with Bob Markley is superb – and very much open to the best freedoms that Warner was offering its creative talents at the time! The song titles are equally superb – and titles include "A Child's Guide To Good & Evil", "Ritual #1", "Anniversary of World War III", "Eighteen Is Over The Hill", "As Kind As Summer", and "Our Drummer Always Plays In the Nude". LP, Vinyl record album

Landmark material from the farther reaches of jazz in the mid 60s – one of two albums that trombonist Grachan Moncur recorded for Blue Note – and a session that ranks as one of the best examples of the "new thing" moment in 60s jazz! Grachan's leading a sextet here that includes a number of players that he cut his teeth with in Jackie McLean's great mid 60's group, including McLean himself on alto, Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, and Tony Williams on drums – all players who were opening up their own doors in the avant jazz world of the time – joined by trumpeter Lee Morgan, who really rises to the occasion, and opens up with a modern tone that's different than some of his own albums! The set features four stunning Moncur compositions – "Air Raid", "Evolution", "The Coaster", and "Monk In Wonderland". It's hard to describe the power of these recordings – but thankfully, we don't have to, as one listen to the album will blow you away! LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record