Stalley is great here amidst production work from Apollo Brown – who gives the record this cool groove that's almost cinematic at times – lots of rich sonic elements, but used in these really focused ways – so that when Stalley's voice comes out front in the mix, it's supported by plenty of power, yet never overwhelmed! The approach gives the MC a great sort of intensity – perfect for his slower-stepping rhymes, on titles that include "Bobby Bonilla", "Love Me Love Me Not", "No Monsters", "Humble Wins", "We Outside", "Lost Angeles", "Blacklight", "Broad Spectrum", and "What The Hook Gon Be". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful little set of post-folk rock – with lots of lovely baroque touches! Ars Nova were really short-lived group – known for only two rare records – but they've got a sound that perfectly sums up a generation! There's a wonderful LA late 60s sound here – somewhere between Love and The Byrds, with the baroque touches of the former and the best country influences of the latter – all wrapped up in earnest, honest songwriting that makes even the ambitious moments come across with surprising charm. A true lost relic, and the kind of record that should be in any late 60s cannon! Titles include "Album In Your Mind", "Pavan For My Lady", "General Clover Ends A War", "And How Am I To Know", "Fields Of People", "Automatic Love", and "Song To The City". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary sound library album on the famous Italian Octopus label – and a set that's maybe one of the most unusual to be recorded by Amadeo Tommasi! The music is filled with all sorts of weird sounds and production elements – almost taking the experiments of the musique concrete generation, and then mixing them with groovier, more upbeat sounds from the early 70s Italian scene – so that things might be jazzy one minute, funky the next, and haunting after that – all at a level that makes the whole thing one of the tip top Italian library gems of the period! Titles include "Crisi Politica", "Episodio Di Cronaca", "Manifestazione Mondana", "Avvenimento Drammatico", "Ripresa Esterna", "Colpo Di STato", and "Problema Ecologico". LP, Vinyl record album

A British art rock jam session, more or less, pulled together by Soft Machine bassist Kevin Ayers, who recruited Eno, John Cale and Nico, former bandmate Robert Wyatt, the enigmatic Rabbit (John Bundrick) on keyboards – more well known for his work with the Who – plus Mike Oldfield on guitar and a number of other guests and co-conspirators. A nice document of the scene a the time, with concise performances and a much tighter feel than you might imagine given the circumstances of the recording. 9 numbers in all, including "Driving Me Backwards", "Baby's On Fire", "Heartbreak Hotel", "The End", "May I?", "Shouting IN A Bucket Blues", "Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes", "Everybody's Sometime And Some People's All The Time Blues" and "Two Goes Into Four". LP, Vinyl record album

Totally cool, totally amazing music from the enigmatic Francis Bebey – a contemporary on the early 80s African scene of William Onyeabor, and an equally experimental artists! Bebey used a fair bit of electronics, but often with sounds that had acoustic roots – in this case, the ultra cool sansa, which is a similar thumb piano to the kalimba – amplified here in really great ways, and mixed with some moody, dark elements throughout! The music has much more of a 70s vintage than you'd guess from the dates on the record – thanks partly to the raw percussion, and very offbeat production – which sometimes is mellow, sometimes bursts out in these shocking waves of sound. Titles include "Sanza Tristesse", "Forest Nativity", "Sunny Crypt", "Ngoma Likembe", "Guinee", "Di Saegi", and "Binta Madiallo". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest jazz soundtracks of all time! Elmer Bernstein wrote the score to Otto Preminger's chilling film version of Nelson Algren's book The Man With The Golden Arm – a sad tale of jazz, gambling, and heroin addiction on the streets of Chicago (not far from Dusty Groove, in fact!) – and in doing so, he came up with one of the first jazz soundtracks to really work strongly with a dramatic narrative. The film's striking theme is played in a number of variations, either with orchestral backing, or in small combo format by Shorty Rogers & His Giants, a crack west coast group that features work by Bud Shank, Shelly Manne, Bob Cooper, and Pete Candoli. The tracks work perfectly together as a suite of tracks, even without the images of the film – telling a tale of temptation, sadness, tragedy, and rebirth. Titles include "Clark Street", "Breakup", "The Fix", "Zosh", "Frankie Machine", and "Audition". Worth the price for the Saul Bass cover alone! LP, Vinyl record album

A great little live set from Maria Bethania – one recorded with the lighter, looser sound she was using in the early 80s – and which stands as a nice contrast to her more dramatic concert performances of the 70s! The music director for the show is Gilberto Gil, and there's a bit of the warmer overtones that Gil was using in his own music at the time – not really the soulful modes, but stronger use of electric keyboards and flowing rhythms that bring in a bit of jazz and a nice sense of fullness. Titles include "Prenda", "Luzes De Ribalta", "Gas Neon", "O Que E O Que E", "Cantico Negro", "Cancao Da Volta", "De Noite E De Dia", and "Nossos Momentos". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the most ambitious album ever recorded by Blu – a cool collaboration with Nottz that takes the duo's work into even more righteous territory than before – as you might guess from the album's cover and title! The title's reference to the homeland is very well-pointed – as the songs have a thematic unity that links past greatness with contemporary struggles, all delivered with a sense of focus and cohesion that almost makes the whole record feel like a lost nugget from the glory days of the early 90s scene! Guests include G Kidd, Scienze, Ayun Bassa, Black Shakespeare, and many others – on titles that include "Mama", "Marcus Garvey", "Mungu", "Jina Langu", "Kuwakaribisha", "Baba", and "Matunda Marufuku". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare soundtrack work from French composer Claude Bolling – best known for his "jazz meets classical" recordings, but equally great at penning a compelling score! The tracks on the set have a mix of styles that includes some Mexican-styled instrumentals mixed with more dramatic orchestral themes, some of which feature some incredible piano work from Bolling himself. Tracks include "La Plaza", "Karpoff", "Noches Mexicanas", "Pop Mod", and "Tatiana". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of classic albums, served up here in a single set! First up is the sound of Angola, circa 1972 – served up here in a beautiful album of songs from Bonga! The music is relatively spare – mostly just lead acoustic guitar, bass, and percussion – the latter of which is played by Bonga himself, almost always with this lively quality that really matches his vocals – which themselves are filled with all these fantastic inflections that almost remind us of salsa singers of the time – no surprise, given how much Latin music styles were hitting the scene in West Africa during the 60s and 70s. But the style here is very different, too – as Bonga's richly expressive in the way he uses his voice – almost more folkloric, given the acoustic guitar instrumentation – yet surprisingly powerful too, despite the spareness. Titles include "Ku Tando", "Balumukeno", "Uengi Dia Ngola", "Paxi Ni Ngongo", "Muimbo Ua Sabalu", and "Muadikime". Angola 74 is a beautifully sophisticated setting for the voice of Bonga – as he works here with lively small group backings, and a bit of larger orchestrations as well! There's this fantastic blend of folk roots and modernism in the music – maybe a bit like some of the more experimental work from Havana at the time, but a bit like some Brazilian projects too – as the enigmatic vocal inflections of the leader mix with his own percussion – all given nice shadings in color by acoustic guitar. Titles include "Venda Poro", "Kubangela", "Ma Kongo", "Kinga Kueta", "Ghinawa", "Roots", and "Marika". LP, Vinyl record album

There's a nicely narrative photo on the cover, and Antoine Bourachot seems to follow up that inspiration with some cinematic-styled jazz funk throughout – on a record that's even got a set of song titles that conjure up an imagined story as well! A few tracks here have vocals that bring a nice current of soul to the music – fleshing things out with contributions on three different tracks from Jim Grandcamp, Giacomo Lecchi D'Alessandro, and Irfane – who each have their own soulful shapes next to the overall vibe of the music, which is nicely unified, and heavy on warm keyboards, guitar lines, and larger arrangements. Shoko Igarashi plays soprano sax and flute on the record – and titles include "Resolution", "Action", "Miracle", "Fortune", "Bullet", and "Serenade". LP, Vinyl record album

The brilliant consummation of Bowie's late 70s years in Berlin – a record that showed he could take the experiments in sound he was crafting with Brian Eno, and turn them back into the kind of creepily catchy rock tunes that first made him a legend! Eno's help on the record is still quite strong – heard very well in the record's use of odd electronics and exotic themes – of a sort that Eno would later explore on his own with David Byrne. But the real charm here is pure Bowie – with an unabashed flair for a dramatic lyric, a well-chosen use of a heavier guitar, and a sense of personality and poise that makes the record one of his most unified ever! Titles include "Red Sails", "Look Back In Anger", "Repetition", "Boys Keep Swinging", "Red Money", "Yassassin", and "DJ". LP, Vinyl record album

The brilliant consummation of Bowie's late 70s years in Berlin – a record that showed he could take the experiments in sound he was crafting with Brian Eno, and turn them back into the kind of creepily catchy rock tunes that first made him a legend! Eno's help on the record is still quite strong – heard very well in the record's use of odd electronics and exotic themes – of a sort that Eno would later explore on his own with David Byrne. But the real charm here is pure Bowie – with an unabashed flair for a dramatic lyric, a well-chosen use of a heavier guitar, and a sense of personality and poise that makes the record one of his most unified ever! Titles include "Red Sails", "Look Back In Anger", "Repetition", "Boys Keep Swinging", "Red Money", "Yassassin", and "DJ". LP, Vinyl record album

Unreleased work from the glory days of the Peter Brotzmann Chicago Tentet – a legendary free jazz ensemble that's playing here at the height of their powers! The group have a vibe here that's wonderful – both as playful and as sinister as the title might imply – stretched out to a performance that's almost 20 minutes in length, and which almost has a sort of cinematic sense of dynamism at times – although still with all the unscripted energy that made the group so great. Brotzmann is in the lead on tenor, with Mars Williams on tenor and soprano, Ken Vandermark on baritone, Mats Gustafsson on alto, Joe McPhee on valve trombone, Jeb Bishop on trombone, Fred Lonberg Holm on cello, Kent Kessler on bass, and Michael Zerang and Hamid Drake on drums. The first-ever issue of this music comes in a limited one-sided record – with music on side a, and a silkscreen of Peter Brotzmann artwork on side B! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the more orchestral of Roy Budd's scores from the 70's, but still with some nice moments that give a good focus to Roy's piano. The score was written for an Eastern thriller starring David Niven and Toshiro Mifune, and the tracks are a mix of easy and action themes – including "Kidnapped", "Out Of Control", "Who Knows The Answers", "The Reception", "Diplomatic Dance", and "The Cable Car". Some cuts have a vocal chorus, for a dreamy haunting sound, and others have Budd's piano right up front. LP, Vinyl record album

Tightly-strung score for this forgotten war flick starring Roger Moore, Richard Burton, and Richard Harris. Budd does a nice job with the orchestra on this one, and most of the themes have a snappy militaristic style, in the vein of The Magnificent Seven or The Great Escape. Not as many jazzy bits as usual, but a nice dramatic score, and still up to Budd's usual high standards. Joan Armatrading sings vocals on the "Flight Of The Wild Geese", but skip that, and stick to tracks like "Rafer's Theme", "Reunion", "Wild Gese Theme", and "Flight To Africa". LP, Vinyl record album

A hip live date from Kenny Burrell – recorded with a trio that includes Richard Davis on bass and Roy Haynes on drums – both of whom help Kenny find a groove that's a bit lighter and more fluid than usual! The rhythms here are quite gentle, almost spare at times – and always touched with Haynes' great sense of lyricism. Kenny's guitar lines are right out front, freely flowing with plenty of warm chromatic hues, and styles that echo a bit more modernism than we've heard in other work of his from the late 50s. Titles include "Well You Needn't", "Trio", "All Night Long", and "Soft Winds". LP, Vinyl record album

Modern art, but of the sonic variety – served up here by composer Daniela Casa on a rare sound library album, but with a free-thinking quality that rivals the best of the avant garde at the time! Unlike some more staid, academic record, there's no overarching concept here – no detailed notes that you need to read to "get" the music. Instead, Casa creates these short, dark little passages of sound – sometimes very abstract, occasionally tuneful – with elements that move between free jazz, atonal piano and woodwinds, offbeat strings, and even a bit of Fender Rhodes! The whole thing's a great reminder of just how much genius was bubbling up in Italy during the 70s – so much so that a record like this, which would have been worthy of release by Columbia or Deutsche Grammophon in bigger scenes, was only pressed up in small quantities by the Flipper music label. Titles include "Concetto Informale", "Dimensione Umana", "Prima Maniera", "Ricerca Della Materia", "Visione Surreale", and "Ricerca Cromatica". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful chapter in the career of Ray Charles – and a key album in helping raise his respect level a notch or two in the early 60s! We might argue with the mathematics in the title – or at least joke that Ray was using equations as titles years before Anthony Braxton – but you can't contest the fact that this one's a classic treat, and a legendary attempt to class up Ray's bluesy style for the masses. Quincy Jones and Ralph Burns handled the arrangements, and given that the record was issued by ABC a few years before they brought Ray into a country mode, it's interesting to think what might have happened had his career continued this way. There's only a small number of vocal tracks on the record, and most of the rest feature Ray at the organ, grooving away very nicely! Titles include "One Mint Julep", "Moanin", "I've Got News For You", "Mister C", and "Stompin Room Only". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful chapter in the career of Ray Charles – and a key album in helping raise his respect level a notch or two in the early 60s! We might argue with the mathematics in the title – or at least joke that Ray was using equations as titles years before Anthony Braxton – but you can't contest the fact that this one's a classic treat, and a legendary attempt to class up Ray's bluesy style for the masses. Quincy Jones and Ralph Burns handled the arrangements, and given that the record was issued by ABC a few years before they brought Ray into a country mode, it's interesting to think what might have happened had his career continued this way. There's only a small number of vocal tracks on the record, and most of the rest feature Ray at the organ, grooving away very nicely! Titles include "One Mint Julep", "Moanin", "I've Got News For You", "Mister C", and "Stompin Room Only". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice little record that lives up to the name of the group – a record that's maybe jazz at the core, but served up in very cinematic ways – very much the spirit of the dark, moody image pictured on the cover! This isn't chase, crime, or cop music – but instead maybe the sounds you'd hear on the journey home after the battle – slow funk in the rhythms, peppered with great work on vibes, piano, and mellotron from Pierre Chretien – who also wrote, arranged, and produced the whole record too! Most tunes have a nice light melody over heavier drums and percussion on the bottom – never too over the top, but well-paced in a way that really makes this one stand out from the pack. Titles include "Les Corbeaux", "Eveil De La Cite", "Aube Sur La Ville", "Fleurs De Bitume", "Le Petit Cimetiere", "Apres Le Deluge", and "Illusions Perdues". LP, Vinyl record album

With a name like Cinephonic, you can imagine some of the sound here – but that's also only the tip of the iceberg, as there's a heck of a lot going on with the record! There's definitely a cinematic vibe to the music, yet the work isn't just any retro-styled material influenced by film scores – as these guys have all sorts of wonderful instrumentation of their own, including great use of flute, tenor, trumpet, and some especially nice organ, clavinet, and vibes – all handled by Pierre Chretien, the maestro behind the whole project! Strings provide a nice backdrop, but they're used sparingly, and with a nicely sinister tone – that darkness you might find in the larger charts of David Axelrod at his best. The whole thing's great – every bit as wonderful as their previous record – and titles include "Pyramides", "L'Etoile", "Les Souterrains", "Penombre", "Douleur", "Cendres Et Poussieres", and "Le Combat". LP, Vinyl record album

Dee Clark cracked the charts big with a few crossover hits – but he's an excellent soul singer with a raspy tone that almost set the stage for some of the deeper soul acts to come in the 60s! The style here is very much in the mode of some of Jackie Wilson's best for Brunswick from the early days – tracks recorded in a mode that's often heavy on the voice, letting Dee step out with strong flourishes that change in style from track to track – sometimes dramatic, sometimes subtle – but always impeccably phrased with Clark's stunning vocals! Titles are a nice batch of numbers that go way past Dee's hits – and include "Just Like A Fool", "What I Say", "Come To California", "24 Boyfriends", "I Just Can't Help Myself", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Gloria", and "Baby What You Want". LP, Vinyl record album

From hipster comedian to schlocky roles in The Planet of The Apes, Severn Darden was one of the 60s more enigmatic performers. This early album has him doing intellectual standup and skits with the help of the Second City cast – including Alan Arkin, Paul Sand, and Barbara Harris. The stuff's a bit dated, but it has that nice pre-hippy early 60s intellectual camp sort of twist. LP, Vinyl record album

Prime symphonic disco from the mighty John Davis and his well-named Monster Orchestra! The set's got a dramatic flourish that still mixes in plenty of live instrumentation – including keyboards and flute from John, plus some nice congas from Larry Washington! John sings lead vocals on most cuts, but uses some cool processing to kind of space out the sound – making for a compressed and flanged-out sound that's poppy, but really compelling. And although the whole thing sounds hokey, the quality of the grooves is actually pretty great from an instrumental standpoint. Titles include "Once Upon A Time", "We Can Fly", "Up Jumped The Devil", "You Gotta Give It Up", "You're The One", "The Magic Is You", and "Recapitulation". LP, Vinyl record album

Import collection of some more obscure Miles moments from the late 50s Columbia years! There's 4 tracks recorded with the orchestra of Michel Legrand – and players that include Coltrane, Phil Woods, Jerome Richardson, and Bill Evans: "Jitterbug Waltz", "Round Midnight", "Wild Man Blues", and "Django". 2 tracks from a recording by the Brass Ensemble Of The Jazz & Classical Music Society, one led by John Lewis, the other by Gunther Schuller, are surprisingly wonderful – very much in the mode of Miles' work with Gil Evans, with a similar glistening sound on Miles' trumpet, and warm chromatic washes of sound underneath to provide the perfect soloing vehicle. And there are 4 numbers, a pair each from the Coltrane/Garland incarnation of the quintet, "Sweet Sue" & "Budo", and a transitional sextet from 1962, "Devil May Care" & "Blue Xmas". LP, Vinyl record album

A great entry in the Piedone series of films from Italian comedic legend Bud Spencer – scored by the DeAngelis brothers with a col sort of 80s take on their earlier cinematic modes! As with most of the Italian scores of the time, spare instrumentation and keyboards are used in place of fuller orchestrations – and the result is a batch of playful themes that really fit the goofy action that Spencer spins out on the screen – cheesier sounds that work very nicely with the offbeat performance that always made Bud's films such guilty pleasures! Features a total of 22 tracks – including two versions of the vocal theme "Sphinx" – fitting as the film is set in Egypt! LP, Vinyl record album

A really beautiful soundtrack from the great Georges Delerue – one that maybe has a bit more staying power than the unusual film for which it was scored! Delerue brings a richness to the music that's wonderful right from the start – sliding sentimental strings at some point, right as if they're lifted from one of his French cinematic classics – blended with more dramatic action points, both stark and more driving – mixed with occasional watery moments that are maybe the best on the soundtrack. Titles include the great main theme – plus "Whirlpool", "Dolphin Hunt", "Nocturne", "The Chase", "Dummy Mine", and "Finding The Flag". LP, Vinyl record album

Melina Mercouri and director Jules Dassin team up once again for this early 70s dramatic film. Music is by Georges Delerue, handled in the typical style of his more serious work at the time – with plenty of dreamy touches and more dramatic moments. The soundtrack also sports a strange vocal number called "I'm Greek", with arrangements by Alan Gourager and vocals by Melina. Instrumental numbers include "Romain's First Love", "The Friend's Farewell", "Various Professions", "Promise At Dawn", and "The Arrival In France". LP, Vinyl record album

A later effort from the Dells, cut around the time ABC was having some great luck with the Detroit soul of The Dramatics – and also recorded in Detroit, with production work by the likes of Al Perkins, Rudy Robinson, and Calvin Carter, the Dells' old boss at Vee Jay. The tunes have a smoother approach than the group's work at Chess/Cadet – but their vocals are still top notch, with that raspy soul quality that has made them sound consistently strong over the years, no matter what the setting. Includes "Face To Face", "Thought I Could", "Face To Face", "Hooked On Loving You", "Love Me", "Wrapped Up Tight", and "Changed Man". Lots of nice ballads! LP, Vinyl record album

One of Martin Denny's greatest albums – thanks to some extra special added elements! For the record, Denny's classic quartet is augmented by a wealth of odd added percussion – including gongs, cymbals, tuned logs, steel drums, chimes, and "chromatic bamboo"! All of these elements take Denny's exotica sound way further than ever before – and if that's not enough, the legendary Tak Shindo plays a bit of Koto on the record too! Titles include "M'Bira", "Burma Train", "Kalua", "M'Gambo Mambo", and "Mau Mau". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that pays tribute to the glory days of European sound library music, and which is particularly heavy on modes from the early 80s – that point when library funk was stripped down a lot more from the fuller bands of the previous decade, and relied heavily on beats and keyboards! There's plenty of both here – and the tune are all instrumental, and have enough vibrancy to also allow room for solos from time to time – partly jazz, but mostly cinematic, and with a warmth that also shows a bit of an influence from fusion! Titles include "Skipass", "Voxon", "Studio 70", "Synthporn", "Blitz", "Redemption", and "Killing". LP, Vinyl record album

Dudley's second full length for Stones Throw under his own name – third overall, counting his debut as Declaime – and one of the most surefooted, soul-steeped Madlib productions of the era! Again, Madlib wisely leans on warm funk and soul beats and samples to back Dudley, but it's a little lighter on the murk and grit this time, better to match Dudley's more confident vocals. Dudley's voice leads the way with a charismatic mix of laidback singing and rhymes. Great stuff – a low key masterclass in funky hip hop soul! 13 tracks in all, including "Funky Dudley", "The Last Stand", "Dear God", "Come Here My Dear", "Testin' Me", "Get On Up", "Dolla Bill", "That's The Way It's Gonna Be" and "Separate Ways". LP, Vinyl record album

Subtitled "jazz for that relaxed mood", this is actually a great compilation of early work by Ellington's group – recorded for Columbia during the years 1934 to 1939. Somehow, the tracks still end up sounding 30 years ahead of their time – far stronger than most any early 50s big band set might hope to. Recording quality is excellent, and the whole thing's awash in richly chromatic waves of sound. Titles include "Pyramid", "Reminiscing In Tempo", "Tough Truckin", "No Greater Love", and "Finesse". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Duke's standout sides for Columbia during the late 50s wealth of new recordings – a live set recorded at Miami's Bal Masque nightclub. The arrangements are sophisticated, and Duke's piano is hitting that darkly-tinged later style – but the focus is also on danceable arrangements, letting the crowds sway and swing to the group's warmly chromatic orchestrations. Titles include "Got A Date With An Angel", "Satan Takes A Holiday", "Satin Doll", "Lady In Red", "Donkey Serenade", and "Laugh Clown Laugh". LP, Vinyl record album

Late work from Duke – a set that has that nicely mature approach to arrangements, with a group that includes Johnny Hodges on alto, Paul Gonsalves on tenor, Cootie Williams and Cat Anderson on trumpets, and Lawrence Brown on trombones. Titles include a "Johnny Hodges Medley" – plus "Boola Boola", "Chromatic Love Affair", "Put-Tin", and "Swamp Goo". LP, Vinyl record album

Bill Evans meets Bill Evans – in a uniquely-styled session that features overdubbed solo lines from Bill, creating a multi-piano sound that's really great! The approach sounds gimmicky, but it's not – and Evans carries all the sensitivity you might expect from the title and image on the cover – a personal, up-close style that's nicely free from piano solo cliches, given the extra work of the overdubs. There's a nicely rhythmic feel to most numbers, and the piano lines often work in chromatic counterpoint to create a warmly sparkling quality to the set. Titles include "Round About Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Theme From Spartacus", "Stella By Starlight", and "NYC's No Lark". LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous comeback for the Art Farmer/Benny Golson Jazztet – recording here in the mid 80s with original members Farmer, Golson, and Curtis Fuller – plus tremendous rhythm support from the trio of Mickey Tucker, Ray Drummon, and Marvin Smitty Smith! The session has less of the tightly snapping groove that was the initial Jazztet calling card in the 60s – and comes across with some of the warmer, more chromatic tones that showed up on the group's last few recordings – and even more so in Art Farmer's work for many years to come. Tracks are all longish, and filled with many interesting twists and turns – and overall the album recalls the brilliant economy of Farmer's best work from the period, with some of the subtle soul that made Golson a player to keep an ear on strongly during the 80s. Titles include "From Dream To Dream", "Back To The City", "Vas Simeon", "Write Soon", and "Without Delay/Time Speaks". LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic chapter in the career of the legendary Bill Fay – material that might have formed a lost third album, had any record company chosen to respond at the time – and which, presented here, really serves to illuminate a lost chapter in Bill's musical lineage! The set has Fay working with a small group of younger musicians who were originally fans who were disappointed that Decca never released another album after Bill's first two – so they got in touch, and set about helping Fay find a new vision in his music with their help! The sound is often stark and lean, with more of an edge than Fay's first two records – still graced with those enigmatic vocals and really haunting songwriting, but with moodier elements that really give the music some bite. The original batch of recordings has been expanded out here by a number of other rare recordings from the same time – really unique bits of varying length – and if you love Fay's music, you'll find plenty to love within! LP, Vinyl record album

A great small combo set from Ella Fitzgerald – and a record that maybe has a bit more bite than some of her Songbook sessions from the time! The combo's a great one – with excellent piano from Lou Levy, balanced with guitar work from Herb Ellis – a pair whose chromatic contributions really resonate wonderfully with the vocal range of Ella – especially as the singer is hitting that 60s stretch when she seemed to find an even more expressive tone than in earlier years! Other players include Joe Mondragon on bass and Gus Johnson on drums – no other players at all, a nice lean set – and titles include "Night In Tunisia", "Cry Me A River", "This Year's Kisses", "Music Goes Round & Round", "Clap Hands Here Comes Charlie", "My Reverie", and "You're My Thrill". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the many things we love about keyboardist Greg Foat is that he's never willing to sit still – that he's always on the move into some new dimension of his music – so much so that it's very difficult to ever compare one of his records with another! This set's got a very keyboard-heavy approach – recorded with just drums from Morgan Simpson of Black Midi – and a style that's like some of the best tracks from that moment when the sound library scene went more electric at the end of the 70s – although in a way that still stretches out with the enigmatic depths of some of Foat's more ambitious projects! The album's full of wonderfully spacey lines and laidback grooves – on titles that include "Underwater Fantasy", "Tropical Love", "Arctic Cavern", "The Investigation", "Green Odyssey", "Riding Into Battel", "Subterranean Lake", and "World Of Tiers". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the toughest, leanest, tightest and most on point efforts from Freddie Gibbs to date when it came out – and still one of the best! Despite the dead on perfect homage to the Teddy Pendergrass's quiet storm soul classic Teddy with the cover art here, make no mistakes, the material is Freddie Gibbs at his most finely honed, perfectly backed on the production side by Kenny Beats for the most part. Lean beats and thick rattling bass back some of Freddie's sharpest performances from track-to-track we've ever heard. Includes "Weight", "Automatic", "Death Row" feat 03 Greedo, "2 Legit", "FLFM (Interlude)", "Triple Threat" "Set Set", "Toe Tag", "FBC", and "Diamonds 2" feat Cassi Jo Craig & Irie Jane Gibbs. LP, Vinyl record album

Dramatic music from the Sirk film Written On The Wind – with even cooler music on the flipside – the "Rhapsody For Four Girls In Town", with piano from Andre Previn, trumpet from Ray Linn, and orchestrations by Henry Mancini! LP, Vinyl record album

A surprisingly rich soundtrack for this famous Andy Warhol horror film – one of his key cinematic collaborations with Paul Morrissey! Claudio Gizzi's music is way more than schlock, or even the usual horror bag – as he mixes light orchestrations with these spare instrumental passages in a way that links together older thriller traditions, particularly British ones, with some of the new spareness of the 70s. LP, Vinyl record album

An album with as much power as you'd expect from the title – and a set that's billed as featuring "Music To The Limits Of Audibility"! The limits explored are the farther ones in sound – not the lower tones at the end of hearing – and Marty Gold does a very good job of hitting the heights with his bold orchestrations, captured here in dramatic RCA sound of the time! Orchestrations are often a bit more complicated than the usual bachelor pad record – with lots of complex horn patterns especially, instead of driving rhythms – and titles include "Stella By Starlight", "The Moon Was Yellow", "I'll Remember April", "A String Of Pearls", "Without A Song", and "Misty". Very dramatic – and bound to make your speakers pop! LP, Vinyl record album

This record is not really a Dexter Gordon album but rather a collection of tracks from Spotlite's Dial Masters series that include other artists as well. The Gordon tracks that are included are alternate takes of songs recorded for Dial and performed with his Quintet and Quartet in 1947. Titles include "Mischievous Lady", "Lullaby In Rhythm", "Chromatic Aberration", "It's The Talk Of The Town", "Ghost Of A Chance", and "Sweet & Lonely". The other artists included were either on the Dial label or Dial issued them at some point and they are the Teddy Edwards Quartet, Earl Coleman & His All-Stars, Fats Navarro Quintet and Howard McGhee & His Band. Tracks include "Blues In Teddy's Flat", "Mop Mop", "Lifestream", and "Move". LP, Vinyl record album

Very interesting soul material from this enigmatic singer. Ralph had a righteous approach that mixed larger arrangements with a folksy style – in an overall effect that was a few parts Terry Callier, a few parts late Jerry Butler, and a few parts Grady Tate – but which had an approach that was really all its own. The record is almost heading into the folk-funk realm, but the orchestrations are a bit too lush – although nice! Some tracks were produced by Clayton Ivey, and titles include "Stay On The Good Side", "Differently", "I Don't Want To Play This Game", "My Love Goes With You", and "Ain't No Need". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful early soundtrack from Dave Grusin – surprisingly sensitive, and quite different than his later funky work in the 70s! The score is a cool mix of strings and keyboard parts – sometimes played on harpsichord by Grusin, an instrument that we don't always hear him use, and which rings out here with a hip 60s cinematic style – often a bit spacey at points, with a slow-stepping pace that really fits the feel of the orchestrations. The strings are never too full, and they're often cut by some woodwind parts too – and a few tracks feature some more familiar 60s modes, including a few standout vocal tracks – like "The Color Of The Wind", "Elizabeth", "I Can't Afford To Let You Go", and "Beyond The Reach Of Love". Includes the main title theme, plus "Drop Out", "The Last Walk", "Aftermath", "Growing Pains", and "Symphodelic", which is a nice twist on a bit of Mozart! LP, Vinyl record album

We love our Buddy Guy here in Chicago – and this set cut for Vanguard, one of his first full solo albums with his own band will always be a favorite! Buddy's late 60s sound was as charismatic as he'd always be, but there's an understated approach to his lead that's really wonderful, and hits us much deeper than the showy, guitar solo heavy stuff that the blues club tourists want to hear! He's got the great Otis Spann playing piano, Wayne Bennett on rhythm, Jack Myers on bass, Lonny Taylor and Fred Below on drums, and Donald Hankins, Aaron Corthen and Bobby Fields on saxes. Titles include "A Man And His Blues", "I Can't Quit The Blues", "One Room Country Shack", "Just Playing My Axe", "Worry, Worry", "Jam On A Monday Morning" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the hippest albums we've ever heard from guitarist Jim Hall – a set of free-thinking, open-ended tracks that show him really expanding his horizons at the end of the 60s! The album's drenched in Jim's warm, chromatic tones – whether gently played on a few mellow numbers, or falling over themselves like cascading water on the more upbeat tunes. The record's got some great drums and percussion from Airto, plus piano by Benny Aronov, who also plays electric on a few tracks as well. Titles include a great version of "Vera Cruz", plus "Minotaur", "Simple Samba", "Careful", "Wehre Would I Be", and "Goodbye My Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the earliest work we've ever seen from Steven Halpern, and some of the best – a mid 70s set that predates some of his better-known new age records of later years – and which has a sound that's maybe a bit more compressed and focused overall! Steven's still playing plenty of Fender Rhodes throughout – using the keys in those enigmatic ways that always make his records so great – mixed with light touches on bass, trumpet, electric flute, and guitar – but only at a few points, so that most of the record is just Halpern opening up with these beautiful lines on the Rhodes! Side one features the long "Sound Spectrum Suite" – and side two features "Be Muse Ment", "Trans Pan Dance", and "Subtle Body Suite" – the last of which is actually a funky Rhodes tune! LP, Vinyl record album

There's plenty of drums and percussion on this sweet set of funky instrumentals – played both by Dan Hastie and Terin Ector, who also each handle bass, guitar, and keyboards too – an approach that makes for a very tight, wonderfully unified vibe on the set! The only other instrumentation is a bit of light strings added by Thomas Lea – who uses those elements in a great way, just to touch up the funky energy at the core – maybe inflecting things with a slight cinematic vibe, but never in a way that's overwhelming or too rich at all. The whole thing's nice and funky, yet also has a standout vibe from others in this Madlib sound library series – with titles that include "Mirage", "Timeless Tales", "Dorado", "Deep Waters", "Telescopics", "Better Days", "Blue Shade", "Vision", "When I Go", and "Streetwise". LP, Vinyl record album

A very very cool live set from the great tenorist Tubby Hayes – one that has him working in an unusual quartet with Louis Stewart on guitar – a setting that makes a really nice change for Hayes! The track are all very long and open – three of the four are past the ten minute mark – and Stewart's guitar often provides this rhythmic comping while Tubby solos – creating blocks of chromatic sound that make for a wonderful counterpart to the sharper, soulful lines from Hayes as he creates with the sort of non-stop energy we love in his live performances. The rest of the group includes Kenny Baldock on bass and Spike Wells on drums – and titles include "The Syndicate", "Gingerbread Boy", "The Inner Splurge", and "The Gentle Rain". LP, Vinyl record album

There was never anyone like Lee Hazlewood – and this album is a true testament to his genius! He's the kind of guy you think you've got figured out when you first look at him – but the more you listen to his music, the more you want to raise him above all of the other hip singer/songwriters he seems to be like (Gram Parsons, Leonard Cohen, etc). At heart, Lee was a Cowboy – much more so than any of those fake LA "desperadoes" of the Sunset rock years – and this album, recorded as part of the enigmatic film A Cowboy In Sweden, is true testament to Lee's incredible ability to be both totally serious about his image, yet still maintain a sense of wit and distance that makes him incredibly hard to pin down, genre-wise. He's the country singer Scott Walker always wanted to be, and he's got a pop genius that Leonard Cohen painfully tried to reach in his later years. Brilliant! Filled with beautiful titles like "Forget Marie", "Pray Them Bars Away", "Easy & Me", "No Train To Stockholm", and "The Night Before" – one that you won't forget for a long time! This rare deluxe version features a bonus album of unreleased tracks – outtakes, demos, and instrumentals! LP, Vinyl record album

A really wonderful soundtrack, for a very gripping film! Synanon, for those not in the know, was a famous west coast drug treatment center in the 60s – well known for its work with musicians like Joe Pass, Art Pepper, and others. The hospital is the setting for this dramatic film that starred Chuck Connors, Edmund O'Brien, and Stella Stevens – and it features a very hip soundtrack by Neal Hefti, on a par with his best jazzy work of the 60s! The tunes have a swinging approach – with some nice use of organ, drawn out in a spare thin tone that snakes through the best numbers with a sexy ease. The mood changes nicely from track to track – but keeps a groovy pace that makes the soundtrack a lot fresher than you might think, given the topic of the film. Titles include "Zankie", "Main Street", "Blues For Hopper", "Hope", "Tonight's The Night", and "Open House". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful setting for the vibes of Milt Jackson – a record that has his sublime chromatic sound stepping out in front of fuller orchestrations from Quincy Jones – never overdone, but with just the right sort of soulful focus to send Milt over the top! The album's an early example of the great solo path that Jackson would pursue more strongly in the 60s – work away from the MJQ that showed that he may well have been the most multi-faceted member of that group. Barry Galbraith plays guitar on many tracks – and his light hues are a perfect complement to the vibes – on titles that include "The Cylinder", "Makin Whoopee", "Alone Together", "Tenderly", "Don't Worry Bout Me", "Nuages", "Deep In A Dream", "I'm A Fool To Want You", "The Midnight Will Never Set", and "Tomorrow". LP, Vinyl record album

The title says it all with this one – as Milt Jackson plays a set of ballads, and a set of blues – but both in ways that really make the best of his warmly chromatic approach to the vibes! The players here vary on different tracks, but apart from MJQ regular John Lewis, the album also presents Jackson with some less-familiar associates who include Barney Kessel on guitar, Lucky Thompson on tenor, and Oscar Pettiford on bass. A few tracks on the album also feature an augmented woodwind section – and titles include "Bright Blues", "Hello", "They Didn't Believe Me", "The Song Is Ended", "So In Love", and "Gerry's Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Wicked early work from Milt Jackson – a record that's got a lot more of an edge than some of his later work with the Modern Jazz Quartet – a near-perfect modernist bop sound that's every bit the best side of Blue Note in the early 50s! The groups here are really great – one a quintet that features Jackson's partners in the MJQ – John Lewis on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums (who was in the first rendition of the quartet) – the group's also joined by Lou Donaldson on alto sax, who blows with this boppish edge that really deepens the sound! And the other quintet is even better – with Thelonious Monk on piano and Sahib Shihab on alto sax. Milt's vibes ring out in this boldly chromatic way – clearly a sense of discovery in process during the session – and titles include "Bag's Groove", "On The Scene", "Willow Weep For Me", "Criss Cross", "Eronel", "Tahiti", and "What's New". LP, Vinyl record album

Milt Jackson's working here with his "Big 4" group – a quartet (natch) that includes Oscar Peterson on piano, Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Mickey Roker on drums – all opening up nicely in this laidback live environment! Despite the Montreux hype of the 70s, the record's got a surprisingly intimate feel – and offers a nicely restrained Peterson doing some very sensitive solo work – augmented by some of Jackson's most chromatic sounds on vibes. Titles include "Mack The Knife", "Night Mist Blues", "Stella By Starlight", "Speed Ball", "Nature Boy", and "Funji Mama". LP, Vinyl record album

Proof that Milt Jackson was easily the hippest member of the Modern Jazz Quartet – and one of the few who could really open up into different sounds away from that combo! This sweet 70s set for CTI is totally great – a whole new chapter for Jackson's vibes, and a real re-setting of the soulful modes he'd explored as a leader in the 60s. There's a wonderfully warm and chromatic feel to the set from the start – as Milt's vibes are set in fuller arrangements from Don Sebesky – with added instrumentation from Herbie Hancock on electric piano, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, and Phil Bodner on reeds. The highlight of the album is a nice long take on "People Make The World Go Round", but it's all pretty sweet, and other titles include nice versions of "Sunflower" and "What Are You Doing For The Rest Of Your Life" – and Jackson's own "SKJ" and "For Someone I Love". LP, Vinyl record album

"This here is the victory lap," raps Hov midway through The Black Album, his supposed career-capper (for this stage, anyway), and if nothing here immediately dazzles us to the core the way the best of his past singles have done, overall this is probably the most consistent front-to-back listen of all his albums. One of the nicest things about the Black Album is the brevity. As tight as the best of his recent output has been over the last couple of years – from singles, to album tracks, to guest spots – Jay-Z's simply been TOO productive, which has diluted the overall power of his presence. That issue is addressed right off the bat here – with a very manageable 14 tracks, no guest rhymers, and a consistent overall sound and mood thanks in part to strong production by Kanye West, 9th Wonder, Neptunes, Timbaland, Eminem (who's baroque synth productions are getting dangerously close to going stale, but it fits Jay-Z's dramatic finale theme very well), Rick Rubin and DJ Quik. It's a wildly disparate cast behind the boards, but this thing flows incredibly well thanks to Jay-Z's predetermined mission to make a great album, not just a hot record. We may still have to lean towards Blueprint as his late masterpiece, but this is way up there. "December 4th", "What More Can I Say?", "Encore", "Change Clothes", "Dirt Off Your Shoulder", "Threat", "Moment Of Clarity", "99 Problems", "Justify My Thug", "Lucifer", "Allure", "My First Song", and a couple of brief interludes. LP, Vinyl record album

There's some pretty great moments in Quincy Jones' original score to the film version of Truman Capote's chilling book – most of them in a darkly tinged crime jazz mode, with flowing, complicated orchestrations that are mixed with breakout solos, and some very strangely arranged instrumental elements – almost more in some of the territory of Kenyon Hopkins, and some of his more dramatic jazz scores of the 60s! Titles include "In Cold Blood", "Seduction", "Down Clutter's Lane", "Murder Scene", "The Corner", "Lonely Bottles", and "No Witnesses". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked, but very groovy soundtrack by Quincy Jones! The record has a mix of easy jazz and a few harder-edged themes – dramatic throughout, but with washes of crime jazz, bossa, and some floating easy scoring. Players aren't listed, but you can bet they're the usual high-level crop of jazzmen that Quincy would get for his mid 60s Mercury sides. Titles include "Dead Duck", "Purple Prose", "Boobie Baby", "Shoot To Kill", "A Shot In The Park", and "Turtles Last Lap". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic work from Tamiko Jones – one of the more enigmatic soul singers of her generation! Tamiko could always handle a number of styles – and on this set, she moves between jazz and deep soul, working through a set of tracks that were recorded at either Sam Phillips in Memphis, or Rudy Van Gelder's famous jazz studio in New Jersey. Arrangements are by Teacho Wiltshire, Horace Ott, and Artie Butler – and Solomon Burke makes a guest appearance on the track "Try It Baby". Other tunes include "Where Are They Now?", "Black Is Black", "Ya Ya", "Suddenly", "This Time Tomorrow", and "Please Return Your Love To Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty nice little soundtrack from a period when Columbia was sneaking out some great material in the genre! The album features tracks by Kaplan that run through a variety of moods – some are orchestral and dramatic, but there's also some good groovy numbers too – a few nice, almost bossa-inflected tunes of the type that we love to dig through 60s soundtracks for. Titles include "Cold Love", "The Beatch", "The Amphitheater", "Young Lovers", and "Bull Fight". LP, Vinyl record album

The very first full length album from BB King – a killer collection of previous singles for the RPM Records label, served up as a bold statement of King's early genius! The record announces its presence right from the very first note – that brilliant blend of effortless electric guitar solo work and completely charismatic vocals that made BB such a star, right from the get-go – and which maybe comes through even more clearly here than in some of his overproduced material from later decades! Many tracks have nicely jumping backings by the great Maxwell Davis – and titles include "Please Love Me", "Bad Luck", "3 O'Clock Blues", "Ten Long Years", "Sweet Little Angel", "You Upset Me Baby", and a classic early take on "Every Day I Have The Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A really obscure album from the legendary 60s soul singer – done for the short-lived Guinness Records label, right around the same time that Ben was coming back a bit on Atlantic! This one's got a rootsier feel – almost in a southern soul mode, with Ben singing in a style that really brings out the rougher edges in his voice, against arrangements by Bob Gallo that have a slightly dramatic feel. Titles include many originals by Ben, and tunes include "White Moon", "Travlin Woman", "I Guess It's Goodbye", "She Does It Right", and "The Beginning Of It All". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the highest-concept of all 70s Kinks album – a dark exploration of fame and the price of success, done as a mini-rock opera starring Norman & The Starmaker! As with some of these sets, the best tunes here are those that are the most subtle and less dramatic – and which revisit the more everyday themes of the group's Village Green years. Other tracks are a bit more showy and gimmicky, in a way that almost makes you feel silly for caring about the subject matter – even though Ray Davies's vision of the issues at hand is still as biting as ever. A few standout tracks move into straighter rocking territory, but without the kitsch of some of the other "oldies" styled numbers – and titles include "Holiday Romance", "Everybody's A Star", "Rush Hour Blues", "Nine To Five", "When Work Is Over", "Ducks On The Wall", "You Can't Stop The Music", and "Face In The Crowd". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the highest-concept of all 70s Kinks album – a dark exploration of fame and the price of success, done as a mini-rock opera starring Norman & The Starmaker! As with some of these sets, the best tunes here are those that are the most subtle and less dramatic – and which revisit the more everyday themes of the group's Village Green years. Other tracks are a bit more showy and gimmicky, in a way that almost makes you feel silly for caring about the subject matter – even though Ray Davies's vision of the issues at hand is still as biting as ever. A few standout tracks move into straighter rocking territory, but without the kitsch of some of the other "oldies" styled numbers – and titles include "Holiday Romance", "Everybody's A Star", "Rush Hour Blues", "Nine To Five", "When Work Is Over", "Ducks On The Wall", "You Can't Stop The Music", and "Face In The Crowd". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few albums by the enigmatic Tony Kosinec – produced by Peter Asher, with titles that include "Bad Girls", "Dinner Time", "Wheatfield", "The Sun Wants Me To Love You", "My Cat Ain't Comin Back", "Gemini At Pains", and "The World Still". LP, Vinyl record album

Daisaku Kume did a fantastic job with the music for this excellent film from Takeshi Kitano – serving up a fair bit of the keyboard sounds that you'd know from his work in the famous fusion group T-Square, but in a way that's nicely different than those records too! There's definitely lots of 80s elements in the production, yet the sound is often nice and spare – matching the directorial genius of Kitano – with slow-moving drum machine rhythms, nicely chromatic keyboards, and a glow in the overall sound that's mighty nice. A few passages have lead tenor solos, and there's also two takes on work from Erik Satie – which might stand as a good inspiration for Kume's direction with the music. LP, Vinyl record album

The layers here come from the wonderful interplay between the guitar of Julian Lage and his trio members Jorge Roeder on bass and Dave King on drums – both musicians who lay back nicely, and find a way to resonate with those trademark chromatic notes that Lage seems to spin out effortlessly! The album's billed as a precursor to the previous View With A Room album – looser and more exploratory than that one, but also pretty darn great on its own. Titles include "The Layers", "Mantra", "Everything Helps", "This World", "Missing Voices", and "Double Southpaw". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty weird one! Vicky Lane's always been one of the more dramatic singers from RCA's 50s gal catalog – and she's working here with LA jazzer Pete Condoli, who conducts a small jazz combo with lots of added percussion! The style's halfway between straight vocals and hi-fi type numbers with lots of added instrumental twists – and players on the set include Barney Kessel, Jimmy Rowles, Alvin Stoller, and Joe Mondragon, plus percussionists Milt Holland, Gene Estes, Larry Bunker, and Lou Singer. Tracks include "I Love You", "My Heart Stood Still", "My Romance", "Our Very Own", "The Trolley Song", "The Song Is You", and "Love Isn't Born". LP, Vinyl record album

Herbie Mann's at the Village Gate – really wailing away in a set of extended numbers that not only set a whole new standard for live recording in jazz, but which also pushed forward the role of the flute in the music as well! There's a heck of a lot of soul in the grooves here – served up by a totally cooking rhythm section that includes basses from Ben Tucker and Ahmed Abdul-Malik, percussion from Chief Bey and Ray Mantilla, and drums from Rudy Collins – plus some especially great work on vibes from Haygood Hardy, sounding beautifully chromatic underneath Herbie's sharp-edged work on flute! The set features a key reading of "Comin Home Baby" that runs for over 8 minutes long – plus great long versions of "Summertime" and "It Ain't Necessarily So". LP, Vinyl record album

Pretty compelling stuff from Brit arranger Ray Martin! Sound Of Sight – a record that's exactly what it's titled at – a very visual set of sounds, made up mostly from music, but also featuring some cool sound effects as well – all laid out over original tunes by Martin, which act almost like these mini-movies in sound! The scoring is quite dramatic, and most numbers go for much longer than usual for the average Phase 4 album – and the 1963 date of the record makes for a handful of groovy touches mixed in with the more traditional cinematic styles. Titles include "Hoodunit", "Tearjerker", "Egyptian Epic", "Westorama", "Flagwaver", and "Cartoonik". LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever full length album from vibist Max Beesley – and a much-needed expression of some of the deeper ideas that he's always had in his music! Max was an artist who first started making waves during the earliest years of acid jazz on the UK scene – but like the best of his contemporaries, he's really grown a heck of a lot since then – to a point where he's able to deliver a cinematic funky jazz masterpiece like this – a record that's got plenty of his own great work on vibes, amidst heavy drums, funky basslines, and sweet keyboards – all set up in larger arrangements that have a sense of majesty we never would have expected in Beesley's music! Titles include "Saturn's Dust", "We'll Always Have Yesterday", "Fire", "Sergio's Bag", "Ice", "Snake Oil", and "Zeus". LP, Vinyl record album

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Seminal early work from Charles Mingus – a session that really shows him beginning to work in tightly arranged, deeply resonant styles – pushing much more deeply towards the brilliance of the late 50s! The set's recorded with a great lineup that includes Mal Waldron, Max Roach, and the enigmatic George Barrow on tenor – and includes a fantastic reading of "Percussion Discussion", played here by Roach and Mingus as a drum and bass duet (as opposed to Roach solo, as on a later version.) Also features the brilliant "All The Things You C-Sharp", a pivotal track in the Mingus book, and one of our favorites ever by him – plus "Septemberly", "Work Song", and "Jump Monk". LP, Vinyl record album