Quentin Angus on guitar, Can Olgun on piano, Desmond White on bass, Nate Smith on drums, and vocals from Michael Mayo. CD

Robin Eubanks on trombone, keyboards, and vocals, Kevin Eubanks on electric guitar, Corey Glover on vocals, Antonio Hart on alto saxophone, Duane Eubanks on trumpet, Kuumba Frank Lacy on vocals, Mike King and Kris Bowers on piano and keyboards, Boris Kozlov on bass, Nate Smith and Billy Kilson on drums, and Daniel Sadownick and David Silliman on percussion. CD

Taylor Haskins plays trumpet, melodica, guitar, bass, and electronics – with Ben Monder on guitar, Nate Smith on drums, and others. CD

A wonderfully warm and soulful session from bassist Dave Holland – thanks to contributions from a younger batch of players that includes Chris Potter on saxes and Steve Nelson on vibes! Both Potter and Nelson really make the record something special – Potter for his angular, well-crafted lines on tenor and soprano sax – and Nelson for his dark-edged vibes, which always add a new dimension to any group he works with! Other players are pretty great too – and include Robin Eubanks on trombone and Nate Smith on drums – and titles are all originals by group members, very fresh numbers from the hipper side of the soulful jazz spectrum! Titles include "The Eyes Have It", "Easy Did It", "Vicissitudes", "The Leak", "Secret Garden", "Lucky Seven", and "Amator Silenti". CD

Chris Potter on tenor saxophone, Craig Taborn on Fender Rhodes, Adam Rogers on guitar, and Nate Smith on drums. CD

A really powerful project from the LA underground – served up by a group led by Jesse Sharps, who you may remember from classic albums on the Nimbus label – and done at a level that unites the sound of his generation with some of the best currents of more contemporary years! The lineup here is filled with righteous, spiritual giants – the great Dwight Trible on vocals, Phil Ranelin on trombone, Theo Saunders on piano, Robwerto Miranda on bass, Derf Recklaw on congas and percussion – alongside Mercedes Smith on alto, Amos Delone on baritone , and Maia on flute! There's a strong mix of message and music going on here – also delivered with a bit of poetry from Kamau Daaood – and although the set was recorded before the events of 2020, it's got a deep sense of power that really gets at the needs of America in the years after George Floyd. The set begins with a stunningly dark take on "Strange Fruit", then moves into Daaood's equally powerful "Healing Suite" – and soars next on the long "Freedom's Sweet" by Horace Tapscott, before closing with "Mother", a composition by the great Nate Morgan. CD

A great date a leader from this important 80s tenorist – with a group that includes Mulgrew Miller on piano, Steve Turre on trombone, Peter Washington on bass, and Marvin Smitty Smith on drums! CD

A long-overdue collection of work by this sublime Ohio soul group of the 60s – a trio of lovely ladies with a really tremendous sound! Gigi & The Charmaines are hardly the girl group cliche you might think from their sweet name and the image on the cover – and on most of the numbers here, they're hard-rolling at a pace that's somewhere between the best Detroit Northern Soul of the time, and some of the sweeter female soul that was coming out of Chicago at the end of the 60s. Ace have really outdone themselves with the collection – and bring together the group's singles on the Columbia, Date, and Fraternity labels – as well as some other key sides that have them performing vocals on records by other artists in the lead! CD features a whopping 28 tracks in all, plus a full set of notes – with titles that include "Guilty", "Poor Unfortunate Me", "Eternally", "Girl Crazy", "If You Ever", "I Idolize You", "Rockin Old Man", "On The Wagon", "What Kind Of Girl Do You Think I Am", "All You Gotta Do", "GI Joe", "I Can't Go On This Way", and "I Don't Want To Lose Him" – plus "I'm So Satisfied" with Max Falcon, "Lucy Miloo" with Kenny Smith, "Baby Please Don't Go" with Carl Edmonson, and "Baby What's Wrong" with Lonnie Mack. CD

Pianist Danny Grissett has really grown into a master of tone in recent years – a player who seems to find just the right way to make all his notes resonate strongly with this incredible sense of harmony and presence – so full of color and life, a record like this makes us feel like we're hearing him for the first time all over again! The balance of sound and structure here is wonderful – as Grissett can be economical, but always right on the money – doing a heck of a lot with just a little, and really finding a way to set fire with the tenor sax of Walter Smith III, whose presence here creates this crackle, a sparkle, that leaps off from the rhythms by Vincente Archer on bass and Bill Stewart on drums. Most of the best tracks here are Grissett originals – and titles include "Winter Silence", "Blue J", "Mr Wiggle Worm", "The In Between", and "Seven Tune". CD

Righteous jazz, but with a bit of a funky twist too – a great selection of classics from the years when 60s soul jazz was reaching out with a new sense of pride and power, and finding a way embrace all of the musical changes that were coming its way! The music here is often by artists who might have been playing straighter standards, or bluesy organ numbers a few years before – but who here are set fire by the changes of the 60s – both at a musical level, and a political one – the latter in ways that resonate strongly even in the instrumental passages on the set! The title is a reference to a famous quote by Eldridge Cleaver, used often by The Black Panthers – and the set begins with Joe Henderson's number of the same name, "If You're Not Part Of The Solution You're Part Of The Problem" – and follows with "Let's Make Peace & Stop The War" by Funk Inc, "Bitches Brew" by Eddie Jefferson, "HNIC" by Harold Vick, "Tawhid" by Johnny Lytle, "John Coltrane" by Clifford Jordan, "Celestial Bodies" by Catalyst, "Warriors Of Peace" by Azar Lawrence, "Africans Unite" by Gary Bartz NTU Troop, and "Black Feeling" by Johnny Hammond Smith. All tracks are nice and long – and the set has a great mix of spiritual ideals with a few funky currents. CD

Fantastic work from legendary producer Joe Gibbs – a key force in helping Jamaican music find the darker side of its groove at the end of the 60s, thanks to some groundbreaking work in the dee jay mode, and some other styles that are definitely an earlier precursor to dub! The set brings together 27 tracks that Gibbs recorded right at the tail end of the decade – many issued on the Amalgamated and Pressure Beat labels, including 9 tracks that appear on CD for the first time ever! But even the rest are pretty rare singles, most out of print for years – and as with other Doctor Bird collections, they're brought together here at a level that really makes sense, and illuminates the genius that's present in all of the individual cuts. Titles include "Niney Special" by Niney & The Destroyers, "Straight To The Head" and "Nevada Joe" by Johnny Lover & The Destroyers, "Echo" by The Now Generation, "Ghost Walk" and "Seeing Is Believing" by Carlton Gibbs, "Still Water Runs Deep" by Lizzy, "Jack Of My Trade" by Lord Comic, "Pussy Catch A Fire" by Two Soul Brothers, "News Flash Version" and "Rock The Clock (version 2)" by The Destroyers, "Perfect Born Ya" by The Immortals, "Honey No Money" by Niney & Slim Smith, and "Ghost Capturer" by Joe Gibbs All Stars. CD

Now out of print, and a heck of a great little set of rare and unissued tracks from the glory days of the Blue Note funk scene! For most of the 80s and early 90s, Blue Note US used to bad mouth the stuff from this period – but by the mid 90s, demand for the funky stuff from collectors and DJs led Blue Note to dig back in the vaults, and come up with this tasty batch of goodies! Titles include "It's Your Thing" by Grant Green, "Brother Soul (alternate)" by Lou Donaldson, "You Want Me To Stop Loving You" by Stanley Turrentine, "Dancin In An Easy Groove" by Lonnie Smith, "Village Lee (alternate)" by John Patton, "The Scorpion (alternate)" by Lou Donaldson, and "Hold On, I'm Comin" by Reuben Wilson. CD

One of Lonnie Liston Smith's most spiritual sessions, and the record that most clearly shows his roots with Pharoah Sanders! The vibe here is much more jazz-based than on some of Lonnie's other records for Flying Dutchman – with Smith playing as much acoustic piano as he does electric, using the former in long-spiralling lines that have a beautifully meditative quality, and which give the album a real Strata East-like sound. Mtume and Sonny Morgan play percussion, Cecil McBee plays bass, and the real star of the album may well be George Barron – who turns in some beautiful Sonny Fortune-like work on tenor and soprano sax! Titles include "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord", "Rejuvenation", "Astral Traveling", "I Mani", "Aspirations", and "In Search Of Truth". CD includes alternate takes of "Astral Traveling", "Rejuvenation", "Imani", and "In Search Of Truth". CD

Essential early work by Stan – a 3 CD collection of his early 50s recordings for the Roost label, either under his own name and group, or with guitarist Johnny Smith. The Smith sides only make up a very small portion of the package – as most of the work are by Getz's quartet or quintet, the groundbreaking assemblage that featured Jimmy Raney on guitar, whose icy clear tone was a perfect counterpart for Getz's sweet breathy work on the tenor. The quality of the material is really great – and the package does a great job of presenting the work freshly, without an overload of alternate takes or tunes you don't want to hear. There's a total of 59 tracks in all – and titles include "Potter's Luck", "Tenderly", "Budo", "Signal", "Fools Rush In", "Lullaby Of Birdland", "It Might As Well Be Spring", "Yvette", "Melody Express", "Split Kick", "Hershey Bar", and "Penny". CD

Crucial cuts in the development of New Orleans soul – served up here by a singer who was instrumental in setting up the new sound of the city in the 60s! Bobby Marchan's a singer who really got his start during the soul years, unlike some of the R&B contemporaries that moved into New Orleans soul – and right from the start, he had a lean, raw style that was perfect for the new groove that was setting the world on fire – presented here on rare recordings for the Ace label in Mississippi, where he worked with Huey Smith as well – and on tracks recorded up in New York for the legendary Fire Records label of Bobby Robinson – but which were every bit as crucial as material recorded in the Crescent City to the legacy of the Nola groove! The package features 36 tracks in all, including some rare alternate takes – and titles include "Booty Green", "Snoopin & Accusin", "You're Still My Baby (parts 1 & 2)", "I Need Some One", "Yes It's Written All Over Your Face", "Things I Used To Do (parts 1 & 2)", "Look At My Heart", "Give A Helping Hand", "Chickee Wah Wah", "Quit My Job", "Loberta", "Tiddley Wink", "Rockin Behind The Iron Curtain", "I'll Never Let You Go", "Little Girl Of Mine", and "Hush Your Mouth". CD

An overlooked treasure from Archie Shepp – a set recorded for the Enja label with a profile that's not as bold as some of his other albums, but a great later session that has some surprisingly wonderful moments! Perhaps the best of these is the album's long workout on "Mama Rose" – done here as a free-flowing modal number with some great soprano sax lines from Archie – blown beautifully over soaring rhythms from Kenny Werner on piano, Santi DeBriano on bass, and the great Marvin Smitty Smith on drums. The track really cooks wonderfully – and is followed by the more sensitive "Soul Song", the hard-blown tenor cut "Geechee", and a laidback take on "My Romance". Both "Geechee" and "Mama Rose" dominate the record – and are perfect examples of the later soulful sound of Shepp in the post-Impulse years! CD

Crisply-tailored, yet soulful and groovy mod jazz from the 60s – a slew of great numbers by Byrdie Green, Johnny Lytle, Mark Murphy, Reuben Wilson, The Nightbeats, The Cals, Billy Larkin, Johnny Hammond Smith, Byrdie Smith and more! Lots of great stuff here, from names synonymous to moddish jazz and others that nicely fit that mold for a bit – cats like Buddy Guy, for instance. A sweet, sweet set from the passionate compilers at Kent UK! Includes "The Real Thing" by Troy Dodds, "Finders Keepers" by Floyd White, "Rod Run" by The Reuben Wilson Quartet, "Talkin' About Love" by Tobi Lark, "Screamin'" by Jack McDuff, "Double Love" by The Cals, "Tricky Too" by Gus Jenkins, "Fever" by Buddy Guy, "Work Song" by Clint Stacy, "My Beat" by George Stone, " It's Like Love" by Mark Murphy, "The Village Caller" by The Johnny Lytle Trio and more. CD

One of the boldest early statements from the legendary Fall – a set in which all their energy and mad tunecraft really comes together, and forever put the group on the map! There's a sense of song structure here, but still plenty of noise and weird bits – music that really shows just how much the leftfield landscape can change, a few short years after punk – and open up not only to sonic experimentation, but also the kind of well-penned, cut-up lyrics that made Mark E Smith one of the best writers of his generation! The whole thing's great – still as powerful today as it was in 1979 – and titles include "Muzorewi's Daughter", "Choc-Stock", "Spectre Vs Rector", "Put Away", "Dice Man", "Printhead", and "Psykick Dancehall". This 3CD set is incredible – as CD1 features bonus tracks that include "Rowche Rumble", "In My Area", "Firey Jack", "2nd Dark Age", "Psykick Dancehall No 2", and alternates of the "Rowche Rumble" single sessions. CD2 features a 13 track live set recorded in Retford in 1979 – and CD3 features 11 more live tracks, recorded in Los Angeles in 1979. CD

A really cool little collection – one that features early work by a host of famous rockers and 60s pop acts – many of whom are recording here before using their better-known later names! The music's pulled from both sides of the Atlantic, and often has a nicely rough-edged feel – bits of garage rock, mod soul,a nd more – performed by artists who include Peter Frampton, Mike Nesmith, The Byrds, Cher, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Ry Cooder, Neil Young, Lee Hazlewood, Narry Nilsson, Love, and others! As always with Ace, the notes are great – and really help illuminate these rare gems – and titles include "It's My Time" by The Mynah Birds, "Your Love" by Lewis Reed, "Stop Calling Me Baby" by Danny Lee, "Dream Baby" by Cherilyn, "In The Midnight Hour" by The Pigeons, "I Can Fly" by The Herd, "You Made Me Fall" by Marty Balin, "Prison Break" by The Paramours, "Rumble-Still-Skins" by Arthur Lee & The LAGs, "Groovy Little Suzie" by Bo-Pete, "Can't Let Her See Me Cry" by Mark Robinson, "Hole In My Pocket" by The Rockets, "Candy Man" by The Rising Sons, and "Liza Jane" by Davie Jones with The King Bees. CD