An overlooked gem from Blue Note – a special live performance that brings together some of the label's funkiest and most soulful artists of the 70s! The set's somewhat unusual for Blue Note at the time – especially given the label's increasingly studio-driven approach to jazz, with projects by the Mizell Brothers and others – yet given that bent, the whole thing's a great illustration of the vibrancy of all these artists always from the studio – playing live and extremely funky! As the title implies, the set was recorded live at the Roxy in LA – with players who include Donald Byrd, Ronnie Laws, Gene Harris, Bobby Hutcherson, and Alphonse Mouzon – all coming together in warm unity to show that the spacious sounds of Blue Note could also be crafted in a live setting, and not just under closely-watched studio help arrangers and producers. Carmen McRae sings on a number of tracks, and the album overall does a good job of presenting the material in concert-like setting – and some of the longer tracks feature some mighty nice jamming solos. Titles include "New York City", "Without A Reason", and "Just Like The Sun" by Alphonse Mouzon; "Them There Eyes", "Music" and "Paint Your Pretty Picture" by Carmen McRae; "Always There", "Captain Midnight", and "Night Breeze" by Ronnie Laws; "Blue Note 76" by Blue Note All-Stars; and "Places & Spaces" and "Dominoes" by Donald Byrd – both oddly recorded at Central Park! LP, Vinyl record album

There's few cases where we want the clock to stop in music – but in the case of Belle & Sebastian, we'll gladly make an exception – as the group deliver all the completely charming, well-crafted songs here that we've always loved in their work – instantly appealing, and with that undeniable quality that has you instantly knowing the music as it unfolds! Titles include "Deathbed Of My Dreams", "If They're Shooting At You", "Young & Stupid", "Sea Of Sorry", "Working Boy In New York City", "Do It For Your Country", and "Reclaim The Night". LP, Vinyl record album

There's few cases where we want the clock to stop in music – but in the case of Belle & Sebastian, we'll gladly make an exception – as the group deliver all the completely charming, well-crafted songs here that we've always loved in their work – instantly appealing, and with that undeniable quality that has you instantly knowing the music as it unfolds! Titles include "Deathbed Of My Dreams", "If They're Shooting At You", "Young & Stupid", "Sea Of Sorry", "Working Boy In New York City", "Do It For Your Country", and "Reclaim The Night". LP, Vinyl record album

James Brown gets even better than before – working here in the setting of a blacksploitation soundtracks – which makes the album a doubly funky outing from the 70s! James is a master throughout – beating Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield at their own games – as he works with super-tight work from the JBs, plus a bit of vocals from Lyn Collins – all in a massive batch of tracks that further expand his funky palette! Unlike other blacksploitation soundtracks, which usually have one or two key funky tunes, this one's almost entirely overflowing with gems – including Lyn Collins on a version of "Mama Feelgood" that's worth the price of the record alone! The whole thing's great, though – and titles include the classic "Down & Out in New York City", plus "Blind Man Can See It", "Sportin' Life", "The Boss", "Dirty Harri", and "Chase". LP, Vinyl record album

Stanley Clarke's a lot more soul-based than fusion here – but that's A-OK with us, because we like this sort of work a lot better than his jamming jazz rock of the 70s! The record's got a great mellow soul vibe – laidback and gently stepping – sometimes in a way that's a bit commercial, but never with as many of the cloying styles as hurt other records like this at the time. Stan sings, plays bass and guitar, and other players include Greg Phillinganes on Fender Rhodes and mini-moog, Ndugu Chancler on drums, Michael Sembello on guitar, and Paulinho Da Costa on percussion. Titles include "Straight To The Top", "Let Me Know You", "You Are The One For Me", "Play The Bass", "New York City", and "Secret To My Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

The fantastic third album from Common – the record that really catapulted him on his way to stardom, yet a set that still retains all the best aspects of his early days in Chicago! Part of that quality comes from the superb production of No ID, who gets a bit of local help from Dug Infinite and Twilite Tone – all talents who have that special, sophisticated vibe that was really starting to flow from Chicago out to the rest of the world – and which here is perfect for the well-crafted lyrics from Common! The balance is great – never too hard or heavy, yet also not trying to ape either a west coast quirky or New York native tongues approach. This time around, there's also plenty of guests on board, of the sort that Common would soon be rubbing shoulders with on a regular basis – a lineup that includes The Roots, Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, Canibus, Black Thought, Lauryn Hill, and De La Soul. Yet throughout, the vibe is Common's and Chicago's – something that's always made us very proud to be from the same scene at the same time. Titles include "1 2 Many", "Reminding Me Of Sef", "Invocation", "Stolen Moments", "My City", "Real Nigga Quotes", and "Retrospect For Life". LP, Vinyl record album

A Latin soul party – beyond compare! The album's a completely wonderful live set that really captures the energy, excitement, and warm sociability of the hip New York scene at the end of the 60s. The music is stunning – a freewheeling blend of jazz, soul, and Latin themes – played with effortless ease by a lineup that includes Joe Bataan, Ray Barretto, Willie Colon, Larry Harlow, Bobby Quesada, Louie Ramirez, Ralph Robles, and some of the other heavy-hitters of the Latin soul years. (Just imagine trying to get so many jazz or rock talents together on one stage – it would never happen!) The album's incredible – and even the spoken introductions and crowd noise really help set the feel of the era's mighty magic power! Titles on this first volume include "Country Girl-City Man", "Mi Gusta El Son", "Sabor Sabor" and "Guatacando". Firey stuff, and one of their best records! LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful post-Coltrane playing by the two Grubbs brothers (who get top recommendations from Pharoah Sanders and Naima Coltrane on the back cover!). The album's filled with spiritual spiralling intertwining alto and soprano sax lines, underpinned by soulful backing on piano, bass, drums, and percussion. The quality of the writing on the album is excellent – and we'd easily rank this one up there with the best work on Strata East from the time, or with Gary Bartz's first two albums for Milestone. Includes the long title cut, plus "Reflections (On New York City)", "Pisces", and a beautiful cover of "Naima". Really wonderful stuff! LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal session from the St Louis scene of the early 70s – one that was humming nearly as much as Chicago was with the AACM at the time! As with the larger organization in the Windy City, St Louis had the Black Artists Group – of which Julius Hemphill was a key member, forming fresh new ideas in improvisatory jazz with players who went onto have an undeniable impact on the global scene as well. This album's one of the standout recordings of the Black Artists era at its best – a record produced by Hemphill, but equally balanced between his own alto and flute, the trumpet of Baikida Carroll, cello of Abdul Wadud, and drums of Phillip Wilson – plus a bit of added baritone from Haimet Bluiett. The rhythms are quite open, but there's also a nice sense of structure to the record too – a bridge between spiritual and free jazz that prefaces the impact that both Hemphill and Bluiett would have on the New York loft jazz generation. Titles include "Dogon AD", "Rites", and "The Painter". LP, Vinyl record album

A surprising jazz funk stunner from drummer Idris Muhammad – part of his great second chapter of work for CTI in the 70s! Idris is working here in a style that's very different than his heavy-footed funky work on Prestige and Blue Note – and while it's easy to criticize him for not keeping the same old breakbeat funk style, it's also important to give him a lot of credit for pushing his vision way past the simple stock style of the earlier days! The record's a very nice set of complicated jazzy grooves – some a bit clubby, but many very nice, and with the kind of sophisticated funk arrangements that were on the best Kudu records. No surprise that Dave Matthews is putting together most of the cuts, save for one excellent groove that's arranged by Tom Harrell. Players include Fred Wesley, Ronnie Cuber, Eric Gale, and Wilbur Bascomb – and titles include "Baia", "Sudan", "Hey Pocky A Way", "Theme For New York City", which is based on the same Chopin haunting tune as Serge Gainsbourg's "Jane B"! LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful, baby! Symphony Sid was one of the pivotal Latin DJs in New York radio, and throughout his career, he helped many of the city's best players and singers get their start on the scene. In 1972, Sid did his last radio show ever – and the event was broadcast from the famous Cheetah night club, with the help of a host of famous Latin music guest stars like Willie Colon, Willie Rosario, Ray Baretto, Orchestra Harlow, and others! This 2LP captures all the excitement of that broadcast, and has Sid rapping his usual rap in between songs, just as he did on radio. The release is an amazing way to sneak a peek into the NY Latin scene as it really existed, and since it's a double LP set, you get a huge amount of great material, put together and introduced by one of the greatest figures in the business. Very nice, and a priceless treasure! LP, Vinyl record album

Recorded live at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City, February 7-10, 1983. A HUGE amount of material! Includes the tracks "Say Hello", "Walk The Dog", "Violin Solo", "Closed Circuits", "For A Large And Changing Room", "Pictures Of It", "Language Of The Future", "Reverb", "If You Can't Talk About It, Point To It", "City Song", "Finnish Farmers", "Democratic Way", "Private Property", "Neon Duet", "Difficult Listening Hour", "So Happy Birthday", "Dance Of Electricity", "Sax Duet", "Born, Never Asked", "From The Air", "Beginning French", "Talkshow", "Cello Solo", "Blue Lagoon", "Stiff Neck", "Hothead", "Telephone Song", "Sweaters", "We've Got Four Big Clocks", "I Dreamed I Had To Take A Test", "Big Top", "It Was Up In The Mountains", "Big Science", "Red Map", "Strike", "False Documents", and many, many more! LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant album that follows on the trend that was begun by Sinatra and Tony Bennett – one that takes strong jazz backings from Count Basie to push a singer past the usual pop format! Sammy didn't always get backing this strong – and the album's got Quincy Jones handling the arrangements for Basie in the same mode the he used on the Sinatra/Basie sides for Reprise. Titles include "The Girl From Ipanema", "She's A Woman", "New York City Blues", "Work Song", and "Blues For Mr Charlie" – and the album even features Sammy doing a bit of tap dancing! LP, Vinyl record album

We can remember when this movie spooked the heck out of us – and now it remains as a charming period piece from the days when New York was overrun by gangsters dressed up in baseball uniforms or overalls – representing a version of the Big Apple during the bankrupt 70s that's turned out to have more longstanding charm than the gang in Clockwork Orange! The music's very well-suited in a period style – a sweet mix of Latin, funk, rock, and soundtrack spookiness – with titles that include "Echoes In My Mind" by Mandrill, "Baseball Furies Chase" by Barry De Vorzon, "In Havana" by Kenny Vance & Ismael Miranda, "Nowhere To Run" by Arnold McCuller, and of course the classic "In The City" by Joe Walsh. LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite albums ever by Kenny Dorham – and a really different session than his usual studio work! The album captures Kenny in a relaxed live setting, with a bit more dirt on his horn than usual – blowing with a tone that's much more open and a bit less poised – in the company of a really great group that features JR Monterose on tenor, Kenny Burrell on guitar, Bobby Timmons on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Arthur Edgehill on drums. The album features a really wonderful take on Dorham's boppish "Mexico City", plus other enigmatic compositions like "Monaco" and "Hill's Edge" – and versions of "Round Midnight" and "Autumn In New York". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare early session from trumpeter Tony Fruscella – done before his classic first album on Atlantic Records! The set features tony working on some tracks with the very obscure alto player Chick Maures – plus work from Bill Tiglia on piano, Red Mitchell or Teddy Kotick on bass, and Art Madigan or Dave Troy on drums. The earliest cuts, with Maures, were recorded in New York in 1948 – the others in the same city around 1953. LP, Vinyl record album

David Johansen's second post-New York Dolls solo record – and the first one where he really sheds the feral rock vibe – but with Mick Ronson on board as co-producer, it's still got plenty of pomp! David would go on to take many creative detours – but in this first real stretch, he's bringing in some Motown influences – with some R&B backing vocals here and there, along with ome sax, piano and other smoothed out touches. That said, it's not that huge of a jump – with some ruggedness and grit reminiscent of his earlier work –and it's got a bunch of really good songs. Titles include "Melody", "She", "Big City", "She Knew She Was Falling In Love", "Swaheto Woman", "Wreckless Crazy", "Flamingo Road" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A monstrous bit of jazz funk from drummer Alphonse Mouzon – spacey tracks in a choppy style that reminds us a bit of some of the best European fusion albums from the period, but with a harder groove overall! Mini Moog and ARP trip out the sound throughout, but the underlying rhythms are nice and heavy. Lee Ritenour's on guitar, and he gets a lot of play on the record – but the main groove is Alphonse's heavy funky snakefoot! Al's drums and percussion are furiously frenetic, and he also plays a lot of keyboards – and other players include Tom Scott on tenor, Dave Grusin on clavinet, Victor Feldman on bongos and congas, and Charles Meeks on bass. A few tracks have vocals – by Marty McCall, Jackie Ward, and Caroline Willis – as well as Alphonse himself and the album's also got two very nice break-oriented tracks – "Snake Walk" and "New York City" – both with nice hard drums! Titles include a number of other good fusion groovers, like "Without A Reason", "Just Like the Sun", "Before You Leave", "Just Like The Sun", and "Mouzon Moves On". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful early album by one of the great oddball songwriters of the last forty years! The Harry album is certainly the bridge between Nilsson's two previous wildly bombastic LPs, and the slightly more subdued material that popped up on the Schmilsson and later records. Harry runs the gamut from the cute and gentle "The Puppy Song" and "Mournin' Glory Song", to the more gonzo stuff. Other tracks include "Mother Nature's Son", "Fairfax Rag", the excellent break track "Rainmaker" and "I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Rosalita", "New York City Serenade", "The E Street Shuffle", "Kitty's Back", and "Wild Billy's Circus Story". LP, Vinyl record album

Very tasty funky fusion session, cut by bassist Miroslav Vitous in San Francisco – along with a group that includes Airto, Herbie Hancock, and Jack DeJohnette. The sound is very much in keeping with Herbie's early 70s funk albums – with lots of nice long electric grooves, and spare tasty keyboard jams. There's a woman named Onike who sings on a few cuts – and grooves include "Basic Laws", "Synthesizers Dance", "New York City", "Aim Your Eye", and "From Far Away". LP, Vinyl record album

A late 60s Elektra set – with songs and lead vocals by Bob Segarini – and titles that include "Windy Day", "You Got A Lot Of Style", "Sing A Song", "New York City", "Love Love Love", "Love For A Long Time", and "Rock & Roll Circus". LP, Vinyl record album