Three albums from Dutch drummer Eric Ineke – served up in a single set! Dexternity is a tribute to the music of Dexter Gordon, one that's led by drummer Eric Ineke, and which features the reed talents of Sjoerd Dijkhuizen on Dexter's role – blowing both tenor and a bit of soprano sax! The rest of the group features Rik Mol on trumpet, Rob Van Bavel on piano, and Marius Beets on bass – and titles include "The Panther", "Body And Soul", "Soy Califa", "Cheese Cake", "Boston Bernie", and "Fried Bananas". Meets The Tenor Players is a selection of tracks from different sessions, all of which feature drummer Eric Ineke interacting with a range of famous tenorists – including some key American players recording overseas! The set features work from Dexter Gordon, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Clifford Jordan, Johnny Griffin, Lucky Thompson, Goerge Coleman, and Grant Stewart – each of whom play on their own tracks – with piano work from players who include Rein De Graaff, Rob Agerbeek, and Rob Madna. Titles include "Let There Be Life Love & Laughter", "Prayer To The People", "Walkin", "Lady Bird", "Stablemates", and "Wee". Cruisin is a later date from Dutch drummer Eric Ineke, but one that maybe burns with even more fire than some of his earlier albums – thanks to the work of some great musicians in the quintet! At some points, the group takes off in strongly soulful hardbop formation – but at others, they can equally slide into a slightly modern mode, but all without losing their swing at all – a performance that's given plenty of focus from Ineke's drumming, and topped with these warmly lyrical piano lines from Rob Van Bavel, plus trumpet from Rik Mol, tenor and bass clarinet from Sjoerd Dijkhuizen, and bass from Marius Beets. Titles include "Oak City", "When We Were One", "Just A Tune For You", "What Is This", "Cruising", and "Seven On The Richter Scale". CD

A way way deeper set than the first volume of Bay Area Funk – and a collection that shows that things got pretty heavy on the San Francisco and Oakland scenes of the 70s! A good number of the tracks here are instrumental, and show some wonderful interplay between the trippier sides of funky jazz and the harder sides of soul going on in the Bay Area back in the day – killer music from the fringes that often got lost in the shuffle of all the better-known music coming out on the bigger labels! The work here is all from very tiny labels – expertly selected and all officially cleared by the Luv N Haight team with keen respect for the artists involved – and in a way, the package has set a new high standard for the label! A tremendous discovery, and filled with tracks we'd never heard before – titles that include "Stop Look Listen" by Primevil, "Poor Sad Child (part 1)" by The Windjammers, "Born To Live With Heartache" by Mary Love, "Move In The Room" by Dawn & Sunset, "Ebony" by Project Soul, "Acid Lady" by San Francisco TKOs, "Hip Breakin" by Little Denise Stevenson, "Devil's On The Run" by Uptights Band, "Brute Strength" by Mile Selesia, and "Lenient With My Love" by The Relatives. CD

The incredible solo start of the great Dwight Yoakam – presented here as three classic albums, along with a full record of bonus demo material and rarities too! Dwight burst on the scene with a freshness that was what country music really needed in the mid 80s – a style that both hearkened back to honky tonk greats of the past, but had also learned some of the leaner lessons of rock – yet all while not sounding anything like country rock of the previous decade either! Yoakam found a way to shake off all the nonsense that had been holding music back for years – and you'll hear the results beautifully on the classic albums inside – Guitars Cadillacs Etc, Hillbilly Deluxe, and Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room. Then, the set also features a great fourth record – So Forth & So On – with 1981 demos of tunes that include "Miner's Prayer", "I'll Be Gone", "You're The One", "This Drinkin Will Kill Me", "It Won't Hurt", and "Floyd County" – plus a duet with KD Lang on "Sin City", and the tracks "Christmas Eve With The Babylonian Cowboys" and "Long White Cadillac". CD

Wonderfully righteous work from Burnt Sugar Arkestra – a group who've been giving us great records for years, but who are maybe even more important to the scene than ever before! The core of the record is the long title track – a very jazzy tune that builds up over loops set down by composer Greg Tate, with a flowing, snakey vibe that allows for plenty of long trumpet, tenor, flute, and alto solos over the guitars and Fender Rhodes that work the rhythms – maybe almost in electric Miles territory, but more laidback. That tune is then reworked on a number of variations that are very different – mostly instrumental, as the main track – but finishing up with a bit of vocals near the end of the record – a great contribution from singer Lisala Beatty! Titles include "Angels Over Oakanda", "Repatriation Of The Midnight Moores", "Oakanda Overdrive", and "Lisala Oer Inna Oakanda". CD

A compelling chapter in the long and wonderful career of reedman Per Texas Johansson – a set that features a larger ensemble interpreting his ideas, and working with a really incredible combination of horns! The group perform three longer compositions under the direction of Johan Siberg, and there's an insane criss-crossing of instruments throughout – a variety of clarinets from Per, plus other reeds from Johan Horlen, Astrid Le Clercq, Fredrik Ljungkvist, Alberto Pinton, and Linus Lindblom – plus trumpets from Joakim Agnas, Emil Strandberg, and Karl Olandersson – and trombones from Mats Aleklint, Mats Agelid, and Lisa Bodelius! The horns really shape the sound here, but there are some other elements in the mix – vibes from Mattias Stahl, bass from Par Ola Landin, piano from Rasmus Borg, and drums from Konrad Agnas – but all elements that really step back at many points and let the woodwinds and brass direct the music. Titles include "Livet I Tre Delar", "Klarinet", and "Orosmoln". CD

A really dark-tinged large ensemble – one that's led by guitarist Johan Lindstrom, whose instrument is only a very small part of their overall sound! The group is overflowing with key musicians from the Scandinavian scene – including Mattias Stahl on vibes, Mats Aleklint on trombone, Robert Nordmark on tenor, and Bo Strandberg on trumpet – just a few of the players who work under the guidance of conductor Joakim Milder, as he brings all sorts of color and life to the album's original compositions by Lindstrom – music that's very different than just a guitar with larger group backings, and which instead seems to rely on just about every instrument in the group to continually shape the overall sound of the proceedings! Titles include "Parade", "Blues For Somliga", "End Of The Dark Hours", "Ritmo Bolsillo", "Artcic Mambo", and "Pasacaglia". CD

Beautiful brown-eyed soul from the Ohio scene of the 70s – just the sort of record you might have expected to hear from East LA or Spanish Harlem back in the day – but even more amazing to come from Cleveland! The group are a Latin combo at the core, but they've soaked up plenty of soul influences from the late 60s and early 70s – bringing in bits of harmony soul, funk, and other hip touches to really expand their groove – in ways that are similar to the changes Joe Bataan and his contemporaries were going through at the time! There's a few funky instrumentals that get nicely tripped out, offset with some wonderful mellow soul numbers, and a few straighter Latin bits – all of which show a really amazing range for the group. As usual, Numero does a great job of bringing their whole story to light through the great notes – but even without them, we're plenty happy with the music on the set! Titles include "Loving You", "To Be Sure", "Here We Go Again", "Cold Wine", "Trivialities", "Just Call Me", and "Listen People". CD

A crossover classic from the new Jack generation – and a record that maybe comes across with even more charm in the 21st Century than it did back in the day! Sure, the three Ts were never going to deliver the deepest soul or the hardest lyrics – but they've got a great way of blending together hip hop influences and damn catchy hooks, all at a level that really helped push soul music forward strongly at the time! The group produced the set themselves, and titles include their great remake of "It Never Rains In Southern California", the Vanessa Williams guest on "Oakland Stroke", and the titles "Sky's The Limit", "Those Were The Days", "The Blues", "let's Have A Good Time", "I Care", "Feels Good", and "All The Way". Bonus tracks include "Feels Good (12" party mix)", and "House Party II (ext club)". CD

An obscure group from the Oakland side of the Cali soul scene in the 70s – and one who get some superb backing here on the best cuts – thanks to work from the funk combo Perfect Circle, who bring some great jazz funk elements to the mix! The group features one female vocalist, Samaki – but the majority of the tracks have the three male singers working in a harmony style that's in kind of an east coast mode, but perhaps a bit looser. Uptempo funky cuts include "I Remember You" and "Sayin It & Doin It", which both sound like tracks from Perfect Circle's own album – plus the titles "Let's Take A Disco Ride" and "Put The Music On Funk". CD

One of the most unique country collections we've ever heard – in part because the artists aren't from Nashville, nor Bakersfield, and instead hail from the British scene of the 60s! The tunes here are all country-styled numbers – and some are country music classics – but they get very unique delivery here by UK groups who've soaked up all the best Brit Invasion modes of the period – all to make for a presentation that's very different than you might expect! We normally associate beat groups of the time with a strong influence from R&B, but these cuts uncover a surprising country influence too – as you'll hear on a whopping 30 tracks from artists who include Sonny Webb & The Cascades, Nashville Teens, Jerry Williams & The Violents, Lee Curtis & The All-stars, The In-Crowd, Bobby Patrick Big Six, The Hollies, Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, King Size Taylor & The Dominoes, Tommy Quickly & The Remo Four, Tony Sheridan, and many others. CD

Funky funky California – and a great set of rare grooves from the 70s! The folks at Luv N Haight records are up to their old tricks – digging through the crates for the kind of hard-to-find funky tracks that first gave birth to the fame of the Ubiquity label. The set traces a sound that barely shows up in the history books – the harder funky sound of California in the 70s, a scene that was mostly underground, and which stood in stark contrast to the smoother sounds coming out on major labels at the time. A few of the artists on the set might be familiar through other Luv N Haight reissues, and there's others here that we've never heard at all – grooving in hard and heavy styles that spread across the Sunshine State from East LA to Funky Frisco to Oaktown – a total of 14 tracks that include "Freaky To You" by Sweet Stuff, "Losing You" by Cordial, "Love & Affection" by Ike White, "Freedom Time" by Linda Tillery, "Patience" by Rokk, "Party Time" by Roy Porter, "Carnaval" by Oquesta Esencia, "Wobble Cha" by Cool Benny, "Feelin Alright" by West Coast Revival, "Where Do We Go From Here" by Cool Sounds, "Hang On In There" by Mike James Kirkland, "Daydreamer" by Adele Sebastian, and "A Real Thing" by Sons & Daughters Of Life. CD

A very cool Japanese-only collection of cuts from Incognito – the long-running and legendary UK soul band who've given us fantastic music for many many years! This set brings together some rare mixes, some of which appear on CD for the first time ever – and also includes some great Incognito side projects too – all of which makes for a set that's way different than a simple "best of" or anything of that nature! Titles include "Lowdown (Ski Oakenfull rmx)", "The Less You Know (Bluey's ext mix)", "Ain't It Time (Club Surreal mix)", "1975 (Ski Oakenfull rmx)", "Put A Little Lovin In Your Heart (Bluey rmx)", "Life Ain't Nothing But A Good Thing (Bluey's jazz funk raw mix)", and related cuts "Take A Chance On Me (single edit)" by Bluey, "Smile" by Ed Motta, and "All The Way (Bluey & Ski Oakenfull Incognito rmx)" by Julee Karan with Wouter Hamel. CD

Sweet and mellow work from ex-Beau Brummel Ron Elliott – done in a style that's a bit jazzy, a bit folksy, and with some really nice moments! There's a feel here that steps off the Bradley's Barn album by the Brummels, but it's actually inflected with a hippy honesty that makes for an even more innocent feel – kind of jaded LA hipster goes to the country and soaks up the sunshine, if you know what we mean! Keith Barbour sings lead vocals, but Ron and Val Christian Garay often harmonize alongside – in a way that echoes some of the best early touches of America, too – but with a hipper feel. Jimmie Haskell handles the arrangements, and plays a bit of moog – and titles include "Lady Honey", "The Puppet", "Garbage Man", "Ain't Got The Strings", "More Than My Guitar", and "Sad Rag Doll". CD

A sweet lean set from T-Connection – still every bit as funky as back in their late 70s years, but with a different sort of style for the new generation! The music's got that great 80s groove approach that Capitol Records excelled at during the time – and the group's a bit more compressed than before – just a quintet, with heavy contributions from Theophilus Coakley on lead vocals, keyboards, songwriting, and production! This focus around a strong male lead gives the group a really fresh feel – and pushes them past the ensemble funk stereotypes of their generation – with great results on cuts that are heavy with funky bass and keyboard lines. Titles include "You Found Someone New", "Take It To The Limit", "Right Place Wrong Time", "You Can Feel The Groove", and "In Another Life". CD

Rare funk from the East Bay scene of the early 70s – every bit as heavy and hard-hitting as grooves from Sly Stone on the other side of the water at the time! Two Things In One may not be a household name, but they groove as hard as any of the best big funk acts of the early 70s – awash in the free-thinking, open spirits of the Family Stone generation – and graced with a nice dose of spiritualism in the vocals – almost a dash of Stevie Wonder that helps deepen these tunes way more than you'd expect! Production is nice and raw – honed at Oakland's Music City studios – and the album's like finding a whole pile of funky 45s you never even knew about – with a nice diversity in grooves throughout, but a tight cohesive style overall. Titles include "Stop Telling Me", "Snag Nasty", "Silly Song", "Let's Get It Together", "Overdoes Of Your Love", "You're No Good", and "Together Forever". CD

Pastor Wiley Champion is a gospel singer with a hell of a voice – the sort that could have instantly made him a huge soul singer, if he ever chose to leave his faith – but which is maybe even more powerful here directed towards a spiritual sort of setting! The album's a very lean effort, especially for a contemporary album – recorded to two track analog tape in a church in Oakland, but with crisp fidelity that lets the vocals really come to life once the songs begin – as Champion sings with light backings from his own guitar, plus a bit of keyboard, bass, drums, and tenor. The whole thing is wonderfully without any sense of cliche – and has none of the slavish attempt to sound "authentic" that you might fear from a contemporary record like this – just the pure, unadulterated power of a singer who's worked in obscurity for decades, finally getting his due. Titles include "To Be Used By You", "Storm Of Life", "I Know That You've Been Wounded", "He'll Make A Way", "I Just Want To Be A Good Man", and "Who Do Men Say I Am". CD

A mellow soul killer from Dira J Sugandi – working here with production from Bluey, and help from the rest of the Incognito crew! In a way, the album's almost an Incognito record at heart – yet Dira's vocals and overall approach really help give it a fresh feel too – a mode that stays away from some of the upbeat groovers you might normally get from Incognito, with a stronger focus on mellow tracks and laidback numbers that really show off her vocals! Other guests on the record include Omar, Ski Oakenful, and Matt Cooper – and titles include "Get Through To You", "Let's Go Back", "Inside Love", "Time Out Of Time", "Bring It On", "Essentially Yours", "Won't You Come With Me", "No More Tears", and "Daydream". CD