Omar's second album for BMG – and an instant classic set of soul tracks that sadly almost disappeared as soon as it was released! The album shows Omar growing even stronger than ever both as a singer and songwriter – moving from the indie feel of earlier work into a confident role as one of the few strong male soul talents of the end of the 20th century. Omar's voice is heavenly, as always – almost an electric-sounding pitch that works perfectly with the keyboards and instrumentation on the set – and his songs have a mature quality that is at once personal and professional. The album's filled with some great songs and wonderful surprises – like Omar's cover of The Stranglers' "Golden Brown", and tracks that include "Say Nothin" (2 versions), "This Is Not A Love Song", "Fallin", "Music For The Pipe", "Waiting Game", and "Spring Step". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Incredible work from the amazing Dorothy Ashby – a brilliant set of funky and spiritual tunes, set to full backings from Chicago soul arranger Richard Evans! This album is easily one of Ashby's greatest, and it's dedicated to the writings of Omar Khayyam – one of the forces guiding Dorothy's more spiritual sound at the end of the 60s, clearly opened up in a way that's not unlike the direction of Alice Coltrane's work, but a lot more focused and a lot more funky! Ashby not only plays her usual jazz harp, but also koto as well, and even sings a bit too – and the larger group directed by Evans features work by Stu Katz on vibes and kalimba, Lenny Druss on flutes, and Cash McCall on guitar – all in a groove that's really a precursor to the Earth Wind & Fire generation of the Chicago scene! Titles include the amazing break "The Moving Finger" – worth the price of the album alone – plus "Dust", "Joyful Grass & Grape", "Heaven & Hell", "Wax & Wane", "Shadow Shapes", "For Some When Young", "Myself When Young", and "Drink". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic bit of UK soul from the early 90s – a set that was initially only issued as a white label promo, but which has a classic sound that takes us back to the days of Omar and Soul II Soul! The production is nice and lean – a bit in the homegrown style used on Omar's debut – and the rhythms have that nicely chunky quality that the UK was putting forth at the time, in a way that's nicely different than mainstream US R&B, especially of the new jack generation – all a perfect fit for the way that Rick Clarke can sweetly deliver a lyric in collaboration with guests who include Gina Foster, Imaani, Easton, Jill Francis, and others. The guests really help give the record that upbeat vibe from the UK soundsystem mode of the time – often way more collaborative than US soul – and titles include "Share My Love", "Do What We Gotta Do", "Fantasy", "Love Don't Strike Twice", "I Like To Party", and "Gonna Make You Happy". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic second album from this ultra-hip French combo – a group who effortlessly mix up jazz, funk, and global elements in the best cross-cultural tradition of the Parisian scene! Cotonete have been around for many years, even though they haven't given us many records – and it's clear from this set that their sound has gelled and evolved even more than before – no gimmicks or easy tricks on the record, and instead this really cohesive blend of keyboards from Florian Pellissier with trumpet, saxes, guitar, trombone, bass, and plenty of percussion! Guests include Omar, Leron Thomas, and Sabrina Malheiros – each of whom sing on a single track – and titles include "Satori", "La Derniere Guitare", "Bebete Vaobora", "Venezuela", "Cinq Pour L'Aventure", and "What Did You Run For". LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic record from vibist Khan Jamal – a musician who sometimes plays in a more intimate setting, but who here rises with a great sense of righteous power, in just the sort of group that can help him find new energy and soul in his music! The lineup is wonderful – with both alto and flute from Byard Lancaster, percussion from Omar Hill, piano from Bernard Sammul, bass from Reggie Curry, and drums from Dwight James – plus a bit of work from Sunny Murray on drums and Clifton Burton on harmonica on one track – all players who really hit that perfect Philly mix of spiritual jazz and soul, avant freedom and greater group focus! Jamal plays a bit of marimba next to his vibes – and all titles are nice and long originals, done for the date – including "The Known Unknown", "The Angry Young Men", "Nubian Queen", "Infinity", and "Lovely Afternoon". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the most ambitious album from Myele Manzanza to date – a set that's exploding with contributions from a great range of guests – singers who include Omar, Rosie Frater Taylor, China Moses, and Wallace – next to a great array of keyboard work from Lewis Moody! Myele handles drums and percussion, plus a bit of keys – but the sound of the record is more soul than before, and definitely in the post-jazz mode of other recent work on the London scene – co-produced and mixed by Moody, with tracks that include "Gone Up In Flames", "Silencing The Sun", "wasted Time", "Unfold", "Crisis & Opportunity", and "Falling Fast". LP, Vinyl record album

A real revelation from pianist Cedar Walton – an unusual electric album from the 70s – quite a surprise, given the mostly-acoustic sound of most of Cedar's other records! The album's a killer, though – and has this fresh, full take on funky jazz for the time – not the usual CTI copycat mode, and instead this compelling hybrid of elements that includes lots of Fender Rhodes from Walton, sweet guitar likes from Ryo Kawasaki, and lots of rootsy percussion from Ray Mantilla and Omar Clay – two players who really make the album nice and earthy at the bottom. The rest of the group is wonderful, too – and includes tenor from Frank Foster, alto and baritone from Charles Davis, and trumpet from Roy Burrowes – all fresh players who open up a big can of soul for the set – on titles that include a classic break version of "Off Minor", plus "Blue Trane", "Soho", and "Road Island Red". LP, Vinyl record album

It's been four years since Lewis Taylor's stunning debut album – but it's been worth the wait! Few recent singers have grabbed our attention so much – and we'd put Lewis into an "instant classic" soul category that would include the elite group of Omar, Monday Michiru, Jamiroquai, and Laurnea. The production on this album's a bit heavier than on his first one – with more beats creeping into the mix, and a bit more bass pumping up his voice – but this doesn't make Lewis falter a bit, as he holds it firm all the way through, with a vocal intensity that we wish was showing up in most of the chart soul these days! Titles include "Never Be My Woman", "You Make Me Wanna", "Lewis II", "Into You", "Blue Eyes", and "The Way You Done Me". LP, Vinyl record album

The first-ever full length set of work from Howard Bomar – a singer who only issued a few rare 45s back in the 60s, yet kept on making music for years! From the very first tune, you'll hear that Bomar has a fantastic voice – that sort of searching, searing style that you'd hear from some of the best of the 60s – almost with a Stax Records level of production at times, but also varied a bit more over the course of the record, especially on some of the few later tracks! Howard's definitely in the deepest side of the deep soul spectrum – even as the instrumentation gets a bit more modern – and titles include "Let It Be Me", "I'll Be There", "Best Of Luck To You", "I'm Gonna Love You", "Set Down Fo I Fall Down", "She's A 911", "What Love Has Joined Together", and a remake of "Purple Rain". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent batch of funky Latin tunes from Irakere – and one of the group's best albums! It's got a mix of rolling bass and electric keyboards on the best cuts – sounding a lot like the funky sound of LA Latin groups like War or El Chicano, but with more of the Afro-Cuban groove of their homeland of Havana in the mix. The quality of the work is excellent – better than on any of the group's American releases in later years – and this one time Cuban-only release is the kind of gem that's was unjustly hard to track down in earlier years – all the while deserving of worldwide love! Titles include "Iya", "Moja El Pan", "Juana 1600", "En Nosotros", "38 1/2", and "Xiomara" and "Este Camino Largo". LP, Vinyl record album

Tenorist Eero Koivistoinen first rose to fame with a handful of groundbreaking records in the 70s – but in more recent years, he's reemerged with maybe an even sharper sound and bolder sense of his talents! The music here feels like that of a young artist spreading his wings and on fire with new ideas – brilliantly fresh tenor lines from the leader, but tied to a unified group sound that's every bit as great – work from Alexi Tuomarila on piano, Jorhi Huhtala on bass, and Jussi Lehtonen on drums – all lesser-known players from the Finnish scene, but who really follow the visionary lead of Koisivistoinen as he moves between equal moments of darkness and light! Titles include "Stammer", "Played Twice", "Casa De Ferro", "Kelo", "Body Language", "Hokum", and "Diversity". LP, Vinyl record album

Earthy vocals and plenty of percussion – a wonderful set of parranda tracks from Betsayda Machado, who works here with a tight combo that really sends her vocals over the top! On her own, Betsayda would be enough – a singer with the expressive qualities of older giants, such as Omara Portuando – but backed here with lots of percussion and chorus vocals from the other members of the group, the tunes have this raw energy that grabs the listener right away – and keeps burning strong with a very timeless vibe throughout! Titles include "Gaviota", "Alae Alao", "Sentimiento", "Oh Santa Rosa", "La Situacion", "Borracho De Aguardiente", and "Pueblo De Fiesta". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet jazzy grooves from a variety of global points in the late 70s/early 80s scene – music that's often much cooler and more interesting than mainstream fusion or jazz funk of the time! The set features work by artists who've dug the 70s experiments on CTI Records, but soon move into territory that's all their own – sometimes bringing in more regional instrumentation, or inflections from an earlier non-fusion world of expression – which includes some great Latin, Brazilian, and Eastern European elements throughout the set! The collection is maybe even more compelling than the first volume in the series – and titles include "Pendulum" by Bobby Martinez, "Oto Przyczyna" by Krystyna Pronko, "Cactus" by Nivaldo Ornelas, "Mystified" by Tom Grant, "Brownstones" by Dana Kaproff, "Oamoreomar" by Carlos Mendes, and "Free" by Lerma De La Cruz. LP, Vinyl record album

A contemporary collection, but one that really hearkens back to the brown-eyed soul of the Texas scene in the late 60s and early 70s – a moment when local groups were picking up on some of the vibes of East LA – reveling in the rich history of Texas soul and blues, but mixing it with funkier currents as well! After the recent interest in Sunny & The Sunliners, there has been a great wave of contemporary acts echoing the Texas sound of years back – and here, producer Adrian Quesada serves up core instrumentation that's a great blend of mellow-yet-funky soul – while different vocalists come in to the mix and really send things over the top! The set features contributions from a nice variety of artists – and titles include "Ain't No Big Thing" with Johnny Hernandez, "I've Got Soul" with David Marez, "Just Me & You" with Amalia Mondragon, "Boogaloo En Monterey" with Ruben Ramos, "One Woman Man" with David Hidalgo, "Love Reverberation" with Johnny Benavidez, "Funky Chick" with Brownout and Tomar Williams, and "Look At My Soul" with Black Pumas and Kam Franklin. LP, Vinyl record album

A rare session by Vinicius – featuring a 1970 recording in Buenos Aires – with Maria Creuza and Toquinho. Creuza was at her best during the early 70s – and working here with the classic bossa team of poet Vinicius De Moraes and guitarist Toquinho, she really sparkles with a sound that's some of her best singing on record. The trio sing separately or together from track to track – and the set includes a lot of great work that's in the Black Orpheus or Afro Sambas mode. Titles include "Canto De Osshana", "A Felicidade", "Tomara", "Canto De Osshana", "Minha Namorada", "Valsa Da Tunisia", "Lamento No Morro", and a great version of Caetano Veloso's "Irene"! LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal set from Jorge Ben – one that mixes samba soul with more baroque arrangements from the legendary Arthur Verocai! The record's got a different feel than some of Jorge's other work – almost a wider vision of music that ties his usual funky style to some of the more ambitious modes being explored by Marcos Valle and Edu Lobo at the time – expressed here in some larger instrumental passages that shade the tunes lightly, while still letting Jorge step out strongly on vocals and the usual mix of tight percussion and raspy guitar. Titles include "Que Maravilha", "Rita Jeep", "Comanche", "Porque E Proibido Pisa Na Grama", "Cassius Marcelo Clay", "Palomaris", "Maria Domingas", and "Negro E Lindo". LP, Vinyl record album

Enigmatic sounds from the early years of the recording industry in Japan – served up in a style billed as ryukoka, which mixes older elements of traditional music with some of the newer flavors emerging from the west in the early 20th century! To our ears, these tunes still sound very traditional overall – but because of the lack of recordings, we also can't tell you what the Japanese music sounded like a generation before – and the whole package is a wonderful presentation of lost relics from the shellac era, similar to sets of this nature from Dust To Digital (although not in a larger book format.) CD features 16 tracks in all – work by Yayoi Tanaka, Mitsuko Nemoto, Ichiro Fujiyama, Chiyako Sato, Otomaru, Hamako Watanabe, Seki Taneko, Kouta Katutaro, and others. LP, Vinyl record album