... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

From the Bad Boys II soundtrack. 12-inch, Vinyl record

From the Bad Boys II soundtrack. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Count Basie goes pop, and the results are mighty nice – a hard-swinging take on familiar tunes from the 60s, but all re-tooled the jazzy Basie way! The vibe here is right up there with the best Neal Hefti moments with the group – and although the arrangements are by Billy Byers, they've got that sense of tightness that Hefti first help bring to the band – a great setting for the inventive solos, and all the cool little twists and turns that make a record like this so great. And while you might think of the setting, or the title, as some sort of sell-out on the Count's part – the album's instead a perfect way to hear what made the Basie band so great – how they could completely transform tunes like "Pretty Woman", "Bye Bye Love", "Doo Wah Diddy Diddy", "At Long Last Love", and "Go Away Little Girl". LP, Vinyl record album

With Ice Cube, Diddy, and MJG. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Includes "Sha La La", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Pretty Flamingo", "The One In The Middle", "Oh No, Not My Baby", "Come Tomorrow", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Lots of early classics – "Pretty Flamingo", "Let's Go Get Stoned", "My Little Red Book", "Got My Mojo Working", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", and "Oh No Not My Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare work by Andrew Hill – recorded in the 60s – but not issued until this 1975 2-fer package, which then went out of print very quickly! One session's from 1969, and features Hill with Bennie Maupin, Charles Tolliver, and Pat Patrick. Another has him and Maupin playing a few tracks with a string quartet. And the last set (which covers all of the second record) is a straighter set from 1965, with Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Richard Davis, and Joe Chambers. The album's a motherlode of great rare material by one of the best piano players of the 60's, and a talent that Blue Note made sure to record as much as they could. Tracks include "Diddy Wah", "Fragments", "Erato", "Pax", and "Eris". LP, Vinyl record album

Really fantastic work from Dizzy Gillespie – proof that of all the original boppers, he was maybe the one who really continued to experiment over the years – as he comes across here with a great blend of electric funk and jazz! The whole album has a sly sweet funky sound that's part CTI/part Latin-tinged Dizzy – and the real strength is the great Mike Longo, who plays some amazing stretched out piano lines, which work perfectly with the basslines on the record as a foil for Dizzy's sparkling trumpet solos. The instrumentation also features great use of Latin percussion too, and the album's got 4 long cuts – including the excellent "Me N Them", plus "Olinga", "Timet", and "Diddy Wa Diddy". LP, Vinyl record album

The solo debut of Mase, after time in Children Of The Corn, and a role as one of Puff Daddy's up-and-coming stars – emphasized here by Sean Combs name on the back of the album cover, and the set's placement on Bad Boy! Yet as the record will attest, Mase has a straightforward, hard-edged approach that's not the typical P-Diddy/Puff Daddy sound – some echoes of the harsher world that was lingering out there in the wake of Biggie's death, and emphasized by some of the fresher producers here – including the young Neptunes and Jermaine Dupri. Guests include Jay Z, Busta Rhymes, Eightball, MJG, DMX, Lil Kim, and Puff Daddy himself – and titles include "Mad Rapper", "Will They Die 4 You", "The Player Way", "What You Want", "24 Hours to Live", "Do You Wanna Get $", "Need To Be", "Niggaz Wanna Act", "Take What's Yours", "Love U So", "Feel So Good", and "Wanna Hurt Mase". LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "Everyday", "Child Of The Ghetto", "Special Delivery", "Whatever (Interlude)", ""Keep it Gangsta" featuring Shyne, "The Ride ", ""Danger Zone", ""I Am" featuring Kool G Rap & Rakim, "Doe Fiend", "I Want The World To See" featuring Joe Hooker, "Let's Get It" featuring P Diddy, "It's All Over", "One Way", and "Nothing Gonna Stop Me". LP, Vinyl record album