Probably the greatest album ever by the Art Ensemble of Chicago – and also one of their rarest! The album was cut for Pathe Marconi in Paris in 1970, and was the soundtrack to a film that was as obscure as the album. The group's never been finer – and plays with a creative tightness that you'll be hard pressed to find on other record. Some tracks are almost straight jazz – but there's all these wonderful little breakdowns and burst of creative energy that keep the AACM spirit alive and true. The centerpiece of the album is the massive "Theme De Yoyo", a righteous powerful groover that features vocals by Fontella Bass (wife of Lester Bowie of the group), and which has become an all-time jazz dance classic! Other tracks have a sparer soundtracky feel, and a few more are in the experimental vein of the Art Ensemble's other Paris work at the time. Wonderful overall though – and an incredibly righteous album filled with power and imagination! Titles include "Theme De Celine", "Proverbes", "Theme Libra", and "Variations Sur Un Theme De Monteverdi". Very hard to find original French pressing – with different cover image! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the boldest statements from the French avant garde of the late 60s – a fairly free set led by Michel Portal, and featuring a quintet that includes Joachim Kuhn on piano, alto sax, and percussion, JF Jenny-Clark on bass, and Aldo Romano and Jacques Thollot on drums and percussion. Portal himself plays tenor, clarinet, and bass clarinet – as well as other percussion – and overall, the album's a fairly percussive affair – pulsating along with the rhythmic intensity of an ESP session, but even taking things further, with FMP-like full-blown, free range improvisation. Titles include "Our Meanings & Our Feelings", "A Train In A Very Small Town", "Dear Old Morocco", and "For My Mother". LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool album of moody keyboard work from Shiegeo Sekito – a set that's maybe a bit sound library, but also just groovy instrumental – and which has Sekito working his way through a host of Yamaha keyboards, with a sound that's pretty ethereal and eerie overall! In contrast to a Fender Rhodes record of the time, this one's got leaner tones – almost flute-like at points, and augmented occasionally by an early Roland synth – which makes for a spacey vibe that's a real surprise, especially in contrast to the image on the cover! Most of the tunes take off from classical themes by Mozart, Bach, Chopin, and others – but as in a moog project of this nature, the end result is something very different entirely – much hipper, groovier, and with a sweet 70s vibe! LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty incredible legacy of jazz from the scene in Belgium during the late 60s and early 70s – a place that never got the kind of exposure as the jazz worlds of the UK, Scandinavia, and Germany – but one that was making some really amazing work at the time! Take the "progressive" in the title a bit loosely – this is neither prog jazz rock, nor work that's too academic to be groovy – as the groups here are often a bit funky, and play with a surprising degree of soul – just the right space between the notes to make for tunes that cross over very well to fans of American funky jazz from the 70s, with some moments that also rival the best in Brazilian 70s jazz too! The rhythms are wonderful – sometimes full-on funky, sometimes more modal and spacious – and the tracks mix electric and acoustic instrumentation perfectly – mostly instrumental, but with a few vocals from time to time. Some of the artists are ones here you might not normally associate with Belgium – and that's just because they're finally getting their due here, in a well-collected package that also illuminates the connections with a great set of notes. Titles include "Vas Y Voir" by Brussels Art Quintet, "Pathetic Dreams" by Koen De Bruyne, "Archangelo" by Raphael, "Memphis Talk" by Philip Catherine, "Naima" by Lou MacConnell, "Pro Forma 1" by Babs Robert, "Utopic Cities" by Solis Lacus, "SUS" by Placebo, "Face Reality" by Jacques & Micheline Pelzer, "Tohubohu (part 1)" by Marc Moulin, "Open Sky" by Open Sky Unit, and "Sakara" by Clarke Boland Big Band. LP, Vinyl record album

Three really fantastic musicians – working together to turn out one the best records we've ever heard from any of them in years! Make no mistake, we love these guys in all sorts of other settings – but here, there's something really special, and definitely a cut above – this warm sense of spontaneous creation that almost seems to call up an image of the musicians as they work together – Mike Reed on drums, Tomeka Reid on cello, and Nicole Mitchell on flutes and electronics! There's a magic here that really represents the Chicago scene at its finest – the kind of sympathetic, respectful collaboration in which already-strong artists move each other forward together – a magic we hope you'll share on titles that include "AF", "Reflections", "No Side Effects", "JJ", "Soprano Song", "In Response To", and "Blessed". LP, Vinyl record album

Al Green's first major album, and a killer batch of Memphis soul tracks with a sound that's a bit rawer than later years. The formula for the hits is firmly in place – and Al's beautiful voice is swept up wonderfully in very sympathetic production by the great Willie Mitchell. Although Mitchell had worked fine on his own before the record, it's his work with Green that really pushes him to the top of the soul hall of fame – as it's hard to imagine how anyone could have come up with a better showcase for Al's amazing voice. Proof of this can be heard on the record's great original tunes by Green – like "All Because", "I'm A Ram", "You Say It", and the classic "Tired Of Being Alone" – as well as on covers like "Driving Wheel", "Can't Get Next To You", and "Light My Fire". LP, Vinyl record album