An amazingly beautiful set of tracks from Art Farmer – playing here with superb accompaniment from a young Harold Mabern on piano, in a laidback quartet format that really lets Art open up! Art's playing is fresh and creative throughout – never too over the top, and always blown with that subtle genius that he was bringing to his work in the 60s – a pure exercise in understatement, with a quality that seems to make the notes fall out of the air by themselves. Rhythm is by Tommy Williams on bass and Roy McCurdy on drums – and the choice of material includes Tom McIntosh's great composition "The Day After", plus Art's "Punsu" and "Kayin" – and versions of "Change Partners", "Blue Room", and "Nobody's Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Great stuff by this fantastic funky fusion outfit that included Billy Hart on percussion, Eddie Green on electric piano, and Odeon Pope on tenor and flute. The real highlight, though, is Pat Gleason on arp, who adds a lot of cool dark moody touches to the group's fusiony playing. The whole record's a stellar mix of soul jazz and edgey electric playing, and it's far and above one of the best albums ever to be released on Muse. It's also one of the hardest to find, too, and this is one of the rare few copies we've ever seen! Tracks include "Celestial Bodies", "Got To Be There", "Uzuri", and "Perception". LP, Vinyl record album

One of those great funky records that James Moody cut for the Perception label in the early 70s – a set tha has some mighty nice piano from the great Mike Longo! Eddie Jefferson sings vocals on a hilarious version of "Pennies From Heaven", and other titles include "Heritage Hum", "Road Runner", "Soul Searching", and "Travel On". 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

Incredible stuff from the jazz underground of Newark! This is one of the rarest albums ever recorded by jazz organist Larry Young – cut for the tiny Perception label during the early 70s, and featuring some of the cream of the New Jersey jazz underground. The album's got playing that bridges a number of Young's different styles – from his straighter soul jazz work at Blue Note, to his harder jamming with Santana and John McLaughlin, to his more fusion oriented albums for Arista. James Blood Ulmer's on guitar, but there's also a large ensemble of excellent players, and lots of other percussion and cool instrumentation that really gives the album an "out there" sound! Titles include "Sunshine Fly Away", "Saudia", "Hello Your Quietness", and "Khalid Of Space". LP, Vinyl record album

One of three amazing albums the Fatback Band cut for the Perception label in the early 70s – and a set that's definitely the most soulful of the bunch! The difference here is that the group opens up some space for lead vocals from the great Johnny King – a singer with a really unique sound, and one whose special touch brings plenty to the already-great funky instrumentation of the group – deepening their sound in all the right ways! The set features both vocal and instrumental versions of Weldon Irvine's great cut "Feeling Mellow" – done even better than the original – and other cuts include "Makin' Love", "Sketches of Life", "Meet Me Over My House", and "Three Dimensional World". LP, Vinyl record album

Stunning funk from the great Dizzy Gillespie – light years away from his early bop recordings! The album's a slammin batch of 70s instrumentals – Dizzy's trumpet firmly in the lead over electric backings that have more than a bit of funk in them – a bit like his Soul Salvation record, and but slightly more open overall – with a groovy vibe throughout! The bass is the main driving factor of the tunes – played either by Phil Upchurch or Chuck Rainey – and the tracks bounce along with a fierce and righteous groove that also includes hard riffing on guitar and some sweet piano lines. Players include Mike Longo, James Moody, and Bernard Purdie – and tracks include "N'Bani", "Matrix", "Soul Kiss", "Ding A Ling", and "Alligator". Great stuff, and a crucial album in Dizzy's lost career! Damn funky, too. LP, Vinyl record album

A great little record – and one that's got quite a different groove than JJ Jackson's 60s material! Like a lot of records on the Perception label, this one's a nice messed-up funk record – with a lot of weird influences in the mix, and a cool sound that always feels like it's shaking itself apart! JJ does some singing, plays piano, and leads a group that includes organ, tenor, trumpet, and electric bass – working with a lot less tightness than some of his earlier bands – but in a great way that really opens up his sound for the 70s! Highlights include a weird long funk version of "Let The Sunshine In", plus "Indian Thing", "Help Me Get To My Grits", "Go Find Yourself A Woman", and a goofy cover of "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" LP, Vinyl record album

Wanda Robinson was one of the first hip, black, female poets to set righteous words to funky music – and this album is one of her two classic sides for the Perception label from the early 70s. The format is spoken word over funky instrumentals – and backing is by Patrick Adams, James Moody, and others, mixing jazz, soul, and funk conceptions to fit the mood of each of Wanda's tracks on the set. The titles should give you a good flavor of the material – as the set includes "The First Time I Saw Loneliness", "The Great American Passtime", "Parting Is Such", "Tragedy No 456", "A Black Oriented Love Poem", "Instant Replay", "The Trouble With Dreams", and "Grooving". LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual early 70s live date – with long tracks that include "Perception", "Blues March", and "Bird Like" – plus work by Bill Hardman on trumpet, David Schnitter on tenor, Mickey Tucker on piano, and Cameron Brown on bass! LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic bit of late 60's funk, and a surprisingly slammin' record from Dizzy! The album's got tight, hard, choppy funk arrangements from Ed Bland – who went onto to do some great work at the Perception label – and the group features James Moody blowing hard lean funky solos right next to Diz, in the way that he'd do on some of his own funk work from the same time. The record is wonderful all the way through – killer heavy drums, heavy electric bass, searing sax solos from Diz and Moody – all produced with a mad mad full-on funk sound that will make your jaw drop! Titles include "Blue Chuchifrito", "Chicken Giblets", "Rutabega Pie", "The Fly Fox", "Stomped & Wasted" and "Casbah Melon". LP, Vinyl record album

A lost bit of Stanley Turrentine funky work – recorded between his years at Blue Note and his time at CTI, and nearly lost to the pages of history! Despite the obscurity, though, the album's a great one – done with these short stomping sort of arrangements that remind us a lot of the work on Blue Mitchell's Bantu Village album, or the style used on some of the Dizzy Gillespie funk sides for Perception! (And honestly, we think there's a lot of Monk Higgins' influence on the set, even though he doesn't seem to be credited.) The group's ultra-hip – with Freddy Robinson on guitar, Wilton Felder on bass, Paul Humphrey on drums, Victor Feldman on vibes, and King Errison on congas – and tracks are short, soulful, and very much to the point! The groove is really surprising – but tremendous – and is as essential to fans of funk as it is to those of Stanley's other work. 5 numbers in all: "Flipped", "I'm The One", "Toe Hold", "I Only Get This Feeling" and "Flipped Out". LP, Vinyl record album

Probably the best jazz album that Phil Upchurch ever cut! Phil plays in two settings here – one with a funky large group, arranged and conducted by Ed Bland (who did a lot of the work for Perception records in the early 70s) – the other with a quintet that includes Wynton Kelly, Richard Davis, Jimmy Cobb, and Montego Joe! To our ears, the best stuff's the large group material, because Upchurch's years of studio work seem to come to the forefront as he wails with the large arrangements – but the quartet material's also pretty darn great, as Phil rarely got a chance to play in such a tight small combo jazz setting, and Montego Joe's conga work really grooves those tunes up nicely as well! Tracks include "Feeling Blue", "Stop & Listen", "Muscle Soul", "Israel", and "Subaceous Lament". LP, Vinyl record album

Charles Earland really soars to the heavens here – working in a style that's very different than his early jazz albums on Prestige, but which still features plenty of great solo moments too! Earland's key partner in crime here is the great Randy Muller – the man behind the sound of Brass Construction and BT Express – working on arrangements and production to help the keys of Charles get all these excellent grooves – modes that move between midtempo jazz funk to a few clubbier tracks – all in the hippest side of the 70s spectrum! Earland has expanded his keyboard range past straight Hammond, and works all this other great magic into the Fender Rhodes and other instruments – and the record also features backing vocals from the group Skyy – who would soon go on to great fame on their own, thanks to Muller. Titles include "Let The Music Play", "I Like It", "Changes", "Over & Over", and "Smile". LP, Vinyl record album

A swirling array of tones, colors, and sounds – written and arranged by JJ Johnson, conducted by Gunther Schuller, and with Dizzy at the helm, blowing some of his most complicated solos ever. The approach is firmly in the Verve jazz orchestra tradition – and recalls the earlier brilliance of such projects in the hands of Ralph Burns, done here with a great depth of expression, and none of the coldness that you might expect from Schuller's participation. Clearly, there's a Miles/Gil Evans influence here, but the crew retains their identity strongly – and Dizzy's hot tone on the trumpet provides a broder spectrum than Miles ever could. Titles include "Fantasia", "Ballade", "Jubelo", and "The Sword Of Orion". LP, Vinyl record album