Mindblowing music from Sun Ra & The Arkestra – sounds recorded during the same marathon session that gave the world the records Other Planes Of There, When Sun Comes Out, and When Angels Speak Of Love – but titles that are much more obscure overall! The initial release of the material featured very misleading notes, but the true details of the session are even more impressive – as Ra plays a variety of unusual instruments alongside piano – including the piano strings, space organ, and clavioline – alongside some sublime straight horn work from John Gilmore on tenor, Marshall Allen on alto and oboe, Pat Patrick on baritone, Danny Davis on alto and clarinet, Walter Miller on trumpet, Robert Cummings on bass clarinet, and Ali Hasaan on trombone! The lineup here has that raw power the Arkestra first unleashed after their initial move to New York – almost a sense of new freedom in the new environment – even at a time when they weren't clicking on a financial level, but still continued to push forward with new ideas in music! Some passages have this great approach that links the cosmic ideas of the Arkestra with older traditions of jazz soloing – while others reflect the growing concern of the group with new textures and sounds – making for some very impressive elements on both the horns and percussion. The group is completed by Ronnie Boykins on bass, Art Jenkins on space voice and percussion, and Tommy Hunter on drums, percussion, and some mighty nice reverb – and titles include "Biosphere Blues", "Intergalactic Research", "Earth Primitive Earth", "New Planet", and "Continuation To Jupiter Festival". Beautiful 2CD reissue features sublime sounds from the original tapes, remastered – plus a full bonus CD of unreleased tracks that include "Blue York", "Conversation Of The Universe", "Red Planet Mars", "Cosmic Rays/Next Stop Mars", "The Myth", "Meteor Shower", "Infinity", "The Beginning Of", and "Endlessness". CD

A set that really dives deep into the grit and grime of the mid 60s underground – and serves up rare live work from a variety of different scenes! The set begins with some live tracks from the Maryland group The Mad Hatters – club recordings that are definitely different than you might have heard if the group were on some more cleaned-up studio material! The Sting Rays from Long Island are next on more live material, but with a sharper edge and a definite Beatles influence – followed by more live work from The Apollos and The Briks – all sounding as if you've dropped in on some small venue back in the day. CD

A set that showcases a surprising contribution that Andy Warhol made to American music in the postwar years – graphic work done years before his time as a Pop Art icon, or his relationship with the Velvet Underground – from years when Warhol was a more conventional illustrator, and created images for a range of different record covers! Since the images here were more part of a gig, Andy didn't have creative input on the music – yet the covers were often used on the sorts of recordings that showcased important cultural streams of the 50s – on a series of records by Thelonious Monk, Moondog, JJ Johnson, Count Basie, Johnny Griffin, and Kenny Burrell – plus some modern classical recordings too! The set's got a full booklet of notes that illustrate Andy's New York connection to the growing world of the long playing record – with one CD of jazz, two CDs of classical-related material, and one more CD that portrays Andy's New York – with more material from Cecil Taylor, Lenny Bruce, Charles Mingus, Luciano Berio, John Cage, and others. CD

A really great entry into one of our favorite series ever – and a set that's overflowing with rare jukebox jazz from the 60s! These aren't the heady tracks of the Coltrane generation, but the kind of soulful stompers that were brewing underneath – circulating on 45s from lots of indie-labels – and often sitting in a sweet space between hardbop and R&B! Lots of tunes have a very mod feel – hence the title – either a strong tenor solo, or some sweet Hammond, or some skittish rhythms – and the set features lots of tracks that we'd never heard before, and a few more than we'd forgotten about too. Titles include "Bossa Baby" by Googie Rene, "Hen House" by Paul & Rick, "Another Child Lost" by Floyd White, "The Fat Man (part 1)" by The TKOs, "Bucket Full Of Soul" by Trudy Pitts, "Cooking In Grease" by Reuben Wilson, "Watermelon Walk" by The Five Counts, "Hard Working Girl" by Clarence Daniels & Obie Jessie, "You Were Wrong" by The Miles Grayson Trio, and "El Tacos" by Frenchy & The Chessmen. CD

A true revolution in Cuban music – not the familiar cha cha and pachanga modes of the pre-Castro years, but instead the huge wave of fresh styles and combinations that sprung up in the years to come! The tracks here aren't the kind of Cuban sounds that are locked in time by the all-star representations of the scene that circle widely – and instead, this music represents the younger, more experimental side of the scene – continually creating new styles and hybrids during the 70s and 80s, even at a time when most of the records weren't making it out to the world at large! Make no mistake, there's certainly elements of older Afro Latin rhythms, and Latin jazz instrumentation – but those are blended with new approaches to rhythm, instrumentation, and the overall role of the musicians and singers – on tracks that will really open up your ears. Gilles Peterson helped put the package together for Soul Jazz – and the whole thing's got the same hybrid hallmarks as his more recent recording forays in Havana – with cuts that include "Cancion Con Todos" by Grupo De Experimentacion Sonora Del Icaic, "Hast Las Cuantas" by Grupo Monumental, "Luna Wanestain" by Emiliano Salvador, "Te Quiero Porque Te Quiero" by Pablo Milanes, "Un Lamento Heco Cancion" by Los Reyes 73, "Dacapo" by Raul Gomez, "La Patica" by Paquito D'Rivera, "Rompe Cocorioco" by Juan Pablo Torres, "Mi Ritmo Caliente" by Juan Formell & Los Van Van, "Chequere Son" by Grupo Irakere, "El Son Del Campeon" by Conjunto Rubavana, and "Con Cadencia Y Con Dulzura" by Las D'Aida. CD