A great set by Stan Kenton – one that applies the dark tones of his style to a range of popular numbers that end up completely transformed! The album features some wonderful charts from arranger Lennie Niehaus – emerging here as one of the more complicated talents of the west coast scene of the time – and stepping off the strength of his 50s small group sessions, into a realm that really points the way towards his later soundtrack work. The sound is lush and filled with colors from the dark end of the spectrum – mostly carried by a mellophonium-heavy horn section, but also featuring some redemptive moments on breakout solos. Titles include "Darn That Dream", "Moonlight Becomes You", "How Do I Look In Blue", "Time After Time", "My One And Only Love", and "You Stepped Out Of A Dream". LP, Vinyl record album

Patti's first solo album – recorded after splitting with the group Labelle, moving into a more sophisticated Diva soul mode that kept her strong for years to come! The album's pretty great, stepping out into the solo soul realm with terrific footing – and the best tunes have a smoothed out modern approach that's actually quite refreshing – and a bit better than some of the work by Labelle in the late years! 9 tracks in all, including "Dan Swit Me", "You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover", "I Think About You" and "Do I Stand A Chance". LP, Vinyl record album

The debut album by a guitarist who might well go into the realm of the classics – as he plays here with a sense of care and balance of tone that's very much his own – handling a hollow-body electric with a sound that's simply stunning from the very first note! Hugo Lippi isn't one of those "too clean" guitarists from the vintage years – as he loves to get some richer sounds out of the guitar, while also never rasping the strings or pushing distortion at all either – always playing with a sense of clarity that's great, while also touching on the complexity of acoustic players with an effortless touch! Lippi handles his instrument with the skills of Baden Powell or Paco DeLucia – although he sounds nothing like either of them – while also using the electric side of the instrument to effortlessly create amazing colors throughout. Titles include "A Child Is Born", "Reflections In B", "Land Of Hope & Glory", "Girl", "La Ballade De Johnny Jane", "Be Yourself", "Choros No 1/Bossa Antigua", and a surprising medley of "Wuthering Heights/Babooshka". CD

The debut album by a guitarist who might well go into the realm of the classics – as he plays here with a sense of care and balance of tone that's very much his own – handling a hollow-body electric with a sound that's simply stunning from the very first note! Hugo Lippi isn't one of those "too clean" guitarists from the vintage years – as he loves to get some richer sounds out of the guitar, while also never rasping the strings or pushing distortion at all either – always playing with a sense of clarity that's great, while also touching on the complexity of acoustic players with an effortless touch! Lippi handles his instrument with the skills of Baden Powell or Paco DeLucia – although he sounds nothing like either of them – while also using the electric side of the instrument to effortlessly create amazing colors throughout. Titles include "A Child Is Born", "Reflections In B", "Land Of Hope & Glory", "Girl", "La Ballade De Johnny Jane", "Be Yourself", "Choros No 1/Bossa Antigua", and a surprising medley of "Wuthering Heights/Babooshka". LP, Vinyl record album

A key early entry in the "jazz meets Broadway" genre – and a record that was so successful, it went onto inspire countless imitations! Shelly Manne's working here in a lightly playful trio setting – alongside Andre Previn on piano and Leroy Vinnegar on bass, in a reading of tunes originally composed for the musical My Fair Lady. Given Manne's talent for unusual rhythms and melodic percussion, the session's got a bit of a whimsical edge that takes it way past the core compositions that most listeners already knew – into a realm that allows for much great improvisation and play with the melodies. Previn's nicely restrained on the keys, and Vinnegar adds in a good sense of bottom to the set – and titles include "Get Me To The Church On Time", "I Could Have Dance All Night", "Ascot Gavotte", "Show Me", and "With A Little Bit Of Luck". LP, Vinyl record album

A jazz classic if there ever was one – and the best-selling album ever by Lee Morgan, thanks to the use of the title track in a car commercial! Sure, you've probably heard "The Sidewinder" enough that you think you know the album already – but the rest of the tunes really open up past that groover, into a realm of lyrical, soulful playing that's simply tremendous! The group on the record features Joe Henderson on tenor, Barry Harris on piano, Bob Crenshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – and the album rolls along with a sense of perfect power that is every bit Blue Note at its best! Titles include "Sidewinder", "Gary's Notebook", "Hocus-Pocus", and "Totem Pole". LP, Vinyl record album

A jazz classic if there ever was one – and the best-selling album ever by Lee Morgan, thanks to the use of the title track in a car commercial! Sure, you've probably heard "The Sidewinder" enough that you think you know the album already – but the rest of the tunes really open up past that groover, into a realm of lyrical, soulful playing that's simply tremendous! The group on the record features Joe Henderson on tenor, Barry Harris on piano, Bob Crenshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – and the album rolls along with a sense of perfect power that is every bit Blue Note at its best! Titles include "Sidewinder", "Gary's Notebook", "Hocus-Pocus", and "Totem Pole". Plus, this CD reissue also includes one bonus cut, an alternate take of "Totem Pole". CD

A great mid 70s session from keyboardist Sonny Phillips – very different than his early work! Although Sonny was one of the funky organ players to record for Prestige during the classic jazz funk years, by the time of this recording, he'd emerged as a more spiritual talent, with a looser, freer approach, and a much more open-ended vibe. This 1976 session is a good example of that – as it moves beyond simple funky jazz, into a realm that shows Phillips picking up a lot of outside influences, and going for a style that was mellower, more laidback, and a bit more cosmic – while still hitting some nice funky moments. The set was recorded by Houston Person, and features Phillips on piano and organ, with backing by Ben Dixon, Jimmy Ponder, and Ralph Dorsey. Titles include "Salaam 7", "Goin Home", "My Black Flower", and "Jalal". CD

The greatness of Gregory Porter continues to grow and grow – as the vocalist keeps moving past the straighter jazz of his roots, into a role as one of the greatest soul singers of the 21st Century! Porter's got a depth and maturity that few folks have had in recent years – especially in the realm of male vocals – very much that manner of important 70s singers like Bill Withers, Billy Paul, or Al Jarreau – who were schooled in jazz, but worked more in soulful styles that gave them a wider reach, and helped them to find a very personal voice in the process! We'd easily place Gregory in that legacy – one that he's definitely earned by this point – and he sounds arguably even better here than on his debut for Blue Note – working with arrangements from co-producer Kamau Kenyatta, who mixes in just the right current of jazz to keep things on track with the energy we first loved in Porter's first records – while still really letting his new energy open up and soar. Titles include "Holding On", "Insanity", "Don't Lose Your Steam", "Daydream", "Don't Be A Fool", "More Than A Woman", and "French African Queen". Also features different versions of two songs, with guest appearances – "Holding On" with Kem, and "Insanity" with Lalah Hathaway. CD

One of Sun Ra's best non-Saturn live sets of the 70s – a nice little record that shows the group mixing it up with equal parts avant garde and straight ahead jazz, all handled in that ever-growing large group style that made them a real force to be reckoned with in a concert setting! The album was recorded during the 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival, and has a bit more focus and polish than some of the other Arkestra live material from the time – a mature, coherent sound that almost points the way towards some of their work to come in the 80s – when Ra and the group were finally reaching the wider audience they deserved. The set's a double-length one, and features players who include John Gilmore on tenor, Marshall Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, Pat Patrick on baritone, Ahmed Abdullah on trumpet, Craig Harris on trombone, and James Jackson on Ancient Egyptian Infinity drum – which is always a treat. Ra plays solar organ and moog, as well as piano – and titles include "Of The Other Tomorrow", "On Sound Infinity Spheres", "El Is The Sound Of Joy", "Gods Of The Thunder Realm", "Gods Of A Thunder Realm", "The House Of Eternal Being", and "Lights On a Satellite". CD

Really unique material from Sun Ra – a pair of recordings that were initially circulated much more strongly than some of his Saturn Records material, thanks to the power of the BYG/Actuel label in the early 70s – but tracks that actually come from a variety of different sessions that Ra himself did with the Arkestra in the late 60s! Tracks are shortish, but very inventive – a well-chosen snapshot of all the new ideas that the group were cooking up during the end of the 60s in New York, with an increased mission to explore the outer reaches of space, and use more electronics than ever before! Ra plays some killer keyboards – moog, spacemaster, and acoustic piano – often with these really eerie tones – and other players include Kwame Hadi on trumpet, Akh Tal Ebah on space dimension mellophone, Ali Hassan on trombone, Marshal Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, John Gilmore on tenor, and Pat Patrick on baritone – and the whole group vocalizes at points, joined by other singers who include June Tyson and Art Jenkins. There's also some great use of "strange strings" on the sessions, not to mention a bit of reverb – and tracks on this first volume include "Spectrum", "The Satellites Are Spinning", "Seen III Took 4", "Adventures Of Bugs Hunter", "Legend", and "The Realm Of Lightning". LP, Vinyl record album

Really unique material from Sun Ra – a pair of recordings that were initially circulated much more strongly than some of his Saturn Records material, thanks to the power of the BYG/Actuel label in the early 70s – but tracks that actually come from a variety of different sessions that Ra himself did with the Arkestra in the late 60s! Tracks are shortish, but very inventive – a well-chosen snapshot of all the new ideas that the group were cooking up during the end of the 60s in New York, with an increased mission to explore the outer reaches of space, and use more electronics than ever before! Ra plays some killer keyboards – moog, spacemaster, and acoustic piano – often with these really eerie tones – and other players include Kwame Hadi on trumpet, Akh Tal Ebah on space dimension mellophone, Ali Hassan on trombone, Marshal Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, John Gilmore on tenor, and Pat Patrick on baritone – and the whole group vocalizes at points, joined by other singers who include June Tyson and Art Jenkins. There's also some great use of "strange strings" on the sessions, not to mention a bit of reverb – and tracks titles include "Spectrum", "The Satellites Are Spinning", "Seen III Took 4", "Adventures Of Bugs Hunter", "Legend", "The Realm Of Lightning", "The Utter Nots", "Outer Spaceways Inc", "Scene 1 Take 1", "Strange Worlds", "Ancient Ethiopia", "Pyramids", and "Interpretation". CD

Really unique material from Sun Ra – a pair of recordings that were initially circulated much more strongly than some of his Saturn Records material, thanks to the power of the BYG/Actuel label in the early 70s – but tracks that actually come from a variety of different sessions that Ra himself did with the Arkestra in the late 60s! Tracks are shortish, but very inventive – a well-chosen snapshot of all the new ideas that the group were cooking up during the end of the 60s in New York, with an increased mission to explore the outer reaches of space, and use more electronics than ever before! Ra plays some killer keyboards – moog, spacemaster, and acoustic piano – often with these really eerie tones – and other players include Kwame Hadi on trumpet, Akh Tal Ebah on space dimension mellophone, Ali Hassan on trombone, Marshal Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, John Gilmore on tenor, and Pat Patrick on baritone – and the whole group vocalizes at points, joined by other singers who include June Tyson and Art Jenkins. There's also some great use of "strange strings" on the sessions, not to mention a bit of reverb – and tracks titles include "Spectrum", "The Satellites Are Spinning", "Seen III Took 4", "Adventures Of Bugs Hunter", "Legend", "The Realm Of Lightning", "The Utter Nots", "Outer Spaceways Inc", "Scene 1 Take 1", "Strange Worlds", "Ancient Ethiopia", "Pyramids", and "Interpretation". CD

A killer set from Italian jazz gurus Cicci Santucci & Enzo Scoppa – an early 70s quartet effort that has a more fiery and overall freer sound than other Santucci Scoppa efforts of the era! This is one of those records that challenges our expectations of a combo, or in this case a pair, of artists that we've loved over the years, and their work is never predictable, but this one moves them in a more exciting and improvisational realm that works masterfully. Trumpet player Santucci and tenor sax player Scoppa work with an intuitive harmony together as always, but the vibe is far reaching a frenetic here in away that moves them away from their more hard bop rooted sounds. Many tense moments, but never far out, or compromising the fluid interplay. The quartet on this record includes a pair of Brunos – Tommaso on bass and Biriaco on drums. There's a Titles include "Colpi Di Flash", "Inumanity", "Tensione", "Toward The Peace", "Dalle Nostre Isole", "Routine", "Integration", "Liveri" and "A Free Way Of Life". CD

A landmark album from Nina Simone – a set that really pushes her far past just the standard realm of jazz vocals, and which also helped really establish her role as one of the most righteous singers of the 60s! The set's maybe extremely noteworthy for Nina's original tune "Four Women" – a righteous portrait of four different women and their struggles – unique for its time, and a key part of the early Women's Liberation movement! The rest of the album has a similar political undercurrent – sometimes subtle, but there nonetheless – as Nina works magic on tunes that include "Break Down & Let It All Out", "Either Way I Lose", "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair", and "That's All I Ask". CD

Sonic Youth at their best – bringing the earlier, noisier impulses into an anthemic rock realm with incredible results! Daydream Nation's legancy looms as heavily over the indie rock to come in the next 20-or-so years as much as any other album album we can think of...hell, just the first 2 songs do that – and it doesn't let up 'til the end. Perfection! Includes "Teen Age Riot", "Silver Rocket", "The Sprawl", 'Cross The Breeze", "Eric's Trip", "Total Trash", "Hey Joni", "Providence", "Candle", "Rain King" and the closing "Kissability" suite. LP, Vinyl record album

A soaring stormer from T-Connection – and a set that has them sounding even better than before! There's a perfection here the group didn't have with earlier releases – a quality that goes way past indie funk ensemble, into the realm of some of the best mainstream acts on the bigger labels at the time – company shared by a rare few, like Earth Wind & Fire, Ohio Players, or the Bar-Kays! Things are every bit as funky as before – but there's a way of putting the tunes together that really blows us away – fusing all the elements together perfectly, and making everything work towards the groove – yet all without making anything sound too slick or polished either. Mighty nice all the way through – and titles include "Funky Lady", "Don't Stop The Music", "Funkannection", "Saturday Night", "At Midnight", and "Love Supreme". CD

A soaring stormer from T-Connection – and a set that has them sounding even better than before! There's a perfection here the group didn't have with earlier releases – a quality that goes way past indie funk ensemble, into the realm of some of the best mainstream acts on the bigger labels at the time – company shared by a rare few, like Earth Wind & Fire, Ohio Players, or the Bar-Kays! Things are every bit as funky as before – but there's a way of putting the tunes together that really blows us away – fusing all the elements together perfectly, and making everything work towards the groove – yet all without making anything sound too slick or polished either. Mighty nice all the way through – and titles include "Funky Lady", "Don't Stop The Music", "Funkannection", "Saturday Night", "At Midnight", and "Love Supreme". LP, Vinyl record album

Kaidi Tatham takes on some of the best cuts from the Reel People label and makes them even better – adding all sorts of the jazzy keyboard work you might guess from the cover image, and definitely moving them into the territory of clubby fusion too! Almost all the cuts have a soulful singer in the lead – still kept to the forefront, as Tatham strips out some of the older elements, cleans up the cuts, and adds in lots of his own keyboards and rhythms – plus fresh bass and percussion too – all to really transform the tunes! Titles include Kaidi Tatham reworks of cuts that include "Pedigree" by Daz I Kue with Hadiya George, "All Of My Life" by Sebb Junior with Paula, "On The Road" by The Realm x Atjazz x Kelli Sae, "Fly" by Tony Momrelle, "I Want To Thank You" by Reel People with Mica Paris, "Don't Give Up" by Aaries, "Losin My Head" by Monkey Brothers with Shaun Escoffery, and "Save A Lil Love" by Reel People with Eric Roberson. LP, Vinyl record album

The Ventures were furiously productive in the early 60s – delivering gem after gem – and this is among the best! Telstar is somewhere near the ninth record by the group, offering a dizzying mix of covers of some of the most popular songs of the day. The guitar still leads as the main sound on these tracks but they do expand the instrumentation to include organ, trumpet, mandolins and harpsichord as well. They sing a little on some of the tracks but they mainly stay in the instrumental realm. Greatness! Tracks include "Telstar", "The Lonely Bull", "Mexico", "Calcutta", "Apache", "Never On A Sunday", "Tequila", "Green Onions", "Let There Be Drums", and "Red River Rock". LP, Vinyl record album

Album III from Loudon Wainwright III – a fine showcase for his wry songwriting, uncommon melodies and a unpredictable niche in the 70s singer/songwriter realm! Album III continues Loudon's progression from folk influenced storyteller to more of a pop rock mode, a record that starts out with the funny "Dead Skunk", kind of catching you off guard for some sharper words to come. Titles include the weird leftfield hit "Dead Skunk", plus "Red Guitar", "East Indian Princess", "Hometeam Crowd", "Needless To Say", "Drinking Song", "Say That You Love Me" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A great return for the legendary Tom Ze – an artist who'd been brought back to prominence via the efforts of a Luaka Bop compilation – then given this great chance to record for the label on his own! The set's a great return to form for Ze – who sprung from this moment into a renewed period of creative energy – really drawing on his crucial years of groundbreaking sounds in Brazil during the Tropicalia generation, and especially the 70s – when Tom had really moved off into a realm of his own. Most tracks are relatively short, and pretty enigmatic – a flurry of the sounds and verbal experiments that always made Ze so great! Titles include "Jingle Do Disco", "Cortina 3", "Amar", "Ogodo, Ano 2000", "Feira De Santana", "Fliperama", and "Tatuaramba". LP, Vinyl record album

42 rare gems from the Motown vaults – an incredible treasure trove of unreleased material! The package follows beautifully on the heels of the first Cellarful Of Motown volume – but also manages to go even deeper, and get beyond the better-known "lost" Motown tracks, into a realm of soul music treasures that we never would have expected! The whole thing's great – overflowing with tunes so great, you'll find yourself scratching your head as to why Motown never issued these back in the 60s – and will turn towards the label with a whole new level of respect for all the greatness they still managed to record underneath their more familiar hits. The 2CD set also comes with a great booklet that offers track-by-track notes on the tunes – and a selection of cuts that includes "Take My Hand" by Dalton Boys, "Take Me In Your Arms" by Eddie Holland, "All Day All Night" by Earl Van Dyke, "A Woman Just Won't Do Right" by Shorty Long, "I've Gotta Get Away" by Tommy Good, "Show Girl" by The Vows, "I Can't Get Along Without You" by The Monitors, "I Hope You Have Better Luck Than I Did" by The Marvelettes, "My Heart" by Tammi Terrell, "Where Is the Love" by Rita Wright, "Those DJ Shows" by Patrice Holloway, "Rescue Me" by Blinky, "I Can't Go On Sharing Your Love" by The Isley Brothers, "Choo Choo Train" by Little Lisa, "In The Dark" by The Creations, "Love Trouble Heartache & Misery" by Hatti Littles, "Positively Absolutely Right" by The Temptations, and "Let's Talk It Over" by Marv Johnson. CD

A set with an unusual sort of flavor – one that looks at the influence of Spanish culture on modern music during the postwar years – brought together here in a mix of jazz and classical recordings with some very different styles! CD1 is all jazz – and showcases some key Spanish-themed projects – most notably the famous Miles Davis/Gil Evans collaborations, but also work by John Coltrane and Django Reinhardt too – music that maybe adapts Spanish classical themes for the modern idiom. CD2 dives more into the realm of classical – and features work by both French and Spanish composers with very vivid sonic imagery – longer pieces by Ravel, Debussy, and De Falla – heard here in classic recordings. CD3 is a bit more intimate, and features a range of classical themes, but with more up-close performance – often classical guitar, played by Sabicas, Julian Bream, and others – but sometimes with piano, and in one case a woodwind quintet. 37 tracks in all – with a detailed booklet of notes! CD

A reverent snapshot of the spiritual & soul jazz emanating from the Mainstream label in the early 70s – a well curated set featuring great numbers by Frank Foster, Blue Mitchell, Hadley Caliman, Roy Haynes and other giants of the scene! The material comes from a time in Mainstream label history when it was essentially relaunched as a jazz label, following some the psyche era rock albums of the previous few years. Soulful jazz sounds from a spiritual realm as well as some in a jazz funk mode, and excellent material all the way! 12 great tracks in all: The sprawling opener "The Loud Minority" by Frank Foster, "Mi Hermano" by Blue Mitchell, "Up And Down" by Harold Land, "Watercress" by Hadley Caliman, "Kamili" by Buddy Terry, "Senyah" by Roy Haynes, "EW Beautiful People" by Frank Foster, "Little One" by Hadley Caliman and "Petits Machins" by Johnny Coles/ CD

The second chapter of Erykah Badu's New Amerykah – recorded for the most part, quite incredibly, during the same period and with the same collaborators as the mind-altering, murky and righteous hip hop funk experimentalism that was Part One – some months that must be among the most dizzyingly creative in Badu's career! We're reluctant to call Return Of The The Ankh a lighter listen than its predecessor, but, it's a less dense and outwardly experimental batch in the sonic realm – the emotionalism and the head nodding warmth is at the forefront, yet she's as uncompromising and real as ever. The sound is still innovative, unique and her own on all fronts, but the songs chosen for Part Two are ones you want to approach and embrace from the opening seconds – there's not as much of a tripped out overall vibe and you don't need to acclimate from a distance – these songs pull you right in! Includes collaborations with James Poyser, Shafiq Husayn, Ta'Raach, Karriem Riggins, Madlib and Georgia Anne Muldrow. Includes "20 Feet Tall", "Window Seat", "Agitation", "Turn Me Away (Get Munny)", "Gone Baby, Don't Be Long", "Love", "Out My Mind, Just In Time" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The 3rd album by The Dining Rooms – and the best so far! These guys have really matured from earlier outings – moving into a sophisticated realm of downtempo soundscapes crafted with a great deal of care, and which are put together with a lot more than simple tricks and gimmicks. There's loads of really solid tunes in here – sly numbers that sneak up on you with a subtle approach to the craft, gently burrowing in and taking root – somehow making the album that much more compelling overall. A number of tracks have some wonderfully languid vocals, some male and some female – and these tunes fall nicely next to instrumental numbers with a very evocative approach. Titles include "Anima Per Amarti", "Tunnel", "La Citta Nuda", "Fluxus", "Flamenco Sketches", "Dreamy Smiles", "You", "African Loungesters", and a nice cover of Sun Ra's "Astro Black"! CD

Keyon Harrold continues his rise from standard jazz into the realm of soulful superstar – working here with a great array of guests, and also creating a sound that's a fantastic blend of his own work on trumpet and some larger currents of soul and R&B! At some level, the record's almost Harrold's equivalent of the Black Radio projects from pianist Robert Glasper – and maybe no surprise, Glasper's in the lineup of guests here – alongside Laura Mvula, PJ Morton, Common, Jean Baylor, and others – all participants who find just the right spot in the music, yet leave plenty of room for Keyon to blow some solos in a way that mark his role as the visionary leader of the proceedings. Titles include "Beautiful Day", "Well Walk Now", "Don't Lie", "Foreverland", "Find Your Peace", "Gotta Go", "Pictures", and "The Intellectual". CD

Keyon Harrold continues his rise from standard jazz into the realm of soulful superstar – working here with a great array of guests, and also creating a sound that's a fantastic blend of his own work on trumpet and some larger currents of soul and R&B! At some level, the record's almost Harrold's equivalent of the Black Radio projects from pianist Robert Glasper – and maybe no surprise, Glasper's in the lineup of guests here – alongside Laura Mvula, PJ Morton, Common, Jean Baylor, and others – all participants who find just the right spot in the music, yet leave plenty of room for Keyon to blow some solos in a way that mark his role as the visionary leader of the proceedings. Titles include "Beautiful Day", "Well Walk Now", "Don't Lie", "Foreverland", "Find Your Peace", "Gotta Go", "Pictures", and "The Intellectual". LP, Vinyl record album

Deep deep deep soul from The Knight Brothers – a wonderful duo who cut some fantastic sides for Chess Records in the 60s! The Brothers originally hailed from Washington DC, and came to Chicago by way of New York – somehow managing to pick up all the best bits of these geographic influences in the meantime! At one level, the Knights have a sound that's got lots of touches of southern soul – a pre-Sam & Dave approach to vocals that usually has one singer out front, and the other egging him on. But as they grew – and for a brief while adapted into the vocal group The Carltons – they also started to harmonize a lot more, and moved into a realm that was a lot like The Impressions at their best – sweet harmonies sung with a lot of depth, and often done with a heartbreaking quality that was really wonderful! This Japanese-only album is the closest thing the group ever came to having a full length set on Chess. LP, Vinyl record album

A jazz classic if there ever was one – and the best-selling album ever by Lee Morgan, thanks to the use of the title track in a car commercial! Sure, you've probably heard "The Sidewinder" enough that you think you know the album already – but the rest of the tunes really open up past that groover, into a realm of lyrical, soulful playing that's simply tremendous! The group on the record features Joe Henderson on tenor, Barry Harris on piano, Bob Crenshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – and the album rolls along with a sense of perfect power that is every bit Blue Note at its best! Titles include "Sidewinder", "Gary's Notebook", "Hocus-Pocus", and "Totem Pole". CD

The music of Misha Panfilov just gets deeper and deeper with each new release – and here, he's light years away from the funk of his earlier sets, and much more in the realm of spiritual jazz! The set's got a vibe that's almost in the Carlos Nino side of the spectrum, but which also resonates strongly with Misha's amazing sense of sound – served up by a group that features Misha on guitars, keyboards, organs, harpsichord, ngoni, and a whole host of other elements – joined by the trumpet of Rafael Andrade, tenor of Francisco Aguilar, bass of Ricardo Dias, and drums of Francisco Coelho. Tunes are long and carry elements of Brazilian and other global styles – but often in a way that evokes cinematic modes too, although things are much deeper than any sort of easy soundtrack reference to such styles. The whole album's a masterpiece of beauty that we never would have expected from Panfilov a few years back – and titles include "Vertical", "Alegria Em Movimento", "Caleidoscpopio", "Domingo Magico" and "Para O Sol". LP, Vinyl record album

Trumpet player Christian Scott really steps into his own realm of excellence on Yesterday You Said Tomorrow – his best work yet for Concord – a nice mix of moods ranging from sweeter melodic modernism with a rawish, but tight underbelly to heavier, more searing sounds! Here Scott is masterfully blending influences of the 60s heroes with a profoundly modern sensibility, and the players are near perfectly suited to Scott's approach. The material is largely from Scott's pen, but they take on Thom Yorke of Radiohead's "The Eraser" early on in the set, a tune adapted to hypnotic modern jazz sound wonderfully. Players include Matthew Stevens on guitar, Milton Fletcher on piano, Kris Funn on bass and Jamire Williams on drums. Includes the Scott compositions "KKPD", "Isadora", "Angola, LA & The 13th Amendment", "The Last Broken Heart (Prop 8)", "American't" and "An Upending Repentance", Stevens's "After All" and more. CD

Elliott Smith's masterful first album for the majors – and one of the most creatively fruitful leaps from the indie rock realm to the big leagues of the 90s – or ever! At his earlier solo best, Elliott managed to make really powerful, emotionally resonant songs in rawer, starker settings – so it was fair to wonder if a Dreamworks budget and mainstream studio production set up would squander the intimacy. It didn't! The rawness and realness of his songwriting is really strengthened by the somewhat bigger, beautiful production and arrangements. A genuine classic. Includes "Sweet Adeline", "Tomorrow Tomorrow", "Waltz # 2 (Xo)", "Independence Day", "Bottle Up & Explode", "I Didn't Understand", "Amity", "Baby Britain" and more. CD

About as classic as you can get for the early Supremes – a set that has the group really hitting hard on all levels, thanks to production from the team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, plus a bit of help from Smokey Robinson – all of whom really help push the Supremes out of simple girl group soul – into the realm of Motown genius they would nearly rule for years to come! Tunes are by HDH, Norman Whitfield, and Smokey – top-shelf songwriting that further enforces the strength of the set – with that mix of poise and class, yet soul and feeling that always graced the group at their best. Titles include the sublime "When The Love Light Starts Shining Through His Eyes", plus the classics "Where Did Our Love Go" and "Baby Love", and the tracks "Come See About Me", "I'm Giving You Your Freedom", "Your Kiss Of Fire", "Ask Any Girl", and "A Breath Taking Guy". LP, Vinyl record album

A double-length set of work from one of the greatest pianists of the 50s – both of his Atlantic albums together on a single CD! First up is the self-titled Lennie Tristano, from 1955 – darkly imaginative work from the great Tristano – and one of the few full albums he ever cut as a leader! The record features the incredible track "Turkish Mambo" – which has Tristano overdubbed 3 times in this dark modal way that's totally amazing, and which will hook you into his playing immediately! A number of other tracks feature a quartet with Lee Konitz – always a good match for Tristano – and a few others have a great trio that's completed by Peter Ind and Jeff Morton. Tracks include "Requiem", "East 32nd", "You Go To My Head", and "Line Up". New Tristano is an incredible record by Lennie – one that features him playing solo piano, but in a way that's so inventive, so creative, so pyrotechnic, that Atlantic Records had to include text on the back cover saying "No use is made of multi-tracking, over-dubbing, or tape-speeding." The album's also one of the last (the last?) that Lennie ever cut – and although many other players are kind of faltering in last sessions like this, Lennie's sounding better than ever – ready to take on a realm of new challenges in the 60s. Titles include "Love Lines", "G Minor Complex", "Becoming", and "Deliberation". CD

Masterpiece records from Philly soul maestro Dexter Wansel – stepping out here in a beautiful blend of jazz and soul! Life On Mars is a fantastic bit of space age funk, easily the best album that Wansel ever recorded – and a sublime blend of Wansel's Philly grooving sensibility with some of the more keyboard-oriented funk that was coming out of the Herbie Hancock camp during the mid 70s. The result is a tight batch of crossover tracks that work well both as jazz funk groovers, and as smoother modern soul tracks. Includes the version of "Theme From the Planets" with the much sampled breakbeat at the beginning – plus lots of other nice ones, including "Life On Mars", "Rings Of Saturn", and "Stargazer". What The World Is Coming To moves the focus back to soul a bit more than Life On Mars – but also keeps in plenty of jazzy touches! Dexter's groove here is similar to the best work he did with other Philly vocalists in the same time – and the set features guest vocals from Jean Carn and Terri Wells, sliding into a warmly soulful realm on the mellower tracks, and stepping out with a fully jazzed up groove on the more upbeat numbers. Titles include "What The World Is Coming To", "Dreams Of Tomorrow", "Holdin On", "Dance With Me Tonight", "Disco Lights", and "Prelude #1". 1978's Voyager is a bit like Dexter's space jazz classic Life On Mars – and with those fat, thumping bass lines, elastic lead guitar, atmospheric soul vocals and loads and loads of keys – spatial work on Rhodes, Moogs and ARPs! It's all done in a funky style not always heard on Philly – plus Dexter arranged and produced just about everything! Tracks include "Solutions", "Voyager", "I'm In Love", "Latin Love", and "I Just Want To Love You". 1979's Time Is Slipping Away is a straighter Philly soul outing than some of Wansel's earlier work – a nice batch from a talent that was responsible for crafting some of the best smooth modern numbers at the end of the 70s! It features the killer cut "The Sweetest Pain" – a smooth stepper with some subtle keyboard grooving behind warm female vocals by Terri Well – plus "Funk Attack", "New Beginning", "One For the Road", "It's Been Cool", and "I'll Never Forget (My Favorite Disco)". CD

Brilliant work from Philly arranger Dexter Wansel – an album that moves the focus back to soul a bit more than on his Life On Mars set, but which also keeps in plenty of jazzy touches! Dexter's groove here is similar to the best work he did with other Philly vocalists in the same time – and the set features guest vocals from Jean Carn and Terri Wells, sliding into a warmly soulful realm on the mellower tracks, and stepping out with a fully jazzed up groove on the more upbeat numbers. Titles include "What The World Is Coming To", "Dreams Of Tomorrow", "Holdin On", "Dance With Me Tonight", "Disco Lights", and "Prelude #1". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderfully groovy European soundtrack work – a "triple feature" that contains tunes from the films Casanova 70, Darling, and Marriage Italian Style! The music for Casanova 70 is oddly not credited on the album – but features some excellent jazzy tunes, really swinging with lots of nice horn parts – and a few especially nice numbers that use electric harpsichord and have a very mod 60s feel! Darling is a British film with mellower work – larger orchestrations by John Dankworth – and Marriage Italian Style moves back into the realm of the groovy with a few nice numbers by Armando Trovajoli. Titles include "C'E Un Non So Che", "My Baby's Rockin", "Swinging Lonely", "Running Slow", "Sempre Cosi", "See What's Happening", and "Is That You Again". LP, Vinyl record album

2 beautiful later albums from Deodato – back to back on one CD! Knights Of Fantasy is smoth and jazzy – done in an LA late 70s style that's kind of like work by Joe Sample or The Crusaders, but a bit more R&B oriented, and with a deeper soul style overall! You can definitely hear Deodato's growing taste for modern soul here – especially on the seminal club jammer "Whistle Bump", which is a tight keyboard-driven groove, with some sweeping strings underneath wah wah guitar. The cut's the real standout on the album – although there's a few other nice moments, like "Space Dust" and "Lovely Lady", which has a great mellow Bob James-ish sound. Night Cruiser is a key record in Deodato's move from funky jazz in the 70s to modern soul in the 80s – and one that showcases the best of his talents in both genres! The approach here is more tightly arranged and produced than that of his earlier CTI sides – but in a mode that's still plenty nice to our ears – as Deodato's uncanny sense of rhythm and timing is still very firmly in place, making the set way way more than just a smooth jazz album – and pushing it strongly into the realm of soulful spacey fusion! There's some really great tracks on the set – like the amazing "Skatin", a sweet keyboard number that's a perfect roller skating jam (in case you couldn't guess from the title) – plus "Love Magic", "Uncle Funk", "East Side Strut", and "Night Cruiser". 11 tracks in all! CD

A jazz-inspired hip hop uberclassic! While Digable Planets might not have pioneered the jazzy hip hop vibe – we might nod to the Native Tongues scene and DJ Premier's productions in the late 80s for that – Digables set a new standard with breezy but head nodding production and mellow, laidback rhyme style that dug into the abstract lyrical realm more than any of their predecessors. Still sounds fresh today, too! Includes "Where I'm From", "It's Good To Be Here", "What Cool Breezes Do", "Time & Space (A New Refutation Of)", "Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)", "Escapism (Gettin Free)", "Pacifics", "Appointment At The Fat Clinic", "Swoon Units", "Last Of The Spiddyocks", "Examination Of What", "Nickel Bags", and "Jimmi Diggin Cats". CD

An amazing run of music – the complete Laurie Records singles of Dion DiMucci – all presented here in original mono mixes, most of which have never been on CD before! The package is a real revelation to our ears – and takes us past both the early hits we know well, and the later oddities we like even more – to an extended realm of sounds that really illustrate why Dion's had such great staying power over the years. He's a hell of a singer – easily one of the most soulful of the crossover talents of his generation – and there seems to be a rawness to the mono mixes that really get back to the core of his essence. The package features detailed notes, and a whopping 36 tracks that include "Little Miss Blue", "Lonely Teenager", "After The Dance", "Purple Haze", "The Dolphins", "Runaround Girl", "The Majestic", "Heaven Help Me", "Little Girl", "Lost For Sure", "Little Diane", "Born To Cry", "Tag Along", "Daddy Rollin", "He Looks A Lot Like Me", "Abraham Martin & John", and "Shout". CD

A blistering batch of soulful house tracks from Japan's Yukihiro Fukutomi – one of the best records of its type we've heard in years, and an instant classic in our book! The album features guest vocals by Liane Carroll, Carolyn Harding, and Josh Milan from Blaze – but the strongest talent on the set is Fukutomi – whose talent for blending soulful rhythms, acoustic percussion, and warm keyboards blows away most other work of the type we've heard! Tracks are all uptempo, but they've got a deeply beating heart that takes them way past house music, and into the realm of 21st Century Soul! Titles include "Just A Dream", "Missing", "Expressions", "In Time", "The Spinning Wheel", "Play Back", and the anthemic "Love Each Other". CD

There's few singers lovelier than Astrud Gilberto – and this "great women" set is a perfect introduction to her music – a package filled with the key cuts she recorded for Verve Records during the big bossa nova boom of the 60s – a movement that lifted Astrud from obscurity into the realm of undeniably classic singers! The set features some of Gilberto's original recordings with tenorist Stan Getz, and others on her own – with backings from arrangers Don Sebesky, Claus Ogerman, Gil Evans, and Marty Paich – and one tune done with Brazilian organist Walter Wanderley too! Titles include "Agua De Beber", "Take Me To Aruanda", "O Morro", "Berimbau", "The Shadow Of Your Smile", "How Insensitive", "Girl From Ipanema", "Fly Me To The Moon", "So Nice", "It Might As Well Be Spring", "Once I Loved", "Corcovado", and "So Tinha De Ser Come Voce". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic space rock from Hawkwind – a gem from the early years of the legendary group – with long cuts in a proggier, stranger realm than some the more hard rocking records to come! In Search Of Space really sets a mood, with the trippy guitars and overall astral strangeness, and the vocals at this point are indebted to early Pink Floyd – and that is not a complaint! Great stuff! "Master Of The Universe", "Adjust Me", "Children Of The Sun", "You Shouldn't Do That", and "You Know You're Only Dreaming". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic space rock from Hawkwind – a gem from the early years of the legendary group – with long cuts in a proggier, stranger realm than some the more hard rocking records to come! In Search Of Space really sets a mood, with the trippy guitars and overall astral strangeness, and the vocals at this point are indebted to early Pink Floyd – and that is not a complaint! Great stuff! "Master Of The Universe", "Adjust Me", "Children Of The Sun", "You Shouldn't Do That", and "You Know You're Only Dreaming". CD

Classic early work by modern tenor genius Joe Henderson – very well titled with the use of "mode", given the new sound and new direction Henderson was taking his tenor in the 60s! The album's got Joe working at the head of an all-great lineup that includes Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Cedar Walton on piano, and Bobby Hutcherson on vibes – the last of whom really brings in some tremendous moments to the record, using his instrument to create a slightly off-kilter feel that pushes the set from straight hardbop into the modern realm with traces of "new thing" tones and colors. Joe's solos are incredible – searing, searching, yet still pulsing with an undeniably soulful rhythm – and titles include the essential track "Black", plus "Caribbean Fire Dance", "Free Wheelin", and "Shade Of Jade". CD features a bonus alternate take of "Black". CD

One of the best 60s albums by the Crusaders – and a swinging Latin session to boot! The core group of The Jazz Crusaders is expanded with some funky flute from Hubert Laws, sweet organ licks from Clare Fischer, and lots of congas from Carlos Vidal – all of whom push the group past their usual (and excellent) soul jazz bag, into a realm of hard-grooving Latin numbers! The playing on the set is tremendous – as "in the pocket" as the group could be, but also a lot more hiply swinging and open to rhythmic changes. A total gem – with titles that include "Agua Dulce", "Tacos", "Soul Bourgeoisie", and "Latin Bit". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the Last Poets greatest albums – and one of their most sophisticated as well! Gone are the rough-hewn rhymes of the group's first album, and in their place are better arranged, more thought-out tracks that mix in a wealth of musical influences – and which expand the group's verbal expression past simple protests, and into the realm of Jazzoetry that became their trademark during the mid 70s. Tracks include "Related to What", "Black Is", "White Man's Got a God Complex", "Black People What Y'All Gonna Do", and "This is Madness" – and a number of tracks are preceded by strong and forceful chants before the lyrics kick in! LP, Vinyl record album

A cool album – featuring one side of the score to A Fistful Of Dollars and one side of the soundtrack of For A Few Dollars More! The songs are short, but tense – and mix plodding solo instrumentation with some sparer dramatic moments, creating a sublime tension that's unsurpassed in the realm of western scoring! Titles include "A Fistful Of Dollars", "Almost Dead", "The Chase", "The Result", "Without Pity", "Sixty Seconds To What?", "The Watcher Watched", "Vice Of Killing", "The Showdown", "Goodbye Colonel" and "For A Few Dollars More". LP, Vinyl record album

The third album from symphonic rock pioneer Mike Oldfield – at this point unable to steer his way out of the engulfing shadow of his massive Tubular Bells album of a couple years earlier – yet still bearing fruit creatively, as Ommadawn is his third excellent and pretty much unprecedented album of layered instrumental mood rock grandeur in a row! It's not only his third album, it's his third 2 part, single piece epic in a row that's woven from acoustic, electric, classic and modern instrumentation – with a choir and and folk instrumentation keeping in something of an earthy realm, even with synthezisers and more otherworldly touches. Influences from Irish folk to African percussion, it's uncompromising, intricate and interesting to this day! This 2010 CD version features new stereo mixes by Oldfield, bonus tracks, and nice booklet of notes. Bonus tracks include "In Dulce Jubilo" and "Portsmouth" (both A-sides of singles), "First Excursion" and Argiers". CD

One of Sun Ra's best non-Saturn live sets of the 70s – a nice little record that shows the group mixing it up with equal parts avant garde and straight ahead jazz, all handled in that ever-growing large group style that made them a real force to be reckoned with in a concert setting! The album was recorded during the 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival, and has a bit more focus and polish than some of the other Arkestra live material from the time – a mature, coherent sound that almost points the way towards some of their work to come in the 80s – when Ra and the group were finally reaching the wider audience they deserved. The set's a double-length one, and features players who include John Gilmore on tenor, Marshall Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, Pat Patrick on baritone, Ahmed Abdullah on trumpet, Craig Harris on trombone, and James Jackson on Ancient Egyptian Infinity drum – which is always a treat. Ra plays solar organ and moog, as well as piano – and titles include "Of The Other Tomorrow", "On Sound Infinity Spheres", "El Is The Sound Of Joy", "Gods Of The Thunder Realm", "Gods Of A Thunder Realm", "The House Of Eternal Being", and "Lights On a Satellite". LP, Vinyl record album

We totally loved Reel People's Seven Ways To Wonder album – and this special remix set is equally great – a package of wonderful new versions that features work from a host of hip producers! The set has all the soulful spirit of the original album, but also takes off in some more spaciously soaring modes too – a mix of British cosmic touches and classic instrumental roots – both of which really show up in some of the mixes here! Vocals are by Omar, Tony Momrelle, and Tasita D'Mour – and titles include "Outta Love (4 Hero rmx)", "It Will Be (Kyoto Jazz Massive rmx)", "Love Is Where You Are (The Realm rmx)", "Alibi (Rasmus Faber rmx)", "Amazing (Jon Cutler's distant music mix)", "Upside (Bugz upside mix)", "Upside (Pete Kuszma rmx)", "Love Is Where You Are (Orto rmx)", and "Anything You Want (Domu rmx)". 12 tracks in all! CD

A wonderful tribute to Dizzy Gillespie – featuring songs penned by Diz, or played by him famously – presented by the fluid fingers of Gonzalo Rubalcaba, who takes Gillespie's inspiration into a whole new realm with his trio! Rubalcaba's got lots of sharp notes on hand – able to create these little corners of sound while still moving forward – spurred on by the deft drum work of Julio Barreto, who's work on the album is mighty nice too. Ron Carter's bass rounds out the set, and brings in some sensitive moments that really balance the record nicely – and titles include "Hot House", "Night In Tunisia", "I Remember Clifford", "Smooch", "Con Alma", and "Woody N You". CD

A soaring session of spiritual jazz piano – and one of the only albums as a leader cut by Donald Smith – best known to most folks as the brother of Lonnie Liston Smith, and a member of the Cosmic Echoes! The sound here is much more hard-edged than you might guess – starting somewhere in the McCoy Tyner realm of post-Coltrane piano lines, but also taking off at times with a fury that reminds us of Cecil Taylor – extremely deft and inventive, and spurred on by some great rhythm work from the team of Cecil McBee on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums! A few moments get a bit more introspective, balancing things out nicely – and McBee's bass is a wonderful addition to the set, as he plays with the power and soulfulness he brought to the best Strata East sessions of the early 70s. Titles include "Mystic Man", "Stillness", "To Yaisa & Wanda With Luv", and "The Magnetic A". CD

Some of the greatest albums that Hammond organist Jimmy Smith issued at the start of the 60s – all records that completely cemented the role of the organ in jazz – and took the instrument out of the realm of back rooms and jukeboxes! That's not to say that the music here wouldn't play great on a jukebox, as some of the cuts here were issued by Blue Note as 45rpm singles, and went on to get a fair bit of organ play – but they're also mixed with longer cuts that really have Smith opening up on the Hammond – showing the world why his skills on the keys were so different than most that came before him! All the records here feature tight small combo backing – not the larger arrangements that Jimmy would later use at the Verve label – and the set features all albums in original artwork, in LP-styled sleeves – and includes the records Home Cookin, Crazy Baby, Midnight Special, Back At The Chicken Shack, and Softly As In A Summer Breeze! CD

A wonderful biography of one of the most colorful and significant figures in modern music. There's no need for us to go into the impact Sun Ra's music has made in the realm of the sort of records our pages are filled with – in spite of the mainstream musical audience's ignorance of his vast and important oeuvre – and the story of his life is equally as engrossing, filled with as much mystery and imagination as the sounds he left behind on record! Until this book, so much of the story of Ra was just legend, and difficult to penetrate in the veil between fact and fantasy – but author John Szwed did a landmark job of getting to the real story, unearthing an insane amount of details, and doing a fair bit of interviews for the project – which took many years to put together. This edition of the book is huge – with a new forward, a discography in the back, and a section of photos in the middle. 476 pages, softcover. Book

A landmark record – not only in the career of Grady Tate, but in the realm of adult vocals as well! Grady's incredible here – cool, classy, and amazingly stepping from the role of being a simple jazz drummer, into a world of sophisticated vocals that really caught the world by surprise. The backings are lush, but light – as cooly poised as Grady's own vocals, and still able to hit the right amounts of soulfulness to make the tunes come across with a sound that was quite different than the usual adult pop record of the time. The whole thing's an amazing mix of jazz, soul, and vocals – set to arrangements by Gary McFarland and Mike Abene, and supported by wonderful backings from Jerome Richradson. Includes the sublime "Sack Full Of Dreams", a swirling track that sounds a lot like Scott Walker to us – plus Grady's classic reading of "Windmills Of Your Mine", and the tunes "TNT", "Would You Believe", "All Around The World", and "A Little At A Time". ! CD

A landmark record – not only in the career of Grady Tate, but in the realm of adult vocals as well! Grady's incredible here – cool, classy, and amazingly stepping from the role of being a simple jazz drummer, into a world of sophisticated vocals that really caught the world by surprise. The backings are lush, but light – as cooly poised as Grady's own vocals, and still able to hit the right amounts of soulfulness to make the tunes come across with a sound that was quite different than the usual adult pop record of the time. The whole thing's an amazing mix of jazz, soul, and vocals – set to arrangements by Gary McFarland and Mike Abene, and supported by wonderful backings from Jerome Richradson. Includes the sublime "Sack Full Of Dreams", a swirling track that sounds a lot like Scott Walker to us – plus Grady's classic reading of "Windmills Of Your Mine", and the tunes "TNT", "Would You Believe", "All Around The World", and "A Little At A Time". ! CD

Seminal 60s work from the Tymes – a group who could work with the energy of a doo wop group at one level, but who also had the class of a more sophisticated vocal act! On these recordings, The Tymes wonderfully bring together the worlds of streetcorner harmony and classier pop – singing material of the latter realm with the personal, effortless ease of the former – in a mode that helped them crossover strongly in their early years! Part of the strength of the group's work on these tunes comes from the uncluttered production and arranging skills of Billy Jackson and Roy Straigis – who bring up the vocals beautifully, and use other elements sparingly, but just enough to class up the sound nicely. There's a strong precursor here to New York uptown soul – as you'll hear on the set's 22 tracks that include "View From My Window", "Chances Are", "My Summer Love", "The Lamp Is Low", "One Little Kiss", "Address Unknown", "Anymore", "Here She Comes", "Come With Me To The Sea", "So Much In Love", "Wonderful Wonderful", and "Words Written On Water". CD

Modern takes on traditionalist style from one of the greatest groups of their time! Uncle Tupelo goes fully into a folksier realm on the Peter Buck-produced third album – and it's another landmark! By this point, alt rock/grunge/whatever was taking over mainstream rock – something Uncle Tupelo unwittingly ushered in with their midwestern roots meets angsty guitars of 2-3 years earlier. Rather than keep at it and shoot for Mtv acceptance, they focus on the roots here. Includes "Grindstone", "Black Eye", 'Moonshiner", "Coalminers", 'Wait Up", "Shaky Ground", 'I Wish My Baby Was Born" and more. CD

Not only a great follow-up to the first Echoes Of An Era session, but also a standout 80s performance from Nancy Wilson – quite possibly her best of the decade! The setting is nice and laidback – a live date with a core combo that features Joe Henderson on tenor, Chick Corea on piano, Stanley Clarke on acoustic bass, and Lenny White on drums – plus steller vocals from Wilson, who's really at home in the setting – stretching out beautifully on the long tracks, and coming into play with the soloists at a level that's quite different from her more polished studio records. Clarke's bass is a delight, too – a great reminder that his talents didn't always lie in the electric realm during the 80s – and Henderson, as you might guess, provides some soulful undercurrents that reallyg round the whole proceedings. Titles include "500 Miles High", "Round Midnight", "Rhythm A Ning", "My One & Only Love", "Them There Eyes", and "I Want To Be Happy". CD

Classic jazz for the 21st century – a treasure trove of tunes from Verve Records, all remixed for the modern dancefloor! The set's the second in Verve's Remixed series – and unlike the first, which focused mostly on vocal numbers, this one throws in some instrumental killers that are among some of our favorite in the catalog! The overall groove is much more expanded from the first session – way past the standard of floating vocals, keys, and beats – into a realm of abstract jazz that really gets at the heart of the project! 14 tracks in all – with "Manteca" by Dizzy Gillespie remixed by Funky Lowlives, "Here's That Rainy Day" by Astrud Gilberto remixed by Koop, "Naima's Love Song" by Betty Carter remixed by DJ Spinna, "Fried Neckbones & Some Home Fries" by Willie Bobo remixed by Dan The Automator, "Soul Sauce" by Cal Tjader remixed by Fila Brasillia, "Do What You Wanna" by Ramsey Lewis remixed by Mr Scruff, "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair" by Nina Simone remixed by Jaffa, "Mama" by Hugh Masekela remixed by Metro Area, "Whatever Lola Wants" by Sarah Vaughan remixed by Gotan Project, "Blues For Brother George Jackson" by Archie Shepp remixed by Mondo Grosso, and "Brother Where Are You" by Oscar Brown Jr remixed by Matthew Herbert. CD

Crackling with excitement – and the future of piano jazz! The Bad Plus are a totally tight trio that explore the realm of acoustic piano with the same depth and imagination that Medeski, Martin, & Wood once brought to the Hammond. The trio are clearly steeped in pop influences from the past 20 years – but manage to play together with the free-thinking complexity and rhythmic conviction of some of the best French and Japanese piano trios of the 70s. The set includes a few great covers that might otherwise sound gimmicky, but which come across amazing well – thanks to the group's depth and level of execution – plus some even better original tunes that we love especially much! Titles include "Big Eater", "Everywhere You Turn", "1972 Bronze Medalist", "Boo Wah", "Flim", "Silence Is The Question", "Heart Of Glass", and "Smells Like Teen Spirit". CD

The second chapter of Erykah Badu's New Amerykah – recorded for the most part, quite incredibly, during the same period and with the same collaborators as the mind-altering, murky and righteous hip hop funk experimentalism that was Part One – some months that must be among the most dizzyingly creative in Badu's career! We're reluctant to call Return Of The The Ankh a lighter listen than its predecessor, but, it's a less dense and outwardly experimental batch in the sonic realm – the emotionalism and the head nodding warmth is at the forefront, yet she's as uncompromising and real as ever. The sound is still innovative, unique and her own on all fronts, but the songs chosen for Part Two are ones you want to approach and embrace from the opening seconds – there's not as much of a tripped out overall vibe and you don't need to acclimate from a distance – these songs pull you right in! Includes collaborations with James Poyser, Shafiq Husayn, Ta'Raach, Karriem Riggins, Madlib and Georgia Anne Muldrow. Includes "20 Feet Tall", "Window Seat", "Agitation", "Turn Me Away (Get Munny)", "Gone Baby, Don't Be Long", "Love", "Out My Mind, Just In Time" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Chief Xcel and Gift Of Gab move it over to Anti- for the long-awaited follow up to Blazing Arrow! The Craft is a much more streamlined effort – so if the stylistic sprawl and sidesteps into the pop realm that characterized the major label album rubbed you the wrong way, this may be the focused effort you were waiting for – plus the crew brings in some live funk elements to build into the solid sound! Of course a solid sound for Blackalicious is still more adventurous than just about any other crew. Elements of live strings, flute, guitar, bass and keys really flesh the tracks out! Soul chanteuse Ledisi contributes hook vocals to several tunes, and additional vocal guests include mothership captain George Clinton, Larry Saunders, PEACE, Lifesavas, Lateef & Pigeon John and others. Tracks include "World Of Vibrations" feat Ledisi, "Supreme People", "Rhythm Sticks", "Powers", "Your Move", "Lotus Flower", "My Pen And Pad", "Automatique" feat Floetry, "Black Diamonds And Pearls" feat Larry Saunders and Ledisi, "Give It To You" and "The Craft". CD

Cro-Magnon returns with a killer batch of cosmic grooves and electro funk jams – full of spacey synths, thunderous drums & percussion, and fusiony jazz funk – glorious grooves from one of the leading combos in the cosmic realm of the Japanese scene! The core Cro Magnon crew is just the 3 piece of percussionist Shigekazu Otake, guitar/bass/programming guru Tusuyoshi Kusuga and Takumi Kaneko on the keys– but they get a little help in the studio by a couple of horns from the mighty Soil & Pimp Sessions crew – sax by Motoharu and trumpet by Tabu Zombie, on the excellent "Chase After The Shadow" track – plus some addional percussion and vocals for the intro & outro. If Cro-Magnon's debut was a bit heavier with straight up keyboard heavy fusion funk, Great Triangle shoots further into the cosmos – full of ultra hypnotic jams with an insistent groove! Titles include "Riding The Storm", "ECLIPSE", "Keep Me Satisfied", "La Fusion", "SPARKLING", "Sign Of Fire", Take Me Higher" and "New Horizon". CD

The 3rd album by The Dining Rooms (in case you couldn't guess by the title!) – and the best so far! These guys have really matured from earlier outings – moving into a sophisticated realm of downtempo soundscapes crafted with a great deal of care, and which are put together with a lot more than simple tricks and gimmicks. There's loads of really solid tunes in here – sly numbers that sneak up on you with a subtle approach to the craft, gently burrowing in and taking root – somehow making the album that much more compelling overall. A number of tracks have some wonderfully languid vocals, some male and some female – and these tunes fall nicely next to instrumental numbers with a very evocative approach. Titles include "Anima Per Amarti", "Tunnel", "La Citta Nuda", "Fluxus", "Flamenco Sketches", "Dreamy Smiles", "You", "African Loungesters", and a nice cover of Sun Ra's "Astro Black"! CD

The first solo set that Dr Dre cut after leaving NWA – and a record that not only set the tone for his solo career, but also for a huge run of albums from other folks in the years to come! Dre's as much of a production genius as he is a frontman here – really pushing forward some of the best elements he brought to the music of NWA, and also providing a great showcase for the young Snoop Dogg too! And yes, there were so many other records that tried to hit this territory right afterwards, and ended up more in the realm of parody – but the doctor really stays ahead of the pack here throughout, with a record that holds up surprisingly well over the years. Titles include the cuts "F**k Wit Dre Day", "Let Me Ride", "Nuthin' But A G Thang", "Lil Ghetto Boy", "A N***a Witta Gun", "B!tches Ain't Sh!t", "The Chronic", "Deeez Nuts", and "Stranded On Death Row". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully-named session – as Charles Earland plays here with an intensity that's undeniable! The album marks a key shift for Earland – one away from the more standard soul jazz mode, into a realm of looser, freer rhythms that really take off from the start – knowing no end on the longer tunes, and really letting Charles run to the skies on the keys of the Hammond! The group on the set is a larger than usual one – with a trumpet section that includes Lee Morgan and Virgil Jones; reed players that include Billy Harper and Hubert Laws; and a double-edged rhythm line forged through the drums of Billy Cobham and the conga of Sonny Morgan – often working alongside each other to really widen the groove! The sound is remarkable – tight, but never slick – and in a sophisticated groove that could hardly be hinted at from Earland's earlier work. All tracks are long, and titles include "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", "Morgan", "Cause I Love Her", and "Happy Cause I'm Going Home". CD also brings in 2 more bonus tracks – both in a similar mode, from the album Charles III – "Lowdown" and "Speedball". CD

Arguably one of the greatest concept albums of the 80s – and the only really strong full length album cut by Frankie Goes To Hollywood! At the time of the set, the group was riding high on the success and controversy of their singles "Relax" and "Two Tribes" – but in the ambitious ZTT mode, sought to expand their sound way past familiar hits, and into a realm of sonic exploration that rivaled that of labelmates Art Of Noise. Don't get us wrong, because the Frankie of this album is still very much in groove-oriented territory – but they also let Horn take over with some more striking tunes that are both longer and shorter than the usual pop track – offsetting the vocal numbers on the record with a rich tapestry of musical backdrops that also more firmly forward the group's social and sexual leanings. The album features surprising covers of "War", "Do You Know The Way To San Jose", and "Born To Run" – plus the hits "Relax" and "Two Tribes", and the original numbers "Welcome To the Pleasure Dome", "Krisco Kisses", "The Ballad Of 32", "Wish The Lads Were Here", "Black Night White Light", "The Only Star In Heaven", "The Power Of Love", and "Bang". CD

Four albums from this wonderful group – all presented here with great sonic quality too! First up is Grazin – the debut album from Friends Of Distinction – a very groovy LA harmony vocal group who really transcended the worlds of pop and soul! The quartet were originally part of the earlier Rex Middleton's Hi Fi group – which split into both Friends Of Distinction, and 5th Dimension – and like that other, slightly more famous group, FoD have a soaring approach that really reflects their years in music, tuned towards a groovier late 60s style! The record sports their hit vocal version of Hugh Masekela's "Grazing In The Grass", with the great "I can dig it" line, plus an excellent reading of a lost cut by funky drummer Roy Porter, entitled "Lonesome Mood" – next to other great titles that include "Sweet Young Thing Like You", "Peaceful", "Baby I Could Be So Good At Loving You", "Eli's Coming", and "Going In Circles". Real Friends is a stone early winner from The Friends Of Distinction – featuring a great set of pop soul tunes that really let the group shine in the harmony department! Vocal arrangements are by Jerry Peters – who really pushes the structure of the vocals, taking the singing to a level only hinted at on the group's previous album, combining 60s pop harmony with uptown soul production, given a bit of a smooth 70s touch. Titles include the hit "Love Or Let Me Be Lonely", plus "Any Way You Want Me", "Crazy Mary", "Long Time Comin My Way", "Just a Little Lovin", "It Don't Matter to Me", and "My Mind Is A Camera". Next is Highly Distinct – beautiful baroque soul from LA! The Friends of Distinction were always best known for their big hit version of "Grazing In the Grass" (not on this LP), but they were a pretty progressive soul group, and they spent a lot of time in the studio coming up with cool new ways to present their vocal style. This album includes a very cool "psyche" cut-up track called "Impressions", and it's two minutes worth of tape experiments that might have been lifted from The White Album. The cut then runs right into a great batch of groovy pop soul tracks, like "It's Just A Game Love", "Workin On A Groovy Thing", "It's Sunday", and "Let Yourself Go". Whatever is filled with some nice little groovers from the enigmatic Friends Of Distinction – and a record recorded right after their big "Grazin In The Grass" fame. The album features lots of cool arrangements from Jerry Peters – whose handling of the group pushed them past a simple pop-soul vocal combo into the realm of the more far-reaching soul acts of their time. Most tracks have vocal solos on the main parts – mostly by Barbara Love or Floyd Butler – and tracks include "You and I", "People Talkin & Sayin Nothin", "Bring Us A Better Day", "Great Day", and "Check It Out". CD

Some nice little groovers from the enigmatic Friends Of Distinction – and a record recorded right after their big "Grazin In The Grass" fame. The album features lots of cool arrangements from Jerry Peters – whose handling of the group pushed them past a simple pop-soul vocal combo into the realm of the more far-reaching soul acts of their time. Most tracks have vocal solos on the main parts – mostly by Barbara Love or Floyd Butler – and tracks include "You and I", "People Talkin & Sayin Nothin", "Bring Us A Better Day", "Great Day", and "Check It Out". LP, Vinyl record album

A portrait of Duke, done by Dizzy – and one that's got a whole different feel than you might think! Gillespie's working here with arrangements by a young Clare Fischer – who takes Ellington's themes and recasts them with an even deeper sense of color and tone – one that pushes the already-modern themes of the numbers into a whole new realm of sound, and uses the horn passages to carve things out a lot differently than Duke might have done! The result is a wonderfully striking session – one with familiar melodies that unfold in a whole new way – and which showcases some great phrasing from Dizzy, over rhythms by a combo that features Hank Jones, George Duvivier, and Charlie Persip – playing alongside a group of larger horns. Titles include "Perdido", "Caravan", "Upper Manhattan Medical Group", and "Chelsea Bridge". CD