A wonderful set, and one that's definitely filled with spirits – most particularly from the tenor of Kidd Jordan, which has all this subtle power behind it, at a level that really gives proof to Jordan's many years on the freer side of the jazz spectrum! The trio here also features Alvin Fielder on drums and percussion, and Joel Futterman on piano, Indian flute, and curved soprano sax – but throughout the proceedings, which are freely improvised, the tenor of Jordan seems to be the real anchor in sound – an element that can match the modes of the other players, but also provide some direction too. Titles include "Start Stop", "Run Drop", "Start Continue", "Ripples, and "Double Strike". CD

A real breakout set from the young Joshua Redman – the kind of record that made some mighty big ripples in the jazz world at the time – and which ended up in more record collections than we can count – and for good reason, too! The group's a rock-solid quartet – with Redman on tenor, Brad Mehldau on piano, Christian McBride on bass, and Brian Blade on drums – and titles include "Sweet Sorrow", "Chill", "Rejoice", "Faith", "Alone In The Morning", "Mischief", "Dialogue", "The Oneness Of Two (In Three)", "Past In The Present", "Obsession", and "Headin' Home". CD

A stone classic – with "Southern Man", "Crippled Creek Ferry", "I Believe In You", "After The Goldrush", and "Only Love Can Break Your Heart". CD

An excellent set of funky jazz tracks from the legendary MPS label! The folks at Crippled Dick have outdone themselves this time – and have even surpassed their previous set of MPS grooves by collecting a totally excellent batch of cuts, most of which haven't ever been reissued before! If you pay attention to jazz funk at all, you'll know that the German-based MPS label is one of the world's best sources for incredible grooves – and the label had a 20 year tradition of mixing musics from many different sources, and for delivering some of the most groundbreaking funk of the 20th century! Titles on this stunning set include "Titty Chickie Fitterbug" by Jasper Van't Hof, "Faces In Reflection 2" by George Duke, "Scratches" by Charly Antolini, "Knock Out" by Dieter Reith, "Miss Maggie" by Rolf Kuhn, "Powerstart" by Roland Kovac, "Baiafrock/Volker" by The New Dave Pike Set, "Volcano's Daughter" by Nelson Riddle, and "Bulgarian Beans" by Rimona Francis. LP also contains the bonus cuts "Sarava" by Baden Powell, "The World Is A Ghetto" by George Shearing, and "Grand Nite For Swinging" by Mary Lou Williams. LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Up On Cripple Creek", "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "Stage Fright", "Ophelia", "Twilight", "Stage Fright", "Don't Do It", "It Makes No Difference", "The Shape I'm In", and "Life Is A Carnival". CD

The debut of Bauhaus, one of the first albums on the 4AD label, and the start of a legacy that would have huge ripples for the next decade or two in underground music! At a time when so much of the British scene was caught up in post-punk modes, Bauhaus appeared to almost rework the best ideas of the early 70s – taking the best of Bowie, Bolan, and some of the glam world – and giving it a moody vibe that's almost without referent – especially when you consider that nobody had ever thought of the idea of goth in music before this! And while we might use that word, Bauhaus are hardly goth at all – just, sadly, the inspiration for countless lower grade sounds to come – and there's a real sense of urgency here that belies that darkness in the music – at a level that maybe could have had them being one of the great post-Joy Division challengers on Factory, had they been pitched a bit differently. Still, all references aside, the album's a great one to just dive into on its own – with titles that include "The Spy In The Cab", "Double Dare", "In The Flat Field", "Stigmata Martyr", "Nerves", and "God In An Alcove". LP, Vinyl record album

Three later live sets from Dizzy Gillespie – all in a single package! Sesjun Radio Shows 1 is great, and if you like Dizzy Gillespie as much as us, you'll know that he kept on getting better and better as the years went on – continuing to evolve as a musician, into territory that's always very different than what he was giving the world a few years before! That's definitely the case here, on two live performances done for Dutch Radio in the late 70s – both of which feature a guitar as the key partner – with Rodney Jones on the first half, Ed Cherry on the second, and bass from Benjamin Brown and drums from the great Mickey Roker. Tracks are long, and open up in this really wonderful way – and the group is joined by percussionist Sheyvonne Wright on the second half, who also sings a bit too. There's a quality here that's much more in the best 70s work on the Muse label than you might expect – and titles include "Barcelona", "Diddy Wah Diddy", "Toccata", "The Truth", "Night In Tunisia", "Manha De Carnaval", and Round Midnight". Sesjun Radio Shows 2 is further proof that the genius of Dizzy Gillespie knows no bounds, even in later years – as these two different radio performances feature Diz with very unique saxophonists – both of whom really transform the sound of the group! The first half of the set has Gillespie on trumpet with a young Paquito D'Rivera on soprano and alto sax – a young player really coming into his own here, in an unusual group that also features Canadian guitarist Ed Cherry, bassist Michael Howell, and drummer Ignacio Berroa – on titles that include the funky "Unicorn", plus "All The Things You Are" and "Cripple Crapple Crutch". The second half will be even more surprising to fans of avant jazz – as the legendary Sam Rivers joins the group on tenor and soprano sax – blowing straighter than on his free improv records, but definitely adding an edge! The rest of the group features Cherry and Berroa, with John Lee in on bass for Howell – and titles include "Tanga", "Manteca", and "Birk's Works". Concert Of The Century is a record with a title that's a hell of a claim to make – but it's also a hell of a concert, too – one that features Dizzy Gillespie blowing with an all-star small group lineup – in really stretched-out takes on the tunes, at a level that rivals his best 70s material on the Pablo label! In addition to Gillespie on trumpet, players also include Milt Jackson on vibes, James Moody on tenor and flute, Hank Jones on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – all working together as seamlessly as you'd expect! Titles include "Darben The Redd Foxx", "The Shadow Of Your Smile", "Get Happy", "Blues N Boogie", "If I Should Lose You", and "Bass Solo/Manha De Carnaval/Work Song". CD

A cool change for the great keyboardist Ino Hidefumi – set that's still as spare and funky as previous releases, but in some very different ways! The keyboard groove here shifts a bit from the early 70s vibe of his start, into more of a spacey 80s sort of way – not tinny or dance oriented, but creatively adapted to some laidback rhythms that are really wonderful. Percolating beats, slow-stepping grooves, and other hip bits that make the spare tunes bristle with their own unique sort of electricity. The keyboards are still quite warm, and titles include "Ants Funeral Procession", "Innocent Devil", "Golden Ripples", "Cosmocology", "Ultramarine Circle", and "Space Butterfly". CD

Excellent stuff! This is the great US issue of the fantastic first rare album of funky soundtrack stuff put out by Crippled Dick. In case you haven't heard it, the set's a mix of tracks from the funky scores to three wild lesbian vampire films from the late 60's, and the music is an excellent mix of organ grooves, funky breakbeats, and cool Now Sound sounds – with wild sitar, guitar, and electronics! The package comes with great notes, cool photos from the films, and excellent cuts like "Shindai Lovers", "Kamasutra", "Necromania", "Lions & The Cucumber", and lots lots more. Great stuff, very goofy, and very very funky! This LP copy comes with a cool tri-fold poster that's very very sexy, too! CD

Masaru Imada gets a bit tropical here, but also picks up some great help on horns – thanks to guest work from the Brecker Brothers, whose performance on a few tracks really help give the set a strong soul fusion vibe! The core sounds come from Imada's quintet – which has the leader playing both acoustic and Fender Rhodes, with guitar, bass, drums, and percussion – and on those tracks that feature the Breckers, the whole thing really comes together – with that richness of sound and surprising current of soul that we love on the best Japanese fusion albums of the time. Even the non-Brecker tracks are pretty great – and titles include "Ripples In Recife", "Surf Dance", "Sunset Walk", "Gentle Breeze", and "Carnival". CD features a bonus radio edit of "Carnival". CD

An amazing limited box set release of John Lennon's Imagine – issued as a special 40th Anniversary package, and even cooler than the original release back in the 70s! The white box has a great cover image of John at the piano, with Yoko sitting nearby – and contains 2LPs, on 180 gram white vinyl – plus a poster and postcards as well! The core album is Imagine, of course – the most consistent of John's post-Beatles albums, and just about as essential as they come. Co-produced by Phil Spector, yet it's often not as grandly orchestrated as a Wall Of Sound effort, and well tailored to Lennon's songs – which include "Give Me Some Truth", "Oh My Love", "How Do You Sleep", "Imagine", "Crippled Inside", "Jealous Guy" and "I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier". The second LP features Imagine Sessions material – early versions of "Baby Please Don't Go", "Imagine", "How Do You Sleep", "Jealous Love", "Oh My Love", and "I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic Marshall Jefferson acid house, with the full 11 minute version of the a-side. 12-inch, Vinyl record

One of the most important albums on the mighty 2 Tone label – and part of a huge ska revival on the British scene that would send ripples through modern music for years to come! And sure, the words "ska" and "revival" in the same sentence can often make most folks wince – but The Specials here work at a time long before the mode was reduced to cliche – and during a punk rock period when their contributions were especially vital – presented beautifully here on an album that's also produced by a young Elvis Costello! There's no overdone jams, no schlocky frat boy modes, just hard-edged London ska with a strong nod back to Kingston roots – on titles that include "A Message To You Rudy","Do The Dog", "It's Up To You", "Doesn't Make It Alright", "Concrete Jungle", "Monkey Man", "(Dawning Of A) New Era", "Too Much Too Young", and "Gangsters". CD

A great collection of work from one of our favorite funky scenes! Way up in Scandinavia, where the winters are 360 days long (or something like that!) they've got to do something to warm themselves up – so they take to their instruments, and jam like mad to come up with some great funky jazz – as you'll hear in this incredibly well-done collection of early 70s gems from Funky Finland, Swinging Sweden, and Nonstopjamming Norway! The package is a brilliant introduction to the lost gems lurking in the icy lands of Northern Europe – and is incredibly well-timed, given that in recent years, some of this under-issued music is finally getting back out to the public again, and inspiring a whole new generation of funky listeners. There's loads of great keyboard work on the set – cool in tone, but warm and soulful in approach – and even if you're the type that's got some non-American funk biases, you'll be more than happy to place this one on the shelf next to your favorite 70s albums on labels like CTI or Kudu. Titles include "Grandma's Rocking Chair" by Olli Ahvelahti, "Bluegaloo" by Ablution, "Mr Minor" by Staffan Ableen Quintets, "Equinox" by Pop Workshop, "Karakorum" by Mamba, "6 Down" by Eero Koivistoinen Music Society, "Watusi Dance" by Pop Workshop, "Afro Temple" by Sabu Martinez, and "Batucada Por Favor" by Bob Azzam. LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant example of why Eddie Bert was one of the hippest trombonists of the 50s – a player who could bridge the worlds of Stan Kenton and Charles Mingus, and always come up with a sound that was one of the freshest on his instrument! The bulk of the CD features small combo work Bert recorded for the Discovery label in 1953 and 1954 – quintet sessions done with Duke Jordan on piano and Clyde Lombardi on bass, plus other players that include Sal Salvador on guitar, Vinnie Dean on alto sax, and Joe Morello on drums. Bert's sound throughout is fluid, lean, and modern – gliding with light colors one moment, a crisp modern edge the next, and a bit of boppish inflection at others – always opening up new areas of expression for the sometimes-staid trombone, and working here at a level that matches 50s invention of better-known players on the instrument. 4 additional tracks on the CD are from a previously unissued 1959 recording with Dean on alto, Lombardi on bass, Sal Mosca on piano, and Ed Shaughnessy on drums – plus a really unique 17 minute live recording of the title track by a quartet with Bert, Jordan, Lombardi, and Osie Johnson on drums. Bert's playing on this extended track alone is worth the price of admission – but the CD features a total of 73 minutes of music in all, on 17 tracks that include "Ripples", "Conversation Piece", "Interwoven", "Little Train", "Kaleidoscope", "Around Town", "Melting Pot", "He Ain't Got Rhythm", and "Blues At Sunrise". CD

Really beautiful solo piano work from Marie Kruttli – her first session of this type, and one that may well set a tone for other sessions of this nature in years to come! Marie's got this way of handling the keys of the piano with this resonantingly introspective quality – almost as if she's dipping her hand gently into the still water of a pond before exploring more – with all the many-fingered qualities such an image might imply. The approach is completely unique, and sends out ripples of sound, both dark and light – flowing out, coming back, and creating a listening experience that's complex, yet completely organic too. Titles include "Torrent To Lagoon", "Song", "Flow Of Irrational Thoughts", "The Hope Of Light & Shadow On Your Skin", "Exploration", and "Insomnia". CD

Incredibly groovy work from a set of German crime films of the late 60s and early 70s – all in a very mod and jazzy mode! The music was all done by the legendary Gert Wilden – who also weighed in for Crippled Dick with the excellent Schulmadchen Report collection – and the overall feel is very much in the mode of some of the best Peter Thomas soundtracks from the same generation. There's lots of great twists and turns in the arrangements – and the tunes are not just jazzy, but also feature some great use of organ, vocals, and odd production – making for some wonderfully swinging tracks that have a really offbeat sound. As usual, the whole thing's packaged with some great Crippled Dick touches – and the CD features a total of 20 tracks that include "Oriental Twist", "Desert Hips", "Murder Beat", "Green Spider Theme", "Rolf Torring", "Piano Blues", and "White Cargo". CD

Include 20 tracks from Pete Johnson, Art Hodes, Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis, Jimmy Yancey, and Cripple Clarence Lofton. CD