A really goofy little record – one that has the great Spike Jones taking on the hi-fi generation – demonstrating the qualities of your system with a huge amount of sound effects mixed with music! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Features Spike Robinson on tenor sax, Victor Feldman on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and John Guerin on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Conversation and music from the album "Spike" and an unreleased track. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most unique albums on the Strata East label – and that's saying a heck of a lot, given the creative energies flowing through that legendary jazz outlet! Descendants Of Mike & Phoebe is a righteous little project put together by Spike Lee's father, Bill Lee, and his brothers and sisters (Cliff Lee, Grace Lee Mims, and Consuela Lee Moorhead) – working here in a group named after their slave ancestors, who are paid tribute in a beautifully flowing batch of tunes! Lee's round, warm bass tones are firmly at the head of the group on most numbers – recorded at a similar level to his excellent work with Clifford Jordan on Strata East during the same time – and other instrumentation includes piano from Consuela, flugelhorn from Cliff, and percussion from Sonny Brown and Billy Higgins – all used in a wonderfully evocative style that's even better than some of Lee's later soundtrack work. A few numbers feature vocals from Grace – singing wordlessly and with a really heavenly sort of quality – and together, the whole group have a undeniable sense of power and majesty, yet also one that's touched by a really personal sense of poetry too. Titles include a great version of Lee's "Coltrane", which was more famously recorded with Clifford Jordan – plus "Chick Chick", "Attica", "Too Little, Too Late", "Boll Weevil", "Don't Be A Stranger", and "Well Done, Weldon". LP, Vinyl record album

A very very cool live set from the great tenorist Tubby Hayes – one that has him working in an unusual quartet with Louis Stewart on guitar – a setting that makes a really nice change for Hayes! The track are all very long and open – three of the four are past the ten minute mark – and Stewart's guitar often provides this rhythmic comping while Tubby solos – creating blocks of chromatic sound that make for a wonderful counterpart to the sharper, soulful lines from Hayes as he creates with the sort of non-stop energy we love in his live performances. The rest of the group includes Kenny Baldock on bass and Spike Wells on drums – and titles include "The Syndicate", "Gingerbread Boy", "The Inner Splurge", and "The Gentle Rain". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare work from Weldon Irvine – a selection of tracks recorded as private studio outings, reissued briefly by Luv N Haight in the early 90s, and then only on vinyl! The style here is much more jazz-based than some of Irvine's soul recordings – a mode that's often all instrumental, and which features Weldon playing more acoustic piano than on his 70s fusion classics – but usually mixed in with sweet electric elements, too – which creates this wonderfully righteous balance in the music! The whole thing's very soulful, with plenty of undercurrents of the RCA years – and guest players include Steve Grossman on tenor, Marcus Miller on bass, Tom Browne on trumpet, and Bobby Broom on guitar – the latter 3 of which all worked with Weldon at GRP, making us guess that some of these 80s sides were intended for release on that label. Titles include "Kundabuffer", "Music Is The Key", "Mr PC", "We Can Try Again", and "Blues For Spike". LP, Vinyl record album

With segments featuring Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Rowan Atkinson, Pamela Stephenson, Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Tony Hancock, and others. LP, Vinyl record album

Vintage work from Mississippi John Hurt, but somehow amazingly clear and crisp in this classic LP presentation! The tunes are wonderfully earthy – just vocals and guitar from Hurt, in a style that's definitely blues, but which has some surprisingly jazzy inflections at times – at least from the perspective of older-style jazz. Titles include "Candy Man Blues", "Spike Driver Blues", "Big Leg Blues", "Ain't No Tellin", "Frankie", "Nobody's Dirty Business", and "Louis Collins". LP, Vinyl record album

Only a six track record, but one that delivers more funky punch than most full length sets – thanks to the group's wonderful blend of vibes, keyboards, and fuzzy guitar! There's no vocals at all, and the proceedings are nice and lean – grounded by funky drums and superb work on bass – which really lets the keys and vibes do some especially nice things – adding in tones and colors you're not likely to find on other funky records of this type, and which are almost more the stuff of larger arrangements – yet winnowed down here to a cool lean groove! Titles include "Spiky Boi", "Pash Rash", "Talent Stick", "Rosemary Hemphill", "Friendship Theme", and "Over The Moon". LP, Vinyl record album

The classic track from the Spike Lee's "Crooklyn" finally back on vinyl. What more can you ask for – Masta Ace, Special Ed, and Buckshot all at the top of their skills and production from A Tribe Called Quest. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Like any Spike Lee soundtrack from the 80s, this one's a mix of many different styles – with some straight-out pop tracks, like EU's hit "Da Butt", or a number of throwaway 80s R&B tracks by lost groups. The best moments, as usual, are the jazzy ones – like Phyllis Hyman's sweet "Be One", Bill Lee's spiritual "Wake Up Suite", and Kenny Barron & Terence Blanchard's duet on "One Little Acorn". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's definitely Pure Jerry – as the record features Jerry on acoustic guitar and vocals, with just the acoustic bass of John Kahn for support! The music has that core acoustic Garcia roots sensibility – that sideline that Jerry started developing alongside his work with the Grateful Dead, almost from the start – but which really blossomed on performances like this in the 80s. Titles include versions of "Little Sadie", "Deep Elem Blues", "Jack A Roe", "Dire Wolf", "Bird Song", "Ripple", "Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie", "Spike Driver Blues", and "Friend Of The Devil". LP, Vinyl record album

About as archetypal as you can get for a Christmas collection – but isn't that what the holiday's all about? The album's filled with classics from years back – including "Rockin Around The Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee, "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms, "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" by Spike Jones, "Do You Hear What I Hear" by Bing Crosby, "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" by Gene Autry, and "Santa Baby" by Eartha Kitt. LP, Vinyl record album