Sade's second album, and while it's not totally sublime as the first, it's still a damn great set with a smooth jazzy vibe that will have you coming back again and again! Includes the lovely "The Sweetest Taboo", plus "Is It A Crime", "War Of The Hearts", "Mr Wrong", and "Never As Good As The First Time". CD

Some of the best blue-eyed soul to come out of America during the late 60s – a soaring batch of tunes from a combo that broke down borders wherever they went! The album's the first by the group – and easily their best – based around their biggest hit ever, "Expressway (To Your Heart)", one of those songs you've heard a million times, but which always grabs you when it hits the break in the chorus! There's none of the "fake soul" style vocals that rock acts in later years would try to pick up, and these guys instead play like they're just a Philly group, ready to mash it up at some tasty club gigs. The whole thing's great, and titles include "Do You Feel It", "Respect", "Hey Gyp", "The Rydle", and "Taboo-India". CD

18 exotic groovers from the glory days of the bachelor pad! The set's a well-chosen bunch of rare ones from the catalogs of labels like Capitol, Liberty, and United Artists – and the tunes are tied together with a Latiny theme, as you've probably already expected from the "bongo" in the title! Tracks include "Latin Fever" by Jack Costanzo, "Caravan" by Dick Hyman, "Balinese Bongos", "The Young Savages" by Martin Denny, "Moderna Muchacha" by Joe Loco, "Club Caballeros" by Laurindo Almeida, "Bernies Tune" by Al Caiola, "Dr No's Fantasy" by Elliott Fisher, "Taboo" by Leo Arnaud, and "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise" by Terry Snyder. CD

We're not sure that this was actually a "greatest hits" because it's hard to find these tracks turning up elsewhere but it's a nice batch of lighthearted Latin dance tracks in any case. Tracks include "Mama Inez", "Tea For Two", "Taboo", "Sway", "It Happened In Monterey", "Always In My Heart", and "Amapola". For the most part the songs are fun and jolly with just a few that are a bit more dramatic and sweeping. LP, Vinyl record album

A lost bossa jazz classic from Dizzy Gillespie – recorded at a time when Lalo Schifrin was working in his combo! The record's got a cool, laidback kind of groove – one that's miles away from Gillespie's earlier bop work, and which shows him opening up his rhythmic conception strongly in the 60s. Rhythms are percolated by the piano of Schifrin, guitar of Bola Sete, bass of Chris White, and some well-chosen added percussion work – and the overall groove is one of the best American takes on the bossa jazz sound of the time, delivered with wonderful horn work from Dizzy on trumpet, Leo Wright on flute and alto, and Charlie Ventura on tenor! Even familiar tunes are transformed by the sound – and titles include "In A Shanty In Old Shanty Town", "Careless Love", "Taboo", "One Note Samba", "Pergunte Ao Joao", and "Chega de Saudade". LP, Vinyl record album

Tremendous work from saxophonist Paul Gonsalves – one of his rare UK sessions from the 60s, all of which show that he had a fantastic sound that went way beyond his more famous work with Duke Ellington! The style here is tight, hip, and very grooving – work by a quartet that features Gonsalves on tenor, plus Pat Smythe on piano, Kenny Napper on bass, and Ronnie Stevenson on drums – all hitting a soulful hardbop style that's very much like the best Tubby Hayes records from the time! Gonsalves' tone is incredible – with that raspy, almost flatted mode that he used with Ellington – and it really stretches out here with plenty of room for creativity, in a way that makes us wonder why nobody ever got this one issued over on our side of the Atlantic. Titles include "Boom Jackie Boom Chick", "Village Blues", "Poor Butterfly", "Blue PG", and "Taboo". Getting' Together is a great hard edged jazz album featuring Wynton Kelly, Jimmy Cobb, Nat Adderley, and Sam Jones lay down a nice soulful groove with a deep bottom, and Gonsalves plays with warmth and imagination throughout. The set includes two of Babs Gonzales' great compositions: "Low Gravy" and "Gettin' Together". CD

A pair of groovy groovy records from trumpeter Al Hirt! Hirt Plays Bert has Al Hirt taking on the music of German easy maestro Bert Kaempfert – working strongly with this cool syncopated electric bass at the bottom – which creates the same sort of stepping grooves you'd hear in Bert's music! Most tunes are numbers made into instrumental hits by Kaempfert, but given a more expressive Hirt flourish in the lead trumpet – and titles include "Swingin Safari", "Red Roses For A Blue Lady", "Spanish Eyes", "Magic Trumpet", "Afrikaan Beat", and "Strangers In The Night". Latin In The Horn is one of the grooviest albums ever from trumpeter Al Hirt – thanks to some great arrangements from Lalo Schifrin! The "Latin" in the horn is a bit subdued here – not as firey as the title might make you think, but with a majestic, noble sound – one that has Al blowing a mixture of Brazilian and Spanish themes in a slightly dramatic way, underpinned by groovy Schifrin arrangements that have the sweeping feel of his cinematic work of the 60s! There's less bossa than you might expect, but the setting is still pretty darn great – and the Latin themes really take Hirt past his usual hoke of the time. Titles include "Manha De Carnival", "Taboo", "Baia", "Gringo A Go Go", "A Sky Without Stars", "Be True To Me", and "Desafinado". CD

One of the grooviest albums ever from trumpeter Al Hirt – thanks to some great arrangements from Lalo Schifrin! The "Latin" in the horn is a bit subdued here – not as firey as the title might make you think, but with a majestic, noble sound – one that has Al blowing a mixture of Brazilian and Spanish themes in a slightly dramatic way, underpinned by groovy Schifrin arrangements that have the sweeping feel of his cinematic work of the 60s! There's less bossa than you might expect, but the setting is still pretty darn great – and the Latin themes really take Hirt past his usual hoke of the time. Titles include "Manha De Carnival", "Taboo", "Baia", "Gringo A Go Go", "A Sky Without Stars", "Be True To Me", and "Desafinado". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of tracks from Jamal's earlier albums for Argo – featuring a set of standards played with the classic trio of Jamal, Israel Crosby, and Vernel Fournier, all given the light, lyrical touch that made his work so popular at the time. Titles include "Taboo", "I'll Remember April", "Angel Eyes", "Like Someone In Love", "The Breeze & I", and "For All We Know". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful album that's as swinging as it is exotic! The record really picks up the groove from Lateef's earlier sides for Savoy – and features a mixture of hardbop and more "Eastern" themed musical images, all extremely compelling, and a wonderful look at a jazz underground that rarely got a voice on record. Lateef plays tenor, but also flute and argol in a snaking moody way – and he's joined by a group that features Wilbur Harden, Hugh Lawson, Ernie Farrow, and Oliver Jackson, all of whom play the usual bass, piano, drums, plus some odd bits on percussion and strange instruments. Titles include "Anastasia", "Minor Mood", "Taboo", and "Mahaba". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic! Chico O'Farrill did some great Latin work for Verve, Norgran, and Mercury over the years – but most of it was only released on 10" LPs, and has only been the province of collectors for a number of years. Now, though, this killer 2 CD set brings together a whopping 45 sides of Chico's best Latin material, and it does so in a handsome package with great notes and the kind of session information that you didn't even get with the originals! Includes both versions of "Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite", plus "Lamento", "Cachita", "Havana Special", "Taboo", "Duerme", "The Disappearance", "Cuban Blues", and loads loads more! This is the kind of thing that makes us love CD reissues! CD

Early early work by Duke Pearson – and one of his few trio sessions ever! The album's a great way to hear Pearson's lyrical soulful style at work, as he's playing in an unfettered setting with Gene Taylor on bass and Lex Humphries on drums – really stretching out on piano, in a way that you don't often hear on some of his larger group albums – a much more intimate side of this great pianist, before he rose to become an important arranger and producer at Blue Note during the late 60s. The album features two of his own compositions "Gate City Bop" and "Two Mile Ride", plus versions of "Black Coffee", "Taboo", and "Witchcraft". CD

Early early work by Duke Pearson – and one of his few trio sessions ever! The album's a great way to hear Pearson's lyrical soulful style at work, as he's playing in an unfettered setting with Gene Taylor on bass and Lex Humphries on drums – really stretching out on piano, in a way that you don't often hear on some of his larger group albums – a much more intimate side of this great pianist, before he rose to become an important arranger and producer at Blue Note during the late 60s. The album features two of his own compositions "Gate City Bop" and "Two Mile Ride", plus versions of "Black Coffee", "Taboo", and "Witchcraft". CD

Live magic from Sade – an artist who only seems to captivate us more as the years go on! This recent performance is a great illustration of Sade's continuing strength in soul music – as she's already great enough on the CD included in the package, but really shines brightly on the visual component as well – a DVD performance that's even longer than the CD – and both are filled with great live interpretations of Sade gems from years back. The film is beautifully shot, and the music is very well-recorded – and titles include "In Another Time", "Love Is Found", "Skin", "Kiss Of Life", "All About Our Love", "The Moon & The Sky", "Pearls", "No Ordinary Love", "Cherish The Day", "Soldier Of Love", "Smooth Operator", "Paradise/Nothing Can Come Between Us", and "The Sweetest Taboo". DVD features bonus features too! CD

Includes the songs "Chantez Les Bas", "Stardust", "Who's Excited", "Prelude In C", "This Is Romance", "Dancing In The Dark", "I Cover The Waterfront", "Alone Together", "Blues In The Night", "Rockin' Chair", "Is It Taboo", "Beyond The Blue Horizon", "Take Your Shoes Off","Solid Sam", "Just Kiddin' Around", "To A Broadway Rose", "Deuces Wild", "Dusk Aka Evensong", "Suite No. 8", "Hindustan", "Carnival", "Needlenose", and "Two In One Blues". CD

Sweet trio work from Charlie Byrd – with Keter Betts on bass and Buddy Deppenschmidt on drums! Titles include "Speak Low", "Nuages", "Taboo", and "To Ginny". LP, Vinyl record album