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Features the classic "Come & Get It" by Badfinger, written by Paul McCartney – and lots of nice instrumentals by Ken Thorne! LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty darn psych/groovy soundtrack – to what looks like a very strange film! The music is by Ken Thorne – and the tracks are a mix of mod rhythms, instrumental groovers, and some very trippy numbers that use echoey percussion and some electrified instrumentation. A few cuts have vocals – such as "Respect" by The Ferris Wheel and "Touchables Theme", sung by Nirvana, in a style that's almost in the Bob Crewe mode – but the best cuts are the instrumentals, which are really really fantastic. A few cuts have organ by Wynder K Frog – and titles include "Samson's Theme", "The Dome", "Sadie's Theme", "Christian & Melanie", "Blues For A Frog", and "The Chase". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully trippy record by The Monkees, and the soundtrack to their equally trippy film from the late 60s. The music's like nothing else they ever did, and the record's a post-Sgt. Pepper's collage of sounds from the movie, weird little spoken bits, and delightfully psychedelic songs. Incidental music's by Ken Thorne, but the bulk of the tracks are by Jones, Tork, Nesmith, and Dolenz. Titles include "Porpoise Song", "Circle Sky", "Can You Dig It", "Gravy", and "Dandruff?" LP, Vinyl record album

Jazz harpist Amanda Whiting offers up a nicely changed-up sound here – on a record that begins with a lean trio approach, the adds in work from Chip Wickham on alto and flute on a few tracks too! There's a vibe to the record that's maybe more introspective than before, and very personal – as if Whiting is really figuring out what she can offer to the world of jazz on her instrument, taking up different territory than legends who've preceded her, like Alice Coltrane or Dorothy Ashby – as she works alongside spacious accompaniment from Aidan Thorne on bass and Jon Reynolds on drums. Percussionist Baldo Verdu joins the group on half the album's tracks too – and titles include "Venus Fly Trap", "Discarded", "Up There", "Where Would We Be", "Too Much", "Temptation", "Abstraction", "Lost", and "Suspended". LP, Vinyl record album

Mayer Hawthorne's looking a bit cheesy on the cover, but sounding pretty darn great within – really sparkling with those mellow soul elements that have just gotten better and better with each new release, at a level that's a plenty strong musical answers to any of the haters out there! There's a warm glow to the set – a sense of heart-ful feelings that clearly inspire Mayer in his lyrics, and which really comes through on the slower-paced tracks on the set! Titles include "Standby", "Cream Interior", "Hawthorne Rides Again", "Without You", "Physical Touch", "The Pool", "Deeper Vibration", "Tell Me", "Deuce & A Quarter", "On The Floor", and "Sweet Temptation Woman". Features the bonus track "Eyes Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Personnel include Zoot Sims on tenor sax, Oscar Brashear on trumpet, Ross Tompkins on piano, Monty Budwig on bass, Nik Ceroli on Drums, and Frank Rosolino on trombone. LP, Vinyl record album

A classic session of pounding percussion – quite possibly the most successful entry into this earthy genre that hit the recording scene at the end of the 50s! Babatunde Olatunji is joined here by a great assemblage of players – including Montego Joe and Baba Hawthorne Bey on percussion, who further flesh out the rumbling, rhythmic groove at the bottom. There's also a group of vocalists on the record, soaring over the top of the percussion with a nicely righteous feel – and the record's a key crossover moment that heralds later African expressions in the American mainstream. Titles include "Odun De Odun De", "Oya", "Jin Go Lo Ba", "Baba Jinde", and "Shango". LP, Vinyl record album

We're not exactly sure what "riff jazz" is, but we can definitely say that the album's one of Jackie Gleason's jazziest from the 50s – a really hard-hitting affair that gets past the sleepier arrangements of other records, and makes great use of breakout solo work from Jimmy Cleveland, Charlie Ventura, Hank Jones, and Charlie Shavers! The players stick with a slightly traditional mode, as you might expect – but the album's got a great way of mixing the fullness of other Gleason albums with a more searing approach to the solos. There's a heck of a lot of titles on the record – and tunes include "Tollgate Treat", "Sawmill Slide", "Hawthorne Circle Hop", "Route 9A", "Mary's Pizza Mart", "Croton Craze", "Cortlandt Clipper", and "Bird N Bottle" – all originals co-penned by Gleason! LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy funk from Jimmy McGriff – a monster set of grooves that ranks with his best of the late 60s! The tracks are short and sock-hard – Jimmy wailing on Hammond, over rhythms that have plenty of sharp edges, and lots of nice drum work – all recorded in a mode that's a heck of a lot rawer than some of his other records! The album brings together all the rough power of Jimmy's years at Sue Records with the funkier grooves of his 70s work – and features a killer combo that includes tenor from Fats Theus, alto from Danny Turner, trumpet from Blue Mitchell, guitar from Thornel Schwartz, and drums from both Mel Lewis and Grady Tate. Titles include "The Worm", "Blue Juice", "Lock It Up", "Think", "Heavyweight", and "Girl Talk". LP, Vinyl record album

A real stormer from Jimmy Smith – done in his first year at Blue Note, but with a sense of power and imagination that cannot be denied! It might be easy to pass up this album, because many of the tunes are standards, done in a simple trio format – but back at the time of this session, Jimmy had a real penchant for unusual phrasings and complicated rhythms – of a sort that rarely showed up on his later Blue Notes, but which made for some incredible sounds overall on a set like this! A key moment here is the crazy cut "Judo Mambo" – which has this wild "chop chop" organ sound that certainly fits with the "judo" theme, and which is followed up by some great raspy guitar work by Thornel Schwartz. Donald Bailey is on drums, doing an excellent job as usual – and other nice moments are the track "Fiddlin' The Minors", plus Jimmy's nice Monkish take on "Well You Needn't" – plus the tracks "Willow Weep For Me" and "Autumn Leaves". If you've ever doubted what a genius Jimmy Smith was on the organ in the early days, check out this one, and prepare to have your mind blown! LP, Vinyl record album

A nice collection of one of the jazz organ's greatest players, pulled from Smith's classic Blue Note sides. Sidemen include Lou Donaldson, Stanley Turrentine, Lee Morgan, Tina Brooks, Kenny Burrell, Thornell Schwartz, Quentin Warren, Art Blakey, and Donald Bailey. 8 tracks in all, including "All Day Long", "The Champ", "The Sermon", "Midnight Special", "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", "Can Heat", "Flamingo" ad "Prayer Meetin'". LP, Vinyl record album

Mad respect for Jimmy Smith – a cool small group record that's different than some of his bigger-concept, larger arrangement records for Verve! The groove here is tight and right on the money – and the tracks are a bit longer than other Verve sessions too – as the master really opens up on Hammond, and hits some sweet soulful lines in the company of players who include Thornel Schwartz or Eric Gale on guitar, Ron Carter on bass, and Bernard Purdie or Grady Tate on drums! Titles include a sweet take on "Get Out Of My Life Woman" – funky, but in a way that's different than all the other copycat versions of the tune – plus Jimmy's takes on tracks that include "Funky Broadway", "T Bone Steak", and "Mercy Mercy Mercy". LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked gem from organ jazz giant Johnny Hammond Smith! The album was cut during a time when Hammond was picking a page from the book of Groove Holmes – tightening up the tracks a bit, and going for a punchy sound that would hit big with the crossover and jukebox crowd. The tracks are all short and tight, and the approach to the tunes is a lot hipper than some of Johnny's earlier work. The group features Virgil Jones on trumpet, Houston Person on tenor, Thornel Schwartz on guitar, and Jimmy Lewis playing some mean Fender bass – which gives the set a driving soulful groove that's certainly appreciated by our ears! Johnny clearly digs it too, as he's a monster on the keys – wailing away like we've hardly ever heard him, blowing it off like he's Jimmy Smith or Jack McDuff from the same period. Titles include "The Sin In", "Summertime", "Getting Up", "The In Crowd", and a great reading of "Ebb Tide", possibly Johnny's bid at a "Misty". LP, Vinyl record album

The "shellac dust" in the title will let you know what sort of territory you're in here – Christmas songs that go way way back, to the glory days of the 78rpm single, served up in a host of jazz and vocal modes! The set features a fair bit of tracks from the prewar years, and although some of the song titles are familiar, the choice of cuts is unique – so that you'll hear a fair bit of unusual readings of Christmas classics – all of which makes for a package that really lives up to other Bear Family Holiday sets that we've been digging for years! LP version features 14 tracks in all – and titles include "Snow Ball" by Louis Armstrong, "Peace Sister Peace" by Monette Moore & The Ebonaires, "Jingle Bells" by Glenn Miller with Tex Beneke, "And The Angels Sing" by Count Basie with Helen Humes, "What Will Santa Claus Say" by Louis Prima, "Blow Blow Thou Winter Winds" by Bob Crosby with Marion Mann, "Let It Snow" by The Ramblers Orchestra, "Santa's Secret" by Johnny Guarnieri with Slam Stewart, "Ring Dem Bells" by Charlie Barnet, "Christmas Night In Harlem" by Paul Whiteman with Jack Teagarden, "There's Frost On The Moon" by Chick Webb with Ella Fitzgerald, "Bells Of Auld Lang Syne" by Joel Cowan & Thornel Swartz, and "Santa Claus Came In The Spring" by Putney Dandridge. LP, Vinyl record album

British reedman Ed "Tenderlonious" Cawthorne is a player who always seems to give us something fresh and different with each new release – and this time around, he's teamed up with Lorenzo Morresi for a great take on the territory of Italian sound library grooves of years past! The record is plenty darn funk, and has as much sweet keyboard work as it does flute and sax work from Tenderlonious – who himself handles some of the keys, alongside Morressi, who also handles bass and guitar as well! The group's a quartet, with some additional keyboards from Emilio Merone – which will give you an idea of how many keys are at play on the album – on titles that include "Movimento Astratto", "Estate", "Doppio Sogno", "Tema Cinque", "Bazar Milano", "Cosmica Italiana", and "Classico". LP, Vinyl record album

Jimmy Smith heard in the kind of setting that spawned him – playing live at Delaware's Club Baby Grand – just the sort of smoky little jazz room that initially fostered his talents! The liveness of the set brings a really nice edge to the album – a sound that's grittier than some of Jimmy Smith's studio work of the early Blue Note years – and which features him really stretching out on the Hammond, taking close to 10 minutes to run through each tune – and that's saying a lot, given that there's hardly any other soloists! The rest of the group features Thornel Schwartz on guitar and Donald Bailey on drums – and tracks on this first volume include "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Where Or When", "Rosetta", and "The Preacher". LP, Vinyl record album