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Tim Berne on alto saxophone, Hank Roberts on cello, Bill Frisell on electric guitar, and Alex Cline on percussion. LP, Vinyl record album

Tim Berne on alto saxophone & vocals, Hank Roberts on cello and vocals, Mark Dresser on contrabass, giffus and bungy, Joey Baron on drums, synthesizer and electronics, Herb Robertson on trumpet, cornet and laryngeal crowbar, and Mark Feldman on violin. CD

Features Tim Berne on alto, Steve Swell on trombone, Herb Robertson on trumpet and various instruments, Marc Ducret on guitar, Mark Dresser on bass, and Bobby Previte on drums. CD

That's no snake oil in the bottle, it's fantastic music from this razor-sharp quintet – maybe one of the most fantastic projects that saxophonist Tim Berne has given us in many years, and a group that just seem to get better and better with each new record! There's a combination of reed and percussive elements here that's really wonderful – alto from the leader, bass clarinet from Oscar Noriega, piano and tack piano from Matt Mitchell, and drums, vibes, gongs, tanbou, and glockenspiel from Ches Smith – all then strung together by guitar work from Marc Ducret, whose range of sounds really matches those of the other players! Mitchell also adds in a bit of modular synth – and titles include "Surface Noise", "Rolo", "Dear Friend", "The Amazing Mr 7", "Third Option", "Rose Colored Assive", and "The Fantastic Mrs 10". CD

Fantastic sounds from Tim Blake – an artist who previously worked with Gong, and sometimes worked with Hawkwind – but who really came into his own on this legendary album of electronics! Tim works here on a self-constructed "crystal machine" – a bank of electronics that was often played in performance to front some trippy film installations (as shown on the cover) – which perfectly suited the stretched-out spacey style of his music! The vibe is maybe a bit like early Tangerine Dream, but with some of the warmer modes of the French electronic scene of the time – and titles include "Midnight", "Last Ride Of The Boogie Child", "Synthese Intemporal", and "Crystal Presence". LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of spacey classics from Tim Blake – all brought together in a single set! First up Crystal Machine – fantastic sounds from Tim Blake, an artist who previously worked with Gong, and sometimes worked with Hawkwind – but who really came into his own on this legendary album of electronics! Tim works here on a self-constructed "crystal machine" – a bank of electronics that was often played in performance to front some trippy film installations (as shown on the cover) – which perfectly suited the stretched-out spacey style of his music! The vibe is maybe a bit like early Tangerine Dream, but with some of the warmer modes of the French electronic scene of the time – and titles include "Midnight", "Last Ride Of The Boogie Child", "Synthese Intemporel", and "Crystal Presence". On the cover of Blake's New Jerusalem, Tim looks like he's sitting at the helm of a spaceship on the cover – and in a way, that's what his music was at the time – a way of taking off to the skies on waves of electronics, in the kinds of sounds that Blake first created in his Crystal Machine project, but which have an even sharper focus here! The album's got more vocals than Tim's previous effort, and in a way that's what really sets it apart from the rest – as Blake's got this warmly positive approach that would be at home in progressive folk, but which here comes across with a very unique style – given the mostly electronic setting of the album! All the banks of knobs, slides, and keys pictured on the cover are used to strongly skillful effect – on titles that include "Generator", "Passage Sur La Cite", "New Jerusalem", "Song For A New Age", and "Lighthouse". Magick is a really great later set from electronic genius Tim Blake – an album recorded 15 years after his early classics, and done in his windmill home in France – but all played live, in a way that makes the electronics and keyboards here maybe more amazing! Blake has certainly picked up some of the elements from the 80s generation who were influenced by his earlier work – but also keeps the more open sense of song structure from his classics at points – with a sound that still knows when to revel in the best analog moments, next to the digital ones. Titles include "Tonight", "Strange Secret Of Ohm Gliding", "A Dream", "More Magick", and "Waiting For Nati". Also features the bonus b-side "The Woodland Voice". CD

Easily one of our favorite albums by Tim Buckley – and a record that really opens up with some key jazzy touches! Buckley's still got his roots in folk here, and his vocals are yet to hit the extremes of Starsailor or Lorca – but there's also a new sense of inflection to the way he puts over the lyrics, shaded in by use of vibes, kalimba, harmonium, and harpsichord – the latter two of which are played on the session by Don Randi! Tracks are relatively short, but high in concept – and include the protest song "No Man Can Find The War", plus "Hallucinations", "Phantasmagoria In Two", "Carnival Song", "Pleasant Street", "Morning Glory", and "Goodbye & Hello". LP, Vinyl record album

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There's nothing too comfy here, as drummer Tim Carman kicks up a gritty groove right from the very first note – working next to the organ of Ken Clark and guitar of Steve Fell – all in a stripped-down style that partly aims for the glory days of Hammond hero work on Prestige Records in the 60s, but which also maybe has a bit of a soul instrumental vibe as well! Tim's drums are nice and tight, leaving Clark's fingers on the keys and feet on the bass to really open things up – flowing and glowing with all these great changes, on titles that include "Cookin With Gran", "Southpaw", "If You've Got It Flaunt It", "First Mind", "Do That Thing", "Dumpty Dumb", and "Chicken Noodle Man". LP, Vinyl record album

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The very obscure third volume in the legendary Racional series from Brazilian soul legend Tim Maia – and like the other two, a record that really furthers the rich legacy of music he'd begun at the start of the 70s! There's a very righteous vibe going on here – music that soars for the skies in concept and execution – song mostly in Portuguese, but with a global sense of soul throughout – from the richness of the backings, to the majesty of Tim's vocals – which are some of the greatest on the Brazilian scene of the time. Even the mellower numbers are great – the kind of slinky soul numbers that you'd find balancing out the funky nuggets on a rare groove gem from the US – titles that include "Que Legal", "Nacao Cosmica", "I Am Rational", "E Prciso Ler E Reler", "Lendo O Livro", and "O Supermundo Racional". LP, Vinyl record album

The incredible first album by Tim Maia – Brazil's greatest soul star in the 70s, and for good reason too – given that Tim was one of the few who could match the depth of American soul and funk at the time! Yet the music here is way more than just a Brazilian version of American soul – as Tim brings in some rootsier elements from local musical styles, and even some of the trippier elements that were running through Brazilian music in the wake of Tropicalia – all to make for this heady brew of sounds that's completely unique, and completely wonderful all the way through! There's plenty of tracks here that would fit well alongside both familiar soul, and the modes of funky artists like Marcos Valle at the time – and the set also features work on guitar and backup vocals by Cassiano, who'd soon go onto become a Brazilian soul star on his own. Titles include the break-heavy "Padre Cicero" and "Voce Fingiu" – plus "Tributo A Booker Pittman", "Cristina No 2", "Jurema", "Flamengo", "Corone Antonio Bento", and "Primavera". LP, Vinyl record album

70s soul from Brazil – and a tremendously strong effort from the legendary Tim Maia! This record was Tim's first after an initial run on Polydor – and it shows Maia tightening up his groove even more, but still avoiding the slicker sounds of later years. There's a really focused sound here that's totally great – one that shows that Maia's work was hardly just some happy cross-cultural accident, and instead the careful work of an artist who was out to challenge the best American soul acts of the time! There's a warm little groove to most of the tracks – tripping along lightly in the vein of some of our favorite US mellow soul from the mid 70s – an approach that's mostly soul, but with some funky undercurrents – and often smooth, but never cloying or overly commercial. Titles include "Ride Twist & Roll", "Flores Belas", "Let It All Hang Out", "Sem Voce", "E Necessario", "Leva O Meu Blue", "Pense Menos", and "Musica Para Betinha". LP, Vinyl record album

Insanely great sounds from the legendary Tim Maia – easily the most soulful singer in 70s Brazil, and an artist with a heck of a strong ear for funk, too! The music here is an incredible hybrid of American soul and Brazilian elements – especially since some lyrics are in English – and the grooves are often mixed together in a sound that's nice and fuzzy around the edges, with some slight psychedelic elements that makes the cuts a perfect fit for this Luaka Bop series! Yet Tim Maia's hardly a guy who can easily fit into any easy slot or series – because as you'll hear on this set, he's got a vibe that's all his own – a really wonderful approach that's different even from some of his hippest contemporaries in Brazil – and which has gone onto have influence on countless other generations of singers and musicians – including his nephew Ed Motta. The package is great – a real visual tribute to the sounds within – and titles include "Que Beleza", "Ela Partiu", "Do Leme Ao Pontal", "Brother Father Mother Sister", "Quer Queira Quer Nao Queira", "Let's Have A Ball Tonight", "I Don't Care", "The Dance Is Over", "Rational Culture", "You Don't Know What I Know", and "Nobody Can Live Forever". LP, Vinyl record album

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Very striking sounds from a very striking quartet – one that brings Austrian pianist Elisabeth Harnik into play with the Chicago sounds of Dave Rempis on alto, Fred Longberg-Holm on cello, and Tim Daisy on drums! The tracks are all long, and have a very freely improvising quality – fast-thinking, instant creation by improvisers who are hardly new to the game – three players who know each others strengths instantly, and merge together with Harnik here at a really breathtaking level! Titles include "Ohrenkratzer", "Penggaruk Telinga", and "Mimikaki". CD

Tim Ries on tenor and soprano saxophone, Scott Wendholt on trumpet, Ben Monder on guitar, Scott Colley on bass, and Billy Drummond on drums. CD

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