An amazing avant session from the Czech scene of the 70s – and a record that may well be one of the most important to come out of the Eastern Bloc during the decade! Plastic People Of The Universe are a group who managed a legend that went way past their very tight national boundaries – kind of a secret global sense of attention that was spread through the intellectual underground, and forever cemented with this masterpiece of music! The album effortlessly shifts between free jazz, avant experimentation, art rock, and other mode used in these dark and powerful ways – a strong-burning torch that let the world know that Czech innovation was alive and well, even during years of strong Soviet oppression. Instrumentation mixes alto sax, theremin, claviphone, guitar, violin, and double drums – and titles include "The Wondrous Mandarin", "Look At You, All Sound Asleep", "Past My Window", "Constipation", and "Toxica". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing avant session from the Czech scene of the 70s – and a record that may well be one of the most important to come out of the Eastern Bloc during the decade! Plastic People Of The Universe are a group who managed a legend that went way past their very tight national boundaries – kind of a secret global sense of attention that was spread through the intellectual underground, and forever cemented with this masterpiece of music! The album effortlessly shifts between free jazz, avant experimentation, art rock, and other mode used in these dark and powerful ways – a strong-burning torch that let the world know that Czech innovation was alive and well, even during years of strong Soviet oppression. Instrumentation mixes alto sax, theremin, claviphone, guitar, violin, and double drums – and titles include "The Wondrous Mandarin", "Look At You, All Sound Asleep", "Past My Window", "Constipation", and "Toxica". LP, Vinyl record album

A really bold step forward for Chicago tenor genius Isaiah Collier – and maybe the first record to showcase his emergence as a multi-instrumentalist instead of just a spiritual jazz musician! There's clearly a lot of improvisation going on here – not just from the larger ensemble, which includes Corey Wilkes on trumpet, Julian Reid on keyboards, and Michael Damani on guitar – but also from Collier, who effortlessly shifts between saxes, flute, vocals, and keyboards without any overdubs or additional production at all! A few moments are tight and funky, others are much more experimental – a blend that that's really great, and which continues the unique spirit into which Collier has evolved in recent years. The record also features some key vocal contributions from the great Jimetta Rose – and titles include "Never Back Down", "Eggun", "Village Song", "Retreat", "Parallel Universe", and "The Last Song". LP, Vinyl record album

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A really transformative album from the trio of Medeski Martin & Wood – a set that helped re-open possibilities for jazz organ expression in the 90s, while also bringing back the instrument in some of his best old school modes as well! Around the time of the set, many folks thought of the organ as an instrument in jazz that was a bit dated – not exactly true, and an opinion that was definitely changed once John Medeski was able to open up on the keys on a record like this –using other keyboards too, in the core trio with Billy Martin on drums and Chris Wood on bass. There's plenty of other elements in the mix too – and Medeski can soar like Larry Young one minute, groove like Jimmy McGriff the next – on titles that include "Shack", "Tea", "Chinoiserie", "House Mop", "Paper Bass", and "Chubb Sub". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful little record from Sun Ra and the orchestra – and a set that really lives up to its evocative cover and title! The album features Ra on "intergalactic space organ" – an instrument that may well be a conventional version of the organ, but which is handled with some haunting, very spacey solos that spin out beautifully often setting the scene while the rest of the Arkestra comes in and adds in great solos over the extended reading of the title tune. The lineup includes John Gilmore on tenor, Marshall Allen on alto and flute, Danny Thompson on baritone and flute, Pat Patrick on baritone, and Kwami Hadi on trumpet – and June Tyson sings a bit on the record as well. Titles include "Black Man", "In A Blue Mood", and "Universe In Blue" (parts 1 & 2). LP, Vinyl record album

A bittersweet farewell from The Beatles – a record that definitely shows the fracturing unity of the group, with lots of near-solo moments – but a set that also makes us really wonder what they'd have done with all this genius, had they managed to hold it together! There's great hints here of the solo work to come – especially from George Harrison and John Lennon – and the Phil Spector production really helps open up a new sound for the group. Includes the genius cuts "I Dig A Pony", "Two Of Us", "Across The Universe", "I Me Mine", "One After 909", "For You Blue", and "Let It Be". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the most tripped-out music ever from The Holy Modal Rounders – and that's saying a lot, given the nature of the group! This unique early album on ESP features two side-long tracks – both of which are mini-suites of sort, and filled with odd sounds, weird themes, and a strange mixture of hippie instrumentation and sci-fi experimentation! The group for the record is a quartet – with the core combo of Peter Stampfel on violin and vocals and Steve Weber on guitar, augmented by playwright Sam Shephard on drums and Lee Crabtree on piano and organ – plus extra vocals from the trio of Antonia, Barbara, & Wendy. The music is in the best free-thinking style of other rock on the ESP label in the 60s – and titles include "Jimmy & Crash Survey The Universe" and "The Second-Hand Watch". LP2 features Live In 1965 – Some of the earliest music ever from The Holy Modal Rounders – a rare live performance from 1965, recorded at the Chess Mate nightclub in Detroit, and featuring only the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber! The music here is a bit more folksy and a bit less trippy than some of the Rounders' later recordings, but it still shows a decidedly left-field approach – not just in the subjects of the tunes, but also in the way the guitar, banjo, and fiddle are used – almost as additional voices at times, instead of conventional folk instrumentation. Titles include "Crowley Waltz", "Black Eyed Suzy", "My Mind Capsized", "Fishin Blues", "Rum Mountain", "Random Canyon", "Skin Game", "Indian War Whoop", and "Flop Eared Mule". LP, Vinyl record album

A rising sun from the Jose James side of the universe – trumpeter Takuya Kuroda, stepping out here in a wonderful debut for Blue Note! You've heard Kuroda play with Jose James over the years, but he comes up with a rich new groove here on his own – a mostly-instrumental mode that has his cool, compressed lines over some sweet contemporary funky backings – heavy on Fender Rhodes from Kris Bowers, and some tightly snapping live rhythms that really add a lot of energy to the record! James guests on one track – a great remake of "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" – and also produced the whole set – but the core strength of the record comes from Kuroda's trumpet, and the great keyboard lines of Bowers. Other titles include "Green & Gold", "Piri Piri", "Afro Blues", "Mala", "Call", and "Sometime Somewhere Somehow". LP, Vinyl record album

A masterpiece of spiritual sounds from Japanese drummer Takahashi Miyasaka – one of those sublime 70s records that really carries the Coltrane legacy forward, and finds a whole new channel of inspiration in the universe! The group is led by Miyasaka, but features fantastic horn work from Koichi Matsukaze on alto and tenor, Genji Sawai on soprano and alto, and Hiroshi Itaya on trombone – the last of whom has a wonderfully distinct voice, with these crisp, concise notes that really make the record shine! Pianist Hiromachi Tsugaki is wonderful too – a player we don't know at all, but who ranks right up there with the best Japanese pianists of the decade – and bassist Kagehiro Ohba has a spacious stepping sound that really keeps things in line. All tracks are nice and long – and titles include "Dog's Dance", "Pecker's Blues", "Ballad For Mammoth", and "Animals Garden". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible pairing of talents – and a record that proves once again that the vibes of Roy Ayers are maybe one of the most powerfully soulful forces in the universe! It's no surprise that Roy's old records have formed the building blocks of key hip hop tracks over the years – and year, Ayers serves up vibes alongside fresh production from Oh No – in a set of all instrumental tracks that are overflowing with sweet vibes from the master, plus a blinding array of beats, samples, and other great production elements! Tracks are short and to the point, yet still deliver plenty – and titles include "Another Two 4", "Ice Cold Coolers", "Penthouse Elevators", "Intended Mayhem", "Short Tempers", "Dead Ringers", "Unbeautiful", "Leeches" and "Problems & Solvers". LP, Vinyl record album

Never-issued performances from Sun Ra and his legendary Arkestra – recorded live at Slugs in New York, and featuring the group in two very different modes! Side one features "Calling Planet Earth/We'll Wait For You" – from the same performance that also gave the world the Universe In Blue album – but presented with a very wild, freely improvised sound! The tune runs for well over 20 minutes, and features lots of shifts in presence and power from the individual instruments – with some especially great bass clarinet from Eloe Omoe, who takes a great solo – as well as work from John Gilmore on tenor, Danny Davis on alto, Ronnie Boykins on bass, and Kwame Hadi on trumpet. June Tyson also sings a bit – although the instrumental passages are the strongest draw. The remaining two tracks are much more in the Strange Strings sound of the group – although maybe looser and freer than the work on that album – as they feature mostly stringed instruments, from a variety of global sources, mixed with some woodwind elements and a bit of percussion – almost with a vibe that's like the mid 50s Moondog discovering free jazz! Titles for these two tracks include "Moonshots Across The Sky" and "Thunder Of The Gods". LP, Vinyl record album

A well done survey of the career of Thievery Corporation to date – selected by Rob Garza and Eric Hilton – wonderful stuff from the reigning kings of downtempo jazzy grooves! It's made up of the duo's best known tracks as well as their own personal favorites. You couldn't really ask for a better or more carefully curated set! Includes "Amerimacka", "Lebanese Blonde", "Facing East", "Holographic Universe", "Until The Morning", "All That We Perceive", "The Richest Man In Babylon", "The Passing Stars", "Satyam Shivam Sundaram", "Vampires", "Warning Shots", "Shadows Of Ourselves" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Two different slices of sound from keyboardist Sohan Wilson – both of them equally great! Side one of the record features a live jazzy combo working with Sohan – creating these cool jazz funk numbers that are steeped in 70s tradition, but which have a very contemporary cosmic vibe – not a rehash of older modes, but really new territory explored by the keys! Side two has more of a clubby vibe – beats, samples, and other elements that are topped with strong keyboard lines of a variety of modes – very 21st century, with some spectacular production on the rhythms – all of which will have us looking for plenty more of Sohan's music in the future! Titles include "Guerrero Eterno", "Feel It", "Hey Girl", "Anthem For The Universe", "All I Want Is Again", "Spring Birds", "Night Sky", and "Childhood Memories". LP, Vinyl record album

The first album ever issued with the name of Bernie Worrell on the cover – and a great set that really sums up all the amazing keyboard work he'd been bringing to the P-Funk universe of George Clinton! The set's got a vibe that takes off nicely from the Funkadelic/Parliament sound of the late 70s – definitely more keyboard heavy, in a great way – and really opening up with some of the special madness that was Bernie's own, and often hidden behind the light of the bigger stars in Clinton's galaxy. Worrell sings lead, and also plays a mountain of keyboards – and the set also features help from a huge number of P-Funk friends – including Eddie Hazel, GaryShider, Bootsy Collins, Parlet, Brides of Funkenstein, and even Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns. George Clinton co-produced with Bernie – and titles include "Much Thrust", "Woo Together", "Insurance Man For The Funk", and "Hold On". LP, Vinyl record album

A great one from Monday Michiru – sweet, soulful, and totally right on the money! The set's almost a return to the warm soul territory that first won us over in Monday's work from the 90s – as she takes on a whole host of older American soul tunes by Stevie Wonder, Teena Marie, and others – sung with a wonderfully mature vocal approach, and set to jazzy backings that really help change things up – and make the record way more than just a simple set of cover versions! There's a great blend here – the instrumental depth that Monday's shown in recent recordings, and the straightforward soul of the early years – all handled with just the right production balance to make it come off perfectly. Titles include "Best Of My Love", "Um Amigo", "I Can't Help It", "Ooh La La La", "Don't Disturb This Groove", "You Are The Universe", and "As". LP, Vinyl record album

A lean take on the double-length self-titled set from this mighty funky combo – one that brings together a range of great funky 45s, plus a few other hefty nuggets! If you don't know the group, they're totally great – as Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band go back to the funkiest moments of the 70s steel pan scene from the Caribbean – but also have a harder edge that comes from the group's ties to the Mighty Mocambos, and other corners of the deep funk universe! These cuts are funk first, steel drums second – and have a wicked groove that's actually hipper than most of the original steel drum records from back in the day. Titles include "Queen Of Cheeba", "Port Of Spain Hustle", "Tender Trap", "Dog Was A Doughnut", "Beetham Highway Ride", "Pimp", "Bacao Suave", "Jungle Fever", and "Tropical Heat". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer collection of work from a group who are very near and dear to our hearts – a soulful combo who emerged from the UK scene at the end of the 80s, and really helped bring back a classic sort of warmth to soul music! Brand New Heavies were a funk combo at the core, but they were also graced with two great female singers – initially Jay Ella Ruth, then the mighty N'Dea Davenport, the singer who really helped the group soar over here on the US scene! These days, well-crafted, non-programmed soul music is a common thing – but were it not for BNH, and their contemporaries Incognito, the style might have fallen out of favor altogether – especially during that early 90s era when R&B was still pretty heavy on keyboards, samples, and beats! This double-length set is filled with classics from the group – titles that include "Spend Some Time", "Don't Let It Go To Your Head", "Never Stop", "Dream Come True", "Saturday Nite", "People Get Ready", "You Are The Universe", "Midnight At The Oasis", "Mind Trips", "You Can Do It", "Brother Sister", and their great take on "Apparently Nothin" – and their hip hop cut "Bonafied Funk" with Main Source and Large Professor. LP, Vinyl record album

Very cool work from Jean-Luic Aime – ex-member of Univers Zero, working here in a very heady brew of cold wave electronics! The music shifts between spare, almost tuneful numbers that remind us a bit of Minny Pops or Young Marble Giants – and some much more experimental sounds that belie Aime's legacy – done with a homegrown feel that would have been right at home in the darker corners of the early Crammed Disc universe! The album brings together tracks from a few different small-label cassette recordings, with full notes on the music from Andy Votel – and titles include "Prima Linea", "Scorpio", "Coaltar Saponine", "I Can Help You You Know", and "Ultrissima On The J's M". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic collection of rare funky nuggets – put together by the folks at the Numero Group, and an album that's billed as "the only funk album you'll ever need"! That might be a big claim, but the record is pretty darn great – a set that features a few older underground classics, plus a number of cuts we haven't heard before – all brought together from the farther reaches of the Numero universe, into one fantastically funky set! Instrumentals sit nicely next to vocal tracks – and the whole thing is filled with heavy drums, riffing guitars, and other great elements – all chosen by the sorts of folks who really know their thing. Titles include "Corruption Is The Thing" by Creations Unlimited, Slow Burner" by Swithold, "Human Race" by Human Race, "First Thing I Do In The Morning" by Joyce Williams, "Soul & Sunshine" by Harvey & The Phenomenals, "The Vibration" by Sonny Harris, "Jungle" by The Young Senators, "Ghet-To Funk" by Doralcha, "So Dam Funky" by Hot Chocolate, "Akiwana" by Village Callers, and "Iron Leg" by Mickey & The Soul Generation. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic blend of spiritual jazz styles and electronic elements – served up here by the trio of drummer Betamax, keyboardist Danalogue, and saxophonist King Shabaka – the last of whom you might recognize as Shabaka Hutchings from a host of other hip projects on the contemporary London scene! Shabaka's work on tenor and bass clarinet really gives the record an earthy, organic core – which seems to let the keyboards really soar off into space, often with the sort of vibe that you'd guess from the group's name and the cover image on the record – in a wide flurry of live and amplified performance elements! At some level, the trio is almost London's answer to some of the jazz-meets-studio work from Chicago's International Anthem label – and like some of the groups who record for that imprint, these guys are all strong jazz musicians at the core – but performing at a level that's very beyond the ordinary. Titles include "Birth Of Creation", "Summon The Fire", "Blood Of The Past", "Astral Flying", "Super Zodiac", "The Universe Wakes Up", and "Timewave Zero". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal set from Hawkwind – a record that virtually defines the term "space rock", and which went on to create a whole genre unto itself! The live setting is perfect for the group – as they open up on long tracks that blend together odd touches, sci fi elements, and some mighty heavy rock lines too – all with some trippy vocals that really send things over the top! Lemmy's a mad genius at this point – and the record's got a ballsy power that's quite different from more prog-based groups who travel down similar paths, but never with ferocity like this. Titles include "Earth Calling", "Born To Go", "Down Through The Night", "The Awakening", "Upside Down", "10 Seconds Of Forever", "Brainstorm", "Seven By Seven", "Sonic Attack", Welcome To The Future", "You Shouldn't Do That", "Time We Left This World Today", and "Master Of The Universe". LP, Vinyl record album

A mighty nice combination of sounds – nice and lean, recorded both live and in a home studio – then wrapped together with that special sort of magic that Ronald Langestraat brings to his albums! At the time of the date, Langestraat was playing daily in the Apollo Hotel in Amsterdam – and the music here features live cuts he recorded during those performances, which were then augmented back at home – in a mix of modes that has Ronald on both acoustic piano and plenty of Yamaha and Roland keyboards over drum machine rhythms – while also adding in some clarinet, soprano sax, and even a bit of voice in a few spots! The music isn't entirely jazz, but it's also leaner than soulful fusion too – a really personal, unique blend that's totally great – on titles that include "Music From Outer Space", "A Fast Drive Through The Universe", "Orpheus", "Worldwide Clarinet", "Space Train", and a nice take on the Boz Scaggs classic "Lowdown". LP, Vinyl record album

A second set of super-rare tracks from the Bob Marley side of the universe – not material that was issued by Island Records as part of his run of hit albums in the 70s – but instead some very obscure dubs that were taken from acetates that were initially only circulated through Jamaican soundsystems back in the day! The material here is very different than the cleaned-up hits – as the tracks often mute the vocals, bring up the rhythms, and go for an echoey brilliance that must have sounded great coming out of some massive speakers in the street! You'll definitely have to turn your stereo up to 11 when playing this one – for titles that include "Black Survivor Dub", "Top Rankin Dub", "So Much Trouble Dub", "Babylon System Dub", "Ride Natty Ride Dub", and "One Drop Dub". LP, Vinyl record album

A really beautiful record from the Ambiance ensemble – a group led by reedman Daoud Abubakar Balewa – a musician with the same underground prominence as Plunky Nakabinde and Idris Ackamoor during the same generation! Like both of those artists, Daoud has a way of moving effortlessly between spiritual jazz and more soul-based styles – heard here on one of his standout records from the early 80s, which blends his own work on a variety of saxes with nicely flowing accompaniment on piano, percussion, guitars, and a slight touch of Fender Rhodes – mostly instrumental, but with a few vocal moments from time to time! The vibe is late spiritual jazz – not as tightly tied to Coltrane-based modes, and nicely finding its own space in the universe – on titles that include "Eastwind", "Something Better", "Into A New Journey", and "The Arrival" – plus versions of "Black Narcissus", "500 Miles", and "Windows". LP, Vinyl record album

A sublime live set from British trumpeter Matthew Halsall – a set that maybe sounds even more organic and spiritual than some of his already-amazing work in the studio! There's a great sense of majesty here – as Halsall leads a wonderfully cohesive lineup that stretches out on long tracks that seem to get even more out of the space of the concert venue than they might in a smaller recording room. The group features Matt Cliffe on tenor and flute, Liviu Gheorghe on piano, Gavin Barras on bass, Alan Taylor on drums, Jack McCarthy on percussion, and Maddie Herbert on some especially nice use of harp – understated, and never dominating the music, but a really crucial part of the album's sound! Titles include "Canopy & Stars", "Mindfulness Meditations", "Joyful Spirits Of The Universe", "Harmony With Nature", "Tropical Landscapes", and "Salute To The Sun". LP, Vinyl record album