A cool cooker from the great Lou Donaldson – and a record that's ever bit as tasty as its cover! Lou's really hitting his soul jazz stride here – stepping off his 50s bop years, and moving into a more gutbuckety groove that's delivered with wonderful accompaniment from a quartet that features Grant Green on guitar, John Patton on Hammond, and Ben Dixon on drums! The style is loose and open – and tracks are long, with tight solos, especially from Patton and Green, always a winning combination – really stepping out here with an early raw fury! Titles include "Caracas", "Bad John", "Holy Ghost", and "Good Gracious!". Nice cover, too, with a photo of Lou checking out a sexy model, while speaking the title! CD

A gem of a record – one we wouldn't part with for anything! Joao Donato's best known as one of the founding fathers of bossa nova – better known for his 60s work over the years, than he was for 70s electric work like this. Fortunately, international groove hounds picked up on the record years back, and it's been firmly brought back into the limelight as the classic it truly is! The set's an incredible reworking of Donato's sound – the gentle jazzy phrasing of the bossa years turned towards mellow groovers that feature a heck of a lot of electric piano. The album's got a few classic funky tracks, and some even more wonderful tracks that feature Joao working sparely on Fender Rhodes – accompanying himself on raspy vocals on most of the cuts! The whole thing's great – and titles include "Nana Das Aquas", "A Ra", "Amazonas", "Mentiras", "Cala Boca Menino", "Cade Jodel", "Me Deixa", and "Ate Quem Sabe". CD

A wonderfully free-thinking set by Kenny Dorham – and a record that really breaks from his earlier work! The album's not exactly experimental, but it features longer tracks with a looser approach than some of Dorham's sweeter shorter work – more in a rhythmically progressive mode that lets the soloists carve out their own space in the set. Joe Henderson joins Kenny on the frontline, and the rest of the group includes Tommy Flanagan on piano, Richard Davis on bass, and Albert Heath on drums. All titles are originals, with some great modernist inflections, especially in the changes – and titles include "The Fox", "Mamacita", "Tropeta Toccata", and "Night Watch". CD

A wonderfully free-thinking set by Kenny Dorham – and a record that really breaks from his earlier work! The album's not exactly experimental, but it features longer tracks with a looser approach than some of Dorham's sweeter shorter work – more in a rhythmically progressive mode that lets the soloists carve out their own space in the set. Joe Henderson joins Kenny on the frontline, and the rest of the group includes Tommy Flanagan on piano, Richard Davis on bass, and Albert Heath on drums. All titles are originals, with some great modernist inflections, especially in the changes – and titles include "The Fox", "Mamacita", "Tropeta Toccata", and "Night Watch". CD

A Kenny Dorham-billed version of the only full album ever issued by tenor player Rocky Boyd – but a set so great, it's definitely made a name for him over the years! Boyd's got a wonderful tone on the set – sharp and soulful, with an approach to the tenor that almost reminds us of early 60s Jackie McLean – particularly in the way that Jackie could hit dark corners with raspy, personal tone. The rest of the group's no slouch either – and features Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Walter Bishop Jr on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Pete LaRoca on drums – a lineup so great, they give the album a real Blue Note sort of polish – and the album's definitely one that would have been a better-known date, if it hadn't died quickly on the short-lived Jazztime label. The whole thing's wonderful – and titles include "West 42nd Street", "Avars", "Ease It", "Samba De Orfeu", and "Why Not". CD features bonus tracks too – alternates of 4 tracks on the album! CD

A really wonderful set of Brazilian vocal tunes – sung by Pamela Driggs in a warm and jazzy mode that recalls some of the greats of the 70s! Production is spare and smooth, but never too smooth – and Pamela sings in a mix of English and Portuguese, scatting and tripping easily between the grooves. Titles include "Agua De Beber", "Take Five", "Batucada Surgiu", "Noites No Rio", "Leiloca", "Nature's Beauty", "Vivo Sonhando", and "Itacuruca". CD

Dylan's wonderful foray into country rock – the great Nashville Skyline! He takes his voice into a strangely crooning arena that we hadn't heard from him before or since, kinda adding the mysterious vibe of the whole thing. Titles include a duet with Johnny Cash on "Girl From The North Country", plus "Lay Lady Lay", "Country Pie", "To Be Alone With You", and "One More Night". CD

One of the greatest albums ever from organist Charles Earland – a double-length set that's filled with spiritual, soaring grooves! The style here is a perfect blend of the rougher soul jazz of Earland's roots with some of the spacier styles of his later recordings – served up in a sound that's majestic and powerful, almost with an indie soul jazz sort of vibe overall! There's an immediate urgency to most numbers that's totally undeniable – a lesson learned from the electric experiments of Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis, but fused down into a core essence – then let loose on a soaring journey to the heavens. Earland plays Hammond, moog, clavinet, and Arp on the set – and other players include Joe Henderson on tenor, Dave Hubbard on alto and soprano sax, Eddie Henderson and Freddie Hubbard on trumpets, Marc Elf on guitar, Harvey Mason on drums, and the incredible Patrick Gleeson on synthesizers – bringing in a spacey edge to the record that's really amazing! Rudy Copeland sings a wonderful vocal on the title cut, "Leaving This Planet" – and all other instrumental cuts include "Red Clay", "Warp Factor 9", "Tyner", "Van Jay", "Never Ending Melody", "Mason's Galaxy", and "Asteroid". CD

Earth Wind & Fire cut this one a few years before the actual turn of the century – but that's a-ok with us, because Maurice White & company were always years ahead of their time! The record steps nicely off the modes used by EWF during the 80s – the tighter, more focused approach to the groove that showed up on their later Columbia sides, but which was still quite a bit better than most of their contemporaries – especially the legions of groups who grew up to copy their sound through the years! Production and percussion are a bit 90s-sounding, but surprisingly undated years later – thanks to a continuing commitment to righteous themes and jazz-based flourishes in the tunes – as well as some nice use of kalimba interludes to give the record occasional earthy moments! Philip Bailey still holds sway on some of the mellower ballads – and titles include "Even If You Wonder", "Sunday Morning", "Blood Brothers", "Divine", "Honor The Magic", "Super Hero", "Just Another Lonely Night", "Love Across The Wire", and "Chicago Blues". CD