An album that definitely lives up to its title – as it's one of those nicely stripped-down sessions that Chet Baker recorded overseas in the last years of his life – done in close collaboration with the great Nicola Stilo, a musician who really helps bring something special out in Baker's music! Nicola plays guitar, flute, and piano – shifting between each to fit the mood of the long, blue performances by Chet – and the pair also get help from bassist Rocky Knauer, who comes in gently to just move things along with a light touch. Tracks are nice and long, and titles include "Arborway", "Margarine", "Zingaro", "You Can't Go Home Again", "DS Dilemma", and "But Not For Me". CD

A very cool album from the Italian branch of RCA Records – and a set that features a host of artists from other nations who briefly stopped over in Italy, and recorded some of these gems for the label! There's a core energy to the set, which balances contributions from a few key artists, mostly from America – and for jazz fans alone, the set is noteworthy for two tracks that have trumpeter Chet Baker blowing with orchestrations from a young Ennio Morricone – "So Che Ti Perdero" and "Il Mio Domani"! And there's plenty of other great bits too – singer Helen Merrill working with maestro Armando Trovajoli on "Nessuno Al Mondo" and "Estate" – plus Perez Prado on "Guaglione" and "Arrivederci Roma", Antonio Prieto on "Papa" and "Baciami", and even some very cool cuts from young poppers Paul Anka and Neil Sedaka. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best solo albums ever recorded by the great Kenny Barron – a set with so much life, so much cover, you really don't need any other instruments at all! Kenny's at a key point in his career here – really stretching out as an individual talent, and getting plenty of room to work on this beautifully-recorded grand piano – whose tones ring out with this soulful, majestic quality that seems to only amplify the genius that Barron brings to the keys! And while there's certainly been other Kenny Barron solo albums over the years – including some great dates from overseas – there's a power and confidence here that's somewhat missing from the rest – this righteous, commanding style that's almost like Stanley Cowell in a similar setting, but more lyrical too. Titles include "Bud-Like", "Calypso", "Body & Soul", "Enchanted Flower", "Star Crossed Lovers", and "Misterioso". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful little date from pianist Kenny Barron – one that has him working in drumless duo mode, with only the bass of Buster Williams for accompaniment! The tunes are often quite long, and it's beautiful to hear the way Kenny stretches out on the keys – buoyed up warmly by Williams' trademark tone – basslines that are soft on bite, and round on sound – drenched with soul throughout, and creating a subtle pulse that the presence of a drum would only ruin! Barron has a wonderful way of being pensive at points, while still moving things forward strongly – and titles include "All Of You", "This Time The Dream's On Me", "I Love You", and "My Funny Valentine". LP, Vinyl record album

Well, it's not Jaws – but it's still pretty darn groovy – a very cool set of tracks that features some long, lush orchestrations from the great John Barry – plus some sublime disco sounds from Donna Summer! The first half of the record features Barry's extended "Return To The Sea – 2033 AD" – a side-long track that really builds nicely, and has John finding some even more expressive modes than in other mid 70s soundtracks. Then side two really lets loose with the great "Theme From The Deep (Down Deep Inside)" by Donna Summer – a tune that's got this beautifully building groove that's almost like her best early cuts, ala "I Feel Love" – a great use of Summer's vocals on a nicely funky groove. The set also features a slower Donna Summer vocal take on the cut – billed as "A Love Song" – with these cool keyboard lines that feel like they're lifted from an Italian 70s soundtrack – and Barry also turns in his own instrumental version as well. Beckett sings the funky "Disco Calypso" tune too! LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet keyboard-heavy sound library set from the 80s – a record from that time when the sound library studios had gone down to one or two man performances, instead of the fuller groups from the past – and were making best use of the keyboard and drum machine elements of the time to come up with all sorts of catchy, playful grooves! That's definitely the case here, as things are lean, but very melodic – and the record almost feels like a more upbeat take on territory that Young Marble Giants had explored on their Testcard EP a few years before – but with more Italian funky club elements from time to time too! Titles include "Expander", "Forth", "Personal", "Pet Speed", "Software", "Basic", "Speech", "Programmers", and "Language Monitor". LP, Vinyl record album

A strange little record that's a bit tough to describe. The theme appears to be 50s space age – but the sound is more of a cartoony remix of some loungey grooves, with a fairly heavy leaning towards more current popular music. There's bits of guitar pop in the set, bits of pop drum n bass, and even touches of happy hardcore. Title sinclude "We Are Ready", "Bow Wow", "Los Angeles Underground", "Lonesome Spaceboy", and "Call Me A Doctor". CD

A sharp-edged session of tremendous trumpet and tenor interplay – served up by the legendary quintet of Gianni Basso and Oscar Valdambrini! The album's got a sound that's as hip as it looks – a great approach to 50s modern jazz, done in a style that's equally influenced by west coast cool and east coast hardbop! Valdambrini's trumpet is beautifully measured throughout – with echoes of both Kenny Dorham and Chet Baker – offset by some deeper grooving on tenor from Basso, who plays with a strength and command that few American players of the time could match. Titles include "Come Out Wherever You Are", "Lo Struzzo Oscar", "Lotar", "Gone With The Wind", "Parlami D'Amore Mariu", and "Fan Tan". LP, Vinyl record album

A jazzy group, but one that's not straight jazz either – as they work with a strongly rhythmic vibe that's somewhere between classic fusion and some of the contemporary sounds we love on Schema Records – maybe no surprise as this combo also hails from the Italian scene as well! There's a great mix of keyboards in the music – Korg Sigma, Fender Rhodes, Yamaha CP70, and Farfisa Synthorchestra – the latter of which sounds especially great, and gives the music some great spacey touches around the edges. Rhythms are all live, and have some great currents from classic boogie and late 70s club – but the vocals on most tracks bring in a special sort of vibe, in part because the singers shift, and the lyrics are in Italian. Titles include "Malavita", "Fuga Finale", "Citta Futura", "Napoli Visionaria", and "Oro Di Miele". LP, Vinyl record album

Four classic albums from one of the early masters of exotica! First up is Ritual Of The Savage – one of those must-have albums from the 50s – a super-huge record upon its initial release, and an album that pushed the genre of exotica far further than most others at the time! Before this record, most attempts at exotica were simple instrumental pop, colored with slight worldly instrumentation – or too-dreamy recordings, putting over a sleepy version of life on the islands. Enter Les Baxter, who had an amazing ear for sounds, rhythms, and arrangements – one that was the first to record this sort of music in a way that was sonically evocative, and could stand on its own without other referents. Instrumentation is often conventional, but used oddly here – and Baxter's original compositions are all pretty darn great – playful without being goofy, and nicely mixing Latin and Pacific rhythms at the bottom. Titles include "Busy Port", "The Ritual", "Coronation", "Jungle Jalopy", and Les' original version of "Quiet Village". Next up is The Passions – a really obscure box set recording – done as Les Baxter's classic exploitation of "a woman's passions", using vocalist Bas Sheva in the role of the tormented female! Sheva's got a bold, evocative style that's not unlike Yma Sumac – and she sings here wordlessly, as an added instrument on top of Baxter's orchestrations – playing the role of the inner psyche of woman, on titles that include "Lust", "Terror", "Joy", "Hate", "Ecstasy", and "Despair"! The whole thing's a mini docu-drama in sound – beautifully recorded in a flurry of red, blue, and other chromatic hues – not as exotic as Baxter's other work from the 50s, but equally great as a modern sonic psychoanalytic text! Tamboo was cut with Les Baxter's orchestra and chorus – and it's a swirling mass of tribal drums, singing strings, and moody voices that would forever change the face of easy listening. Les' compositions are astounding – filled with all the sophistication of a great soundtrack, but simple enough to evoke the fake primitive charm of the album's cover. Every cut is great – and tracks include "Simba", "Oasis of Dakhla", "Mozambique", and "Zambezi". The cover's got a gorgeous blue painting of natives dancing in the background, while a drummer drums in front. Caribbean Moonlight is not as all-out exotic as some of Les' earlier Capitol albums, but still pretty darn great! The theme here is Caribbean exotic, and the rhythms have a little bit more of Cuba and Haiti than they do of primitive Borneo. Les handles them nicely, as always, and contributes some wonderful arrangements to the album. Titles include "Deep Night", "Green Eyes", "Sway", "Out Of This World", and "Adios". CD

Genius work from Les Baxter – two of his best albums for Capitol, back to back on one CD! Ritual Of The Savage is one of those must-have albums from the 50s – a super-huge record upon its initial release, and an album that pushed the genre of exotica far further than most others at the time! Before this record, most attempts at exotica were simple instrumental pop, colored with slight worldly instrumentation – or too-dreamy recordings, putting over a sleepy version of life on the islands. Enter Les Baxter, who had an amazing ear for sounds, rhythms, and arrangements – one that was the first to record this sort of music in a way that was sonically evocative, and could stand on its own without other referents. Instrumentation is often conventional, but used oddly here – and Baxter's original compositions are all pretty darn great – playful without being goofy, and nicely mixing Latin and Pacific rhythms at the bottom. Titles include "Busy Port", "The Ritual", "Coronation", "Jungle Jalopy", and Les' original version of "Quiet Village". Heck, even the cover is gorgeous – with a brilliant blue illustration of some guy putting the moves on a woman amidst spooky tribal relics! The Passions is a really obscure box set recording – done as Les Baxter's classic exploitation of "a woman's passions", using vocalist Bas Sheva in the role of the tormented female! Shiva's got a bold, evocative style that's not unlike Yma Sumac – and she sings here wordlessly, as an added instrument on top of Baxter's orchestrations – playing the role of the inner psyche of woman, on titles that include "Lust", "Terror", "Joy", "Hate", "Ecstasy", and "Despair"! The whole thing's a mini docu-drama in sound – beautifully recorded in a flurry of red, blue, and other chromatic hues – not as exotic as Baxter's other work from the 50s, but equally great as a modern sonic psychoanalytic text! CD

Yes, it was a mega-hit – and yes, it was one of those records that everyone who lived through the 70s seemed to own at one time – but after all these decades, you can't deny the power of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack – especially for the way that it mixed club soul classics with new original material! Obviously, the Bee Gees cover placement make them big stars of the record – but the set's also got some great early disco gems – like "Open Sesame" by Kool & The Gang, "Disco Inferno" by The Trammps, "KJEE" by MFSB, "Calypso Breakdown" by Ralph MacDonald, "Fifth Of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy, "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman, "Boogie Shoes" by KC & The Sunshine Band, and "More Than A Woman" by Tavares. The Bee Gees reinvent themselves from the early days – and sing "Stayin Alive", "How Deep Is Your Love", "More Than A Woman", "Jive Talkin", "You Should Be Dancin", and "Night Fever" – and the set also features a few instrumentals by David Shire – "Manhattan Skyline", "Night On Disco Mountain" and "Salsation". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare early chapter in the long legacy of Human League and Heaven 17 – a group of musicians who'd partly go on to form the latter, recently departed from the former – yet still working strongly in the dark, electronic style of the earliest releases from the Sheffield scene! There's plenty of moody analogue sounds going on here – and as a cassette only release back in the day, the whole thing is a key slice of that cold wave underground of the early 80s, even though its members reached later fame – definitely working in territory that's more avant and electronic at times, but with more rhythmic instrumentals as well! Titles include "Music To Kill Your Parents By", "Decline Of The West", "Honeymoon In New York", "A Baby Called Billy", "Wipe The Board Clean", "Uptown Apocalypse", and "The Optimum Chant". CD

Two early calypso albums on Capitol Records – both pretty unique! First up are some of the first-ever recordings by Harry Belafonte – material recorded in 1949, with Pete Rugolo backings that are really amazing – as jazzy and modern as anything Rugolo did for other singers of the time, with only a hint of calypso in the rhythms. Belafonte sounds quite different on the sides than in later years – still with those tremendous vocals, but almost more of a jazz singer at points – which is a really surprising discovery! This aspect's supported strongly by the choice of tunes – which includes "Deep As The River", "Farewell To Arms", "Close Your Eyes", "The Didn't Believe Me", and "I Still Get A Thrill". Next up is a full album of straighter calypso material by Lord Flea & His Calypsonians – but one that also has a bit of a Capitol Records groove! Flea plays acoustic guitar and sings, and percussion is nice and tight – but there's also a fuller sense of space on the record, one that really sets it apart from other 50s efforts of this type – kind of a Capitol clarity that really adds a lot of charm. Titles include "Out De Fire", "Mister Give Me De Rent", "It All Began With Adam & Eve", "Jump In The Line", "Run Run Run", "Love", and "Monkey". CD

Trashy Italian house, part of a long tradition, put together by Maurizio Belladona, and featuring some nice electric keyboards. Tracks are long, and titles include "Psycho Rhodes", "Love Clear", "Lunar Funk", "Planet Sensation", and "Stellar Haze". CD

Belladonna take a bit of a left turn in their music – getting slightly more cosmic than before, and definitely moving towards the "inspirational" in the title! Beats are still heavily in the Italian mode overall, but there's lots of skittish touches on percussion that show that Belladonna's reaching out for a more open-ended sound. A few tracks feature vocals by Silvia Donati, but most are instrumental – and titles include "Spiritual Trane", "Time After Time", "New Born Day", "Tropical Deep", "Get Over", and "Inspiration Zone". CD

Smooth jazzy house tunes – very much in the classic Italian mode, but with some stripped-down touches that pull the album firmly into the new century! The production is excellent – as flute riffs, compressed guitar, drum samples, and voices combine in a swirling mix of dancefloor tunes with a ver warm finish. Titles include "Shy Lover", "Moon Jumping", "Circles", "Meltin Guitar", "House's Echo", "Matumbana", and "Midnight Piano", which is a killer number in a classic Chicago house mode that would make Mr Fingers proud! CD

Wild! Another beautiful release in the Easy Tempo series of lost Italian music from the late 60's and early 70's. This one's a haunting moody set of tracks that mix percussion, electric bass, organ, and a wordless female voice in a haunting soundscape of sexy tracks with a totally unique feel. The stuff is spooky, sexy, tinged with a 60's soundtrack groove, but imbued with all the erotics of the best 70's stuff. We can only compare this one to some of the best moody tracks on Camille 2000, but it's also got a feel that's totally unique. The tracks are all numbered, and titled "Ore 18", "Ore 20", etc – and the CD works beautifully as an extended sexy soundscape. More great stuff that we'd never have heard otherwise, put together in a stunning package by Easy Tempo! CD

A compelling set of club jazz work from Italy – proof that the nation's scene has plenty to offer besides well known work on Schema Records! We really dug the previous album from Berardi Jazz Connection, and this set is equally great – a sweet-stepping batch of jazz tracks that runs between modal numbers and soulful grooves – served up in a blend of instrumentation that includes Fender Rhodes, sax, trumpet, guitar, bass, and drums – used in varying ways from track to track, and occasionally augmented by a bit of soulful female vocals. The rhythms here are very much in the best spirit of the contemporary club jazz scene, but are also pretty fresh too – a bit more loosened up from the straight Schema mode, and inflected with a wider range of soulful influences. Titles include "To Brian", "O Prazer De Ser", "The Renegade", "Relax", "FDP", "Play Kid", "Friendly", "Lies", and "Last Night A Cat Stopped Me". CD

Low-burning tenor from Jerry Bergonzi – a player we grow to appreciate more and more as the years go by! Jerry starts this set off with a great reading of Joe Henderson's "Inner Urge" – which is a very apt choice, as Bergonzi's tenor has all the deep soul and modern edges we loved in Henderson's early Blue Note work – a real breath of fresh air when Jerry first came on the scene, and still holding up beautifully over the years! Mulgrew Miller's piano provides some great support here, too – supporting Bergonzi's vibe beautifully with lots of dark, thoughtful lines – even on the ballad numbers – and the rest of the group features Adam Nussbaum on drums and Dave Santoro on bass. In addition to "Inner Urge", other titles include "Jones", "Red's Blues", "On The Brink", and "Everything Happens To Me". CD

With Busta Rhymes and Alyson Williams. Includes "The Lover In You", "Git Bizzy", "Raw '91", "Prince Of Darkness", "Ooh, Aah, Nah-Nah-Nah", "Brother Brother", "Groove With It", "I'm Not Ashamed", "Troubled Man", "TLC", "Float", "Come On Down", "Death Sentence", "DJs Get No Credit" and "Get Down". LP, Vinyl record album

A wild set of electronic work from the American heartland of the 70s – a set that claims to bring you to a "higher stage of truth" – but which has a sound that's a lot more bracing at times than more meditative electronic and new age albums from the decade! Steve Birchall works on a Putney EMS, and really pushes the boundaries of its sonic spectrum – soaring out into space at times, while ruminating in dirtier territory at others – all with a really well-crafted approach that does show a sense of direction amidst the madness! Titles include "Music of the Spheres", "Summer Memories", "Cosmic Carousel", "Abacaba", and "Poseidon's Meditation." LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy duty fuzzy funk – and a landmark album from one of the most Hendrix-inspired groups of the early 70s! The style here is guitar funk with plenty of rock thrown in – all really fuzzed-up in production, and often a bit distorted – so that the group are kind of a lost link between the work of Betty Davis and the more mainstream sounds of Jimi! These guys also backed up Fugi on the massive "Mary, Don't Take Me On No Bad Trip", but the sound here's even heavier – even more guitar-jamming than early work by Funkadelic! Titles include the great stoned track "Cynthy-Ruth", plus "Prophet", "Reality", "I Don't Want To Die", and "Over & Over". LP, Vinyl record album

A record of rich textures and layers – music that swings, but also swirls – thanks to work on the set from Kurt Rosenwinkel on guitar, Myron Walden on alto and bass clarinet, and Melvin Butler on tenor and soprano sax – all brewing together over the drums of Brian Blade! Pianist Jon Cowherd has a part in the colors and tones too – punctuating the proceedings, while also illuminating them too – adding his own sound to the mix, as the whole group moves together as a very cohesive whole! There's no bass at all – which further shines a light on the diversity of Blade's drumming – on titles that include "Catalysts", "Peoples Park", "Until We Meet Again", Look To The Hills", "Migration", and "Kings Highway". CD

An unusual early 70s live date – with long tracks that include "Perception", "Blues March", and "Bird Like" – plus work by Bill Hardman on trumpet, David Schnitter on tenor, Mickey Tucker on piano, and Cameron Brown on bass! LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible early experimental album from Art Blakey – one of the first to feature him in expanded percussion format! Side one of the album features the extended "Drum Suite" – a set of 3 tracks ("The Sacrifice", "Cubano Chant", and "Oscalypso") that has Blakey and Jo Jones on drums, joined by Sabu Martinez on bongos and Charles Wright on tympani and gong. Ray Bryant snakes some soulful piano through the set and Oscar Pettiford is on bass and cello – and the overall feeling of the side is similar to some of Blakey's work in the format for Blue Note – like the albums Afro-Drum Orgy or Holiday for Percussion. Side two has straight hard bop, played by Blakey's 1957 combo that included Jackie McLean and Bill Hardman – and the group grooves hard on a classic reading of "Nica's Tempo", plus the cuts "D's Dilemma" and "Just For Marty". CD features 3 bonus tracks – unedited versions of "Lil'T" and "The New Message"! CD

An incredible early experimental album from Art Blakey – one of the first to feature him in expanded percussion format! Side one of the album features the extended "Drum Suite" – a set of 3 tracks ("The Sacrifice", "Cubano Chant", and "Oscalypso") that has Blakey and Jo Jones on drums, joined by Sabu Martinez on bongos and Charles Wright on tympani and gong. Ray Bryant snakes some soulful piano through the set and Oscar Pettiford is on bass and cello – and the overall feeling of the side is similar to some of Blakey's work in the format for Blue Note – like the albums Afro-Drum Orgy or Holiday for Percussion. Side two has straight hard bop, played by Blakey's 1957 combo that included Jackie McLean and Bill Hardman – and the group grooves hard on a classic reading of "Nica's Tempo", plus the cuts "D's Dilemma" and "Just For Marty". LP, Vinyl record album

"Blues" might be a surprising word for the title of an album by Paul Bley – especially given his modern inclinations – but the term definitely fits here, as this set of solo piano performances by Bley has a wonderfully moody, mellow quality – and a surprising amount of soul at times too! Paul's always had his warmth – although it usually comes across in more lyrical passages – but here, there's a richer focus on the left side of the piano, which opens up the bottom, and makes for some wonderful core sounds as Bley expresses himself more nimbly on the right. The titles are all originals, with maybe a bit more structure than improvisations – and tunes include "Baby Narrows", "Late Night Blue", "Downtown", "Underground", "Up Hill", "Rear Projection", and "Into The Night". LP, Vinyl record album

Pivotal work from piano genius Paul Bley – an important recording done in Rome in the mid 60s, and one of those sessions that really helped Bley reinvent the sound of jazz piano at the time! The record's got this beautiful mix of free improvisation and group structure – a vibe that's very different than territory that Cecil Taylor was starting to explore, even though Bley can be relatively bold on the keys – with this sense of melody that lingers throughout, even on the more percussive passages – which feature superb work from a young Barry Altschul on drums, alongside bass from Mark Levinson, who is a subtle but powerful force in the proceedings! Titles include key tracks penned by Annette Peacock and Carla Bley – "Both", "Albert's Love Theme", "Ida Lupino", and "Touching" – plus a great take on Ornette Coleman's "Ramblin". CD

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

The Warp debut from the Boards of Canada, and only the second full length LP from the duo, though they had issued numerous CDs up to this point in their career. Warm electronics that transcends the IDM tag, and elevates them above the crowded peerage of bedroom laptop wizards. 17 tracks in all, including "Wildlife Analysis", "An Eagle In Your Mind", "The Color Of The Fire", "Telephasic Workshop", "Triangles & Rhombuses", "Sixtyten", "Kaini Industries", "Bocuma", "Roygbiv", "Rue The Whirl", "Aquarius", "Olson", "Pete Standing Alone", "Smoke Quantity", "Open The Light" and "One Very Important Thought". Includes the bonus track "Happy Cycling". CD

A trio of mid-to-late 60s Italian spy soundtracks – Italo Greco and Gianni Boncompagni's work for Riuscira' Il Nostro Eroe A Ritrovare Il Piu' Grande Diamante Del Mondo, Boncompagni's score for Colo Di Sole, and Bruno Canfora's work for Spia Spione – on one great CD from Beat Records! We'll admit to knowing very little about the films, but we must say, this material is very nicely curated, which shouldn't come as surprise given Beat's always warmly presented film score sets. It covers the genre terrain beautiful, from big scale, action-y orchestras, to stripped down, loungey cocktail jazz and beyond. The material from each of the three soundtracks is comprised of sequences on the title themes. 31 tracks in all! CD

Bottazz keep things nice and lean here – drawing on a style of vintage funk, but also coming across with energy that's more suited to the 21st Century – really bridging generations with their music, which is heavy on basslines, wah wah guitar, and mighty sweet keyboard parts – all delivered with the spare energy of the sound library scene, but on cuts that stretch out a bit more too! There's a no-nonsense approach to the record that's totally great – these guys never try to be something they're not, and instead focus on their strong instrumental and rhythmic skills – while occasionally using the production to trip things out just slightly. Titles include "Metadone", "Cardosa", "Palamito", "Mokaba", and "Saturno Nudo". LP, Vinyl record album

Very underground work from Malian guitarist Bounaly – a musician whose work first appeared on a Whats App compilation, and makes its first ever full length appearance on this set! The album was recorded live, with a very gritty vibe – long tracks that have Bounaly's electric guitar spinning out these very hypnotic lines next to driving rhythms – all very spare, and topped with vocals that have a raspy urgency that really matches the music! The whole thing is almost like a field recording of an electric instrument and amplified voice – right down to the excited voices of onlookers – and titles include "Wato To", "Toure Iseye", "Cherie Ye Bani", "Tamala", and "Mali Mussow". LP, Vinyl record album

The great Bobby Bradford recorded famously for the Nessa label back in the 70s – but here he's heard in the company of some younger players on a contemporary recording – one that shows that his fire hasn't dimmed at all! The group's a quartet – with Frode Gjerstad on alto and clarinet, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, and Frank Rosaly on drums – and the three tracks are all relatively long and quite free – but have this organic sense of building that really matches some of Bradford's energy from the early days – a style that's not as rhythmic or modal as before, but partly because Rosaly and Flaten are such amazingly complex musicians! Titles include "The Silver Cornet Tells", "A Story About You", and "And Me Me & You". CD

The great Bobby Bradford recorded famously for the Nessa label back in the 70s – but here he's heard in the company of some younger players on a contemporary recording – one that shows that his fire hasn't dimmed at all! The group's a quartet – with Frode Gjerstad on alto and clarinet, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, and Frank Rosaly on drums – and the three tracks are all relatively long and quite free – but have this organic sense of building that really matches some of Bradford's energy from the early days – a style that's not as rhythmic or modal as before, but partly because Rosaly and Flaten are such amazingly complex musicians! Titles include "The Silver Cornet tells", "A Story About You", and "And Me Me & You". CD

Some of the grooviest work ever cut by Brazilian trombonist Waltel Branco – a set that's very different than just about anything he ever put on record, and which is also material used in an early 70s TV series as well! The sound here is kind of a criss-cross between some of the cool Brazilian arranging styles of the time – the sorts of backings you'd hear on records by folks like Marcos Valle or Edu Lobo – mixed with some of the groovier European soundtrack modes of the period – especially Italy and France, and the great way those scenes really messed with production and instrumental styles. There's more than a few funky cuts here – making the album a real treasure in Branco's catalog – and almost all tracks are instrumental – but the set does feature one vocal number, "Frustracao", sung by Arlete Salles. Other titles include "I Giorni Dell'Ira", "200 MPH", "Bandinha", "Diana", "Tema De Ricardinho", "Tema De Abertura", "Efeito", "Back Ground", and "Zorro". CD

Anthony Braxton heads up a saxophone quartet here, in case you couldn't guess from the title – and the group features some especially great work from Ingrid Laubrock, who blows soprano and tenor on three of the album's four CDs! The set features four different performances recorded in 2022, all live and in Europe – with a lineup that also features James Fei on sopranino and alto saxes, Chris Jonas on alto and tenor, and Andre Vida on baritone, tenor, and soprano on the one CD that does not feature Laubrock. The tunes are all Braxton compositions – numbered 436 through 439 – but as always with his work, the performances are very improvised and free, with some interplay between the reeds that goes way farther than earlier sax quartet modes! That is, nobody feels as if they have to provide rhythm or melody at all – and Braxton himself really lets loose – adding some electronics to his work on alto, soprano, and sopranino. 4CD set includes a great 40 page book, with photos and an essay on the music! CD

Anthony Braxton's reeds are matched here by some wonderful piano here from Marilyn Crispell – who certainly brings lots of her own voice into play with the Braxton compositions on the set! Crispell's piano gives the album a slightly different feel than some of Anthony's other work of the period – almost more fragile in some passages, but more forceful in others – still sharply modern throughout, but a bit less cerebral too. Other quartet members include John Lindberg on bass and Gerry Hemmingway on percussion – and Braxton plays flute, clarinet, alto, soprano, and C melody sax. Titles are all those weird drawings done to illustrate Braxton's music – with tracks that include "Composition No 110D", "Composition No 116", "Composition No 115", "Composition No 114 (+108A)", and "Composition No 110C". CD

A stunning record that takes us back to the glory days of cosmic sounds at the start of the century – that moment when new ideas seem to be constantly exploding from the London scene in a flurry of classic records that really enriched our lives! That spirit is recaptured here beautifully under the guidance of producer Mark De Clive-Lowe, whos' working here with an all-star lineup of talents from the glory days – Domu, Paul Randolph, Bembe Segue, Vanessa Freeman, and others – really updating an older broken beat vibe with richer currents of jazz and soul that show just how much all artists have evolved over the years! Titles on this first volume include "Anybody Out There", "Little Did I Know (inst)", "Find The Beauty", "I See You (inst)", "Little Did I Know (Domu's keep bouncin mix)", "Together (inst)", and "Working On it (inst)". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer cut, and one that brings back the vocals of Paul Randolph in a really wonderful way – set to this jazzy groove that features keyboards from Mark De Clive-Lowe, who also produced the track! There's plenty of other live instrumentation in the track too – guitar, percussion, and drums – and the whole thing's almost a blend between Incognito-like London soul, and some of the crisper currents of the underground! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Funky soul from Harriet Brown – a record that's very well-steeped in 80s modes, including a bit of funk from Prince and some of the leaner currents of the boogie generation! Yet Harriet's got a style that's very contemporary, too – a leaner, more independent approach to soul that's really great – very personal, probably because Brown handles just about everything here himself, with just a bit of assistance from co-producer Alex Talan. Titles include "Cybernetiplegia", "Obsession", "Cryptid", "Atlantis", "In My Head", "Paralyzed", "Contact", "Mother", and "ESP". CD

An unusual album from singer Tedd Brown – who mixes in a blend of jazz, blues, and calypso styles to his music! LP, Vinyl record album

Exactly the kind of record that makes us love sound library records so much – and definitely the sort that sets the style apart from anything else we can think of! Both Sandro Brugnolini and Giorgio Carnini turn in some great work here – a mindblowing mix of modes over the space of ten short tracks – some tunes a cascading array of instrumentation, in a hip groove that's neither American jazz or soundtrack funk, but a special space of its own! Other tunes use an electronic approach that's years ahead of its time – as groovy as 60s analogue, but a lot darker, too – in ways that the rest of the world might not touch until the German new wave. The balance is almost even between swinging groovers and darker electronic cuts – and titles include "Grinta", "Azione CIA", "Scalo Clandestino", "Alambicco Cibernetico", "Strutture Generative", "Omicido Bianco", and "CIA Massacre". LP, Vinyl record album

An Italian funk double-header – a sweet little set from the end of the 60s, and one that features killer cuts from both Sandro Brugnolini and Stefano Torossi! We love either artist on their other own records, but there also seems to be something about putting them together here that makes them even better than before – certainly funkier, as the album's full of the kind of sharp, hard-grooving titles that first made us fall in love with sound library records in the first place! The date of the album's 1969, and both musicians make nice use of psych elements in their instrumentation – adding a bit of fuzz, wah-wah, or trippy guitar in just the right spaces – never going over the top, or getting too indulgent – but just moving in a groove that's tightly jazz funky at the bottom, and maybe a bit freaky at the top. Wonderful work throughout – and titles include "Sweet Beat", "Repetition", "Starter", and "Makkaresh" by Stefano Torossi – and "Wawa", "Motuproprio", "Polyphony", and "Flyer" by Sandro Brugnolini. LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing record – one that stands as one of Chico Buarque's greatest from the 70s! The set was recorded in Italy in 1970 – and features Chico singing lead vocals over backings handled by Ennio Morricone – all in a style that's a perfect blend of MPB with the best elements of the Italian scene of the time! The songs are all originals written by Chico – and have a light and dreamy samba/bossa feel, one that's inflected by the off-beat orchestral style of Morricone, and supported by vocals from I Cantori Moderni. The feel is halfway between Chico's work on RGE and some of the dreamier Morricone soundtracks of the time – and it's a wonderful thing to have a strong male lead vocal over backings from Morricone – a really rare thing for the time, with results that are tremendous. Titles include "Rotativa", "Samba E Amore", "Nicanor", "Tu Sei Una Di Noi", "In Te", "Ed Ora Dico Sul Serio", and "Quete E Quelle". CD

An early record that really links Chico Buarque to the European scene – an audience that would keep Chico's music strong for many years, and with a reach that went far beyond some of his contemporaries! The set was recorded in Italy, but with all the charm and sparkle of his classic Brazilian recordings – and Chico sings in Italian, doing versions of some of his best early songs – all in a lively mode, inflected with samba and post-bossa grooves, and some of the best young songwriting of his youthful years. There's a slightly different vibe here than some of his other early records – but the overall sound is every bit as appealing – and titles include "La TV", "La Banda", "Juca", "Ole Ola", "Far Niente", "Maddalena E Andata Via", and "C'E Piu Samba". LP, Vinyl record album

The lone album from the Bubble Puppy – a monumental effort of late 60s hard grooving psychedelia – and one of very best albums to come out of the original Texas psych scene! A couple of the Pup's labelmates at United Artists get a lot of revelry all these years later, and rightfully so – who would argue the importance of The Red Krayola and 13th Floor Elevators – but Bubbly Puppy deserve to be on that top shelf, too. The sound is tight and hard hitting, with trippy lyricism and groovy group harmonies, while the guitars range from cathartic fuzz to some surprisingly pretty melodicism. Not as far out as some of their peers, but the groove is absolutely killer. Titles include the benchmark single "Hot Smoke And Sasafrass", plus "Todd's Tune", "I've Got To Reach You", "Lonely", "Hurry Sundown", "Elizabeth", "It's Safe To Say", "Beginning" and much more. CD

There was definitely a dread in this session from producer Clement Bushay – but one who also brought in a strong influence from American soul – at a level that creates this mighty nice blend between roots reggae and lovers rock modes! The set trips along in an easygoing mode, and titles include originals by the artists who provide the vocals, plus some great covers too – on titles that include "Loving Girl" and "Come On Back To Me" by Bob Davis, "Have You Ever Loved Someone" by Delroy Washington, "Summertime" by Domino Johnson, "Traveling Man" by Eugene Paul, "I'd Rather Go Blind" and "Higher & Higher" by Carl Bert, "You Said You Love Me More & More" by Gene Rondo, and "Rock Your Baby" by Anne & Annis Peters. LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing little record from Joe Byrd – an artist with roots in serious music, but who's serving things up here with a wild hippie aesthetic that makes the whole thing come across more like a "happening" than the usual sort of studio album – but in ways that also echo an earlier generation of Americanist composition too. The process of the record mimics some of Byrd's famous work in New York – and has a very collaborative feel overall, with elements of electronics, acoustics, and vocals coming together beautifully! There's some great tabla, harpsichord, moog, and organ on the record – plus more serious woodwinds and brass – and vocals from Victoria Bond, Susan De Lange, Christie Thompson, and Ernie Anderson – plus Joe himself. Titles include "Kalyani", "Moonsong Pelog", "You Can't Ever Come Down", "Gospel Music", "Nightmare Train", "Leisure World", and "The Elephant At The Door". CD

An amazing little record from Joe Byrd – an artist with roots in serious music, but who's serving things up here with a wild hippie aesthetic that makes the whole thing come across more like a "happening" than the usual sort of studio album – but in ways that also echo an earlier generation of Americanist composition too. The process of the record mimics some of Byrd's famous work in New York – and has a very collaborative feel overall, with elements of electronics, acoustics, and vocals coming together beautifully! There's some great tabla, harpsichord, moog, and organ on the record – plus more serious woodwinds and brass – and vocals from Victoria Bond, Susan De Lange, Christie Thompson, and Ernie Anderson – plus Joe himself. Titles include "Kalyani", "Moonsong Pelog", "You Can't Ever Come Down", "Gospel Music", "Nightmare Train", "Leisure World", and "The Elephant At The Door". LP, Vinyl record album

A young player, but one with a really tremendous sound – easily poised to become one of the most impressive European saxophone talents of the next few years! Pescara plays alto, but with a depth that makes him sound like a classic player from many years back – a sense of fullness and focus that's really amazing, and which never slips up for a minute. A few tracks here have him really soaring out with unbridled energy – while others hit a calmer, more sensitive side – and all tracks here are originals by Cafiso, showing a nascent writing skill that definitely bears watching. The group's a quartet, and titles include "Louisiana", "Happy Time", "Sir Charles", "She Loves Me", "Blues For Angel", "Goodbye Elvin", and "The Bear". CD

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Tommaso Cappellato is a hell of a drummer – one whose work we've loved on other projects, but who sounds even better here in a lean funky combo of his own! Tommaso uses drum programs next to live drums, and his own work on the kit is the real driving force here – complex enough to match the cosmic rhythms on the set, and given great support from group members on bass and electric guitar! Cappellato plays keyboards as well – and the record features a bit of flute, vocals on three tracks, and titles that include "Heart To Mend", "Battle Moves", "Dancing Around Fire", "Made Of Golden Light", "Warming Up", and "The Flow Must Go On". LP, Vinyl record album

Live In Denver, Colorado, USA, 1974. CD

America's never sounded better than in the hands of Italian sound library talent Daniela Casa – who does a great job here of serving up all these cool tracks that would have been right at home in a film set during the 70s! The music is a mix of themes that evoke different slices of the American experience – almost all of them with keyboards, and most with a nice current of funk as well – plenty of action elements that resonate nicely with the best Italian soundtracks of the crime/cop variety from the same stretch in time! Titles include "Icarus", "Big Sur", "Spiralys", "Beta Lady", "NYC 42nd", "Fix", "Third World Tango", "Puertorico Slum", "Soft Bird", and "Kentucky Fried Chicken". CD

Modern art, but of the sonic variety – served up here by composer Daniela Casa on a rare sound library album, but with a free-thinking quality that rivals the best of the avant garde at the time! Unlike some more staid, academic record, there's no overarching concept here – no detailed notes that you need to read to "get" the music. Instead, Casa creates these short, dark little passages of sound – sometimes very abstract, occasionally tuneful – with elements that move between free jazz, atonal piano and woodwinds, offbeat strings, and even a bit of Fender Rhodes! The whole thing's a great reminder of just how much genius was bubbling up in Italy during the 70s – so much so that a record like this, which would have been worthy of release by Columbia or Deutsche Grammophon in bigger scenes, was only pressed up in small quantities by the Flipper music label. Titles include "Concetto Informale", "Dimensione Umana", "Prima Maniera", "Ricerca Della Materia", "Visione Surreale", and "Ricerca Cromatica". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the hippest funky jazz combos of the 70s – stepping out here in their amazing debut for Cobblestone records! Catalyst had a groove that was unlike most of their contemporaries – a sound that was often jazzier than some of the tighter funk artists on labels like Kudu or Prestige, with some deeply spiritual leanings in the solos – but also a style that was still pretty tight and focused, not as far out as some of the headier groups on the Strata East label. There's loads of great choppy rhythms and tight-edged grooves on the record – thanks to Fender Rhodes from Eddie Green, reeds from Odeon Pope, bass from Al Johnson, and drums and percussion from Sherman Ferguson. Skip Drinkwater produced the session at Sigma Sound, and it's definitely got some of his hallmark appreciation of rhythm in the mix – on titles that include "Ain't It The Truth", "New Found Truths", "East", "Catalyst Is Coming", "Jabali", and "Salaam". LP, Vinyl record album

Great stuff by this fantastic funky fusion outfit that included Billy Hart on percussion, Eddie Green on electric piano, and Odeon Pope on tenor and flute. The real highlight, though, is Pat Gleason on arp, who adds a lot of cool dark moody touches to the group's fusiony playing. The whole record's a stellar mix of soul jazz and edgey electric playing, and it's far and above one of the best albums ever to be released on Muse. It's also one of the hardest to find, too, and this is one of the rare few copies we've ever seen! Tracks include "Celestial Bodies", "Got To Be There", "Uzuri", and "Perception". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the more obscure reissues to come out on the great Rearward imprint – but an excellent lost session of piano jazz, recorded in Milan in 1969! Pianist Oscar Rocchi has a sweet soulful approach to the piano, with a tone that's almost slightly funky at times – partly in reflection to the strong bass work by Cornelio Dattoli, and tight drumming by Gianni Cazzola. The record almost reminds us of some of the excellent 70s Japanese trio recordings by American pianists – and the whole set has a nice warm quality that you wouldn't expect from a record titled Abstraction! Includes a version of Edu Lobo's "Cancao Do Amanhecer", plus "FBM Blues", "Moment Of Joy", "Ivory Isle", and "Remember Coltrane". CD

A wonderful set of funky Latin grooves from Chakachas – an album that was recorded around the same time as their classic Jungle Fever record, but which is much more obscure overall! The set was originally only issued in Europe, and has a groove that's very similar to Jungle Fever – a mad messed-up blend of Latin, funk, and sleazy European grooves – delivered with a style that's part soundtrack, part US Latin – and all groovy all the way through! There's plenty of heavy percussion, funky basslines, and riffing guitar – and the record is filled with funky nuggets all the way through, with titles that include "Hot Hands", "Liza & Brook", "Mamadula", "The Walking Brass", "Turtle Soup", "Bugaloo", and "Super Cat". Reissue includes bonus tracks not on the original record – "Tengo Tengo", "Noche De Amor (voc)", and "Hot Hands (inst)". CD

A wonderful set of funky Latin grooves from Chakachas – an album that was recorded around the same time as their classic Jungle Fever record, but which is much more obscure overall! The set was originally only issued in Europe, and has a groove that's very similar to Jungle Fever – a mad messed-up blend of Latin, funk, and sleazy European grooves – delivered with a style that's part soundtrack, part US Latin – and all groovy all the way through! There's plenty of heavy percussion, funky basslines, and riffing guitar – and the record is filled with funky nuggets all the way through, with titles that include "Hot Hands", "Liza & Brook", "Mamadula", "The Walking Brass", "Turtle Soup", "Bugaloo", and "Super Cat". 2LP reissue includes bonus tracks not on the original record – "Tengo Tengo", "Noche De Amor (voc)", and "Hot Hands (inst)". LP, Vinyl record album

Veronique Chalot sings in French, but she cut this beautiful album for the Materiali Sonori label in Italy – with a really groundbreaking mix of styles that definitely loves up to the other gems we love on the label at the time! As you might guess from the cover, Veronique plays dulcimer, and sings in a dreamy style that befits her image on the front – but the small group behind her also brings in all sorts of other unusual instrumentation – flutes, percussion, bass, and violin – used in these eerie ways alongside Chalot's moody vocals – creating a vibe that's somewhere between early solo work by Nico, and the soundtrack to Wicker Man! A really haunting record throughout – a lot like the best experiments on the Saravah label – with titles that include "L'Empoisonneusse", "Chant De La Montagne", "Le Souliers De La Belle", "Danse Des Sorcieres", "Chant De La Mer", "An Dro-Ronde", and "Bourree". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful work from an unsung hero of the soulful jazz underground of the 70s! Although Joe Chambers came to great fame as the writer and drummer behind some of Bobby Hutcherson's best records late 60s, he didn't really ever make that many records under his own name as a leader – and this date is not only one of the few that he cut that way, but also one of the best! Joe's powerful presence on the record is tremendous throughout – and he works with an ultra-hip lineup that shifts throughout the album, and really gives the whole thing an almost Strata East vibe – with work from Cedar Walton on Fender Rhodes, Woody Shaw on trumpet, Harold Vick on flute and tenor, Cecil McBee on bass, and Ray Mantilla on percussion. The whole thing is as uplifting as you might expect – and tracks include "Medina", "The Almoravid", "Early Minor", "Jihad", and "Gazelle Suite". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic live performance – one that not only lives up to the legacy of Don Cherry mixing together global elements in his music, but also echoing a brief point when pianist George Gruntz was interested in the rhythms of North Africa! The presentation is incredible – really stunning music that stands out from similar projects from both artists – maybe in part because the lineup is filled with all sorts of surprises – including these really incredible reed passages from Sahib Shihab, who also gets into the cross-cultural spirit of the music – blowing flutes and soprano sax with an amazing edge – echoed by work from Salah El Mehdi on ney and flute, Moktar Slama on bendir and soukra, Jelloud Osman on bendire and bagpipe, and Hattab Jouini on tabla and darbouka – four North African musicians who really bring a lot to the set. The rest of the lineup features Daniel Humair on drums and Henri Texier on bass – the latter of whom would experiment in this nature later on – and the whole thing is amazing! LP, Vinyl record album

A tribute to Ed Blackwell, and one that features the legendary drummer himself – as part of the excellent Old & New Dreams from the 80s! The work was recorded during a Blackwell tribute festival in 1987 – and the group features Don Cherry on trumpet, Dewey Redman on tenor, and Charlie Haden on bass – all players who, like Blackwell, worked with Ornette Coleman – coming across here with a sharp-edged sound that has lots of Coleman-like touches! There's no piano in the group, and the rhythms are very forceful – almost a bolder presence than usual from Blackwell, which really drives the horns along nicely. Titles include versions of Coleman's "Happy House", "Law Years", and "Street Woman" – plus "Togo" and "Dewey's Tune". LP, Vinyl record album

The first album from this key group of Ornette Coleman alums – an all-star combo that features work from Don Cherry on pocket trumpet, Dewey Redman on tenor, Charlie Haden on bass, and Ed Blackwell on drums! The sound here is quite Ornette-inspired at times – with a definite late 70s harmelodic groove – but given the organic, acoustic nature of the lineup, the sound is almost more faithful to Coleman's vision than Ornette's records of the time. Haden and Blackwell are great together, as always – driving the tunes with a rhythmic force that Cherry and Redman can't help but carry through. Titles include "Handwoven", "Dewey's Tune", "Chairman Mao", "Next To The Quiet Stream", "Augmented", and "Old & New Dreams". CD

Another fine effort from the Chicago Underground Duo – multi-instrumentalists Chad Talyor and Rob Mazurek – and like the duo's earlier work on Thrill Jockey, it's a wonderful listen, that traipses through elements of Don Cherry-like jazz experimentation, and percussive, minimalist avant rock! The sound is uncategorizable in the best sense, and the duo has chops that devour most of their contempories. Another great one! Mazurek works on cornet, organ, celest, piano, harpsichord and more, and Taylor is drums, perussion, gongs vibe and more. Tracks include "In Praise Of Shadows", "Falling Awake", "The Glass House", "Cities Without Citadels", "Pangea", "Funeral Of Dreams" and "The Light Between". CD

A warm and sexy score from Stelvio Cipriani – penned with a beautiful blend of woodwinds, keyboards, and sweet bossa-styled grooves! There's a bit more fullness here than in some of Cipriani's more erotic work, and a bit more groove too – although most of the music moves at a wonderfully mellow pace, and just steps around with lots of great jazzy inflections – even though the music itself isn't really jazz! The blend of softness and fullness is wonderful – and the whole thing's easily one of the more captivating scores from Cipriani during these very vital years. CD features 23 tracks from the film – plus notes in English and Italian too! CD

That's a sexy-looking lady on the cover – sliding on her cutoffs after a rendezvous in the dark – and the sound of the album definitely fits the image, at least at the start! Stelvio Cipriani begins the music like the story – a bit light and romantic at first, then sliding into tension as the album goes on – marking a point in the narrative where sex turns to suspense, which Stelvio follows by picking up the action on some of the tunes, and dropping into darker moments at others! Edda Dell'Orso delivers a fair bit of wordless vocals on the album, next to keyboard lines from Cipriani – and the whole thing almost feels like a late 70s update of the modes she might have crafted with Ennio Morricone a decade before. CD features 17 tracks in all – and wonderful sound! CD

Way more than an "encore" of the legendary Clarke Boland album Golden Eight – and instead a whole different set of recordings, done way back in 1961, but unissued until now! The album's a killer through and through – every bit the same sort of gem you'd get with the early Clarke Boland albums of the pre-MPS years – extremely tight large ensemble jazz, driven with plenty of soul in the rhythm section, and swinging with some incredible solos that further deepen the sound! Right from the start, the pair were totally on the money – and work here with a lineup that's filled with key European soloists, including Dusko Goykovich on trumpet, Derek Humble on alto sax, Karl Drewo on tenor, and Fats Sadi on percussion – not to mention the core crack rhythm trio of Francy Boland on piano, Jimmy Woode on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums. Titles include the great Boland originals "A Ball For Othello", "La Campimania", "You Dig It", "Pape Satan Aleppe", and "Free Wheel" – plus a great version of "Invitation". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the hippest albums ever from the team of Kenny Clarke and Francy Boland – a unique small combo session that's even groovier than their famous big band work! The setting is wonderful – Clarke on drums, Boland on piano, and a sextet lineup that includes Sahib Shihab on flute, Fats Sadi on vibes, Jimmy Woode on bass, and Joe Harris on percussion – all players who know each other well, and groove together as one amazing unit on the set! The tunes here are lyrical and lively, modal and moving, and still some of the freshest jazz cut on the European scene of the 60s – music that's having a huge impact these days in the club jazz underground. Shihab's flute work is sublime, especially next to Sadi's vibes – and Harris' added percussion gives a number of the cuts a bit of a Latin kick that's totally great! There's a bit of vocals on the set, and titles include "Ebony Samba", "Tin Tin Deo", "Potter's Crossing", "Wives & Lovers", "Ensadinado", "Lorraine", "Day By Day", "Love Hungry", and "Please Don't Leave". CD

A large group in a small club – the legendary Clarke Boland Big Band, playing at the home turf of one of their key members – tenorist Ronnie Scott! The set features a very legendary performance by the ensemble – a crack lineup that's easily one of the best ever sported by the CBBB – perfectly mixing American rhythms, and a trans-Atlantic lineup of soloists – all tied together with just the sort of rich arrangements that make the group so great! Things groove right from the get-go – thanks to a rhythm lineup that features Kenny Clarke on drums, and Francy Boland on piano – plus bassist Ron Matthewson, sitting in for the usual Jimmy Woode. The horn players really send things off, though – tight trumpets from Benny Bailey, Idrees Sulieman, and Dusko Goykovich; bold trombones from Ake Persson and Nat Peck; and some searing reed lines from Johnny Griffin and Ronnie Scott on tenor, Derek Humble on alto, Sahib Shihab on baritone, and Tony Coe on both tenor and clarinet. This CD features both the first and second sets at Scotts by the group – albums titled Volcano and Rue Chaptal – with titles that include "Volcano", "Griff's Groove", "Now Hear My Meanin", "Box 703 Washington DC", "Thence We Issued Out Again to See the Stars", "Rue Chaptal", "I Don't Want Nothin From Nobody & I Ain't Giving Nothin Away", "Sax No End", "Minor Blues", and "The Girl & The Turk". CD

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A really well-titled set from the legendary Phil Cohran – as the album's one of his most meditative efforts ever – a beautiful single piece, spun over the course of the entire album, with slow-changing instrumentation that's wonderfully seductive! Phil's in a near solo mode here – playing harp, cornet, zither, and his legendary frankiphone – with just a bit of guitar and keyboards to accompany his lead solos – making for a really warm, open space that shows Cohran at his most sensitive ever! The work runs for over 45 minutes, and is a great illustration of the space that Phil's been exploring strongly in more recent years. CD

A really incredible performance from Ornette Coleman – recorded in Italy in 1968, and featuring a unique lineup that includes Ed Blackwell on drums, plus the dual basses of Charlie Haden and David Izenzon! The two-bass lineup gives the set an amazingly tight edge – with one player bowing the instrument, and the other playing rhythm – in a way that bounces magically over the drums of Ed Blackwell, making for a rhythmic spirit that's missing from a lot of Ornette's other work from the time! There's still a sense of sound texture and exploration here that matches some of the Blue Note late 60s recordings – but the overall feel is a bit more focused, and (dare we say it?) more rhythmically swinging! Titles include long takes on "Lonely Woman", "Monsieur Le Prince", "Forgotten Children", "Tutti", "Three Wisemen & The Saint", "New York", and "Buddah Blues". CD

A really incredible performance from Ornette Coleman – recorded in Italy in 1968, and featuring a unique lineup that includes Ed Blackwell on drums, plus the dual basses of Charlie Haden and David Izenzon! The two-bass lineup gives the set an amazingly tight edge – with one player bowing the instrument, and the other playing rhythm – in a way that bounces magically over the drums of Ed Blackwell, making for a rhythmic spirit that's missing from a lot of Ornette's other work from the time! There's still a sense of sound texture and exploration here that matches some of the Blue Note late 60s recordings – but the overall feel is a bit more focused, and (dare we say it?) more rhythmically swinging! Titles include long takes on "Lonely Woman", "Monsieur Le Prince", "Forgotten Children", and "Buddha Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Four late 60s gems from Perry Como – all records that really have him pushing beyond his pop style of the 50s! First up is Lightly Latin – one of the most sublime albums we've ever heard from Perry Como – a set that definitely takes its Latin lightly, and instead really goes for the best sort of mellow side of the Como sound! There's definitely a few bossa touches in the mix – a bit of acoustic guitar or light percussion – but they're added in very sparely, and couched with a beautifully subtle wall of sound from arranger Nick Perito, who works here with a lot more understatement than on some other records. Como's vocals are very far from pop – and the album brings out his maturing style wonderfully with a spacious, soft-toned style of production. Titles include "Dindi", "Once I Loved", "Stay With Me", "How Insensitive", "The Shadow Of Your Smile", "Baia", and "Manha De Carnaval". Next is Perry Como In Italy – one of the most haunting albums we've ever heard from Perry Como – a session recorded in Italy during the mid 60s – featuring arrangements by Nick Perito, and backing vocals by the Alessandro Alessandroni Singers! The tunes include a fair bit of older Italian numbers – some sung in the language of their origin, some in English translations that we've come to know on this side of the Atlantic – and Como takes them all with a sad-tinged style that makes the album one of his moodiest ever – a record that oozes melancholy with every song, and which has a late nite, heartbreaking appeal that goes beyond even the understanding of language. The set's a great one to convey the popularity of Italian work on the American market in the 60s – and Como carries off the session even better than some of the more likely singers on the scene during the period. Titles include "Souvenir D'Italie", "Forget Domani", "Anema E Core", "One Day Is Like Another", "Arrivederci Roma", "Oh Marie", and "E Lei". Look To Your Heart is the kind of record that moves so far beyond familiar pop vocalizations, it's almost like Perry's in a universe all by himself! The words seem to just be sneaking out of the singer's voice – these mutterings that are almost to himself, which makes his readings of the tunes feel even more personal than you might expect – even amidst larger backings from Nick Perito – like Como is off to the side of the room, ruminating on love lost and life lived! That quality comes through tremendously on the eerie "Father Of Girls" – a tune that's worth the price of admission alone – and other titles include "Try To Remember", "Look To Your Heart", "In These Crazy Times", "Sunrise Sunset", and "When You're In Love". Seattle is a record that has Perry Como taking on a bit of a country tinge at times – working with Chet Atkins production that almost seems as if the singer is trying to match the Dean Martin spirit of the late 60s, right down to phrasing that feels a bit like ol Dino himself! A few other cuts have more familiar Como modes, with backings by Nick Perito – and titles include the lively title cut "Seattle", plus "Happiness Comes Happiness Goes", "Together Forever", "Sunshine Wine", "Deep In Your Heart", "Hearts Will Be Hearts", "Turnaround", and "Beady Eyed Buzzard". CD

A landmark album of contemporary jazzy grooves – a set issued at the start of the century, and one of the first to really get a blend of classic elements right – after so many others were foundering around in too-remixed, too-programmed work in the 90s! For years, Nicola Conte was a seminal force in the new Italian scene of the 90s – working as a DJ, promoter, producer, and sometimes recording artist under the odd 12" single. Yet this album marks his first full effort – and after years of bubbling under in the Italian scene, Nicola emerged as a breathtaking mix of 60s bossa, soundtrack, and easy themes – put together with never a dull moment, and always a focus on the kind of mid and uptempo grooves that have been pushing the Italian and German scenes to reinvent older jazz, funk, and bossa. The record features great mixes from a few of Nicola's 12" singles, plus a wealth of excellent new material that really expands his groove wonderfully – with a totally real, totally honest sound that pushes past the gazillion retro remix throwaway albums that usually cluttered the dance racks Tracks include "Il Cerchio Rosso", "Dossier Omega", "Trappola Mortale", "Jazz Pour Dadine", and "Bossa Per Due". LP, Vinyl record album

Fred P offers up two very fresh takes on these cuts from the team of Nicola Conte and Gianluca Petrella – both nice and long, and with a sense of flow that's really wonderful! "African Spirits" comes across with a tribal house sort of vibe – lots of live instrumentation on percussion and trombone, but also a percolating groove that stretches into more house-based energy as the tune moves on! "Tribes" follows a similar groove – also stretching way past 10 minutes as Fred builds the whole tune nicely out of acoustic elements layered into the rhythms! 12-inch, Vinyl record