A killer blend of soul and funk from Pockets – a group with a very jazzy pedigree in their roots, but who stretch forth here with some great studio help from the Kalimba Productions team of the Earth Wind & Fire empire! The groove is very much in the best 70s EWF mode – tight, but never uptight – impeccably played throughout, but with a looseness that also really hearkens back to the small club origins of the group. Lead singer Larry Jacobs really makes the tunes cook – with a style that's deft enough to match the instrumentation, yet still strong enough to soar soulfully on its own. The blend is sublime throughout – and titles include "Tell Me Why", "Take It On Up", "Heaven Only Knows", "Got To Find My Way", "Sphinx", "In Your Eyes", "Happy For Love", and "You And Only You". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

A live bit of fusion supergroup jamming – one in which Billy Cobham and George Duke are joined by Alphonso Johnson and John Scofield in a set of really soulful numbers! The main focus here is straight fusion jamming, but there's also a nice undercurrent of funk and soul in the set as well – and Jon Lucien makes an appearance on the track "Almustafa The Beloved" – a great number with a break sampled by Peanut Butter Wolf! George Duke indulges himself a touch on "Space Lady", a spare electric keys number with a lengthy spoken intro – and other titles include "Do What Cha Wanna", "Frankenstein Goes To The Disco", "Hip Pockets", "Ivory Tattoo", "Sweet Wine", and "Juicy". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the few Bud Powell sessions cut for RCA, but a brilliantly swinging date that has the pianist working at the height of his powers! There's an edge here that comes through right from the start – an off kilter vibe in both Bud's tone, and even in the way he's vocalizing joyously in the background at a few spots – not singing, but exclaiming – at a level that really helps you feel how much he owns the piano while he's performing! Dark pockets and sharp angles pervade – while still swinging right down the middle – balanced off perfectly with work from Art Taylor on drums and George Duvivier on bass. Tremendous all the way through – and different than Bud's work for Verve and Blue Note – in a really compelling way. Titles include "Another Dozen", "Like Someone In Love", "She", "Oblivion", "Swedish Pastry", and "Birdland Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary record from Show & AG – and one of the strongest full lengths of the early 90s from the DITC camp! Runaway Slave came about during the end of an era when major labels still seemed to be hungry for for dope underground MCs, so there's a gritty realness here, and on other great hip hop LPs of the early 90s that's still pretty incredible. This full length debut delivers very strongly on the Soul Clap EP – and titles include that classic track "Bounce Ta This", "Represent", "Catchin Wreck", "Fat Pockets", "40 Acres And My Props", "Hold Ya Head", "He Say, She Say", "Hard To Kill" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Herbie Hancock is certainly Takin Off at this point in his career – stepping into the limelight with an excellent batch of soul jazz tunes, including the first recording of his classic "Watermelon Man", the one track that probably put all his kids through school! Although that one went on to become a standard within a few short years in 60s jazz, it still sounds great here in the original – a very fresh take on the sound of soul jazz in the 60s – offered up here in a 7 minute version that has more sharp soloing than most other takes on the tune! The group here is great too – with Dexter Gordon on tenor, Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Butch Warren on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – and the tracks are all also originals by a young Herbie – including "Watermelon Man", "The Maze", "Driftin", "Three Bags Full", "Alone & I", and "Empty Pockets". LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection of early Herbie Hancock work for Blue Note Records – done in his pre-electric years, but with a sound that's already ahead of the pack – as Herbie's mixing modernism with 60s soul jazz – alongside players that include Freddie Hubbard and Donald Byrd on trumpet, Hank Mobley and Joe Henderson on tenor, Hubert Laws on flute, Thad Jones on flugelhorn, Grachan Moncur on trombone, Ron Carter and Butch Warren on bass, and Billy Higgins and Tony Williams on drums! Titles include "Cantaloupe Island", "Blind Man Blind Man", "Maiden Voyage", "Empty Pockets", "Speak Like A Child", "Toys", "Three Bags Full", "Triangle", "And What If I Don't", "Drifitin", "Goodbye To Childhood", and "The Prisoner". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the all-time great Rick James albums – a return to funkier sounds for Rick that worked both artistically and commercially – and actually got over far better than his more blatant attempts at crossover material on other records! The mix here is perfect – a true summation of all that made Motown great at the time, and the special sort of energy that made Rick one of the freshest mainstream talents at the end of the 70s! The record put a lot of money in Barry Gordy's pockets, and for good reason too – given that the set includes the classic hit "Super Freak" – plus "Give It To Me Baby", "Ghetto Life", "Make Love To Me", "Below The Funk (Pass The J)", and "Fire & Desire" – all done in that compressed pop-funky style that James kind of took from Bootsy Collins and manage to successfully soup up for the masses! LP, Vinyl record album

Strictly Bud Powell, in the best sense of the word – as the album's a sharp batch of trio tracks recorded for RCA in the 50s, and a great showcase for Bud's firey talents on the piano! The rhythm combo features bold work on drums from Art Taylor, alongside the bass of George Duvivier – but Powell's definitely the leading light here, as the album features some of his tremendously deft work on the keys throughout. There's a nice tension to the material – played with a strength that matches most of Bud's other work from the time – but a bit different than some of his other recordings for Verve and Blue Note. The set features 11 tracks in all – and titles include "Time Was", "Jump City", "Elegy", "Coscrane", and "Topsy Turvy". One of the few Bud Powell sessions cut for RCA, but a brilliantly swinging date that has the pianist working at the height of his powers! There's an edge here that comes through right from the start – an off kilter vibe in both Bud's tone, and even in the way he's vocalizing joyously in the background at a few spots – not singing, but exclaiming – at a level that really helps you feel how much he owns the piano while he's performing! Dark pockets and sharp angles pervade – while still swinging right down the middle – balanced off perfectly with work from Art Taylor on drums and George Duvivier on bass. Tremendous all the way through – and different than Bud's work for Verve and Blue Note – in a really compelling way. Titles include "Another Dozen", "Like Someone In Love", "She", "Oblivion", "Swedish Pastry", and "Birdland Blues". LP, Vinyl record album