A fantastic trip through the archive with Volcov – even if most of the cuts here are a bit more recent than those that usually get archival status! And yet in a way, many of these cuts almost went to the archives directly – especially in this digital age for modern soul and club, where so many great singles and albums don't make it onto vinyl – and fade fast in the fast rush of new music hitting the internet. That's why we love collections like this so much – as Volcov's done a great job of grabbing the best bits from the past decade or so, and weaving them together as a strong reminder of how much wonderful soul music is being created on this planet – most of it still waiting to be discovered. There's a few older bits here, but most tracks are contemporary – and titles include "Caterpillar" by Rebirth, "All That Glitters" by Carleen Anderson, "Let The Music Play" by Collective Peace, "Spiraling Prism" by Ian O'Brien, "Ori Space" by Ron Trent, "Turn It Around (Eric Lau rmx)" by Ruth Koleva, "Planet Birth (Xantone Blacq rmx/Volcov edit)" by Intuit with Andy Bey, "Lawra (Volcov edit)" by Tony Williams, "Blue Room (Kaidi Tatham's shokazulu rmx)" by Quentin Kane & Simon Sheldon with TK Blue, "Finding The Peace" by Skymark, "I Put A Spell On You" by Honey Sweet with Cindy Mizelle, and "After Life (part 2)" by Harry Whitaker. CD

One of the freshest statements we've heard from the San Francisco scene in years – recorded by a group of players that spans the city's range of contributions to jazz! The ensemble is headed by Joshua Redman on reeds – but it also features some incredible work from Bobby Hutcherson, working here in a style that recalls some of his most adventurous recordings of the 70s – alongside piano from Renee Rosnes, drums by Brian Blade, trumpet from Nicholas Payton, bass from Robert Hurst, and sax and flute from Miguel Zenon. The set was recorded live, and has a depth of soul that really surprised us – with titles that include "Una Muy Bonita", "Rise & Fall", "March Madness", "Lingala", "Peace", and "Of This Day's Journey". CD

A rare early session from vibist Khan Jamal – recorded with his Philly-based Creative Arts Ensemble collective! The group follows strongly in the spirit of similar combos from Chicago and St Louis – particularly the latter – and Jamal's group is working here in a mode that's initiated by the original sonic experiments of the AACM, but taken to deeper, more organic levels. Given Khan's later work, the thing that's most surprising here is the sound texture of the record – because although seemingly improvised, there's also a greater feel towards a whole here – a spacey, ethereal quality that reminds us of some of Sun Ra's most creative moments. Jamal plays vibes, marimba, and clarinet – and the rest of the group includes Monette Sudler on guitar and percussion, Alex Ellison on drums, Dwight James on drums and clarinet, and Billy Mills on both electric and acoustic bass. Although not overly electric, there's a shimmering quality to the music here – as if the production abstracted the original acoustic sound with weird echo and other techniques! Titles include "Inner Peace", "Drum Dance", "Cosmic Echoes", and "Breath Of Life". LP, Vinyl record album

A surprisingly well-thought out set of tracks that is perhaps the only ever time someone at RCA did a good job with a soul reissue! The filled-to-the brim compilation features 16 tracks from the legendary New Birth Inc. collective that also included the funky combo The Nite Liters and the vocal group Love, Peace, & Happiness – all of whom recorded together under the aegis of ex-Moonglow Harvey Fuqua during his production stint at RCA in the early 70s. The combination of different groups and styles makes for a very lively batch of 70's soul and funk tracks – and the set features both classics and overlooked obscure material, all nicely remastered, and packaged with a great set of notes. Titles include "Got To Get A Knutt", "K Jee", "Comin From All Ends", "Afro Strut", "Wild Flower", "Keep On Doin It", and "I Can Understand It". CD

Sublime spiritual sounds from this one man ensemble – work that feels like it's coming from a spiritual collective, as percussion, flute, kalimba, bass, zither, and other instrumentation are layered over each other in a really great way – evoking styles from the past, but with a focused energy that's really wonderful! It's hard to believe that Gustaf Horneij created everything here himself – as there's a richness in sound that normally comes from the unification of different spirits as a whole – maybe even more of a testament to the many-voiced qualities that Gustaf must have as he approaches his music. The tunes have a slow-building approach that's a bit like the classic work of Phil Cohran – and titles include "Peace Piece", "Compassion", "Respect", "Ypocalypse", and "Zither Suite". LP, Vinyl record album

A spiritually resonant soul jazz gem from truly great vocalist Dwight Trible – whose handful of albums to his own name and his work with the Build An Ark collective and Life Force Trio have all been timeless, passionate and inventive – and this effort on the Katalyst label is as deep and rewarding as any of it! Cosmic reminds us of everything we loved about Dwight's Living Water album a few years back, and this one may be even stronger. His yearning, soaring, soul shaking voice is stunning as always, and both the originals and the unique takes on the more spiritual material of legends such as Duke Ellington, Nina Simone and others is really great. He's backed by stellar group of musicians that includes drummer Dexter Story, bassist Trevor Ware, percussionist Munyungo Jackson, John Beasley on piano and organ, George Harper on tenor sax and others. Includes "Speak To Us Of Love", "I've Known Rivers", Ellington's "In The Beginning GOD", "Love Is Forever", "Little Afrika", "Algeriangeles", Simone's "Hyku For Peace/Come Ye", "It's All About Love" and glorious, soul jazz take on the Five Stairsteps soul classic "Ooh Child". CD

One of the coolest albums ever issued from this all-star group – a 50th anniversary tribute to two classic albums from 1969 – In A Silent Way by Miles Davis, and Stand by Sly & The Family Stone! The pairing is a great one – as Miles was listening to a lot of Sly in the late 60s, and the Family Stone were a key part of the SF scene at the time – but the group here makes the whole thing come across as way more than just a recasting of classics – because, like other tributes to their inspirations, the Collective have a really strong way of making things completely their own! Sly tracks alternate with Miles numbers – and vocals are handled by Martin Luther McCoy, who's worked with The Roots – in a group that also includes Warren Wolf on vibes, David Sanchez on tenor, Etienne Charles on trumpet, Adam Rogers on guitar, and Edward Simon on piano. The vocal tracks are nice and long – with a lot more jazz instrumentation than vocals – and titles include "I Want To Take You Higher", "Sex Machine", "In A Silent Way/It's About That Time", "Everyday People", 'You Can Make It If You Try", "Shh/Peaceful", and "Sing A Simple Song". CD