Wonderfully righteous work from Burnt Sugar Arkestra – a group who've been giving us great records for years, but who are maybe even more important to the scene than ever before! The core of the record is the long title track – a very jazzy tune that builds up over loops set down by composer Greg Tate, with a flowing, snakey vibe that allows for plenty of long trumpet, tenor, flute, and alto solos over the guitars and Fender Rhodes that work the rhythms – maybe almost in electric Miles territory, but more laidback. That tune is then reworked on a number of variations that are very different – mostly instrumental, as the main track – but finishing up with a bit of vocals near the end of the record – a great contribution from singer Lisala Beatty! Titles include "Angels Over Oakanda", "Repatriation Of The Midnight Moores", "Oakanda Overdrive", and "Lisala Oer Inna Oakanda". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best ever sets of sprawling, spacey soul funk and jazz from the impossible to pen in Burnt Sugar Arkestra Chamber – never an easy group to describe in a nutshell, and that's a good thing – their best work in years and their first effort for the Livewired label! Making Love To The Dark Ages is a weirdly apt title, starting out with kind of dark, bluesy soul backdrop for Lisala's vocal in the beginning of the opening three part suite "Chains And Waters", slowly building into a tense, free jazz groove that's unafraid to pepper it up with some psyche rock guitar, heady/heavy bass, keys and synth, sax and drums. Guitarist and group leader Greg Tate conducts a sprawling chamber with slightly altered lineups depending on the piece, with players including vocal chanteuse Lisala, fellow vocalists Jeremiah, Karma Johnson, Justice Dilla X (who moonlights on piano, too) and others, alto & tenor sax by Matana Roberts and Petre Radu Scafaru, synth by Bruce Mack, cello by Will Martina, acoustic and electric bass by Jason DiMatteo and Jared Michael Nicherson, drums by Chris Eddleton and Trevor Holden & others, guitars by Rene Akan, Vernon Reid, trombone by David Smith, trumpet by Lewis 'Flip' Barnes, Jr, – lots more instrumentation and orchestration. The record rolls in and out of evocative soul, bits of electro and hip hop soundcraft, spaced out astral jazz, sharp solos and textured bursts of noise – never sacrificing a confluent sense of togetherness for all of the diverse sounds. Titles include the suites "Chains And Water" and the title track, plus "Thorazine/81", "Love To Tical" and "Dominata (The Gabri Ballad)". CD

Wonderfully righteous work from Burnt Sugar Arkestra – a group who've been giving us great records for years, but who are maybe even more important to the scene than ever before! The core of the record is the long title track – a very jazzy tune that builds up over loops set down by composer Greg Tate, with a flowing, snakey vibe that allows for plenty of long trumpet, tenor, flute, and alto solos over the guitars and Fender Rhodes that work the rhythms – maybe almost in electric Miles territory, but more laidback. That tune is then reworked on a number of variations that are very different – mostly instrumental, as the main track – but finishing up with a bit of vocals near the end of the record – a great contribution from singer Lisala Beatty! Titles include "Angels Over Oakanda", "Repatriation Of The Midnight Moores", "Oakanda Overdrive", and "Lisala Oer Inna Oakanda". CD

Wonderfully righteous work from Burnt Sugar Arkestra – a group who've been giving us great records for years, but who are maybe even more important to the scene than ever before! The core of the record is the long title track – a very jazzy tune that builds up over loops set down by composer Greg Tate, with a flowing, snakey vibe that allows for plenty of long trumpet, tenor, flute, and alto solos over the guitars and Fender Rhodes that work the rhythms – maybe almost in electric Miles territory, but more laidback. That tune is then reworked on a number of variations that are very different – mostly instrumental, as the main track – but finishing up with a bit of vocals near the end of the record – a great contribution from singer Lisala Beatty! Titles include "Angels Over Oakanda", "Repatriation Of The Midnight Moores", "Oakanda Overdrive", and "Lisala Oer Inna Oakanda". CD

A really beautiful book, and one that's very different than most other hip hop books we've ever stocked – as this well-done volume is a companion piece to a show at the Baltimore Museum of Art – one that looks at the way that hip hop has influenced different strands of art and culture in the 21st Century – presented here in a variety of ways that are sometimes very subtle, sometimes a lot more direct! The book is full color, and has a really unique design – and presents 70 different art objects, by artists who include Devin Allen, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Hank Willis Thomas, Vivienne Westwood, Pharrell Williams, Stan Douglas, Shabez Jamal, Gordon Parks, Kahlil Joseph, and many others – next to essays by Greg Tate, Lester Spence, Devin Allen, Simon Reynolds, Seph Rodney, Noriko Manabe, Ebony Haynes, and many others too! Book

Features Clark Terry and Greg Gisbert on trumpet, Al Grey on Trombone, Joshua Redman on tenor, Ron Carter on bass, Grady Tate on drums, and Hicks on piano. CD

Way more than just another art book on the creations of Andy Warhol – although there are plenty of those inside, too – as the large volume is part of an exhibition at the Tate in London, which looked not just as Warhol's artwork, but also his past, his ties to the larger scene, and some special strands of his life and career! As such, the book is overflowing not just with big projects, but also a lot of other smaller parts of his history – including unusual photographs, drawings, and even record cover images – with a few great essays at the beginning, followed by over 100 pages of amazing creations in both color and black and white. The large softcover book is a heavy 224 pages. Book

A wealth of spiritual sounds from more recent years – served up in a killer compilation that focuses on all the great new sounds that have been emerging from different global scenes – a sublime blend of jazz, soul, Latin, and other modes – all at a level that gives us plenty of hope for both modern music, and the future of humanity too! The set follows in the spirit of nuggets from the past we've always dug from the Right Tempo/Easy Tempo label – but work here is instead all new, and represents a great outpouring of contemporary talents who draw inspiration from the best currents of 60s and 70s righteous expression, the find a way to make bold new statements of their own. Titles include "Envoy" by Mary Ancheta Quartet, "Subway" by Azar Azar, "Let The Sunshine In" by Jimetta Rose & Voices Of Creation, "Formative Stages" by Organic Pulse Ensemble, "Who Will Save The World" by Anthony Joseph, "Naboro" by Tino Contreras, "For Horace" by Raffy Bushman, "Cut To The Chase" by Malcolm Strachan, "Ruptura" by Mama Terra, "Seasons In My Mind (Patchworks version)" by Yellowtail with Mark Murphy, and "Afro Blue" by Francesco Sotgiu. LP, Vinyl record album

Cool 60s rock from the Lone Star State – raw garage rock and melodic gems, too from the mid 60s McAllen, TX scene in the Rio Grande Valley – featuring numbers by The Cavaliers, The Headstones, Christopher And The Souls, The Playboys Of Edinburg, Jeanne Hatfield and Brother And Sister! Most of the groups can handle both a raw, but melodic style and a much more fuzzed out, organ-drenched and propellant groove, but there's some diverse, moody twists and turns. Includes "Symbols Of Sin", "Congregation For Anti-Flirts Inc" and more by Cavaliers, "My Kind Of Girl" and "Wish She Were Mine" by The Headstones, "Diamonds, Rats And Gum" by Christopher And The Souls, "Understand Me" by Playboys Of Edinburg, "That Hurts", "Seaweed" and more by Cavaliers, "My Babe" by Jeanne Hatfield, "The Answer" by Brother And Sister and more. CD

Maybe the most righteous music we've ever heard from keyboardist Robert Glasper – and that's saying a heck of a lot, given his legacy of albums over the years! This project feels different than the previous Black Radio releases by Glasper – different than his initial blending of jazz modes and contemporary soul – and maybe more strongly driven by mission and purpose, with a quality that really comes through right from the very first note! Glasper's piano and keyboards still have that strong sense of shape we love so much – but they're maybe more heady and serious, and really set a fantastic tone for the album's many contributions from important voices like Esperanza Spaulding, BJ The Chicago Kid, Amir Sulaiman, Lalah Hathaway, Common, Posdnuos, Q Tip, Gregory Porter, Ledisi, HER, and others – a lineup who really elevate the already-sublime tone of the record. We've always found inspiration in the music of Robert Glasper – but it's also an amazing thing to see him rise to an almost statesman-like position with a project like this – on titles that include "Black Superhero", "Shine", "Why We Speak", "Better Than I Imagined", "Everybody Love", "It Don't Matter", "Heaven's Here", "Forever", and a surprisingly strong cover of "Everybody Wants To Rule The World". LP, Vinyl record album

A great new chapter for Donna Summer – a set that has her working with the legendary Quincy Jones as producer – who gives the whole album a very different sound! There's still plenty of the catchy, bouncy styles you'd know from Summer's late 70s work – but Jones also brings in some jazzy flair from time to time – using elements like keyboards from Greg Phillinganes or tenor from Ernie Watts to create a broader palette of color and sound than some of Donna's disco records. The rhythms change things up nicely too – reaching for a bit more than before – and titles include "Protection", which has a guitar solo from Bruce Springsteen – plus "Livin In America", "Love Is In Control", "State Of Independence", "Lush Life", and "Love Is Just A Breath Away". LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by David Pomeranz, Plain Jane, Rick Derringer, Keane Brothers, What, The Twisters, Greg Mathieson Project, and Devinstated. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning amount of music recorded in just the space of two short years – all standing as a mighty strong testament to the production genius of Niney The Observer during the roots reggae generation! The package features a fair bit of tracks that have never been on CD before, and as stated, includes a host of rare 7" singles originally issued on the Observer, Third World, and other labels – sounding far better here than on some crackly, mispressed, or recycled vinyl! The clarity of the package makes both the vocals and subtler elements of production come out strongly, while also giving plenty of grounding to the rhythms and their sweet dubby touches around the edges. The 49 track package is a who's who of hipper reggae singers of the time – with work from Gregory Isaacs, Junior Byles, I Roy, Horace Andy, The Soul Syndicate, Jacob Miller, Big Youth, Leroy Smart, Dillinger, and others – including Niney himself. CD

Really great work from tenorist Joshua Redman – an artist that many have been following for decades – but who, to us, really seems to be hitting a new level of genius in recent years! There's this understated confidence going on here – as if Redman no longer has anything to prove, and can just open up beautifully on the tenor – never breaking down too many barriers in jazz, but always blowing with this distinct sound that's very much his own – and which brings an edge to his well-written compositions on the record, which have a beautiful balance of color and rhythm. Pianist Aaron Goldberg is also fantastic – a very rhythmic player, but one who also leaves a lot of space between the notes – in ways that create this glow, or maybe a sense of waves of sound from his instrument – gently rocking the performance in this strong, yet subtle way. The rest of the quartet features Reuben Rogers on bass, and Gregory Hutchinson on drums that are bold, but never overdone – and the set of all-original material includes "How We Do", "DGAF", "Stagger Beer", "Vast", "Circle Of Life", and "Come What May". CD