Music from Daryl Hall & John Oates, Chic, James Brown, Googie Rene Combo, Lulu, Sly & The Family Stone, Honeydrippers, Tom Scott, Tom Brock, Curtis Mayfield, Labi Siffre, Ike & Tina Turner, and more. CD

The 4th volume in this amazing series – filled with righteous mellow soul all the way through! There's a gentle groove here that we totally love – one that's slower and more laidback than any other collection we can think of, but which has a slyly funky undercurrent that shines through in every single tune. DJ Samir's done an incredible job of going past the obvious – digging hard through a variety of older LPs to pull out tracks that have a slinky, seductive, mellow soul approach – and which fit together perfectly in a collection like this. Titles include "Man Up In The Sky" by Barrett Strong, "Never Let You Go" by The Dramatics, "Somethin Bout Cha" by Latimore, "Pick Yourself Up" by John Whitehead, "Tryin To Love Two" by William Bell, "Stop Steppin On My Dreams" by Jerry Butler, "Let Your Love Rain Down On Me" by David Ruffin, "I Love You More & More" by Tom Brock, "Come Back To Me Lover" by Margie Joseph, "Somebody's Been Enjoying My Home" by Don Covay, and "Tear It On Down" by Marvin Gaye. CD

A brilliant lost record from the Barry White side of the 70s soul universe – the one and only album issued by Jay Dee, and a set that's every bit as great as other White side projects with artists like Tom Brock, Danny Pearson, and Gloria Scott! Like all of those, the soulful maestro is very heavily involved here – producing, arranging, and writing most of the tracks – and giving the whole thing that funky soul strings approach he was using with his own wonderful music of the period – which makes for some especially sweet tracks that mix deep soul vocals with kind of a blacksploitation groove! The whole thing's great – and titles include the killer "Strange Funky Games & Things" – which has become a funk and sample classic over the years – plus "Jay's Theme", "Com On In Love", "Thinking Of You", "I Can't Let You Go", and "I Can Feel Your Love Slipping Away". LP, Vinyl record album

A lost treasure from Barry White – the one and only album recorded by Danny Pearson, one of the few singers that Barry did as "special projects" during the 70s! Like Gloria Scott and Tom Brock – two other White-produced singers of the time – Pearson's got a wonderful approach that's quite different than Barry's own work – a fragile, sensitive, sweet soul style that's a lot like indie work from the New Jersey/Philly scene of the early 70s, produced with a bit more of the Barry White flair. The sound is sublime – with magical orchestrations by White and Gene Page, wrapped lovingly around Pearson's great vocals. Titles include "Honey Please, Can't You See?", "What's Your Sign Girl?", "Is It Really True Girl", and "Walkin In the Rain With The One I Love". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most unique sessions on Delmark Records in the past few decades – and one that sounds far better on record than you might expect! The group's fronted by two electric violinists – Tom Wright and Zack Brock – but the set's not some wiggy 70s-styled fusion session, nor some album of older gypsy-styled jazz – as instead there's a rock-solid rhythm trio at the core, and the album has this really fantastic energy that's like two great horn players coming together! A big part of the success of the record likes in the work of Jordan Baskin on piano, Mike Arnopol on bass, and Tom Hipskind on drums – a trio who really keep things stepping along with a nice sense of swing, while Wright and Brock take off and do their thing – each working in a different channel of the recording. Most tunes are originals – and the set also features nice takes on "Nardis" and "Freedom Jazz Dance". CD

Tom Rainey on drums, Ingrid Laubrock on saxophone and Mary Halvorson on guitar. CD

A beautiful juxtaposition of sounds from this ultra-hip group led by pianist Myra Melford – a combo that's filled with sonic delights, thanks to work from Mary Halvorson on guitar, Ingrid Laubrock on tenor and soprano, Tomeka Reid on cello, and Lesley Mok on drums! The players with with a subtlety that's really wonderful – improvising, but with a very unified approach, and a thoughtful ear for sound that really resonates with some of Halvorson's own work as a leader – a balance that maybe makes Melford come across at her most delightful too – although Reid, as always, is a joy to hear, and the presence of Laubrock adds just the right edges at times. Titles include "Insertion 5", "Insertion 3 A + B", "Insertion One", and "Insertion Two". CD

Ben LaMar Gay might well be one of the most creatively intense artists on the International Anthem label – and that's saying a lot, given all of the groundbreaking talents who've come to record for the company in recent years! And while Ben's previous record was completely mindblowing, this set really pushes things over the top – and has the artist at the helm of a large assemblage of musicians who provide all these different sonic elements to augment the intensity of his vision – as the leader handles cornet, organ, and a host of other instruments – while singing on most cuts, but in a way that's majestic and very much his own – neither soul, nor jazz – at least in familiar ways. The lineup features voices of many others – and instrumentation that includes Tomeka Reid on cello, Matthew Davis on trombone, Johanna Brock on viola, and Rob Frye on flute – mixed with spoken and sung passages from a number of others, including Angel Bat Dawid. Incredibly beautiful throughout – with titles that include "Hood Rich Happy", "I Once Carried A Blossom", "Slightly Before The Dawn", "Be Loving Me Some Of You", "We Gon Win", "S'Phisticated Lady", "In Tongues & Droves", and "Touch Don't Scroll". CD

Features Ingrid Laubrock on saxophones, Cory Smythe on piano and quarter-tone keyboard, Sam Pluta on electronics, Zeena Parkins on electric harp, Adam Matlock on accordion, Josh Modney on violin, Robert Landfermann on bass, and Tom Rainey on drums. CD

Taylor Ho Bynum on cornet, Jim Hobbs on alto saxophone, Ingrid Laubrock on soprano and tenor saxophone, Matt Bauder on tenor and baritone saxophone, Steve Swell on tromobone, Bill Lowe on bass trombone and tuba, Vincent Chancey on French horn, Nate Wooley and Stephanie Richards on trumpet, Tomeka Reid on cello, Mary Halvorson on guitar, Jay Hoggard on vibraphone, Jason Hwang on violin and viola, Ken Filiano on bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums. CD

A collection of vintage Starday recordings, with selections by Truitt Forse, Cousin Arnold, Dave Brockmann, Utah Carl, Cliff Blakely, Carl Trantham, Jimmy Johnson, Sony Burns, Johnny Tyler, Bill Floyd, Lawson Rudd, Larry Nolan, and Dave Woolum. LP, Vinyl record album