Later work from Chet Baker – served up here in a 3CD package! The first 2CDs feature the Sesjun Radio Shows albums – rare radio material from Chet Baker – all recorded in the Netherlands, with wonderful sound – and brought together here in a two volume series that offers up some excellent unreleased material from his later years! The tunes and performances are maybe a bit different than some of the looser live dates that Baker recorded for other labels – although many of the performances are quite long, and showcase that advance solo approach that makes Chet's later work so different than the shorter tracks on his early albums. Titles include "Chet's Theme", "Lady Bird", "Just Friends", "Blue N Boogie", "Ray's Idea", "This Is Always", and "I'm Old Fashioned". Straight From The Heart is material from the last concert Chet Baker ever recorded – a surprisingly tight session that has the trumpeter blowing solos in front of the NDR Big Band. The setting is relatively relaxed – not a blasting big band session, but one that colors in the space between Baker's notes with gentle shades of sound – really respecting his role as a soloist, and providing just the right amount of gentle accompaniment to flesh out the sound of the set. Chet sings on 2 numbers – "My Funny Valentine" and "I Get Along Without You Very Well" – and other tracks include "Sippin At Bells", "Conception", "Look For The Silver Lining", and "Tenderly". Herb Geller also solos on 2 numbers too! CD

The hazy, hook-heavy debut of Blur! The group's next couple of records would prove to be so influential, it's all too easy to overlook Leisure's strengths nowadays despite the massive popularity of the biggest singles at the time, but it's a real gem – setting a mood as strongly as anything to come! Leisure personifies the moment in Britpop very strongly, like a heavier sounding Stone Roses, but the fuzz-drenched guitar sound here is pretty unique – especially on tunes like "Slow Down" and "Repetition" – more indicative of 60s psych, while hinting at the more ambitious Blur to come. Includes the great early singles "She's So High" and "There's No Other Way", plus "Bad Day", "Sing", "Come Together", "High Cool", "Wear Me Down" and more. Cassette

The classic Scott La Rock tribute album – with BDP classics and remixes – originally issued as a 2LP set that was put together following the South Bronx-repping hip hop pioneer's shooting death. Alternate versions, remixes and BDP medley's from their most classic late 80s period. 15 tracks in all: "Advance", "D Nice Rocks The House", "Red Alert (Criminal Minded)", 'Doc Mix (Criminal Minded)", "Super Hoe #4", "Word From Our Sponsor #8", "BDP Medley #5", "Poetry" (#s 1, 2 & 3)" and lots more! LP, Vinyl record album

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Previously-unreleased live work by one of Miles Davis' most important groups ever – a Bitches Brew-era lineup, playing live at the Fillmore East a month before the record was released to the public – which makes this performance one of the first times the world had ever heard jams like this! The group's heavy on rhythm here – a rumbling groove brought up from the bottom, courtesy of the drums of Jack Dejohnette, basses of Dave Holland, and percussion of Airto – sewn together beautifully by the Fender Rhodes work of Chick Corea – easily some of the noisiest sounds the instrument ever produced! Miles plays trumpet, and Wayne Shorter's on soprano and tenor sax – on titles that include "Directions", "Spanish Key", "Masqualero", "Miles Runs The Voodoo Down", "Bitches Brew", and "It's About That Time/Willie Nelson". CD

Advance promo from the second LP, without Amel Larrieux. The productions still on point, with a nice soulful groove alongside hip hop influenced beats. 12-inch, Vinyl record

A killer set from jazz drummer Xaver Hellmeier – recorded in New York and produced by drummer Joe Farnsworth – a mentor of the younger player, and maybe the force for bringing together the top-shelf group on the date – a wonderful lineup that features Eric Alexander on tenor, Jeremy Pelt on trumpet, Peter Washington on bass, and David Hazeltine on piano! The album's got all the snap, crackle, and pop that you'd expect from such a group – sharp, and very much on the money – the sort of record you'd expect from any of the other artists, or Farnsworth too, which is high praise for Hellmeier's work here as a leader! The tracks include some well-chosen numbers – including a great remake of "Book's Bossa", plus "Midnight Waltz", "Tune Up", and "Advance Notice" – plus Hellmeier's originals "Blues For JF" and "Night In Verona". CD

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Rare live material by Monk – recorded in Tokyo in 1963, and for many years a set that was unavailable to the rest of the world on record! The date's a great one – and features the classic Columbia quartet with Charlie Rouse on tenor, Butch Warren on bass, and Frankie Dunlop on drums – that impeccable group that provided Monk with such a strong platform for a number of years, and really helped focus and advance his ideas. Rouse is especially wonderful, and he gets a lot of freedom on the record to work out these complicated solos that differ from some of his tighter work on some of the Monk studio albums of the time The set covers 2 LPs – and titles include "Panonica", "Evidence", "Bemsha Swing", "Epistrophy", "Hackensack", and "Blue Monk". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare live material by Monk – recorded in Tokyo in 1963, and for many years a set that was unavailable to the rest of the world on record! The date's a great one – and features the classic Columbia quartet with Charlie Rouse on tenor, Butch Warren on bass, and Frankie Dunlop on drums – that impeccable group that provided Monk with such a strong platform for a number of years, and really helped focus and advance his ideas. Rouse is especially wonderful, and he gets a lot of freedom on the record to work out these complicated solos that differ from some of his tighter work on some of the Monk studio albums of the time The set covers 2 LPs – and titles include "Panonica", "Evidence", "Bemsha Swing", "Epistrophy", "Hackensack", and "Blue Monk". CD

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Prince certainly hit and run with this record – as the set was so secret, we couldn't even announce it until it was released! But the lack of advance fame certainly doesn't hold it back – as the whole thing is one of Prince's strongest efforts in years – a record that echoes lots of his 80s famous funk right at the start, then breaks out into a mode that's a lot more brash and almost brutal at times – as if the purple one's expressing anger and emotion we never would have heard in his music from years back! Everything is very much right on the money – vocals, instruments, and all the rhythms woven together with that magic that Prince first created decades ago – but with a fresher 21st Century spirit that still blows away most of the younger generation he's inspired. Titles include "Hardrocklover", "Fallinlove2nite", "Mr Nelson", "June", "Million $ Show", "Ain't About 2 Stop", and "This Could B Us". CD

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Yes Indeed is an overlooked swinger from Dinah Shore – one done for Capitol right at the end of the 50s, with some sublime arrangements by Nelson Riddle! Riddle brings a bounce to the record that Dinah doesn't always get – but without ever making the set gimmicky at all, as with some of her more theme-oriented sides of the 50s. Instead, Riddle matches the maturity of Shore's vocals with some mature charts of his own – schooled in Sinatra, and very well matched to Dinah's modes here. Titles include "Falling In Love With Love", "Yes Indeed", "I'm Old Fashioned", "It All Depends On You", and "Takin A Chance On Love". The second album, Fabulous Hits, features orchestrations by Dick Reynolds and titles that include "Chantez, Chantez", "The Gypsy", "I'll Walk Alone", "Mad About Him, Sad Without Him", and "Blues In Advance". CD

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Titles include "More Of The Night", "Forever Love", "Babes", "Innocent", "Girl Don't Make Me Wait", and "Forever Lover". Cassette

A killer set of rare club and underground disco – filled with lots of tracks we haven't seen on other collections! Andy Smith has given us many amazing compilations over the years – sets that have a special mix magic, made up of rocksteady, reggae, vintage funk, and even some rockabilly too! Yet as Andy says here in the notes, he first got hooked on music in the disco generation – and has always had a life-long love of unusual and underground grooves – which he definitely demonstrates here, in a stunning selection of cuts that focus on the funkier side of the disco generation – with a good number of tracks that have turned out to be sample cuts over the years. Titles include "For The Love Of Money" by Disco Dub Band, "Patty Duke" by Cloud One, "Times Are Tight" by Jimmy Young, "Share The Night" by World Premiere, "Is It In" by Jimmy Bo Horne, "Let It Flow" by Tamiko Jones, "Main Thing" by Shot with Kim Marsh, "Give It Up" by Neddy Smith, "Groove To Get Down" by T-Connection, "Holding You Tight (ext DJ mix)" by Sure Thing, "First True Love Affair (Andy Smith & Nick Halke reach up edit)" by Jimmy Ross, "Got To Have You (Whiskey Barons re-edit)" by Joanne Wilson, "I Wanna Be Myself" by Don Laka, "Get Up & Boogie" by Freedom, and "Take Me To The Top" by Advance. LP, Vinyl record album

Pianist Robert Lakatos sounds beautiful here – really spinning out some imaginative sounds on the keys, in a trio that also includes Christian Lakatos on bass and Dre Pallemaerts on drums! The set was recorded in Germany, but has that superb sound of the best Sawano label material – work that really advances that strong commitment to piano trio modes that the Japanese scene had in the 70s, but with a much wider-ranging array of global artists – most of whom, like Lakatos, are under-discovered and get great exposure from the label. Titles include "LT", "Giggin", "Confirmation", "Here There & Everywhere", "Bolivia", "But Not For Me", and "Szakcissimo". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest records ever recorded by vocalist Lorez Alexandria – and a perfect summation of her rich talents as a singer! Backing is by a small Chicago trio that includes John Young on piano, Vernel Fournier on drums, and George Eskridge on bass – but the arrangements of the tracks, and Lorez's unique interpretations drive the tunes into territory that's surprisingly advanced for the 1962 date of the session. You'll recognize most of the tunes – but as the old adage goes, it's not the song, but the singer – and you'll hear Lorez crafting a rich tapestry of sound and emotion from titles like "No Moon At All", "I Was A Fool", "Detour Ahead", "Travlin Light", and "I Want To Talk About You". The album's a gem – right up there with her best work ever – and it's an essential CD reissue that won't be on the market for long! CD

Two albums by one of the greatest jazz vocalists of all time! Early In The Morning is a very hip affair – recorded with the Ramsey Lewis Trio backing her up on one side, and a group led by Frank Foster on another – both playing in a tight soul jazz mode that works perfectly for Lorez's great voice, and which takes her way past the straighter style of the King recordings. Includes a version of Louis Jordan's "Early In The Morning", plus "So Long", "Don't Explain", "Baby Don't You Cry", and "Rocks In My Bed". Deep Roots is like hearing Lorez in a smoky club on the south side of Chicago – a perfect summation of her rich talents as a singer! Backing is by a small Chicago trio that includes John Young on piano, Vernel Fournier on drums, and George Eskridge on bass – but the arrangements of the tracks, and Lorez's unique interpretations drive the tunes into territory that's surprisingly advanced for the 1962 date of the session. You'll recognize most of the tunes – but as the old adage goes, it's not the song, but the singer – and you'll hear Lorez crafting a rich tapestry of sound and emotion from titles like "No Moon At All", "I Was A Fool", "Detour Ahead", "Travlin Light", and "I Want To Talk About You". CD

Key material from Davis' first few years at Prestige – about as classic as you can get from Miles' early period – with a great sextet that include Sonny Rollins on tenor, Jackie McLean on alto, Walter Bishop on piano, Tommy Potter on bass and Art Blakey on drums. One of the first bop recordings to afford the players room to stretch out because of advances in recording technology, this set includes the classic "Dig", a great reading of "It's Only A Paper Moon", plus "Denial", "Conception", "Bluing", "My Old Flame", and "Out Of The Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

Lean, righteous blowing from the legendary Frank Foster – one of a handful of extremely hip sessions he cut in the 60s under his own name! The album's the only record Foster ever did for Blue Note – and we dare say it's even better than his previous 60s work on Prestige and Impulse – with a quality that's even darker, even deeper, even more advanced from his earlier years with Basie. There's a rolling, joyous groove to many numbers – that late 60s take on soul jazz that made for so many great tracks on albums by Hank Mobley or Lee Morgan near the end of the decade. Foster keeps things tight, but he's also got an expansive vision too – an edge in the horns that points the way towards some of the chances he'd take in the 70s, but which is still wrapped around a leanly leaping soul jazz groove! Foster wrote 5 of the 6 tracks on the album, and he's working here with a sextet that includes Garnett Brown on trombone, Marvin Stamm on trumpet, and Richard Wyands on piano, who brings in some offbeat notes and colors throughout. Rhythm is by the excellent team of Bob Cranshaw on bass and Mickey Roker on drums – and titles include "Seventh Avenue Bill", "Stammpede", "Little Miss No Nose", "Manhattan Fever", and "Loneliness". Added to the core album is a full bonus album – recorded by Foster nearly a year after the first, and even more far-reaching! There's a quality to the date that mixes together Frank's previous soulful vamping with some more introspective, more lyrical moments – almost modern at times, but not entirely so – and played by a septet that includes Ed Pazant on alto and flute, Burt Collins on trumpet, George Cables on piano, and Jimmy Cleveland on trombone. Foster himself plays a bit of alto clarinet alongside his usual tenor – and titles include "Fly By Night", "Slug's Bag", "What's New From The Monster Mill", and "Hip Shakin". CD

Great later work from vocalist Alberta Hunter – a really well-recorded 70s session that was also done as a soundtrack – but which stands beautifully on its own! Backings here are by a great small combo, led by tenorist Budd Johnson and pianist Gerald Cook – with some nicely bluesy touches from Wally Richardson on guitar, plus trad horn lines from Vic Dickenson on trombone and Doc Cheatham on trumpet. Hunter's vocals are great – raspy enough to underscore her age and experience, yet wonderfully fluid as well – hardly dimmed at all by her advanced years. Titles include "I've Got A Mind To Ramble", "Workin Man", "You Reap Just What You Sow", "The Love I Have For You", "Chirpin The Blues", and "Some Sweet Day". LP, Vinyl record album

DualDisc audio is advanced resolution 96khz/24 bit stereo sound and Dolby stereo sound. DVD side of the disc has three videos "Blues From A Gun", "Her Way Of Praying" & "Head On". CD

DualDisc audio is advanced resolution 96khz/24 bit stereo sound and Dolby stereo sound. DVD side features the videos for "Darklands", "Happy When It Rains" & "April Skies". CD

A huge record in its day and it hasn't aged a minute since! On Psychocandy the Reid brothers took all the underground Brit indie psych revival modes and filtered them through the Velvet Underground at their noisiest, then paired melodies learned from sources as sweet as 60s Wall Of Sound pop and the Beach Boys to ferociously fuzzy guitars – and stunning found a way to spring this onto to fringes of the mainstream on both sides of the Atlantic! Hugely influential – a record that points the way towards sounds so many would soon follow. Titles include "In A Hole", "The Hardest Walk", "Taste The Floor", "Just Like Honey", "Never Understand", and "You Trip Me Up". DualDisc audio is advanced resolution 96khz/24 bit stereo sound and Dolby stereo sound. CD

An open, beautiful, and really well-recorded album from guitarist Lage Lund – a set that really lets all the careful tones and colors of his music come across beautifully – as he plays in a spacious trio with Matthew Brewer on bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums! Lage is always a chromatic master, but that quality seems even more foregrounded here, in a way that certainly marks Lund as one of the most distinct talents of his generation on guitar – and a player who really advances some of work of the important masters on his instrument, in ways that hits territory that they never would have even expected – yet all while working with a subtle sense of beauty that easily avoids any gimmicks or tricks. Titles include "Vashkar", "En La Orilla Del Mundo", "Bobby's Tune, "Ashes", "Everything Means Nothing To Me", and "Erato" LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet set of vocal tracks from Judy Roberts – a mix of original tunes and a few covers, all done with a warm fusiony style, and plenty of Brazilian touches! Judy's at the height of her powers here – partly jazzy, partly in a songstress mode that's inspired by the advances that female singers made during the 70s – stretching out in the new freedoms, but never forgetting the lyric, or a need to swing. Includes a great remake of Ivan Lins' "Common Ground", plus the tracks "Two & A Half", "Country Samba", "Save That Time", "Nights In Brazil", "I Can't Help It", and "Starlight Haunted Ballroom". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the most striking set in this ever-shifting series of releases from Matana Roberts – and one that shows his more advanced sonic sensibilities, in a mix of improvised jazz and more compositional settings! There's a vibe here that's almost like the more "serious" work of Roscoe Mitchell – at least in the way that reeds and strings interweave – yet Roberts, as always, brings a deeply personal approach to the music, with lots of shorter songs that weave more soulful elements amidst the avant expressions – which are served up by a lineup that includes Mike Pride on drums, Cory Smythe on piano, Darius Jones on alto, Mazz Swift on violin, and Mat Lavelle on alto clarinet and pocket trumpet. Kyp Malone brings in a bit of electronics, and there are vocalizations at points – on titles that include "A Caged Dance", "No Way Chastened", "Away Is Not An Option", "Shake My Bones", "Enthralled Not By Her Curious Blend", "Different Rings", "Predestined Confessions", and "We Said". CD

Four albums from this wonderful group – all brought together in a single set! First up is the self-titled Spanky & Our Gang – the first, and perhaps the most conventional album by the group, but still pretty darn insane! Spanky & Our Gang are a strange mix of 60s styles – with bits of We Five, bits of Harpers Bizarre, bits of The Association – but a totally strange and totally fun approach to pop that's very much their own. Cuts on the album are a mix of originals and covers – and highlights include the incredible "5 Definitions Of Love" by Bob Dorough, "Distance" by Joe Renzetti, "Commercial" by the band, and the track "It Ain't Necessarily Bird Avenue". Great groovy stuff – and with arrangements by Renzetti, Dorough, and Stuart Scharf. Like To Get To Know You is a tiny little pop masterpiece was produced and arranged by Stuart Scharf and the great Bob Dorough, and is filled with one of the grooviest approaches to pop we've heard in ages. The album includes the sublime hit "Like To Get To Know You", set in a very different LP setting – plus great versions of "Suzanne" and "Everybody's Talkin", and the cuts "Stardust", "The Swingin Gate", and "My Bill". Anything You Choose is the third movement in the fantastic pop symphony that is Spanky & Our Gang! The record's perhaps their oddest to date – and mixes groovy vocal stylings with some fairly advanced production approaches that work perfectly with the incredible songs written by Stuart Scharf and Bob Dorough. The voices swirl about in a mad rush – interweaving lines of melody and poetry, punctuated by strange sounds, spacey airy instrumentation, and wonderful little rhythms. Titles include "Anything You Choose", "1-3-5-8", "Without Rhyme Or Reason", "Give A Damn", and "Nowhere To Go". Live is an unusual album from this groovy group – especially given that most of their famous work was in the studio – and done with really inventive arrangements and production! Yet those qualities still come through here, even in a live setting – as the record's got this stripped-down approach that shows just how much of the group's own inventive vocal interplay and harmonies were part of their fantastically groovy style! Titles include "Wasn't It You", "Dirty Old Man", "The Klan", "Nagasaki", "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight", and "That's What You Get For Lovin Me". CD

Sounds beyond compare – one of those really special 70s sessions from the Japanese Three Blind Mice label – put together in a way that almost seems to be a genre unto itself! The group here have a keen understanding of advances in free jazz and fusion, but work with a deeper spiritual undercurrent and a great sense of sound (shaped by producer Takashi "Tee" Fujii) – so that their individual instrumental elements flow together in rich new ways that are sometimes subtle, sometimes quite righteous! The lineup shifts a bit from track to track – and the set features xcellent work on flute and bass clarinet from Kenji Mori, electric piano from Masaru Imada, tenor from Takao Uematsu, and bass and cello from Nobuyoshi Ino. Titles include "End Of November", "Mort", "Our Foolish", and "Dragon Garden". CD

Looking for the magic? There's plenty of it here – a really magical blend of 70s American groups who were working in territory that was neither classic rock, nor punk, nor prog, metal, or other big styles at the time – hitting a unique blend of modes that was partly a revival of simpler styles of earlier years in rock music, but also embracing some of the more advanced studio and recording techniques of the time – catchy, yet never overtly commercial – but instantly appealing too! Phew – if it sounds like we're spinning a lot of plates at once, that's what it takes to come up with the special sound of these tracks – served up in a wonderfully-done collection that really opens up past some of the more obvious choices, and flies the power pop banner in some surprising territory that really works well. There's a massive 76 titles on the set, all presented with very detailed notes – with work from Eric Carmen, The Runaways, Cheap Trick, Andrew Gold, The Babys, Tommy Hoehn, Spitballs, The Moberlys, Grin, Bread, Flamin Groovies, Blue Ash, The Wackers, Stories, Crabby Appleton, Target, Tim Moore, Nils Lofgren, Sneakers, The Quick, Tuff Darts, 20/20, Cheese, The Names, Moon Martin, The Knack, Greg Kihn, and many others! CD

One of the greatest records ever recorded by vocalist Lorez Alexandria – and a perfect summation of her rich talents as a singer! Backing is by a small Chicago trio that includes John Young on piano, Vernel Fournier on drums, and George Eskridge on bass – but the arrangements of the tracks, and Lorez's unique interpretations drive the tunes into territory that's surprisingly advanced for the 1962 date of the session. You'll recognize most of the tunes – but as the old adage goes, it's not the song, but the singer – and you'll hear Lorez crafting a rich tapestry of sound and emotion from titles like "No Moon At All", "I Was A Fool", "Detour Ahead", "Travlin Light", and "I Want To Talk About You". The album's a gem – right up there with her best work ever! LP, Vinyl record album

Nice trio side from the rhythm section that fueled Miles' classic quintet. Ron, Herbie & Tony developed an advanced interplay backing Miles, almost telepathic, with just the right amount of space & a great harmonic underpinning, and this is one of the few trio sides they cut. Most of the tunes are penned by the members of the group, and include the great title track, "Dolphin Dance", "United Blues" & "Lawra". LP, Vinyl record album

Perhaps Donny Hathaway's greatest album from the 70s, and certainly the one with the most amazing arrangements! The record was Donny's last studio session, and it's got him working at a level that's far advanced from even his groundbreaking earlier work – using complicated rhythms and sophisticated string passages – but also throwing in some killer jazzy bits that make for some of his funkiest work ever! The liner notes have Donny showing off his musical training in evaluations of the song structures, but the music alone should be enough to convince you this one is great! Includes "The Slums", a funky rollicking tune that is sort of a follow-up to "The Ghetto"; "Valdez In The Country", a totally catchy instrumental with loads of electric piano, and a very Bob James-esque sound; the jaunty "Flying Easy"; and the spiritual soul cuts "Someday We'll All be Free" and "I Love The Lord, He Heard My Cry (parts 1 & 2)". CD includes the bonus track "Lord Help Me". CD

Really great later work from Japanese music legend Haruomi Hosono – a set that's got a leaner, more contemporary take on some of his modes from before – definitely using some of the best advances in 90s technology, yet always with that great ear for space and timing that makes his music so great! The set's got plenty of beats, samples, and sly sonic touches – almost as if Hosono were trying to show the emerging downtempo generation that he got there long before – while also working with contributions from a lineup that includes Bill Laswell, Francois Kevorkian, and Yasuaki Shimizu. Titles include "Higher Flyer", "Edge Of The End", "Aero", "Strange Attractor", "Teaching Of Sphinx", and "Navigations". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic 70s work by Ahmad Jamal – the kind of record you look for for years, and are always disappointed when you end up buying a more straight-ahead session! The album features Jamal on both Fender Rhodes and acoustic piano – working in a trio format, plus percussion, with some occasional additional backgrounds arranged by Richard Evans. The tracks are long, loping, and with a very strong soul jazz approach that builds on Jamal's advances of the 60s. Titles include "Death & Resurrection", "Swahililand", "Eclipse", "Pastures", and "Dialogue". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful bit of soul jazz – much less trippy than some of Charles Lloyd's later work, and handled with a soulful flair that's a mix of Coltrane spiritualism, with an even larger dose of the sort of post-Trane experiments in jazz that would crop up during the early 70s on smaller independent labels – a scene that Lloyd really influenced with albums like this! The record's quite advanced for its time – and features Charles' tenor and flute next to piano by Don Friedman, bass by either Richard Davis or Eddie Khan, and drums by Roy Haynes or JC Moses – on titles that include Lloyd's classic "Forest Flower", plus "Little Peace", "Love Song to A Baby", "Sweet Georgia Bright", and "Bizarre". LP, Vinyl record album