Titles include "My Back Pages", "Mr. Spaceman", "It Happens Each Day", "Reputation", "I Am A Pilgrim", and "Draft Morning" – 24 tracks total. CD

Legendary sounds from the Staple Singers – a set of albums for Stax Records that really helped push the group from the gospel folk underground into the soul music mainstream – and which also helped transform the rest of the scene in the process! The Staple Singers had recorded previously for Vee Jay, Epic, and other labels – but when the group hit Stax, at a time when the label was newly set free in the late 60s, the mix of forces really turned out to create something special – message-oriented soul music that drew on the strength of the group's gospel experience, but delivered themes that were every bit as righteous from a secular perspective too – all set to music from the great studio forces who were making Stax so wonderful at the time! This set features six full albums, all from the original tapes – Soul Folk In Action, We'll Get Over, Staple Swingers, Be Altitude Respect Yourself, Be What You Are, and City In The Sky – plus a special Singles Live & More album of bonus tracks! Bonus tracks include "Stay With Us", "Brand New Day", "Walking In Water Over Your Head", "I Got To Be Myself", "Oh La De Da", and "Trippin On Your Love" – plus Live At Wattstax recordings of "I'll Take You There", "Respect Yourself", "Heavy Makes You Happy", "Are You Sure", and "I Like The Things About Me". Comes in a heavy box, with all original album sleeves, remastered from the original tapes. CD

A record with a very careful approach to sound – very slow-building work on soprano sax from Evan Parker, matched with equally thoughtful electronics from Matthew Wright – both players coming together in one of the most subtle executions of this mode we've ever heard! And that quality is only heightened by the fact that the group's a quartet – Peter Evans on trumpet and piccolo trumpet, and Mark Naussef on percussion – players who share the sensitivity of the dual leaders, as they build things up over long improvisations that really showcase that thoughtful sonic sensitivity that's always made Parker such a distinct reedman on the European scene. The whole thing is definitely a free jazz expression of electro/acoustic ideals first forged in the middle of the 20th Century – and titles include "At Altitude", "Drawing Breath", and "Engaged In Seeking". CD

One of the most ambitious recordings in the excellent Jazz Is Dead series – and one that marks a long-overdue return for Garrett Sarracho – an artist who gave the world the excellent En Medio album for Impulse Records in the early 70s – but who has mostly kept his talents underground for the past few decades! Here, Saracho is really majestic on piano – and brings in all sorts of currents from Latin jazz, which makes for a very different sound than some of the leaner records in this series – heavy percussion, soaring horns, and all sorts of other wonderful elements – served up next to the core contributions of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. The duo have definitely let Sarracho loose to explore his own musical vision, and the record is very much his own – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Trucha", "The Gardens", "Altitude", "White Buffalo", "Sabor Del Ritmo", "El Cambio Es Neccesario", "73", and "Calo". CD

One of the most ambitious recordings in the excellent Jazz Is Dead series – and one that marks a long-overdue return for Garrett Sarracho – an artist who gave the world the excellent En Medio album for Impulse Records in the early 70s – but who has mostly kept his talents underground for the past few decades! Here, Saracho is really majestic on piano – and brings in all sorts of currents from Latin jazz, which makes for a very different sound than some of the leaner records in this series – heavy percussion, soaring horns, and all sorts of other wonderful elements – served up next to the core contributions of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. The duo have definitely let Sarracho loose to explore his own musical vision, and the record is very much his own – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Trucha", "The Gardens", "Altitude", "White Buffalo", "Sabor Del Ritmo", "El Cambio Es Neccesario", "73", and "Calo". LP, Vinyl record album

Spacey, funky, and totally groovy genius from the rare French Patchwork sound library label – an imprint that's even more obscure than some of the other European companies that have been dug for grooves in recent years – presented here with a specially selected collection of some of the coolest cuts on the label! Some tracks here have a great sense of space and timing – not just full-on instrumentation in search of a groove, but moments that really take the right amount of time to build, maybe with more cinematic sensitivity, while still staying pretty darn groovy – and the mix of work here features both 70s electric and 80s digital elements in the mix – which also makes for a nice sense of variety too! Titles include "Riff" by P Dutour, "Footprints" by F Mercier, "Mind Level" by G Zadj & JP Decerf, "Cortina" by T Lasry, "Wave Form" by P Guiot & JP Guiot, "Constellation" by P Porte, "Floyd" by G Boulanger, and "Altitude" by C Perraudin. LP, Vinyl record album

About as classic as you can get with the Staple Singers – an album that was cut at that perfect moment when the group was forging an electric soul sound that would bring them high in the charts in the 70s – filled with all the righteousness of their gospel years, but also touched with elements like electric piano and funky rhythm, which give the whole thing as very secular groove! The approach is wonderful – soaring in spirit, but nice and earthy at the core – heard perfectly on their funky version of "Who Do You Think You Are", with a very samplable intro – alongside other gems that include "Respect Yourself", "This World", "We The People", and "I'm Just Another Soldier". LP, Vinyl record album

Ralph Bowen on tenor sax, Jon Herington on piano, Jim Beard on piano, Anthony Jackson on bass guitar, ande Ben Perowsky on drums. All tracks are originals by Bowen, including "Convergence", "Just Reconnoitering", "Thru Traffic", and "Altitudes". CD