A stunning hardbop set from drummer Shelly Manne – a player most folks associate with more arranged jazz, or cooler modes of the LA scene of the 50s – but a player who was already starting to open up and forge new roads by the end of that decade! Shelly became a surprising proponent of hardbop modes with a few key records like this – and the live setting has Manne leading a great group with really searing solo work that's very different than west coast cool jazz modes normally associated with both the drummer and the Contemporary label! The album features key work from trumpeter Joe Gordon – stunning work, recorded in the years before his too-soon death – and tenorist Richie Kamuca really opens up too – in a combo that also has Victor Feldman on piano and Monty Budwig on bass – going through very long tunes that are filled with extended solo space. Tracks on this first volume include "Summertime", "Our Delight", "Poinciana", "Blue Daniel", and "Theme From A Gem From Tiffany". CD

A stunning hardbop set from drummer Shelly Manne – a player most folks associate with more arranged jazz, or cooler modes of the LA scene of the 50s – but a player who was already starting to open up and forge new roads by the end of that decade! Shelly became a surprising proponent of hardbop modes with a few key records like this – and the live setting has Manne leading a great group with really searing solo work that's very different than west coast cool jazz modes normally associated with both the drummer and the Contemporary label! The album features key work from trumpeter Joe Gordon – stunning work, recorded in the years before his too-soon death – and tenorist Richie Kamuca really opens up too – in a combo that also has Victor Feldman on piano and Monty Budwig on bass – going through very long tunes that are filled with extended solo space. Tracks on this first volume include "Summertime", "Our Delight", "Poinciana", "Blue Daniel", and "Theme From A Gem From Tiffany". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of 70s gems from Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes! Black & Blue is classic Philly soul from Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – a killer batch of studio tracks, despite the live image of the group on the cover! The album's got a slightly more expansive feel than some of the other Teddy Pendergrass-era albums by The Blue Notes – almost a mini-symphony of soul, and one that takes arrangements from Bobby Martin, Norman Harris, and Vince Montana – and wraps the vocals up in a soaring, righteous sort of feel! The rougher, more personal Teddy Pendergrass style of I Miss You is folded a bit more into the harmonies of the rest of the group here – and the result is a powerful wave of soul that pushes The Blue Notes right to the top of the pack. The album features classics like "The Love I Lost" and "Is There A Place For Me" – plus other nice material like "Concentrate On Me", "It All Depends On You", and "I'm Weak For You". On Wake Up Everybody, Teddy Pendergrass and crew get a bit more political than on earlier releases, and adopt the righteous bubbling soul groove that had put the O'Jays over the top a few years earlier – with incredible results! The title cut – "Wake Up Everybody" – would prove to be a great example of the political Philly International hit formula applied to socially conscious themes, but the record probably scored even bigger with the club crossover hit "Don't Leave Me This Way". Other tracks include "Keep On Lovin You", "Tell The World How I Feel About Cha Baby", "I'm Searching For A Love", and "You Know How To Make Me Feel So Good" – the latter two of which also feature female vocals by Sharon Paige. Bobby Martin, Norman Harris, and Ronnie Baker did the arrangements – and this was Teddy's last LP with the group. CD

An Italian prog classic from the New Trolls – a group who sing in English throughout, and work with a quality that makes us wonder why this set never broke big on the British or American scenes of the 70s! The record's got a very special vibe right from the start – a blend of acoustic guitar and stronger electric elements – served up in modes that use the acoustic instrument to underscore some of the darker, personal currents in the lyrics – almost a departed spirit that seems to leave the singer in this soul-searching position that really colors the tunes. Other instrumentation is a blend of heady guitars, keyboards, and drums – but often used in these really thoughtful ways – not just jamming for jamming's sake, and instead balanced with the lyrics in a very careful manner. Titles include "St Peter's Day", "Percival", "Searching", "Giga", "Bright Lights", "Lying Here", and "A Land To Live A Land To Die". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning hardbop set from drummer Shelly Manne – a player most folks associate with more arranged jazz, or cooler modes of the LA scene of the 50s – but a player who was already starting to open up and forge new roads by the end of that decade! Shelly became a surprising proponent of hardbop modes with a few key records like this – and the live setting has Manne leading a great group with really searing solo work that's very different than west coast cool jazz modes normally associated with both the drummer and the Contemporary label! The album features key work from trumpeter Joe Gordon – stunning work, recorded in the years before his too-soon death – and tenorist Richie Kamuca really opens up too – in a combo that also has Victor Feldman on piano and Monty Budwig on bass – going through very long tunes that are filled with extended solo space. Tracks on this fifth volume include "Pullin Strings", "Eclipse Of Spain", "Wonder Why", "This Is Always", and "How Deep Are The Roots". CD

One of the greatest Sam Rivers albums we've heard in years – a really compelling little set that has Sam playing in a relatively straight manner, and working alongside vibes-based Bryan Carrott trio! The mix of vibes, bass, and drums is a great accompaniment to Rivers' searching work on tenor, soprano sax, and flute – and many of the tunes have a slightly modal approach that keeps things rhythmic, and which seems to deepen Rivers' sense of soul a bit more than usual. A few tracks go a bit out, but there's a nicely straight feel to most of the numbers – and titles include "Solace", "The Mooche", "In Search Of Black Benny", "Moderation", "Space", "Abalone", and "Captain America". CD

A stunning hardbop set from drummer Shelly Manne – a player most folks associate with more arranged jazz, or cooler modes of the LA scene of the 50s – but a player who was already starting to open up and forge new roads by the end of that decade! Shelly became a surprising proponent of hardbop modes with a few key records like this – and the live setting has Manne leading a great group with really searing solo work that's very different than west coast cool jazz modes normally associated with both the drummer and the Contemporary label! The album features key work from trumpeter Joe Gordon – stunning work, recorded in the years before his too-soon death – and tenorist Richie Kamuca really opens up too – in a combo that also has Victor Feldman on piano and Monty Budwig on bass – going through very long tunes that are filled with extended solo space. Tracks on this fourth volume include "Cabu", "Just Squeeze Me", and "Nightingale". LP, Vinyl record album

5 albums from Lee Morgan – one of the coolest cats to ever handle a trumpet for Blue Note! First up is Delightfulee – really unique album from the great Lee Morgan – a set that features the trumpeter in two different settings, but in a way that really works well together! Most of the album has Lee blowing in a very cool quintet – with Joe Henderson on tenor, McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – a group who maybe bring out a slightly hipper vibe that really points the way to the rest of Morgan's direction in the late 60s, when he was really letting some more spiritual currents loose. The other two tracks on the record feature a hip larger band directed by Oliver Nelson – swinging hard in a really soulful style! Nelson's arrangements on these two tracks are great – quite progressive, with a soul jazz big band style that seems to point the way towards the 70s – and the band provides a raging backdrop that lets Lee's trumpet soar over the top in beautiful crystal clear solos. Titles include "Nite Flite", "Delightful Deggie", "Ca-Lee-So", and "Zambia". Also features a few bonus tracks. The Cooker is a very appropriate title for a very cooking little album – one of Lee Morgan's first efforts as a leader, cut back during his first years of late 50s fame! The style here is a bit less Morgan-esque than some of Lee's later 60s classics – but the record is rock-solid throughout, and proof that Morgan was every bit as great a leader in a hardbop session as Hank Mobley or some of the other emerging heavyweights at Blue Note! The strength of the group really helps keep the fire stoked on the set – and Bobby Timmons turns in some amazing piano work alongside a lineup that includes Pepper Adams on baritone sax, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The Adams presence gives the record a bit of the feel of some of Pepper's sessions with Donald Byrd – but the sparkling, soaring sound of Morgan makes the record way more than just a copycat set. Titles include "New-Ma", "Night In Tunisia", "Lover Man", "Just One Of Those Things", and "Heavy Dipper". Lee Way is an undisputed masterpiece by Lee Morgan – and one of the first records in which he shed his straight bop sensibility, and began evolving into a soulful genius for the 60s! The album's got 4 long tracks that all build beautifully – really extended numbers that break the format of some of Lee's earlier work, and hint a bit at some of the more complicated touches he'd use on later sessions. All players are great – and include fellow Jazz Messengers Bobby Timmons on piano and Art Blakey on drums, plus Jackie McLean on alto and Paul Chambers on bass. Titles include the sublime "These Are Soulful Days" – a perfect model of soulful lyricism – plus "Midtown Blues", "Nakatini Suite", and "The Lion & The Wolff". Rumproller often gets too easily lumped next to The Sidewinder – because of an obvious title and cover similarity to that hit record – but like that one, the album's far more than jazz cliche – and shows Lee Morgan to be one of the greatest jazz musicians of the 60s. The set starts off with the title cut, "The Rumproller" – hard-wailing soul bop, in the manner of Lee's most popular work – but then it easily flows into more sensitive material that has a freer, lyrical feel – like the great original tune "Eclipso" and Wayne Shorter's "Edda" – both of which are superb. Lee is astounding, as always, on trumpet – and the rest of the group includes the great Ronnie Matthews on piano, plus Joe Henderson, Victor Sproles, and Billy Higgins. Search For The New Land is a brilliant album that proves that even at the height of his success, Lee Morgan was one of the freest thinkers on Blue Note – always coming up with fresh ideas that continued to grow his talents! The first cut on the album is keen poof of that fact – the title track "Search For The New Land" – a beautiful 16 minute exploration of modal jazz themes, with an unusual stop/start device as a means of ushering solos by different bandmates – including Wayne Shorter on tenor, Grant Green on guitar, and Herbie Hancock on piano! The approach is unlike anything that Morgan ever did before – and unlike most of other Blue Note as well – and it also benefits from great rhythmic help from Reggie Workman on bass and Billy Higgins on drums. Other tunes are a bit more conventional, but still pretty special – like some of Morgan's inventive work on the Rajah albums – with titles that include "The Joker", "Melancholee", "Mr. Kenyatta" and "Morgan The Pirate". CD

A never-issued performance recorded in Tokyo in the mid 80s – searing duets between German reed giant Peter Brotzman and drummer Sabu Toyozumi! We love Sabu's records from the 80s, and his sense of timing and space really seems to open Brotzmann up here – with a vibe that's almost more organic and personal than some of his European records of the time, and an amazing sense of tone that almost feels as if he's channeling a bit of Akira Sakata while blowing tenor and tarogato! All tunes are improvised, but have a wonderfully cohesive vibe that matches their intensity – on titles that include "Toh Ro", "Yuh-Ru Yuru", "Membrane System", "Peter & Sabu's Points", "Depth Of Focus", and "Spinal Column". CD

Two rare albums from Uncle Victor Chukwu – a hell of a guitarist, and the driving force behind both of these Nigerian gems from the late 70s! Akalaka is a record that's maybe higlife in outward appearance, but which has a very different quality overall – in part because the guitar work from Victor Chukwu is so sharp and searing, there's often a bit more edge on some of the tunes than the lighter, brighter notes you'd usually associate with the genre! Plus, the vocals have this nicely echoey vibe – ringing out with a quality that's equally great, whether the lyrics are in English or Igbo – on long titles that include "Akalaka", "Born Throw Away", "Ogbu Mmadu", and "Nwanne Bu Nwanne". Next up is an album that Victor Chukwu did with the Black Irokos group – a set that's even more striking, and almost experimental at times – with all these odd elements played right down near the bottom of the guitar strings, which are then echoed out with effects that make them sound very cool next to the percussion! There's a bit of horns in the mix, but the guitar and offbeat vocals are the main appeal – on the long tracks "Onwu Uwa", "Anya Ukwu", and "Oge Chukwu Ka Nma". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful return to acoustic soul jazz work for Wendell Harrison – after a string of more electrified albums in the 80s. Wendell's working here on tenor sax and clarinet – the latter of which he plays in these spiraling long lines that use the instrument in a searching, soprano sax-like manner – getting a sound that's really fantastic, and a depth of soul that really links the record back to the tradition of Wendell's work of the 70s. The group is great too – with players that include Kirk Lightsey and Pamela Wise on piano, Cecil McBee & Jaribu Shahid on bass, Doug Hammond on drums, and Robert Pipho on vibes – all working with Harrison on some creatively inventive tunes that sparkle with soulful energy! Titles include "Changing The Scene", "Merciful", "Fly By Night", "In Your Own Sweet Way", "Spank", and "Tons & Tons Of BS". CD

A beautiful return to acoustic jazz for Wendell Harrison – after a string of more electrified albums in the 80s! Wendell's working here on tenor sax and clarinet – the latter of which he plays in these spiraling long lines that use the instrument in a searching, soprano sax-like manner – getting a sound that's really fantastic, and a depth of soul that really links the record back to the tradition of Wendell's work of the 70s. The group is great too – with players that include Kirk Lightsey and Pamela Wise on piano, Cecil McBee and Jaribu Shahid on bass, Doug Hammond on drums, and Robert Pipho on vibes – all working with Harrison on some creatively inventive tunes that sparkle with soulful energy! Titles include "Changing The Scene", "Merciful", "Fly By Night", "In Your Own Sweet Way", "Spank", and "Tons & Tons Of BS". LP, Vinyl record album

A never-issued live performance from the legendary Japanese drummer Motohiko Hino – recorded live in concert, originally by the Three Blind Mice label – yet a date that's a lot more freewheeling than most of the more familiar studio material from TBM! All the tracks are long, soaring, and searching – very spiritual in nature, and kicked off with long solo work from Hino, as he builds up energy and then welcomes in the rest of the group – a killer lineup that features two tenors, one in each channel – Mabumi Yamaguchi and Yasuaki Shimizu – plus nicely raw guitar work from Kazumi Watanabe, very different than his tighter albums of later years – as well as bass from Nobuyoshi Ino and percussion from Yuji Imamura. Titles include "Olive's Step", "Flying Clouds", and "Running Water". LP, Vinyl record album

Motor City madness from the MC5 – a searing batch of work that still has the groups kicking out the jams whenever possible! Guitars are fuzzy, freaky, and full-on – played with plenty of force by Fred Smith and Wayne Cramer, and driven home with some heavy drums by Dennis Thompson – almost a blues into funk approach, via hard rock – and definitely standard-setting work for the time. The album's often overlooked in favor of their debut, but it's well worth seeking out – and features tracks that include "Future/Now", "Skunk (Sonicly Speaking)", "Poison", "Gotta Keep Movin", and "Sister Anne". LP, Vinyl record album

Two rare albums from Uncle Victor Chukwu – a hell of a guitarist, and the driving force behind both of these Nigerian gems from the late 70s! Akalaka is a record that's maybe higlife in outward appearance, but which has a very different quality overall – in part because the guitar work from Victor Chukwu is so sharp and searing, there's often a bit more edge on some of the tunes than the lighter, brighter notes you'd usually associate with the genre! Plus, the vocals have this nicely echoey vibe – ringing out with a quality that's equally great, whether the lyrics are in English or Igbo – on long titles that include "Akalaka", "Born Throw Away", "Ogbu Mmadu", and "Nwanne Bu Nwanne". Next up is an album that Victor Chukwu did with the Black Irokos group – a set that's even more striking, and almost experimental at times – with all these odd elements played right down near the bottom of the guitar strings, which are then echoed out with effects that make them sound very cool next to the percussion! There's a bit of horns in the mix, but the guitar and offbeat vocals are the main appeal – on the long tracks "Onwu Uwa", "Anya Ukwu", and "Oge Chukwu Ka Nma". CD

One long piece, played with searing intensity by the trio of Cene Resnik on tenor, Giorgio Pacorig on piano, and Mark Lasic on drums – joined here by Rob Mazurek on some great pocket trumpet too! The piece builds with this resonant interplay between all four forces in the quartet – and Mazurek sometimes steps back, to wait for his space, then provides just the right punctuation – in a manner that really reminds us of the way that he can be an improviser who's patient, but powerful too! CD

A fantastic CD collection – one that brings together all five volumes of Stereolab's Switched On albums in one set – a huge collection of unusual material and rare singles! On the original Switched On record, moog, fuzz, and farfisa have never sounded so great together – and although these guys drank deep of the well of 60s pop magic before making this modern-day classic – they also come off sounding pretty darn original on their own! When this gem of a record first hit the world, it was as if all of us were hearing music from the cosmos for years, but could never find a way to make it part of our everyday lives. Then along come Tim Gane, Laetitia Sadier, and crew – and completely change the world for the better! An album that no home should be without – with titles that include "Contact", "Super-Electric", "Doubt", "Brittle", "Au Grand Jour", "The Way Will Be Opening", and "Changer". Refried Ectoplasm is the second in the holy trinity of "switched on" albums from Stereolab – a set that collects together all the unusual recordings and other side bits the group were doing in the early years of their career – standing strong as a testament to their non-stop efforts to forever push the boundaries of electric fuzzy pop! The vocals Laetitia Sadier are completely sublime – almost a bridge between the darker modes of the previous pop generation and all the new ideas of the world to come – when the rest of rock music would finally catch up to these guys, and realize that the best path to the future is through the past! Titles include "Farfisa", "John Cage Bubblegum", "Tempter", "Exploding Head Movie", "French Disko", "Harmonium", "Revox", "Mountain", and "Sadistic". By the time of Aluminum Tunes (Switched On Vol 3) – it had only been a few years since the previous Switched On set, but Stereolab had already created so much musical magic, they needed a double-length record to keep the whole thing intact! The sound here is somehow getting even more dreamy and wonderful – definitely showing their work with the mighty Sean O'Hagan, and also really opening up into all the many musical ideas that Tim Gane was picking up from his never-ending search for unusual records! The 60s swirl through time and space, and make the future sound even better than we could have imagined it – while the Channel is drained, and England and France become one in a genius marriage of pure pop modes. Titles include "The Extension Trip", "How To Play Your Internal Organs Overnight", "Space Moment", "Iron Man", "The Long Hair Of Death", "One Note Samba/Surfboard", "Percolations", "1000 Miles An Hour", "Klang Tone", and a great take on the theme to "Get Carter". Switched On 4 is full of fantastic sounds from Stereolab – an assortment of rare singles and other unusual recordings that were mostly issued on their own Duophonic label, and which are far more obscure than their bigger label albums during the same period! Even though Stereolab gave the world some undeniable classics in the late 90s and early 00s, they were also working endlessly, and seemed to record more than they could ever fit on a full length set – which resulted in all the cool singles, limited releases, and other material included here – not dusty tapes pulled from the archives, but beautiful work that often returns the group to all the space age charms of their first few records! The package is huge – 25 tracks in all, of varying length – and titles include "Barok Plastik", "Calimero", "Fried Monkey Eggs (voc)", "Solar Throw Away", "Variation One", "Monkey Jelly", "Explosante Fixe", "Jump Drive Shut Out", "The Super-It", "L'Exotisme Interieur", "Pandora's Box Of Worms", "Retrograde Mirror Form", "Nomus E Phusis", "I Feel The Air Of Another Planet", "Outer Bongolia", and "Intervals". Includes tracks from Duophonic 45s, Underground Is Coming EP, Moog, First Of The Microbe Hunters, and work from compilations, unreleased tracks, and even a collaboration with Brigitte Fontaine! Switched On 5 is maybe the coolest entry so far in this really wonderful series – a set that's overflowing with rare and unusual work from Stereolab – most of it done at a time when the group were riding high on a major label, but still managed to issued a huge amount of music on their own, and work in a variety of collaborative settings too! One of our favorite is their work with Nurse With Wound, and tracks from that partnership begin this set – which then moves into rare singles, work with artists, compilation contributions, and plenty more – all with the usual Stereolab charm, but often with a nicely different vibe too! Titles include "Simple Headphone Mind", "Symbolic Logic Of Now", "Magne Music", "Forensic Itch", "Spool Of Collusion", "Robot Riot", "Trippin With The Birds", "Cybele's Reverie (live)", "Nth Degrees, "Refractions In The Plastic Pulse (Autechre Feebate mix)", and "Plastic Mile (original version)". CD

A never-issued live performance from the legendary Japanese drummer Motohiko Hino – recorded live in concert, originally by the Three Blind Mice label – yet a date that's a lot more freewheeling than most of the more familiar studio material from TBM! All the tracks are long, soaring, and searching – very spiritual in nature, and kicked off with long solo work from Hino, as he builds up energy and then welcomes in the rest of the group – a killer lineup that features two tenors, one in each channel – Mabumi Yamaguchi and Yasuaki Shimizu – plus nicely raw guitar work from Kazumi Watanabe, very different than his tighter albums of later years – as well as bass from Nobuyoshi Ino and percussion from Yuji Imamura. Titles include "Olive's Step", "Flying Clouds", and "Running Water". CD

Motor City madness from the MC5 – a searing batch of work that still has the groups kicking out the jams whenever possible! Guitars are fuzzy, freaky, and full-on – played with plenty of force by Fred Smith and Wayne Cramer, and driven home with some heavy drums by Dennis Thompson – almost a blues into funk approach, via hard rock – and definitely standard-setting work for the time. The album's often overlooked in favor of their debut, but it's well worth seeking out – and features tracks that include "Future/Now", "Skunk (Sonicly Speaking)", "Poison", "Gotta Keep Movin", and "Sister Anne". CD