Fantastic fusion from 70s Spain – a set that's maybe equal part jazz and rock – although very different than some of the more jamming prog of the time! Instead, these guys have a great sense of space – so that the guitar of Napi Carratala is used judiciously, and really gives way to these well-crafted solos on alto and tenor from Alain Fabrizio – a player who could easily fit into a more spiritual jazz-styled lineup, but who here adds just the right dose of soulfulness to a record that might have been a lot more cold without his performance! Other players include Pedro Barcelo on drums and Chiqui Navarret on bass – and titles include "Viaje A Prantia", "El Baron De Finestrat", "Tijal", "Cuando El Coco Se Viste De Gris", and "El Caminito Que No Mola". CD

Fantastic fusion from 70s Spain – a set that's maybe equal part jazz and rock – although very different than some of the more jamming prog of the time! Instead, these guys have a great sense of space – so that the guitar of Napi Carratala is used judiciously, and really gives way to these well-crafted solos on alto and tenor from Alain Fabrizio – a player who could easily fit into a more spiritual jazz-styled lineup, but who here adds just the right dose of soulfulness to a record that might have been a lot more cold without his performance! Other players include Pedro Barcelo on drums and Chiqui Navarret on bass – and titles include "Viaje A Prantia", "El Baron De Finestrat", "Tijal", "Cuando El Coco Se Viste De Gris", and "El Caminito Que No Mola". LP, Vinyl record album

Groovier than you might think – with cuts that include "Taffy", "LB Blues", "I'll Always Love You", and "Rockville". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes Pixinguinha and Joao Da Bahiana on tracks "Os Oito Batutuas", "Elizete No Chorinho", "Batuque Na Cozinha". CD

A stunning set of work from the great Jackie DeShannon – easily one of the hippest singer/songwriters of the 60s! Jackie rose to great fame in the previous decade, and by the 70s was recording for Atlantic Records – a great fit, given the soulful undercurrent in her music. Yet for some reason, these tracks, which were intended to become her second album for the label, were never issued at the time – and only half the material here has ever seen the light of day over the years. Jackie's got this nicely matured style here – some folksy roots, a bit of country twang at times – but mostly that more adult, sophisticated approach that moved past her previous pop to a world of deeper themes and ideas. Rhino issued some of these tracks, and one of them was a single back in the 70s – but this is the first time that all numbers are gathered together – along with some excellent duets with Van Morrison too! Core DeShannon titles include "Easy Evil", "Sweet Soul Singer", "Free The People", "Spare Me A Little Of Your Love", "If You Like My Music", "Hydra", and "Drift Away" – and the four duets with Van Morrison include "Sweet Sixteen", "Flamingos Fly", "Santa Fe", and "The Wonder Of You". Also includes a bonus Coca-Cola commercial at the end! CD

With Ico Manzanero. 12-inch, Vinyl record

A seminal early album from Ian Dury – recorded before his funky dancefloor crossover work, and a key link between those sides and his earlier pub rock years. Dury's wonderfully deadpan vocal approach is already very firmly in place – and in fact perhaps sounds even more disaffected next to the heady guitars and stiffly strutting instrumentation of the set. Chaz Jankel's just developing his bassy style at this point – soon to explode more strongly on later work – but the core sound is very firmly in place on the set! Titles include "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll", "My Old Man", "Wake Up & Make Love With Me", "Clever Trevor", "If I Was A Woman", "Sweet Gene Vincent", "Billericay Dickie" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The genius first album from Felt – a record that really stood apart from most of the UK post-punk scene of the time – even though it was to have a huge impact on British music in years to come! The approach here is almost psychedelic – with tracks that move past 3 minutes, and feature lots of long, introspective passages on guitar – but the production and presentation is definitely of the moment, too – as the set was produced by John Rivers, who'd helped Swell Maps get their unique sound – which really brings a starkness to the record that's not only beautiful, but which sounds completely unlike anything that came before. Titles include "Evergreen Dazed", "Fortune", "Cathedral", "I Worship The Sun", "Birdmen", and "Templeroy". CD

A great set of biguine rhythms from keyboardist Francisco! LP, Vinyl record album

With Cipher Jewels on "Prang!". 12-inch, Vinyl record

Classical and pop hits on the harp! LP, Vinyl record album

A treasure trove of music from one of the hippest jazz players ever – the legendary Rufus Harley, a saxophonist by trade, but one who could also play the bagpipes as well! Harley had a really unique way of using the bagpipes as a free-flowing modal soloing instrument – one that's clearly influenced by the best work of John Coltrane in the early 60s, and which really takes the instrument back to its original pre-Scottish roots in Africa! This wonderful set brings together 4 of Harley's best albums ever – Bagpipe Blues, Tribute To Courage, Kings/Queens, and Scotch & Soul – all gems recorded for Atlantic Records in the 60s, and which are presented here with 2 bonus tracks as well! Harley plays both bagpipes and saxophone on the record – the latter in a way that's equally compelling as the former – and the 2CD set features a whopping 28 tracks in all, supported by liner notes and other details. Titles include "Ali", "Where Have All The Flowers Gone", "Pipin The Blues", "Sufur", "Scotch & Soul", "Feeling Good", "Taurus The 20th", "Bagpipe Blues", "Kerry Dancers", "More", "Sunny", "A Tribute To Courage", "About Trane", "Eight Miles High", and "Love Is Blue". CD

Never-issued live material from one of our favorite jazz musicians of all time – the mighty Billy Harper, a tenor saxophonist who took the initial legacy of John Coltrane, then really ran with it in the 70s! The album is stunning right from the very first note – a perfect encapsulation of the way that Harper worked at his best – balancing order and chaos, dark and light, all with a searing, searching style that was brimming over with a sense of righteous mission! The group features the tremendous Virgil Jones on trumpet – making a really spectacular appearance, and showing the hippest side of his talents – next to Joe Bonner on piano, David Friesen on bass, and Malcolm Pinson on drums – an unusual group for Harper, and one that really makes the album stand out from his other gems of the 70s. The set was recorded live at the jazz festival in Antibes in 1975 – and each side of the record features an extended performance of a key Harper tune – the soaring "Cry Of Hunger", and the pulsating rhythmic tune "Croquet Ballet", which was first debuted on Lee Morgan's last session. LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Shanti Paul Jayasinha on trumpet, Patrick Clahar and Tim Garland on tenor sax, John Crawford on piano, Andres Lafone on bass guitar, Davide Giovannini on drums, and Alex Wilson on Fender Rhodes and Hammond B3. CD

An insanely deep look at the rise of the "new romantics" on the British music scene at the end of the 70s – a book that's bigger than most we've seen on more "classic" rock figures and moments – and which really takes its project seriously! The book starts way before the early 80s pop hits that pushed the music on a global scene – and starts instead in the years before punk, when embers of glam and art rock were cooling down, and allowing some new ideas to rise up on the scene – artists and musicians who were carefully threading their way through the bigger waves of the late 70s, before finally getting their due in a huge moment at the start of the 80s. All the big names are covered here – Depeche Mode, Ultravox, Wham, Soft Cell, and many others – but Dylan Jones also really stretches the net wide, and does a great job of situating the music, and showing its influence at a level that's way different than any might have predicted at the time! The book is almost 700 pages, hardcover, with a big section of notes in the middle. Book

... CD

One of our favorites by King Crimson – and a record with a lot more jazz than some of their others! Players include Mel Collins on lots of flutes and saxes – plus guests Keith Tippett on piano, Mark Charig on cornet, and Harry Miller on bass! LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection – 7 full albums from Kleeer, plus a full disc of bonus material too! First up is I Love To Dance – the first-ever album from Kleeer – and a set that's already got them head and shoulders above most of their contemporaries! The set's got just a bit of the keyboards that would later really define the Kleeer sound – and has some surprising disco elements, too – used by the quartet as a way to step away from the overblown mainstream of the time, into a groove that's leaner and cleaner for the next generation! Winners is a record that really has the group solidifying their sound – compressing keyboards, guitar, and grooves together in a sublimely boogie-heavy mode! Kleeer were really at the forefront of the coming 80s groove scene – and Woody Cunningham and the group draw heavily here from their previous experience with Patrick Adams, yet move into a smoother, tighter finish that set a new standard for the coming generation. License To Dream is seminal 80s work from Kleeer – a really wonderful record with a sound that's a heck of a lot more soulful than some of the group's contemporaries! A lot of the credit here goes to singer/songwriter Woody Cunningham – whose lead vocals really give the album a wonderfully solid feel, and push Kleeer away from the cliches of the keyboard-heavy generation – into a mode that sports tight lyrics, heartfelt leads, and a well-rounded sound that mixes equal parts ballads and groovers. Taste The Music is a classic from Kleeer – one of the best groups of their sound at the time – as they always have a perfect blend of new-style rhythms and keyboards with old school approaches to deeper soul grooves! The album's nicely heavy on that extended keyboard vibe that seems to have added that extra "e" to the group's name – and the keys are often used to punctuate the chorus of the tunes, then lay things down for the next round of grooves – all in a style that's very much the group's own! Get Ready is a record that nicely balances their funkier side with a better talent for more soulful styled numbers! The cover's got an 80s "workout" look that makes you worry that the record might be some aerobic material – but the grooves are often far more complicated than that, and stream out with some nice keyboard lines on the best numbers. Intimate Connection is one of the group's standout classics, and a set that's produced with kind of a jazzy finish by Deodato, who also plays some nice keyboards on the record! The Kleeer sound is at its height here – tight, warm, and filled with great harmonies on the vocals – which are then underpinned by a lot of keyboards and bass pedal work, yet in a way that never overwhelms the vocals. On Seeekret, the triple "e" is the key to the album's sound – as Kleeer are still very much at the top of their game, and opening up nicely with that string "wheeet" sound they get on their keyboards! The album's one of their key 80s partnerships with Deodato – who really helps them balance their sound, and come across with a style that's surprisingly rich and soulful – way more so than some of the other beats and keyboard acts of the time! The set also features a bonus CD – with 15 more tracks that include single mixes, remixes, and instrumentals! CD

... CD

... CD

Incredible work by Edu Lobo – a watershed album that marked a whole new period of musical expression – not just for Lobo, but Brazil as well! The album picks up a post-bossa sound and moves it into the realm of baroque grooving – using complicated vocals and light guitar next to arrangements by Lobo and Hermeto Pascoal – some of which feature these great angular flute passages, others of which evoke a strange sense of dark sadness, while still creating a beautiful little melody. The whole thing's wonderful, and features guitar by Lobo, flute and piano from Pascoal, and percussion from Airto and Cladio Slon. Titles include "Zanzibar", "Casa Forte", "Cidade Nova", "Cantiga De Longe", "Aquaverde", and "Zum Zum". CD

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Produced by Timbaland. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Produced by Timbaland. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Two important improvising trios come together head to head in the transatlantic brilliance of Okka Disk Records in the 90s – recorded in a very unusual way that lets you clearly hear all the contributions of the members of the group! In the left channel stands AALY – a searing lineup of Mats Gustafsson on alto and tenor, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, and Kjell Nordeson on drums – and in the right channel stands DKV, with Ken Vandermark on tenor and bass clarinet, Kent Kessler on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums – a mighty meeting of musicians who are really at the top of their improvising game! Rather than come on head-to-head, it's amazing to hear the way that these well-matched trios open up to each other – especially the bassists and drummers, who are maybe less familiar in this setting than Vandermark and Gustafsson, who were an instantly amazing musical pair. The set begins with the original "Left To Right", then the group makes real magic over the course of 51 minutes, in a piece that offers variations on Albert Ayler's "Angels" and Don Cherry's "Awake Nu". CD

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

The start of a whole new chapter – with "Shoot To Thrill", "Rock & Roll Ain't Noise Pollution", "Hells Bells", "Back In Black", and "Given The Dog A Bone". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Filled with classics – including "Girls Got Rhythm", "Highway To Hell", "Shot Down In Flames", "Touch Too Much", and "If You Want Blood". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A masterpiece of east coast harmony soul – and worth it for the title cut alone! Ace Spectrum are always pretty great, but on this album, they really bust out of the box with some of the most wonderful harmonies they've ever recorded – set to impeccable arrangements by Patrick Adams, who hits the same blend of mellow harmonies and upbeat grooving he did with Black Ivory! Vocals are amazing – right at the height of the east coast generation that also included The Moments, Delfonics, and Stylistics – and the backings are equally wonderful, and make the album one of our favorite 70s releases from Atlantic Records. Titles include "Just Like In the Movies", "Sweet Music Soft Lights & You", "I Can't Keep Holding On", "Sooner or Later", "Magic Touch", and "Live & Learn". LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure soul group, but a great one – equally at home with a fragile harmony tune as they were with more uptempo groovers for the dancefloor! This one and only album from Act One is a perfect illustration of the best two sides of the east coast indie soul scene of the early 70s – because some tunes are spare, simple, and heartbreaking – really building off the best qualities of 60s harmony soul, but with a lot more sophistication – while others are bolder, more upbeat, and positive – really using the new studio modes of the time to send a few tunes really over the top! The mix is quite similar to Black Ivory at their best – although the album's more under-discovered treasure – and although it's the only record ever by the group, it's got a solidity that should have made them as big as any of the 70s stars on Atlantic or Philly International! Titles include "Goodbye Love", "Friends Or Lovers", "Tom the Peeper", "Party Hardy People", "I Don't Want To Know What You Do To Me", "Still Waters", "It's The Same Old Story", and "Love's Got Your Mind". CD also features the bonus tracks "I Never Had A Love Like Yours", "A Whole Love Of Love Makin", and "It Takes Both Of Us". CD

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

2 lost Atlantic recordings by Cannonball Adderley's trumpeter brother, back to back on one CD at a nice low price! The records aren't that easy to come by in the original, and they're both nice 60's soul jazz sessions that take Nat's earlier trumpet sound, forged with his brother's classic late 50's quintet, and update it into a rolling 60's groove. Players on the record include Joe Zawinul, Joe Henderson, Seldon Powell, and Herbie Hancock – and one album has a larger group in a studio session, while the other's got a small combo in a live set. Titles include "The Other Side", "Hippodelphia", "Lavender Woman", "Painted Desert", "Manchild", and a nice remake of "Cantalope Island". CD

Beautiful Brazilian jazz from guitarist Mario Adnet – an artist with a sound that recalls some of our favorite work from the great indie fusion explosion in Brazil during the 80s! Mario plays acoustic guitar in a lightly dancing way that's initiated by bossa, but has stronger ties to the more complicated fusion modes of the post-Hermeto Pascoal years – never too over the top, but with a sense of sophistication and rich colors that make the album incredibly captivating, even in the mellower moments! As in some of Hermeto's most fluid work, there's a blend of soaring rhythms and more angular instrumentation going on here – and Mario's guitar is joined by flutes by Teco Cardoso, electric guitar by Ricardo Silveira, piano by Marcos Nimrichter, trombones by Vittor Santos, and trumpet by Jesse Sadoc – all working in shifting lineups from track to track. Joao Donato plays piano on one title, and a few others feature lightly jazzy vocals – and tracks include "From The Heart", "Ocean Range", "Paulistiana No 1", "Danca Negra", "Northern Landscape", "Music Inside", "Baiambe", and "Salsatlantic". CD

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

A late 70s live set from space jazz/jazz rock guitar guru Jan Akkerman – rolling from spacious, sparely haunting atmospherics to tighter, sax and keys punctuated fusion jams! This live set was his Atlantic followed up his self titled album, and it grooves in similar territory – not as reliant on the more rocking side of his sound, but hardly lacking in spacey dynamics – with more of a fusiony jazz funk vibe in the busier arrangements. Players include Jasper Van't Hoff and Willem Ennes on keys, Cess Van Der Laarse on bass, Tom Barlage on sax, Bruno Castelucci on drums, and Neppie Noya on percussion. Titles include "Transitory", "Skydancer", "Pavane", "Crackers", "Tommy" and "Azimuth". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Features vocals from Lalah Hathaway and Will Downing. CD

Early Atlantic Records work from the great Mose Allison – easily one of the most unique jazz artists of his time! Most started out as a pianist with a nicely bluesy vibe, but soon added in this excellent vocal approach that was maybe part New Orleans, part New York hipster – delivered here with a vibe that follows nicely from his earlier recordings for Columbia and Prestige Records! The sound is nice and stripped-down – none of the larger arrangements that Mose would soon use on Atlantic – and the set features accompaniment from Addison Farmer on bass and Osie Johnson on drums. Titles include the classic "Your Mind Is On Vacation" – plus "I Don't Worry About A Thing", "It Didn't Turn Out That Way", "Stand By", "Meet Me At No Special Place", and "The Song Is Ended". LP, Vinyl record album

The word from Mose is mighty darn hip – served up here in a sweet Atlantic Records session that seems to really hone into all the mod influences his music would have in the 60s! The rootsy quality of Allison's earlier records is still firmly in place – but the group also has a tighter feel that's almost more soul jazz – thanks, in part, to work from Ben Tucker on bass – in a groove that's similar to some of his own contributions to 60s jazz. Titles include a great version of "Foolkiller" – one of Mose's greatest tracks – plus "One Of These Days", "Days Like These", "Your Red Wagon", "Look Here", "I'm Not Talking", and "New Parchman". LP, Vinyl record album

5 years after they made their first set of groundbreaking Braziliany jazz tracks together, Bud Shank and Laurindo Almeida went back into the studio to record another great batch for Pacific Jazz. That second set of sessions is captured here in its entirety, and it features Shank and Almeida playing with the looser rhythm team of Gary Peacock and Chuck Flores on a number of short groovy tracks that clearly had a big influence on the bossa generation. Titles include "Waltz Frio & Calor", "Sunset Baion", "Mood Antigua", "Choro In A", "The Color Of Her Hair", and "Nocturno". CD

Rare funk from the Indy scene of the early 70s – the long-overdue release of material recorded by a really hard-jamming, horn-heavy combo! Amnesty have a sound that's awash in the best large group influences of the time – a bit of Earth Wind & Fire, a bit of Parliament/Funkadelic, but also a grittier, more guitar-based groove at times too – one that rumbles heavily at the bottom of the rhythms, with a sound that's like Norman Whitfield-era Motown, taken to much greater extremes! There's actually a lot more Detroit going on in the work than Indy – but the horns also have a jazzier, more open-ended quality too – not just parts penned for simple funky rhythms, but ones that show some influence from the more righteous side of the jazz spectrum. The material was all recorded on two dates in 1973 – but only issued here for the first time – and together, the tracks are a great example of a hip group from the underground, really letting loose with a great sense of freedom. There's some vocals on the record, but almost more of a focus on the instrumentation overall – and titles include "Can I Help You", "Love Fades", "Trouble Will Remain", "We've Come A Long Way", "Liberty", "Mister President", "Free Your Mind", "We Have Love", and "Lord Help Me". LP, Vinyl record album