Trad revival material by this group that featured Buck Clayton on trumpet, Dickie Wells on trombone, Tommy Newson on tenor, Charlie Byrd on guitar, and Gwaltney on alto, clarinet, and vibes. Tracks are short and include some originals, written in a classic 30s KC mode – plus a few older tunes. Titles include "Midnight Mama", "Hello Babe", "Kansas City Ballad", "The Jumping Blues", "Walter Page", and "The New Tulsa Blues". CD

Includes their ultra-groovy soundtrack theme "Guide For The Married Man" – plus "Sound Asleep", "It Ain't Me Babe", "Eve Of Destruction", "Outside Chance", "Happy Together", "Me About You", "Love In The City", "Story Of Rock & Roll", and "Sound Asleep". 20 tracks total. CD

The great city of Boston lost Babe Ruth in 1920, and it was pretty much all downhill until the Modern Lovers showed up at the end of the 60s. The two chord proto-punk, pomposity-busting brilliance of Jonathan Richman and his organ-heavy (courtesy of pre-Talking Head Jerry Harrison) Modern Lovers sounds better and better every time we hear it! This is the classic first album – with "Roadrunner", "Hospital", "She Cracked", "Modern World" and the rest, the one that they recorded around 1970 and which languished as a heavily bootlegged cult classic until it's first official release in the mid 70s! CD

A late 50s collection of earlier 78rpm singles issued by Aladdin Records – material that's far rawer than the "strums" in the title might imply! At a time when other blues musicians were fleshing things out a bit – sometimes adding in larger backings, horns, and a bit of electricity – Lightnin Hopkins hardly needed that at all, as the man's voice and guitar are more than enough to knock things out of the park! Titles include "So Long", "Mistreated", "Shotgun", "Rollin & Rollin", "My California", "Honey Babe", "Short Haired Woman", and "Katie May". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning set of punk jazz, and one that maybe hearkens back to key experiments of this nature from the 80s scene – particularly some of the more groundbreaking work on the New York downtown scene! Ava Mendoza plays electric guitar and Devi Hoff play electric bass – but the pair also work here with excellent tenor from James Brandon Lewis, whose presence really balances out the fuzzier electric energy in a great way – different lines, different sounds, and a balance that never has Lewis trying to match the guitars for ferocity, which is a real plus. The quartet also features great drums from Ches Smith – and titles include "The Stumble", "Interwhining", "Dyscalculia", "Babel 17", "New Ghosts", and "Ten Forward". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning set of punk jazz, and one that maybe hearkens back to key experiments of this nature from the 80s scene – particularly some of the more groundbreaking work on the New York downtown scene! Ava Mendoza plays electric guitar and Devi Hoff play electric bass – but the pair also work here with excellent tenor from James Brandon Lewis, whose presence really balances out the fuzzier electric energy in a great way – different lines, different sounds, and a balance that never has Lewis trying to match the guitars for ferocity, which is a real plus. The quartet also features great drums from Ches Smith – and titles include "The Stumble", "Interwhining", "Dyscalculia", "Babel 17", "New Ghosts", and "Ten Forward". CD

A stunning set of punk jazz, and one that maybe hearkens back to key experiments of this nature from the 80s scene – particularly some of the more groundbreaking work on the New York downtown scene! Ava Mendoza plays electric guitar and Devi Hoff play electric bass – but the pair also work here with excellent tenor from James Brandon Lewis, whose presence really balances out the fuzzier electric energy in a great way – different lines, different sounds, and a balance that never has Lewis trying to match the guitars for ferocity, which is a real plus. The quartet also features great drums from Ches Smith – and titles include "The Stumble", "Interwhining", "Dyscalculia", "Babel 17", "New Ghosts", and "Ten Forward". CD

Rare soul from the Detroit underground at the end of the 60s – most of it pretty darn funky too! The work here all comes from the hands of the legendary Dave Hamilton – a key Motor City talent who turned out a stunning array of music on many different labels back in the day – then also managed to come up with some equally great work that never even got released at the time! Kent/Ace Records have been digging deep into Dave's vaults for the past decade or so, and we've loved all those other previous collections – but we've also gotta say that we're really stunned by this one – as there's a darker, funkier vibe to some of these cuts than we might have heard previously – almost a Westbound Records vibe at times, with great guitar and these nicely trippy grooves – especially on the earliest cuts in the set. There's a few numbers from later years – Dave kept woodshedding all through the 70s into the 80s – but most tracks are late 60s/early 70s vintage, and supported by the usual top-shelf notes that make each Kent collection way more of a history lesson than just a pile of funky 45s! Titles include "Party Time" by Chico & Buddy, "Challenge My Love" by Tobi Lark, "My Sweet Baby" by JT's Rhythm Band, "The Dreamer" by Felecia Johnson, "Showdown (part 1)" by Simon Barbee & The Barbabes, "I Gotta Have You (alt take)" by Little Ann, "When I Say Groove" by Dave Hamilton, "Guess I'll Go To Packin" by Carolyn Franklin, "Four O'Clock Blues" by Glemie Derrell, "Moving On" by Little Stevie & The Sensational Reynolds Singers, "It Takes Two" by Del-Phis, and "Somebody is Wrong" by Presberry. CD