With Martin Ruderman and Salli Terri. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes "Move", "Godchild", "Budo", "Dear Old Stockholm", "Donna", "Yesterdays", "Tempus Fugit", "Enigma", "CTA", "Well You Needn't", "It Never Entered My Mind", "Weirdo", "Somethin Else" and "Autumn Leaves". CD

A stunning tribute to the wonderful Bobbie Gentry – and maybe the first package to really show the world how much she has to offer past her one classic crossover hit! Bobbie started out like a rocket with the country gem "Ode To Billie Joe" – a tune she wrote herself, and followed with lots of other great music on the original debut album here – which then set the scene for a great expansion into other modes, as Capitol Records really opened up their resources for Gentry to record in the late 60s! This huge package features everything that Bobbie ever recorded for the label – not just some great full albums, but also some rare singles, demos, and alternate takes – plus 75 unreleased tracks (!) – and then a full incredible album Live At The BBC – which features 26 tracks of Gentry really knocking it out of the park. The BBC material has these really dark, brooding orchestrations – almost like Bobbie's getting some Scott Walker late 60s backings – and the whole box set might be worth it alone for that double-length album! The package is a very cool 10" slipcover – with a huge booklet of notes, postcards, lyric inserts, and more – 177 tracks in all, with albums that include Ode To Billie Joe, The Delta Sweete, Local Gentry, Bobbie Gentry & Glen Campbell, Touch Em With Love, Fancy, Patchwork, and Live At The BBC. CD

Continuing genius from the great Robert Glasper – a set that has the keyboardist going back to basics, and working in just a trio mode – live in the studio, and with stunning sound! Robert plays acoustic piano, but as with his early years, he's got this fluidity that really makes it feel like electric at times – a way of using the standard keys as if they belonged to a Fender Rhodes – a sound that comes across especially well with the snapping drums of Diamond Read, and round acoustic basslines from Vincent Archer. If you weren't hip to Glasper at this earlier mode in his career, you'll find plenty to love here – especially as some of the tunes are reworks of the sorts of music he'd do with his Black Radio project, but served up here in a mostly instrumental mode. The album does feature one guest appearance from Harry Belafonte – who's really amazing on a spoken part for "Got Over" – and other titles include "Reckoner", "I Don't Even Care", "In Case You Forgot", "The Worst", "So Beautiful", "I'm Dying Of Thirst", and "Levels". CD

A collection of early bop singles cut for Capitol – one that includes some excellent rare material, including fantastic early work by Babs Gonzales, and some of Sonny Rollins' first work on record! Babs clocks in with some great little vocal numbers that include – "Real Crazy", "Prelude To A Nightmare", "Professor Bop", and "Capitolizing" – all gems that rank with his best offbeat vocal tunes of later years. Dizzy's in a similar format on some of his tunes – titles that include "Coast To Coast", "You Stole My Wife You Horsethief", "Say When", and "Oo La La" – and Tadd Dameron finishes up the album with some great tracks that include "Sid's Delight", "Casbah", "John's Delight", and "Heaven's Doors Are Open Wide". LP, Vinyl record album

Great mid 40s work from Coleman Hawkins – some singles recorded for Capitol, with work from an unusual array of players on the Hollywood scene! Most cuts feature the young Howard McGhee on trumpet – plus Sir Charles Thompson on piano, Allan Reuss on guitar, and either John Simmons or Oscar Pettiford on bass. LP, Vinyl record album

A great version of Ralph Burns' "Early Autumn" – and vintage 40s material from the Herman band, with Red Rodney, Ernie Royal, Conte Candoli, and Rolf Ericson on trumpets; Serge Chaloff, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, and Stan Getz on saxes! LP, Vinyl record album

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Early 70s Capitol collection – includes a 50s cooker from Gerry Mulligan – working here with a real birth of the cool-styled group that includes Chet Baker and Pete Candoli on trumpets, Bud Shank on alto, John Graas on French horn, Bob Enevoldsen on trombone, and Chico Hamilton on drums – a really wonderful group that has a swing that's might lighter than you might guess from its size! The set is nicely arranged throughout – an early example of Gerry's powers in this respect – with plenty of thought in each tune, yet never so much so that the proceedings get too academic. Titles include "Rocker", "Walking Shoes", "Simbah", "Ontet", "Westwood Walk", "A Ballad", "Taking A Chance On Love", and "Flash". Also includes late 40s EPs by Stan Hasselgard & His All Star Six, and the Red Norvo Septet! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest albums to ever sum up the genius of Lou Rawls in the 60s – a brilliant live set put together with the talents of David Axelrod! The record perfectly captures the easy-going soul of Rawls in the early years – a natural approach to his music that made him one of the best singers of his genre at the time, and which comes out especially strong in the album's upbeat monologues, which are often delivered by Lou with musical accompaniment, then leap strongly into the lyrics of a tune. Backing is by a small jazzy combo that includes Herb Ellis on guitar and the great rhythm team of Jimmy Bond on bass and Earl Palmer on drums – both of whom bring a nice little groove to most of the album's numbers. Titles include "Street Corner Hustler's Blues/World Of Trouble", "Southside Blues/Tobacco Road", "The Shadow of Your Smile", "In The Evening When The Sun Goes Down", "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good", and "The Girl From Ipanema". CD

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A label-spanning collection that definitely offers up the best of this wonderful soul singer – plus loads of lesser-known gems as well! Bettye Swann may never have truly hit the big time in the late 60s – at least not in comparison to a contemporary like Aretha Franklin – but she was a hell of a deep soul singer who always gave her best, and who got set up with an excellent range of sessions on labels that include Fame, Atlantic, Capitol, and Money Records – all of which are featured here! Swann's got this badass way of putting over a lyric when she wants to – the deep soul grit that came from her time in the indie market – but she also grew to a new level of sophistication in the 70s, and moved past any of the southern soul cliches that so many artists were still clinging to – to emerge with a righteous power that's summed up in the cool cover image here! The set features a few new mixes of tracks from Bettye's Money label sessions – plus lots more tracks too – a total of 24 that include "Traces", "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye", "A Change Is Gonna Come", "Make Me Yours", "Our Love", "Don't Wait Too Long", "When The Game Is Played On You", "Kiss My Love Goodbye", "Time To Say Goodbye", "I'm Just Living A Lie", "Tell It Like It Is", "All The Way In Our All The Way Out", "Closed For The Season", and "I Think I'm Falling In Love". CD

Art Tatum on piano – performing solo and in a trio with Everett Barksdale on guitar and Slam Stewart on bass. 29 tracks total! CD

Titles include "Willow Weep For Me", "I Cover The Waterfront", "Dardanella", "Sweet Lorraine", "My Heart Stood Still", "Blue Skies", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A great period for this legendary trombonist and singer – includes material from the albums Shades Of Night, Jazz Ultimate, Swing Low Sweet Spiritual, This Is Teagarden, Coast Concert, and Big T's Dixieland Band – plus other tracks too. CD

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A very cool set, and one that brings together a whole host of gems from the early years of Capitol Records – vocal, jazz, rock, and hillbilly humbers – 60 tracks in all, with selections from Les Baxter, The Four Freshmen, Nat King Cole, Gene Vincent, Ferlin Husky, Louis Prima, Dean Martin, The Four Knights, Tex Ritter, Ella Mae Morse, Nellie Lutcher, Jack Smith, Mel Torme, and many others. But oddly – no Frank Sinatra! LP, Vinyl record album

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A very comprehensive issue of some key sessions from 1952 and 1953! The set includes lots of material that was originally issued on 10" LPs and 7" Eps – and includes unreleased tracks too! CD

Rare Capitol country from the great Kay Adams – a female singer with a distinct love of trucking songs, and one who also hails from the Buck Owens side of the spectrum too! Kay only cut a handful of records over the years, and this set's a great addition to her catalog – as it features unissued cuts that were recorded live with backing from Buck's group The Buckaroos – all done at the Buck Owens Ranch Show, and with a sound that's very much like Owens' excellent work of the time – with some of the more truck-themed tunes you'd be likely to hear from labelmate Red Simpson. Titles include "Rocks In My Head", "Six Days A Waiting", "Roll Out The Red Carpet", "Little Pink Mack", "Bottle Baby", "I Let A Stranger Buy the Wine", "Down Down Down", "Loose Talk", and a duet with Dick Curless on "A Devil Like Me". CD features three bonus tracks too! CD

Wickedly hip work from Cannonball Adderley – and one of his real standout sessions for Capitol Records in the 60s! The set lives up to its "Africa" promise right from the very first note – and features a set of loud, proud tunes that really bring out the righteous sounds of this generation of new liberation – tunes that sparkle with lead alto and soprano sax from Cannon, but which really draw even more energy from the whole collective of musicians on the record – a hip lineup led by HB Barnum, who also did all the arrangements for the set! The result is a record that's unlike any of Adderley's other albums – from some of the evocative snakey lines on the top, to the hip mix of 60s Cali soul and African percussion on the bottom. And oh yeah, David Axelrod produced the whole thing too! Titles include "Gumba Gumba", "Up & At It", "Hamba Nami", "Ndolima", and "Lehadima". CD

Fantastic work from the Cannonball Adderley Quintet – one of their greatest performances from the seminal early 60s years! The band at this time includes Cannon on alto, Nat on cornet, Victor Feldman on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums – and although Feldman's not as strong of a soul jazz player as Bobby Timmons or Joe Zawinul, both of whom also played with the group, his playing on this set is great, thanks to a really lively rhythm section! Includes an 11 minute version of "Sack O Woe", plus "Blue Daniel", "Azule Serape", and "Big P". CD also includes a bonus track – "Our Delight". CD

Once again, Cannonball Adderley proves the old jazz adage – it's not the song, but the singer – as he breathes fantastic new life here into a set of tunes from the musical Fiddler on the Roof! Yet in thinking of the music, there's also a special sort of genius – as there's some exotic currents in most of the melodies, which may be why the young producer David Axelrod chose the tracks for the set – as they've got the same blend of hardbop and exotic elements that you'll hear on some of the original tunes by this group. The lineup is great – Nat Adderley on cornet, Charles Lloyd on reeds, Joe Zawinul on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Louis Hayes on drums – and the tones of Cannon and Lloyd are great together – and the make the best songs sound like strange Eastern-tinged jazz numbers. Tunes include "To Life", "Fiddler On The Roof", "Cajvalach", "Sewing Machine", "Matchmaker", and "Now I Have Everything". LP, Vinyl record album

A totally great set by Cannonball Adderley – one of his funkiest albums ever, recorded live at Operation Breadbasket under the supervision of Jesse Jackson, and a session in which the band is cooking a lot more than on some of their other albums from the time! The set grooves hard with some tight electric piano from Joe Zawinul – amazing snakey lines that not only set the tone for the whole record, but which really make for a strong evolution from the Mercy Mercy Mercy era of the group a few years before. Cannon's alto and soprano work are beautiful – a masterpiece of soul jazz expression – as is the cornet from brother Nat – and the group's completed by bassist Walter Booker and drummer Roy McCurdy. The album's a bucketful of great jazzy sample tunes – and tracks include "Walk Tall", "Country Preacher", "Hummin", and the extended "Afro-Spanish Omlet". CD

A key meeting of Cannonball Adderley and David Axelrod – and one of the pair's first larger collaborations together! The album features Cannonball solos over larger backings by Oliver Nelson – with some occasional help from brother Nat Adderley – all produced with that dark Axelrod edge that we love so much from the Capitol years. The tunes have just the right amount of space to keep things interesting – but also enough soul to link the work nicely to the other Adderley albums of the time. Nelson himself brings in some captivating modern moments to the set – and titles include "Interlude", "Mystified", "Gon Gong", "Shake A Lady", and "Introduction To A Samba". LP, Vinyl record album

Lush and lovely vocals from Italian singer Anna Maria Alberghetti – a great Capitol album that has her working with full backings from Nelson Riddle! The lyrics here are mostly in English, but Anna throws in a few Italian tunes – as was popular at the time, but often done with some of the male pisano singers. Riddle's arrangements have a fragile feel that matches Anna's vocals nicely – more in the late nite mode that he used with Sinatra, and not nearly as jazzy and swinging as his more famous arrangements from the time. Titles include "In The Still Of The Night", "I've Got The World On A String", "Cuban Love Song", "Come Back To Sorrento", "How's Your Romance", and "Warm & Willing". CD

Titles include "Dinah", "My Blue Heaven", "Houseparty Hop", "Begin The Beguine", "Sentimental Journey", and "I Get A Kick Out Of You". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Love Or Physical", "Timing", "Cookies & Cake", "In Your Arms", "Something To You", and "Til We Get It Right". LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool little record – possibly the best cut by tenor player Georgie Auld, and a gimmicky session that actually works wonderfully! Georgie's blowing in the lead on tenor – and he's got Latin backings by the Jud Conlin Rhythmaires, who also sing along on the tracks in a male/female harmony style. The approach is a bit cheesy, but it works nicely in our book – setting up a strongly melodic presentation of the tracks with the voices, so that Georgie can blow freely in whatever direction he wants. Titles include "Love Me Or Leave Me", "Take Me In Your Arms", "Give Me Something To Remember You By", "Dream A Little Dream Of Me", and "Take Me". CD

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The Band's surprising step back to their roadhouse roots – paying homage to early rock and rhythm & blues the grew up on, and honed their chops on when in their years as The Hawks! Moondog Matinee features a few great covers that split the difference between the raucous energy of their inspirations, from Chuck Berry to Clarence Frogman Henry to Fats Domino to Junior Parker – and the well-oiled, multi-voice Band groove at near-peak form. Titles include "I Ain't Got No Home", "Holy Cow", "Share Your Thoughts", "Mystery Train", "Third Man Theme", "Promised Land", "The Great Pretender", "I'm Ready", "Saved" and "A Change Is Gonna Come". LP, Vinyl record album

The landmark first album from The Band – a debut that set the tone for countless other records to come – and we don't just mean from the group themselves! The Band clearly establish themselves here on their own, well away from Bob Dylan territory – working with an instant sense of personality that draws on the strength of all the members of the group – Garth Hudson's imposing organ grooves, Richard Manuel's aching tenor vocals, Rick Danko's voice and distinctive bass lines, Levon Helm's behind-the-beat drumming and the country wisdom of his voice, and the guitar mastery of the young Robbie Robertson – already a trademark force in the group. Titles include "Tears Of Rage", "In A Station", "The Weight", "Long Black Veil", "Chest Fever", "Lonesome Suzie", "This Wheels On Fire", and "I Shall Be Released". CD adds 9 outtakes. CD

The best from The Band in years – their first all originals studio effort in a few years, and one that deservedly re-established them creatively, if not commercially, as one of the all time great rock bands! Robbie Robertson is solely credited for the compositions, but make no mistake, this record is by The Band – not just notes committed to a page and played – it's a fluid, intuitive and timeless album that we love nearly as much as anything they'd ever done – possibly as much as Big Pink or self-titled, even more on some days. Essential! Titles include "Rags & Bones", "Acadian Driftwood", "Hobo Jungle", "Ophelia", "Ring Your Bell", Jupiter Hollow" and "It Makes No Difference". CD

The Band's epic double live album from '72, when they were at their peak – arguably a more exciting listening experience than even their best studio albums, which they always (wisely) considered a different universe then the live stage. Ever ambitious, The Band commissioned Allen Toussaint, one of their heroes to compose some horn arrangements, which indeed sound great – and the band is in such great form here – they're an unbelievably tight unit, but it never sounds slick or manicured. Perfection! Includes "Don't Do It", "King Harvest", "Caledonia Mission", "Get Up Jake", "Stage Fright", "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", "This Wheel's On Fire", "The Weight", "Life Is A Carnival" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

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One of the rarest albums by Les Baxter – and one of the best! The record features an excellent batch of "space exotica" tracks, set amidst some very lively arrangements, all packaged in one of the greatest album covers of the 50s! Les' writing and leading are as excellent as always, and the record has a beautiful sound that never gets as soppy as some of the other 50s space-age albums. Titles include "A Distant Star", "Moonscape", "Mr. Robot", "The Commuter", and "The Other Side Of The Moon". This CD edition includes a heck of a lot of great bonus material – a selection of mid 50s singles by Baxter, both a-sides and b-sides – some a bit more pop and less exotica oriented, but still plenty off beat and and nicely odd, and some sweeter numbers, too. Includes the 12 tracks from the original album, and 18 bonus tracks, including "Cornflakes", "Toy Tigers", "Sinner Man", "Blue Echo", "Cherchez La Femme", "Molodia Loca", "Please Mr Sun" and much more. CD

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