A hell of a record, and one that definitely lives up to its promise of folk, blues, and beyond – as Davy Graham here is as comfortable with influences from Jack Elliott and Leadbelly as he is with Chico Hamilton, Bobby Timmons, and Charles Mingus! The album's a very early instance of a British folk artist bringing lots of jazz changes into his music – maybe a bit less than on some of Davy Graham's records to follow, but still very much there in the way he approaches rhythm, and some of the phrasing on his acoustic guitar – heard most particularly on the album's versions of "Better Git In Your Soul" and "Moanin" – but also on some other tracks that maybe even hit some of the territory that Gabor Szabo was bringing to his work of the period. Other tracks include "Cocaine", "Leavin Blues", "Skillet", "Maajun", "Don't Think Twice It's All Right", "Ballad Of The Sad Young Men", and "Sally Free & Easy". CD

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

With Illinois Jacquet, Arnett Cobb, Milt Buckner, Marshal Royal, and Dinah Washington. CD

Classic post-war material from Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra. The lineup shifts from track to track and features work by Johnny Griffin, Arnett Cobb, Kenny Dorham, and Charles Mingus. CD

Includes the songs "(It's No) Sin", "And So To Sleep Again", "Spellbound", "Lost In A Fog", "Carioca", "Midnight Sun", "If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)", "I Can't Get Started", "Ruby", "Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart?)", "My Blue Heaven", "Honeysuckle Rose", "Organ Grinder's Swing", "Perdido", "Sweethearts On Parade", "The Man I Love", "Foolin' Around", "Time On My Hands", "Ornithology", "Body And Soul", and "Unlisted Blues". CD

Includes the songs "South America Take It Away", "The Coffee Song", "In The Still Of The Night", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "Desafinado", "Misirlou", "Ted Meets Ed", "Heat Wave", "Malaguena", "Speak Low", "Anything You Can Do", "America", "There Once Was A Man", "Baby It's Cold Outside", "Bye Bye Blues", "Tiger Rag", "Granada", "Come To The Mardi Gras", "Begin The Beguine", "Daddy", "Solamente Bob Efford", and "Friendship". CD

A sweet little record from a sweet little power trio – one who take the conventional format and do all sorts of things that are very much their own! Help can definitely hit hard rock territory, but they also have a way of fusing everything together that's maybe a few years ahead of its time, in terms of mainstream rock – a quality that gives their sound a sharp but lean approach – served up with the heavy drums of Chet McCracken, the bass of Rob Rochan, and guitar of Jack Merrill – three guys who definitely feel their energy together! Titles include "Hold On Child", "TCA", "Oh My", "Power", "Do You Understand The Words", "All Day", and "Dear Lord". CD

First two sessions from 1931 with the Connie's Inn Orchestra and other three sessions from 1934 by Fletcher Henderson & his Orchestra. CD

Vintage 78 rpm recordings – tracks include "Woodchopper's Ball", "Blues On Parade", "Get Your Boots Laced, Papa – Part 1", "Chip's Blues", and "Yardbird Shuffle". 20 cuts in all. CD

A nice little 50s album by Heywood – one that brings together a series of late 40s recordings that all showcase Eddie's uniquely rhythmic approach to the keys! Like Garner, another genius of space and timing, Heywood's real magic is not the songs he chooses, but the way he chops them up and lays them out. Most tunes have additional instrumentation added to Eddie's trio – with players that include James Powell on alto, Dick Vance on trumpet, Marshal Royal on alto, and Vic Dickenson on trombone. Titles include "Yesterdays", "Begin The Beguine", "Lover Man", "Pom Pom", and "Who's Sorry Now". LP, Vinyl record album

Great vocals from this legendary singer who worked with Duke Ellington and others – with arrangements from Jack Pleis and Neal Hefti! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Includes tracks by Jay & The Americans, The Astronauts, Dick & Dee Dee, The Beau Brummels and Jackie & Gayle. LP, Vinyl record album

James P Johnson playing solo piano or accompanied by drummer Eddie Dougherty. Tracks include "You've Got To Be Modernistic", "Honeysuckle Rose", "My Fate Is In Your Hands", "Squeeze Me", "Carolina Shout", and "A Porter's Love Song" – 20 tracks in all. CD

Includes the songs "Too Bad", "Snag It (First Version)", "Deep Henderson", "Jackass Blues", "Sugar Foot Stomp", "Wa Wa Wa", "Tack Annie", "Someday Sweetheart", "Dead Man Blues", "New Wang Wang Blues", "Snag It (Second Version)", "Doctor Jazz", "Showboat Shuffle", "Every Tub", "Willie The Weeper", "Black Snake Blues", "Farewell Blues", "Sobbin' Blues", "Tin Roof Blues", "West End Blues", "Sweet Emmalina", and "Lazy Mama". CD

A pivotal album in the career of Peggy Lee, and one that marked her turning from a singer of pop and swing material, to a sensitive interpreter of jazz material. The album's one of the best-ever by Peggy, and features the kind of material that's not easy to find amidst the bulk of her pop-oriented work – a moving set of ballads and torchy numbers, recorded in small-combo fashion, in a style that's similar to some of Chris Connor's later Bethlehem work. The combo includes Cootie Chesterfield on trumpet, Jimmy Rowles on piano, Max Wayne on bass, and Ed Shaughnessy on drums. A real treasure – with titles like "A Woman Alone With The Blues", "Love Me Or Leave Me", "Easy Living", and "Black Coffee". This reissue features all 12 tracks from the full-length LP. CD

A groundbreaking album for the Paris jazz scene – a fusion of classical styles with jazz playing, perfect for selling American music to a snooty European audience! Although Loussier's formula was often copied during the 60s, at the time of these recordings, his mix of jazz and classical styles was fairly revolutionary – and a perfect way to link the postwar European love of jazz with older musical traditions on the continent. And sure, Bach got overdone during the 60s by artists like Swingle Singers or Walter Carlos – but this set's some of the first jazz Bach ever recorded, and thanks to some great rhythm work by Christian Garros and Pierre Michelot, it still sounds pretty darn jazzy! CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

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Featuring Charlie Parker! Tracks include "Swingmatism", "Fore Day Rider", "One Woman's Man", "Red River Blues", "Hootie's Ignorant Oil" and "Lonely Boy Blues". CD

A rare session as a leader by trumpeter Jack Millman – one that's based around his own compositions, and which a large group of west coast players alongside some lesser-known 50s talents! Players include Fred Aguirre, Lin Halliday, Artie Anto, Mike Pacheco, Curtis Counce, Herb Geller, Jimmy Giuffre, Howard Roberts, and Don Friedman – playing arrangements of Millman tunes by Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, Jack Montrose, and Pete Rugolo. Tracks are short, but have wonderfully constructed horn passages – as well as some very nice use of Latin percussion – and titles include "Tom & Jerry", "Bolero De Mendez", "Groove Juice", "Pink Lady", "The Turk", and "Bambi". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible first album from The Moody Blues – way way different than any of their later high-concept work, and much more in the best soul and R&B-drenched material of the UK mod scene of the time! A number of cuts here are remakes of American soul tracks – including their stellar take on "Go Now" – and like some of the Moodies' best contemporaries, like Manfred Mann, the group really transform the material – and don't just offer up blue-eyed takes on the tunes. Instead, there's a free sense of play with the material – leanings that are definitely rockish on the solos, even though the overall vibe is quite soulful – and done with this tightly compressed style that's perfect for the vocals of the young Denny Laine – with a vibe that's further expanded by some nice use of echo in the production. Surprisingly wonderful – and very different than "Knights In White Satin" – with titles that include "Go Now", "I'll Go Crazy", "True Story", "Can't Nobody Love You", "I've Got A Dream", and "Let Me Go". A killer package – a box with poster, cards, and a nice book – plus the full original albums, then loads more bonus tracks on CD1 – including singles "Boulevard De Madeline", "Steal Your Heart Away", "Lose Your Money", "People Gotta Go", "Life's Not Life", "He Can Win", "Everyday", and "Time Is On My Side". Then, CD2 features a huge amount of extra tracks – previously unreleased sessions, plus Saturday Club sessions and 1966 Denny Cordell sessions – and even a radio commercial for Coke! 43 bonus tracks – 29 previously unreleased! CD

A cool change from the usual from Ennio Morricone – a later soundtrack, and one that features some surprisingly jazzy tracks! Part of the set features the more standard Morricone orchestrations you might expect – some really great tracks that have offbeat larger arrangements that are nicely unsettling, but in a completely charming way. But other tracks are even more striking – and feature performances by the trio of pianist Enrico Pierannunzi – working here at his most fluid and vibrant, with a style that's even more evocative than most of his standard albums! A few numbers have a groove we've never heard from Enrico, and some of the orchestral tracks are mighty groovy too – very different than what you might expect from the 1980 date of the film. Titles include "Cinque Quarti", "Double Face", "Citta Viva", "Madre Assente", "Stranamente Un Giorno", and "Per Enrico Riccardo E Roberto". CD

A cool change from the usual from Ennio Morricone – a later soundtrack, and one that features some surprisingly jazzy tracks! Part of the set features the more standard Morricone orchestrations you might expect – some really great tracks that have offbeat larger arrangements that are nicely unsettling, but in a completely charming way. But other tracks are even more striking – and feature performances by the trio of pianist Enrico Pierannunzi – working here at his most fluid and vibrant, with a style that's even more evocative than most of his standard albums! A few numbers have a groove we've never heard from Enrico, and some of the orchestral tracks are mighty groovy too – very different than what you might expect from the 1980 date of the film. Titles include "Cinque Quarti", "Double Face", "Citta Viva", "Madre Assente", "Stranamente Un Giorno", and "Per Enrico Riccardo E Roberto". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic early soundtrack material from Ennio Morricone – penned for one of the "mondo" films of the time – a 1964 shockumentary on the state of Italian youth! As such, it's got lots of short jazzy tunes that run at a pretty fast groove, ostensibly to show the dissipation of the kids as they learn how to party – almost inspired by the realist style of early 60s TV, with a mix of bold themes, and more somber, contemplative ones. I Cantori Moderni sing wordless dreamy vocals on some numbers – and the shorter tracks offer up a very different sound of Morricone than you might expect – one that's more linked to some of his earlier pop productions in Italy – and which really gives you an idea of the depth of his early talents, even before the spaghetti western boom! Titles include "Twist Delle Zitelle", "La City", "Matricole", "Senza Freno", "Le Facce", "Penso A Te", "Bianco E Nero", and "La Prima Volta". Features a whopping 32 tracks in all – lots of unreleased bonus tracks! CD

Director Quentin Tarantino has drawn plenty of inspiration from the music of Ennio Morricone over the years – either using short passages of older Morricone music in his films, or evoking the substance and style of the maestro in the way he uses sounds from other sources too! So it's only fitting that this time around, the pair are finally brought together fully – as Morricone turns out one of his best soundtracks in years for Tarantino's Hateful Eight – a brooding, suspenseful tale that owes plenty to the western generation that first sprung Morricone to global fame! Yet as with most of Ennio's best work, the style here is something that goes far beyond expectation – orchestrations that take on a style completely their own – with instrumental elements that have stronger focus amidst the larger charts, and a sense of mood and color here that's completely sublime. The record is mostly music from Morricone – written for the film – and features a few passages of dialogue from the movie, plus just a few additional tracks by The White Stripes, Roy Orbison, and David Hess. Yet it's more than fair to think of this as a complete score by Morricone – very different than the usual compilation-style soundtracks we've had before from Tarantino. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the first big international soundtracks to come from the Italian scene in the 60s – the start of a great run that would continue through the decade, although maybe not with results as strongly as this! The score is for a strange documentary-like film (the title means "World Gone To The Dogs"), and most of the tunes are dramatic – with a sweeping orchestral feel that has a few light instrumental moments. The big fame of this one is that it contains the theme that went onto become the 60s vocal standard "More" – but in this version, it's kind of submerged, and taken at a much slower pace – a theme that appears here and there, but also mixed with other really lively numbers too – always shifting the mood, to match the different settings in the film. Titles include "Free Way", "Models In Blue", "Life Savers Girls", "The Last Flight", "Dog Heat", "Cargo Cult", and "Purgatory". New expanded version – features a whopping 36 tracks in all – way more than the original album! CD

One of the first big international soundtracks to come from the Italian scene in the 60s – the start of a great run that would continue through the decade, although maybe not with results as strongly as this! The score is for a strange documentary-like film (the title means "World Gone To The Dogs"), and most of the tunes are dramatic – with a sweeping orchestral feel that has a few light instrumental moments. The big fame of this one is that it contains the theme that went onto become the 60s vocal standard "More" – but in this version, it's kind of submerged, and taken at a much slower pace – a theme that appears here and there, but also mixed with other really lively numbers too – always shifting the mood, to match the different settings in the film. Titles include "Free Way", "Models In Blue", "Life Savers Girls", "The Last Flight", "Dog Heat", "Cargo Cult", and "Purgatory". New expanded version – features a whopping 36 tracks in all – way more than the original album! LP, Vinyl record album

These early Osibisa records always used to be fairly common years back – perhaps because they were always a bit too hippy dippy and loose for the older funk crowd. But now, in today's blunted groove culture, they seem to have found a new appreciation for their trippy Afro funk style, and their nice laidback groove. This album includes a great version of Roland Kirk's "Spirits Up Above", plus "Beautiful 7", "Move On", "Survival", and "Rabiatu" – all of which have the band's trademark Afro funk groove. Nice Roger Dean gatefold cover, too! LP, Vinyl record album

Features Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass, Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, Joe Pass on guitar, Stephane Grappelli on violin, and more. CD

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

An unusual non-American release! Features some early covers and classics – titles that include "Carol", "Little Queenie", "I Just Wanna Make Love To You", "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love", "Oh Baby", "Down The Road Apiece", "Talkin About You Baby", "Bye Bye Johnny", "Route 66", and "The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man". LP, Vinyl record album

A dramatic soundtrack to this Douglas Sirk film! LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful album from George Russell – a refreshing change from his overly-academic modernist work – and a brilliant bit of new ideas with some very down to earth expression! The session's an unusual one – a musical portrait of New York City, performed with an all-star cast who really flesh out the ideas in the music – linked together with these fantastic spoken bits by Jon Hendricks – patter about the city and the scene that really make the whole thing come alive! The lineup is virtually a who's who of modern jazz at the moment – John Coltrane and Benny Golson on tenors, Art Farmer on trumpet, Bill Evans on piano, Hal McKusick and Phil Woods on alto, and Max Roach on drums – coming together under some of the clearest leadership that George Russell has ever provided. The whole thing is great – and titles include "Manhattan", "Big City Blues", "Manhattan-Rico", and "A Helluva Town". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

Features Ted Steele playing Ellington compositions on the unusual Novachord! LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic work from Syn – a British group who are maybe best-remembered for giving the world future prog giants Chris Squire and Peter Banks – but who are already pretty darn great even without that later legacy of sound! The vibe here is a bit like Tomorrow – the early home of Steve Howe – in that the songs are mostly short, focused, and tuneful, but have all sorts of wonderfully new ideas and trippy touches around the edges – deeper than pop psych material coming out of the US at the time, but equally catchy in its own sort of way! The "rare" here refers to the fact that Syn played heavily at the time, but didn't record that much – so the set brings together a few rare Deram singles, but then also includes a number of never-issued tracks from the time time – all supported by a heavy booklet of notes that really opens up their story. Titles include "Created By Clive", "Merry Go Round", "Flowerman (demo)", "Love You", "The Last Performance Of The Regimental Very Victorious & Valiant Band", "Mister White's White Flying Machine", "The Gangster Opera", and "14 Hour Technicolor Dream". Also features an unusual new track recorded in 2004 – and two related 1974 tracks by Narsquijack. CD

The one and only album from T2 – an incredible British group with a sound that should have been huge! Like some of the best of their generation, T2 is a trio – featuring some heavy guitars from Keith Cross, vocals by Peter Dunton, and rumbling bass from Bernard Jinks – all brought together with a sound that's sharply focused in its vision, yet freely expressive in execution. There's a great mix here between jamming passages and softer sensitivity – never as forced as on some of the early King Crimson records, but with a similar sort of sharpness and range that should have gotten this one to a much wider audience. Titles include the side-long "Morning", plus "In Circles", "JLT", and "No More White Horses". This wonderful package really increases the too-small legacy of the group – as it features 16 more bonus tracks – titles from the rare T2 record, and other material recorded in 1971 and 1972 – tracks that include "Fantasy", "Careful Sam", "Minstrel", "T2", "PDQ", "Closing Your Eyes", "Into The Red", "And Time", "Looking Back", "Questions & Answers", "The Gambler", and "Timothy Monday". CD

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

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A solo piano date. Tracks include "Song For Helen", "Reflections In D", "Waltz For Debby", "Noelle's Theme", "Love Theme From Spartacus", "Peace Piece", and "Hullo, Bolinas". CD

A much-needed collection of work from Tintern Abbey – a group who recorded one famous psych single for the Deram label in 1967 – then seemingly disappeared from the scene before giving the world any sort of a full album! This set corrects that mistake, and then some – as it brings together a total of 36 tracks recorded by the group, including material designed for a follow-up, and lots of other gems that appear here for the first time ever – a really magnificent batch of music that may well have you putting Tintern Abbey right up there next to some of your favorite late 60s London psychedelic acts! They're not entirely Pink Floyd, but they've got more than enough chops to match the rest of the best of that heady late 60s moment – freaky fuzzy guitar when needed, a great sense of presentation and production, and a really dark sensibility with both the lyrics, and the way they are phrased – which makes even some of the demo tracks come across beautifully. Titles include the single "Beeside" and "Vacuum Cleaner" – plus cuts that include "My Zoo", "Magic Horseman", "Naked Song", "Snowman", "Strange Dame", "Let The Wind Blow", "Stickleback", "Life Goes By", "My Prayer", "Tanya", "Black Jack", and "Bodmin Blow". CD

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Includes the songs "Dog Bottom", "Jungle Mamma", "Heebie Jeebies", "(I'm Left With The) Blues In My Heart", "Lona", "Blue Minor", "Don't Be That Way", "What A Shuffle", "Blue Lou", "Go Harlem", "Clap Hands! Here Comes Charlie", "That Naughty Waltz", "I Got Rhythm", "Squeeze Me", "Harlem Congo", "Midnight In A Madhouse", "Spinnin' The Webb", "Liza (All The Clouds'll Roll Away)", "Who Ya Hunchin'?", and "In The Groove At The Grove". CD

A hipper group than you'd expect – especially since they're all college kids! John Graas found these guys playing at Westlake College, and he rightly thought they had a sound that was well worth recording for Decca – not surprising, since these guys have a similar chamber modern groove to some of Graas' own work for the label. The ensemble features tenor, trombone, bass, drums, and piano, the last of which is played by Dick Grove, probably the only player in the group who went onto become a more famous name. The titles include a lot of Graas originals – including "Ghost Talk", "Westlake Bounce", "Theme", "Mood", and "La Paz". LP, Vinyl record album

A big set of work from a group who are known for one big global hit – a track that everyone knows, but never can remember who did it – and a band that has a heck of a lot more to offer than you might expect! First up is the group's self titled album, White Plains – a power pop powerhouse by a group who will forever be remembered for the classic title track to this set, but who also manage to deliver the goods all the way through! The whole album's a stunning showcase for the work of Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook – producers and co-writers of some of the album's best tunes – which have a jaunty, catchy vibe that really prefaces 70s AM radio, and does a great job of building a bridge forward from earlier 60s pop styles. Some of the themes are deeper, but others are lighter – and the production has this way of fusing everything together in this monstrous wall of sound, but without ever sounding as slick as mainstream pop might a few years later. Titles include the classic "My Baby Loves Lovin", plus "In A Moment Of Madness", "You've Got Your Troubles", "Today I Killed A Man I Didn't Know", "Sunny Honey Girl", "When Tomorrow Comes Tomorrow", and "Young Birds Fly". Next is the album When You Are A King – a set that's almost ever bit as great, with an equally well-crafted approach to pop – on titles that include "Julie Do Ya Love Me", "Home Loving Man", "When You Are A King", "An Eye For The Main Chance", "The World Gets Better With Love", "Noises In My Head", and "I'll Go Blind". CD3 features rare tracks by related groups Crucible and Zenith, plus more bonus tracks – and in total, the set features 22 non-LP tracks – titles that include "A Simple Man", "Look To See", "I Can't Stop", "I Need Your Everlasting Love", "Gonna Miss Her Mississippi", "Wanna Fall In Love", "Plains", "A Fool That Was In Love", "Dance With You", and "Silent Words". CD

A landmark live set from The Who – a record that offers the group with a blistering intensity that blows away all their other studio albums of the time! Although offered during the Who's Tommy-era expansion into broader themes and more complicated instrumentation, the album's a real return to basics – and features a guitar-heavy version of the group performing a number of older rock n roll classics like "Summertime Blues", "Shakin All Over", and "Young Man Blues" – plus really extended jamming takes on their own "My Generation" and "Magic Bus", and a searing 2 minute take on "Substitute" that's probably everything you ever need to know about The Jam! LP, Vinyl record album

A classic greatest hits package from The Who – one that had almost as much life as any of their major full length albums, and a set that served to re-introduce new audiences to the group after the success of Tommy and Who's Next! Most of the tracks here predate those albums – pulled from the group's earliest years, and awash in mod rhythms, tight guitars, and lyrics that are quite edgey – even in the format of a two-minute pop tune. Titles include "Boris The Spider", "Happy Jack", "Pictures Of Lily", "My Generation", "The Seeker", "I Can't Explain", "The Kids Are Alright", "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere", "A Legal Matter", "Substitute", "I'm A Boy", and "Pinball Wizard". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing moment from The Who – and from the UK rock scene in general – as Tommy is one of the most fully-conceived concept albums ever recorded – a masterful effort that's still pretty hard to match all these many years later! Pete Townshend really knocked it out of the park with this one – and pushed the group way way past the simpler songs the were recording just a year before – into this deeply introspective territory, spun out both in the album's words and music. The Tommy tale's been well told many times over the years – so we won't bother with the full narrative – but just let us say that it's hard to go wrong with this one, an essential item in any collection of adventurous rock – classic or otherwise. Titles include "The Acid Queen", "It's A Boy", "Sally Simpson", "Miracle Cure", "Pinball Wizard", "Do You Think It's Alright", "Cousin Kevin", "Christmas", "Tommy's Holiday Camp", "I'm Free", and "We're Not Gonna Take It". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album – and one of the most revolutionary rock albums of the late 60s! The Who recorded this one as a tribute to mainstream radio at the time – linking together some solid stand alone tunes with shorter, wittier tracks that were recorded as commercials for products that included baked beans, acne cream, and deodorant – as well as cool announcer bits too! The end result is one of the most sonically complex records issued by a mainstream rock act of the time – sort of like The Who said "yeah, everyone's trying to copy Sgt Peppers with big arrangements, but we'll take this concept album thing in a whole new direction!" Brilliant all the way through, and with tracks that include "Armenia City In The Sky", "Heinz Baked Beans", "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand", "I Can See For Miles", "I Can't Reach You", "Rale", "Sunrise", and "Silas Stingy". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes 20 tracks by Andy Kirk and his Twelve Clouds of Joy, with arrangements and piano by Mary Lou Williams. CD

The early 70s mix of medieval themes and more 70s rooted jams – Argus by Wishbone Ash! If you haven't heard this one, and you're expecting battle axes, swords and early metal bombast. . .well, there's some of that. But Wishbone Ash were restless cats, and there's longwinded acoustic passages and all kinds of early 70s rock going on here! Dig that Hipgnosis cover art, too. Titles include "Time Was", "Sometime World", "Warrior", "Throw Down The Sword", "Blowin Free" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Glen Miller, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Chick Webb, Tommy Dorsey, Lionel Hampton, Louis Armstrong, Artie Shaw, Jimmie Lunchford, Woody Herman, Fletcher Henderson, and much more. CD

Well, they spelled "dikes" wrong in the title – but we can hardly fault them for that, as the set is a stunning batch of work from the Dutch scene at the end of the 60s – a really surprising powerhouse of new ideas and mindblowing music! Maybe that's no surprise, given the proximity of The Netherlands to the UK – which also means that the scene was probably drinking up as much pirate radio as listeners in London – and there's definitely work here to match some of the hippest Brit groups on Decca from the same generation. The set is huge 37 tracks in all – with work from The Sound Of Imker, Painting House, Supersister, The Tykes, Modesy Blaise, Names & Faces, Powera, The Heralds, Scarlets, Short 66, The Counts, Baldwin, BNZ, Dimitri, The Bumble Bees, The Boggy Green Selection, The Haigs, Amnsterdam, Airport, Jug Session, Alligatorman, World, The Freddies, and Nanda. LP, Vinyl record album

A surprising gem from Louis' later years – most famous for the title hit, but a great album all the way through! Louis is more of a singer than a musician on the set – and he's working with arrangements steeped in warmth and nostalgia – going for an instantly-ancient sound that brings out the best in Armstrong's sentimental tone. Next to the album's wonderful title track "What A Wonderful World", there's also lots of great obscure material – including "The Home Fire", "Hello Brother", "There Must Be A Way", "Fantastic That's You", and "The Sunshine Of Love". CD

A nice set – 21 tracks from Count Basie's 78rpm recordings for Decca Records! CD

Includes tracks with Louis Armstrong, Lee Wiley, Lionel Hampton, Louis Jordan, Eddie Condon, and others. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

A real classic from Sammy Davis Jr & Carmen McRae! Given Sammy's great talent for personal interaction on the stage, as heard often on his key Rat Pack recordings, he's a real natural for this sort of duet mode – as he manages to talk and sing his way through the tunes beautifully, really opening up Carmen a heck of a lot, and getting her past the staid, serious mode of most of her 50s albums. Titles include "People Will Say We're In Love", "Happy To Make Your Acquaintance", "You're The Top", "Cheek To Cheek", "Baby It's Cold Outside", and "Tea For Two". LP, Vinyl record album