Chicago finally gets its due – in this great series that previously gave us the Philadelphia Experiment and Detroit Experiment projects! This time around, though, the lineup is even more top-shelf – filled with the kind of artists who really make us proud to be part of the Windy City – many of them players with slightly different styles and approaches, which is what makes the record such a great break from the usual! Pianist Greg Spero heads up the group, and the septet features work from Makaya McCraven on drums, Jeff Parker on guitar, Joel Ross on vibes, Marquis Hill on trumpet, Darryl Jones on bass, and Irvin Pierce on tenor – working together with a style that's nicely unified, and which has some of the soulful currents of other projects in this series from Ropeadope. That mode is maybe a bit different than you're used to hearing from McCraven, is a perfect showcase for the more soulful side of Parker's talents, and is right on the money for Marquis Hill – on tunes that include "The Chant", "Sizzle Reel", "Cloud Jam", "Always Be", "Double Take", "Maxwell Street", "For Too", "Straight Shooter", and "Tiny Beat". CD

Chicago finally gets its due – in this great series that previously gave us the Philadelphia Experiment and Detroit Experiment projects! This time around, though, the lineup is even more top-shelf – filled with the kind of artists who really make us proud to be part of the Windy City – many of them players with slightly different styles and approaches, which is what makes the record such a great break from the usual! Pianist Greg Spero heads up the group, and the septet features work from Makaya McCraven on drums, Jeff Parker on guitar, Joel Ross on vibes, Marquis Hill on trumpet, Darryl Jones on bass, and Irvin Pierce on tenor – working together with a style that's nicely unified, and which has some of the soulful currents of other projects in this series from Ropeadope. That mode is maybe a bit different than you're used to hearing from McCraven, is a perfect showcase for the more soulful side of Parker's talents, and is right on the money for Marquis Hill – on tunes that include "The Chant", "Sizzle Reel", "Cloud Jam", "Always Be", "Double Take", "Maxwell Street", "For Too", "Straight Shooter", and "Tiny Beat". LP, Vinyl record album

A very different entry in the DJ Kicks series than usual – as Theo Parrish has created a whole new set of exclusive tracks – working with his underground contemporaries to make a record that's bristling with energy at every twist and turn! And although this series usually comes across as a various artists collection, this entry is more a "Theo Parrish & Friends" sort of record – filled with wonderful tracks that push the energy of the Detroit scene forward into the global cosmos – on titles that include "Full" by John C & Meftah, "Simba's Theme" by Donald Lee Roland, "When The Sun Falls" by Meftah, "Psalm 23" by De'Sean Jones, "Moonlight (Duality/Detroit live version)' by Ian Fink, "Surrounded By Trees" by Jason Hogans, "Hudsons" by Raj Mahal, "Don't Know" by Whodat & Sophiyah.e, "Again (T's edit)" by Mbthelight, "Janis" by Sterling Toles, "Green Funk" by Raybone Jones, "The Upper Room" by Specter, and "Experiment 10" by Howard Thomas. LP, Vinyl record album

A very different entry in the DJ Kicks series than usual – as Theo Parrish has created a whole new set of exclusive tracks – working with his underground contemporaries to make a record that's bristling with energy at every twist and turn! And although this series usually comes across as a various artists collection, this entry is more a "Theo Parrish & Friends" sort of record – filled with wonderful tracks that push the energy of the Detroit scene forward into the global cosmos – on titles that include "Full" by John C & Meftah, "Simba's Theme" by Donald Lee Roland, "When The Sun Falls" by Meftah, "Psalm 23" by De'Sean Jones, "Moonlight (Duality/Detroit live version)' by Ian Fink, "Surrounded By Trees" by Jason Hogans, "Hudsons" by Raj Mahal, "Don't Know" by Whodat & Sophiyah.e, "Again (T's edit)" by Mbthelight, "Janis" by Sterling Toles, "Green Funk" by Raybone Jones, "The Upper Room" by Specter, and "Experiment 10" by Howard Thomas. CD

One of the most unique entries in the "city experiment" series from Ropeadope – a long-running project that's featured work from Philly, Detroit, and Chicago – and which makes a mighty nice stop in the current scene in Mexico City! This set's as jazzy as the others, but also has a special sort of energy of its own – not older Mexican styles, as you might expect – but these inventive rhythms that showcase a post-jazz approach to the group – often with lots of percussion dancing along with electric elements in the rhythms – still opening up to solo space from some of the members of the group. The lineup's a quintet – with German Bringas on saxes and mini-trumpet, Erik Deutsch on keyboards, Jeronimo Gonzalez on bass and Jarana, Todd Clouser on guitar, and Orestes Gomez on drums – and Guadalupe Galvan delivers a bit of spoken word on the session too. Titles include "I Feel Love", "Bored Folks", "Kooks", "Swan Song", "Poza Rica", "Talkin Mexico City", and "De Buche". CD

A key moment in electronic music in the US – the early Detroit experiments of Cybotron! The group were the duo of Juan Atkins and Rick Davis – working in early 80s Detroit, in a sound that would later transform into the more familiar techno groove – but which here is a strange blend of styles that includes bits of Kraftwerk, hip hop, electro, and post-disco club! The overall vibe is pretty spacey – with sci-fi themes that run through most of the tracks, echoed by odd production techniques that repeat the best elements over and over, and maintain a dark, spare style that was clearly the blueprint for midwest house grooves in years to come. And if you've ever been wowed by the darker sounds of Chicago house in the mid 80s, you'll really be stunned by the level of work from these guys – as Cybotron seem to preface just about all the post-industrial themes that would show up later on Trax – but come at things from a very different perspective. And added into the whole uniqueness of the work is the fact that these recordings originally were issued by Fantasy Records – so had a west coast life of their own, on a label that hardly had any other relation to Detroit at the time! The set features a total of 13 tracks that includes a few remixes – and titles include "Clear", "Cosmic Cars (Detroit Style)", "Alleys Of Your Mind", "R-(", "Let's Go", "Techno City", "Industrial Lies", "El Salvador", "Cosmic Raindance", "Cosmic Cars (house mix)", and "R-9 (inst)". CD

A really unique lineup, coming together in a really unique performance – one that definitely pushes the boundaries of all artists involved, and makes for music that's beyond any expectations you might have for the players! The tracks are long, and the music is often quite free and improvised at times – loose, open, and wonderfully experimental – yet still filled with the individual strengths and souls of each of the players – Wayne Shorter on tenor and soprano, Leo Genovese on piano, Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, and Esperanda Spaulding on bass and vocals – the latter of which are nicely different here than on her own albums. There's definitely some of the darker currents that Shorter has brought to his music in the past two decades – and titles include "Someplace Called Where", "Endangered Species", "Encontros E Despedidas", "Drummers Song", and "Midnight In Carlotta's Hair". CD

A spiritual jazz classic from Detroit – and one of the few records from this important Motor City group! The Contemporary Jazz Quintet were a groundbreaking ensemble that mixed together hardbop and modernist playing – sometimes with a keen ear for Miles Davis' experiments of the late 60s, but also with an underground Detroit flavor that's well in keeping with that city's rich traditions! The group was ostensibly led by pianist Kenny Cox – and it's his name that their two Blue Note albums were issued under – but on this rare third set from the Detroit-based Strata label, the group appears more as a larger collective with an even more freewheeling vibe – a lineup that includes Cox on piano, Charles Moore on trumpet, Leon Henderson on tenor, Ron Brooks on bass, Charles Eubanks on electric piano, and Ron English on guitar. Tracks are long, with a stretched-out pre-Bitches Brew sound – plus some freer avant jamming – and titles include "Noh Word", "Bang", "Tao", and "Nguzo Saba". CD

Incredible early work from Yusef Lateef – some of his best! On these early Savoy side, Lateef is drawing from the wealth of influences that were running through the Detroit jazz underground of the 50s that spawned him – and apart from a strongly-conceived bop-influenced sound, you'll also hear Lateef experimenting a lot with jazz exoticism, using different reed instruments and odd small-group arrangements in a manner that's sort of a more "inside" version of similar work done at the time by Sun Ra and group. Lateef's work at this point is a key link in a tradition of exploratory Afro-centric jazz that runs through Roland Kirk's "Black Classical Music" of the 60s, and the underground output of labels like Tribe or Strata East during the 70s. About half the cuts on here are fairly straight, and still pretty nice, but those that aren't will open your eyes to Lateef's genius! Includes titles from The Fabric Of Jazz, The Dreamer, Jazz & The Sounds Of Nature, and Prayer To The East – with 19 numbers that include "Arjuna", "Valse Bouk", "Check Blues", "Gypsy Arab", "Sram", "Lover Man", and "8540 Twelfth Street". CD

A great new issue of Maggot Brain – including wide-ranging interviews with artist Raymond Pettibon and underground culture renaissance man John Waters that both go way deeper than their most iconic works – and equally deep insight-fueled pieces from cover-to-cover! Includes a look at the legacy-to-date of Detroit vocalist John Brannon from Negative Approach to the Laughing Hyenas and beyond, a photo journal on tour with noise rock lifers The Melvins, experimental pop veteran Cheri Knight, sax player & composer Patrick Shiroishi on Japanese folk-blues guitarist & visionary Kan Mikami, zine writer/publisher/outsider musician Seymour Glass and lots more. Each feature, column and article is greatly enriched by photos and illustrations, too – the visual side of Maggot Brain gets more vivid with each new issue! Magazine

2 killers from The Bar-Kays – a heavy funk spectacular all the way through! First up is Gotta Groove – amazing work from the new version of The Bar-Kays – a group who reformed to become a combo as heavy as any of the best funky groups from Detroit, LA, or New York at the time! There's a style here that's a sweet Memphis distillation of ideas bubbling under in music by Sly Stone, Funkadelic, and others – taken to new territory here by a group that was already steeped in 60s soul instrumental sounds! The cuts show a great ear for simple hooks and playful instrumental twists and turns – still with a bit of the trumpet used on Bar-Kays work of the past, but more in a groove that lets the guitar step out nicely with psychedelic soul undercurrents! Tracks include "In The Hole", "Funky Thang", "Grab This Thing", "Street Walker", "Humpin", and "Don't Stop Dancing To The Music (parts 1 & 2)". Black Rock is an album that's every bit as great as the title might imply – heavy guitar-based funk from the second version of The Bar-Kays – one that uses the new instrumental focus to push a groove that's much more black rock than before! There's still a bit of trumpet from the past, but the sound here is much heavier on the bottom – and really fuzzes up the guitar nicely at times to create a hipper sort of soul instrumental vibe! The rhythms are quite hip too – with echoes of the experiments in soul going on at Stax in the work of Isaac Hayes and others – and the album's miles away from the work that the group was laying down a few years before! Definitely one of the hardest-hitting Stax albums of the early 70s – and filled with great tracks like "You Don't Know Like I Know", "Dance To The Music", "Piece Of Your Peace", "Montego Bay", and "Baby I Love You". CD

Some of the most tripped-out music ever from The Holy Modal Rounders – and that's saying a lot, given the nature of the group! This unique early album on ESP features two side-long tracks – both of which are mini-suites of sort, and filled with odd sounds, weird themes, and a strange mixture of hippie instrumentation and sci-fi experimentation! The group for the record is a quartet – with the core combo of Peter Stampfel on violin and vocals and Steve Weber on guitar, augmented by playwright Sam Shephard on drums and Lee Crabtree on piano and organ – plus extra vocals from the trio of Antonia, Barbara, & Wendy. The music is in the best free-thinking style of other rock on the ESP label in the 60s – and titles include "Jimmy & Crash Survey The Universe" and "The Second-Hand Watch". LP2 features Live In 1965 – Some of the earliest music ever from The Holy Modal Rounders – a rare live performance from 1965, recorded at the Chess Mate nightclub in Detroit, and featuring only the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber! The music here is a bit more folksy and a bit less trippy than some of the Rounders' later recordings, but it still shows a decidedly left-field approach – not just in the subjects of the tunes, but also in the way the guitar, banjo, and fiddle are used – almost as additional voices at times, instead of conventional folk instrumentation. Titles include "Crowley Waltz", "Black Eyed Suzy", "My Mind Capsized", "Fishin Blues", "Rum Mountain", "Random Canyon", "Skin Game", "Indian War Whoop", and "Flop Eared Mule". LP, Vinyl record album

An insane bit of fuzzed-out funk! This is Parliament's rare first album – a trippy batch of tunes that come off of Clinton's experimentation in the Detroit soul scene, infused by the rock-heavy energy of the city at the time, and probably a heck of a lot of cannabis, too! The record is quite different than the slick funky sound of the group's later work for Casablanca – and has the psychedelic funk sound of the early work of Funkadelic, which was also recorded during the same period. The album's filled with funky classics – including "I Call My Baby Pussycat", "Little Ole Country Boy", "My Automobile", "Funky Woman", and "Nothing Before Me But Thang". CD

An insane bit of fuzzed-out funk! This is Parliament's rare first album – a trippy batch of tunes that come off of Clinton's experimentation in the Detroit soul scene, infused by the rock-heavy energy of the city at the time, and probably a heck of a lot of cannabis, too! The record is quite different than the slick funky sound of the group's later work for Casablanca – and has the psychedelic funk sound of the early work of Funkadelic, which was also recorded during the same period. The album's filled with funky classics – including "I Call My Baby Pussycat", "Little Ole Country Boy", "My Automobile", "Funky Woman", and "Nothing Before Me But Thang". LP, Vinyl record album

An insane bit of fuzzed-out funk! This is Parliament's rare first album – a trippy batch of tunes that come off of Clinton's experimentation in the Detroit soul scene, infused by the rock-heavy energy of the city at the time – and probably a heck of a lot of cannabis, too! The record is quite different than the slick funky sound of the group's later work for Casablanca – and has the psychedelic funk sound of the early work of Funkadelic, which was also recorded during the same period. The album's filled with funky classics – including "I Call My Baby Pussycat", "Little Ole Country Boy", "My Automobile", "Funky Woman", and "Nothing Before Me But Thang". CD features loads of bonus tracks too – 7 more numbers that include "Red Hot Mama", "Come In Out Of The Rain", "Unfinished Instrumental", "Loose Booty", "Breakdown (mono)", "Fantasy Is Reality", and "Breakdown (stereo unedited version)". CD