... LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing double-live album that's to concert records what James Brown's Payback was to the sound of studio funk! Like that classic, this is a double-length 2LP set that really has James and the JBs stretching out and doing their thing – working here in a setting that's supposed to be the "part 3" to the famous Live At The Apollo albums – but with a vibe that really shows the different spirit of the Godfather in the 70s! The JBs are wonderful – really showing their chops here, in a way that maybe even blows the tightness of the previous James Brown Band to pieces – as the long tracks allow for plenty of solos, rhythm changes, and monstrous moments of soul from James. Brown also opens up with some cool bad-rapping moments, too – and titles include "It's A New Day So Let A Man Come In & Do The Popcorn", "Get Up Get Into It Get Involved", "Super Bad", "Sex Machine", "Escape-Ism", "Make It Funky", "Hot Pants", "Soul Power", and "Give It Up Or Turn It Loose". LP, Vinyl record album

A sparkling collection of club tracks from the contemporary underground – music that spans the Atlantic, but is nicely unified in a mix of thoughtful, well-crafted grooves! There's a quality here that might be thought of as post-broken beat – tracks that know all the best qualities of the previous generation, but also warm things up a bit with jazzy currents and a really magnificent sense of flow! The whole thing is very cohesive, and feels very different than a much more scattered compilation – with tracks that include "Mental Feelings" by Rick The Goldson Wilhite & Jon Easley, "Real Time" by Boo Williams, "PCM" by The Mechanical Man, "Surface" by Nemanja Krstic, "Tribute To The Sound" by Life Recorder, "Space Rele" by Gene Hunt, and "Escape Two" by Dan Piu. LP, Vinyl record album

More than just "works" from Sleep Walker – a collection of singles, remixes, and new tracks – all representing some of the best work from this ultra-hip club jazz combo! As with their full albums, the style here is jazz-based at the outset – played in a classic mode that has plenty of echoes of Impulse Records during the Coltrane generation – but forged into a tighter, leaner groove for the 21st Century – a mode that's sometimes rhythmic and aimed at the dancefloor, yet which never loses any sense of depth or creativity from a jazz perspective! Saxophonist Masato Nakamura contributes some incredibly great tenor and soprano work to the tunes – and Hajimi Yoshizawa's modal piano lines pulsate tremendously throughout. A few cuts are remixes, but still very much embody the Sleep Walker sound – with new instrumentation, as the group makes a live jazz take on the tracks they're supposedly remixing! Titles include "Quiet Dawn", "Wind", "River Of Love", "Eclipse", "Big Escape", and "Waltz For Moe (new take)" – plus Sleep Walker versions of "Don't Believe A Word" by Victor Davies, "Sim Ou Nao" by Jazzinho, and "Pathways" by Jazztronik. CD