Another extremely strong batch of 70s AOR grooving from Kalapana – a tight ensemble who were kind of Hawaii's answer to the slicker sounds of the LA scene during the mid 70s. Kalapana appeal to our ears in the same way as America, later Doobie Brothers, and other smooth and mellow mainstream favorites – and this third album's as great a representation of their work as you'll ever hear. Lots of tight jazzy jamming, plus well-produced vocals with a nice flanged-out quality. Titles include "Songbird", "Seasons", "Alisa Lovely", "Girl", "Inarajan", "Dilemma", "Another Time", and "Up To You". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the all-time classic MPS sessions! Erwin Lehn leads a very tight grooving combo that mixes hard big group arrangements (in the style of the Clarke-Boland or Peter Herbholzheimer groups), with some extremely powerful solos and very inventive arrangements. There's lots of wonderful little elements in here – like some hard tenor (from Joki Freund), groovy organ, and a very slinky brass section. The instruments wail in and out of each other, with a sound that mixes rich colors and emotions with quick darting grooves – and the session's a winner all the way through! Titles include "Alfredo", "Atlantic II", "El Cuervo Nuevo", "Lift Up", and "Color". LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant late Impulse Records album from Archie Shepp – material recorded on a variety of dates at the end of the 60s, but packaged together as an extremely soulful set in the mid 70s! There's a feel here that rivals some of the best moments of the Attica Blues years – a mix of spiritual soul jazz and bolder modern moments – reigned in nicely from the freer Shepp sound of a few years before, and given a really righteous focus by the addition of vocals on some tracks. Archie sings a bit himself, and one number features Leon Thomas singing with Tasha Thomas and Doris Troy – a very odd meeting in the studio! Players include Woody Shaw, Jimmy Owens, Dave Burrell, Grachan Moncur III, and Wally Richardson – and the tracks even get a bit funky at times! Titles include an excellent version of "New Africa", which was recorded later in Paris by Grachan Moncur III – plus "Back Back", "Spoo Pee Doo", "Slow Drag", and Cal Massey's "Bakai". LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant late Impulse Records album from Archie Shepp – material recorded on a variety of dates at the end of the 60s, but packaged together as an extremely soulful set in the mid 70s! There's a feel here that rivals some of the best moments of the Attica Blues years – a mix of spiritual soul jazz and bolder modern moments – reigned in nicely from the freer Shepp sound of a few years before, and given a really righteous focus by the addition of vocals on some tracks. Archie sings a bit himself, and one number features Leon Thomas singing with Tasha Thomas and Doris Troy – a very odd meeting in the studio! Players include Woody Shaw, Jimmy Owens, Dave Burrell, Grachan Moncur III, and Wally Richardson – and the tracks even get a bit funky at times! Titles include an excellent version of "New Africa", which was recorded later in Paris by Grachan Moncur III – plus "Back Back", "Spoo Pee Doo", "Slow Drag", and Cal Massey's "Bakai". CD

A lovely set of modern French work from Camille – done in a style that mixes the earthy with the electronic – in a way that's vaguely reminiscent of the modes used by Benjamin Biolay or Keren Ann, but which has a spirit that's clearly its own as well! Camille has a very strong vocal presence on the set – breathy and intimate one moment, but deeply soulful the next – in a way that's especially resonant with the more acoustic elements on the album, and which produces a really compelling sound overall. There's a criss-crossing of modes here that almost seems to borrow inspiration from some of the recent Trama generation in Brazil – but the overall presentation is quite specifically French, and extremely poetic as well. Titles include "Vous", "Assise", "Baby Carni Bird", "Senza", "Janine II", "Vertige", "Au Port", and "Pale Septembre". CD

A wonderful, wonderful, wonderful "new thing" jazz session from Blue Note – and proof that the avant garde in the 60s didn't necessarily have to resort to blowing their heads off to make fantastic music! Trombonist Grachan Moncur III organized the session – but like other key Blue Note dates of this type, including work from Tony Williams and Jackie McLean, the album's a very evenly-weighted date that features equal contributions from all members involved! The lineup's a dream – and features Wayne Shorter on tenor, Herbie Hancock on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Tony Williams on drums – and the set's very much in the vein of Williams' Life Time album for Blue Note – with lots of dark, moody, and extremely complex compositions – and beautifully restrained modern solos. Moncur wrote all the tracks, and titles include "The Twins", "Nomadic", "Gnostic", and "Thandiwa". CD

A wonderful, wonderful, wonderful "new thing" jazz session from Blue Note – and proof that the avant garde in the 60s didn't necessarily have to resort to blowing their heads off to make fantastic music! Trombonist Grachan Moncur III organized the session – but like other key Blue Note dates of this type, including work from Tony Williams and Jackie McLean, the album's a very evenly-weighted date that features equal contributions from all members involved! The lineup's a dream – and features Wayne Shorter on tenor, Herbie Hancock on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Tony Williams on drums – and the set's very much in the vein of Williams' Life Time album for Blue Note – with lots of dark, moody, and extremely complex compositions – and beautifully restrained modern solos. Moncur wrote all the tracks, and titles include "The Twins", "Nomadic", "Gnostic", and "Thandiwa". CD

Four full albums from the great Martin Denny – presented here with bonus tracks too! First up is the initial Exotica album – the birth of a sound and the birth of a legend – Martin Denny's first album in the Exotica series, and a record so great it named an entire genre! Denny certainly didn't invent the tropical style of easy listening that came to be known as "exotica" in the 50s – but with a record like this, he delivered the goods better than anyone else – by taking away all the too-sweet styles of Hawaiian music, and serving up a stripped-down, jazzy kind of sound! The album features Denny's classic original quartet – with Arthur Lyman on vibes and Augie Colon on bongos – and titles include "Stone God", "Jungle Flower", "Busy Port", "Lotus Land", and his hit recording of "Quiet Village". Exotica 2 is the second album in Denny's legendary Exotica trilogy – a set of records that provided the extreme definition of the small sub-genre that today has become the stuff of legend! Denny's still working here in his classic format – a small group with heavy piano lines, playful percussion, and some birdcalls sung by the members of the group! The set's a mix of strange songs from strange sources, all given the sublime Denny twist – and titles include "Singing Bamboos", "Escales", "August Bells", "Ebb Tide", "Rush Hour In Hong Kong", and "Soshu Night Serenade". Exotica 3 is sublime late 50s work from Martin Denny – his third album under the Exotica banner, and almost a deeper and weirder album than the other two! The sound here is extremely haunting – even more freed from conventional melody than the rest, and very fixated on the tonal possibilities that could be produced from Denny's unique grouping of percussion, piano, bass, and vibes. There's few tricks or gimmicks on the set – just a spare and other-worldly approach to music that's totally great! Titles include "Manila", "Mama Iti E Papa E", "Bamboo Lullaby", "Ringo Oiwake", "Moon Of Manakoora", "Congo Train", and "Beautiful Kahana". Quiet Village is an undisputed classic in the exotica genre – and the record that yielded Martin Denny his biggest hit! The title track "Quiet Village" was originally written by Les Baxter, but it was Martin Denny's approach that really managed to send the tune over the top – using spare percussion, rhythmic piano, and just the right amount of vibes and bird calls to give the track a really haunting feel. That approach is echoed throughout the set – with shifting instrumentation that includes celeste, bongos, marimbas, and marimbula as well! Titles include "Quiet Village", "Paradise Found", "Sake Rock", "Martinique", "Tune From Rangoon", and "Pagan Love Song". CD features bonus tracks too – "Llama Serenade" and "The Enchanted Sea" and more. CD

An amazing album – simply groundbreaking, and a key turn for Jackie McLean! The record features a group of hip young players – including a very young Tony Williams, plus Grachan Moncur III, Bobby Hutcherson, and Eddie Kahn – all playing in a spare contemplative modernist mode that would soon become known as "new thing" jazz. The four tracks on the album – "Frankenstein", "Ghost Town", "Blue Rondo", and "Saturday & Sunday" – are extremely stark, and even Hutcherson's often-warm vibes sound harsh and metallic, especially next to McLean's razor-sharp tone. The record's a real treasure – and never too out to be unenjoyable by fans of McLean's more inside work. Extremely compelling – and we sure wish they were making them like this again! Also includes a bonus alternate of "Saturday & Sunday". CD

An amazing album – simply groundbreaking, and a key turn for Jackie McLean! The record features a group of hip young players – including a very young Tony Williams, plus Grachan Moncur III, Bobby Hutcherson, and Eddie Kahn – all playing in a spare contemplative modernist mode that would soon become known as "new thing" jazz. The four tracks on the album – "Frankenstein", "Ghost Town", "Blue Rondo", and "Saturday & Sunday" – are extremely stark, and even Hutcherson's often-warm vibes sound harsh and metallic, especially next to McLean's razor-sharp tone. The record's a real treasure – and never too out to be unenjoyable by fans of McLean's more inside work. Extremely compelling – and we sure wish they were making them like this again! Also includes a bonus alternate of "Saturday & Sunday". CD

Killer early soul by Leroy Hutson – and a record that really shows him opening up as a vocalist and songwriter! Leroy's got a sound here that's pivotal in terms of Chicago soul – still some of the down-to-earth vibes of the city's indie scene in the 60s, but with that growing sense of maturity that he, Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, Maurice White, and Charles Stepney were all bringing to the scene! The tunes are mostly short and focused – still not in the complexity of the Hutson and Hutson II albums, but handled with every bit of care and class by the man himself. Titles include the wonderful soul classic "So In Love With You", a sweet mellow ballad that's extremely catchy, plus the moog-based funky instrumental "Gettin It On", a totally great number that often gets overlooked – and the cuts "Love Oh Love", "As Long As There's Love Around", and "Time Brings On A Change". LP, Vinyl record album