A huge legacy of work from one of the greatest classical pianists of the 20th century – the complete Decca, Philips, and Deutsche Grammophon recordings of Sviatoslav Richter – brought together in a massive set that also includes two bonus CDs as well! The bulk of the set – 34 CDs – includes solo performances – Richter's transcendent readings of works by Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Shostakovich, Scriabin, Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, and others – including his famous Sofia Recital from 1958 – with all the music brought together on extended CDs that often carry two to three albums' worth of material on each disc – all annotated with a booklet in both German and English. Next are some wonderful chamber music recordings – 7 CDs' worth of smaller ensemble pieces by Brahams, Dvorak, Franck, Bartok, Britten, and others, including collaborations with Rostropovich and the Borodin Quartet – and the set is completed by 8 more CDs, with both concerto recordings, and a few lieder recordings with singers who include Peter Schreier and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Package also includes 2 bonus CDs – with works by Mozard, Schubert, and Debussy – done with Benjamin Britten. CD

A wealth of material from the earliest days of Blue Note! Set includes some unissued tracks, and lots of material from rare 10" LP sessions – all from that time when the label was recording more trad jazz players than in later years! CD

With Byard Lancaster on saxes, Alan Sukennik on keyboards, Ronny Drayton on guitar, Dennis Alston on drums, and Tacuma on bass. Titles include "Zam Zam Was Such A Wonderful", "Naima", "Jukebox", "A Time A Place", and "Rhythm Of Your Mind". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the richest albums from the Kudu years of Grover Washington – a double-length set that shows the full range of his soul and imagination! The album was done in collaboration with Bob James – who arranged and conducted all tracks, and also plays keyboards on the date – and the style is kind of an added extension of other Washington work on Kudu, with added string and chorus bits to round out the sound! Things are still wonderfully soulful – thanks to James' sense of space and timing on the charts – and if anything, the added voices and orchestrations bring an almost soundtrack-like quality to the record – but one that still leaves plenty of room for Washington's solos on tenor, alto, and soprano sax! Most tracks are quite long – really stretching out with lots of room for fresh ideas – and titles include a 15 minute version of "Trouble Man", plus "Taurian Matador", "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", "Masterpiece", "Aubrey", and "Don't Explain". LP, Vinyl record album

Features music by Tarheel Slim, Wilbert Harrison, Buster Brown, Elmore James, Sam Myers, Lee Dorsey, King Curtis, Dr. Horse, Joe Haywood, Dee Dee Ford, and more! CD

One of a series of mix CDs focusing on DJs who spin at the Fabric club in London. This volume features former Mo Wax honcho and stalwart UNKLE member James Lavelle, and as you can imagine, spans the gamut of funky modern headz music. We didn't really know what to expect from the mix, and a fair bit of the stuff on here falls into the post big beat-house & techno-influenced groove that's a bit more over the top than we'd expected, but it's put together and continuously mixed in a way that emphasizes the atmospherics and groove nicely. The tracks listing has 23 cuts, but since it's a mix, a few of the bits are a little short, like the intro and Rare Earth rock break that kick off the mix. It goes on from there to include the Psychonauts "Circles", DJ Shadow "Organ Donor", South "Broken Head II", Howie B "Hey Jack", Forme "Kick A Hole (Tigerstyle)", Green Velvet "La La Land", Lazonby "Sacred Circles" and ends up at Radiohead's "Everything In Its Right Place". Plus the whole thing's packaged ina nice metal box with a cardboard slip case. CD

A fantastic collection from that great Charly/Sun Records run of reissues in the 80s – and a set that looks at all aspects of the label – including country, rockabilly, blues, and more! Includes cuts by Joe Hill Louis, Warren Smith, Billy Riley, Sonny Burgess, Malcolm Yelvington, Ernie Chaffin, Charlie Feathers, Johnny Cash, Harmonica Frank, Carl Perkins, James Cotton, Doctor Ross, Charlie Rich, Carl Mann, and many others! LP, Vinyl record album

There's no doubting the impact that the scene made in Great Britain and how that helped break those sounds worldwide. This nicely priced box set collects 50 of the biggest Jamaican hits in the UK from the vaults at Trojan, covering mostly their great ska and rocksteady. Includes the Skatalites "Guns Of Navarone", Desmond Dekker & the Aces "007 (Shanty Town)", "Israelites" and "You Can Get It If You Really Want", Dandy Livingstone "Rudy A Message To You", Jimmy Cliff "Many Rivers To Cross" and "Wonderful World, Beautiful People", the Maytals "Maokey Man", Dave & Ansell Collins "Double Barrel", Ken Boothe "Crying Over You", Dennis Brown "Money In My Pocket" and lots more. . . CD

A moving score to the classic James Dean film! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A fantastic little set that heralds the beginning of a whole new generation in music – post-psych sounds from the year of 1969 – a time when the revolution had cooled a bit, but new waves of creative activity were really bubbling underground in the UK scene – as all these many groups and singers were striding forth to make their own sorts of sounds, after borrowing bits from others in previous years! The music here is more compact than later prog, but equally jamming – and some of the artists were born from blues and R&B inspirations, but are really moving into their own territory here – helping forge styles that would set the pace for so much more music to come in the 70s! The groups aren't completely obscure – most were recording for the hipper sides of bigger labels – but the tracks here often mark a point when they were just leaping off, a bit before hitting bigger fame – mixed with a few others that never hit the heights later on. As always with these boxes from Cherry Red/Esoteric, the presentation, set list, and notes are great – supporting 52 tracks from groups that include Colosseum, High Tide, Bloodwyn Pig, Jack Bruce, Pete Brown & Piblokto, Free, Jethro Tull, Genesis, East Of Eden, Man, Fat Mattress, Locomotive, Eyes Of Blue, Fairport Convention, The Deviants, Sunforest, Taste, Ten Years After, Mighty Baby, Michael Chapman, and many more! CD

A deep dive into the genius of Faust – material recorded by the groundbreaking experimental collective at their home base during the early 70s, none of issued at the time! The work here stands as a seminal addendum to the too-small catalog of the group's material from these days – and the sounds within really show Faust at their most creative – moving through the kind of sonic territory that you'd know from their records, but presented here as if you've discovered an album that you somehow passed by! Some tracks are spare and moody, others driving and jamming – and throughout the material, Faust show that really unique ear for mixing live instrumentation and studio experimentation – all at a level that was very much their own, even in the heady company of the Krautrock generation. The material was originally part of the expensive Faust box set, but is presented here as a standalone release – and titles on volume two include "Danach", "Lampe An Tur Zu Leutte Rein", "Wir Wollen Mehr Volumen Kriegen", "Arrampicarsi Sul Vesuvio", "As Tu Vu Mon Ombre", "Ma Trompette", and "Dampf". CD

A legendary live set from the Grateful Dead – served up here in a set so big, it needs 16 sides' worth of vinyl to deliver the music! There's loads of long jams here – the kind of criss-crossing, song-shifting material that makes the Dead so wonderful at this point in their career – as you'll hear on tunes that include "Dark Star", "Here Comes Sunshine", "Around & Around", "Not Fade Away/Goin Down The Road Feelin Bad", "It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry", "That's All Right", "Promised Land", "Dark Star/He's Gone", "Wharf Rat/Truckin", "Ramble On Rose", "Jack Straw", "Wave That Flag", "Morning Dew", "Beat It On Down The Line", "Looks Like Rain", "Box Of Rain", "El Paso", "Bird Song", "Playing In The Band", "Big River", "Eyes Of The World", and "Stella Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

Essential funk in a single set – three killer albums from James Brown's legendary backing group! First up is Food For Thought – the classic first album by The JBs – James Brown's Fred Wesley-led backing band, and the force behind most of his greatest records of the early 70s! The band are incredible at this point – sharper, harder, and funkier than just about any other combo around – and that includes all the thousands of groups in the funky 45 underground who were always trying to copy their sound, but never got things this right! Not only are the rhythms the stuff of legend – but the use of the instruments is far far above the norm – as can be heard on the mindblowing "The Grunt", which was sampled heavily by Public Enemy to great fame – and which features a saxophone solo that sounds more like a whistling tea kettle! The set collects some of the group's best early singles, and includes all of the short little funky cuts that made them a legend right out of the box – "Pass the Peas", "The Grunt", "These Are The JBs", "Hot Pants Road", "Wine Spot", "To My Brother", "Blessed Blackness", "Theme From King Heroin", "Escapism (parts 1 & 2), and "Gimme Some More" – all together here in one tight little album of massive funky hard beats and breaks! Doing It To Death is an incredible album – a landmark piece of funk that nobody should be without, funk fan or not! The album is the second to feature James Brown's famous backing combo of the early 70s – and unlike their first one, which was really more of a collection of singles, this album has the group playing hard, long, and loud, in the free funk improvisational mode that was James' real contribution to the music at the time. The tracks are all incredibly long, with James at the forefront, egging the band on with shouts and comments – but also letting them open up large instrumentally, playing in a mode that's as much jazz as it is funky soul. The whole thing's peppered with some nice shorter segues between tracks – but the long cuts are the winners, and are some of the best funk ever recorded! Titles include "Mo Peas", "Doing It To Death", "La Di Da La Di Day", "You Can Have Watergate, Just Gimme Some Bucks & I'll Be Straight", and "Sucker". Last up is Damn Right I Am Somebody – quite possibly our favorite record by the JBs, ever! The set starts with a wonderful conversational bit – rapping and musing on the idea of "Damn Right, I Am Somebody" – showing the group in a political and righteous mode for the first time ever. The grooves then kick in – with the same heavy funk as on earlier records, but also a nice nod towards experimental production – from strange fade ups and fade downs, to stark time and rhythm changes, and even bits of electronics used to create some very cool moments in the grooves! The whole thing's as dead funky as can be, and is stuffed with insane classics like "Blow Your Head", "Same Beat", "Damn Right I am Somebody", "I'm Payin' Taxes, What am I Buyin'", and a great cover of Marvin Gaye's "You Sure Love to Ball"! CD

A stunning solo effort – Teena's second on Epic, and proof that she could still put out the goods on her own! Don't worry about the absence of Rick James here – as things are mighty tight, and right on the money – that wicked blend of funk and soul that got Lady T a great start right out of the box – still undeniably one of the most powerful one-woman moments in soul music! Teena wrote, arranged, and produced the whole thing – and tracks include "Light", "Jammin", "Out On A Limb", "Alibi", "Youngblood", "Lovergirl", and "My Dear Mr. Gaye". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic album from Mourning A BLKstar – even more powerful than their set dedicated to Eric Garner, and a batch of material that really gets at the righteous energy of this Cleveland combo! The group see themselves as part of the James Baldwin tradition of the artist bearing witness – and their genre-bending, gender non-confirming style really pushes forward the energy of underground soul music – as they worked together in an empty storefront in Cleveland to craft this beautiful cycle of songs initial sketches they all fleshed out together – in a mix of shifting vocal leads, heavy drums, dark guitar lines, and proud horn parts. Titles include "Sense Of An Ending", "Something JD Said", "Been Around", "Devil Get Behind Me", "Whom The Bell Tolls", "The Wants", "Deluze (Solange say rmx)", "So Young So", "The Box", and "4 Days". CD

A really wonderful under-discovered performance by Sun Ra & The Arkestra – a complete live set from 1984, presented here with really stunning fidelity! The package is a great antidote to some of the fuzzier Ra live sets on the market – as it's got the care that the Trost label has brought to their reissues of material by Peter Brotzmann and the FMP generation – with sound that's more than sensitive enough to capture some surprisingly great spare piano passages, as well as the full force of the Arkestra when they really get going. Sun Ra is still a tremendous force on the keys at this time – and delivers a lot of solos that are interspersed between larger, more structured songs – played with fire by a lineup that includes John Gilmore on tenor and clarinet, Marshall Allen on alto and flute, James Jackson on bassoon and infinity drum, and Danny Ray Thompson on baritone and flute. Titles include a number of "untitled improvisation" tracks – plus "Big John's Special", "Days Of Wine & Roses", "What's New", "Nuclear War", "East Of The Sun", "Yeah Man", "Mack The Knife", "Day Dream", and "Love In Outer Space". This great 4LP box set includes an insert card with notes and photos. Beautiful! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the stranger chapters of the Holland-Dozier-Holland story of the early 70s – and one of the coolest, too! Warlock are a jazzy rock combo with plenty of soul – a bit like a twisted version of Blood Sweat & Tears, but with all the sinister energy you'd guess from the image on the cover! Most of the numbers have a nasty scratchy sort of vocal – almost Alice Cooper-ish, in keeping with the Warlock name of the group – but a few others get a bit more soulful and funky, belying the HDH connection of the group – sometimes even showing a righteous jazzy vibe, as kind of an odd echo of the Detroit Tribe Records scene. The best tracks have some jazzy phrasing in the mix, and let the guitars go off to the side – and titles include "Love Girl", "You've Been My Rock", "So Can Woman", "Thrills Of Love", and the 14 minute jammer "As You Die/Music Box", which almost has a Colosseum build to it! LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet sound library funk from Joy Unlimited – an early 70s German combo heard here on their rarest record ever! As with the group's commercial releases, there's a wicked blend of funky jazz and hard-riffing instrumentation – and unlike other records, this one's got an even leaner, meaner groove – all instrumental, and with a great focus on key elements of the sound – funky flute here, sweet keyboards there, and lots of tightly-played guitar lines – which really help give the music a nice edge! The set's got a sound that's a lot like some of the best MPS funk of the time – no surprise, given that it comes from the same scene – and instrumentation includes Fender Rhodes, flute, guitar, saxes, marimba, trumpet, and lots of sweet drums. Titles include "Jamara", "Soul Gravy", "Homunkulus", "Breeding Ground", "Jigsaw Man", "Blue Box", "Parabolica", "Spectrum", "Herbie", and "Laguna Seca". CD

The Delmark debut as a leader from drummer Frank Rosaly – and a very unique little record! Rosaly's a player we've really dug on other folks' records, and his vision here at the helm is pretty darn great – a real change from some of the modes used by his avant Chicago contemporaries – almost more poetic at points, although filled with sharp edges throughout! The record was composed for use in a documentary about Chicago scrap recyclers working the alley of the city – and Rosaly brings a really human, personal sort of feel to his music – even though the overall approach is still based on improvisation between group members too. The lineup features James Falzone on clarinet, Jason Stein on bass clarinet, Jason Roebke on bass and cracklebox, Keefe Jackson on tenor and bass clarinet, and Jason Adasiewicz on vibes – which adds some particularly great tones to the metallic narrative. Rosaly also plays a bit of percussion, piano, and electronics – and titles include "Adrian", "Bedbugs", "Driven", "Yards", "Wet Feet Splashing", "The Dark", and "Tragically Positive". CD

Fantastic work from one of the most compelling mainstream talents in recent years – an artist who can get wide fame and acclaim, yet keep on pushing the boundaries into fresh new cosmic territory! This album may well be Thundercat's masterpiece – not just a summation of all the ideas and areas he's explored in the past, but also kind of a re-filtering of other modes as well – including the more spiritual and jazz-based territory that he's moved towards, especially when working with others! Yet there's nothing here that's an easy copy of another style, or another's work – as the whole thing bristles with a personal newness that's wonderful – even when Thundercat is getting help from guests who include Kamasai Washington, Flying Lotus, Wiz Khalifa, Pharrell, and Kendrick Lamarr – as well as some especially nice work from AOR legends Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald. Titles include "I Am Crazy", "3AM", "Rabbot Ho", "Bus In These Streets", "Lava Lamp", "Jethro", "Show You The Way", "Drink Dat", "Jameel's Space Ride", and "Tokyo". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes 6 discs and a 200-page book in a hand-crafted cedar box! Music from the Alabama Sacred Harp Singers, the Chuck Wagon Gang, Arizona Dranes, the Carter Family, the Stanley Brothers, Skip James, the Virginia Dandies, Louis Washington, Thomas A Dorsey, Laura Henton, Blind Willie McTell, Deacon Leon Davis & more. CD

A drum-heavy spectacular – recorded with a really rootsy feel! The first half of the material was recorded in Africa – not credited especially well, but done with a stripped-down sound that's very heavy on drums and other odd percussion instruments – recorded in that rough, loud Folkways style that really makes the music sound nicely bombastic. The remaining tracks on the set are from a variety of North and South American locales – Brazil, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, and even the US – as Baby Dodds turns in a solo on the final track! Titles include "Ceremonial Drums", "Dance Drums", "Stamping Tubes", "Salute To A Chief", "Sit Log Talking Drum", "Djuka Dance Drums", "Lucumi", "Jumping Dance Drums", "Cuminia Drums", "Rhythms For The Deity Ogoun", and "Jazz Drumming". LP, Vinyl record album

The title here is very apt – as this fantastic quartet seem to set a different kind of fire on every one of the CDs in the set – six different performances, recorded over the space of two months – in Paris, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Poland! The group should be well-known to lovers of improvised music from earlier Okka Disk recordings in the 90s – and the passage of two decades has only made them sharper and more intense – especially when the tenor and pocket trumpet of Joe McPhee joins the lineup of Ken Vandermark on reeds, Kent Kessler on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums. The set of recordings is dedicated to James Baldwin – which you might have guessed from the title – and the whole thing is a fitting tribute to the transformation of ideas about freedom and identity over the passage of time. CD

An amazing document of one of the grooviest groups to emerge from the UK at the start of the 80s – not just their three full albums, but almost as much rare bonus material as well! The English Beat came a bit later than the initial wave of Two Tone ska revival groups – and they came with a difference, too – a bit more soul, and a slightly more contemporary approach to their music – one that pushed Jamaican roots into mod London modes – particularly the best sorts that were bubbling up in the post-punk generation! The group really helped revive some warmer sounds in British music – yet without just copying older modes from the other side of the Atlantic, too – and these three great albums definitely went onto set a fire in a host of other groups as well – the first wave of some surprisingly soulful moments from the UK in the 80s. The box set features the full albums I Just Can't Stop It, Wha'ppen, and Special Beat Service – all with bonus tracks not on the original albums. Then, the set also features more bonus material that includes 15 12" and dub versions of album tracks – and three Peel Session recordings from 1979, 1980, and 1982 – plus a live Boston recording from 1982! Comes in a great box, with a 24 page booklet of essays and rare photos! CD

A fantastic lost slice of work by one of the greatest modern jazz forces on the British jazz scene of the 60s – Jamaican-born saxophonist Joe Harriott, known for his groundbreaking avant jazz sessions and his experiments with Indian classical music! The sound here is quite different than those two better-known aspects of Harriott's career – and represents a return to the hardbop style he was using in the late 50s, when first making waves on the London scene. However, that's not a bad thing at all – as the album's overflowing with modern jazz undercurrents, and almost has a fresh post-Mingus approach to the horn parts and rhythm progressions. The quintet includes trumpeter Stu Hamer, drummer Phil Seaman, bassist Coleridge Goode, and pianist Pat Smythe – all well-suited players for Harriott in such a mode, and working here in a style that recalls the first great moments of British jazz from the late 50s. Titles include "Strollin South", "Just Goofin", "Time For Love", "The Rake", "Blues In C", and "Tuesday Morning Swing". CD

A fantastic lost slice of work by one of the greatest modern jazz forces on the British jazz scene of the 60s – Jamaican-born saxophonist Joe Harriott, known for his groundbreaking avant jazz sessions and his experiments with Indian classical music! The sound here is quite different than those two better-known aspects of Harriott's career – and represents a return to the hardbop style he was using in the late 50s, when first making waves on the London scene. However, that's not a bad thing at all – as the album's overflowing with modern jazz undercurrents, and almost has a fresh post-Mingus approach to the horn parts and rhythm progressions. The quintet includes trumpeter Stu Hamer, drummer Phil Seaman, bassist Coleridge Goode, and pianist Pat Smythe – all well-suited players for Harriott in such a mode, and working here in a style that recalls the first great moments of British jazz from the late 50s. Titles include "Strollin South", "Just Goofin", "Time For Love", "The Rake", "Blues In C", and "Tuesday Morning Swing". LP, Vinyl record album

Tenor sax and bass clarinet player's excellent series of Octet efforts for Black Saint in the 80s – a run of brilliant albums with lineups featuring Henry Threadgill, Olu Dara, Butch Morris, George Lewis, Anthony Davis, Bobby Bradford, Hugh Ragin, James Spaulding and other great players – 5 albums in a CD box set in the Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note series! It includes the Ming album from 1980, Home from '82, Murray's Steps (released in '83), New Life from '87 and Hope Scope from '91 – each in a cardboard sleeve with the original album art and each remastered. CD

John Williams come back! All is forgiven! We'll hardly complain anymore about all those overblown top-selling scores after hearing this gem from the early 70s! The record is a treasure – completely unlike any work that Williams did in later years – quite possibly because the film itself is a quirky little love story, starring James Caan and Marsha Mason in the sort of offbeat "when losers meet" sort of film that could have only been made in the early 70s. Some of the tunes on the set are nicely funky – almost in a Lalo Schifrin way – and others are mellow, but nicely moody, in a really understated scene-setting style that's great. Toots Thielemans plays some great harmonica on a few of the mellower cuts, and Paul Williams sings vocals to 3 of the tracks on the set, all contributed by him. Titles include "Wednesday Special", "New Shooter", "Boxing Montage", "The Ferry Ride", "Neptune's Bar", "Nice To Be Around", and "Maggie Shoots Pool". LP, Vinyl record album

A sprawling triple length set from Young Jeezy – his first for Def Jam, and a set that was delivered at that moment when it seemed like the southern scene could just spin out material like this with effortless ease! Jeezy's position amidst boxes of money on the cover will give you an idea of some of the vibes on the set – definitely the sort that showed that the rapper was one of the bolder youngsters from the Atlanta scene! The set has features from TI, Mannie Fresh, Young Buck, and Lil Will – and titles include "Go Crazy", "Standing Ovation", "Let's Get It/Sky's The Limit", "My Hood", "Bottom Of The Map", "Bang", "Soul Survivor" and "Tear It Up". LP, Vinyl record album

A deep dive into the genius of Faust – material recorded by the groundbreaking experimental collective at their home base during the early 70s, none of issued at the time! The work here stands as a seminal addendum to the too-small catalog of the group's material from these days – and the sounds within really show Faust at their most creative – moving through the kind of sonic territory that you'd know from their records, but presented here as if you've discovered an album that you somehow passed by! Some tracks are spare and moody, others driving and jamming – and throughout the material, Faust show that really unique ear for mixing live instrumentation and studio experimentation – all at a level that was very much their own, even in the heady company of the Krautrock generation. The material was originally part of the expensive Faust box set, but is presented here as a standalone release – and titles on volume one include "Naja", "Flaflas", "Mechankika", "Vorsatz", "Bonne Soupe Au Fromage", "Acouphenes", "Fin De Face", "Weird Sounds Sound Bizarre", and "Es Ist Wieder Da". CD

A deep dive into the genius of Faust – material recorded by the groundbreaking experimental collective at their home base during the early 70s, none of issued at the time! The work here stands as a seminal addendum to the too-small catalog of the group's material from these days – and the sounds within really show Faust at their most creative – moving through the kind of sonic territory that you'd know from their records, but presented here as if you've discovered an album that you somehow passed by! Some tracks are spare and moody, others driving and jamming – and throughout the material, Faust show that really unique ear for mixing live instrumentation and studio experimentation – all at a level that was very much their own, even in the heady company of the Krautrock generation. The material was originally part of the expensive Faust box set, but is presented here as a standalone release – and titles on volume one include "Naja", "Flaflas", "Mechankika", "Vorsatz", "Bonne Soupe Au Fromage", "Acouphenes", "Fin De Face", "Weird Sounds Sound Bizarre", and "Es Ist Wieder Da". LP, Vinyl record album

A deep dive into the genius of Faust – material recorded by the groundbreaking experimental collective at their home base during the early 70s, none of issued at the time! The work here stands as a seminal addendum to the too-small catalog of the group's material from these days – and the sounds within really show Faust at their most creative – moving through the kind of sonic territory that you'd know from their records, but presented here as if you've discovered an album that you somehow passed by! Some tracks are spare and moody, others driving and jamming – and throughout the material, Faust show that really unique ear for mixing live instrumentation and studio experimentation – all at a level that was very much their own, even in the heady company of the Krautrock generation. The material was originally part of the expensive Faust box set, but is presented here as a standalone release – and titles on volume two include "Danach", "Lampe An Tur Zu Leutte Rein", "Wir Wollen Mehr Volumen Kriegen", "Arrampicarsi Sul Vesuvio", "As Tu Vu Mon Ombre", "Ma Trompette", and "Dampf". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic lost slice of work by one of the greatest modern jazz forces on the British jazz scene of the 60s – Jamaican-born saxophonist Joe Harriott, known for his groundbreaking avant jazz sessions and his experiments with Indian classical music! The sound here is quite different than those two better-known aspects of Harriott's career – and represents a return to the hardbop style he was using in the late 50s, when first making waves on the London scene. However, that's not a bad thing at all – as the album's overflowing with modern jazz undercurrents, and almost has a fresh post-Mingus approach to the horn parts and rhythm progressions. The quintet includes trumpeter Stu Hamer, drummer Phil Seaman, bassist Coleridge Goode, and pianist Pat Smythe – all well-suited players for Harriott in such a mode, and working here in a style that recalls the first great moments of British jazz from the late 50s. Titles include "Strollin South", "Just Goofin", "Time For Love", "The Rake", "Blues In C", and "Tuesday Morning Swing". CD

A fantastic album from Mourning A BLKstar – even more powerful than their set dedicated to Eric Garner, and a batch of material that really gets at the righteous energy of this Cleveland combo! The group see themselves as part of the James Baldwin tradition of the artist bearing witness – and their genre-bending, gender non-confirming style really pushes forward the energy of underground soul music – as they worked together in an empty storefront in Cleveland to craft this beautiful cycle of songs initial sketches they all fleshed out together – in a mix of shifting vocal leads, heavy drums, dark guitar lines, and proud horn parts. Titles include "Sense Of An Ending", "Something JD Said", "Been Around", "Devil Get Behind Me", "Whom The Bell Tolls", "The Wants", "Deluze (Solange say rmx)", "So Young So", "The Box", and "4 Days". LP, Vinyl record album

Yussef Dayes works here under a title that was first coined by Rahsaan Roland Kirk to refer to jazz – but Dayes takes the term to a whole new level with this groundbreaking set – really moving past jazz to unlock a whole field of soulful expression – served up an excellent group at the core, and key contributions from very hip guests throughout! Dayes has always been someone who defies expectations, but here he's going past just some sort of unconventionality to really make his own mark in music – letting an instrumental solo take center stage when needed, or working through vocals in another moment – but all with this effortless flow that really comes together over the course of the album! The group features Charlie Stacey on keyboards, Alexander Bourt on percussion, and Venna on tenor – and guests include Shabaka Hutchings, Leon Thomas, Miles James, Theon Cross, Chronixx, and others. Titles include "Early Dayes", "Afro Cubanism", "Black Classical Music", "Rust", "The Light", "Pon Di Plaza", "Marching Band", "Tioga Pass", "Cowrie Charms", "Crystal Palace", and "Presidential". LP, Vinyl record album

2 of Boogaloo Joe's best and rarest albums on one CD – guitar jazz funk at its best! First up is Boogaloo Joe – a killer session of funky guitar jazz, and the record that gave Ivan "Boogaloo" Joe Jones his nickname! The set's a full-on wailer that really blows away Joe's first two on Prestige – breaking out ouf the box with a killer lineup that includes Rusty Bryant on tenor, Bernard Purdie on drums, and Sonny Phillips on organ – all working with Joe's incredibly tight guitar lines to craft some wicked tunes that take soul jazz firmly into the sound of the 70s! Titles include "Boogaloo Joe", "People Are Talking", "Dream On Little Dreamer", and "Atlantic City Soul". Right On Brother is next – and is Ivan's first truly sublime album – a set that showed the world that he was easily one of the greatest jazz guitarists of his generation – able to spin out single-note jams with a speed and dexterity that few others could match! The groove here is totally great and very righteous – heavy drums from Bernard Purdie, wailing organ from Charles Earland, and saxophone from Rusty Bryant – all cooking together in the best early 70s Prestige jazz funk mode! Titles include "Right On", "Brown Bag", "Things Ain't What They Used To Be", and "Poppin". CD

The first Bob Marley album on Island Records – and the start of a really legendary run that would not only transform reggae in the 70s, but the rest of popular music as well! Chris Blackwell's partially at the helm on production, but the album was mostly recorded in classic Kingston studios – Randy's, Dynamic, and Harry J's – and retains the same vibe as some of Marley's earlier work, but with more of the forward-thinking vision he brought to his time at Island. Bunny Livingston lays down some excellent percussion on the set – and rhythm is from the team of Aston and Carlton Barrett on bass and drums. Titles include the classic "Stir It Up" – plus "Slave Driver", "Kinky Reggae", "High Tide Or Low Tide", and "Concrete Jungle". Very cool 3LP/12" edition – comes in a box, with new notes and rare photos! LP2 features a rare live set recorded in London at the Paris Theater in 1973. LP3 features more unreleased tracks – eight from the sessions, including Jamaican alternative and extended versions of "Slave Driver", "Stop That Train", "No More Trouble", "Stir It Up", "400 Years", and "High Tide Or Low Tide" – and the bonus 12" single features three more unreleased live tracks from 1973! LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of early 70s LPs from Klaus Weiss & Niagara – in a massive 3LP wood box set! First up is the 1971 self-titled debut – a pretty astonishing set of heavy, hypnotic drums and percussion. It features just 2 long jams, "Sangandongo" and "Malanga" and it's pretty much an all percussion affair! Sub is a legendary bit of heavy funk. The lineup here includes fuzzy guitar, electric piano, and of course, lots of heavy percussion – all served up in a way that's jamming, but a lot more straightforwardly funky than some of the group's contemporaries on the European scene! Ack Van Rooyen plays trumpet, Ferdinand Povel plays tenor and flute, and the production is often very tripped-out – abstracting the jazz roots a bit with some really cool touches. A great bridge between the MPS scene and the more progressive German groups – with titles that include "SUB", "Bones", "Niagara", "Terra Incognita", "Gibili", and "Kikiriti". Afire is another seminal percussion effort – and an album with a very strong focus on the rhythms – but the groove is still somewhat melodic too, thanks to inventive use of some of the smaller, more tuned percussion instruments by other members of the group. There's almost a funky batucada groove going on here – a rich, round sound that comes from a very tight small combo! Titles include "City Walk", "What For", "Terpischore", "Carnival", "Rhythm Go", "Dance In Seven", "Rolling", "Malanga Two", and "The Third One". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most amazing jazz vocalists of our generation returns here with an incredible group – a majestic combo to match all the spiritual inclinations in his music – with work from Kamasi Washington on tenor, Mark De Clive-Lowe on piano, Miguel Atwood Ferguson on viola, and both Carlos Nino and Derf Reklaw on percussion! Dwight Trible on his own is already more than enough to get us to run out and buy a record – but here, the combination of his unique voice with these musicians makes for an album that's an instant masterpiece – and one that even has lots of new colors and styles compared to some of Dwight's previous work! Songs include numbers by older west coast spiritual jazz heavyweights – like Horace Tapscott, Linda Hill, Nate Morgan, James Leary, and Jesse Sharps – mixed with some of Trible's own songs, and versions of work by Carmen Lundy, Oscar Brown Jr, and Donny Hathaway. From top to bottom, start to stop, the album's a treasure – with tracks that include "It's All About Love", "Thank You Master", "Song For My Mother", "Brother Where Are You", "Some Other Time", "These Things You Are To Me", "Desert Fairy Princess", and "Mothership". LP, Vinyl record album

A love letter to the legendary Fame Records – filled with unissued tracks and rare gems from the vaults! Fame was one of the great ones back in the day – the driving force behind Muscle Shoals soul music, and a company that helped really redefine the sound of the music in the 60s – thanks to incredible production, and a tight cast of studio musicians who knocked it out of the park on nearly every session! 21 of the set's 24 tracks have never been issued before – and, even more compelling, none were featured on the similar 7" box set from Ace – making the package a treasure trove of music, even for the serious soul collector. Titles include "Tell It Like It Is" by Big Ben Atkins, "Almost Persuaded" by Jackie, "You're So Fine" by James Barnett, "I Do" by June Conquest, "Your Helping Hand" by Otis Clay, "In The Heat Of Love" by Marjorie Ingram, "Steal Away 67" by Jimmy Hughes, "You Really Know How To Hurt A Guy" by Ralph Soul Jackson, "Let's Do It Over" by Travis Wammack, "For You" by George Jackson, "Baby Come Back" by Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces, "Keep On Talking" by Prince Phillip, "It Ain't No Harm" by George Byrd & The Dominoes, "Blind Can't See" by Richard Earl & The Corvettes, and "I Need Someone" by The Entertainers. CD

A great little collection with material from Ahmad Jamal, Zoot Sims, Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, Etta James, Oliver Nelson, Yusef Lateef, Art Farmer, and Illinois Jacquet. CD

The Houseplant series really takes off with this killer triple-LP set – a massive batch of funk and soul, both old and new – presented here in a really great assortment of modes! There's some great deep tracks from the 70s here, alongside some well-chosen contemporary cuts from the international funk underground – plus a few other assorted surprises along the way – keeping the label's strong reputation for serving up a record that's way different than the standard funk compilation! Titles include "Short Stopping" by Veda Brown, "What's Good For You" by Harvey Scales, "Little Saddy" by Andre Ethier, "The Devastator" by Stormy, "I'm Not Ready For Love" by Promise, "Slide" by Adesse Versions, "Gettin Funky Round Here" by Black Nasty, "Love Theme From Spartacus" by Yusef Lateef, "Town Called Nowhere" by Skip Mahoney & The Casuals, "Blind Alley" by The Emotions, "Blah Blah Blah" by Saun & Starr, "Gotta Let Me Know" by Breakestra, "Jamaica Ska" by Byron Lee & The Dragonaires, "Legend In My Own Mind" by The Stepkids, "Lament 1" by Dustin Laurenzi, "Trouble" by Frederick Knight, "The Echo" by Epsilons, "A Little Bit More Won't Hurt" by Bettye Crutcher, "The Who Who Song" by Jackie Wilson, and "Don't Stop" by The Bar Kays. LP, Vinyl record album

Classic funk, rare soul, and contemporary goodies too – all served up in a beautiful package designed by the folks at Seth Rogan's Houseplant! As with the previous set, this one is divided into three modes – one record sativa, one indica, and the third a hybrid – capturing different moods with each record, but with an all-soul, rock-solid selection of tunes throughout! As with previous volumes, the classic and contemporary come into play in a really great way – and this volume also features some great international titles too – a set list that includes "Follow The Wind" by Coletta Woodson, "Cookin" by Tortilla Factory, "Bra" by Cymande, "High Beams" by Tkay Maidza, "Lupita" by Nico Gomez, "Pretty Woman Pass On By" by Richard Marks, "Norma Jean" by Napoleon Demps, "Bizness" by Tune Yards, "Right On" by Carleen & The Groovers, "The Love You Left Behind" by Syl Johnson, "Groovy Babe" by Durand Jones & The Indications, "Kill Dem" by Jamie XX, "Aminata Du The" by Amadou Balake, "Help Me To Understand" by Harlem Gospel Travelers, "Will I See You Again" by Thee Sacred Souls, "Grow Forever" by Lizette & Quevin, "Tearz" by El Michels Affair & Lee Fields, "Everything That Looks Good" by Charles Suggs, "Raggio Verde" by Il Quadro Di Troisi, "Let's Do It Today" by The US, and "When We Would Ride" by Kendra Morris & Eraserhood Sound. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning document of culture in and around the Texas scene of the postwar years – never-heard recordings done by blues enthusiast Robert Mack McCormick, who also photographed most of his subjects as well – a lost legacy that finally gets exposure to the world at large here in a big box set that includes both music and a big book that includes 128 pages of rare photos and other blues artifacts! The whole thing is like discovering a lost side room in the world of postwar field recordings of blues – material from the generation of similar projects by Alan Lomax, Chris Strachwitz, and George Mitchell, but which has never been tapped until now – brought out with a great level of care by the Smithsonian, who currently house McCormick's life's work. The package is almost worth it alone for the book – but you also get 3CDs with 68 tracks in all – music by Bongo Joe Coleman, Lightnin Hopkins, Hop Wilson, Jimmy Womack, Walter Britten, Buster Pickens, Andrew Everett, James Tisdom, Doc Webster, Mance Lipscomb, Leroy Country Johnson, RC Forest, Billy Bizor, and many others CD

A really cool package, and one that goes past the easy old school hits from the early years of hip hop – and which instead brings together all these unusual strands of sound that really show how creative things were, right at the start! There's a number of tracks here that are a great surprise – nuggets we loved back in the day, and which spring to live here amidst other well-chosen tracks – all served up with the usual super-great notes and overall presentation we love from the Soul Jazz label. Many tracks have great basslines or boogie-styled grooves – from that moment when hip hop, funk, and soul were maybe more strong bedfellows than they would be a few years later – and themes are a nice mix of politics and partying, on titles that include "Get Live 83" by Carver Area High School Seniors, "Super Rock Body Shock" by Eye Beta Rock, "Street Talk" by Funky Constellation, "Do You Like That Funky Beat" by Kool Kyle The Starchild, "Jam To Remember" by Just Four, "Eei Eei O" by Silver Star, "Magic's Rap" by Magic's Trick, "Real Rocking Groove" by Chapter III, "To The Beat Y'All" by Sangrita, "Rappin & Rockin The House" by Funky Four Plus One More, "Do It Any Way You Wanna" by Mike T, and "Girls Of The World" by The Just Four. CD

An instant classic from Five Corners Quintet – acoustic jazz played with a dancefloor groove, and the perfect summation of a brilliant run of initial singles! The FCQ return jazz to its grooviest roots – played live, without processing or electronics, and able to hit a snapping groove that takes us back to the days when Blue Note and Prestige got plenty of play on the radio and jukebox! Most tracks roll along in a modal or waltzing mode that shares a lot with the best Nicola Conte projects of recent years – but the group have also got a real feel for their own tonal colors, effortlessly shading in each space and corner of the tunes with a sublime blend of ringing vibes, dancing piano, and beautifully-toned horn passages. Mark Murphy guests on vocals on the tracks "This Could Be The Start Of Something", "Before We Say Goodbye", and "Jamming" – and Okou sings on "Blue Cycles" and "Case Study" – leaving the remaining instrumentals "Trading Eights", "Interlope", "Straight Up", "Three Corners", "Lighthouse", and "Unsquare Bossa". US CD features the bonus tracks "Taxi Driver". CD

Maybe one of the greatest things that George Harrison did after the breakup of The Beatles – not his first solo album, but yet his first non-experimental venture – and a triple-length set that's filled with magic throughout! This isn't one of those "shoulda been a single record" sets – as Harrison has this amazing ability to craft new tunes with new styles in a way that really sets the record apart from his later work with The Beatles – maybe a summation of all those wonderful little moments that George was starting to add to their records, but fully blossomed here into a field's worth of fantastic musical flowers. Titles include "My Sweet Lord", "Wah Wah", "I'd Have You Anytime", "What Is Life", "Run Of The Mill", "Isn't It A Pity", "Plus Me In", "Thanks For The Pepperoni", "Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp", "Beware Of Darkness", "Out Of The Blue", and "Hear Me Lord". Super Deluxe Edition includes new 2020 stereo mixes, two CDs of demos, and outtakes and jams, plus high-res stereo and surround mixes on Blu-ray audio! CD

An amazing package – one that comes in a tiny replica of the original home of Motown Records in Detroit! As you'd guess from the title, the 11CD set features every single Motown track that ever hit #1 on the charts – almost 200 classic songs, running from the early 60s right up through the 90s – with work by The Temptations, Four Tops, Diana Ross, Boyz II Men, The Contours, Rockwell, The Originals, Marvin Gaye, The Marvelettes, Stevie Wonder, High Inergy, The Dazz Band, Rick James, Commodores, and lots more! The package also includes a photo book with classic images and notes – but man, what we dig most of all is that tiny house of hits packaging – a really amazing thing! Plus, this version of the set also features a bonus CD that wasn't in the original version – with 12 more tracks whose cover versions charted at #1! CD

Maybe the title's a bit overly-optimistic – but with a record like this, you can certainly imagine a world in which everybody does like Hampton Hawes! The record's the third in a legendary early run for the Contemporary label – trio material that broke Hawes out of the box and firmly put his rich talents on the keys at the top of the list of the best players in jazz. The sound's an amazing blend of jazz idioms at the time – with some of the flourishes of the Peterson or Jamal crowd, but often a tighter, almost rootsier bottom in the rhythms – a touch of the LA soul jazz sound, showing up here quite early! The trio features Red Mitchell on bass and Chuck Thompson on drums – and tracks are short, but showcase the open sound that Hawes was developing at the time. Titles include "Night In Tunisia", "Body & Soul", "Lover Come Back To Me", and the Hawes originals "The Sermon" and "Coolin The Blues". CD

Maybe the title's a bit overly-optimistic – but with a record like this, you can certainly imagine a world in which everybody does like Hampton Hawes! The record's the third in a legendary early run for the Contemporary label – trio material that broke Hawes out of the box and firmly put his rich talents on the keys at the top of the list of the best players in jazz. The sound's an amazing blend of jazz idioms at the time – with some of the flourishes of the Peterson or Jamal crowd, but often a tighter, almost rootsier bottom in the rhythms – a touch of the LA soul jazz sound, showing up here quite early! The trio features Red Mitchell on bass and Chuck Thompson on drums – and tracks are short, but showcase the open sound that Hawes was developing at the time. Titles include "Night In Tunisia", "Body & Soul", "Lover Come Back To Me", and the Hawes originals "The Sermon" and "Coolin The Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

The title's maybe a bit misleading – as most folks think of day-glo as a color associated with some of the most throwaway culture of the 80s – but the brightness of the hue definitely marks the big explosion in styles during the key British year of 1978 – a time when the punk revolution of 1977 opened the door for a big range of modes to follow! It might be said that the post-punk years came immediately after the initial days of punk – and they definitely begin here, as hard and fast modes are mixed with more unusual styles that include mod revival moments, electronic experiments, and even some offbeat pop – expressions of humor, anger, and a shifting political landscape – served up as an amazing document of the creative intensity of the time! As with other Cherry Red boxes, the overall package is great – a huge amount of notes to support the 79 tracks within – a diverse array of music from Blue Steam, The Others, UK Subs, The Jam, Monochrome Set, Wreckless Eric, Spizzoil, Public Image Ltd, 999, The Stranglers, Japan, The Only Ones, Magazine, Alternative TV, Slush, Time Machine, Eater, The Bozos, Tyla Gang, Ed Banger, No Sweat, The VIPs, John Cooper Clarke, Scritti Politti, Penetration, Stiff Little Fingers, Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias, Teardrops, Coventry Automatics, Menace, Bleach Boys, Jilted John, Zones, Electric Chairs, and many more! CD

Music from Bo Diddley, The Platters, Ruth Brown And Her Rhythmakers, The Teenagers Featuring Frankie Lymon, The Ernie Freeman Combo, The Teen Queens, Howlin' Wolf, Bobby Mitchell, Ray Charles, The Moonglows, Little Richard And His Band, James Brown With The Famous Flames, Fats Domino, Clyde McPhatter, and more - 30 songs in all. CD

Music from James Brown, Aretha Franklin, War, the Chakachas, the Jimmy Castor Bunch, the JBs, New Birth, Cymande, Tower of Power, the O Jays, BT Express, Kool & the Gang, George McCrae, the Ohio Players, the Isley Brothers, Brick, Brass Construction, Rick James, Fatback, the Gap Band & more. 55 tracks in all, plenty of funk essentials, and detailed notes – all in a fuzzy book-style cover! CD

A stunning document of culture in and around the Texas scene of the postwar years – never-heard recordings done by blues enthusiast Robert Mack McCormick, who also photographed most of his subjects as well – a lost legacy that finally gets exposure to the world at large here in a big box set that includes both music and a big book that includes 128 pages of rare photos and other blues artifacts! The whole thing is like discovering a lost side room in the world of postwar field recordings of blues – material from the generation of similar projects by Alan Lomax, Chris Strachwitz, and George Mitchell, but which has never been tapped until now – brought out with a great level of care by the Smithsonian, who currently house McCormick's life's work. The package is almost worth it alone for the book – but you also get 6LPs with 68 tracks in all – music by Bongo Joe Coleman, Lightnin Hopkins, Hop Wilson, Jimmy Womack, Walter Britten, Buster Pickens, Andrew Everett, James Tisdom, Doc Webster, Mance Lipscomb, Leroy Country Johnson, RC Forest, Billy Bizor, and many others. LP, Vinyl record album

A really well-done collection – one that spans key postwar years of R&B, then moves through doo wop into the seminal sounds of 60s soul – almost all from Atlantic Records! Music from Illinois Jacquet, Lionel Hampton, the Ravens, Mabel Scott, Big Jay McNeely, Percy Mayfield, the Five Keys, Lloyd Price, Ruth Brown, Big Joe Turner, the Chords, Johnny Ace, Ray Charles, James Brown & much more. CD

Maybe the title's a bit overly-optimistic – but with a record like this, you can certainly imagine a world in which everybody does like Hampton Hawes! The record's the third in a legendary early run for the Contemporary label – trio material that broke Hawes out of the box and firmly put his rich talents on the keys at the top of the list of the best players in jazz. The sound's an amazing blend of jazz idioms at the time – with some of the flourishes of the Peterson or Jamal crowd, but often a tighter, almost rootsier bottom in the rhythms – a touch of the LA soul jazz sound, showing up here quite early! The trio features Red Mitchell on bass and Chuck Thompson on drums – and tracks are short, but showcase the open sound that Hawes was developing at the time. Titles include "Night In Tunisia", "Body & Soul", "Lover Come Back To Me", and the Hawes originals "The Sermon" and "Coolin The Blues". CD

One of the most amazing jazz vocalists of our generation returns here with an incredible group – a majestic combo to match all the spiritual inclinations in his music – with work from Kamasi Washington on tenor, Mark De Clive-Lowe on piano, Miguel Atwood Ferguson on viola, and both Carlos Nino and Derf Reklaw on percussion! Dwight Trible on his own is already more than enough to get us to run out and buy a record – but here, the combination of his unique voice with these musicians makes for an album that's an instant masterpiece – and one that even has lots of new colors and styles compared to some of Dwight's previous work! Songs include numbers by older west coast spiritual jazz heavyweights – like Horace Tapscott, Linda Hill, Nate Morgan, James Leary, and Jesse Sharps – mixed with some of Trible's own songs, and versions of work by Carmen Lundy, Oscar Brown Jr, and Donny Hathaway. From top to bottom, start to stop, the album's a treasure – with tracks that include "It's All About Love", "Thank You Master", "Song For My Mother", "Brother Where Are You", "Some Other Time", "These Things You Are To Me", "Desert Fairy Princess", and "Mothership". CD

One of the richest albums from the Kudu years of Grover Washington – a double-length set that shows the full range of his soul and imagination! The album was done in collaboration with Bob James – who arranged and conducted all tracks, and also plays keyboards on the date – and the style is kind of an added extension of other Washington work on Kudu, with added string and chorus bits to round out the sound! Things are still wonderfully soulful – thanks to James' sense of space and timing on the charts – and if anything, the added voices and orchestrations bring an almost soundtrack-like quality to the record – but one that still leaves plenty of room for Washington's solos on tenor, alto, and soprano sax! Most tracks are quite long – really stretching out with lots of room for fresh ideas – and titles include a 15 minute version of "Trouble Man", plus "Taurian Matador", "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", "Masterpiece", "Aubrey", and "Don't Explain". Both volumes together – for the price of a single CD! CD

One of the richest albums from the Kudu years of Grover Washington – a double-length set that shows the full range of his soul and imagination! The album was done in collaboration with Bob James – who arranged and conducted all tracks, and also plays keyboards on the date – and the style is kind of an added extension of other Washington work on Kudu, with added string and chorus bits to round out the sound! Things are still wonderfully soulful – thanks to James' sense of space and timing on the charts – and if anything, the added voices and orchestrations bring an almost soundtrack-like quality to the record – but one that still leaves plenty of room for Washington's solos on tenor, alto, and soprano sax! Most tracks are quite long – really stretching out with lots of room for fresh ideas – and titles include a 15 minute version of "Trouble Man", plus "Aubrey" and "Masterpiece"! LP, Vinyl record album