One of the best showcases we've heard for the tenor sax work of Ivo Perelman in years – an open, blue-tinged performance that seems to open up his horn with a lot more soul than we remember! Of course, some of the credit certainly goes to the other partners on the date – Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass, and Bobby Kapp on drums – a lineup that benefits from the long, lovely association between Shipp and Parker, who have returned to some tremendous new heights in recent years – and whose work alone on the record is more than enough to win us over. Perelman comes as maybe a bit of icing on the cake – but of the sweetest variety – on titles that include "Bliss", "Ebullience", "Rejoicing", "Elation", "Ecstasy", and "Exuberance" – all titles that definitely describe the performance! CD

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A wonderful album of uptown soul – the only full length record cut by Freddy Butler, a heck of a great singer with a really unique voice! Freddy hails from Detroit, and like the best of Detroit singers of the 60s – such as JJ Barnes or Darrell Banks – he's got a style that's got some rootsy touches, especially on the vocals, mixed with production that's tight and focused – which really gives the album a lot of swing! Instrumentation includes some nice use of vibes and piano, and the album also features some great early compositions by Nick Ashford. Titles include "This Thing", "You'd Better Get Hip Girl", "Never Let Love Go", and "I Fell In Love". CD

A wonderful album of uptown soul – the only full length record cut by Freddy Butler, a heck of a great singer with a really unique voice! Freddy hails from Detroit, and like the best of Detroit singers of the 60s – such as JJ Barnes or Darrell Banks – he's got a style that's got some rootsy touches, especially on the vocals, mixed with production that's tight and focused – which really gives the album a lot of swing! Instrumentation includes some nice use of vibes and piano, and the album also features some great early compositions by Nick Ashford. Titles include "This Thing", "You'd Better Get Hip Girl", "Never Let Love Go", and "I Fell In Love". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of those great 60s tunes – with more power than you'd guess from the surface! "Impossible Dream" was a familiar hit from a show, but in the hands of the group, it's transformed into a magical anthem of power and pride – stepping out with a righteous style that's almost like a secret message. "Nobody Knows" is another familiar number, but done in a really great snapping mode – with a cool intro that has some nice jazz stepping, and an almost conversational spoken part! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A landmark record from one of the greatest underground vocal groups of the 60s! The Hesitations take the theme to "Born Free", and through some magical soul, turn it into a Civil Rights-era anthem of freedom and pride. The rest of the record is equally great – with a good mixture of uptempo tracks done in a bouncy northern groove, handled with production and arrangements by Teacho Wiltshire, and a pretty raw down-home edge overall! Titles include "Let's Groove", "Overworked & Underpaid", "Love Is Everywhere", "Don't Go", "Push A Little Harder", "Without Your Love", and "We Can Do It". LP, Vinyl record album

My Kind Of Town is a set that's pulled from sessions recorded over a few years in the early 60s – under the direction of arrangers Glenn Osser, Don Costa, and Marty Paich – all of whom bring a slightly different twist to his music! The styles are a bit varied, but in a way that shows Jack's great command of many modes – and given that there's a three-year duration between the first recording and the last on the set, the record acts almost like a portrait of Jones' evolution during the time. Titles include "Yes I Can", "I'm All Smiles", "Time After Time", "King Of The Road", "Travellin On", "My Kind Of Town", and "Somewhere Along The Way". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the grooviest groups of the Latin Soul scene – but they'd have to be, given their name! The Latin Souls are a vocal group with a really soulful feel – a great link between the earlier harmony sounds that were bubbling under in Spanish Harlem, and some of the hipper rhythms that were hitting the scene in the late 60s – particularly the two dance modes pushed strongly in the title of the record! Many of the cuts have a nicely dark undercurrent – a bit like the best work of Ralph Robles – but the harmonies give the record a somewhat more sincere feel too, with echoes of Joe Bataan in the mix. The whole thing's great – with production from Pancho Cristal that's right up there with his other great Latin sides of the 60s. Titles include "Guajira Controversial", "Que Va", "Hey Lulu!", "The Party Is Over", "Place In the Sun", "La Banda", and the slammin' "Latin Souls Descarga"! LP, Vinyl record album

Weird bit of hippy dippy jazz from Charles Lloyd, with vocals on most tracks, and lots of groovy lyrics about "the moonman", "computer man", and "heavy kharma". The vocalist is not credited, but most of the lyrics are written by Lloyd, although we don't really think he's singing. The backing is still fairly groovy and jazzy, but the record's quite different than many of Lloyd's other LPs. Titles include "Hejira", "Moonman", "Sermon", and "Sweet Juvenia". LP, Vinyl record album

Arrangements by Ernie Wilkins, Frank Hunter, and Luther Henderson! LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing stuff from the legendary jazz musician Gil Melle! By this time in his career, Melle had dropped his standard baritone – and had begun experimenting with loads of early electronics. This wild score features a mostly electronic set of tracks, played with the kind of roughness you might expect from the contemporaneous Silver Apples (also on Kapp), but without their bent towards rock music. The whole thing's one of the best electronic scores ever, and it's darn tough to find in any format! Titles include "Strobe Crystal Green", "Piedmont Elegy", "Xenogenesis", "Desert Trip", and "Wildfire". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest albums ever cut by bossa maestro Roberto Menescal – a totally cool small combo session with some very nice instrumentation! Menescal is on guitar, and working with a group that includes piano, vibes, flute, and percussion – all grooving together in a style that has some very mod 60s jazz touches underneath – still bossa at the core, but with traces of the best styles of Mancini, Byrd, and a whole generation of American bossa-inspired players. The sound is tremendous – and titles include "The Hot Canary", "Berimbau", "Bonita", "Surfboard", and "Stop That Car". LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic score from Ennio Morricone – maybe better this time around than the images on the screen for some of his other westerns of the period – more proof that the maestro was always willing to rise above, and give his best no matter what the setting! The music begins with some already-fantastic elements – mule-like noises that mark the theme and title of the film – carried out with that fantastic sense of western flourish that Morricone could do so well – a use of space in the music that evokes the landscape, even without images to view – as subtle orchestrations mix with occasional guitar, and a fair bit of the sorts of unfamiliar sounds that the maestro was always able to create! Titles include "The Braying Mule", "The Battle", "The Cool Mule", "La Cueva", "Night On The Desert", and "Time For Miracles". LP, Vinyl record album

A really fantastic score from Ennio Morricone – maybe better this time around than the images on the screen for some of his other westerns of the period – more proof that the maestro was always willing to rise above, and give his best no matter what the setting! The music begins with some already-fantastic elements – mule-like noises that mark the theme and title of the film – carried out with that fantastic sense of western flourish that Morricone could do so well – a use of space in the music that evokes the landscape, even without images to view – as subtle orchestrations mix with occasional guitar, and a fair bit of the sorts of unfamiliar sounds that the maestro was always able to create! Titles include "The Braying Mule", "The Battle", "The Cool Mule", "La Cueva", "Night On The Desert", and "Time For Miracles". This massive 2CD edition features the original 11 track album from 1970 – plus a full bonus CD of songs from the film score, most of which appear here for the first time ever – 21 more tracks, and a bonus hour's worth of music! CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A nice collection of soul and R&B tracks from the Kapp label, pulled together for what appears to be a loss leader type compilation. It sounds as if these versions were pulled from edits for 45s, but these tracks also appeared on LPs by the artists. 12 numbers in all, including "Viva Tirado" parts 1 and 2 and "Coming Home Baby" by El Chicano, "Our Day Will Come" by Ruby & The Romantics, "Court Of Love" and "The Beginning Of The End" by the Unifics, "The Nitty Gritty" and "The Name Game" by Shirley Ellis, "The Impossible Dream" and "Born Free" by the Hesitations and "We People In The Ghetto" and "Little Black Woman" by Vernon Garrett. LP, Vinyl record album

Jack knocks out a killer version of the title track – and the set features arrangements from Marty Paich, Billy May, and Pete King! LP, Vinyl record album

A lesser-known set from vocalist Matt Dennis – not as well-remembered as his 50s dates for RCA and Kapp, but still pretty darn great nonetheless! Matt's working here with full backings from Sy Oliver – in a set that showcases his talents more as a singer than a songwriter – but which still manages to include a few great Dennis originals. And despite a cover that looks a bit lurid – with Dennis cornering a model inside a hotel room – the overall feel of the record is quite homey and domestic, with tunes that echo images of hearth and family, but often with the kind of nod and a wink which you might expect from Matt's usual approach to a tune. Titles include "Home", "Welcome Mat", "Back In Your Own Back Yard", "By The Fireside", "A Cup Of Coffe A Sandwich & You", "Let's Put Out The Lights", and "Your Family". LP, Vinyl record album

Stunning soul from the Detroit underground of the late 60s – a treasure trove of gems that literally grew up in the shadows of Motown – given that the work here was spearheaded by the Pied Piper Productions team of Jack Ashford, Mike Terry, Joe Hunter and Herbie Williams of the legendary Funk Brothers! There's a tighter, more energetic vibe to the material than on some of the more grandly soaring sounds of Detroit's bigger hits of the time – and we really love the unfussy, driving soul essence at play here – a gritty, groovy, and really hard-burning sound that makes just about every number here a gem – and a real change, if you only know the bigger hits from Motown! The track selection is wonderful – and even includes a number of never-issued tracks from the time, plus singles issued on Kapp, RCA, and some smaller labels too. Titles include "Voodoo Mademoiselle" and "You Better Know Why" by September Jones, "He'll Be Leaving You" by Nancy Wilcox, "Could It Be You" by Sharon Scott, "I Need Your Love" by The Dynamics, "Lost Without You" by Lorraine Chandler, "See My Heart At Ease" by Mikki Farrow, "It's Right Now" by The Metros, "Hold To My Baby" by The Pied Piper Players, "Give Me Lots Of Lovin'" By Freddy Butler, and lots more! 24 tracks in all. CD

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An east coast harmony classic from Jimmy Briscoe & The Little Beavers – a sweetly-voiced young soul group with a really positive sound! Jimmy and the group have a groove that's more mature than some of the other young soul acts to emerge in the wake of the Jackson Five – and the tracks on the set are a great balance of gentle ballads and more forceful numbers, done in modes that share a lot with some of the best New Jersey groups of the time, particularly those on the All-Platinum label. Production is full and rich – never too much so overpower the vocals, but with some wonderfully chosen instrumental touches from maestro Paul Kyser – but it's Jimmy's heartbreaking vocals that really drive the set. Titles include "My Ebony Princess", "I Only Feel This Way When I'm With You", "Theme From Forever", "Where Were You", "Pack Up", "My Fallen Angel", "Together", and "Country to the City". CD

A bit rougher than some of the other east coast harmony groups of the time, but in a way that makes Jimmy's lyrics sound even more soulful. "My Fallin Angel" is a great one, and has a classic groove, nice production, and a super-sweet hook that will echo in your head long after the track is over! "Where Were You" is fantastic too – a mini-symphony of heartbreaking soul, wonderfully handled with that classic early 70s group sound! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Fantastic 70s material from trumpeter Ted Daniel – a hell of an artist in his own right, and one whose participation in the New York scene is finally given some documentation with releases like this! The set has Daniel working with some of his most important contemporaries, in two different groups – one a lineup that's heavy on saxophone work – from players who include David Murray, Charles Tyler, Arthur Blythe, Hassan Dawkins, Oliver Lake, and Kappu Umezu; the other a group with a slightly different lineup, which still includes Tyler and Dawkins, but also adds in trumpet from Ahmed Abdullah, trombone from Cahrles Stephens, and drums from Steve Reid! Both groups feature guitar from Melvin Smith and percussion from Tatsuya Nakamura – and compositions are by Lake, Blythe, Tyler, and Daniel – but all given that sense of bold, majestic energy that we usually find in Ted's performances of the time. Titles include "Hassan", "Illusions", "Folley", and "Greeting". CD