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

... CD

A key album in the career of Louis Armstrong – one that helped him forge the fourth or fifth great comeback in his career! As you'd guess by the title, the album's built around Louis' hit version of "Hello Dolly" – sung in a mode that at one level stretches back to his roots in trad jazz, but at another kind of peps the whole thing up with a mod 60s/20s retro sort of swing – more syncopated than before, with a choppy little groove that pushed Louis right back onto the charts. Backing is by a small group that includes Billy Kyle on piano, Arvell Shaw on bass, and Joe Darensbourg on clarinet – and the album's filled with other great numbers that include "A Kiss To Build A Dream On", "Moon River", "You Are Woman I Am Man", "Blueberry Hill", and "Be My Life's Companion". LP, Vinyl record album

A great batch of early work from Burt Bacharach – one of the first albums to be issued under his own name, and proof that Mr B was head and shoulders above most of the other arrangers and composers of his time! At some level, the style here is a bit more traditional than some of Burt's later work – with strings and vocal chorus used on many numbers – but the tight, focused, syncopated Bacharach groove is already very firmly on place – on a set of all original numbers, done as instrumentals with some really incredible production! Voices float next to tinkling piano, sweeping strings, and stepping rhythms that show that even when things are mellow, they can still be a bit funky – and the record easily takes 60s easy to a whole new level of maturity and sophistication. Titles include "Wives & Lovers", "Trains & Boats & Planes", "What's New Pussycat?", "The Last One To Be Loved", "Saturday Sunshine", "24 Hours From Tulsa", and "A House Is Not A Home". 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". 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

... LP, Vinyl record album

An overlooked holiday gem from the great Jack Jones – a sweet Christmas set that was recorded during his important 60s years at Kapp Records! Jones is really hitting his stride here – opening up with that mature, sophisticated approach that was way more than pop, not entirely jazz, and certainly one of the most impressive male vocal modes of the time. The great Marty Manning handles arrangements – creatively, and free from familiar seasonal schmaltz and cliche – and Jack does a superb job on titles that include "My Favorite Things", "The Village Of St Bernadette", "Lullaby For Christmas Eve", "Do You Hear What I Hear", "The Christmas Waltz", "Mistletoe & Holly", and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/It Came Upon A Midnight Clear/The First Noel". LP, Vinyl record album

Jack Jones at the pinnacle of his early fame! Wives & Lovers is a gem of a set – issued hot on the heels of Jones' famous recording of the Burt Bacharach title hit – and presented with some great arrangements from Marty Paich, Glenn Osser, Pete King, and Ralph Carmichael! The style's a great mix of light strings and jazz – often spare enough to let Jack's vocals dominate strongly, but always in a way that's beautifully poised, balanced, and never overly indulgent. There's a slight hint of iciness in Jack's voice, but it's only a thin one – a slight layer of manner that holds back the depth of emotion lurking right below the surface. Titles include the classic "Wives & Lovers", plus "Charade", "I Wish You Love", "Fly Me To The Moon", "Angel Eyes", "I'm Moody", "Summertime Promises", "Come Rain Or Come Shine", and "Nina Never Knew". 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

... 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

... LP, Vinyl record album

Carmen McRae's book of ballads is a great set of standards – performed by a core trio that features Don Abney on piano, over larger backings by Frank Hunter! The set's a treasure from Carmen's early years – and is filled with dusky renditions of tunes that are familiar, but which have a very different feeling here – thanks to McRae's sense of care and space with the material – one that almost brings a personal, reflective quality to the whole thing. Titles include "He Was Too Good To Me", "By Myself", "My Romance", "When I Fall In Love", and "Please Be Kind". LP, Vinyl record album

Carmen McRae's book of ballads is a great set of standards – performed by a core trio that features Don Abney on piano, over larger backings by Frank Hunter! The set's a treasure from Carmen's early years – and is filled with dusky renditions of tunes that are familiar, but which have a very different feeling here – thanks to McRae's sense of care and space with the material – one that almost brings a personal, reflective quality to the whole thing. Titles include "He Was Too Good To Me", "By Myself", "My Romance", "When I Fall In Love", and "Please Be Kind". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet harmony pop – and from Chicago, no less! Thee Prophets, despite having a name that was pretty trippy-sounding, were actually a punched-up harmony rock group in the manner of The Buckinghams (another Chitown group of the time). They're singing here with some tight backings that feature lots of kick in the drums, some nice orchestrations, and some occasional psyche production touches to make things a bit left of The Lettermen. Includes their hit "Playgirl", plus "Magic Island", "Double Life", "Broken Heart", "They Call Her Sorrow", and a great take on "Kind Of A Drag". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Electro soul from a key moment in the South African scene – that point in the late 80s when it really seemed like there was some light at the end of the tunnel, and the nation's music seemed to hit a new vibe to match! The grooves here are unabashedly catchy, and seem to revel in the kind of instrumentation that was bit in American indie soul a few years before – lots of beats, basslines, and keyboards – often in support of vocals that flow nicely along with the groove, augmenting the sound with the kind of approach that must have been especially strong on the dancefloor! Most tracks here are from the Music Team label, who had a great ear for this stile at the moment – and titles include "Watsotsama" by Scotch Band, "Sisonke" by Kakappa, "Ma Hero (dub)" by Spirro, "What Next (dub)" by Jivaro, "Ushelakanjani" by Jazino, "New Lover" by The Equals, "Ayoba-Yo" by The Hard Workers, "Sorry Bra" by Ayobayo Band, "Sobohla Manyosi" by Rush, and "Go Siami" by La Viva. CD

A fantastic trip through the catalog of Trio Records – one of the coolest Japanese jazz labels of the 70s – and a company who not only gave growing local talent the chance to really spread their wings, but who also cut some great rare sessions by American artists too! The set here is heavy on work from the Japanese scene, and although the title says "mixed", the selection here isn't really all that funky – and instead presents Trio in all their glory – in a very hip combination of modal jazz, electric numbers, soulful moments, and even a few avant tracks – all balanced out beautifully with a great sense of pacing throughout. Titles include "Micro Worlds" by Kako TAkashi, "Young Girls Jumpin Dance" by Yoshinori Kondo, "Too High" by Sharps & Flats, "Mother Some Place" by Hiroshi Fukumura, "Malachi's Tune" by Yoshaburo Toyosumi, "Kappa Poetry" by Toshiyuki Miyama & New Heard, "Love Supreme (part 1)" by Elvin Jones Jazz Machine, "Methuselah" by Richie Beirach, "Turned Around" by Jack DeJohnette, "Sea Weeds" by Masaru Imada, and "White Fire" by Takao Uematsu. CD

A great little set from pianist Al Haig – recorded in the 60s, and showing a tremendous growth since his early years! The feel of the set is very different than the Al we knew back in the early 50s – much more lyrical and open-ended, a mixture of blue notes and bossa influences, gently gliding along with superb rhythmic accompaniment from bassist Ed DeHaas and drummer Jim Kappes – neither of whom we know, but both of whom really make the set a memorable one. The record is an overlooked gem from these under-recorded years of Haig – and titles include "Bag's Groove", "Bluesette", "Saudade", "Thrio", "Brother Where Are You", and "The Good Life". LP, Vinyl record album

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