Amazing work from Juliet Lawson – her debut solo album, issued here with bonus tracks too! The core of the package is the amazing Boo record – an overlooked treasure from the UK scene at the start of the 70s – a record that features a very unique singer/songwriter, working in space that's very much her own! Juliet Lawson plays acoustic guitar and sings, but amidst these light larger arrangements that really bring out the most unique currents of her voice – one that's a bit moodier than some of her contemporaries, and graced with a depth that almost makes you feel as if there's layers and layers behind the presence she's putting up front! Lawson also plays piano, which can bring in some of the darker currents to the record – and while she might have the ability to inflect her voice that you'd hear from Joni Mitchell, she also has a darkness that's more fitting of Nico – even though she sounds nothing like either. The great saxophonist Lol Coxhill adds a bit of his horn to the record – and titles include "Igloo", "Dear Fool", "Nothing New", "Who Is India", "Playing Is No Song", "The Weeds In The Yard", and "Rolling Back". The set also features two bonus tracks from the same time – "Voices" and "Rincon De Luna" – both spare demo tracks. LP, Vinyl record album

It may be Dixie, but the groove here is plenty darn unique – thanks to some great percussion work by Chico Hamilton, in a mode that really transforms the sound of the set! Yank's definitely playing with a trad jazz sound on his horn, but Chico's rhythms have plenty of bossa nova and Latin touches – all of which bring in a very groovy sort of 60s sound to the record – that "old is new again" style that showed up often in some of the best jazz/easy crossover albums of the time, including a good number handled by Bob Thiele, who put together this tasty little record. Cutty Cutshall and Pee Wee Russell are also working on horns alongside Lawson – but the real charm is the rhythm section, which also includes Bucky Pizzarelli and Willie Bobo! Titles include "Bossa Nova Noche", "Daydream", "Ka Boom Boom", "Tijuana", "Where Did I Find You", and "I Cried In The Night". LP, Vinyl record album

Yank Lawson on trumpet, George Masso on trombone, Johnny Mince on clarinet, Bucky Pizzarelli on guitar, Lou Stein on piano, Bob Haggart on bass, and Nick Fatool on drums. CD

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A killer date as a leader for this Detroit pianist we first came to love through his recordings with Yusef Lateef – an artist who possibly never got his due as strongly as so many others to come up in the late 50s/early 60s scene – but who sparkles here with a maturity that really comes through in his music! There's a deep feel to the record that really comes through in the choice of tunes – work by Charles Mingus, Clifford Jordan, and Sonelius Smith – not to mention a few of Lawson's own great tunes – and Lawson often has a Cedar Walton-like ability to play lyrically, yet still with a soaring sort of force. The trio features great rhythm from the team of Bob Cranshaw on bass and Ben Riley on drums – and titles include "Rip Off", "The Duke Ellington Sound Of Love", "The Highest Mountain", "Blue Bones", and "The Need To Smile". CD

Linda Lawson's a heck of a singer, and it's a shame that her career really didn't take off with this excellent album – because it's a doozy! The record has Linda singing over some sublime west coast backings from Marty Paich – leading a group that includes Jack Sheldon on trumpet, Bud Shank on alto, Bill Perkins on tenor, Jimmy Rowles on piano, and a host of other great talents – honed to perfection with the rare mix of swing and space that you'd get in a classic album by June Christy or Chris Connors – both of whom Linda's matching on this set. Titles include "Are You With Me", "Easy To Love", "But Beautiful", "Meaning Of The Blues", and "Up Pops Love". CD

Amazing work from Juliet Lawson – her debut solo album, issued here with bonus tracks too! The core of the package is the amazing Boo record – an overlooked treasure from the UK scene at the start of the 70s – a record that features a very unique singer/songwriter, working in space that's very much her own! Juliet Lawson plays acoustic guitar and sings, but amidst these light larger arrangements that really bring out the most unique currents of her voice – one that's a bit moodier than some of her contemporaries, and graced with a depth that almost makes you feel as if there's layers and layers behind the presence she's putting up front! Lawson also plays piano, which can bring in some of the darker currents to the record – and while she might have the ability to inflect her voice that you'd hear from Joni Mitchell, she also has a darkness that's more fitting of Nico – even though she sounds nothing like either. The great saxophonist Lol Coxhill adds a bit of his horn to the record – and titles include "Igloo", "Dear Fool", "Nothing New", "Who Is India", "Playing Is No Song", "The Weeds In The Yard", and "Rolling Back". The set also features two bonus tracks from the same time – "Voices" and "Rincon De Luna" – both spare demo tracks. CD

Linda Lawson's a heck of a singer, and it's a shame that her career really didn't take off with this excellent album – because it's a doozy! The record has Linda singing over some sublime west coast backings from Marty Paich – leading a group that includes Jack Sheldon on trumpet, Bud Shank on alto, Bill Perkins on tenor, Jimmy Rowles on piano, and a host of other great talents – honed to perfection with the rare mix of swing and space that you'd get in a classic album by June Christy or Chris Connors – both of whom Linda's matching on this set. Titles include "Are You With Me", "Easy To Love", "But Beautiful", "Meaning Of The Blues", and "Up Pops Love". CD includes four bonus tracks, recorded with Henry Mancini! CD

An overlooked treasure from the UK scene at the start of the 70s – a record that features a very unique singer/songwriter, working in space that's very much her own! Juliet Lawson plays acoustic guitar and sings, but amidst these light larger arrangements that really bring out the most unique currents of her voice – one that's a bit moodier than some of her contemporaries, and graced with a depth that almost makes you feel as if there's layers and layers behind the presence she's putting up front! Lawson also plays piano, which can bring in some of the darker currents to the record – and while she might have the ability to inflect her voice that you'd hear from Joni Mitchell, she also has a darkness that's more fitting of Nico – even though she sounds nothing like either. The great saxophonist Lol Coxhill adds a bit of his horn to the record – and titles include "Igloo", "Dear Fool", "Nothing New", "Who Is India", "Playing Is No Song", "The Weeds In The Yard", and "Rolling Back". CD version includes 5 demo tracks CD

Incredible work from the Philly scene of the late 60s – material from the tiny Uplook Records label, a company that only had a small number of artists in its roster, but all of them were great! The collection is put together a bit differently than others on the Grapevine label – in that it structures the set in different "chapters", to present each Uplook artist discreetly – offering up both sides of their best singles for the label, in a way that allows you to focus on their talents more closely. The Uplook sound is one that works especially well for male vocalists – who represent most of the work here – and there's a definite upbeat Philly style going on here, a precursor to Gamble & Huff that's totally great. Titles include some especially great early work by Teddy Pendergrass – the titles "We Got Love", "Angel With Muddy Feet", and "Should I Go Or Should I Stay" – plus "I'll Come Running Back", "What A Lucky Guy I Am", and "Heartbreak Of Love" by The Delegates Of Soul; "Candy Baby", "Love Wheel Turning", "Lucky Guy", "Give A Man A Break", and "Finders Keepers" by Charles Mintz; "Gotta Tell Somebody" and "Hooked On You" by Tony Talent; and "Running Back (inst)" by The Uplook Orchestra. 21 tracks in all! CD

A set issued at a time when the great Bobby Caldwell had fallen a bit from his superstardom at the start – but was still able to craft the kind of blue-eyed soul that first made him a giant! The set's arranged and produced by Bobby, with a lean vibe that shows that he wasn't getting any sort of major label budget – but with a quality that doesn't let that stop him at all, and if anything maybe makes the whole thing even more intimate than before! Titles include "Real Thing", "Next Time I Fall", "Even Now", "First Time", "China", "Stay With Me", "Heart Of Mine", and "In The Name Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Funky dancefloor grooves from early 80s Japan – a group that almost sounds like some of the hippest British club acts of the time – save for their use of Japanese lyrics! The music here is a bit spacey and a bit jazzy – a cross between British electronics and some of the artier rhythms of the New York downtown scene of the early 80s – wrapped up with a bit of warmth at times, in ways that almost makes the record sound a bit soulful. Tracks are nicely varied, and have a really fresh sort of sound – kind of a "hey, what's that" quality that makes this one worth discovering the second time around – especially since the group never got much play outside of Japan. Titles include "Colored Music", "Anticipation", "Heartbeat", "Third Eye", "Love Hallucination", and "Too Much Money". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic set of city pop from the Japanese scene of the early 80s – music that's got tight, AOR-styled arrangements and production, but also a stronger current of soul that really keeps things interesting! Yoshino Fujimal sings in Japanese on some tracks, but the album's got a really universal sort of vibe that goes beyond the language – catchy, groovy tunes that have a lot more warmth in the instrumentation than mainstream 80s pop in the US – that whole generation of Japanese artists who grew up on jazz fusion, but then turned it towards soulful pop. The set's divided up into a Day Time side and a Night Time side – with Japanese on the former, and English on the latter – on titles that include "Shang-Hide Night", "Free Way 5 To South", "Who Are You", "Midnight Plus 1", "Pretender", and "Girl's In Love With Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal album from this hip Japanese jazz group – one that really sees them finding their own path forward, and working with really unusual material and stretching out on some longer tracks than before! The tunes here ere arranged by Masahiko Sato, Masao Yagi, Norio Maeda, and Kiyoshi Yamaya – most of whom wrote the material, along with Oliver Nelson – the latter of whom might be a good reference here, as the group are breaking down older large jazz group modes, and finding a way to soar with a new sense of spirit and soul – similar to Nelson's best recordings! Leader Hara blows some great tenor solos, and other players include Takao Naoi on guitar, Toshiko Ogawa on piano, and Hiroshi Suzuki on trombone – on titles that include "Flexibility", "Flute Salad", "Elegy For A Duck", "Dark Horse", "Little Giant", "Patterns", and "Orbit 8:11". LP, Vinyl record album

Japanese erotica pop from singer and actress Reiko Ike – recorded around the time of her most popular pink films/sexploitation acting gigs – and a record that really lays the erotica theme on thickly! The sound is late 60s/early 70s seedy soundtrack style – with sultry rhythms, sax, chimes other thematic arrangements – nothing subtle about it, but plenty groovy! Ike's vocals are as explicit as they could get away with – moans, coos and occasional singing! Titles include "I Am A Woman", "Wandering Guitar", "After The Rain Stops", "Not An Angel", "Bond Of Love", "Love Slave", "Experience" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The drum method here is often hard and heavy – a very funky style that makes the album one of the grooviest ever recorded by Japanese drummer Takeshi Inomata! The group here is his Sound Ltd ensemble – a bigger lineup directed by Norio Maeda with plenty of funky styles – almost a funky big band mode, in the manner of some of the best MPS work of the time! Yet the overall rhythmic approach is more American too – driven by some of the best soul instrumental styles of the late 60s, and carried off in a way that has Takeshi's drums often standing alongside the larger band in the mix – so that their simplest, subtlest percussive actions come across quite strongly. Titles include "Porquoi Pas", "Where Do You Go From Here", "Fibonacci's Number", "Child Of Storm", "Runaway Child", "Smackwater Jack", "Maiden Voyage", "Sleeper", "Seven Four", and "Drum Concert" LP, Vinyl record album

Not European rock, but funky jazz instead – served up by a very cool Japanese group with a lot of funky undercurrents! The approach here is similar to some of the other Sound Ltd albums from Takeshi Inomata – a reworking of an older big band mode, with more electric and groovy elements – including standout work on electric bass, guitar, and Hammond! There's some of the usual instrumentation in the mix too – trumpet, tenor, and some mighty nice flute – and many of the tunes are reworkings of late 60s rock numbers, but given a funky jazz twist that's mighty nice. The album's worth it alone for a sublime remake of Donovan's "Barabajagal" – and other tracks include "Something", "London Bridge Is Falling Down", "Goodbye", "Greensleeves", "Mustache", and "Hurdy Gurdy Man". LP, Vinyl record album

A really far-reaching and dynamic little set from Japanese drummer Akira Ishikawa and his Count Buffalos group – one that definitely lives up to the promise of its Electrum title! As you might guess from a word like that, the sound here is relatively electric – served up with electric piano, clavinet, guitar, and electric bass – all in a style that's a lot more relaxed and open than some of the group's other work, almost in the best mode of spacier electric jazz from the US at the same time. Tracks are all quite long, and spun out in really evocative ways – dipping, turning, and cascading with a lot of soulfully searching energy. Titles include "The Eyebrow", "Electrum", "Revulsion", and "Speak Under My Breath". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible record from two of the biggest Japanese jazz talents of the 60s – and a set that may well be one of the best that either of them cut in the decade! Drummer George Kawaguchi's got an approach to the kit that's usually straight ahead, and full-on – but here, he diverges nicely, and mixes it up – going for some slightly sensitive rhythms at times, mixed with other driving moments that almost have an Art Blakey vibe – all to produced a perfect setting for reedman Hidehiko Sleepy Matsumoto, a player who's usually recorded in relatively straight ways – but who opens up here with a soulful swing that's just brilliant! Some passages actually have the players in kind of searching, searing mode – before returning to a straighter groove – and the album features the tunes "GS Blues", "Viet Nam", "Sweet & Lovely", "Tuesday Samba", and "On Green Dolphin Street". LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure Japanese funk record from the 70s – one served up by a youthful gang of guys who first met in school, then got the chance to record this super-underground gem! The tracks are all tuneful, and have some really great guitar work in the lead – and a vibe that's a nicely stripped-down take on modes that would get more commercial in the city pop years, but which are delivered here by a very spontaneous, down to earth combo! Vocals are in English on a few cuts, Japanese overall – and titles include "Last Concert", "Drive", "Skating Baby", "Free Way Gang", "Lagy Girl", and "You Know What I Feel". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest records ever from the great Izumi Kobayashi – a set that's even funkier and more soulful than some of her other albums, with a vibe that nicely sits on both sides of the late 70s/early 80s scene! There's some great live instrumentation on the set – particularly some Latin jazz moments that really warm things up – yet the album also has some killer 80s funk elements too, especially on the basslines, which are much bolder than you'll usually hear on a Japanese album of the time – and which, like most of the other instrumentation, seems very strongly influenced by soulful fusion work of the period! The whole thing is great – a rock-solid gem – and titles include "Crazy Love", "Coconuts High", "Small Dynamite", "Palm St", "Penaten", and "The 4th Dimension Butterfly". LP, Vinyl record album

A record with a really stunning sort of sound – one that takes the already-great genius of Izumi Kobayashi and mixes it with the brilliant production skills of Holger Hiller – a match made in heaven when it comes to the vibe of the set! Kobayashi is still using her mix of offbeat vocals and tuneful ambient elements here – but Hiller has a way of isolating and bringing forward all these different parts of the music – so that the record bristles with a quality that's really stunning! The music is experimental while also being completely charming – and titles include "Days", "Merlin", "Rubie", "One Million Years In Archway", "Piano Ballet", and "Infant Sorrow". LP, Vinyl record album

There's plenty of nuts in the title, and the album's overflowing with a great blend of soul, fusion, and Latin influences – all delivered with a hell of a lot of sharpness in the instrumentation, and a richness of feeling that's very different than the work of some of the 80s contemporaries of Izumi Kobayashi! Kobayashi's music often has a bit of a tropical fantasy in the themes – yet it's never just a bit of candyfloss, as she really gets in deeply with the grooves – and lets the instrumentation get pushed up forward, especially the percussion and keyboard lines, which are great throughout! There's a bit of vocals on the set, but the instrumentation is really center stage – and titles include "Coffee Rumba", "Dance F", "After The Rain", "Feeling Free", "Evening Shower", and "Love Game". LP, Vinyl record album

Izumi Kobayashi works here in a playful mode that really lives up to the title – more tuneful and catchy than her later ambient and experimental work – and at a level that fits in nicely with the city pop generation, but also has all sorts of quirky elements as well! The record almost feels like one of those unique hybrids the Ze Records label was issuing at the time – mixing electro pop with global currents that filter through the mix with almost a freewheeling sense of stylistic interplay – art pop, but without ever sounding arch at all! The set includes a very creative remake of "Mas Que Nada" – and other cuts include "Wind Song", "Gold Red Dancer", "Le Voyou", "Nereid", and "Crescent Pierce". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic early album from Izumi Kobayashi, and exactly the kind of soulful fusion set that the Japanese scene did so well back in the 70s! Izumi plays keyboards and sings, very much in the mode of Patrice Rushen during her Elektra years – so that the keyboards get plenty of space in the arrangements, which is great given that the album features some killer accompaniment from the Flying Mimi Band – a great funky fusion combo with excellent basslines from Morio Watanabe, and a range of reed solos from Yasuaki Shimizu! Kobayashi is great on the keys – jazzier here than on her later albums – and titles include "Carnival", "Sea Flight", "Angel Sky", "Concrete Wave", "Naze", and "Summer Wine". LP, Vinyl record album

The "new dawn" here is very well put – as the duo of Shuya Okino & Yoshihiro Okino are very much back in action as Kyoto Jazz Massive – working with all the soulful styles of their long legacy in music, but also drawing on some of the best jazzy currents of their other work in recent years! The album's light years ahead of their work in the previous century – and they've also got some great jazz contributions from other hip Japanese combos on the scene – as well as work on vibes from the great Roy Ayers on one cut, and vocals from the great Vanessa Freeman on a few more! The whole thing's a great evolution of the sound of Tokyo club that we first fell in love with years back – and titles include "Primal Echo", "Astral Ascension", "Visions Of Tomorrow", "Get Up", "Revolution Evolution", "The Mask", and "Eternal Tide". LP, Vinyl record album

A totally wonderful little record that's every bit as sexy as you might guess from the cover – and which also has some of the groovy French elements you might expect from the title! The set's got this slinky, erotic vibe that's almost in Serge Gainsbourg territory – save for the fact that the tunes are mostly instrumental, and Monica Lassen seems mostly on the set to moan, giggle, and make other expressions of pleasure as the set goes on – a bit like the presence of a woman on a sexy French record at the end of the 60s! The music is very cool, too – somewhere in a space between late 60s European soundtrack modes and bossa nova – with lots of cool organ lines, soulful sax, captivating rhythms, and cool effects that further underscore the sound of the set – on titles that include "Dalliance In Wave", "On Rollin Yacht", "A Lodge Of Joy", "Embrace Ment", "Path For Two", and "Che Vuole Quesat Musica Stasere". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's definitely all woman – thanks to the sexy sounds of Monica Lassen on vocals! The singer works at a wordless level here – breezily scatting alongside these slinky, jazzy lines from The Sounds – a Japanese group who've clearly drunk deep from the well of bossa nova and European soundtrack influences of the 60s – and find a way to create their own small combo variation of those styles! The music has bits of organ, guitar, flute, and even what feels like electronics at points – and Monica's often more than content to step back, and let the group groove, then come in for a sigh, a moan, or a lighter vocalized passage. Titles are as sexy as the image on the cover – and include "Three Woman", "Love Touch", "Whimper", "Incitation", and "Happiness" – plus the long "Tie In/Double Bed/Enjoy Time". LP, Vinyl record album

A jazzy bit of city soul from Yoko Maeno – a singer who's got a style that's partly like some of her Japanese contemporaries, and partly in a breathier mode – maybe a bit in territory that's like Jane Birkin and some other French singers of the 70s! The tunes have a nicely slinky vibe – arranged by Chikara Ueda, who uses just the right blend of keyboards and guitars next to warmer jazzier horns – including some great alto and soprano from Toshiyuki Honda, who you might know from fusion albums of his own. Lyrics are in English and Japanese – and titles include "Twilight Circle", "Winelight", "Miracle Basket", "Carnival No Youni", "Longest Night", and "After Summertime". LP, Vinyl record album

A slinky, soulful set from the Japanese scene of the early 80s – one of those records from a time when it really seemed that jazz fusion was informing some of the best records from singers overseas – and that's definitely the case here! There's a warm jazzy glow to the record that's wonderful – and Takako Mamiya sings with a style that's right up there with some of the most sophisticated American soul singers of the period – particularly that shift that happened in the late 70s with artists like Phyllis Hyman or Marlena Shaw – although the lyrics here are all in Japanese. Genji Sawai produced, and handled some of the arrangements – and titles include "Love Trip", "One More Night", "Mayonaka No Joke", "All Or Nothing", "Chinese Restaurant", and "Nagisa De Dance". LP, Vinyl record album

With James P Johnson, Yank Lawson, Pee Wee Russell, Sidney Catlett, Max Kaminsky, Joe Sullivan, Benny Morton and Joe Buskin. CD

Gutsy tenor work from Jimmy Forrest – a player who was poised to rival Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons at the start of the 60s, and who could have easily done so, given the strength of his work for Prestige! The record's one of a few that the St Louis player got to cut for the label – and it's a tightly-crafted combo effort that features Hugh Lawson on piano, Tommy Potter on bass, and Clarendon Johnson on drums – plus a bit of added conga from Ray Barretto, bringing in that extra "kick" that pushed off other great soul jazz sessions from the time! Tracks are short, and have a good focus on Forrest's wonderful tone – and titles include "Sonny Boy", "Annie Laurie", "I Love You", "Most Much", "Soft Winds", "Matilda", and "Autumn Leaves". CD

With Yank Lawson, Bob Haggart, Pee Wee Erwin, Ray McKinley, Trigger Alpert, Cutty Cutshall, Bob Dickerson, Mugsy Spanier, Peanuts Hucko, and Carmen Mastren. CD

A 70s gem from Greenslade – a record that's filled with keyboard lines that really soar, thanks to leader Dave Greenslade – and vocals from Dave Lawson, who almost seems to have the same sort of energy as a young Freddie Mercury! The mix of elements here is great – at a level that should have made Greenslade much bigger at the time, as they really come on with a topshelf performance that rivals the best of this crossover prog generation. The drums are fantastic, too – really setting a solid ground while the organ and other keyboards soar over the top. Titles include "Pilgrim's Progress", "Drum Folk", "Sunkissed You're Not", "Chalk Hill", "Time To Dream", and "Bedside Manners Are Extra". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful late 50s work by Yusef Lateef – played in that "jazz exotic" style he was using to perfect form at the time, a mixture of the lyrical hard bop of the Horace Silver group, with some of the more spare and eastern styles used by groups like the early Sun Ra Arkestra. The drummer, Frank Gant, makes ample use of brushes and mallets to keep the rhythms in a mode that works with the overall sound – and other players include trumpeter Lonnie Hillyer and pianist Hugh Lawson, both of whom were part of the super-hip Detroit scene that spawned Lateef. Titles include "Cry Tender", "Butter's Blues", "Dopolous", "Sea Breeze", and "The Snow Is Green". CD

A great collection of the genius work that Yusef Lateef cut for the Savoy label in his early years – a haunting mix of hardbop and exotic instrumentation that may well be some of Lateef's greatest music ever! Yusef plays tenor and flute, and he's backed by a Detroit group that includes Wilbur Harden on flugelhorn, Hugh Lawson on piano and ocarina, Ernie Farrow on bass and earthboard and Oliver Jackson on drums and gong. 13 numbers in all, including "Prayer To The East", "8540 12th Street", 'Sounds Of Nature", "Seulb", "Lover Man", "Gypsy Arab", "Night In Tunisia", 'Love Dance", "Sram","Endura" and "Delilah". LP, Vinyl record album

Yusef Lateef explores a number of different world music rhythms on a mix of woodwind instruments that includes tenor, basoon, flute, oboe, and shanas. He's joined here by the great Richard Williams on trumpet, whose playing with Lateef is always excellent. The rest of the group's made up of some of Lateef's best early rhythm players, including Hugh Lawson, Ernie Barrows, and Lex Humphries. Tracks include "Abana", "India", "Yusef's French Brother", "Utopia", "Ringo Oiwake", and "The Good Old Roast Beef Of England", which is pretty goofy. LP, Vinyl record album

70s UK compilation of 50s recordings, featuring Harry Edison, Sonny Criss, Benny Carter, Flip Phillips, Bob Lawson, Barney Kessel, and Peter Ind. LP, Vinyl record album

A killer later date from tenor genius Charlie Rouse – one that's quite different than his famous 60s work with Thelonious Monk, but equally wonderful in its own sort of way! The tracks are open, relaxed, and nicely swinging – with Rouse at the head of a quartet that features Hugh Lawson on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Ben Riley on drums – a nicely soulful trio, with solos from Lawson that ever every much a draw as the work by Rouse! But Charlie's the real charmer here – blowing his tenor with this raspy depth that almost has us wondering if he's using a baritone at times – serving up changes that sometimes reflect the modernism of his youth, but in a nicely subtle way. Titles include "Royal Love", "A Child Is Born", "The Clucker", "Let Me", and "Joobobie". CD

Jimmy Haslip on bass, Ricky Lawson on drums and percussion, Russell Ferrante on keyboards, Marc Russo on alto saxophone, and Paulinho Da Costa on percussion. LP, Vinyl record album

A hard soul party that's well worth the Allnighter title! The set features 21 stormers – all in the harder range of the Northern Soul spectrum, including many great ones that haven't been compiled before. Titles include "Standing At A Standstill" by Sherlock Holmes, "My Baby's Been Cheating" by AC Reed, "Do You Still Love Me" by Cookie Jackson, "I've Only Got Myself to Blame" by Bobby Williams, "Like My Love For You" by The Four Tracks, "Just Like The Hero" by Ed Cooper, "Ain't Gonna Give You Up" by The Volumes, "The Star" by Shirley Lawson, "I Am Nothing (inst)" by LaBeat Orchestra, "Wrong Wrong Wrong" by Ray & Dave, "Crazy Things" by Joe Douglas, "Walkin Back" by Jackie Taylor, and "You Satisfy My Needs" by Big Dee Irwin. CD

A collection of vintage Starday recordings, with selections by Truitt Forse, Cousin Arnold, Dave Brockmann, Utah Carl, Cliff Blakely, Carl Trantham, Jimmy Johnson, Sony Burns, Johnny Tyler, Bill Floyd, Lawson Rudd, Larry Nolan, and Dave Woolum. LP, Vinyl record album

Two Capitol classics from the great Gene Dunlap – back to back on a single CD! First up is It's Just The Way I Feel – a classic soulful fusion album recorded and released during the crucial years of the "Capitol Rare" sound! Gene Dunlap is a jazz drummer at heart – but he's got a flair for the modern soul song – and in the same style as Norman Connors or Harvey Mason before him, he manages to put together a strong record of grooves and ballads from behind the kit! The strongest point of the record is work by The Ridgeways, a female soul trio who sing on the best tracks, giving them a smooth Jones Girls-ish kind of sound. The album includes two modern soul classics – "Before You Break My Heart" and "It's Just the Way I Feel" – plus "Love Dancin", "Rock Radio", "I Got You", and "Surest Things Can Change". Party In Me is wonderful work from Gene Dunlap – a jazzy soul drummer, and also a maestro with a killer ear for a modern soul groove! The album's got a mix of grooves and sophistication that are a bit like the best early 80s material from Roy Ayers – never chartbound, and never too commercial – but nice and tight, and really well put together! The instrumentation has plenty of jazzy 80s groove touches – especially in the keyboards – and Dunlap does a nice job of balancing up beat tracks with the mellow moments we love so much in his work. Vocals are from a variety of singers – including the great Ethel Beatty, who'd sung with Roy Ayers – plus Phillippe Wynne, Pam Lawson, and Gene himself – and titles include "Something Inside My Head", "Something Special", "Corner Pocket", "There Will Never Be Another (Like You)", "Party In Me", "Jam City", and "This One's On Me". CD

With John Williams, Blanche Calloway, Edgar Battle, Mary Lou Williams, Clarence Williams, John Harrington, Harry Lawson, and Claude Williams. CD

With Mary Lou Williams, Red Donnelly, Dick Wilson, Claude Williams, Harry Lawson, Ben Thigpen, Henry Wells, John Williams, and Pha Terrell. CD

Haunting set of stripped down tracks by the brilliant Yusef Lateef, who not only plays his usual assortment of reeds here – tenor, alto, flute, and oboe – but also lays down a bit of theremin! He's accompanied by Hugh Lawson on piano, Reggie Workman on bass, and Roy Brooks on drums – and the track list includes "Chuen Blues", "Psyche Rose", and "Sound Wave", which is a great showcase for the theremin. LP, Vinyl record album

A half dozen of the nice soul jazz numbers Lateef cut for Atlantic in the late 60s, with a bevy of top notch sidemen that include Joe Zawinul, Bernard Purdie, Ray Barretto, Cecil McBee, Hugh Lawson, Eric Gale, Chuck Rainey and Tootie Heath. Includes "Buddy & Lou", "Live Humble", "Stay With Me", "Juba Juba", "In The Evenin'" and "Russell & Elliot". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful album that's as swinging as it is exotic! The record really picks up the groove from Lateef's earlier sides for Savoy – and features a mixture of hardbop and more "Eastern" themed musical images, all extremely compelling, and a wonderful look at a jazz underground that rarely got a voice on record. Lateef plays tenor, but also flute and argol in a snaking moody way – and he's joined by a group that features Wilbur Harden, Hugh Lawson, Ernie Farrow, and Oliver Jackson, all of whom play the usual bass, piano, drums, plus some odd bits on percussion and strange instruments. Titles include "Anastasia", "Minor Mood", "Taboo", and "Mahaba". CD

Great early work from Yusef Lateef – one of his key early albums for the Savoy label – all of which are pivotal albums in an early spiritual jazz tradition, and are as noteworthy for mixing instrumentation and styles as are later recordings on labels like Tribe and Strata East! Yusef's playing here with a core of players from the Detroit jazz underground – Oliver Jackson, Hugh Lawson, and Ernie Farrow – and the album features the added presence of Wilbur Hardin on fleugelhorn. The tracks are long, with a spiritual groove, even when the band is playing standards. Titles include "Prayer To The East", "Love Dance", "Endura", and "Night In Tunisia". CD

John Handy on alto saxophone, Charlie Haden on bass, Dannie Richmond on drums, Hugh Lawson on piano, George Adams on tenor saxophone, Jimmy Knepper on trombone, and Ted Curson on trumpet. CD