A massive batch of funky soul jazz – the Second Movement (to the first album Swiss Movement) of the collaboration of Eddie Harris and Les McCann! The vibe here is even freer, and hipper, than on the first set – with a host of long tracks that have Les really working the Fender Rhodes into some great grooves, as Eddie blows along some mean, mad Varitone with equal charm! Players include Bernard Purdie, Buck Clarke, and Cornell Dupree – and titles include "Saima", "Carry On Brother", "Universal Prisoner", and the brilliant sample cut "Shorty Rides Again"! CD

Mostly vocal – but a set that has Les singing and playing along with some very funky backing! The live setting does nothing to diminish the funky sound that Les had been hitting in the mid 70s – and in fact, it seems to let the players in the group open up even more, jamming it hard with extended solos that you don't always get on Les' studio albums. Titles include "Change Change Change", "North Carolina", "The River", "The Song Of Love", "I Don't Want To Say Goodbye To A Brother", and "Rid Of Me". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Wild electric work from Les McCann – an album of free, open sounds that's quite a change from his styles of the 60s – and from most of his other work of the 70s too! Side one features an extended 26 minute track titled "The Lovers" – a slow-building number that has Les on sublime Fender Rhodes, as things build slowly with this really spiritual current that comes from the addition of Yusef Lateef on reeds, Cornell Dupree and David Spinozza on guitar, Corky Hale on harp, and both Bernard Purdie and Alphonse Mouzon on drums! The track is loose, but builds into some great funky moments – almost a keyboard version of electric Miles Davis at the time, but a lot more soulful. And side two continues the heavy keyboard vibe – with a killer remake of Les' classic "Beaux J Poo Poo" and a similar "Poo Pye McGoochie", both with the kind of choppy funky grooves Les laid down with Eddie Harris a few years prior! LP, Vinyl record album

The title track was most likely meant to be something of a hit for Les McCann back in his early Pacific Jazz years – and while it maybe didn't hit the heights of the charts at the time, it's still a great little cooker that leads off a tasty little set! The group here is Les' "Ltd" combo – with Ron Jefferson on drums and Herbie Lewis on bass – almost a west coast answer to the classic Ramsey Lewis group in Chicago, although one that plays here with a slightly more laidback sort of groove. Jefferson's rhythm is always a treat, and Herbie's bass is nice and sharp too – and tracks include some good originals by Les, including "The Shampoo", "Smile Stacey", "Someone Stole My Chitlins", "Filet Of Soul", and "You Thought I Knew" – plus versions of "Out Of This World" and "Woody N You". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic album in the mode of soul jazz piano grooviness that put Les on the map, even back in the early days! The album was recorded live at The Bit, on the Sunset Strip, in LA – and it features Les' classic group with Leroy Vinnegar on bass and Ron Jefferson on drums. Tracks are short and groovy – and titles include "The Shout", "Set Call", "Jubilation", and "Night In Tunisia". CD

The 70s genius of Les McCann – opened up here wonderfully in the space of a double-length live performance! Tracks are all nice and long – and Les steps out strongly on Fender Rhodes and clavinet, ringing out with amazing tones that are really wonderful – kind of the electric depth of the Circles record, mixed with some of the sharper soul of other early 70s albums! The small group features great conga work from Buck Clarke, who kicks in some great elements to really drive the rhythms – and the open space of the record really gives Les plenty of room to sing alongside his keyboards. Titles include "Carry On Brother", "Home Again", "Get Yourself Together", "Compared To What", "Cochise", and "Price You Got To Pay To Be Free". CD

Includes work with Richard Groove Holmes, Gerald Wilson, Stanley Turrentine, Lou Rawls, and Eddie Harris. 21 tracks total. CD

The extremely successful union of two of Atlantic's biggest funky jazz stars, caught live in Switzerland, with the amazing Benny Bailey sitting in on trumpet. The tracks are long and funky, and are virtually a blueprint for pop soul jazz playing of the time – mixing slinky rhythms with some breakout solos that show that all players are still deeply committed to a strong jazz sound. Titles include "Cold Duck Time", "The Generation Gap", "Kathleen's Theme", and their great version of "Compared To What", with the famous vocal by Les that made the track a soul jazz vocal hit! LP, Vinyl record album

The extremely successful union of two of Atlantic's biggest funky jazz stars, caught live in Switzerland, with the amazing Benny Bailey sitting in on trumpet. The tracks are long and funky, and are virtually a blueprint for pop soul jazz playing of the time – mixing slinky rhythms with some breakout solos that show that all players are still deeply committed to a strong jazz sound. Titles include "Cold Duck Time", "The Generation Gap", "Kathleen's Theme", and their great version of "Compared To What", with the famous vocal by Les that made the track a soul jazz vocal hit! CD also features the bonus track "Kaftan". CD

Les McCann captured live on piano and vocals. Tracks include "The Girl From Ipanema", "Beau J Poo Boo", "Gus Gus", and a nice version of Marv Jenkins' "Big City". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Lou's most jazz-oriented albums – featuring backing by Les McCann's famous trio with Leroy Vinnegar and Ron Jefferson, perfectly suited to Lou's soulful renditions of the tunes on the album. Most of the numbers are bluesy ones, but as usual, Lou manages to give them his own hip twist – always a pleasure for us! Titles include "In The Evening", "Sweet Lover", "Willow Weep For Me", "Stormy Monday", and "'Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Lou's most jazz-oriented albums – featuring backing by Les McCann's famous trio with Leroy Vinnegar and Ron Jefferson, perfectly suited to Lou's soulful renditions of the tunes on the album. Most of the numbers are bluesy ones, but as usual, Lou manages to give them his own hip twist – always a pleasure for us! Titles include "In The Evening", "Sweet Lover", "Willow Weep For Me", "Stormy Monday", and "'Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do". CD features 3 bonus cuts – "A Little Les Of Lou's Blues", "Blues Is A Woman", and an alternate take of "Stormy Monday". CD

Two of LA's leading soul jazz luminaries – playing head to head in an interesting session that mixes lines on piano and organ! McCann gives the set a good rollicking rhythm, and Holmes' increasing skill on the Hammond makes the set blow out over the top – and the pair get backing by Joe Pass on guitar, Ron Jefferson on drums, and the enigmatic Joe Splink on tenor, who we're sure is a more famous player, working here uncredited due to contract restrictions. The tracks are all originals by Les –a nd titles include "Black Groove", "Me & Groove", "Comin Through The Apple", "Carma", and "Somethin Special", which grooves for over 9 minutes! LP, Vinyl record album

By this point in his career, Les McCann's moved past straight jazz, and is spending a lot of time on vocals – sung in a nice raspy style that makes up for what it lacks in technique with a nice dose of soul! The record's got a few cuts that have some good funky riffs – like the jaunty "Some Day We'll Meet Again", and "The Morning Song", which has an intro that's especially nice. Other tracks include "The Song Of Love", "Maybe You'll Come Back", and "My Soul Lies Deep". LP, Vinyl record album

A very hip record of vocal tracks – done in the same sort of spiritual soul style that Les introduced on Roberta Flack's first album, and which was also showing up on some of Donny Hathaway's work for Atlantic. While the record is not on of McCann's funkiest, it more than makes up for that with the well-conceived vocal performances – especially on the tracks that feature arrangements by William S Fischer. Titles include "What I Call Soul", "How Many Broken Wings", "Can't We Be Strangers Again", "Comment", and "Baby Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

A 70s set that collects tracks from Les early years at World Pacific – playing in a very popular 60s soul jazz blend of jazz and gospel influences. Most titles feature Ron Jefferson on drums, but rare groove master Paul Humphrey appears on two songs, and Charles Kynard makes a cameo appearance as well – and an additional track features backing by the Gerald Wilson Orchestra. Titles include groovers like "Fish This Week", "We'll See Yaw'll After While", "Vakushna", "Send It Down To Me", "The Shampoo", "Someone Stole my Chitlins", "The Shout" and "Gone On & Get That Church". Dixie fried and sanctified! LP, Vinyl record album

Wild electric work from Les McCann – an album of free, open sounds that's quite a change from his styles of the 60s – and from most of his other work of the 70s too! Side one features an extended 26 minute track titled "The Lovers" – a slow-building number that has Les on sublime Fender Rhodes, as things build slowly with this really spiritual current that comes from the addition of Yusef Lateef on reeds, Cornell Dupree and David Spinozza on guitar, Corky Hale on harp, and both Bernard Purdie and Alphonse Mouzon on drums! The track is loose, but builds into some great funky moments – almost a keyboard version of electric Miles Davis at the time, but a lot more soulful. And side two continues the heavy keyboard vibe – with a killer remake of Les' classic "Beaux J Poo Poo" and a similar "Poo Pye McGoochie", both with the kind of choppy funky grooves Les laid down with Eddie Harris a few years prior! CD

This might well be the best album that Les McCann ever cut during the 70s! It's got some killer electric piano riffs, of the sort that are being sampled heavily today by the kids, and which are getting his music to a whole new generation. The tracks have a tight spacey funk sound, and they don't have any of the vocals that (we feel) can often get in the way of some of Les' later works! Loads of great tracks, including "The Harlem Buck Dance Strut" and "Dunbar High School Marching Band", both of which are nice and sexy and funky, and with a cool dope sound to them! Other tracks include "Before I Rest", "Soaring (At Sunset)", and "Sometimes I Cry". CD

A groovy set of late 60s soul jazz piano tunes – played by Les McCann in a swinging style that pre-dates his 70s funk work – and which also features him playing in a strictly instrumental setting! The core of the material is by Les' trio with Leroy Vinnegar on bass – but most tracks feature an expanded sound, either by adding Willie Bobo and Victor Pantoja on Latin percussion, or by backing the group with off-beat arrangements by the great William Fischer, whose talents had graced some of the best Atlantic jazz albums at the time! Titles include "Burnin Coal", "Doin That Thing", "Roberta", and a groovy version of "Love For Sale". LP, Vinyl record album

The only album we've ever seen from pianist Stan Hope – an obscure east coast player who also spent a good portion of his career touring overseas. Hope's working here in a blues-drenched soul jazz piano mode – a bit like the Les McCann LTD albums of the 60s, with a similarly-solid rhythm team of Peck Morrison on bass and Walter Perkins on drums – really helping Stan to round out the grooves! Morrison's bass is recorded with a really warm, round tone that dominates the bottom of the record wonderfully – making for a sweetly swinging groove on most tracks, even in places where you wouldn't expect it! Hope's fluttering all over the keys, but keeping things nicely in the pocket at all times – and titles include "Wave", "Honey", "You're Gonna Hear From Me", "All Blues", "Stanley Steamer", and "They All Say You're The Biggest Fool". CD

Nothing fancy – but some great short little soul jazz numbers that show The Jazz Crusaders grooving at their early best! The tenor of Wilton Felder, trombone of Wayne Henderson, and piano of Joe Sample really carry the set – and the album's got some great originals that include "Purple Onion", "Stix March", "Some Samba", "Close Shave", and "Free Sample". Also includes a nice reading of John Barry's "Theme From The L Shaped Room" and Les McCann's "Sassy". LP, Vinyl record album

Where it's at with Stanley Turrentine – circa 1962 – a time when the tenorist was really hitting on all burners, and turning out some tremendous work for Blue Note! The album's got Stan working with a special guest – a rare Blue Note appearance from pianist Les McCann, who's also at the height of his early career here – and really brings great energy to a quartet that also includes Herbie Lewis on bass and Otis Finch on drums. Les' piano has a nice bite – and really makes for a great groove alongside Stan's round, warm, raspy tone – a righteous sort of energy that drives the record strongly, in ways that are different than some of Turrentine's other sessions of the time. The whole thing's a cooker – and titles include "Pia", "Smile, Stacey", "Dorene Don't Cry I", and "Light Blue". LP, Vinyl record album

A great mix of funky jazz, jazzy funk, and funky soul – all pulled from the Atlantic catalog of the 60s, and including some very tasty numbers that were only ever issued as funky 45s! The set's one of the nicest in the great Mod Jazz series on Ace, and it's the only one to feature Atlantic material, which rarely ever gets the same funky treatment as other labels from the 60s. Titles include "The Sidewinder" by Tamiko Jones & Herbie Mann, "Do It To Death" by Jackie Ivory, "Jet Set" by Dave Pike, "Fever" by Esther Phillips, "Jam Up Twist" by Tommy Ridgely, "Sticks & Stones (part 1)" by Gene Ludwig, "Bloodshot" by Hubert Laws, "Sombrero Sam" by Charles Lloyd, "The Foolkiller" by Mose Allison, "One Note Samba" by MJQ & Laurindo Almeida, "It's A Funky Thing – Right On (part 1)" by Herbie Mann, "Watermelon Man Ska" by Byron Lee & The Dragonaires, "Trese Lobos" by Mark III Trio, "You're The Boss" by LaVern Baker & Jimmy Ricks, "Burnin Coal" by Les McCann, and "Twist City" by Matthew Gee & Johnny Griffin. 26 cuts in all – and like finding a jukebox that's lain dormant in a jazz lounge for 30 years! CD

All the good stuff from Joe Pass, and none of the gimmicky sessions – all in one great package, with lots of unissued tracks! Includes material from sessions for the Joe Pass albums Catch Me, Joy Spring, For Django, and 12 String Guitar Movie Themes – plus the Les McCann albums On Time and Soul Hits – both of which have Pass playing with McCann's group! CD

Early soul jazz piano work from Takehiro Honda – recorded in a style that's quite different than most of his later albums! The sound here is full and rich – with Honda's work on the keys augmented by fuller backings arranged by Teddy Adams – all recorded in the US (we think), with a quality that's a fair bit like some of the best soul jazz coming out of LA at the end of the 60s! Honda plays both acoustic and electric piano – and the groove has a hiply vamping style that's always verging on funky, but which is a bit more laidback overall. The record echoes with plenty of the best influences from Les McCann, The Crusaders, Gerald Wilson, and other west coast soul jazz figures – and titles include "Greasy Spoon", "Sham Time", "Ain't Tell You A Good Way But", "Ain't It Funky Now", "What's Going On", and "Check Out Your Mind" LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful work from French pianist Michel Sardaby – a wonderfully lyrical talent with a sweeping and soulful flair! The set's got a stripped-down approach that has Sardaby working with bassist Gilbert Rovere and drummer Philippe Combelle – sometimes hitting the keys in a harder style that has touches of Les McCann, but mostly gliding magically in that warm and soulful mode that's made more than a few of his albums jazz dance classics! Includes the great groover "Come From No Where", plus other wonderful originals like "Lament For Billy", "Wendy", "Empty Room", and "Always Room For One More". Plus, the CD also features a full bonus album by Sardaby – the Con Alma set recorded in Paris in 1964! That album's in a similar trio mode, and features backing by bassist Michel Finet and Philippe Combelle – on tracks that include the wonderfully-titled "Volcanic", plus "Brother Bill", "Con Alma", "Little Sister", and "Blues For Mae". CD

Wonderful work from the Three Sounds – a tight little combo who weren't out to break any rules in jazz, but who made some excellent albums for Blue Note in the early 60s! The groove here is hard-edge soul jazz piano at its best – similar to early Les McCann work of the same vintage, with a strong sense of rhythm on the left hand, and some wonderfully complicated lines on the right – an early example of the genius of Gene Harris. Harris also shows a nice sense of thoughtfulness on the mellower cuts, too – which still swing in their own sort of way, thanks to the work of Andrew Simpkins on bass and Bill Dowdy on drums. Titles include the great original "Dap's Groove" – plus "Sermonette", "Hey There", "Nothin But The Blues", "Street Of Dreams", and "Little Girl Blue". CD

Electro soul pioneer and resurgent creative force Giorgio Moroder gets the front cover honor, and rightfully so – with classic electro-inspired Brooklyn instrumentalists Ratatat on the backside! This issue includes great features on both, plus pieces on Steve Arrington, Divine Styler, Van Hunt, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, the photography of soul jazz hero Les McCann, the too often underappreciated female voices of dancefloor soul legends Chic, and lots more! The always photo rich style of Wax Poetics is in full force here, too. One of the best issues in a while! Magazine

Here it is, the mother of them all! The set's got 8CDs worth of killer soul, funk, and Rhythm & Blues – all culled from the rich history of the Atlantic records label, and lovingly put together with great notes and everything! Although this sort of set usually tends to be a bit simplistic, this box actually features a beautiful mix of tracks, lots of which are hard to get in any format. It's a lot to go through, but it's worth the trip! We can't even begin to list the tracks here, there's 203(!) of them in all, but some of the artists include the Bar Kays, the Beginning of the End, Archie Bell & The Drells, Ruth Brown, Solomon Burke, the Capitols, Clarence Carter, the Chords, the Cookies, Don Covay, King Curtis, Tyrone Davis, the Drifters, Roberta Flack, King Floyd, Aretha Franklin, Major Harris, Donny Hathaway, the Ikettes, Willis Jackson, Nat Kendricks & The Swans, Barabra Lewis,the Mar-keys, Les McCann & Eddie Harris, Stick McGhee, Otis & Carla, the Persuaders, Percy Sledge, The Spinners, Willie Tee, Joe Tex, Chuck Willis, Betty Wright and loads more! CD

Music from Catalyst, Les McCann, Joao Donato, Grant Green, Carlos Garnett, Eddie Jefferson and more. CD

A stoned-out batch of funky jazz tracks from the Atlantic catalog of the 60s and early 70s – 13 funky and trippy tunes that sound wonderful together! Some tracks are straight and funky, others have a bit of a goofy edge, and others have an expanded consciousness that fits well with the Head Jazz theme! Titles include "Equinox" by Hubert Laws, "Let's Gather" by Les McCann, "Silver Cycles" by Eddie Harris, "The Lovers" by Les McCann, "In A Little Spanish Town" by Yusef Lateef, "Lover's Lament" by Hank Crawford, "Island Cry" by Rahsaan Roland Kirk, "Catbird Seat" by Mitchell-Ruff Trio, "Soul Of A Village (part 2)" by Joe Zawinul, "Ramblin" by Ornette Coleman, "Day By Day" by Jimmy Scott, and "This Old Building" by Yusef Lateef. CD

An excellent box set that brings together all of the material recorded at the unique Newport Festival in 1972 – the historic shift to New York City after the previous year's effort in Rhode Island was shut down by demonstrators! The package features a whopping 6 albums in all – 4 of which are Jam session volumes, with material from players who include Charles Mingus, Jimmy Owens, Charles McPherson, Buddy Tate, Big Black, Milt Jackson, Max Roach, Jaki Byard, Nat Adderley, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, and many others – all playing long, open, live tracks. LP 5 features "The Jimmy Smith Jam" – a very jamming set of work by Smith, with help from Kenny Burrell on guitar and Zoot Sims on tenor. LP 6 is "The Soul Sessions" – featuring soul material from Roberta Flack, Curtis Mayfield, Les McCann, and Herbie Mann. LP, Vinyl record album

Throw away your crates and just pack this album under your arm for a gig – and you'll have 16 classic funky tracks to get the party started right! As with other volumes, the focus here is on 70s tracks sampled by hip hoppers during the mid and late 90s – with full sample credits for all tunes, so that you can remember where you remember them from! Titles include "Strollin" by Jack McDuff, "Danube Incident" by Lalo Schifrin, "Born to be Blue" by Jack Bruce, "Lovely Is Today" by Eddie Harris, "Little Lady Maria (skit)" by Ohio Players, "Pastures (skit)" by Ahmad Jamal, "Ready Or Not" by The Delfonics, "Tripping Out" by Curtis Mayfield, "I Can't Stand The Rain" by Ann Peebles, "Vallarta (skit)" by Les McCann, "ET Boogie" by Extra T's, "Sign Song" by Buddy Baker, "American Fruit, African Roots" by Zulema, "Shamboozie" by Bob James, and "The World Is A Place" by Rhythm. LP, Vinyl record album

Simple stuff – but very nice! Ray's working here in a live trio setting – ala Ramsey Lewis or Les McCann from the same time – and his work on the album has a similar gutbuckety soul feel to it. The rhythm section of Jimmy Rowser bass and Rudy Collins drums is very tight – and the best cuts kick along with a heavy groove that's a lot more than you'd expect from the setting. Titles include "Little Suzie", "Takin My Ease", "City Tribal Dance", and "Prayer Song". LP, Vinyl record album

Super-righteous work from William S Fischer – the ultra-hip arranger who was one of the most important forces in the late 60s underground soul jazz scene! Fischer is best known for his work with Eugene McDaniels, Eddie Harris, and Les McCann – almost akin to the sorts of collaborative influence that David Axelrod had with Cannonball Adderley or Lou Rawls, but with a style that was decidedly darker, and trippier. This album's one of the few ever recorded under his own name – originally done for the tripped-out jazz imprint Embryo, and featuring a unique blend of moog, strings, funk, and soul! Billy Cobham plays drums and percussion on the set, Bill Robinson sings on a few numbers, and Walter Sear adds in some extra moog next to Fischer's own work – but the real brilliance comes from the overall concept – funky one minute, laidback and trippy the next, very much in the spirit of some of the righteous crossover funk, soul, and rock recordings coming from McDaniels and Axelrod at the time! Titles include "Patience Is Virtue", "Saigon", "Green Forever", "Chains", "Electrix", "Capsule", and "There's A Light That Shines". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet silver cycles from Eddie Harris – a wonderful late 60s album that features lots of lines on the electrified Varitone saxophone, mixed with cool contributions from a shifting lineup of soulful musicians! The set's one of Eddie's real classics from the Atlantic years – completely inventive, but never in a gimmicky way – and a really great bridge between late 60s modes of funk, jazz, and soul – at the same level he'd serve up more famously in his collaborations with Les McCann! There's a lot of that same energy here, but the vibe is even tighter – and Harris really blows us away with his great arrangements, which get a slight bit of help from Arif Mardin. Other players include Melvin Jackson on bass, Seldon Powell on reeds, and Joe Zawinul on keyboards – and titles include "Silver Cycles", "Electric Ballad", "Little Bit", "Free At Last", "Coltrane's View", "Electric Salad", "1974 Blues", and "Smoke Signals". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of Groove's early sides as a leader for the Pacific Jazz label – a bit more in the traditional soul jazz style than later work, cut with players that include Ben Webster, Clifford Scott, Gene Ammons, Les McCann, and Joe Pass. Titles include "Good Vibrations", "Comin Thru The Apple", "That Healin Feelin", "Sweatin", and "Deep Purple". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent no-nonsense session from Groove and a cast of all-stars that includes Gene Ammons, Ben Webster, Les McCann, and Joe Pass. Larry Marable and Ron Jefferson also play drums, and George Freeman sneaks in a few licks on guitar – always a treat for us – but the real charm is Groove's light lively organ work, and the strong blowing of the tenor stars. The whole thing grooves like one of those hip Prestige sides from 1963 or 1964 – and is much more in the pocket than some of the other Pacific Jazz sides that Groove cut during the 60s. Titles include "This Here", "Hittin The Jug", "Denice", "Later", and "Licks A Plenty". LP, Vinyl record album

Where it's at with Stanley Turrentine – circa 1962 – a time when the tenorist was really hitting on all burners, and turning out some tremendous work for Blue Note! The album's got Stan working with a special guest – a rare Blue Note appearance from pianist Les McCann, who's also at the height of his early career here – and really brings great energy to a quartet that also includes Herbie Lewis on bass and Otis Finch on drums. Les' piano has a nice bite – and really makes for a great groove alongside Stan's round, warm, raspy tone – a righteous sort of energy that drives the record strongly, in ways that are different than some of Turrentine's other sessions of the time. The whole thing's a cooker – and titles include "Pia", "Smile, Stacey", "Dorene Don't Cry I", and "Light Blue". CD also features a bonus take on "Light Blue". CD

A fantastic array of really cool songs – all written and recorded by Tom Dawes of The Cyrkle – as part of a big career as a jingle writer after his group cut a famous theme song for 7 Up! The music here is great – work from a time when jingles for TV and radio ads were like mini songs in and of themselves – often as catchy as anything on the charts, if not more so – so that the tunes you'd hear for a few short seconds would stick in your head all day long! If you dig sunshine pop, there's plenty to love here – and remember that the great Roger Nichols also gave the world a wonderful tune that was originally designed as a jingle. Some of the tracks here never made it to the TV screen, others are classics – and the set includes songs written for Windex, GI Joe, Alka Seltzer, Calgon, Stridex, Murine, Hartford Insurance, Thom McCann, Life Savers, Timex, Ford, and many others. CD

Hip live material – featuring work by Roberta Flack, BB King, Curtis Mayfield, LesMcCann, Billy Eckstine, and Herbie Mann! LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic array of really cool songs – all written and recorded by Tom Dawes of The Cyrkle – as part of a big career as a jingle writer after his group cut a famous theme song for 7 Up! The music here is great – work from a time when jingles for TV and radio ads were like mini songs in and of themselves – often as catchy as anything on the charts, if not more so – so that the tunes you'd hear for a few short seconds would stick in your head all day long! If you dig sunshine pop, there's plenty to love here – and remember that the great Roger Nichols also gave the world a wonderful tune that was originally designed as a jingle. Some of the tracks here never made it to the TV screen, others are classics – and the set includes songs written for Windex, GI Joe, Alka Seltzer, Calgon, Stridex, Murine, Hartford Insurance, Thom McCann, Life Savers, Timex, Ford, and many others. LP, Vinyl record album

A rare French album of funky fusion from drummer Daniel Bechet – dedicated to his father, the famous saxophonist Sidney Bechet – yet served up in a style that's nothing at all like the elder's musical legacy! Instead, Daniel works here in a warm blend of guitars and keyboards, especially the latter – as the set rolls along with a warm soulful vibe throughout, so that even the drums, while grooving, are wrapped up strongly as part of the overall sound! There's almost a Steely Dan level of perfection to the record – recalling the sound of the Hoops McCann project in the 80s – and titles include "Sweet Stuff", "Night Clouds", "Brother Jacques", "Saturday Night Flavour", "Don't Be Shy", "Astral Dance", and "Jacqueline's Mood". LP, Vinyl record album