One of the few albums ever cut as a leader by Les Spann – an extremely talented jazz player who worked a lot with Dizzy Gillespie in the 50s, and Quincy Jones in the 60s! Les plays both guitar and flute on the set – grooving soulfully in a mode that recalls the stylings of Frank Wess or Kenny Burrell (depending on the instrument), but which is handled here in an easily soulful mode that recalls the sound of Les Jazz Modes at times. Players include Julius Watkins, Tommy Flanagan, Sam Jones, and Louis Hayes. CD

Duke Ellington makes a rare Verve appearance on this classic album – and works strongly in the mode of earlier sides recorded for the label by Johnny Hodges! There's a relaxed, small group feel going on here – one that's a bit different than some of the tighter Ellington work on Columbia during the 50s, and which almost paves the way for some of the more intimate piano sides that Duke would record during the 60s. In a way, Hodges is almost at the lead – given how comfortable he is here in a Verve setting – and other players include Harry Edison on trumpet, Les Spann on guitar, Sam Jones on bass, and Jo Jones on drums. The real charm, as always, is Hodges' solos, lean, mean, raspy, and soulful – and titles include "Weary Blues", "Royal Garden Blues", "Loveless Love", "St Louis Blues", and "Wabash Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Call it a love of dancers or just plain Quincy Jones groove – this album's filled with tight tracks that are a perfect showcase for the ways in which Quincy had such a huge influence on jazz in the 60s! The tunes are often old standards, but done here in a style that's nicely syncopated – taking on that Jones love of space and sound, and working it through some big band tracks at a level that creates grooves that are a lot hipper than you'd hear on albums like this from most of his contemporaries! Players are all top-notch – and include Benny Bailey and Freddie Hubbard on trumpets, Melba Liston and Curtis Fuller on trombones, Jerome Richardson and Oliver Nelson on tenor, Sahib Shihab on baritone sax, Patti Brown on piano, and Les Spann on guitar and flute. Heck, even liner notes from Dorothy Kilgallen can't keep this one from being nice – and titles include "Chinese Checkers", "Tone Poem", "G'Wan Train", "Pleasingly Plump", and "A Sunday Kind Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Early genius from Sam Jones – the kind of record that showed the world that he was way more than just a bass player – even though he was pretty darn great at that! At the time of the set, Sam was already raising plenty of ears with his work in the Cannonball Adderley group, an outfit that helped Jones find a whole new role for the bass in jazz. But here, he's working with a much larger group – a tentet that's filled with all star players that include Melba Liston, Cannonball Adderley, Blue Mitchell, Jimmy Heath, Victor Feldman, Tate Houston, and Les Spann – soaring through lively arrangements by Heath and Feldman that sit in a space between small combo soul jazz and larger group swing – a bit in the mode of some of Quincy Jones' best early 60s work on Mercury! Despite the large group, Sam's bass gets plenty of room to roam in the album – and titles include "The Chant", "Blues On Down", "In Walked Ray", "Blue Bird", "Four", and "Off Color". CD

Classic late Webster material, recorded in a laidback setting for Verve, with associates that include Coleman Hawkins, Budd Johnson, Roy Eldridge, Jimmy Jones, and Les Spann. Side one is a very long version of "In A Mellow Tone", with a blowing session solo approach – and side two features shorter tracks like "Budd Johnson", "Young Bean", and "De Dar". CD

Duke Ellington makes a rare Verve appearance on this classic album – and works strongly in the mode of earlier sides recorded for the label by Johnny Hodges! There's a relaxed, small group feel going on here – one that's a bit different than some of the tighter Ellington work on Columbia during the 50s, and which almost paves the way for some of the more intimate piano sides that Duke would record during the 60s. In a way, Hodges is almost at the lead – given how comfortable he is here in a Verve setting – and other players include Harry Edison on trumpet, Les Spann on guitar, Sam Jones on bass, and Jo Jones on drums. The real charm, as always, is Hodges' solos, lean, mean, raspy, and soulful – and titles include "Weary Blues", "Royal Garden Blues", "Loveless Love", "St Louis Blues", and "Wabash Blues". CD

A great little session that builds on the strength of Johnny Hodges' small group 50s sessions for Verve – and which lets Duke Ellington in on some of the action! The format is nicely stripped-down throughout – featuring Hodges in sextet and septet formation with players who include Ben Webster on tenor, Roy Eldridge on trumpet, Les Spann on flute, Lawrence Brown on trombone, and Jo Jones on drums. Surprisingly, Duke's actually only on piano on three tracks on the album – Billy Strayhorn handles keys on the other – but the session's still a great example of small combo Ellingtonia at its best, the special way Ellington players could extrapolate his ideas into a leaner formation on a record like this! Titles include "Ruint", "Stompy Jones", "Big Shoe", "Going Up", "Just A Memory", and "You Need to Rock". CD

One of the first Verve albums to push Johnny Hodges away from Ellington and into the soul jazz mode that served him well as a leader in the 60s – recorded here with Wild Bill Davis on organ, Sam Jones on bass, Louis Hayes on drums, and the great Les Spann on both guitar and flute! Spann's guitar brings a nicely lean bluesy quality to the record when used – and on the numbers that feature flute, he slides in nicely with a hip sort of 60s style – very much in the manner of Frank Wess, or maybe like Jerome Richardson when working with Eddie Lockjaw Davis. Tracks are shortish, but usually nicely laidback – and as usual Hodges' tone is the real element that seals the deal here! Titles include "Hodge Podge", "Blue Hodge", "And Then Some", "I Wonder Why", "Why Are You Blue", "Stand By Blues", and "Knuckles". LP, Vinyl record album

With Clark Terry on trumpet and flugelhorn, Jimmy Cleveland on trombone, Julius Watkins on frech horn, Jay McAllister on tuba, Phil Woods on alto, Frank Wess on tenor, Jerome Richardson on baritone, Les Spann on guitar, George Duvivier on bass, and Osie Johnson on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure little quartet session from Red Garland – recorded with Les Spann on both guitar and flute, caught at a time when he was just starting to make waves on the New York scene! The presence of Spann gives the record a decidedly different feel than most of Garland's work on Prestige – as the hollow-body guitar tones bring some much bluesier inflections to some of the tunes, offset by more chromatic runs that really illuminate others. Red's own piano is still wonderfully soulful, and presented here with a pointed sense of economy on some numbers – and rhythm is by Sam Jones on bass and Frank Gant on drums. Titles include "Marie's Delight", "This Can't Be Love", "Blues For News", "I Just Can't See For Looking", and "Solar". CD

A great little collection of work recorded by bassist Sam Jones during the early 60s – done at a time when Jones had emerged from some key fame in the Cannonball Adderley Quintet, and was beginning to work as a leader on his own! The quality of the work here is extremely high, and Jones' sessions from the time marked a whole new voice for the bass as a leader in jazz – done at a time when soul jazz waves were rolling onto the market with great strength, and allowing the "bottom" of the genre's sound to come to the forefront. Players on the sessions include Nat Adderley, Charles Davis, Jimmy Heath, Bobby Timmons, Blue Mitchell, Les Spann, and Frank Strozier – and titles include "Blue Bird", "Some Kinda Mean", "There Is No Greater Love", "Home", "The Old Country", "Four", and "Unit 7". CD

A strange one for Sonny Stitt – but also a real gem! The album has Sonny, who'd been working for the Roost/Roulette label, coming together with other jazz players in the same boat, plus Latin musicians who were recording for the related Tico label. Moishe Levy never made such a good talent judgement as he did with this session – which features an all-star Latin jazz jam that includes the likes of Ray Barretto, Joe Cuba, Junior Mance, Les Spann, Billy Taylor, Wild Bill Davis, Barry Galbraith, Walter Perkins, and Tito Puente. The organ of Davis is a particularly great touch – odd for a Latin session, but creating a cool groove on the best tracks, and a nice way to touch back with a soul jazz sound. Stitt's tone is right out front, and never sounded better – making us wish he'd recorded a few more albums in this manner! Titles include "Duketation", "Twana", "Icey Stone", "Let My People Split", "Samba De Orfeo", "Liberian Love Song", and "Handkerchief Head". Very hip stuff – and organized by Henry Glover, which might be part of the explanation for that! LP, Vinyl record album

Classic late Webster material, recorded in a laidback setting for Verve, with associates that include Coleman Hawkins, Budd Johnson, Roy Eldridge, Jimmy Jones, and Les Spann. Side one is a very long version of "In A Mellow Tone", with a blowing session solo approach – and side two features shorter tracks like "Budd Johnson", "Young Bean", and "De Dar". LP, Vinyl record album

A late 70s pressing of some classic Verve sides from the 50s, featuring two masters of the tenor, blowing side by side in a couple of small group settings: one with rhythm backing by Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown, and Alvin Stoller and the other with Jimmy Jones, Les Spann, Ray Brown and Jo Jones, plus Roy Eldridge and Budd Johnson in the frontline. The best tracks have lots of room – plenty of space so that the tenors aren't butting heads with each other in too close of quarters, with space to express themselves freely. Titles include "Blues For Yolande", "La Rosita", "Shine On Harvest Moon", "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", "It Never Entered My Mind", "De-Dar", "Time After Time", "Young Bean" and "In A Mellowtone". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little session that builds on the strength of Johnny Hodges' small group 50s sessions for Verve – and which lets Duke Ellington in on some of the action! The format is nicely stripped-down throughout – featuring Hodges in sextet and septet formation with players who include Ben Webster on tenor, Roy Eldridge on trumpet, Les Spann on flute, Lawrence Brown on trombone, and Jo Jones on drums. Surprisingly, Duke's actually only on piano on three tracks on the album – Billy Strayhorn handles keys on the other – but the session's still a great example of small combo Ellingtonia at its best, the special way Ellington players could extrapolate his ideas into a leaner formation on a record like this! Titles include "Ruint", "Stompy Jones", "Big Shoe", "Going Up", "Just A Memory", and "You Need to Rock". CD

A great little session that builds on the strength of Johnny Hodges' small group 50s sessions for Verve – and which lets Duke Ellington in on some of the action! The format is nicely stripped-down throughout – featuring Hodges in sextet and septet formation with players who include Ben Webster on tenor, Roy Eldridge on trumpet, Les Spann on flute, Lawrence Brown on trombone, and Jo Jones on drums. Surprisingly, Duke's actually only on piano on three tracks on the album – Billy Strayhorn handles keys on the other – but the session's still a great example of small combo Ellingtonia at its best, the special way Ellington players could extrapolate his ideas into a leaner formation on a record like this! Titles include "Ruint", "Stompy Jones", "Big Shoe", "Going Up", "Just A Memory", and "You Need to Rock". LP, Vinyl record album

Notable sidemen include Julius Watkins on French horn, Les Spann on guitar and flute, Phil Woods and Sahib Shihab on saxophones, Melba Liston on trombones, and Clark Terry on trumpet. CD

An excellent Duke Pearson album – and (dare we say it?) better than any of his Blue Note LPs! The record features a very tight lineup with Johnny Coles on trumpet, Garnett Brown on trombone, Les Spann on flute, James Spaulding on alto, and George Coleman on tenor – all players who are well suited to Pearson's warm funky style on the piano, but who also have a strong modernist sensibility that really comes through on the solos. The album is filled with nice tracks – like "New Girl", "Honeybuns", "Heavy Legs", and the fantastic lyrical groover "Is That So", plus "You Know I Care" and "Our Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic late Webster material, recorded in a laidback setting for Verve, with associates that include Coleman Hawkins, Budd Johnson, Roy Eldridge, Jimmy Jones, and Les Spann. Side one is a very long version of "In A Mellow Tone", with a blowing session solo approach – and side two features shorter tracks like "Budd Johnson", "Young Bean", and "De Dar". CD

One of the few early albums as a leader cut by trumpeter Benny Bailey – a tremendous talent, finally getting his due! Bailey is one of the great unsung talents of jazz, and he's always made top-shelf work – from his early days with Quincy Jones, to his later years as an American expatriot, recording for European labels like Ego and MPS. This rare early session is one of the few recorded for the super-hip Candid label – and it features Bailey's trumpet at the head of a tight combo that includes Phil Woods on alto sax and bass clarinet, Julius Watkins on French Horn, Les Spann on flute and guitar, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and rhythm from Buddy Catlett on bass and Art Taylor on drums. Despite the "big brass" title, there's no horn section here – and instead, most of the numbers have that sharp-edged modern sound we associate with Candid – with Watkins horn being the only other brass instrument, alongside the lighter lines of Woods and Spann. Titles include "Hard Sock Dance", "Tipsy", "Please Say Yes", and "Maud's Mood". CD

Quincy's world is great and wide indeed – and even at this early point in his career, he was displaying a wonderful talent for bringing in bits from all sources! The album's essentially a straight jazz set, but it's got some great exotic touches that are in keeping with the "world" theme and the globe-trotting titles on the set. The group's excellent too – with players that include Sahib Shihab, Budd Johnson, Les Spann, Lee Morgan, and Phil Woods – all working through hip arrangements by Al Cohn, Bill Potts, and Ernie Wilkins. Titles include "Ghana", "Air Mail Special", "Chant Of The Weed", "Eesom", and "I Never Has Seen Snow". LP, Vinyl record album

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Two cool UK albums from Otis Spann – back to back on a single set! First up is the album Blues Of Otis Spann – a rare UK session, and one that's sometimes got even more grit than some of his hometown recordings back in Chicago! The vibe is very lean and laidback – an early Mike Vernon production, with work from Muddy Waters on guitar – working here under the nom-du-date of "Brother" – in a quartet that just has Ransom Knowling on bass and Little Willie Smith on guitar, and plenty of killer piano and vocals from Otis! Spann seems to have even more bite here than usual – and titles include "Sarah Street", "T 99", "I Came From Clarksdale", "Rock Me Mama", "Natural Days", and "Jangleboogie". Cracked Spanner Head is a record that builds on the sound of the obscure Blues Of Otis Spann album from 1964 – using the performances from that record, but mixed differently, with different songs at times, and added work on tenor, baritone, and trumpet brought into the lineup! The vibe is great – Otis Spann with a bit more punch than usual, and maybe some slight currents of funk – on titles that include "Crack Your Head", "Iced Nehi", "Lucky So & So", "Dollar Twenty Five", "Sometimes I Wonder", and "Mr Highway Man". CD features four bonus tracks – "Pretty Girls Everywhere", "Country Boy", "My Home In The Delta", and "You're Gonna Need My Help". CD

A label-spanning collection with tracks from Atlantic, Columbia, and Blue Note albums including Pithecanthropus Erectus, Oh Yeah, Mingus Ah Um, Cumbia & Jazz Fusion, and Money Jungle – plus a 56 page booklet! CD

A massive set of work from trumpeter Charles Tolliver – a 3CD package that contains seminal live work from Tolliver's Strata East years, plus bonus previously unreleased titles from the concerts! The first half of the collection features work from Tolliver's seminal Live At Slug's albums – both recorded on the same night in 1970, and done with a free-thinking, spiritually soaring energy that set a whole new tone for live jazz in the 70s! For the records, Tolliver fronts the classic Music Inc lineup – a group that includes Stanley Cowell on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Jimmy Hopps on drums. Tolliver is stunning on trumpet – and he and Cowell handle the majority of the solos with the kind of imagination that characterized this strong point in both of their careers. Slugs titles include the previously unissued "On The Nile", "Ruthie's Heart", and "Repetition" – plus "Drought", "Felicite", "Orientale", and "Spanning". Next up is the equally great Live In Tokyo album – recorded 3 years later with a similar group that includes Cowell on piano, Clint Houston on bass, and Clifford Barbaro on drums – and although Tolliver's trumpet solos are always a treat, the interplay between Houston's bass and Cowell's piano is enough reason to buy the record! The highlight of the album is a great take of Cowell's modal groover "Effi", but the set also contains some masterful compositions by Tolliver – long versions of "Truth", "Stretch", and "Drought". Previously unissued titles include "Our Second Father", "Impact", and "Earl's World". Complicated, spiritual work – even more so than some of Tolliver's studio sessions! CD

A classic performance by one of the most groundbreaking soul jazz groups of the 70s! Tolliver's leading his Music Inc ensemble here – an important quartet that featured him on trumpet, Stanley Cowell on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Jimmy Hopps on drums. During their time recording for the Tolliver/Cowell owned label Strata East, the group forged a strident spiritual approach to jazz – one that took all of the experiments of Coltrane, and fused them with a soulful sound that was packed with all of the righteousness of the time. The group's at their finest here – working before a very friendly crowd at the legendary Slugs nightclub in the East Village – and tracks on this second volume include "Spanning", "Wilpan's", and "Our Second Father", all done in nice long readings!h LP, Vinyl record album

A classic performance by one of the most groundbreaking soul jazz groups of the 70s! Tolliver's leading his Music Inc ensemble here – an important quartet that featured him on trumpet, Stanley Cowell on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Jimmy Hopps on drums. During their time recording for the Tolliver/Cowell owned label Strata East, the group forged a strident spiritual approach to jazz – one that took all of the experiments of Coltrane, and fused them with a soulful sound that was packed with all of the righteousness of the time. The group's at their finest here – working before a very friendly crowd at the legendary Slugs nightclub in the East Village – and tracks on this second volume include "Spanning", "Wilpan's", and "Our Second Father", all done in nice long readings! LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal set of Chicago blues – the first volume in a series of classic recordings done by Vanguard Records in an effort to show the rest of the world all the hip new sounds that were coming out of the Windy City in the 60s! The approach here is a bit like some of the rural blues sets from years past – in that Samuel Charters headed to Chicago, booked studio time, and managed to get some key groups at their best – all at a level that would soon be picked up by the Delmark label as they helped to document the scene! Junior Wells sings and plays harmonica in a quartet with Buddy Guy on guitar, on titles that include "Messin With The Kid", "Vietcong Blues", "All Night Long", and "It Hurts Me So". JB Hutto plays guitar and sings in his Hawks trio – on titles that include "Too Much Alcohol", "That's The Truth", "Going Ahead", and "Please Help". And Otis Spann plays piano and sings, with help from SP Leary on drums – on titles that include "Spann's Stomp", "Marie", "Burning Fire", and "SP Blues". CD

The second great entry in the Changes series from David Bowie – and, like the first, a well-chosen array of tracks that really get at his creative genius as a pop star – which includes a few great titles from his post-Berlin years! The set does a great job of spanning the 70s – and includes the single-only "John I'm Only Dancing (Again)" – which is a clubbier take on the earlier song that was showcased on Changes One. Other tracks run from the Ziggy years onward – and include another great single, Bowie's take on "Oh You Pretty Things" – which was more famously recorded by Mott The Hoople, although written by Bowie – plus "Aladdin Sane", "Starman", "1984", "Ashes To Ashes", "Sound & Vision", "Fashion", "Wild Is The Wind", and "DJ". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer set from those magical 70s years when Quincy Jones was effortlessly blending jazz, soul, and contemporary R&B – all to come up with a genre that's almost completely his own! In the early 70s, Quincy Jones surrounded himself with some of the best young soul and jazz talent he could find, plus a few older pros – and the result was a great series of albums that spanned genres and created a whole new approach to modern R&B. This gem of an album was put together with a young Leon Ware and an older Ray Brown – and it features some killer mellow soul tracks that rank with Quincy's best work – with especially strong contributions from Ware, who'd yet to really shine on his own! Titles include the sublime version of "If I Ever Lose This Heaven", plus "Body Heat", "Soul Saga", "Everything Must Change", "One Track Mind", and "Along Came Betty". CD

Quite possibly the best-remembered album from Pharoah Sanders' legendary run at Impulse Records – a set that crossed over big, and sold to countless folks who might not have bought a jazz album this hip otherwise! The record was Sanders' first in the wake of Coltrane's passing – and it's a beautiful extended suite of tracks that flows with a sense of grace, power, and majesty that's simply breathtaking – a new level of expression in spiritual jazz – and virtually the blueprint for an entire generation to come! The album features the classic track "The Creator Has a Master Plan" – spanning a tremendous amount of space and time – and featuring Leon Thomas' classic vocals on the lyrics! Thomas also returns on the cut "Colors", which is a bit more outside, and quite free overall – and other players on the date include Lonnie Liston Smith on piano, James Spaulding on flute, Julius Watkins on French horn, Ron Carter and Richard Davis on bass, and Freddie Waits and Billy Hart on drums. CD

Quite possibly the best-remembered album from Pharoah Sanders' legendary run at Impulse Records – a set that crossed over big, and sold to countless folks who might not have bought a jazz album this hip otherwise! The record was Sanders' first in the wake of Coltrane's passing – and it's a beautiful extended suite of tracks that flows with a sense of grace, power, and majesty that's simply breathtaking – a new level of expression in spiritual jazz – and virtually the blueprint for an entire generation to come! The album features the classic track "The Creator Has a Master Plan" – spanning a tremendous amount of space and time – and featuring Leon Thomas' classic vocals on the lyrics! Thomas also returns on the cut "Colors", which is a bit more outside, and quite free overall – and other players on the date include Lonnie Liston Smith on piano, James Spaulding on flute, Julius Watkins on French horn, Ron Carter and Richard Davis on bass, and Freddie Waits and Billy Hart on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Early work from reedman Tony Scott – recorded in the years when he was much more of a regular on the New York scene – before he started working in trippier styles for the 60s! The album features Scott in a host of different settings – from quartet, to tentet, to orchestra grooving – in a mix of modes that embraces both modern jazz inventions and some of the previous styles of the swing generation – both of which Scott handles very well on clarinet, with the same sort of generation-spanning confidence you'd get from Buddy DeFranco at the same time. Bill Evans plays piano on most tracks – a notable early date as a sideman, and one of his excellent pairings with Scott – and Gigi Gryce plays alto on some of the large group tracks. Originals mix with standards in the lineup – and titles include "Vanilla Frosting On A Beef Pie", "Poinciana", "Walkin On Air", "Round Midnight", "My Old Flame", "Moon Walks", and "Rock Me But Don't Roll Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A totally great collection of rare material from the Bluestime label – a rare rootsy side of the Flying Dutchman imprint at the start of the 70s! Flying Dutchman is a well-remembered label for its rich array of funk and jazz titles – and although Bluestime worked in the blues side of the spectrum, most of these numbers are pretty darn funky too – thanks to some shared musicians and production talents with the main Flying Dutchman scene. In other words, the tracks are all pretty darn hip – and way way more than blues – really more funk tunes that have a gritty, raspy edge – like those rare few times when Chess Records' bluesmen got nice and funky. Titles include "I'm A Dues Payin Man" by Optis Spann, "Every Day I Have The Blues" by T-Bone Walker, "Plastic Man" by Joe Turner, "Love" by Harmonica Slim, "Paris Blues" by The Super Black Blues Band, "I Wonder Why" by Otis Spann, "Something So Bright" by Malcolm & Chris, "That's Alright" by Harmonica Slim, Chicago Charva Chapter" by The Plaster Caster Blues Band, "Disillusion Blues" by Leon Thomas, and "For BB King" by T-Bone Walker. CD

A really cool set, and one that goes way past the usual 60s soul and pop modes that usually define a girl group compilation – as this one goes way way back, and traces female harmony modes from the early swing years onwards – served up in a massive 82 track package that's overflowing with surprises! The material really shows the evolution of the mode in a great way – mixing early 78rpm tracks with postwar 45s and LP titles – in modes that include jazz, soul, R&B, and pop – all supported by the usual great French and English notes that we love from this label! CD3 features all early 60s material, with a few decades spanned on the previous 2CDs – work by artists who include Daindridge Sisters, Angels, Blossoms, Cookies, Poni-Tails, Bonnie Sisters, Beverly Sisters, Clark Sisters, Shirley Gunter & The Queens, Paulette Sisters, Chordettes, Raelettes, Quin-Tones, Paris Sisters, Royalettes, Starletts, Charmaines, Dinning Siters, Fontaine Sisters, Boswell Sisters, The Enchanters, and others. CD

One of our favorite compilations of all time – a smoking batch of soulful jazz from the 60s, with a slight bit of funk and blues thrown in as well! The set's exactly what's promised in the title – jazz cuts, but with an ultra-cool mod vibe – the kind of soulful sounds that played big with the younger London crowd digging American music in the mid 60s – and also the kind of music you'd be likely to find blasting out of a backroom jukebox on the west side of Chicago! There's loads of rare single mixes of LP tracks on the set, and a number of smoking 45s from artists you might know better from more mainstream work – really hitting hard here, alongside a few special numbers from the indie underground too. Tracks are cool enough for old school hipsters – but appealing enough to bring in a new listener too – and as proof of that, we've given this one away for many years as a Christmas present. The collection features 25 tracks in all – non-stop pleasure throughout – with titles that include "Soul Shoutin" by Shirley Scott, "Tengo Tango" by Cannonball Adderley Sextet, "Whip It On Me" by Billy Hawks, "Yeh Yeh" by Mongo Santamaria, "Black Talk" by Charles Earland, "I'm Ready" by Otis Spann, "Mama Rufus" by Merced Blue Notes, "Theme From NYPD" by Johnny Hammond, "Step Out & Get It" by The Nomos, "Why Don't You Do Right" by Mark Murphy, "Collard Greens" by Freddie McCoy, "Theme From The Carpetbaggers" by Jack McDuff, "Filthy McNasty" by Eddie Jefferson, "Evil Ways" by Cal Tjader, "Kenny's Theme" by Kenny Burrell, and "Games" by Ivan Boogaloo Joe Jones. LP, Vinyl record album

The Trojan Records label was a pivotal force in taking reggae to a larger audience at the end of the 60s – pushing a huge amount of Jamaican artists into the global scene, and forever helping the sound of music in the process! Trojan was especially heavy in the years of ska and rocksteady, and this package is filled with some of the key cuts the label helped put on the map – tracks that are classic numbers from the early reggae years, and which had a hell of a lot of power both in Jamaica, and overseas in the UK! 2CD set features 50 tracks in all – and titles include "007" by Desmond Dekker & The Aces, "Double Barrel" by Dave & Ansel Collins, "Everything I Own" by Ken Boothe, "Uptown Top Ranking" by Althea & Donna, "Israelites" by Desmond Dekker & The Aces, "Let Your Yeah Be Yeah" by The Pioneers, "54 46 Was My Number" by the Maytals, "Monkey Spanner" by Dave & Ansel Collins, "OK Fred" by Errol Dunkley, "Girlie Girlie" by Sophia George, "Money In My Pocket" by Dennis Brown, "Black Pearl" by Horace Faith, "You Can Get It If You Really Want" by Desmond Dekker, and "To Be Young Gifted & Black" by Bob & Marcia. CD

The Trojan Records label was a pivotal force in taking reggae to a larger audience at the end of the 60s – pushing a huge amount of Jamaican artists into the global scene, and forever helping the sound of music in the process! Trojan was especially heavy in the years of ska and rocksteady, and this package is filled with some of the key cuts the label helped put on the map – tracks that are classic numbers from the early reggae years, and which had a hell of a lot of power both in Jamaica, and overseas in the UK! 2LP set features 28 tracks in all – and titles include "007" by Desmond Dekker & The Aces, "Double Barrel" by Dave & Ansel Collins, "Everything I Own" by Ken Boothe, "Uptown Top Ranking" by Althea & Donna, "Israelites" by Desmond Dekker & The Aces, "Let Your Yeah Be Yeah" by The Pioneers, "54 46 Was My Number" by the Maytals, "Monkey Spanner" by Dave & Ansel Collins, "OK Fred" by Errol Dunkley, "Girlie Girlie" by Sophia George, "Money In My Pocket" by Dennis Brown, "Black Pearl" by Horace Faith, "You Can Get It If You Really Want" by Desmond Dekker, and "To Be Young Gifted & Black" by Bob & Marcia. LP, Vinyl record album

A smoking little set from George Harmonica Smith – an album recorded in late 60s LA, but done with plenty of Chicago blues touches! The players here are all top-shelf – and include Muddy Waters on guitar and Otis Spann on piano – who definitely help keep a Windy City vibe going on the record – that spare, raw, but electrified approach to the music that was still wonderfully fresh at the time of the sessions. And Smith's vocals alone are totally great – very deeply soulful – but also alternate strongly with sharp lines on harmonica too. Titles include "Mellow Down Easy", "Key To The Highway", "You Better Watch Yourself", "Last Night", "West Helena Woman", "Tell Me Mama", "Juke", and "Everything Gonna Be Alright". CD features 3 bonus tracks – "Love With A Feelin", with vocals by Lucille Spann – plus "Just A Feelin" and "Goin Down Slow". CD

Features tracks from Jimmy Reed, Charles Brown, Joe Turner, BB King, Eddie Cleanhead Vinson, Earl Hooker, Otis Spann, Brownie McGhee, and Jimmy Rushing. LP, Vinyl record album

A really great way to listen to the music of Harry Nilsson – as the all-singles set is not only a career-spanning collection of his work for RCA, it also includes a lot of very cool tracks that were b-sides, which stand nicely here next to the classics! The genius of Nilsson knows no bounds – and the package shows a great evolution over the decade of recordings that feature in the 63 track collection – from Nilsson's earlier role as a quirky pop singer, to that point when his persona rose strongly in the public eye, and also really helped transform the way he put over a tune! The package features loads of gems that were not on the full length albums of the time – and titles include "Yellow Man", "Waiting", "Freckles", "Buy My Album", "Are You Sleeping", "Without You", "Jump Into The Fire", "Turn On Your Radio", "Makin Whoopee", "Remember Christmas", "The Lottery Song", "Ain't It Kinda Wonderful", "Don't Forget Me", "Mucho Mungo/Mt Elga", "Something True", "Kojak Columbo", and "As Time Goes By". CD