Raw Chicago blues – side one features Eddie Clearwater and Jimmy Dawkins on guitars, with Eddie on vocals, recorded at Ma Bea's on the west side – and side two features Eddie Taylor and Lacy Gibson on guitars, with Taylor on vocals. LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks from Der Dritte Raum, Club MCM, Phuture Sound System, Monika Kruse @ Voodooamt, Georgie Porgie, Street Preacherz, Silent Breed, J. Grau, Percy X, Jel Ford, and more. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Playing In The Band", "China Cat Sunflower", "Bird Song", "To Lay Me Down", "Truckin'", "The Other One", "If I Had The World To Give", "Scarlet Begonias", and "Crazy Fingers" CD

... Cassette

A tremendous step forward for the young Muhal Richard Abrams – a set that still shows his early roots in the AACM, but which also blossoms with some of his more serious compositional efforts to come! There's a sensitivity here that really stands out – even among Abrams' contemporaries – a striving for a wider range of expression – some as bold as before, some much more deeply personal and intimate. The tracks feature a shifting array of players – working alongside Abrams piano, and building up the sound in a number of different ways. Players include Wallace McMillan on flute and sax, Edwin Daugherty on sax, Richard Brown on sax, Emanuel Cranshaw on vibes, Rufus Reid on bass, and Steve McCall and Wilbur Campbell on drums. Ella Jackson provides vocals on "How Are You?" – and other titles include "Ballad For New Souls", "Things To Come From Those Now Gone", "In Retrospect", "Ballad For Old Souls", "1 & 4 Plus 2 & 7", and "March Of The Transients". CD

A well-done batch of music for the initial season of Japanese TV show Long Vacation – served up with a sense of variety and depth that's a great change from American television music for a program of this nature! Cagnet put the whole thing together, but they've got a good sense of variety throughout – shifting singers and styles of music, and moving between vocal numbers and instrumentals that have a nice mix of beats and soundtrack elements. Titles include "Long Vacation" by Anna McMurphy, "Silent Emotion" by Calin, "Little By Little" by Section S, "To Live & Die" by David, "What Will I Do" by Natalie Burks, and the tunes "Tiny Tale", "Back Ground", and "Short Wave Radio". CD

An overlooked gem from the Detroit scene of the early 80s – played by a group who came after the generation of Tribe and Strata Records, but who went on to have some really slow-burning influence in their own sort of way! The music definitely has echoes of the loft and spiritual jazz scenes of the 70s – but the quintet also really open things up with some of the more flexible rhythms that were coming out of New York during the same period, and working with a slight touch of more ambitious structures – of the sort you might have heard on overseas labels recording American jazz musicians during the 80s. Reeds are at the core of the set – playec by the trio of Faruq Z Bey on tenor and alto, Anthony Holland on alto and soprano, and David McMurray on tenor, alto, soprano, and flute – given very creative energy by Tani Tabbal on drums, and Jaribu Shahid on both acoustic and electric bass. Titles include "Xy-Moch", "Zycron", "Zenelog Aintro", "Androgeny", "Kins", and "Xy Moch". LP, Vinyl record album

Nice work from this funky jazz combo – a group who owe plenty to the sound of 60s soul jazz on Prestige and Verve Records, but who also do plenty to make their own mark as well! The album's issued on the same label as the Haggis Horns, and these guys definitely use strong interplay between the horns to make their mark – the trumpet of Nick Malcolm and tenor of Jake McMurchie, set out over some nice grooves from keyboardist George Cooper – who plays piano, organ, and Wurlitzer – plus a bit of vibes as well! There's vocals on one track from Doc Brown – the cut "Rolling On A High" – and all others are instrumental, and include "The Long Haul", "Chasing Fantasies", "Snakebite Playfight", "Net Zero", and "Enigma" – which was recorded live in Paris. CD

Nice work from this funky jazz combo – a group who owe plenty to the sound of 60s soul jazz on Prestige and Verve Records, but who also do plenty to make their own mark as well! The album's issued on the same label as the Haggis Horns, and these guys definitely use strong interplay between the horns to make their mark – the trumpet of Nick Malcolm and tenor of Jake McMurchie, set out over some nice grooves from keyboardist George Cooper – who plays piano, organ, and Wurlitzer – plus a bit of vibes as well! There's vocals on one track from Doc Brown – the cut "Rolling On A High" – and all others are instrumental, and include "The Long Haul", "Chasing Fantasies", "Snakebite Playfight", "Net Zero", and "Enigma" – which was recorded live in Paris. LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal session from Roscoe Mitchell – beautiful work recorded for the small Nessa label, and a real testament to the fragile beauty of his music! Some of the tracks are solo, and others feature Roscoe in shifting groups with other AACM players – a duet with bassist Malachi Favors, another with reedman Anthony Braxton, a trio with Muhal Richard Abrams on piano and George Lewis on trombone, and a quartet with Joseph Harman, Henry Threadgill, and Wallace McMillan. The sound's about as haunting as you can get for the AACM in the 70s – sensitive sounds, complex tones, and a rich approach to creative music that goes far beyond jazz – a really stark contrast to the styles of New York or European avant players from the same period! Titles include "Off Five Dark Six", "A1 Tal 2LA", "Nonaah", "Sing", "Chant", "Ericka", and "Tahquemenon". CD

Music from Andy Summers, Ralph Towner, Vernon Reid, Laurence Juber, David Cullen, Pierre Bensusan, Alex de Grassi, Bill Frisell, Henry Kaiser, Gary Lucas, Michael Manring, Tony McManus, Arlen Roth, David Russell and more. CD

Plus tracks with Blind Willie McTell, Champion Jack Dupree and Dennis McMillon. CD

Volumes 1-3 in Tompkins Square's masterful compilations of both rare vintage and the deepest modern acoustic guitar folk experimental instrumentals – in a single package that's a perfect intro to the series if you're like us and late to get in on it! The material is in the Takoma Records realm of adventurous, genre melding (or skirting) greatness – stunning stuff that blends older recordings by masters both iconic and obscure, newer recordings by pivotal figures, and modern work by younger artists that are just as awe inspiring, and the mix of old and new is seamless! Volume 1 includes "Imaginational Anthem" by Max Ochs, "Bouba's Bounce" by Brad Barr, "White Mule III" by Jack Rose, "Untitled" by Sandy Bull, "O Holy Night" by John Fahey and more. Volume 2 includes "River Of Heaven By James Blackshaw, "Future Shot At Life" by Peter Lang, "Leaving The Apple" by Michael Chapman and more. Volume 3 includes "Zocalo" by Richard Crandell, "Sleep Architecture" by Greg Davis, "Goblins" by George Stavis, "Texarkana 1971" by Shawn David McMillen and much more. CD

Way way more than you might guess from an album with Motown in the title – and instead, a set that may well be one of the best we've heard from Geri Allen in years! Yes, the tracks are mostly numbers from the classic years of the famous soul label – but the presentation is quite different – mostly solo piano, with Geri stretching out in these fluid, spiritual ways that go far past any familiar melodies, and which really make the songs deeply her own. Plus, the set also features some tremendous guest work from Marcus Belgrave on trumpet on three tracks – stretching out with the kind of righteous, expressive tones that have made us love him from the days of Tribe Records onwards. David McMurray also guests on alto on one track – but the bulk of album is solo piano from Allen, on titles that include "The Smart Set", "Space Odyssey", "Inner City Blues", "Stoned Love", "Itching In My Heart", "Tears Of A Clown", "That Girl", and "Grand River Crossings". CD

With Mike Holstein on bass and Austin McMahon on drums. CD

A seminal session from Roscoe Mitchell – beautiful work recorded for the small Nessa label, and a real testament to the fragile beauty of his music! Some of the tracks are solo, and others feature Roscoe in shifting groups with other AACM players – a duet with bassist Malachi Favors, another with reedman Anthony Braxton, a trio with Muhal Richard Abrams on piano and George Lewis on trombone, and a quartet with Joseph Harman, Henry Threadgill, and Wallace McMillan. The sound's about as haunting as you can get for the AACM in the 70s – sensitive sounds, complex tones, and a rich approach to creative music that goes far beyond jazz – a really stark contrast to the styles of New York or European avant players from the same period! Titles include "Off Five Dark Six", "A1 Tal 2LA", "Nonaah", "Sing", "Chant", "Ericka", and "Tahquemenon". CD

With David McMurray on soprano sax and flute, Racy Biggs on trumpet, Robin Eubanks on trombone, Steve Coleman on alto, and Tani Tabbal on drums. CD

A very unusual album from this legendary bassist – a set that just features spare duets with Jill McManus on piano! Tracks are long – and titles include "All Blues", "Blue Bossa", "Fuge N", and "Speak Low". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of tracks from three sessions in 1947, with Miles Davis on trumpet, Lucky Thompson on tenor, Duke Jordan, Erroll Garner, and Dodo Marmarosa on piano, Red Callendar, Tommy Potter, and Vic McMillan on bass, and Doc West, Max Roach, and Roy Porter on drums. Titles include "Moose The Moochie", "Yardbird Suite", "Ornithology", "Night In Tunisia", "Embraceable You", "My Old Flame" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Clifford Gibson, Grayson & Whitter, Ephraim Woodie & The Henpecked Husbands, Teddy Darby, Roy Harvey & The North Carolina Ramblers, Lewis McDaniel & Walter Smith, the Red Fox Chasers, Clayton McMichen, Will Batts, the Memphis Jug Band & more. CD

The first all new, all original effort from Bitchin Bajas in a few years finds the group's core synth-driven vibe just as hypnotic, but more expansive than ever! The tracks are all on the longer side, and have this beautiful way of working in subtle shifts in sound and texture that build up, ease back and ultimately evolve from starting base layer of bells, chimes and vibes-y soundscapes. The core trio of Cooper Crain, Rob Frye and Daniel Quinlivan are joined by Mike Reed, Nori Tanaka and Rex McMurry on cymbals and drums that nicely add to atmosphere – and the titles include "Amorpha", "Geomancy", "World B Free" and "Quackenbruck". LP, Vinyl record album