Singer Lisa Decker shares the set with two different groups – Nautilus on one side, and Saturnvybz on the other – both of whom provide some great grooves for her vocals! Nautilus have a style that's nice and lean – a core funky trio with lots of sweet keyboards that slide in warmly, and resonate strongly alongside Decker's presentation of the lyrics. Saturnvybz are a bit more guitar-based, and bring out a different quality in Lisa's voice – maybe a bit more pointed, yet still as powerful – balancing things out nicely. Nautilus tunes include "Free", "Let's Wake Up", "Rimy Whitewater", and "Summer Child". Saturnvybz tracks include "Stay With Me", "Love & Hope", and "On My Way". CD

Superb work from this hip Japanese trio – and a set that really opens up with some stronger jazzy currents than some of their other work! The group still have that strongly rhythmic pulse of their studio sides, but they also bring in lyrical modes that explode with all sorts of bold colors and tones – work that's especially reliant on the keyboards of Mariko Kakabayashi, a player who's equally well-suited to electric and acoustic expressions – next to the bass of Shigeki Umezawa and drums of Toshiyuki Sasaki, the latter of whom arranged all the material on the set. Tracks are nice and long – and the set features a great version of "Expansions", plus "Sweet Love Of Mine", "The World Is A Ghetto", "Eye Of The Hurricane", and "Stone Ground Seven". LP, Vinyl record album

There's a pile of vinyl on the cover of this album from Japanese trio Nautilus – and that's maybe a good way to get at the sound of their style – as the group work heavily from an old school mode, while still pushing things into some more contemporary rhythmic territory too! The approach is somewhere between old school jazz trio work and some of the choppier styles of the young generation of Japanese trios – yet still with a lot more focus on the solo side of things, which some of those other groups are lacking! Much of the energy of the record comes from the piano and keyboard work of Mariko Nakabayashi, next to the bass of Shigeki Umezawa and drums of Toshiyuki Sasaki – on titles that include vocal appearances from Hanah Spring on "I Want You" and "It's A Shame", Ayaca on "Part Time Lover", and Kei Owada on "Empty Faces" – plus a nice take on the classic "Little B's Poem", and the cuts "The Eye Of The Hurricane", "Sweet Love Of Mine", and "Nebulosa". CD

Nautilus sound every bit as great here as on previous albums, but they've also added a difference too – the use of vocals on many tracks, in a way that really helps expand and open up their sound! The singers vary, as do their approaches – one track has a vocoder filtering the vocals – but they all add plenty to the record when they make an appearance, which then seems to have us loving the core trio even more when they step out on their own! There's plenty of Fender Rhodes and other keyboards next to the bass and drums – and singers include Keyco and Mizuki Mamata, plus members of the group – and titles include great remakes of "Sweet Power Your Embrace", "World Is A Ghetto", "Virtual Insanity", and "Let's Stay Together" – plus "A Story About You", "Jean De Fleur", and "Cathedral". CD

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Sweet funky jazz from this great Japanese combo – served up here on a set that has the group taking on some AOR classics from the 70s, but turning them out in their own lean, groovy style! The lineup is mostly a trio – keyboards, bass, and drums – but the vibe is different than a piano trio, as the rhythms are often kicked up more and really emphasized in the production – and the keys switch between acoustic and electric, with some especially nice Fender Rhodes work on a few cuts! There's vocals on two numbers – great remakes of "Georgy Porgy" and "What You Won't Do For Love" – and other cuts include "Strawberry Letter 23", "I Keep Forgettin", "Get It Up For Love", "What A Fool Believes", and "The Second Arrangement". LP, Vinyl record album

Two keyboard heavy cuts – a great original, and a funky cover too! The group's "Inner Space" is wonderful – and begins with this romping drum part that sets the tune for a mellower keyboard line – all nice and funky, and balanced with each other in a really unusual way! The flipside features a remake of the great Manzel tune "Space Funk" – with a drumbreak that's a nice take on the sound of the original's intro – and a nicely changed-up bassline that's a perfect blend for the cool moogy keyboards! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Funky trio Nautilus plays standards, but not the kind of over-recorded songs from Cole Porter and Irving Berlin – and instead a whole host of mighty cool cuts from the likes of Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson, and Woody Shaw! As with the group's other records, the approach is that of a trio – Mariko Nakabayashi on keyboards, Shigeki Umezawa on bass, and Toshihuki Sasaki on drums – but the format is nicely different, as these guys shift up rhythms in all sorts of cool, creative ways – a bit like the Indigo Jam Unit and other Japanese groups who proceeded them – which does great things to some of these already-great cuts! Mizuki Kamata provides guest vocals on the track "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free" – and other titles include "The Eye Of The Hurricane", "Little B's Poem", "Sweet Love Of Mine", and "Solitude". LP, Vinyl record album

The group's just a trio, but they've got a wonderfully full sound – a rich funky groove that comes from just drums, bass, and keyboards – yet which has this soaring reach that almost takes us back to the 70s genius of work on labels like Fantasy or Prestige! Drummer Toshiyuki Sasaki is a monster on the kit – snapping things into the groove from the very first note, and driven on strongly by the basslines of Shigeki Umezawa – while Mariko Nakabayashi warms things up in a wonderful way with all sorts of great keyboard solos – often in an electric piano mode, but sometimes with a wider sonic reach as well! The approach is a bit like the Indigo Jam Unit from years back, but maybe has some more classic touches as well – thanks to versions of cuts by Weldon Irvine, Manzel, and Deodato, all mixed in with the group's own music too. Titles include "Another World", "Space Funk", "Looking Back", "Inner Space", "La Ritournelle", "Skyscrapers", "Caught Up", "Nautical Table", and "We Getting Down". CD

"Skyscrapers" is a classic 70s cut by legendary Brazilian keyboardist Deodato – and here, Nautilus remake the tune for a new generation – using their crackling groove to really invent a piano trio approach to the song! "Another World" is one of their own – a track with this fantastic piano line at the start – really setting the tone with a joyous, upbeat vibe – before cascading over the nicely crackling drums and bass at the core! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Nautilus sound every bit as great here as on previous albums, but they've also added a difference too – the use of vocals on many tracks, in a way that really helps expand and open up their sound! The singers vary, as do their approaches – one track has a vocoder filtering the vocals – but they all add plenty to the record when they make an appearance, which then seems to have us loving the core trio even more when they step out on their own! There's plenty of Fender Rhodes and other keyboards next to the bass and drums – and singers include Keyco and Mizuki Mamata, plus members of the group – and titles include great remakes of "Sweet Power Your Embrace", "World Is A Ghetto", "Virtual Insanity", and "Let's Stay Together" – plus "A Story About You", "Jean De Fleur", and "Cathedral". LP, Vinyl record album

Two great cuts from this funky Japanese trio! "We Gettin Down" is the classic tune from Weldon Irvine – sampled famously by Tribe Called Quest, and done here with this lean groove that's wonderful – funky drums, bass, and these cool keyboards that are also mixed with a vocoder chant of the title! "Nautical Table" is more full on and intense – the kind of cascading piano groove the group does so well – and a tune that's exploding with color and light! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Singer Lisa Decker shares the set with two different groups – Nautilus on one side, and Saturnvybz on the other – both of whom provide some great grooves for her vocals! Nautilus have a style that's nice and lean – a core funky trio with lots of sweet keyboards that slide in warmly, and resonate strongly alongside Decker's presentation of the lyrics. Saturnvybz are a bit more guitar-based, and bring out a different quality in Lisa's voice – maybe a bit more pointed, yet still as powerful – balancing things out nicely. Nautilus tunes include "Free", "Let's Wake Up", "Rimy Whitewater", and "Summer Child". Saturnvybz tracks include "Stay With Me", "Love & Hope", and "On My Way". CD

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A smooth set from reedman John Klemmer, but a pretty darn soulful one too – and a great illustration of the way that Klemmer could still hold onto his roots a lot more strongly than some of his contemporaries! The backings are gentle and fusiony – often with some great keyboard work from Russell Ferrante – and Klemmer soars out wonderfully in the lead – with a depth of tone and creativity of solos that goes far beyond anything that might have been needed for the date – a real "something extra" that shows that John's still got all the deep elements of his Impulse years in place. Tracks include "Finesse", "Man & Woman", "Sometimes", "Heart", "Sun, Moon And The Stars", and "Beloved". LP, Vinyl record album

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Great later blowing from John Klemmer – clear, clean, and extremely well-focused – with nary a dull moment throughout! The album's a mostly acoustic one – save for some keyboards from Milcho Leviev – and the sound is tremendous, very much in keeping with the farther-reaching modes that Klemmer was exploring at the start of the 70s – imaginative, always-creative solos that really take off in the freedoms of the post-Coltrane years, yet which always stay focused and soulful throughout. Other players include Oscar Castro Neves on guitar, Ray Armando on percussion, and Roy McCurdy on drums – and tracks include "Tropical Snowflakes", "Love Affair", "Paradise", "Arabesque", "Touch", and "Summertime". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful work from this really unique west coast combo of the 70s – a quartet that draws plenty from key contributions of each of its members – but which also has a very special sound in the acoustic guitar of Laurindo Almeida! Almeida's a player who'd already been working in LA for two decades or more, but finds a whole new way to express himself here – in the company of past partner Bud Shank on reeds – who really opens up with some soulful solos on the record, which step boldly past some of the guitar passages that sometimes lead off the tracks. Ray Brown's bass is wonderful too – well-shaped, and given some great space to help work alongside Laurindo's guitar – and the album's completed by some very sensitive work on drums by Shelly Manne. Titles include "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise", "Django", "Romance De Amor", and "Recipe Of Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful sound library album – one that works with oceanic themes, and has a really cool underwater sort of vibe – not unlike some of the great marine soundtracks penned by Sven Libaek and Francois DeRoubaix back in the 70s! The project's led by Chris Stullenberg, who's also got a bit of an ear for 80s instrumentation – which you'll hear as the keyboards and rhythms shift a bit from track to track – but never in the cold side of the 80s, and instead always with a sense of warmth and organic progression that really makes the whole thing hold together in a really great way! Tiles include "Realm Of The Octopus", "Diving In Deep Sea", "Seagrass", "Morning Swim", "Nautilus", "Shipwreck", "Secret Coral Reef", and "Underwater Lounge". LP, Vinyl record album

Japanese-style super-fusion with an all-star group – including Lee Ritenour and Eric Gale on guitars, Patrice Rushen on keyboards, and Harvey Mason on drums! LP, Vinyl record album

Quite possibly one of the most successful Japanese piano trio recordings of the 70s – a super-session performed by a group that includes Joe Sample on acoustic piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums! Given that Sample's best known during the era for his electric keys with the Crusaders (and on countless studio sessions), it's a real treat to hear him tickle the ivories in an acoustic way – and a genuine surprise to hear how strong his work is in such a format. Joe manages to swing the tunes with plenty of creative improvisation, but also keeps a strong focus on the groove too – making for an album that's got some of the rhythmic flourishes of the best work of the Oscar Peterson trio in later years, but with some of the added freedoms of the Japanese scene. Titles include "On Green Dolphin Street", "Round Midnight", "Funky Blues", "Manha Do Carnaval", "Yearnin", and "Satin Doll". LP, Vinyl record album

A career spanning collection that includes cuts from CTI, Tappan Zee, and the later Warner records. Tracks include "Storm King", "Night Crawler", "Nautilus", "Bare Bones", "Ashanti", "Touchdown", and "Mind Games". 28 tracks total. CD

A landmark album – not only for Bob James, but for CTI and the Fender Rhodes as well! This is the album where all the magic starts – the first of many extremely successful albums that Bob recorded during the 70s under his own name, and almost the birthplace of the modern hip hop keyboard sample line! The album's stuffed with great numbers – including a sublime reading of "Feel Like Making Love", and the classic "Nautilus" – a slow, dark, funky tune that's worth the price of the album alone! Other tracks include "Valley Of The Shadows", "Night On Bald Mountain", and "Soulero". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent sampling of the smooth funky keyboards of Bob James – one of the most enduring players of the 70s jazz funk years, thanks to a legion of hip hoppers who've sampled his work! There's a total of 26 cuts in all – ranging from Bob's early work at CTI, to later gems on his Tappan Zee label – with titles that include "Nautilus", "Night On Bald Mountain", "Storm King", "Tappan Zee", "Sun Runner", "Touchdown", "Ensanada Madness", "Bare Bones", and "Fireball". CD

Numero does it again – unleashing an amazing batch of work for the first time ever – all packaged in a very limited Record Store Day set! The collection features material that was pressed up at the tiny Boddie pressing plant in Cleveland – a wonderful range of local artists from the late 60s through the mid 80s – all served up with the usual Numero flair! The set's a rich discovery of sounds we'd never have heard otherwise – and although it's slanted heavily towards rare funk and soul, there's also some compelling indie rock sides too – especially some homegrown, dark-toned sounds from the 80s – clearly influenced by the styles in the UK underground. The set features 17 tracks in all – including "Don't Stop Smiling" by Jus Us, "Just A Dream" by Imperial Wonders, "Love Is On The Way" by Bill Spoon, "Let Me Go" by The Harmonics, "I'm Gonna Treat You Good" by The Donations, "Good For The Gander" by Hot Chocolate, "Woman You're Gonna Pay For This" by Wicked Lester, "The Voyage Of The Nautilus" by Russell Potter, and "Snakepit" by Berlin West. CD

Great contemporary work from the legendary Bob James – the kind of set that reminds us that Bob's always done such a fantastic job of knowing what we want, then giving it to us in droves! And here, James knows that we love his classic sound from the CTI years – which he recreates here in a different setting, recording live in the studio with a wonderfully warm trio – plenty of strong focus on Bob's still-sublime work on keyboards and electric piano, balanced with round acoustic basslines and gently funky drums that give the whole thing a maturely soulful vibe! This isn't Bob James trying to go retro – but remembering his genius sense of space and timing in the 70s, and bringing it back in a very fresh way. Titles include a fantastic mix of "Feel Like Makin Love/Night Crawler" – plus "Mister Magic", "Westchester Lady", "Angela", "Maputo", "Rocket Man", "Nautilus", and "Avalabop". CD