A classic album by this righteous soul collective – and one that shows them taking a strong step away from their work at RCA with Harvey Fuqua. This one has the group (ever-enormous as always!) absorbing some of the other elements of modern soul that were floating around at the time – and they make a nice mark for themselves on the album's mix of ballad tracks and uptempo numbers. Titles include "Blind Man", "Blind Baby", "Dream Merchant", "Forever", "I Remember Well", and "Granddaddy" LP, Vinyl record album

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A mix of previously released tracks from the group's harder to find early albums, like "Unborn Child", "Don't Blame the Young Folks", and "You've Got to Be the One for Me", plus some other unissued tracks like "Sunshine Song", "What You Can Do", and "Just to be Somebody". Arrangements by Riley Hampton, Burgess Gardner, and Harvey Fuqua. LP, Vinyl record album

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Hard funky soul from The New Birth – still sounding pretty raw at this point, and with that funky group ensemble feel that you'll hear on their best early albums! The tracks have plenty of nice guitar and clavinet work, and a shifting lead vocal approach that's pretty great on most cuts – that great collaborative mode that moves around a lot on the early albums by the group – definitely giving the feel that they're having a giant party in the studio with the Nite-Liters! Tracks include "Patiently" with a nice extended intro break, "Lady Love", "End to End", "I Wash My Hands of the Whole Damn Deal", "Echoes of My Mind", and the classic groover "Comin From All Ends", a nice full-on funky number. LP, Vinyl record album

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Way more than just another soul group – as The New Birth are almost big enough to be their own sort of soul music village – complete with different neighborhoods along the way! Vocals are handled by the combined groups of The Mint Juleps and Now Sound – gals and guys that soar together wonderfully with backings from The Nite-Liters – who help give the record a righteous undercurrent at most points, which makes the whole thing sound way hipper than any other projects of this nature! Vernon Bulllock acts as the music director for the whole group – really pulling things together with a tightness that's outta sight – and leadership of the project comes from Harvey Fuqua – who arranged and produced as well. There's some massively heavy talent on board for this initial outing, and you can definitely hear it all come into play beautifully – a wonderful harmony of rich talents, without any egos or issues to get in the way. Vocals chance nicely throughout – sometimes a female lead, sometimes male – as do the grooves, which are funky one minute, and mellow the next! Tracks include "All The Way", "Pretty Words Don't Mean A Thing", "One Way Bus", "It's You Or No One", "Do The Funky Chicken", "The Unh Song", and "What'll I Do". Great reissue – with excellent sound, and very detailed notes! CD

A lost legacy in spiritual jazz – two albums recorded by a Boston group who worked far from the limelight in New York – in a very underground scene where they recorded these two very special albums in the 70s! Their sound is very collaborative and freewheeling – an approach that reminds us a lot of music by Phil Cohran and The Artistic Heritage Ensemble. The first album in the set is The Beginning Of A New Birth – a record that really lives up to its title, given the joyous energy it brings into being – a very collaborative vibe that has the entire ensemble working together on two side-long tracks – mixing rootsy percussion, avant solos, and unified voices that really give the music a special touch! The mix of ensemble vocals and reed elements is a bit like some of the Max Roach or Billy Harper projects of the time – but the approach is looser, less structured, and very organic. Players include Michael Cosmic on alto, Raquib Ishma'll Hassan on tenor, Phil Musra on soprano sax, Shaddu Jones on piano, and Robert Fuff on bass – and titles include "The Beginning Of A New Birth" and "The Prayer". As Time Flows on is the second record – and has a style that's maybe slightly more compact – still every bit as spiritual as before, but with some shorter tracks that bring the group's ideas into even deeper focus! The group is smaller, but still uses voice along with their instrumentation – which comes from the work of Earl Grant Lawrence on flute, Jamyll Jones on bass, Shaddu Jones on piano, and Larry Roland, Roy Hall, and Chauncy Hutcherson on percussion. Some vocals are more solo, and even hit a bit of a hip protest vibe – and titles include "Nine Degrees & Cold", "Black Woman", "To Do Nothing", "The Mind", and "Rain". Comes with a great booklet – which tells the group's unique story! CD

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Classic work from Fantastic Four – who are really hitting their stride vocally, moving into a whole new sound from their work in the late 60s. The groove is a mix of 70s harmony soul and early Westbound disco – and the longish tracks get quite involved, both vocally and arrangement-wise. The title cut – "Alvin Stone (Birth & Death Of A Gangster)" – is a righteous post-Temps soul track, and the album's got lots of other nice ones, like "Let This Moment Last Forever", "County Line", and "My Love Won't Stop at Nothing". LP, Vinyl record album

A magnificent document of a very unique cultural moment – the voguing ballroom world of the New York scene at the end of the 80s! The book is filled with beautiful vintage photographs that really get at the complexity of the ballroom scene – the cross-gender, cross-class, cross-fashion activity that was often set to house music – and which was as individualistic and uniquely New York as the emergence of disco in the 70s, or the birth of hip hop a few years later. Voguing had a shorter life span than both, but impacted the mainstream for a few key years at the start of the 90s – and this book really gets at the raw power the movement had at the start, thanks to on the spot photographs from Chantal Regnault. Images are in both color and black and white, presented in the book with the Soul Jazz sensitivity to cultural undergrounds – and dancefloor chronicler Tim Lawrence contributed a good deal of text, to help set the images in proper perspective. Book is oversize, 204 pages, softcover, and very nicely done! Book

A damn classic entry in the Super Breaks series from BGP – one that's filled with crucial sample cuts from the old school – some really wonderful funky nuggets, brought together here as a great reminder of the tracks that first got us digging back in the day! There's less of the totally obscure numbers here than you might find on other Super Breaks volumes, but things aren't totally mainstream either – and the compilers have not only done a great job of pulling together tracks that were really important for hip hop, but have also managed to put a really fresh spin on the music altogether – reminding us once again that even in the age of digital music, nothing beats a well-done compilation! Titles include "Shifting Gears" by Johnny Hammond, "Mary Mary" by The Monkees, "Scratchin" by Magic Disco Machine, "It's Just Begun" by Jimmy Castor, "Africano" by Earth Wind & Fire, "Apache" by Incredible Bongo Band, "Got To Get A Knutt" by New Birth, "Get Up & Dance" by Freedom, "Super Sporm" by Captain Sky, "Who Is He & What Is He To You" by Creative Source, "Funky President" by James Brown, "Blow Your Head" by The JBs, "Johnny The Fox" by Thin Lizzy, "Let A Woman Be A Woman Let A Man Be A Man" by Dyke & The Blazers, "The Clapping Song" by Shirley Ellis, and "Get Ya Some" by Melvin Sparks. CD

Tremendous grooves from the earliest (and best) years of the acid jazz scene – all recorded at a time when London was exploding with sounds from the 60s and 70s, and turning out some of the hippest music on the planet! Although the term "acid jazz" was soon mishandled and mis-managed here in the US, the earliest days of the movement were really a tremendous time in London – a period when folks returned to the core elements that made funk, jazz, and soul great – and shook off all of the too-electric and too-stiff modes that had crept in during the 80s! Most of the work here is in a really spare, stripped-down funky mode – a cross between soul jazz of the 60s and blacksploitation funk of the 70s, with possibly a few more contemporary elements thrown into the mix. And in these years way before the current deep funk revival, what's even more important is the way these songs were produced – with a warmth that other groups hadn't had in years, and a real love of the way these tracks might have sounded in older studios a few decades before. The package contains a number of key rare singles from the Acid Jazz label, other album tracks, and even a few classics that had a big influence on the London scene. Titles include the rare pre-Acid Jazz single "Got To Give" by The Brand New Heavies, the sublime "Rejoice In Righteousness" by Bukky Leo Quintet, and the tracks "Cut & Run" by Lay Zee Muthas, "Like A Gun" by King Truman, "The Killer" by Night Trains, "People Get Ready" by The Brand New Heavies, "Haw Right Now" by Patrice Rushen, "Earthly Powers" by Man Called Adam, "Mr PC" by Snowboy, "Spinning Wheel" by New Jersey Kings, "Let The Good Times Roll" by The Quiet Boys, and "Mighty Mouse" by Caesar Frazier. Loads of great notes too – a really detailed look at the London scene at the end of the 80s! CD

The first collection we've ever seen to do justice to the Brown Sugar trio from the UK reggae scene of the late 70s – a group who do a fantastic job of merging older sweet soul styles with a new lovers' vibe, all in a mode that's completely sublime! The group's noteworthy as the starting place of Caron Wheeler, who'd later rise to great fame in Soul II Soul – and Carol Simms, who'd later rise on her own as Kofi – but even without that later legacy, the music here is completely wonderful – and is presented with detailed notes, in a set that collects all the singles the trio recorded at the time with Dennis Bovell and John "Brownie T" Kpiaye. Brown Sugar are clearly influenced by the sweeter side of American group soul style in the late 60s – and even cover a few cuts from that era – yet they also have this bad-stepping style that really offers up the strongest current of the London style of the period – the crisper crackle and rootsier production approach that was really showing a scene coming into its own. Titles include "Black Pride", "Our Reggae Music", "Hello Stranger", "You & Your Smiling Face", "Loving Dreadlocks Dub", "Confession Hurts", "Proud", "Do You Really Love Me", "Hurtin", "Run Away Love",a nd "Dreaming Of Zion". CD

A crucial look at the Chicago scene in the 1980s – and the first collection to really get at the roots of that city's legendary house music scene! Although later labels – like Trax or DJ International – became known as global forces for dance music in the 80s, the big wave of new sounds from the Windy City was really started by a much smaller company – the tiny Mitchbal label, and related Chicago Connection Records! This wonderful package really does a great job of bringing the Mitchbal contribution to light – with lavish notes, almost Numero-style, that fully detail the way the label mixed unique strands on the scene – British imports, new wave rhythms, and a younger generation of soul musicians still looking for an outlet in the post-disco years. These forces, and more, all came together to make the mighty sound of Mitchbal – featured here in a collection of the label's rare singles, some unreleased tracks, and other essential bits. 3CD package features a full bonus mix CD, plus a whopping 24 tracks that include "Fantasy (inst)" by Z Factor, "Shake Your Body" by Jeanette Thomas, "When I Hear The Music" by Mitchbal & The Housemasters, "The House Is On Fire" by Dezz & Grant, "Do Dat Stuff (dance mix)" by Mitchbal & Larry Williams, "I Am Music (inst)" by Libra Libra, "That's The Beat" by Risque Rhythm Team, "Fast Cars" by Z Factor, "More Than Just A Dance (backyard mix)" by Rique Rhythm Team, "I Got Broke Breakdancing (inst)" by MC Ghee, and "I Can't Forget" by Mr Lee. CD

A great slice of work from the New York underground of the post-disco years – served up by a family of labels that had been making things happen through most of the 70s! The set focuses strongly on the singles issued by the Posse and Spring Records labels – the former a new offshoot of the latter, especially geared towards 12" singles that were strongly focused on both the new sounds of the clubs and the streets – including lots of electro, bass-heavy funk, hip hop-inspired grooves, and mabye even some elements that would soon point the way towards house music to come! This side of the Spring Records label has never been covered in detail like this before – and the choice of cuts is as great as the notes on the music – which finally gives the Posse singles their due in the scene from back in the day. Titles include "We Come To Jam" by Blaze, "Sing A Song" by Lonnie Youngblood, "Have Your Cake" by Body, "Wired For Games (long version)" by C Brand, "Workin Out" by Ritz, "Live It Up (short vocal)" by Fonda Rae, "Get Up An Dance" by Mynk, "Spread Love" by Fatback, "Let's Get Nice (7" vocal)" by Glory, and "Got To Have Your Lovin (short vocal)" by Feel. LP, Vinyl record album

A damn classic entry in the Super Breaks series from BGP – one that's filled with crucial sample cuts from the old school – some really wonderful funky nuggets, brought together here as a great reminder of the tracks that first got us digging back in the day! There's less of the totally obscure numbers here than you might find on other Super Breaks volumes, but things aren't totally mainstream either – and the compilers have not only done a great job of pulling together tracks that were really important for hip hop, but have also managed to put a really fresh spin on the music altogether – reminding us once again that even in the age of digital music, nothing beats a well-done compilation! Titles include "Shifting Gears" by Johnny Hammond, "Mary Mary" by The Monkees, "Scratchin" by Magic Disco Machine, "It's Just Begun" by Jimmy Castor, "Africano" by Earth Wind & Fire, "Apache" by Incredible Bongo Band, "Got To Get A Knutt" by New Birth, "Get Up & Dance" by Freedom, "Super Sporm" by Captain Sky, "Who Is He & What Is He To You" by Creative Source, "Funky President" by James Brown, "Blow Your Head" by The JBs, "Johnny The Fox" by Thin Lizzy, "Let A Woman Be A Woman Let A Man Be A Man" by Dyke & The Blazers, "The Clapping Song" by Shirley Ellis, and "Get Ya Some" by Melvin Sparks. LP, Vinyl record album

Great material from the birth of bebop – with Charlie Christian on guitar, Thelonious Monk on piano, Don Byas on tenor, and Kenny Clarke on drums! CD

The benchmark mid 70s Disco Gold compilation on the Scepter label – plus standout numbers from its sequel – together here on what can be considered a definitive early disco set! During the mid 70s, some of the older New York soul indies were the first to get on the disco tip – and one of the biggest was Scepter Records, who found the burgeoning movement to be a perfect foil for some of its older vocal groups and singers. This original lost 1975 release on Scepter and its sequel feature disco mixes of tunes that had appeared on the label as singles – all handled by the legendary Tom Moulton, one of the greatest forces in the disco studio scene on the east coast. This great CD release on BGP compiles material from the Disco Gold and Disco Gold Vol 2 releases on Scepter – including "Make Me Believe In You" by Patti Jo, "We're On The Right Track" by Ultra High Frequency, "Wan Tu Wah Zuree" by George Tindley, "Ain't No Love Lost" by Patti Jo, "Arise & Shine" by The Independents, and "Needing You" by Clara Lewis and more from the original 1975 album – plus "Mud Wind" by The South Side Movement", "(Call Me Your) Anything Man" by Bobby Moore, "Waterbed" by LTG Exchange and Baby Save Me" by The Secrets culled from Volume 2. 12 great tracks in all. CD

A great slice of work from the New York underground of the post-disco years – served up by a family of labels that had been making things happen through most of the 70s! The set focuses strongly on the singles issued by the Posse and Spring Records labels – the former a new offshoot of the latter, especially geared towards 12" singles that were strongly focused on both the new sounds of the clubs and the streets – including lots of electro, bass-heavy funk, hip hop-inspired grooves, and mabye even some elements that would soon point the way towards house music to come! This side of the Spring Records label has never been covered in detail like this before – and the choice of cuts is as great as the notes on the music – which finally gives the Posse singles their due in the scene from back in the day. Titles include "We Come To Jam" by Blaze, "Sing A Song" by Lonnie Youngblood, "Have Your Cake" by Body, "Wired For Games (long version)" by C Brand, "Workin Out" by Ritz, "Live It Up (short vocal)" by Fonda Rae, "Get Up An Dance" by Mynk, "Spread Love" by Fatback, "Let's Get Nice (7" vocal)" by Glory, and "Got To Have Your Lovin (short vocal)" by Feel. CD

Maybe the most amazing graffiti book you'll ever hope to own – an amazingly heavy, oversized volume that tells the tale of the birth of the format and its global spread – served up in dozens of articles brought together in the space of an imaginary newspaper! The pages are huge, and the writing really matches the vivid images alongside – and is augmented by loads of cool details like subway and train route maps, a New York graffiti timeline, and pages and pages of full-color artwork! To be honest, we'd thought the graffiti book was done a long time ago, but this volume has really re-inspired our interest – and is essential reading not just for fans of graf art, but also of hip hop culture and urban spaces in general. 406 super-heavy pages, full color, oversized. Book

The birth of genius – the first three albums by Flamin Groovies, along with bonus tracks too! First up is Supersnazz – the first album from legendary San Francisco rockers the Flaming Groovies – and the cleaner horn-accented blueprint for the shakey, skronky structure to come! Supersnazz has a bit of a sibling in the first Stooges LP – in that the palatable production only hints at the insanity of later records – but it's a good rocking record all the same, a good site stranger, fierier and groovier than most of their contemporaries could muster! Tracks include "Love Have Mercy", "Laurie Did It", "Rockin' Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu", "The First One's Free", "Pagan Rachel", "Pistol Packin' Mama", "Brushfire", "Around The Corner" and more. Flamingo is one of the finest moments ever from The Flamin Groovies – a set that's awash in 50s rock and roll influences, yet filtered through the heady late 60s San Francisco scene – making for a mix that's completely compelling throughout, and unlike anything else we can think of! The Groovies might initially seem like retro-rockers, yet they've got this sharp edge that makes their music more of a commentary on rock and roll, and its roots as well – uttered beautifully at a time when so many others were falling into excess, but also done without any of the "roots" cliches that others were embracing in a much clunkier way! It's hard to sum up adequately, but the record's almost a leap forward from Gene Vincent over 60s psyche – but on its way to the rough edges embraced by the UK punk scene in years to come – kind of that odd space that the Modern Lovers hit with their Kim Fowley recordings, but much more rocking overall. Most numbers are originals from vocalist Roy Loney – and titles include "Comin After Me", "Headin For The Texas Border", "Second Cousin", "Childhood's End", "Jailbait", and "She's Falling Apart". Teenage Head is maybe the best-remembered album ever from the all-great Flaming Groovies – and a set with a classic cover image that really lives up to the music! The Groovies have an unusual blend of old school rocking with hipper post-60s sensibilities – almost their own faux-retro sound to rival some of the west coast modes from the Warner scene – but with a grittier NYC presentation that's really wonderful, and which made the record a key force in the pre-punk years! One of those true treasures that just keeps on giving over the years – a record of subtle brilliance that just gets better and better with each new listen. Titles include "High Flyin Baby", "City Lights", "Yesterday's Numbers", "Whiskey Woman", and "Evil Hearted Ada". 3CD set features a whopping 17 bonus tracks – including "Louie Louie", "Shakin All Over", "Carol", "Scratch My Back", "Rumble", "Somethin Else", "Going Out (version 2)", "Walking The Dog", "The First One's Free (single)", "Around & Around", and "My Girl Josephine. CD

A masterpiece of hard and heavy funk – from one of the best bands of the early 70s! The Nite Liters were a legendary funky combo that provided the backing for some of New Birth's best albums – but on their own, they were even funkier, and had a sound that was part JBs, part Meters, and all funky! This album may well be the group's best – their last for RCA, and a set that really has them honing their edge incredibly. The drums are amazing, the keyboards great, and the horns have this quality that's both complex, yet right on the money – making for a richness in sound that really sets the group apart from their contemporaries. A few singers from The New Birth provide chorus vocals on a few tracks – but most of the set is instrumental, and the record's one we'd gladly stack next to our Meters albums on Josie or JBs classics on People. Every track's a gem – and titles include "Drumology", "Excuse Me While I Do My Thing", "Serenade for a Jive Turkey", "Happy Hooker", "Craaashing", "Damn", "Pee-Foul", and a sweet cover of "Valdez in the Country" that's been sampled at least once over the years! CD

The birth of Miami soul, and a beautifully done document of the rare Deep City label – home to Willie Clarke, Clarence Reid, and Betty Wright in the years before Alston and TK Records! Way before Miami soul started cracking the charts at the start of the 70s, Deep City was already putting the best parts in place – working with a tight roster of artists and an equally tight in-house band that rose from the ranks of Florida A&M's Marching 100 band – razor-sharp instrumentalists who helped forge a groove worthy to rival the sounds of Memphis, Muscle Shoals, and even the best of Detroit at the time – given that some of the work here has a much sweeter soul sound than other 60s southern soul. As usual, the Numero team have done an incredible job with the package – pulling out rare photos, personal stories, and just the right amount of information to breathe new life into the Deep City label and help it live anew. CD features 17 tracks in all – including "Paralyzed" and "Good Lovin" by Betty Wright, "Am I A Good Man" by Them Two, "Someone To Fulfill My Needs" and "I Love You Baby" by The Moovers, "I Am Controlled By Your Love" and "Willing & Able" by Helene Smith, "Good Thing (part 1)" by Frank Williams & The Rocketeers, "It's My Baby" and "The Upset" by Paul Kelly, and "Stay Away From My Johnny" by Freda Gray & The Rocketeers. CD

A tremendous little record from Love Peace & Happiness – a great vocal trio from the early 70s, and one who really shine with this overlooked gem for RCA! The trio were part of the New Birth/Nite Liters universe that producer Harvey Fuqua brought to the label at the time – and they've got a hip sound that's right up there with the other two groups – with whom they were very intimately involved – working here with arrangements from Fuqua that are almost his contribution to post-Motown sounds in the 70s, the way that Holland-Dozier-Holland were working at Invictus. Ann Bogan really soars with righteous leads in the group – and gets equal support from brothers Leslie and Melvin Wilson – who really help underscore some of the bolder elements of the music – especially on the funkier cuts. Titles include "I Don't Want To Do Wrong", "Lonesome Lonely & Alone", "Don't Knock My Love", "If I Owned The World", "You Can't Cheat the Cheater", "Stay", "Mind", and "You've Chosen Me". Great reissue – with excellent sound and very detailed notes! CD

An amazing package, and an amazing moment in the career of Charlie Parker – the beginning of his relationship with Verve Records producer Norman Granz – who really helped refine Bird's talents, and also open him up in some new creative directions! The material here originally came out on 10" LPs on the Mercury and Clef labels, but they're also the birth of the Verve Records sound too – top-shelf presentation, and care that Charlie Parker may not have been getting from previous labels like Dial or Savoy! The set features the first two volumes of Charlie Parker With Strings – amazing music that has Bird's sharp-edged alto soaring out over some modern string arrangements – really standard-setting experiments that so many others followed in years to come! Next is Bird & Diz – a sublime pairing with Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet. Charlie Parker Plays South Of The Border is a key cubop session – Bird's alto with Latin rhythms – an equally groundbreaking match as his strings sessions! Last is the self titled Charlie Parker album – a great quartet session, with titles that include the classics "Confirmation" and "Now's The Time". All five albums come with the original David Stone Martin cover art – and come packaged in a slipcover, with a heavy new booklet of notes! LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic collection of work from a real golden age in hip hop – a period that you'll probably guess from the image of the Native Tongues posse on the front – served up here in a compilation that brings together classics from De La Soul, The Jungle Brothers, Monie Love, and many others! The set list is superb – and while most of the tracks are well-remembered gems, and not the kind of rare cuts we usually hear from Ace Records – taken together, they're a tremendous reminder of a time when hip hop really came alive – bursting with wit, wisdom, and a whole new sense of musical imagination! As usual with Ace, the liner notes and other details are great – making this way more than just a slap-dash mix of hits – and titles include "You're Not Coming Home (Mase's funkay recall mix)" by Groove Garden, "Age Ain't Nothin But A #" by Chi Ali, "Bonita Applebum" by Tribe Called Quest, "Sunshine Men" by Freestyle Fellowship, "Peachfuzz" by KMD, "K Sera Sera" by Justin Warfield, "It's A Shame" by Monie Love, "Doin Our Own Dang" by Jungle Brothers, "OPP" by Naughty By Nature, "Doowutchyalike" by Digital Underground, "A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays" by De La Soul, "The Choice Is Yours" by Black Sheep, "All For One" by Brand Nubian, "My Definition Of A Boombastic Jazz Style" by Dream Warriors, "Mama Gave Birth To The Soul Children" by Queen Latifah with De La Soul, "Where I'm From" by Digable Planets, and "We Run Things (It's Like Dat)" by Da Bush Babees. CD

A nice little set that delivers exactly what's promised in the title – sweet soul music from back in the day, plus a few tracks from the contemporary Philly scene! The cuts here nicely move between styles – many are the warm harmony cuts that were the calling card of Philly and New Jersey at the start of the 70s – and the rhythms here move from completely mellow to midtempo – that shift in harmony soul towards the club that was so influential from some of these artists at the time. Tracks include "Me & My Gemini" by First Class, "Carla My Love" by Softones, "Together" by Tony Strong & The Philly Soul, "Babies Having Babies" by Terry Tate, "Sure Thing" by New Birth, "Hypnotized" by Linda Jones, "My Ebony Princess" by Jimmy Briscoe & The Little Beavers, "Special Lady" by Ray Goodman & Brown, "Natural High" by Captain Sky, "Reunited" by Johnny Ingram with Sherena Khan, "You Know How To Make Me Feel So Good" by Glenn Leonard with Jean Carne, "Didn't Anyone Ever Tell You I Love You" by Philly Devotions, "Yes I'm Ready" by Barbara Mason, "A Lover's Stand" by Norma Jenkins & The Dolls, and "Your Love Is So Doggone Good" by The Whispers. CD

A nice little set that delivers exactly what's promised in the title – sweet soul music from back in the day, plus a few tracks from the contemporary Philly scene! The cuts here nicely move between styles – many are the warm harmony cuts that were the calling card of Philly and New Jersey at the start of the 70s – and the rhythms here move from completely mellow to midtempo – that shift in harmony soul towards the club that was so influential from some of these artists at the time. Tracks include "Me & My Gemini" by First Class, "Carla My Love" by Softones, "Together" by Tony Strong & The Philly Soul, "Babies Having Babies" by Terry Tate, "Sure Thing" by New Birth, "Hypnotized" by Linda Jones, "My Ebony Princess" by Jimmy Briscoe & The Little Beavers, "Special Lady" by Ray Goodman & Brown, "Natural High" by Captain Sky, "Reunited" by Johnny Ingram with Sherena Khan, "You Know How To Make Me Feel So Good" by Glenn Leonard with Jean Carne, "Didn't Anyone Ever Tell You I Love You" by Philly Devotions, "Yes I'm Ready" by Barbara Mason, "A Lover's Stand" by Norma Jenkins & The Dolls, and "Your Love Is So Doggone Good" by The Whispers. CD

A rare slice of Duke Ellington at Newport in the 50s – recorded live at the festival in 1959, but unlike other sessions of the time, never issued on record! The set remained unissued until Duke's 90th birthday, and it's a great discovery that easily matches the strength of Ellington's larger live recordings for Columbia at the same time. As is usual for this type of outing, there's a number of shorter tracks that reprise Ellington favorites for the crowd – but those are offset by longer, more serious works that are deeply complex, the highlight of which is "Idiom 59", a great lost composition done especially for the Festival! The full performance runs for over an hour – with players that include Clark Terry, Cat Anderson, Harry Carney, and Johnny Hodges – and other tunes include "Cop Out", "Rockin In Rhythm", "Skin Deep", "Jam With Sam", "Perdido", and "Jones". CD

An overlooked chapter in the Harold Land/Bobby Hutcherson partnership that recorded more famously for Blue Note – a date that's issued here under the tenorist's own name, but which also features equal contributions from Hutcherson on vibes! Tracks have that long, modal quality that has the pair almost birthing a whole new generation in jazz expression – a style that's more sophisticated than earlier soul jazz, yet equally soulful in its own sort of way – aware of all the freedoms of the avant scene, yet never fully indulgent of them – and always guided by a spirit set loose by Coltrane, but in ways that are very different than so many others in the post-Coltrane generation! Part of that difference might be Land's personal phrasing on tenor – or Hutcherson's amazing approach to vibes – both without any sort of comparison at all, and set up here in a group that features Bill Henderson on acoustic and electric piano, Buster Williams on bass, Billy Hart on drums, and Mtume on congas. The latter gets his own song named on the record – the great "Mtume" – and other titles include "Short Subject", "Ode To Angela", and "De-Liberation". CD

A wonderful wonderful set from the British jazz scene of the late 60s – beautifully inventive large ensemble material, done under the direction of Neil Ardley – and featuring some of the best British jazz musicians of the time! The group's a showcase not only for creative young talent in the UK, but also for the growing sense of composition as well – and the music on the set is penned by Ardley, Michael Garrick, Mike Taylor, and Michael Gibbs – as well as new arrangements of work by Miles Davis and John Coltrane. As in the best material from Ardley, Garrick, and Gibbs, there's a really fresh way of coming together for the instrumentation – quite different than large group material in both the US, and even other areas of the 60s European scene – delivered with wonderful imagination by musicians who include Derek Watkins, Henry Lowther, Harry Beckett, and Ian Carr on trumpets; Michael Gibbs and Derek Wadsworth on trombones; Barbara Thompson on flute and soprano sax; Dick Heckstall Smith on tenor and soprano; Frank Ricotti on vibes; and even Jack Bruce on bass! Titles include "Le Dejeuner Sur L'Herbe", "Naima", "Angle", "Ballad", "Dusk Fire", "Study", and "Rebirth". CD

An obscure funky fusion album from bassist Tony Newton – with a wild look that grabs you instantly! Tony plays this weird double-bass, and he's pictured with the instrument on the cover – looking like some super-heavy righteous dude that escaped from The Headhunters. The record features loads of spiraling bass solos, laid out over hard funky drums and keyboards. There's not a lot of breakbeats, but the record's got some nice hard fusion with tight changes and strong grooves. Funky tracks include "Groundshaker" and "Supernatural Rebirth" – and other titles include "BC 2 Chant", "Spread A Little Goodness", and "The Devil Walks Among Us". LP, Vinyl record album

There's a really great pairing going on here – the always-amazing sound of Pierre Dorge's New Jungle Orchestra, and the tenor of Stephen Riley – a guest who's brought into the fold after a successful European tour with the group, and a perfect match for their ever-inventive sound! Dorge's guitar sets the scene and colors the music right from the start – with plenty of the blue elements you might expect in the title – and Riley seems as if he's challenging all the other group members to do their best with the strength of his own tenor – a lineup that includes Tobias Wiklund on trumpet, Kennet Agerlhom on trombone, Jakob Mygind on tenor and soprano, Anders Banke on tenor and bass clarinet, and Irene Becker on piano and keyboards. The tracks are mostly originals by Dorge, plus a few by Becker – and they've got that angular, shape-heavy vibe that marks the work of the NJO – on titles that include "Dancing In The Jungle", "Aburu Kuwa", "Mingus' Birthday Party", "Witchdoctor In The Burial Mound", "Fulani", and "Blue Afriki". CD

An explosive album from the mighty John Fahey – and maybe the record in which he starts to really break from tradition – and strongly foreground all the new changes he wanted to bring to acoustic music! There's still a strong Americanist vibe going on here, but Fahey's also stretching things out, improvising a lot more, and really letting some darker corners come forward in his sound – not just on the 19 minute title track, which is a jaw-dropper in and of itself – but also on some of the shorter tracks, as he plays with tape tricks, duets with organ or flute, and even invites the Mysterious Al Wilson along on veena! The whole thing's amazing – exactly the summation of what made Fahey such a unique talent – and titles include "The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party", "Sail Away Ladies", "900 Miles", "Guitar Excursion Into The Unknown", and "Knott's Berry Farm Molly". LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure funky fusion album from bassist Tony Newton – with a wild look that grabs you instantly! Tony plays this weird double-bass, and he's pictured with the instrument on the cover – looking like some super-heavy righteous dude that escaped from The Headhunters. The record features loads of spiraling bass solos, laid out over hard funky drums and keyboards. There's not a lot of breakbeats, but the record's got some nice hard fusion with tight changes and strong grooves. Funky tracks include "Groundshaker" and "Supernatural Rebirth" – and other titles include "BC 2 Chant", "Spread A Little Goodness", and "The Devil Walks Among Us". LP, Vinyl record album

The rebirth of the Afro-Cuban groove on the New York scene of the 70s – great recordings in the "new traditionalist" sound of the time! After the boom of the Latin Soul sound of the late 60s, and the rise of salsa in the early 70s, there was also a "back to basics" movement within the players of the New York Latin community – a shift that stripped down the sound, reintroduced traditional instrumentation, and worked in rhythms that might have been used on older sessions, but which were slightly updated for the newer recordings. The work of that period, although strong, has often been overlooked in favor of some of the flashier sounds of the scene – and this set wonderfully corrects that fault by bringing together a great sampling of work from the traditional spectrum of the Salsoul and SAR record labels, along with the kind of notes and commitment to quality that makes the Honest Jon's reissues so great! Titles include "Son Sabroson" by Rey Roig, "Chuchillo Para La Pina Cubana" by Charlie Rodriguez, "Chocolate En C7" and "Trumpet En Montuno" by Chocolate, "Oriente" and "Tiene Sabor" by Henry Fiol, "Yo Perdi El Corazon" by Lita Branda, "Camina Y Ven Pa La Loma" by Roberto Torres, "Celosa" by Angelo Y Su Conjunto Modelo, and "Los Dos Hermanos" by Los Jimaguas. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic love letter to the great Townes Van Zandt – a set that features unreleased material from his genius stretch in the early 70s! The songs here include two new songs, variations on five others by Townes, and some surprising remakes – all done in a very stripped-down mode, with a vibe that's in keeping with his first few classic albums. And despite the fact that these are lost recordings, the sound quality is excellent – beautifully resonant presentation of the amazing vocals and subtle guitar – on tracks that include "Rex's Blues", "All I Need", "The Hills Of Roane County", "Sky Blue", "Blue Ridge Mountains (smoky version)", "Pancho & Lefty", "Silver Ship Of Andilar", "Last Thing On My Mind", and "Dream Spider". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of 80s albums from saxophonist Arthur Blythe – back to back in a single set! Da Da is a set that mixes some of the sharper edges of Blythe's earlier records with a few more contemporary touches – but always at a level that still has the reedman standing far from the mainstream! The core group here features Olu Dara on trumpet, Cecil McBee on bass, John Hicks on piano, and Bobby Battle on drums – and on the acoustic tracks, there's some great energy between them that soars with a soulful spirit birthed in the loft jazz years, maybe swung a bit straighter than before. A few other tunes add in some extra elements – an electric bass on one number, some light strings on another – but the core of the album still has a magnificent focus on that tone that Blythe had only perfected even more on records like this, especially on the more laidback numbers, which come as a real surprise, and reflect a ballad style we might not have guessed in the early days. Titles include "Odessa", "Esquinas", "After Paris", "Crescent", and "Break Time". Next up is Basic Blythe – not exactly basic work from Arthur Blythe, as the set features an added string ensemble too – but a record that certainly has the saxophonist really hitting a whole new level of genius! There's a great core group here – with John Hicks on piano, Anthony Cox on bass, and Bobby Battle on drums – and the strings are added in around the edges, never getting to much in the way of the combo energy, but also fleshing out the sound with this beautiful richness that only seems to enhance the sharp tone of Arthur's alto sax! The arrangements are great, too – hardly the usual "with strings" material, and instead very creative – with this mix of soul and sophistication that reminds us a bit of the Bill Lee scores for early Spike Lee films, but even longer and with the key addition of Blythe in the lead. Titles include "Lenox Avenue Breakdown", "Faceless Woman", "Ruby My Dear", "Heart To Heart", and "As Of Yet". CD

Later work from reedman Wendell Harrison and the Tribe Records scene – a set that's got a slightly tighter feel than some of his earlier work, but still a relatively soulful vibe overall! Harrison leads the group on tenor, flute, and clarinet – but there's definitely a collective vibe to the music – which also features Harold McKinney on piano, Phil Ranelin on trombone, and Ralph Jones on soprano sax – part of a shifting lineup of artists who change from track to track – including Leon Thomas and Pamela Wise, who each sing a bit on the record. Thomas appears on the great tracks "Where Am I" and "Love Dream", both of which have a great mellow soul jazz vibe – and other cuts get a bit more out, and have more of the soaring spiritualism that got the Tribe scene going in the early 70s. Other titles include "Tons & Tons Of BS", "Winter", and "He's The One We All Knew". CD

A killer batch of rare soul tracks – mostly from the 60s, and all numbers that were originally pressed up on very limited 45s for the members of London's soul-based 100 Club! Rarity aside, the tracks are all pretty darn great – very well-chosen bits of dancefloor soul, with a groove that stretches out nicely past the typical Northern vibe – proof that the 100 Club were always trying to explore fresh territory with their efforts! Many of these cuts are from unreleased master tapes from American 60s indies – pulled specially from the vaults of Ace/Kent, and issued as 45s for the club's annual birthday celebration – presented here in a package that has plenty of great grooves to offer for any fan of rare soul music. Titles include "Come Through Me" by Garland Green, "Hey Stoney Face" by Mary Love, "The Magic Touch" by Melba Moore, "Love Has Passed Me By" by Phil Terrell, "I'll Never Stop Loving You" by Carla Thomas, "This Man Wants You" by Wally Cox, "Good News" by The Hytones, "Get To Steppin" by Jackie Day, "What's One More Lie" by Milton Bennett, "Doin The Gittin Up" by The Devonnes, "Faith & Understanding" by The Magicians, and "Ain't You Glad" by Mill Evans. CD

A beautiful 100th Birthday tribute to the legendary altoist Charlie Parker – a special set that features of some of his first important recordings – sides done in the mid 40s for the Savoy label, originally issued in LP form on very limited 10" albums! The early Bird 10" releases are impossible to find on vinyl – and are featured here with newly restored and remastered audio, and a quality level that's not nearly as likely to split and fall apart as the vintage versions. The CD features a booklet of notes and other information – plus rare photos, ephemera, and new notes – and the whole thing's a great treasure from the early years of bop! Four full albums – all volumes of New Sounds In Modern Music with Charlie Parker in the lead, plus work from Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie on trumpets. Includes key versions of "Milestones", "Cheryl", "Billie's Bounce", "Chasin The Bird", "Ko Ko", "Now's The Time", "Constellation", "Parker's Mood", and "Confirmation". CD

A beautiful 100th Birthday tribute to the legendary altoist Charlie Parker – a special set that recreates the feel of some of his first important recordings – sides done in the mid 40s for the Savoy label, originally issued in LP form on very limited 10" albums! The early Bird 10" releases are impossible to find on vinyl – and are maybe reproduced here in a form that's even better than the original – with great vinyl, newly restored and remastered audio, and a quality level that's not nearly as likely to split and fall apart as the vintage versions. The box also features a big booklet of notes and other information – plus rare photos, ephemera, and other Charlie Parker material – and the whole thing's a great treasure from the early years of bop! Four full albums – all volumes of New Sounds In Modern Music with Charlie Parker in the lead, plus work from Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie on trumpets. Includes key versions of "Milestones", "Cheryl", "Billie's Bounce", "Chasin The Bird", "Ko Ko", "Now's The Time", "Constellation", "Parker's Mood", and "Confirmation". LP, Vinyl record album