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Raucous late material from Wanda Jackson – one of the greatest voices of late 50s rock & roll, male or female – sounding freshly invigorated well into her 70s! The album is produced by Jack White and staffed by his Third Man Records players, with no one involved here sounding all too keen on simply reigniting 50s rockabilly. There's a lot of punchy brass in the arrangements, with swaggery electric guitars and interesting song choices – with covers of contemporary Dylan and Amy Winehouse numbers, plus other covers that range from dusty and thoughtful, to playful, to flat out ferocious. Wanda's voice has held up way better than many of her 50s peers (again, male or female) and this is a worthy entry in her legendary career. Includes "Shakin' All Over", "Thunder On The Mountain", "You Know I'm No Good", "Nervous Breakdown", "Blue Yodel #6", "Dust On The Bible" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A totally great, totally cool little record – one in which experimental musician Scott Johnson uses his guitar to trigger a set of spoken phrases! The approach is somewhere between early Steve Reich tape experiments and Frippertronics – as Johnson makes these great loops of sound that blend together his own fuzzy lines and this excellent repetition of a phrase that begins "Remember that guy – John somebody?" – with the latter half then looping out again and again. A real lost treasure from the same downtown scene that gave us Glenn Branca and Christian Marclay. LP, Vinyl record album

Composed by guitarist Scott Johnson, with Fred Zlotkin on cello, Michael Riesman and Peter Phillips on keyboards, Karl Bargen on viola, and Sergiu Shwartz and Timothy Baker on violin. LP, Vinyl record album

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One of the most ambitious albums ever from Rob Mazurek – and a set that really continues the legacy of community building and world healing that's become such an important part of his music! Rob's a player who was great at the start – a hell of a trumpeter, and a great experimentalist with electronics – but in recent years, he's matured to become a real messenger for the farther, future reaches of jazz – with an energy that makes a collaborative project like this come off in a way that might never have occurred in the hands of any other musician! Mazurek is at the head – director, composer, arranger, and instrumentalist too – and the large lineup is filled with heavyweights from the Chicago scene that Rob helped shape over the past few decades – plus others as well – players who include Damon Locks on voice and electronics, Nicole Mitchell on flutes, Tomeka Reid on cello, Joel Ross on vibes, Jaimi Branch on trumpet, Jeff Parker on guitar, Ingebrigit Haker Flate on bass, and Chad Taylor, John Herndon, and Mikel Patrick Avery on a variety of drums and percussion. There's a richness here that tops other Exploding Star Orchestra performances – and more of a focus, too – so that the whole thing comes together as even more than the sum of its mighty parts, as one of the best International Anthem releases to date. Titles include "Galaxy 1000", "Parable Of Inclusion", "Autumn Pleiades", "Minerals Bionic Stereo", "Dimensional Stardust", "Abstract Dark Energy", and "The Careening Prism Within". CD

One of the most ambitious albums ever from Rob Mazurek – and a set that really continues the legacy of community building and world healing that's become such an important part of his music! Rob's a player who was great at the start – a hell of a trumpeter, and a great experimentalist with electronics – but in recent years, he's matured to become a real messenger for the farther, future reaches of jazz – with an energy that makes a collaborative project like this come off in a way that might never have occurred in the hands of any other musician! Mazurek is at the head – director, composer, arranger, and instrumentalist too – and the large lineup is filled with heavyweights from the Chicago scene that Rob helped shape over the past few decades – plus others as well – players who include Damon Locks on voice and electronics, Nicole Mitchell on flutes, Tomeka Reid on cello, Joel Ross on vibes, Jaimi Branch on trumpet, Jeff Parker on guitar, Ingebrigit Haker Flate on bass, and Chad Taylor, John Herndon, and Mikel Patrick Avery on a variety of drums and percussion. There's a richness here that tops other Exploding Star Orchestra performances – and more of a focus, too – so that the whole thing comes together as even more than the sum of its mighty parts, as one of the best International Anthem releases to date. Titles include "Galaxy 1000", "Parable Of Inclusion", "Autumn Pleiades", "Minerals Bionic Stereo", "Dimensional Stardust", "Abstract Dark Energy", and "The Careening Prism Within". LP, Vinyl record album

Features guest trumpet from Ambrose Akinmusire and vocals from Kurt Elling. CD

One of the most beautiful, personal albums we've ever heard from pianist Brad Mehldau – a set that gives away its concept right in the title – put together and performed during the month of April 2020 – surely one of the strangest on the planet in recent years! Mehldau mixes his own music with a few key tracks by others – choosing carefully, as he does with his notes on the solo piano – working with a mode that's surprisingly poetic, but also touched with some of the more melancholic moods that gripped so many of us during the initial moments of lockdown. The set's certainly not going to be alone in the world of Covid-19 creativity, but it's certainly one of the most beautiful – with titles that include "Uncertainty", "Remembering Before All This", "Keeping Distance", "Stepping Outside", "Yearning", "Waiting", and "In The Kitchen" – plus versions of "Don't Let It Bring You Down" and "New York State Of Mind". CD

One of the most beautiful, personal albums we've ever heard from pianist Brad Mehldau – a set that gives away its concept right in the title – put together and performed during the month of April 2020 – surely one of the strangest on the planet in recent years! Mehldau mixes his own music with a few key tracks by others – choosing carefully, as he does with his notes on the solo piano – working with a mode that's surprisingly poetic, but also touched with some of the more melancholic moods that gripped so many of us during the initial moments of lockdown. The set's certainly not going to be alone in the world of Covid-19 creativity, but it's certainly one of the most beautiful – with titles that include "Uncertainty", "Remembering Before All This", "Keeping Distance", "Stepping Outside", "Yearning", "Waiting", and "In The Kitchen" – plus versions of "Don't Let It Bring You Down" and "New York State Of Mind". LP, Vinyl record album

Guitarist Pat Metheny has a wonderful way of always opening himself up to new ideas, yet never losing the sound at his core – that unique approach to electric strings that made his ECM albums so revolutionary in the 70s, and which continues to set Metheny apart from anyone else around! There's plenty of that trademark Pat Metheny sound here to love, but there are also some great additions – vocals by Meshell N'degeocello on the album's title track, a tune that might well be Metheny's follow up to his "This Is Not America" collaboration with David Bowie many years back – plus some larger orchestrations handled beautifully by Joel McNeely, arranged by Alan Broadbent and Gil Goldstein. The core group features Gwyilym Simcock on piano, Linda May Han Oh on bass, and Antonio Sanchez on drums – and titles include "America Undefined", "Everything Explained", "Sixty Six", "Pathmaker", "Same River", and "Wide & Far". Also features the bonus track "Love May Take A While". CD

Guitarist Pat Metheny has a wonderful way of always opening himself up to new ideas, yet never losing the sound at his core – that unique approach to electric strings that made his ECM albums so revolutionary in the 70s, and which continues to set Metheny apart from anyone else around! There's plenty of that trademark Pat Metheny sound here to love, but there are also some great additions – vocals by Meshell N'degeocello on the album's title track, a tune that might well be Metheny's follow up to his "This Is Not America" collaboration with David Bowie many years back – plus some larger orchestrations handled beautifully by Joel McNeely, arranged by Alan Broadbent and Gil Goldstein. The core group features Gwyilym Simcock on piano, Linda May Han Oh on bass, and Antonio Sanchez on drums – and titles include "America Undefined", "Everything Explained", "Sixty Six", "Pathmaker", "Same River", and "Wide & Far". Also features the bonus track "Love May Take A While". LP, Vinyl record album

Pat Metheny on guitars, piano, keyboards & electric bass with the London Orchestra. CD

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A great return to form for Orchestra Baobab – a group who really shone on the Senegalese scene in the 70s, but disbanded right as they were hitting global fame – eventually reuniting around the time of this album, thanks to demand from listeners around the world! The style is nicely unadorned here – handled by Youssou D'Dour with Nick Gold of the World Circuit label – in a way that replicates some of the earlier music by the group that was issued by the label, and which helped lead to their reunion! There's maybe a bit less funk than in the 70s, but the rhythms are still nice and sharp, sewn together with lots of great work on guitar – and maturing, heartfelt vocals on tracks that include "Dee Moo Woor", "Sutukun", "Bul Ma Miin", "Gnawoe", "Ndongoy Daara", "Jiin Ma Jinn Ma", and "Hommage A Tonton Ferrer". LP, Vinyl record album

A amazing single from guitarist Jeff Parker – sounds that both resonate with his long legacy of music, but which also really represent his strong new wave of growth in recent years! The tune has this kind of blocky groove – chunks of warm sound building up into a compelling rhythm, while Jeff solos beautifully over the top at the start – then more horns come into the mix and open up the tune with a beautiful array of colors and tones! 7-inch, Vinyl record

Mindblowing music from Jeff Parker – sounds that we always knew were part of his core, but which have maybe taken most of his career to emerge! This album follows beautifully from Jeff's previous album for International Anthem – and like that one, it's an explosion of new and old ideas at once – jazz elements with soul currents, all put together with a complexity that lives up to Parker's long legacy in music, but which also has an organic appeal that makes the whole thing come together with effortless ease! There's plenty of sophistication in the sound, but it also sneaks in with lots of grooves that Jeff never had before – including some funky currents that come from Parker's work on keyboards, drums, and samples in addition to his usual guitar – and added drums from Jamire Williams and Makaya McCraven. Titles include "Lydian Etc", "Build A Nest", "Del Rio", "3 For L", "Fusion Swirl", "After The Rain", and "Max Brown". CD

The late-career high points get loftier and loftier for the great Robert Plant! Plant is working here with his Sensational Shapeshifters, a band name that just as aptly applies to Plant himself, having shifted over to a progressive folk and roots mode, decades after conquering hard rock in Led Zeppelin! Recorded in England, after moving back home, with a more global-centric vibe than the Americana style of his previous couple records, it's really great stuff – and we genuinely appreciate him pushing creative boundaries at this stage, rather than coasting on his legend status. Includes "Little Maggie", "Rainbow", "Pocketful Of Golden", "Turn It Up", "A Stolen Kiss", "Somebody There", "Poor Howard", "House Of Love", "Up on The Hollow Hill (Understanding Arthur)" and "Abraden (Maggie's Babby)". CD

One of those rare cases where an all-star group is really worth the weight of its talent – as this quartet really sounds wonderful together, and make you know that you're in for a treat right from the very first note in the set! The best energy of the record might come from the rhythmic conception of drummer Brian Blade, and maybe a bit of the spirit of bassist Christian McBride – because pianist Brad Mehldau and tenorist Joshua Redman come off with all these really inventive, creative elements – very much structured around a sense of rhythm, although one that's nicely complex at most moments – a less-familiar sort of swing, and we mean that in the best way possible. Titles include "Father", "Floppy Diss", "Your Part To Play", ":Moe HOnk", "Right Back Round Again", and "Undertow". CD

One of those rare cases where an all-star group is really worth the weight of its talent – as this quartet really sounds wonderful together, and make you know that you're in for a treat right from the very first note in the set! The best energy of the record might come from the rhythmic conception of drummer Brian Blade, and maybe a bit of the spirit of bassist Christian McBride – because pianist Brad Mehldau and tenorist Joshua Redman come off with all these really inventive, creative elements – very much structured around a sense of rhythm, although one that's nicely complex at most moments – a less-familiar sort of swing, and we mean that in the best way possible. Titles include "Father", "Floppy Diss", "Your Part To Play", ":Moe HOnk", "Right Back Round Again", and "Undertow". LP, Vinyl record album

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A great recording of Steve Reich's seminal composition "Drumming" – an amazing blend of minimal percussion snatches, coming together to form a lyrical repetitive work of great beauty! Reich heads up the recording himself – working here with 9 percussionists, 2 vocalists, a piccolo, and even a bit of whistling – all to create an extremely haunting sound that's still one of the best illustrations of minimalist at its height! The sound is incredible – a slow-shifting phase of sound from the percussion players – first conceived by Reich right around the time he was moving to work on keyboards from his tape projects – but, as a percussive performance, far more difficult to handle – especially given the extended time of the piece. LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing early work from this key minimalist – including two spoken/tape pieces, "It's Gonna Rain" and "Come Out" – plus "Piano Phase", and the incredible "Clapping Music". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes video by Beryl Korot. CD

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One of THE electronic records of the 60s – an album so important, the Silver Apples took their name from the title – and a whole other generation of artists took strong inspiration from the electronic creations of Morton Subotnick! Before the set, much electronic music of this nature was a bit more academic, and often slightly cold – but Subotnick was able to bring things into a more organic, maybe more freewheeling style – using all sorts of cool analogue elements in ways that would run through Perry & Kingsley, Beaver & Krause, and even Stereolab! The work is billed as the "first original full-scale composition created expressly for the record medium" – a great testament to Subotnick's intentions for his creation, and a desire to get it more widely circulated than previous electronic recordings. LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark early recording from Morton Subotnick – and a piece of music that really pushed analogue electronics forward from the previous academic generation! Subtonick's style here is much more freewheeling – with almost an improvisational feel at times – sounds and noises that are quite bracing at times, mixed with more subtle elements from time to time. Like Subotnick's Silver Apples Of The Moon, the album features one long composition – stretched out into many shades and spaces, with poetic inspiration that definitely comes through in the music – even though it's quite dark and spooky at times! LP, Vinyl record album

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Seminal work from Wilco – one of those key records where they were firmly establishing themselves as one of the most solid, complete bands of their generation – maybe hitting instant classic status with an album like this! The set's both very contemporary and true to their roots – the kind of set you'd swear you heard on AM radio back in the 70s, but which never would have gotten played back then – thanks to the ever-sharpening songwriting skills of Jeff Tweedy, and the overall musicianship and production skills of the group. Titles include "Walken", "Leave Me Like You Found Me", "Either Way", "You Are My Face", "Impossible Germany", "Side With The Seeds", "Please Be Patient With Me", "Hate It Here", and "On & On & On". CD

A sprawling deluxe version of a once semi-overlooked Wilco effort, finally being acknowledged as a major milestone for the band – as it was a huge shift from their alt country and folk rock roots towards unpredictable, though warmly approachable art rock! Still recognizable as the work of the passionate, rootsier rock band of the first couple albums, with more adventurous sounds and instrumentation – woozy keyboards, a growing knack for studio-built atmospherics – and a much more metaphorical lyrical bent. Titles include "Can't Stand It", "She's A Jar", "We're Just Friends", "Pieholden Suite", "Candyfloss", "A Shot In The Arm" and more. 4CD box set version includes the remastered original album, a packed CD full of outtakes, alternate versions and demos (24 tracks in all), an unreleased double CD live set recorded at the Boulder Theater in Boulder Colorado on November 1, 1999, and an essay by Mojo Magazine's John Mulvey. CD

Wilco continuing the looser, less self-consciously experimental, more straightforward songcraft road they'd been traveling on since Sky Blue Sky, after the art rock leaning previous few LPs – including the classic Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – but Wilco being Wilco, their version of straight forward songcraft has more depth and diverse instrumentation than just about any other contemporary rock peers! And after some years of feeling underserved by the "alt country" tag and steering clear of anything too twangy, it's kinda nice to hear the more lap steal and Byrds-y harmonies back in the fold without discarding the art rock textures. Good stuff from a great band in it for the long haul! Includes "Wilco (The Song)", "Deeper Down", "One Wing", "Bull Black Nova", "You And I", "You Never Know", "Country Disappeared", "Solitaire", "I'll Fight", "Sonny Feeling" and "Everlasting Everything". LP, Vinyl record album

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One of the best albums ever recorded by the WSQ – a sensitive mix of rhythmic tunes and mellow ballads, played by the group with less agression than on previous releases, but in a way that shows that they're really fitting into the style of the ensemble well. Titles include "Cool Red", "Full Deep & Mellow", "Dance Until Dawn", "Fast Life", "Hattie Wall", and "Sweet D". LP, Vinyl record album

One of their best ones, and a tight set of Ellington tracks that works perfectly with their multi-horn style. Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill, Bamiet Bluiett, and David Murray split up the arrangements, and the tracks include "Lush Life", "Come Sunday", "Prelude To A Kiss", and 2 different versions of "Take The A Train". LP, Vinyl record album

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The classic Nonesuch LP of Xenakis' Electro-Acoustic Music, featuring performances of pieces from 1957 through 1962, including "Bohor 1", "Concret P-H II", "Diamorphoses II", and "Orient-Occident II". We couldn't even begin to describe the beauty and power of these works, and the notes do a far better job of describing the processes used to produce the sounds than we ever could. Suffice it to say that the LP's a tough one to find, has never been reissued, and stands as an essential album for any collector of 20th Century avant garde music. LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite Zorn "tribute" albums from the 80s – in this case a set of long pastiche tracks that pays hommage to pulp writer Mickey Spillane, Albert Collins, and the film Forbidden Fruit. The track "Spillane" is the best – a side-long number that features text by Arto Lindsay, plus John Lurie as the voice of Mike Hammer – over instrumentation by Bill Frisell, Anthony Coleman, Zorn, Jim Staley, Bob James, and Bobby Previte. "Two Lane Highway" is a showcase for solo work by Albert Collins, but Zorn nicely messes things up a lot with a New York downtown approach that includes John Patton, Bobby Previte, Ronald Shannon Jackson, and Wayne Horvitz. "Forbidden Fruit" features the Kronos Quartet augmented with voice by Ohta Hiromi and turntables by Christian Marclay! Also includes "Spillane" & "Two Lane Highway". LP, Vinyl record album

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An incredible piece by composer John Adams – easily one of his most important works ever, and one that rivals Einstein On The Beach for its transformation of older operatic forms! The subject matter is quite unique – President Nixon's famous visit to China in the early 70s – presented by Adams in some brilliantly pulsating minimalist modes – very Phillip Glass-like at times, especially in the way the energy builds – but also quite different, almost more personal, thanks to wonderfully-penned lyrics by Alice Goodman. Edo De Waart conducts the Orchestra Of St Luke's – and the recording quality is wonderful – perfect for the tone of the music! LP, Vinyl record album

Lovely acoustic guitar duets by these two brothers, featuring a mix of slightly classical material, and more popular oriented stuff. Includes Egberto Gismonti's "Frevo" and "Baio Malandro", Hermeto Pascoal's "Serie De Arco", Radames Gnattali's "Pixinguinha", and "Choro De Mae", by Wagner Tiso. LP, Vinyl record album

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Features Bill Frisell on guitar and loops – with Viktor Krauss on bass and Kenny Wollesen on drums on the live set on CD1 – and Tony Scherr on bass and acoustic guitar, and Wollesen on drums and percussion on the live set on CD2. CD

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A classic set – featuring work by Charles Ives, Ornette Coleman, Bela Bartok, and Kevin Volans. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing music from Jeff Parker – sounds that we always knew were part of his core, but which have maybe taken most of his career to emerge! This album follows beautifully from Jeff's previous album for International Anthem – and like that one, it's an explosion of new and old ideas at once – jazz elements with soul currents, all put together with a complexity that lives up to Parker's long legacy in music, but which also has an organic appeal that makes the whole thing come together with effortless ease! There's plenty of sophistication in the sound, but it also sneaks in with lots of grooves that Jeff never had before – including some funky currents that come from Parker's work on keyboards, drums, and samples in addition to his usual guitar – and added drums from Jamire Williams and Makaya McCraven. Titles include "Lydian Etc", "Build A Nest", "Del Rio", "3 For L", "Fusion Swirl", "After The Rain", and "Max Brown". LP, Vinyl record album

Nice extended suite of early electronic music, written and performed by Andrew Rudin of the Electronic Music Center of the Philadelphia Music Academy. The sound is similar to some of the other Nonesuch electronic albums from the time, like works by Morton Subotnick and Kenneth Gaburo. The piece is divided into 4 movements, with varying moods, and the electronics are cool and spare in the best parts. LP, Vinyl record album

Another great chapter in the always-surprising later career of Caetano Veloso – and a record that's unlike anything else he's recorded before! The style here is a real change both from some of his more ambitious and more experimental works of late – and the album mostly features small combo backing, set up alongside Veloso's vocals in styles that are slightly punky, slightly arty – in a way that reminds us a fair bit of work from the hippest side of the New York scene in the early 80s. The structure of the songs is often simple, but extremely fresh – very inventive twists and turns of a few basic elements, all to match the poetry of Veloso's own lyrics. Moreno Veloso co-produced the set – and titles include "Outro", "Rocks", "Deusa Urbana", "Waly Salomao", "Musa Hibrida", "Odeio", "O Heroi", and "Um Sonho". CD

A groundbreaking album, put together by Zorn and a group of downtown New York hipsters, as a fitting hommage to the genius of Ennio Morricone! The track list sticks to mostly the bigger known numbers, and the album's got a darkness that we'd actually say was a bit out of place, considering the choice of tracks – but the groups formed by Zorn do a pretty good job of breathing new life into some of the tracks, and the album was a key moment in the recognition of Morricone as one of the century's greatest composers. Players include Robert Quine, Tim Berne, Arto Lindsay, Jim Staley, Bill Frisell, Christian Marclay, Anton Fier, and even Big John Patton. Titles include "Erotico", "Once Upon A Time In The West", "Giu La Testa", "Battle Of Algiers", and "The Big Gundown". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great record from David Byrne – songs and spoken bits that were originally designed to be used in Robert Wilson's Civil Wars – but which work great on their own! Byrne is completely charming in the spoken bits – with a sense of dry wit mixed with humanism, not that different from Laurie Anderson at the time – and instrumentation features a range of reeds and trumpets, gently cascading with the rhythms of the tunes – but in a relatively subtle way. Tracks include the wonderful "Tree" – aka "Today Is An Important Occasion" – plus "In The Upper Room", "Sound Of Business", "Admiral Perry", "I Bid You Goodnight", "In The Future", "Where The Sun Never Goes Down", "Theadora Is Dozing", "Social Studies", "Winter", and "The Jungle Book". This edition includes a DVD with a slide show of the performance that incorporates the music. CD

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Features guest guitar from Bill Frisell and Elliott Sharp. CD

A pivotal album from minimalist genius Steve Reich – a record that got him into living rooms across America – thanks to the album's higher concept, and key participation of the Kronos Quartet and guitarist Pat Metheny! Kronos perform on the long title track "Different Trains" – a piece that is both a meditation on train travel and its role in the Holocaust – performed by the quartet with additional sounds from Reich on tape! Metheny's guitar sounds fantastic on "Electric Counterpoint" – a work that's completely faithful to the amazing range of tones and colors he'd been bringing to his own albums for years, but which also reworks things with Reich's minimal modes. CD

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Works include "Ionisation" by Varese, "Ostinato Pianissimo" by Henry Cowell, "Amorphis" by Kil-Sung Oak, and "Fantasy Variations" by Michael Colgrass. LP, Vinyl record album

Seminal work from Wilco – one of those key records where they were firmly establishing themselves as one of the most solid, complete bands of their generation – maybe hitting instant classic status with an album like this! The set's both very contemporary and true to their roots – the kind of set you'd swear you heard on AM radio back in the 70s, but which never would have gotten played back then – thanks to the ever-sharpening songwriting skills of Jeff Tweedy, and the overall musicianship and production skills of the group. Titles include "Walken", "Leave Me Like You Found Me", "Either Way", "You Are My Face", "Impossible Germany", "Side With The Seeds", "Please Be Patient With Me", "Hate It Here", and "On & On & On". LP, Vinyl record album

A sprawling deluxe version of a once semi-overlooked Wilco effort, finally being acknowledged as a major milestone for the band – as it was a huge shift from their alt country and folk rock roots towards unpredictable, though warmly approachable art rock! Still recognizable as the work of the passionate, rootsier rock band of the first couple albums, with more adventurous sounds and instrumentation – woozy keyboards, a growing knack for studio-built atmospherics – and a much more metaphorical lyrical bent. Titles include "Can't Stand It", "She's A Jar", "We're Just Friends", "Pieholden Suite", "Candyfloss", "A Shot In The Arm" and more. 5LP180 gram vinyl box set version includes the remastered original album on 2LPs, 2LPs full of outtakes, alternate versions and demos (24 tracks in all), an unreleased live set recorded by WXRT at the late great Tower Records in Chicago, and an essay by Mojo Magazine's John Mulvey. LP, Vinyl record album

For years, these volumes, issued by Nonesuch in the 70s, have served as the benchmark for field recordings of traditional folk musics from all over the African continent. This volume documents ceremonial dance musics from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania and covers many styles, from small ensembles and solo pieces to larger groups with chanted vocals and huge drum and percussion sections. Thirteen pieces in all, including "Acholi Bwala Dance", "Aluar Horns", "Giraffe Song", "El Molo Hippo SOngs", "Masai Women", "Wagogo Soothing Song" and "Wagogo Marimba". LP, Vinyl record album

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Really great work from tenorist Joshua Redman – an artist that many have been following for decades – but who, to us, really seems to be hitting a new level of genius in recent years! There's this understated confidence going on here – as if Redman no longer has anything to prove, and can just open up beautifully on the tenor – never breaking down too many barriers in jazz, but always blowing with this distinct sound that's very much his own – and which brings an edge to his well-written compositions on the record, which have a beautiful balance of color and rhythm. Pianist Aaron Goldberg is also fantastic – a very rhythmic player, but one who also leaves a lot of space between the notes – in ways that create this glow, or maybe a sense of waves of sound from his instrument – gently rocking the performance in this strong, yet subtle way. The rest of the quartet features Reuben Rogers on bass, and Gregory Hutchinson on drums that are bold, but never overdone – and the set of all-original material includes "How We Do", "DGAF", "Stagger Beer", "Vast", "Circle Of Life", and "Come What May". CD

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A great late 80s date from Pete Metheny – working here in a trio with Dave Holland on bass and Roy Haynes on drums! Tracks include "Law Years", "Change Of Heart", "Old Folks", "Three Flights Up", and the title tracks, "Question & Answer". CD

Realized by Artis Wodehouse. CD

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Wilco continuing the looser, less self-consciously experimental, more straightforward songcraft road they'd been traveling on since Sky Blue Sky, after the art rock leaning previous few LPs – including the classic Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – but Wilco being Wilco, their version of straight forward songcraft has more depth and diverse instrumentation than just about any other contemporary rock peers! And after some years of feeling underserved by the "alt country" tag and steering clear of anything too twangy, it's kinda nice to hear the more lap steal and Byrds-y harmonies back in the fold without discarding the art rock textures. Good stuff from a great band in it for the long haul! Includes "Wilco (The Song)", "Deeper Down", "One Wing", "Bull Black Nova", "You And I", "You Never Know", "Country Disappeared", "Solitaire", "I'll Fight", "Sonny Feeling" and "Everlasting Everything". CD

Features Hamiet Bluiett, Arthur Blythe, Oliver Lake and David Murray – plus Amina Claudine Myers on organ and vocals from Fontella Bass! CD