... LP, Vinyl record album

This is the second of two live albums that Marvin Gaye cut during the 70s – and in many ways, it's the better one! The record features three sides of work recorded live at the London Palladium – mostly in these swirling medleys that are introduced by Marvin in a very soulful mode, then swing into well-arranged combinations of classic tunes with some excellent instrumentation. The album features a few straight cuts like "Since I Had You", "Let's Get It On", "Trouble Man", and "Come Get To This" – but the medleys are great, too, especially the one on side 2, which features kind of a mini version of the album What's Going On! But then, even after all that, side 4 opens up in a slamming studio track – the extended funky groover "Got To Give It Up", which has some great keyboards by Marvin and cool rhythm work by Jack Ashford. All very funky, and Marvin's big bid at a club cut – one that worked pretty darn well! LP, Vinyl record album

A nice live album, with lots of playful medley numbers that show the Buckaroos at their best! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

A killer concert all the way through – and a great showcase for the CTI sound! Although the genius of the CTI label might be often thought of in a studio format – especially since the Creed Taylor Influence on the label is what really turned the sound into something wonderful – this live set from 1971 shows that the label's players, with the right frame of mind, can easily get into the CTI groove in any setting – soaring out in a magical blend of acoustic and electric instrumentation, really stretching out on some killer long tracks! The group's a great all-star one – with organ and electric piano by Johnny Hammond, guitar by George Benson, flute by Hubert Laws, trumpet by Freddie Hubbard, tenor by Stanley Turrentine, and percussion by Airto – and all tracks are long, and very free-flowing. Titles include "Red Clay", "Sugar", "Blues West", "Leaving West", and "Fire & Rain". CD

... Cassette

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

Some great early stuff by Machito, and his band that included Mario Bauza, Jose Mangual, and Lenny Hambro – and with arrangements by Chico O'Farrill, Rene Hernandez, and Gil Fuller. Tracks include "Mamboscope", "Don't Tease Me", "Feeding The Chickens","Consternation", and more. CD

... CD

Early work from Machito, already cooking it up on the New York scene at the start of the 40s – working here with key help from arranger Mario Bauza! CD

Great postwar material from his years recording for Seeco – with titles that include "Mambo Infierno", "Chango Ta Beni", "Te He Venido A Buscar", "Escucha Mi Canto", "Zambia", "Novio Mio", and "Consternacion". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Loads of jazzy mambos – including "Cuban Love Song", "Palladium Mambo", "Baby Doll Mambo". 7-inch, Vinyl record

A well-done look at the early genius of Johnnie Ray – a beyond-category singer of the 50s who left a monumental impact upon postwar pop music! Although slight in stature, Johnnie sang with a very rich style – one that was sometimes emotive, sometimes gutsy – in a way that was almost a link between more mainstream pop and the rougher R&B work of the time. Ray's star dimmed quickly, due to personal problems in later years, but this early work still stands beautifully on its own away from his fame – and in a way, it's his lack of familiarity with later generations that makes the CD an even greater musical discovery than other better-known work by singers like Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett. CD features 16 original solo recordings – including "Whiskey & Gin", "Give Me Time", "Coffee & Cigarettes", "Gee But I'm Lonesome", "Don't Take Your Love From Me", "Out In The Cold Again", "The Little White Cloud That Cried", and "Song Of The Dreamer". Also features 3 duets with Doris Day – including "A Full Time Job" and "Candy Lips" – plus 5 more tracks recorded Live At The London Palladium! CD

An incredible album by the Tamba 4 – one of two albums the Brazilian bossa combo did in the US for A&M Records, during the brief time when they were expanded to a quartet from the original Tamba Trio lineup! The set is completely sublime – a wonderful mix of the group's trademark harmony vocals and crackling bossa rhythms, with the warmly flowing CTI production style of the time – not funky like the CTI sound of the 70s, but a bit more sophisticated than the style Creed Taylor had been using earlier at Verve. Tracks are short, breezy, and often very lively – bossa grooving warmed in the California sun – and titles include "Samba Blim", "Watch What Happens", "Pregao", "San Salvador", "Know It All", and "Palladium". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the biggest hits ever for Weather Report – thanks to Joe Zawinul's leadoff track "Birdland" – one of those tunes that entered the canon immediately, and saw countless covers pop up over the years – kind of a rare thing for a jazz tune at this point in time! The track's driving, building energy shows a newly focused side to Weather Report – one that's traded some of the spacier, more experimental moments of the past for a dynamic energy that still puts them ahead of most other 70s fusion supergroups. The presence of Jaco Pastorius is felt quite strongly here – especially on the way the colors ebb and flow up from the bottom – and the way that Jaco's using his bass with the energy of a solo jazz guitar! Alex Acuna and Manolo Badrena are on percussion, and Wayne Shorter's reeds still crackle with a nice degree of soul – on titles that include "Harlequin", "Rumba Mama", "A Remark You Made", "Teen Town", "Palladium", "Havona", and "The Juggler". CD

One of the biggest hits ever for Weather Report – thanks to Joe Zawinul's leadoff track "Birdland" – one of those tunes that entered the canon immediately, and saw countless covers pop up over the years – kind of a rare thing for a jazz tune at this point in time! The track's driving, building energy shows a newly focused side to Weather Report – one that's traded some of the spacier, more experimental moments of the past for a dynamic energy that still puts them ahead of most other 70s fusion supergroups. The presence of Jaco Pastorius is felt quite strongly here – especially on the way the colors ebb and flow up from the bottom – and the way that Jaco's using his bass with the energy of a solo jazz guitar! Alex Acuna and Manolo Badrena are on percussion, and Wayne Shorter's reeds still crackle with a nice degree of soul – on titles that include "Harlequin", "Rumba Mama", "A Remark You Made", "Teen Town", "Palladium", "Havona", and "The Juggler". LP, Vinyl record album

A heavy groover from Tito Puente – recorded in a back to basics style, but with a hard percussive edge! The sound here has plenty of jazzy touches – almost in the mode of Tito's funky big band records of the mid 70s, but with less of the funk or the large group touches – almost a 70s jazzy update of his best work from earlier years! The set is proof that Puente could keep his fire burning brightly even through many years of changes in Latin music – and the set features titles that include "Batuka", "China", "Palladium Days", "Nina Y Senora", "Para Los Rumberos", and "El Catire". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Que Linda", "Canonazo", "En El Bajio", "Este Cha Cha Cha", "Mi Redencion", "Cuartito 22", "Las Muchachas", and "Por Que Te Empenas En Decir". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the biggest hits ever for Weather Report – thanks to Joe Zawinul's leadoff track "Birdland" – one of those tunes that entered the canon immediately, and saw countless covers pop up over the years – kind of a rare thing for a jazz tune at this point in time! The track's driving, building energy shows a newly focused side to Weather Report – one that's traded some of the spacier, more experimental moments of the past for a dynamic energy that still puts them ahead of most other 70s fusion supergroups. The presence of Jaco Pastorius is felt quite strongly here – especially on the way the colors ebb and flow up from the bottom – and the way that Jaco's using his bass with the energy of a solo jazz guitar! Alex Acuna and Manolo Badrena are on percussion, and Wayne Shorter's reeds still crackle with a nice degree of soul – on titles that include "Harlequin", "Rumba Mama", "A Remark You Made", "Teen Town", "Palladium", "Havona", and "The Juggler". CD

A sweet funky classic from 70s Brazil – one of those records that's found thousands of funky fans over the decades – and which still continues to please! The set's the best-ever from Orlandivo – a soulful singer whose set up perfectly here with funky backings from the great Joao Donato – working on organ and Fender Rhodes for the set, and hitting the same soulful styles as his own great 70s albums! Grooves have a sunny feel, but these jazz funk undercurrents that are completely infectious – wicked interplay between the bass and drums, guitar and keyboards – set to vocals from Orlandivo that clearly borrow some of Jorge Ben's soulful influence too. Other players include Sivuca on accordion, Durval Ferreira on guitar, and Helcio Milito on percussion – and titles include "Um Abraco No Bengil", "Palladium", "A Felicidade", "Tudo Joia", "Juazeiro", and "Bolinha De Sabao" – plus the great "Tamaco No Samba", which is a thinly disguised version of "Samba Blim". CD

Classic early Lenny Bruce work on Fantasy – a groundbreaking set of tracks that features some great shorter snippets, plus a few of the longer, more drawn-out routines that soon became Bruce's stock in trade during the more controversial years – those live riffs that really set Lenny apart from other comedians, and which set the scene for generations to come! Titles include the 19 minute "The Palladium", plus "Our Governors", "My Trip To Miami", "Esther Costello Story", "White Collar Drunks", and "The Steve Allen Show". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the rarest of Joe Cuba's early material, cut during the days when he could turn out tight Palladium cha cha cha tracks with the best of them! Titles include the groovy mambo tracks "Swinging Mambo" and "Joe Cuba's Mambo" – plus cha cha's like "San Luisera", "Los Pasos", "Temptation", and "Picando Cha Cha". Nice cover, too – with a dancer rubbing her feet after trying to dance all night! LP, Vinyl record album