A key moment in the career of Esther Phillips – and a record that really has her shaking off the rougher bluesy styles of the earlier years, and pointing the way towards strong jazz success in the 70s! The album's definitely burnin, but with a sophisticated vibe too – as Esther works with backing from a small combo that includes Jack Wilson on piano, Richard Tee on organ, Chuck Rainey on bass, and Cornell Dupree on guitar – a lineup that almost hits the same vibe as her later work on CTI/Kudu – and which brings out a new depth in Esther's vocals that's simply amazing! There's a heartbreaking quality to most of the numbers – a mix of roots and class, depth and poise – all served up in a style that's unlike any other singer before or since. Titles include "Don't Let Me Lose This Dream", "And I Love Him", "Shangri-La", "I'm Getting Long Alright", and "Please Send Me Someone To Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet soul jazz from the LA underground of the 60s – a great live set featuring the talents of bassist Ike Isaacs, best known to most for his work behind Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross during their glory years! The set's really really great – open ended tracks with a soulfully grooving sound, recorded in a very laidback setting that lets Ike and group go to town. Apart from Isaacs' bass, the real highlight is piano work by Jack Wilson – lean and fluid, with a harder-hitting sound than some of his own work of the time. Jimmy Smith (not the organist) completes the group on drums – and titles include "Impressions", "Soulin", "Red I", and "Walk On By". CD

An absolute treasure trove of rare soul singles from Pied Piper Productions – a mid 60s Detroit soul operation that features Funk Brothers Jack Ashford, Joe Hunter, and Mike Terry – laying down sounds that rival the best Motown groovers of the period! The work is amazing throughout – soul cuts heavily focused on the groove and amazing lead vocals – recorded in ways that are similar to the best of Detroit at the time, but with some rawer aspects too – which makes for a massive package of Northern Soul gems! The package features both solo singers and great groups too – artists who include Lorraine Chandler, The Hesitations, September Jones, The Cavaliers, Willie Kendrick, Nancy Wilcox, and – heard here on rare singles and LP tracks that were originally released on labels like Karate, Kapp, Ruby and Giant – plus a number of recently unearthed titles that are seeing release for the first time ever! The set features 24 tracks in all, and the usual superb Kent notes and packaging – with titles that include "I Can't Hold On" by Lorraine Chandler, "Stuttering Sam" by September Jones, "Gambler's Blues" by Nancy Wilcox, "This Heart Is Lonely" by Rose Batiste, "Just Can't Leave You" by Tony Hesher, "Could It Be" by Micki Farrow, "I Fell In Love (Can't Help It)" by Freddy Butler, "He'll Be Leaving You" by The Pied Piper Players, "If Only You Knew" by Mike & Ray, "Time Changes Things" by Willie Kendrick, and "Lonely Too Long" by The Sandpipers. CD

A surprisingly great little set from Chico Freeman – and a record that seems to hone his best creative energies of the loft jazz years into an even hipper groove! The group here features Freeman on a wide variety of reeds – alongside John Purcell on saxes and oboe, Kenny Kirkland on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums – all in a sound that's wonderfully focused, and in a way that almost has Chico sounding a lot more deeply expressive than in earlier years. To us, Freeman's always been one of those players who sounds better on the inside than the out – and this album has him nicely restrained, and really working on the best side of his craft. Titles include "Blues On The Bottom", "The Rose Tattoo", "Pied Piper", "Monk 2000", "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise", and "Amor Sona Dor". CD

Two rare 60s soul albums – back to back on a single CD! First up is Soul Superman by The Hesitations – a wonderful album of rare Detroit soul – and quite possibly the best full length set ever recorded by this sublime 60s harmony group! There's a really righteous approach to most of the material – a deeper sound than you might expect from the group's more formal look on the cover – and the set was put together by Jack Ashford and the Pied Piper team – who give the record this great "in the shadows of Motown" vibe – that farther side of the Detroit scene, but with a quality that's top shelf all the way through! The vocal range of the group is fantastic – and not only that, there's a heck of a lot of great writing on the set – what we can tell, nearly every number is exclusive to this set. Titles include "Soul Superman", "You'll Never Know", "She Won't Come Back", "Soul Kind Of Love", "I'll Be Right There", "Wait A Minute", and "I'm Not Build That Way". Next is With A Dab Of Soul – the only full length record cut by Freddy Butler, a heck of a great singer with a really unique voice! Freddy hails from Detroit, and like the best of Detroit singers of the 60s – such as JJ Barnes or Darrell Banks – he's got a style that's got some rootsy touches, especially on the vocals, mixed with production that's tight and focused – which really gives the album a lot of swing! Instrumentation includes some nice use of vibes and piano – no surprise, since Jack Ashford and the Pied Piper team handled the recording – and the album also features some great early compositions by Nick Ashford. Titles include "This Thing", "You'd Better Get Hip Girl", "Never Let Love Go", and "I Fell In Love". CD

One of the greatest Northern Soul albums ever – completely great all the way through, and filled with songs that have been burning up dancefloors for years! The vocals are incredible – soaring harmonies that hold together perfectly, even when the grooves are hard and heavy – and the instrumentation is great too – handled by the Pied Piper team, who were kind of a Motown offshoot that featured Jack Ashford on vibes and percussion, Dave Hamilton and Ray Monette on guitar, and Joe Hunter on piano. Hunter and Ashford handled the arrangements – with a pitch-perfect sound that's completely sublime – sweet and grooving at the same time, and put together with the same kind of care you'd find at Motown – but with all the harder-edge qualities that always made indie work from Detroit so great. Every cut is a winner, and the set is the only full album ever done by the group – with cuts that include "Egyptian Love", "Till The End Of Time", "Since I Found My Baby", "Sweetest One", "Unlucky Sun", "I'll Never Forget You", "Do The Pied Piper", and "I'm With You All The Way". Great reissue – fully remastered from the original tapes – with new liner notes too! CD

Music from Kylie Minogue, iiO, Kosheen, Par-T-One Vs. INXS, Roger Sanchez, Raven Maize, DJ Pied Piper & The Masters Of Ceremonies, The Ones, Basement Jaxx, Dajae, Deepswing, and more. CD

The first official release of this debut solo album from Tiombe Lockheart – originally distributed via shows when she was a member of the Platinum Pied Pipers, and still a completely winning bit of spacey soul – with a vibe that really prefaces so much energy on the west coast in more recent years! Tiombe gets help on beats from Bilal, drums from Otis Brown Jr, and piano from Robert Glasper – but it's also very clear that the music is all very much her own – this spacey melange of influences from hip hop and soul, woven together in very deep textures, and topped with her beautifully crispy vocal approach! Titles include "California Dreaming", "Tip Of My Tongue", "You Need Me", "Mr Johnnie Walker", "Working Girls Suicide", "Sexy Suzy On A Sunday 1.5", and "GP". LP, Vinyl record album

An overstuffed package of work from Annie Ross – one that features a few key albums, plus some rare bonus tracks too! First up is A Handful Of Songs – which has Ross recording as a solo act back in England after leaving her famous group with Dave Lambert and John Hendricks! The style here is a bit like some of the solo work that Ross cut in the US at the end of the 50s – particularly her sides for Pacific Jazz – not as vocalese and solo-oriented as the sort of recordings that first got her noticed, but still a lot more dynamic than most straighter jazz singers of the time! Arrangements are pretty groovy overall – nicely jazzy, and penned by Johnnie Spence – also produced by John Barry, who really helps keep the right sort of "punch" in the set. Titles include "Fly Me To The Moon", "Nature Boy", "A Lot Of Livin To Do", "Like Someone In Love", "A Handful Of Songs", and "All Of You". Next is A Gasser – one of Annie Ross' rare albums as a solo act away from her trio with Jon Hendricks and Dave Lambert – and a great little session cut with small combo jazz backing, which gives the song a nice swinging edge! Zoot Sims is the main soloist on the tunes, Russ Freeman lays down piano tracks to set the mood – and other players include Jim Hall, Monte Budwig, Mel Lewis, and Bill Perkins – all of whom contribute wonderfully to the album, and give it a nicely grooving west coast finish. Titles include "I Was Doing Alright", "You Took Advantage Of Me", "Lucky Day", "Lucky So & So", and "Nobody's Baby". 2CD set also features material from the London cast recording of Cranks – which features Ross with Anthony Newley – plus some songs with Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross – and the tune "Let's Fly" by Johnny Mercer & The Pied Pipers, which was written by Ross. CD