Charnett Moffett on bass, Victor Lewis on drums, and Geoff Keezer on piano and synthesizer. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Totally excellent – and probably the best of the Planet Of The Apes soundtracks! The record features lots of snippets of dialogue from the film – including Cornelius telling the creed of the fate of man, General Ursus addressing Ape City, and the chilling Mass Of The Holy Bomb. The main score has some great work by Leonard Roseman, in kind of an off-kilter style with lots of atonal string passages – but it also features a few tasty funky cuts. The best of these is the "March Of The Apes", a great little funky 70s soundtrack number, and there's also a weird funky passage at the end of the "mass", with voices chanting in a hippy dippy kind of way! A great relic of a wild weird film, and one we don't see often! LP, Vinyl record album

A rare oddity – and a surprisingly nice record! Sarah Vaughan sings the words of Pope John Paul II – but set to groovy arrangements by Francy Boland, conducted by Lalo Schifrin! This trio of secular talents helps make the album much nicer than you'd expect – an unusual later project from Gigi Campi! LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

2 lost classics by Sun Ra on one CD! Visits Planet Earth features music that was recorded by The Arkestra in Chicago in 1957 and 1958. Some of the tracks are from the same session as the Sound Of Joy LP, and a few others were from sessions later in the year. Ra plays piano and "solar piano", and the group's got some added percussion and tympani. Along with the usual suspects, James Spaulding also sits in with the group on a few tracks, playing both alto and flute. Titles include "Eve", "Overtones Of China", "Two Tones", and "El Viktor". Interstellar Low Ways is a record that features material was recorded in 1959 and 1960, but unissued until the mid 60's. Ra plays piano, chimes, and gong, and the tracks have a nice laid back spacey feel, with some ensemble vocals chanted by the group. Ronnie Boykins also plays the space gong on one cut, which sounds very nice. Cuts include "Somewhere In Space", "Space Loneliness", "Space Aura", and "Interplanetary Music". CD

Apes, fight like apes! This great CD pairs the soundtracks for the last two Planet Of The Apes films – Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes and Battle For The Planet Of The Apes both of which were much more low-budget and a bit more unbridled than the original movies. Conquest features 14 tracks written by funky jazzer Tom Scott – done in a mix of orchestral suspense and military themes, often handled with some nice touches of 70s electric instrumentation that's similar to that used by Scott in his TV show work. Battle features 17 tracks written by Leonard Rosenmann, who'd scored the earlier Beneath The Planet Of The Apes film, and who here returns to the moody feel of that score. A great package, with a wonderful booklet and nice images – limited to 3000 copies, with titles that include "Ape Servitude", "1991 Restaurant", "Teacher Teacher", "Caesar Departs", "Ricky's Theme", "Electrocution", "The King Is Dead", and "Subjugation Soul". CD

Music from the Bomboras, the Cave 4, the Fathoms, Four Piece Suit, Man Or Astroman?, Ben Vaughan, the Vice Royals, Eddie Angel, Scratch Bongowax, the Tiki Tones, the Tiki Men, Los Straitjackets, and more. CD

Music from Dengue Fever, Les Boukakes, Tinariwen, Ba Cissoko, Hip Hop Hoodios, Balkan Beat Box, Albert Kuvezin & Yat-Kha, Alms For Shanti, Yela, Donna Maria, and more. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

They may look goofy on the cover, but the young B-52s are incredible here – working with this spare sense of power that almost makes us think that we didn't need most of what happened in rock and roll during the 70s – given the way these guys can distill a mood or moment down to just a few deft instrumental turns and offbeat lyrics! The record's not punk, but it's also not new wave either – at least in the conventional way – and there's a darkness here that goes way past any simple cliches you may have associated with the band – a haunting feel that transcends most of what they were ever capable of in later years. We might even say this one tops their debut – and titles include "Party Out Of Bounds", "Dirty Back Road", "Runnin Around", "Give Me Back My Man", "Private Idaho", "Devil In My Car", "Quiche Lorraine", "Strobe Light" and "53 Miles West Of Venus". LP, Vinyl record album

The Brownout magic turns towards the world of Public Enemy this time around – in a sweet little record that serves up Latin funk instrumentals of PE classics! The music is hardly hip hop – apart from a few turntable scratches and vocal samples – and instead, the groove is deep deep funk, with plenty of Latin elements thrown into the mix – served up with a super-tight blast of horns, lots of riffing guitar, and plenty of heavy percussion! Titles include instrumental remakes of "911 Is A Joke", "Prophets Of Rage", "Fight The Power", "Louder Than A Bomb", "Shut Em Down", "Don't Believe The Hype", and "Welcome To The Terrordome". CD

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Totally excellent – and probably the best of the Planet Of The Apes soundtracks! The record features lots of snippets of dialogue from the film – including Cornelius telling the creed of the fate of man, General Ursus addressing Ape City, and the chilling Mass Of The Holy Bomb. The main score has some great work by Leonard Roseman, in kind of an off-kilter style with lots of atonal string passages – but it also features a few tasty funky cuts. The best of these is the "March Of The Apes", a great little funky 70s soundtrack number, and there's also a weird funky passage at the end of the "mass", with voices chanting in a hippy dippy kind of way! Plus, this expanded CD package features a lot more music than the original LP – a 19 track suite of instrumental orchestral titles by Rosenmann, plus 2 bonus tracks "Mind Control SFX" and "Nova Dies", plus the LP program of tracks, which includes the original dialogue bits! 32 tracks in all, very nicely done, and limited to 3000 copies! CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

The classic from Afrika Bamaaataa & The Soul Sonic Force – one of the most revolutionary pieces of formative hip hop history! "Planet Rock" is straight up legendary for a number of reasons. It's one of those early hip hop hits to bring the genre to greater popularity, the deft use of Kraftwerk and Yellow Magic Orchestra inspiration with a NYC party rocking vibe is pure genius, and the overall effect on hip hop, house, electro and pop music to come is seriously huge. Vital! 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

A postwar sci fi soundtrack, but one that also marks a really important step in electronic music too – as the film features a whole host of amazing constructions from the duo of Louis and Bebe Barron! The pair built a lot of their own early instruments, and it sounds like they're using some theremin here too – all very primitive, but in the best way possible – as there's a stark quality to the analogue sounds here that still holds up all these many years later – every bit as great as creations to come from Tom Dissevelt, Kid Baltan, and all those other giants to come! tracks range from less than a minute to a few minutes each – and titles include "Flurry of Dust", "The Landing", "Invisible Monster Approaches", "Deceleration", "Battle With Invisible Monster", "The Homecoming", and "Ancient Krell Music". LP, Vinyl record album

A new record by Blossom Dearie – and a really nice one! The set's on her own Daffodil label, but unlike a lot of the sets on that label, which are mostly trio ones, this one features a full group – with great arrangements by Cesar Camargo Mariano, a talent behind some of our favorite Brazilian jazz recordings! The feel here is light and lively – Blossom's vocals dancing with some nice small combo backing, performed by a group that includes Jay Berliner on guitar and Grady Tate on some occasional backup vocals. Titles include "Lvoe Dance", "Make Some Magic", "Wave", "The Ladies Who Lunch", and "Bluesette". CD

One of the greatest albums ever from organist Charles Earland – a double-length set that's filled with spiritual, soaring grooves! The style here is a perfect blend of the rougher soul jazz of Earland's roots with some of the spacier styles of his later recordings – served up in a sound that's majestic and powerful, almost with an indie soul jazz sort of vibe overall! There's an immediate urgency to most numbers that's totally undeniable – a lesson learned from the electric experiments of Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis, but fused down into a core essence – then let loose on a soaring journey to the heavens. Earland plays Hammond, moog, clavinet, and Arp on the set – and other players include Joe Henderson on tenor, Dave Hubbard on alto and soprano sax, Eddie Henderson and Freddie Hubbard on trumpets, Marc Elf on guitar, Harvey Mason on drums, and the incredible Patrick Gleeson on synthesizers – bringing in a spacey edge to the record that's really amazing! Rudy Copeland sings a wonderful vocal on the title cut, "Leaving This Planet" – and all other instrumental cuts include "Red Clay", "Warp Factor 9", "Tyner", "Van Jay", "Never Ending Melody", "Mason's Galaxy", and "Asteroid". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

It's hard to believe that the German Infracom label has been around for 30 years – maybe because the label was so future-thinking at the start, they helped set the tone for so much music to come! And if you're not hip to Infracom, the collection's a chance to dig the label in all its glory – as the set is filled with cosmic soul and jazzy club tracks that still stand as some of the hippest work to come from overseas in the past few decades – music that we've dug for years at Dusty Groove, served up in a package that really does justice to the label's legacy! Titles include "Freedom" by Gabriele Poso, "Hot Pot" by Mop Mop, "Who's Sorry Now" by Nekta, "Smoke & Regret" by Rime, "The Accessory" by Taxi, "Driver (Joash rmx)" by Matthias Vogt Trio, "Herbie's Delight" by Valique, "Love Is A State Of Mind" by Jhelisa, "Celebration Of Life" by Woodland Conclave, "You Can Dig" by Metropolitan Jazz Affair, "Tears" by Re:Jazz, "Calling" by Aromabar, "La Seule Fleur Dans Le Jardin" by Kosma, and "Something's Missing" by Dublex. LP, Vinyl record album

Includes tracks from Makoto, K-Scope, Makoto Featuring Lori Fine, LTJ Bukem, K-Scope, Phluff, Words 2 B Heard Collective Featuring Mark Holmes, Doctor Jazz's Universal Remedy, and PHD & Funky Technicians. The DVD features a DTS ES 6.1 48/24 Surround mix, on-screen bios and a mix breakdown. CD

... CD

It's hard to believe that the German Infracom label has been around for 30 years – maybe because the label was so future-thinking at the start, they helped set the tone for so much music to come! And if you're not hip to Infracom, the collection's a chance to dig the label in all its glory – as the set is filled with cosmic soul and jazzy club tracks that still stand as some of the hippest work to come from overseas in the past few decades – music that we've dug for years at Dusty Groove, served up in a package that really does justice to the label's legacy! Titles include "Freedom" by Gabriele Poso, "Hot Pot" by Mop Mop, "Who's Sorry Now" by Nekta, "Smoke & Regret" by Rime, "The Accessory" by Taxi, "Driver (Joash rmx)" by Matthias Vogt Trio, "Herbie's Delight" by Valique, "Love Is A State Of Mind" by Jhelisa, "Celebration Of Life" by Woodland Conclave, "You Can Dig" by Metropolitan Jazz Affair, "Tears" by Re:Jazz, "Calling" by Aromabar, "La Seule Fleur Dans Le Jardin" by Kosma, and "Something's Missing" by Dublex. LP, Vinyl record album

MF Doom left our planet all too soon, and he left behind a great legacy of music, too – including a previous collaboration with the Czarface collective, nicely matched by this posthumous set! The balance here is great, and the set brings the metal man of mystery into great play with his collaborators and guests who include DMC, Kendra Morris, and Del The Funky Homosapien – all coming together on an album that's every bit as fun as the first time around, and maybe even more essential, given that we're not going to hear that much more from the unissued archives of MF Doom. Titles include "This Is Canon Now", "So Strange", "Young World", "Mando Calrissian", "Doom Unto Others", "The King & Eye", and "Czarwyn's Theory Of People Getting Loose". LP, Vinyl record album

From hipster comedian to schlocky roles in The Planet of The Apes, Severn Darden was one of the 60s more enigmatic performers. This early album has him doing intellectual standup and skits with the help of the Second City cast – including Alan Arkin, Paul Sand, and Barbara Harris. The stuff's a bit dated, but it has that nice pre-hippy early 60s intellectual camp sort of twist. LP, Vinyl record album

Angel Bat Dawid is a completely mesmerizing artist on record, but she's even more mindblowing in a live setting – where she seems to channel the energy of the skies and the planet into her music – brimming over with righteous energy that guides the rest of the group with a hell of a lot of power! Angel plays clarinet, keyboards, and sings throughout – effortlessly shifting between those elements in a group that includes tenor, keyboards, electronics, bass, and lots of drums and percussion – bursting out with an effortless blend of larger conception and improvisation – at a level that may well have Dawid emerging as one of the few folks from Chicago that could ever hope to match the legacy of Sun Ra! That's not saying that Angel is anything like Ra at all – but in a similar way, she immediately comes across as a true visionary, a deeply spiritual talent, and an artist who's following a path that's completely her own. Features material recorded live in Chicago and Berlin – and titles include "Capetown", "Black Family", "What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black", "The Wicked Shall Not Prevail", "Melo Deez From Heab'N", "VIKTORious Return", and "Enlightenment". CD

Amazing avant garde material from Dolphy – and never issued before in any form! The concert was recorded in 1963 at the University of Illinois, and it features some of the most "out" playing we've ever heard from Dolphy. He's backed by a trio comprised of Herbie Hancock, Eddie Khan, and JC Moses – and the main solos are on flute, alto, and bass clarinet, which Dolphy plays to amazing effect! 6 tracks feature the core quartet playing alone with Dolphy, and a 7th features backing by a larger group comprised of University Of Illinois students, including a very young Cecil Bridgewater! This is definitely the kind of lost material we're happy to see unearthed – and it's packaged and notated with the usual high Blue Note level of quality. Titles include "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise", "South Street Exit", "Iron Man", "Red Planet", and "GW". CD

A treasure trove of work from a singer who's finally getting his due – Louisiana legend Jimmy Donley, an artist whose career was as short-lived as his time on the planet – but who worked during the early 60s in a wonderful blend of soul, R&B, and rough-edged rock! The package is amazing – and a much-needed look at this artist who burned incredibly brightly for a few short years, before taking his own life in the mid 60s. Jimmy's a hell of a singer, and a damn great songwriter too – and according to the notes, most of the tunes on the set originated with him, but were sold quickly to others to earn cash – a fact that hardly keeps the music from being a great representation of Donley's genius. There's definitely some echoes of New Orleans soul in the recordings, but given that many of the sessions were handled by Huey P Meux, there's also a west Louisiana vibe, too – with almost some grittier east Texas elements as well. The sound is quite unique – and uniquely breathtaking in this scope – a 2CD set that features 20 songs issued on singles for the Tear Drop label – plus another 36 tracks as demos, duets, and other rare material! Titles include "A Woman's Gotta Have Her Way", "Think It Over", "Strange Strange Feeling", "Love Bug", "Baby Ain't That Love", "Just A Game", "Santa Don't Pass Me By", "Baby Heaven Sent Me You", "Loving Cajun Style", "Forever Lillie May", "I Still Care", "It's Time To Say Goodbye", and "I'll Keep On Movin". CD

Maybe one of our favorite Doors records of all time – if only for the long Fender Rhodes solo by Ray Manzarek on the album's final track, "Riders On The Storm"! Yet the whole album is pretty darn great, too – the last to feature Jim Morrison, who would leave the planet shortly after the album was released! There's a looser, more mature feel to the whole record – still lots of the territory the group had explored on previous albums, but also maybe more relaxed in the studio – knowing when to go for a hook when needed, but also letting some of the tunes really find themselves too. Titles include the hits "Riders On The Storm", "LA Woman", and "Love Her Madly" – plus "The Changeling", "Been Down So Long", "Cars Hiss By My Window", "The WASP", "L'America", and "Hyacinth House". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Girls On Film", "Planet Earth", "Friends Of Mine", "Careless Memories", and "Is There Something I Should Know". LP, Vinyl record album

Gang Starr at pretty close to peak level here on 1994's Hard To Earn – and rather than continue to ride the waves they made on the previous couple classic albums, Guru sharpens the lyrical tone just a bit – spitting some more incisive rhymes over apporpriately gritty soul jazz beats from Primo. Tracks include the classic "DWYCK" featuring Nice & Smooth – which is just about our favorite Gang Starr track ever, to be honest – plus "Speak Ya Clout" featuring Jeru and Lil Dap, "Mass Appeal", "Code Of The Streets", "Brainstorm", "Tonz O Gunz", "Suckas Need Bodyguards", "Blowin Up The Spot", "Mostly Tha Voice", "F.A.L.A.", "Now You're Mine", "Comin For Datazz", "Aiight Chill...", "The Planet", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of albums from one of our favorite trumpeters on the European scene! First up is Portrait – a set that stands as a tribute to trumpeter Dusko Goykovich's 70 years on this planet – and a record that features him in a variety of settings too! Other players include Ferdinand Povel on flute and tenor, Tony Lakatos on tenor, Steve Gut on trumpet, Isla Eckinger and Ray Drummond on basses, Abraham Burton on alto, and Kenny Barron and Tommy Flanagan on pianos – on titles that include "Recado Bossa Nova", "Balkan Blue", "Adriatica", "One For Klook", and "Inga". Next is Swinging Macedonia – a legendary German session from the 60s – and a record that really showcases the unusual criss-crossing of modes that was going on in the European scene at the time! There's a very strong MPS vibe here – as trumpeter Dusko Goykovich leads a swinging sextet that includes Nathan Davis on flute, soprano, and tenor – blowing some tremendously soulful reed lines – plus incredible rhythms from Mal Waldron on piano, Peter Trunk on bass, and Cees See on drums. The record's an attempt to bring traditional Macedonian rhythms into a jazz perspective – but with players like these, it swings in a way any Macedonian album never could – damn soulful, and with a great exotic vibe. Davis is especially great, and plays in a soaring modal vein that's similar to his work on his classic MPS sides, and on the records he cut in America in the early 70s. The album's a beautiful session that often get's overlooked because it blends it with the Enja catalog – but it's really more of a record that belongs in an MPS reissue series, and is a great lost groover that's waiting to be rediscovered by the Dusty Groove crowd. Titles include "Macedonia", "Old Fisherman's Daughter", "Jumbo Uganda", "Bem Basha", "Saga Se karame", and "The Nights Of Skopje". Brandenberg Concert features one of the greatest trumpeters on the European scene of the past few decades – heard here in a completely sublime setting! Dusko Goykovich has played in many styles and many ways, but hasn't ever done a date with full strings before – a long-overdue placement for his wonderful tone on trumpet – shimmering out front of a larger ensemble, in the manner of classic "with strings" dates by Dizzy Gillespie or Art Farmer! Altoist Peter King arranged the album – and titles are all originals by Dusko, some of which you might know from earlier records – reworked here beautifully for the new setting. King also solos on a handful of tracks too – a rich voice that provides a nice balance with Dusko's trumpet. Strings are never overdone, and the album's always got a nice swing from a core rhythm trio that features Renato Chicco on piano. Titles include "Good Old Days", "Handful O Soul", "Danca Comigo", "St Germain Des Pres", "Adriatica", "In My Dreams", and "I Miss You So". CD

A fantastic group from the British scene at mid 60s – music from a time when the UK world of jazz was exploding from the work of artists like Joe Harriott and Tubby Hayes, but also held some other tremendous talents as well! The group here has trumpeter Henry Lowther and tenorist Lyn Dobson at the core – and also features work from Jon Hiseman on drums, plus piano from Ken McCarthy and bass from Ron Rubin on the quintet tracks, and bass from a pre-Cream Jack Bruce on the quartet titles! Tracks are long, open, and filled with the kind of modern expression you might know from the group of Ian Carr and Don Rendell – often modal rhythms giving strong inspiration to freer solo flights – but always with a sense of soul that keeps things from ever sounding too outside to swing. The whole thing's wonderful – a near-lost slice from these crucial years – with titles that include "Snow", "Straight Away", "Celebrity Stomp", "Night & Day", "Red Planet", "Black & White Raga", and "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise". LP, Vinyl record album