Early work from later soundtrack genius Ron Goodwin! LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure US set from UK maestro Ron Goodwin! LP, Vinyl record album

A double set of soundtrack material for the late Alfred Hitchcock film Frenzy – the music used in the film done by Ron Goodwin, and a whole batch of never-used tracks that were initially created for the movie by Henry Mancini! The balance of sounds here is great – as the Goodwin material has a vibe that's maybe a bit more British in terms of the style used in that nation's big epics of the 60s, including a few that Ron scored himself – while the Mancini music is oddly dark, much more so than his American hits of the 60s – and so much so that even Hitchcock himself thought the whole thing was too moody for the movie! The restoration of both scores is wonderful – and the CD features 16 tracks by Goodwin, including some rare alternate material – and another 16 by Mancini, presented here for the first time ever – along with some additional description tracks too. CD

A really groovy album from Brit easy maestro Ron Goodwin – a set that's a follow up to his earlier Arabian Nights record, but which has an even cooler vibe overall – Lebanese sounds, but done with some of the richer scoring that Ron brought to his soundtrack material, and some nice exotic elements too! LP, Vinyl record album

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A set that's dedicated to the famous Beatles producer George Martin, and which seeks to bring together a whole host of sounds and styles that not only influenced his work in the studio – but which also represent maybe the odder aspects of the British scene, in a way that really helps create a greater understanding of the more offbeat sounds of The Fab Four themselves! CD1 is titled In All Directions – and brings together jazz, skiffle, vocal tracks, and plenty more – in a nicely varied lineup that includes work from Basil Kirchin, John Dankworth, Bert Weedon, The Vipers, Christopher Logue, Temperance Seven, Ray Cathode, Ron Goodwin, and Cleo Laine. CD2 is titled Experiments With Pop – and has a bit of comedic moments mixed with more musical selections – in a lineup that includes Peter Sellers, John Dankworth, Flanders & Swann, Matt Monro, The Goods, Bernard Cribbins, and Ron Goodwin. CD3 is titled Comedy Surrealist, and continues that spirit – with more Goon Show material, Beyond The Fringe, The Alberts, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore, and other important pre-Monty Python acts from the UK – who often brought a lot of creativity to the production of their work in the studio. CD4 features straighter classical influences, but in a range of modes – tracks that begin with Bach, and move through Chopin, Ravel, Debussy, Holst, and even Gershwin. As always with these unusual sets on El Records, there's a lot of thought that goes into the choice of material – drawing lines between sounds that we really didn't expect! CD

A wonderfully genre-hopping collection – put together by Toru Hashimoto, the man behind such incredible Japanese series as the Free Soul, Cafe Apres Midi, and Suburbia compilations for many different labels! Toru really lives up to his legend here, and mixes music from different scenes and styles, but in a way that not only makes total sense – but also seems to have the tracks resonate even more strongly in the company of each other – moving from soul to bossa, jazz, vocal, and even hip hop cuts! Titles include "It's You" by Joyce Cooking, "I've Got You Under My Skin" by G9 Group, "Persian Love" by Holger Czukay, "Never Did I Stop Loving You" by Alice Clark, "What Else Can I Say" by Ingram, "Another Day" by Precise Hero, "NYC Tonight (version voc Shintaro Sakamoto)" by Dump, "Beautiful Love" by Myron & the Works with Meshell Ndegeocello and Robert Glasper, "Just The Way You Are" by Meta Roos & Nippe Sylwens Band, "Little Girl Lost" by Penny Goodwin, "Hunk Of Heaven" by Lemuria, "Why Don't We Fall In Love" by John Valenti, "Love Oh Love" by Vince Andrews, "You've Got To Have Freedom" by Pharoah Sanders, and "In All The Wrong Places" by Kero One. CD

With George Robert on alto and soprano sax, Tom Harrell on trumpet and flugelhorn, Dado Moroni on piano, Reggie Johnson on bass, and Bill Goodwin on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

A Phil Woods album that's as upbeat and colorful as its cover – one of those great overlooked later recordings by Phil, of the sort that always make digging through his catalog so rewarding! Woods has a great sense of swing here – but one that's never too formulaic or forced – a very organic, spontaneous groove that seems to come strongly from company that includes Brian Lynch on trumpet, Jim McNeely on piano, Steve Gilmore on bass, and Bill Goodwin on drums. Titles include the groovy "CK's Bossa", plus "Peer Pressure", "Song For Sisyphus", "Souvenir", and "Ballad For Hank". CD

Tom Harrell on trumpet and flugelhorn, Bob Berg, David Liebman, and Joe Lovano on saxophones, Cheryl Pyle on flute, John Abercrombie on guitar and synthesizer, Dado Moroni, Danilo Perez, James Williams, and Niels Lan Doky on piano, Charlie Haden, Ray Drummond, and Reggie Johnson on bass, and Adam Nussbaum, Billy Hart, Paul Motian, and Bill Goodwin on drums. CD

Titles include "Juggernaut", "Zebrano", "Catwalk", "Body And Soul", "My Dear", "What Is This Thing Called Love", "Wasamba", "Too Much Of A Good Thing", "Cinema Paradiso", "Blue Sesame", and "Alpha Dog" with guests Randy Brecker, Bob Mintzer, Eric Marienthal, Wayne Bergeron, Brian Bromberg, Gordon Goodwin, Rick Braun, and Jeff Lober. LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary bit of jazzy soul – recorded by an obscure female singer from Milwaukee! Penny's got a warm style that's pretty darn nice on its own – but it's made even better by the great arranger Richard Evans, who helped out a lot on the session. The feel is very much in the Chicago sophisti-soul mode – and at times, the record sounds a lot like Marlena Shaw's best work in the 70s, particularly her sides for Blue Note in the early part of the decade. Includes the great original "Too Soon You're Old" – a jazz dance classic for many years – plus a stellar cover of Gil Scott Heron's "Lady Day & John Coltrane", and the tracks "What's Goin On", "Slow Hot Wind", "He's Come Back", and "Rain Sometimes". CD

A legendary bit of jazzy soul – recorded by an obscure female singer from Milwaukee! Penny's got a warm style that's pretty darn nice on its own – but it's made even better by the great arranger Richard Evans, who helped out a lot on the session. The feel is very much in the Chicago sophisti-soul mode – and at times, the record sounds a lot like Marlena Shaw's best work in the 70s, particularly her sides for Blue Note in the early part of the decade. Includes the great original "Too Soon You're Old" – a jazz dance classic for many years – plus a stellar cover of Gil Scott Heron's "Lady Day & John Coltrane", and the tracks "What's Goin On", "Slow Hot Wind", "He's Come Back", and "Rain Sometimes". LP, Vinyl record album