Sweet electric magic from Ramsey Lewis – four 70s albums in a single collection! First up is Don't It Feel Good – massive keyboard work from the great Ramsey Lewis – easily one of his best records ever, thanks to some spaciously funky production by Charles Stepney! Stepney plays keyboards here along with Ramsey, and the twin-keys approach makes for a sound that's extra-special – one that sums up all the earlier soulful creativity of both artists in their late 60s Cadet Records years, and hones it down to an even sweeter groove for the 70s! A number of tracks have some sort of vocal component, but usually in a chorus mode that soon drops out when the keyboards hit home – and the record features a few great short "interlude" tracks that are almost as great as the longer numbers! Titles include the classic "Juaacklyn", a cover of Earth Wind & Fire's "That's The Way Of The World", and the tracks "I Dig You", "Fish Bite", "Don't It Feel Good", "Something About You", and "Can't Function". Salongo is a tremendous little record, and one of the funky 70s sets that Ramsey Lewis recorded with Earth Wind & Fire! Well, not Earth Wind & Fire entirely – but the Kalimba Productions team of Maurice White and Charles Stepney that gave the group its sound – plus a nice sprinkling of other players that were often associated with sessions by the group! Ramsey's own combo here includes Steve Cobb on drums and vocals, and Derf Reklaw on reeds and vocals as well – and the overall sound has bits of African and Brazilian influences, worked into a soulful fusion groove that sounds a lot like the instrumental backings EWF were using at the time. Titles include "Brazilica", "Slick", "Rubato", "Salongo", and "Seventh Fold". Tequila Mockingbird is an overlooked gem from the Columbia Records years, filled with loads of great grooves, and some pretty mighty keyboards! Part of the record has Ramsey working with Larry Dunn of Kalimba Productions – getting plenty of the Earth Wind & Fire groove that made so much of his Columbia sessions sparkle – while the rest of the set has the great Bert DeCoteaux handling things, and giving Lewis just the right mix of sophistication and soul he was using with other Columbia acts at the time. The album's a perfect example of the way that Ramsey stepped way ahead of the pack during this time in his career – using keyboards and grooves together in ways that so many artists today are still trying to match – but never hit it this right! Titles include "Camino El Bueno", "Caring For You", "Intimacy", "That Ole Bach Music", "Skippin", "Tequila Mockingbird", and "Wandering Rose" – that cool cut by Neal Creque! Love Notes is a great little album of mid 70s funk from Ramsey Lewis – very much in the mode of his Earth, Wind, & Fire related work – no surprise, since the album's dedicated to Charles Stepney, whose influence was such a key part of the sound of the group, and of some of Ramsey's other Kalimba-produced albums from a few years before! Ramsey plays Fender Rhodes, mini moog, and Arp – and he gets help on keyboards from Stevie Wonder and Derf Reklaw, who also plays saxes and percussion on the set. Features versions of Wonder's "Love Notes" and "Spring High", plus Reklaw's "Chili Today Hot Tamale", "Shining", and "Stash Dash". CD

Sweet electric magic from Ramsey Lewis – four 70s albums in a single collection! First up is Don't It Feel Good – massive keyboard work from the great Ramsey Lewis – easily one of his best records ever, thanks to some spaciously funky production by Charles Stepney! Stepney plays keyboards here along with Ramsey, and the twin-keys approach makes for a sound that's extra-special – one that sums up all the earlier soulful creativity of both artists in their late 60s Cadet Records years, and hones it down to an even sweeter groove for the 70s! A number of tracks have some sort of vocal component, but usually in a chorus mode that soon drops out when the keyboards hit home – and the record features a few great short "interlude" tracks that are almost as great as the longer numbers! Titles include the classic "Juaacklyn", a cover of Earth Wind & Fire's "That's The Way Of The World", and the tracks "I Dig You", "Fish Bite", "Don't It Feel Good", "Something About You", and "Can't Function". Salongo is a tremendous little record, and one of the funky 70s sets that Ramsey Lewis recorded with Earth Wind & Fire! Well, not Earth Wind & Fire entirely – but the Kalimba Productions team of Maurice White and Charles Stepney that gave the group its sound – plus a nice sprinkling of other players that were often associated with sessions by the group! Ramsey's own combo here includes Steve Cobb on drums and vocals, and Derf Reklaw on reeds and vocals as well – and the overall sound has bits of African and Brazilian influences, worked into a soulful fusion groove that sounds a lot like the instrumental backings EWF were using at the time. Titles include "Brazilica", "Slick", "Rubato", "Salongo", and "Seventh Fold". Tequila Mockingbird is an overlooked gem from the Columbia Records years, filled with loads of great grooves, and some pretty mighty keyboards! Part of the record has Ramsey working with Larry Dunn of Kalimba Productions – getting plenty of the Earth Wind & Fire groove that made so much of his Columbia sessions sparkle – while the rest of the set has the great Bert DeCoteaux handling things, and giving Lewis just the right mix of sophistication and soul he was using with other Columbia acts at the time. The album's a perfect example of the way that Ramsey stepped way ahead of the pack during this time in his career – using keyboards and grooves together in ways that so many artists today are still trying to match – but never hit it this right! Titles include "Camino El Bueno", "Caring For You", "Intimacy", "That Ole Bach Music", "Skippin", "Tequila Mockingbird", and "Wandering Rose" – that cool cut by Neal Creque! Love Notes is a great little album of mid 70s funk from Ramsey Lewis – very much in the mode of his Earth, Wind, & Fire related work – no surprise, since the album's dedicated to Charles Stepney, whose influence was such a key part of the sound of the group, and of some of Ramsey's other Kalimba-produced albums from a few years before! Ramsey plays Fender Rhodes, mini moog, and Arp – and he gets help on keyboards from Stevie Wonder and Derf Reklaw, who also plays saxes and percussion on the set. Features versions of Wonder's "Love Notes" and "Spring High", plus Reklaw's "Chili Today Hot Tamale", "Shining", and "Stash Dash". CD

A tremendous little record, and one of the funky 70s sets that Ramsey Lewis recorded with Earth Wind & Fire! Well, not Earth Wind & Fire entirely – but the Kalimba Productions team of Maurice White and Charles Stepney that gave the group its sound – plus a nice sprinkling of other players that were often associated with sessions by the group! Ramsey's own combo here includes Steve Cobb on drums and vocals, and Derf Reklaw on reeds and vocals as well – and the overall sound has bits of African and Brazilian influences, worked into a soulful fusion groove that sounds a lot like the instrumental backings EWF were using at the time. Titles include "Brazilica", "Slick", "Rubato", "Salongo", and "Seventh Fold". LP, Vinyl record album

The great Maggot Brain keeps on growing and growing – really reaching mind-expanding territory this special seventh issue, at a level that goes far beyond the large features on Lou Reed and Loaded pictured on the cover! There's a wealth of different shorter features, mixed with artwork and other articles too – bits on Lee Scratch Perry, Pastor TL Barrett, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Dane Wareham, The Goats, and the late 80s underground noise scene around Detroit – plus an especially strange feature on Doug Henning and his relationship to glam rock in Canada! As always, its less the topics than the way they're handled that makes the magazine so great – and Maggot Brain is definitely one of those publications that really rewards a cover-to-cover read – like the old classics Grand Royal, Wax Poetics, or even Motorbooty. Magazine

A mini-LP, but one that packs more punch than most full length sets – thanks to a top-shelf lineup all the way through! The set's a project put together by Sly & Robbie, and recorded at Compass Point Studios – all with a groove that's kind of a dubbier take on the sound of New York dancefloors a the time – nicely bassy, slightly beaty, and topped with some really wonderful vocals from Gwen Guthrie! Larry Levan mixed the whole thing to perfection, giving it a real Paradise groove – and instrumentation is by Wally Badarou on synth, Harry Whitaker on keyboards, Darryl Thompson on guitars, and Jimmy Maelin on percussion. The set's kind of a mini-suite, based around a few key musical themes – and titles include "Padlock", "Hopscotch", "Seventh Heaven", "Peanut Butter" and "Getting Hot". CD also features 6 more bonus tracks – "Hopscotch (Larry Levan rmx inst)", "Getting Hot (original 12" version)", "Padlock (album mix of Portrait)", "Seventh Heaven (album mix of Portrait)", "Hopscotch (album mix of Portrait)", and "Peanut Butter (original 12" version)". CD

Don't let the Another One title make you think this is some passable record that repeats earlier ideas – because the set is a real gem in the 50s catalog of bassist Oscar Pettiford, and one of his strongest dates as a leader! Pettiford really sparkles here – leading a great group that features key 50s modernists like Gigi Gryce on alto, Jerome Richardson on tenor, Bob Brookmeyer on trombone, and Donald Byrd on trumpet – all tightly arranged at most moments, but given enough space on the set to strike out and state their own ideas. Pettiford's bass is wonderfully upfront in the mix, leading off most tunes with a nice sense of force – and titles include some really wonderful original material – like "Oscalypso", "Don't Squawk", "Bohemia After Dark", "Minor Seventh Heaven", and "Kamman's A Comin". LP, Vinyl record album

Way more than just the "essence" of Nancy – an excellent 4CD set, with a huge amount of rare material! Here's the breakdown: Disc 1 features "Spanning The Decades" – a selection of rare singles and chart hits, most on CD in the US for the first time; Disc 2 is "From The Vaults", with 14 previously unreleased live recordings, and another 9 previously unissued studio tracks; Disc 3 is "Nancy's Choice", featuring 22 tracks that are Nancy's own personal favorites, 4 of which have never been issued in the US; Disc 4 is "Hidden Gems", 18 choice cuts from Nancy's albums, all issued on CD for the first time in the US! Wonderful throughout – with a total of 81 rare tracks on 4CDs, all packaged in a nice booklet style. Titles include "Hurry Change", "Are We Losin Touch", "But Only Sometimes", "Save Your Love For Me", "The Seventh Son", "Small World", "Just Go", "Go Away & Find Yourself", "Ribbon In The Sky", "Below Above", "Listen Little Girl", "Wave", "I'm Gonna Let Ya", "The Island", "Casablanca", "Dindi", "Godsend", "Suzanne", "I Remember", "Theme From Hotel", and "Free Again". CD

Groovy 20 track "best of" CD compiling tracks from his Atlantic recordings of the late 60's and early 70's, with loads of his usual cool hipster jazz vocals and New Orleans piano playing. Cuts include "Seventh Son", "Swingin' Machine", "Your Mind Is On Vacation", "Your Molecular Structure", "Night Club", "That's The Stuff You Gotta Watch", "If You're Goin' To The City", and lots lots more! CD

One of the coolest rock concept albums ever – and arguably the crowning moment for Aphrodite's Child – an incredibly hip Greek group from the early 70s – featuring a young Demis Roussos on vocals, and Vangelis Papathanassiou on organ, piano, vibes, flute, and a lot of other instrumentation! Vangelis composed the whole set – as an extended piece based on the Apocalypse of St John – and the album was recorded in Paris, away from their native Greece – in a time of political unrest and cultural upheaval that's clearly referenced in the music! There's a really wide array of textures and moods on the set – from sinister to soft, freaky to peaceful, all laid out beautifully with a sense of poetry and power that few other groups could match! Irene Pappas performs a recitation, and also gives some sexy sounds on the classic "Infinity" – and other tunes include "The System", "Babylon", "Loud Loud Loud", "The Four Horsemen", "The Seventh Seal", "Aegian Sea", "The Marching Beast", "Capture Of The Beast", "Altamont", "Seven Trumpets", and "Hic Et Nunc". CD

A long-overdue recognition of the blues contributions of Willie Dixon – a set that pulls him out of the indie ghetto and pushes him firmly into the mainstream with this key release on Columbia Records! Yet despite that placement, the style is nicely down home – a strong recreation of older Chicago blues modes by producer Abner Spector – one that has Willie singing versions of his classic tunes like "Back Door Man", "The Seventh Son", "Little Red Rooster", "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man", and "The Same Thing". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer Peggy Lee on Capitol Records – 2 very groovy albums on a single CD! Then Was Then is a sublime mid 60s effort that has Peggy working with arrangers Sid Feller, Billy May, and Cy Coleman – all of whom continue in the same groovy territory Lee hit at the time with Jack Marshall – a blend of romping rhythms, swinging jazz, and some slightly soulful touches that really come off well! The song selection is especially great – as it features some really unusual numbers that get past overdone standards, and some of the too-heard tunes from Peggy's Capitol years. Titles include "I Go To Sleep", "Then Was Then", "Seventh Son", "They Say", "Trapped In The Web Of Love", "Losers Weepers", "Shadow Of Your Smile", and "Leave It To Love". Bridge Over Troubled Water is wonderful work from Peggy Lee's newly mature years on Capitol Records – a set that follows from some of the hipper arranging and songwriting styles she was working with at the end of the 60s! Peggy's badass 60s self is even more pronounced here – as she's a forthright, adult singer on most of the tunes – workign with subjects she might not have touched at all a decade before – all with some great help on arrangements from the mighty Mike Melvoin. A few tunes are older, but most are relatively contemporary for the time of the album's release – and titles include "Something Strange", "You'll Remember Me", "He Used Me", "I See Your Face Before Me", "Always Something There To Remind Me", and "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?" CD features 3 bonus tracks – "Maybe This Summer", "Stop Living In The Past", and "This Could Be The Start Of Something Big". CD

A killer classic from the second chapter of Chick Corea's Return To Forever group – standard-setting fusion for the 70s, and a showcase of keyboard skills from Chick that nobody would have imagined years before! There's definitely plenty of soaring energy at the core of the record – the great Lenny White on drums and percussion, and Stanley Clarke on a bit of organ and plenty of bass – the latter of which is used in nicely different ways than his work with George Duke! Al DiMeola plays electric and acoustic guitar, and Chick also uses a bit of acoustic, next to Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and organ – and there's a warmth here that few other fusion combos could ever hope to touch. Titles include "Vulcan Worlds", "Where Have I Loved You Before", "The Shadow Of The Lo", "Where Have I Danced With You Before", "Beyond The Seventh Galaxy", "Earth Juice" and "Song To The Pharoah Kings". CD

Soulful brilliance from Woody Shaw – a searing live set that matches the power of earlier classics like Moontrane and Blackstone Legacy! The album's got Woody working with a heck of a great group – Carter Jefferson on tenor and soprano sax, Onaje Allan Gumbs on piano, Clint Houston on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums – all of whom come together with just the right mix of earthy grooving and spiritual searching that puts Woody in his best light. Jefferson is especially great – as it's his soaring work on reeds that really give the album a sense of spirit – but credit should also be giving to the well-knit rhythm team, whose ability to push out in flowing lines of power really raises the energy of the performance. Titles include "Stepping Stone", "In A Capricornian Way", "Seventh Avenue", and "Theme For Maxine". LP, Vinyl record album

Never-issued work from trumpet genius Woody Shaw – and a set that we'd easily stand next to any of Shaw's classics from this stretch in his career! Part of the strength of the record comes from the man himself, but there's also a really fantastic contribution from the group as a whole – a rock-solid lineup that features Larry Willis on piano, Stafford James on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums – plus some really beautiful work from the great Carter Jefferson on tenor and soprano sax, who really gets plenty of room to showcase his sometimes-overlooked talents on the the tracks in the set. The group have a modal energy that hearkens back to some of Woody's early 70s material – and titles include "Love Dance", "Round Midnight", "Theme For Maxine", "Stepping Stone", "Seventh Avenue", "In Your Own Sweet Way", "Invitation", and "Teotihuacan". Also features a bonus recording from 1981, with Woody in a quartet that features Mulgrew Miller on piano – "We'll Be Together Again". CD

Majestic work from Woody Shaw – the third volume of a rare live performance from 1977, one that features Woody at the height of his powers, running through long and beautiful tracks with a deeply soulful feel. The style here is similar to Woody's best work of the mid 70s on the Muse label – extended tracks performed with a group that includes Stafford James on bass, Steve Turre on trombone, Mulgrew Miller or Larry Willis on piano, and Victor Lewis on drums. Titles include "Ginseng People", "Organ Grinder", "Teotiuacan", "Seventh Avenue", and "Little Red's Fantasy". CD

A brilliant testament to the songwriting genius of Scott Walker – and an incredibly haunting batch of original tunes, filled with images of lonely madness and unactualized emotion, all sung by one of the greatest voices of the century! The album's not a record to be taken lightly – as the Scott Walker approach to music is really over the top here – almost mini-movies in sound, pasted from scenes both epic and private – all held together by an impeccable set of arrangements! The style beautifully links Walker's older pop persona with the growing sophistication in European pop – especially from the French – and with a record like this, Scott easily matches the genius of Brel, Brassens, and Gainsbourg. All titles are originals – and titles include "Rhymes Of Goodbye", "The Old Man's Back Again", "Hero Of The War", "Boy Child", "Seventh Seal", and "On Your Own Again". LP, Vinyl record album

American grooves go Kingston – as the set features a wonderful assortment of funk and soul classics, all delivered here in reggae-styled versions! The approach is similar to the material featured in the older Reggae Disco collection from Soul Jazz – but the mix of modes here is much more expansive – so that you'll get some cuts that are very heavy in a New York clubby groove, while others are much more Jamaican in approach – and have an American soul tune bending down towards more reggae-oriented territory. As always with Soul Jazz, the choice of cuts is wonderful – and includes "Move On Up" by Devon Russell, "Caught You In A Lie" by Derrick Harriott, "Young Hearts Run Free" by Hortense Ellis, "Wanna Be Startin Somethin" by Ed Watson & Brass Circle, "For The Love Of You" by Bill Campbell, "Flight To Jamaica" by Crashers, "Fool's Paradise" by Valerie Harrison, "Reasons" by Seventh Extension, "Don't Let Love Get You Down" by Pete Campbell & The Sunshine Girls, "In The Rain" by Webby Jay, and "Just A Groove" by Glen Adams Affair. LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing compilation – and a really groundbreaking attempt to get to the true heart of new age music – that initial moment of meditative sound on records from the American underground – very pure in both spirit and execution before the whole thing got watered down and commercial! The massive set digs way deeper than we might have expected – way past the Bay Area indies who rose the genre to prominence, to a whole host of tiny US labels from the postwar years onward – home to individual players with a very personal sound – on instruments that range from conventional piano to global sources, electronics, and even some items of their own invention. The choice of tracks is perfect – really getting back to the basics of the genre in a great way – and the music is very laidback and meditative, with ethereal qualities that are completely sublime – especially in the context of the great packaging and notes of the whole collection. Many tracks here were never issued on CD – and many were only from rare tapes, too – and the double-length batch of work is one of the most unique musical journeys we've ever taken! Titles include "Lifting Off" by Joanna Brouk, "Arabian Fantasy" by Daniel Emmanuel, "Formentera Sunset Clouds" by Iasos, "Seventh Chakra Keynote B" by Steven Halpern, "Om Mani Padme Hum" by Constance Derby, "Unicorns In Paradise" by Laraaji, "Blue Spirals" by Daniel Kobialka, "As The Earth Kissed The Moon" by Michael Stearns, and "Waterfall Winds" by Alice Damon. CD

The seventh album from prolific modern funky soul gurus The Baker Brothers – a tight, thunderous mix of vocals and instrumentals that range from rawly raucous numbers to sly little groovers! The group really is a well oiled engine at this point – after a good decade or so of activity. Time To Testify is up there with their best material – a record with a nice, live feel and excellent instrumentation for the group! Chris Pedley on bass and piano, Paul Young on sax and flute, Geoff Lai on guitar and lead vox, Rich Baker on drums & percussion, Ted Carrasco on drums and percussion, and Sott Baylis on trumpet, Rhodes, Hammond, clavinet and Moog. Includes "Make Your Move", "Painting Pictures", "Once I Had A Friend", "Patience", "Feeding Freddie", "Pieces Of The Puzzle", "Hang Loose", "The Bottom Rung", "The Young Patter", "Snap Back", "Head South", "Genki Strut" and more. 16 tracks on the CD version. CD

Dion does folk rock – bits of blues, tender balladry, and some sweeping arrangements, too – although folk purists would take a torch to it, of course, the mix of grandly arranged pop with songs from the folk and blues canon is a actually quite his a lot of unselfconscious fun! It's a heck of a fascinating left turn in Dion's career, a decade after his late 50s stardom. The material was recorded in the mid 60s – which makes more sense, given that the 1969 release date was a good few years after the folk rock crossover boom. The folkier numbers were indeed produced by early Dylan producer Tom Wilson, but the grander numbers were arranged by Robert Mersey. Titles include "I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound", "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", "Southern Train", "The Seventh Son", "Farewell', "Baby, Please Don't Go" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A long-overdue recognition of the blues contributions of Willie Dixon – a set that pulls him out of the indie ghetto and pushes him firmly into the mainstream with this key release on Columbia Records! Yet despite that placement, the style is nicely down home – a strong recreation of older Chicago blues modes by producer Abner Spector – one that has Willie singing versions of his classic tunes like "Back Door Man", "The Seventh Son", "Little Red Rooster", "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man", and "The Same Thing". CD

Early work from Gwen Guthrie – produced by Sly & Robbie, but with a sweet modern soul sound that's got a lot less of their influence than you'd guess! The sound is much more New York than Jamaica – and that's probably due to some great instrumental backing on keyboards by the likes of Harry Whitaker, Bernie Worrell, and Wally Badarou – all massive talents that bring a nice sweet jazzy sound to the best cuts on the record. There's a definite 80s sing-song groove going on – in that not-yet-top-of-the-charts soul sound that you'd hear on the better small urban stations at the time – moving back and forth nicely, in a strong link between the mainstream and the underground clubs! Tracks include "Hopscotch", "Seventh Heaven", "Oh What A Life", "Younger Than Me", and a nice cover of Sly Stone's "Family Affair". CD features 3 bonus tracks too – "Padlock (Larry Levan special mix)", "Hopscotch (Larry Levan rmx inst)", and "Peanut Butter (Larry Levan special mix)". CD

A tremendous little record, and one of the funky 70s sets that Ramsey Lewis recorded with Earth Wind & Fire! Well, not Earth Wind & Fire entirely – but the Kalimba Productions team of Maurice White and Charles Stepney that gave the group its sound – plus a nice sprinkling of other players that were often associated with sessions by the group! Ramsey's own combo here includes Steve Cobb on drums and vocals, and Derf Reklaw on reeds and vocals as well – and the overall sound has bits of African and Brazilian influences, worked into a soulful fusion groove that sounds a lot like the instrumental backings EWF were using at the time. Titles include "Brazilica", "Slick", "Rubato", "Salongo", and "Seventh Fold". CD

Maybe the most majestic album that Makaya McCraven has recorded to date – and that's really saying a lot, given the power of his music on previous records! This time around, the group is large, and the performance is more organic than some of the more mixed/produced sessions that Makaya has given us – and great as those records have been, there's a sense of power here that really places McCraven strongly in the Chicago legacy of the 20th Century – a jazz spectrum that includes Eddie Harris, Ramsey Lewis, Charles Stepney, the Art Ensemble Of Chicago, and so many other musical giants! The mix of instrumentation is almost like some Chess/Cadet session from the end of the 60s – but Makaya still adds in some samples and electronics next to his acoustic work on percussion, drums, and a variety of other instruments – next to Jeff Parker on guitar, Brandee Younger on harp, Joel Ross on vibes, Marquis Hill on trumpet, and Junius Paul on bass – all tremendous players and strong leaders in their own right – working here to make a special sort of magic with McCraven. There's other voices on the set too – more violins, cello, alto, tenor, piano, and other sounds – on titles that include "So Ubuji", "Seventh String", "This Place That Place", "The Fours", "Dream Another", "High Fives", "The Knew Untitled", and "In These Times". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of fusion classics – back to back in a single set! Where Have I Known You Before is a killer classic from the second chapter of Chick Corea's Return To Forever group – standard-setting fusion for the 70s, and a showcase of keyboard skills from Chick that nobody would have imagined years before! There's definitely plenty of soaring energy at the core of the record – the great Lenny White on drums and percussion, and Stanley Clarke on a bit of organ and plenty of bass – the latter of which is used in nicely different ways than his work with George Duke! Al DiMeola plays electric and acoustic guitar, and Chick also uses a bit of acoustic, next to Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and organ – and there's a warmth here that few other fusion combos could ever hope to touch. Titles include "Vulcan Worlds", "Where Have I Loved You Before", "The Shadow Of The Lo", "Where Have I Danced With You Before", "Beyond The Seventh Galaxy", "Earth Juice" and "Song To The Pharoah Kings". No Mystery is one of the key moments from this legendary group of the 70s – a set that really helps redefine the fusion groove of the time – moving away from some of the more rockish modes that others borrowed from prog, using some of the Brazilian influences that Flora Purim brought to an earlier incarnation of the combo, and also touching off on some of the soulful styles that others would soon pick up on the mainstream! Chick Corea handles a host of incredible keyboards – and the rest of the lineup features Al DiMeola on guitar, very much electric at many points – plus Stanley Clarke on bass and Lenny White on drums and plenty of percussion – really helping the group soar to the skies. Titles include "Dayride", "Jungle Waterfall", "Flight Of The Newborn", "Sofistifunk" and "Excerpt From The First Movement Of Heavy Metal". CD

A Japanese-only album from Weather Report – recorded early in the group's career, and with some of the same sort of freedoms that Miles Davis was getting on his own double-length dates from Japan! The tracks here are quite stretched out, and often adventurous – showing a marked ability to jam heavily at one moment, get contemplative the next, and continually explore sounds on the frontiers of fusion in the 70s. The group's the "second chapter" Weather Report – with Wayne Shorter on reeds, Joe Zawinul on keyboards, Miroslav Vitous on bass, Eric Gravatt on drums, and Dom Um Romao on percussion – and titles include "Orange Lady", "Vertical Invader/Seventh Arrow/TH", "Surucucu/Lost/Early Minor/Direction", and "Tears/Umbrellas". CD

American grooves go Kingston – as the set features a wonderful assortment of funk and soul classics, all delivered here in reggae-styled versions! The approach is similar to the material featured in the older Reggae Disco collection from Soul Jazz – but the mix of modes here is much more expansive – so that you'll get some cuts that are very heavy in a New York clubby groove, while others are much more Jamaican in approach – and have an American soul tune bending down towards more reggae-oriented territory. As always with Soul Jazz, the choice of cuts is wonderful – and includes "Move On Up" by Devon Russell, "Caught You In A Lie" by Derrick Harriott, "Young Hearts Run Free" by Hortense Ellis, "Wanna Be Startin Somethin" by Ed Watson & Brass Circle, "For The Love Of You" by Bill Campbell, "Flight To Jamaica" by Crashers, "Fool's Paradise" by Valerie Harrison, "Reasons" by Seventh Extension, "Don't Let Love Get You Down" by Pete Campbell & The Sunshine Girls, "In The Rain" by Webby Jay, and "Just A Groove" by Glen Adams Affair. CD