Brilliant work from Sleep Walker – the Japanese jazzy combo who's held our interest for the better part of the past decade! Sleep Walker were one of the first of their scene to move into classic jazz territory – getting past the beats and programs of other contemporary combos, and moving into straight acoustic modes that are filled with with spirit and soul. There's a very righteous vibe to their music – one that's informed by the best post-Coltrane modes of the Impulse Records generation, particularly Pharoah Sanders, who plays with the group on one track here – lending his horn to the group's own searing tenor sax, keyboards, bass, and drums. This French CD features two exclusive tracks – "Brother Hood" and "Resurrection (Tokyo night mix)" – plus other great cuts from the group's Japanese releases, including "Into the Sun", "Ai No Tabi", "Eclipse", "The Voyage", "Wind", and "River Of Love". CD

Brilliant brilliant work by Sleep Walker – a soaring, soulful album of spiritual jazz – one that we'd rank right up there with our favorites from the era of John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders on Impulse Records! The vibe here is incredible – jazz played live on tenor, soprano sax, piano, bass, and drums – spinning out in modal lines that groove tremendously, but not with any tricks or gimmicks that get in the way of genuine jazz expression. Sleep Walker are easily one of the deepest and most talented combos of the current club jazz scene – and their music never resorts to fake samples or heavy-handed rhythms to move the tunes along – just glows in the genius of its own bright light, spreading forth in waves of soul and sound that are tremendous from the first note of the album to the last! The record features guest work by Pharoah Sanders and Bembe Segue – and titles include "Ai No Tabi", "The Southern Cross", "Voyage", "Reminiscence", "Lost In Blue", "Kaze", "Afloat", and "Into The Sun". CD

A gem of a record from the late 60s British scene – one based around the sound poems of writer and poet Terry Durham! The record features Duram speaking and singing his own lyrics – supported by musical backings arranged by John Coleman, shaded in by some wonderful work by players that include Alan Parker on guitar, Evan Parker on saxes, and Chris Karan (from the Dudley Moore and Roy Budd trios) on some especially nice drums! Despite the poetic approach of the session, Durham's rough vocals give it a real sense of humanity – with none of the high-art pretension you might expect, and a real "everyman" sort of feel that comes from the overall delivery of the tunes. There's a nice link here between the other British jazz and rock experiments of the time – and in a way, Durham's a lost link in a lineage of hipper British artists that include Nick Drake and Scott Walker. A few tracks even get a bit funky, and titles include "The Fortunate Isles", "Sleep Train", "White Room Dreaming", "Branwells Corner", "Crystal Telephone", "Moving Through My Life", and "Stills From A Late Nite Movie". CD

A pretty incredible set from sax player Masato Nakamura, aka Masa – late of the trailblazing Japanese jazzy explorers Sleep Walker – here leading a new combo and some fellow Sleep Walker alum on a set of cover tunes selected by some of his (and some of our) favorite modern groove figures! The group brings fresh jazzy life a batch of all great tunes by Yusef Lateef, Julius Hemphill, Mary Parks (and Albert Ayler), Milton Nascimento and others. Beautiful stuff with timeless soul jazz inspiration – here's hoping Deep Cover isn't simply a one off project and we'll hear much more from Masa Sextet! Song selectors include Kyoto Jazz Massive, Patrick Forge (who also produces the album), Yoshihiro Okino of Kyoto Jazz Massive, Dilip Harris of Two Banks Of Four, Jurgen V Knoblauch of Jazzanova, Shuya Okino of Kyoto Jazz Massive and Gilles Peterson. Many of the numbers skew to the long side, with 7 great tracks the run a total of 55 minutes. Includes "Waiting For Marvin", "Look Into Tomorrow" and "Healing Is The Healing Force Of The Universe" (both with vocals by Bembe Segue), "Winds Of Change", "The Hard Blues", "Nem Premisou Mais Um Sol", and "Before Dawn". CD

A nice transition from the overwrought concept albums of mid 70s Kinks – and a shift into tighter, shorter, more condensed tunes that got the group firmly back on track! The concepts here are each confined to the space of a single tune – taking Ray and the group back to the best approaches of their initial 70s recordings – and coming up with a few really catchy numbers in the process! Titles include "Sleepwalker", "Sleepless Night", "Brother", "Full Moon", "Life Goes On", "Stormy Sky", and "Mr Big Man". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

A stunning debut from Jarrod Lawson – a singer we fell in love with right away – and who we'd rank right up there with some our favorite mellow soul artists of the 70s! Yes, the cover's got a look that's more indie rock – but Jarrod's got this righteous vibe and sense of flow that seems to tie together distant strands of influence – from Marvin Gaye to Gil Scott Heron to jazz singers like Al Jarreau, Kurt Elling, or Mark Murphy! Backings are jazzy, but with a focused, soulful groove – warmed up by keyboards, but kept fresh with lots of live instrumentation that really matches the rich sense of inflection in Lawson's voice – an amazing range, but one that's never overstated, overdone, or overused. All the tracks are originals – and the record's one that you'll be spinning for years to come! Titles include "Sleepwalkers", "Walk In The Park", "Redemption", "Needed", "Everything I Need", "All That Surrounds", "Spiritual Eyes", and "Together We'll Stand". CD

One of THE seminal Basie albums of all time – and a masterful pairing between the Count and arranger Neal Hefti! Hefti has an amazing ear for the Basie groove, and he works here to re-fit the overall sound of the group with a tighter, more fluid approach – one that ensured that they'd be alive and booming well into the 60s. The Hefti touch is one that's slightly lighter than the Basie of before – one that assumes the bump at the bottom, but never overdoes it – and instead almost uses the sound of no sound at all to carry the rhythm – while the horns at the top of the group are vamping around in these majestic charts that break out into fantastically searing solos. Basie's on piano, natch – and other players include Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Henry Coker, Al Grey, Frank Wess, Frank Foster, and Eddie Lockjaw Davis. Titles are all brilliant Hefti originals – and include "After Supper", "Flight Of The Foo Birds", "Teddy The Toad", "Splanky", "Fantail", and "Lil Darlin". CD features 5 bonus tracks too – including "The Late Late Show", "Sleepwalker's Serenade", and "Silks & Satins". CD

Jazzy, scatting, and wonderful! Jazzinho firmly carry the torch of 70s Brazilian jazz – picking up the sound that the music had just as it started to spill into European and American scenes, with bossa nova at the core, but lots of nice electric touches on the top! The group features some wonderful female lead vocals – very breezy, with a warm and sunny finish that really gives the record a wonderful feel. Instrumentation is strongly jazzy – not just beats and tricks – and honestly, the album's got a really solid 70s feel that makes us love it to death! Titles include "Vertigo", "Velejou", "Astral", "Yambou", "Sim Ou Nao", "Camponesa", and "Constelacao". This edition of the CD features four bonus remixes – "Sim Ou Nao" by Sleepwalker, "Constelacao" by Quant, "Sim Ou Nao by Eddy & Dus and "Yambou" by Phil Asher! CD

Jazztronik alone are great enough – but this excellent collection really takes them to a whole new level, by letting in collaborative talents on a host of remixes – all of which further expand the groove of Jazztronik's recent Cannibal Rock and En:Code albums! In recent years, Jazztronik have deepened their sound even more than before – working in bright Brazilian and Latin influences to their mix of cosmic and jazzy dancefloor modes, all of which dance together beautifully in this wonderful set of work. The album is way more than just one of those "hey, let's let someone else mess with the originals" sort of projects – as all tunes here really keep the original Jazztronik spirit burning bright, and respect the vibe that first allowed all of this to happen! Titles on this first volume include "Dentro Mi Alma (Yoruba Soul rmx)", "Searching For Love (Rasmus Faber rmx)", "Working Days (DJ Spinna mix)", "Pathways Jazztronik Theme (Sleepwalker rmx)", "Get It Right (Isoul 8 rmx)", "En Code (As One rmx)", "Samurai (Yukihiro Fukutomi rmx)", and "City Of Rivers (Franck Roger rmx)". CD

One of the last really compelling records ever done by Mike Westbrook – a large group session that shifts effortlessly between funky moments and some more adventurous playing! The album's a suite of tracks that run through a bit more moods than we're used to hearing on some of Westbrook's earlier records – and the overall approach is varied, but in a way that's really enjoyable, and doesn't get bogged down in some of the repetitive themes that Westbrook could sometimes fall in love with. The real star of the record is John Surman, who solos often on baritone, soprano, and bass clarinet – and titles include "Sleepwalker Awaking In Sunlight", "Outgoing Song", "Tender Love", "Construction", "View From The Drawbridge", and "Pistache". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes selections from Halfbreeds, Woggles, Others, Sleepwalkers, Nuthins, Overcoat, Hatebombs, Element 79, Kartoons, Fortune & Maltese, and 1-2-5's! LP, Vinyl record album

A great one from Shawn Phillips – a set that has more of the jazzy tones of his later work coming to the forefront – in a sound that's fuller, richer than before – with larger orchestrations by Paul Buckmaster and Ian Green, and a growing sense of groove that's made Shawn one of the best examples of the early 70s folk funk generation! There's a tightly vamping energy to most of the best numbers that's really great – and a slightly jazzy sensibility too, even when things still sound mostly folksy overall. Titles include "Song For Mr C", "Sleepwalker", "Keep On", "Song For Sagittarians", "Steel Eyes", "Schmaltz Waltz", and "F Sharp Splendor". CD

An incredible look at an obscure Detroit soul label – a tiny little company, but home to some really great funk and soul! The Big Mack label ran somewhat sporadically through the 60s and into the early 70s – but during that time, it managed to cut some incredible tunes with a really unique feel – work that had a rougher edge than most of the Detroit soul on the bigger labels and indies – often with an earthy quality that's miles and miles from Motown! Label owner Ed McCoy had a great ear for male singers, instrumental combos, and vocal groups – but as the 60s rolled on, he also picked up a few hip female acts as well – and throughout the whole stretch, he had a way of producing a tune that we can only describe best as slightly messed up – a sound that's often slightly tripped up, oddly spacious, and which makes the elements of the music fall into each other with a crashingly intense kind of sound! Far from being a mess, this approach only seems to cook things up more – giving an edge to tracks that might have sounded more lackluster with conventional production – and further electrifying these obscure utterings from the Detroit underground. As with other Numero collections, the work here is wonderfully worth discovering – and presented with full notes, photos, and a history of the label. CD features 19 tracks that include "Bui Bui" by L Hollis & The Mackadoos, "Get It Right" by Soul President, "Crooked Woman" by Edd Henry, "Fever" by Essence, "If You Feel It" by Ms Tyree Sugar Jones, "The Feeling Is Mutual" by Manhattens, "I See Her Pretty Face" by The Grand Prix's, "Let's Give Our Love A Try" by Mae Young, "I'll Be On My Way" by Bob & Fred, "Mini Skirt" by The Sleepwalkers, "Monkey Time Shine" by L Hollis & The Mackadoos, "The Man Puts Sugar In My Soul" by Mae Young, "You Drive Me Crazy" by The Grand Prix's, "Got To Have It" by Soul President, and "Your Replacement Is Here" by Edd Henry. CD

Sparely jazzy grooves from Butter Finger – aka producer Miztani Yukimasa, working in a mode that's kind of his own take on the club jazz sound of recent work from Japan! The record's got a much more programmed feel than some of the more acoustic work of groups like Sleepwalker and Soil & Pimp Sessions – but most tracks also have a focus on isolated instrumentation that steps out in the mix, either acoustic piano, tenor, or soprano sax. Plus, a few cuts have vocals, coming off with a warmer quality that reminds us of Jazztronik's best work – jazzy, with a bit of soul – and with plenty of organic grooves that more than offset the sequencing and programs on the tunes. Titles include "New Horizon", "Whispers Of Autumn", "The Moon", "Everything", "Nov 6", "Waiting For A Long Time", "Tek Blues", and "The Monster". CD