Soprano sax great Steve Lacy's brilliant run of solo, duo and trio efforts for Italy's Soul Note label from the early 80s to mid 90s – 6 great albums in one killer CD box set in the Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note series! The set includes Lacy's The Flame set featuring pianist Bobby Few and drummer Dennis Charles from 1982, the excellent solo Monk tributes Only Monk and More Monk from '85 and '89, the duo efforts Sempre Amore and Communique with Mal Waldron (recorded in '86 and '94) and the 1988 trio set The Window featuring bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel and drummer Oliver Johnson. Each CD comes in cardboard replica of the original albums and each is remastered. CD

A relatively small slice of the long and storied career of tenorist Archie Shepp – but a great one too, and a set of records that marks some of Shepp's more spiritual modes at the time! The package might well be worth it alone for the classic Sea Of Faces – a great little set from Archie Shepp – one of his strongest of the 70s, and a real return to the kind of spiritual jamming he was doing at the end of his time with Impulse Records! The album's well-known for it's great track "Song For Mozambique" – a spare and righteous number that features Bunny Fox singing in a sweet spiritual mode, while Charles Greenlee and Shepp recite chants over the jamming grooves of the band. Fox also sings on the mellow and soulful "I Know Bout The Life", and the Shepp group picks up a straight but hard mode on Cal Massey's great track "Lookin For Someone To Love". The extended jammer "Hipnosis" takes up all of side one – and it's a great little groover that builds nicely with a comping rhythm, yet which gives the band some nice room to solo in an exploratory fashion. Down Home New York is an overlooked killer from Archie Shepp – a set that almost recalls some of the spiritual moments of his later Impulse work, and which definitely has him moving past some of the straighter sounds of this period in his career! Things are never too outside or free, but there's a balance with straightness that's really great – so that when the rhythms are gentle, Archie might really take off in an edgey solo – or when the grooves have more force, he might hang inside with a soulful core energy, holding the whole group together. There's some great use of electric bass on the date – played by Saheb Sarbib – and other players include Charles McGhee on trumpet, Ken Warner on piano, and Marvin Smitty Smith on drums. Players vocalize a bit at times – in an older Shepp way – and titles include "Down Home New York", "May 16th", "Down Home New York", "Straight Street", and "The 4th World". Little Red Moon features some nicely spiritual currents too – with a group that includes Enrico Rava on trumpet – on titles that include "Naima", "Impromptu", "Whisper Not", and "Little Red Moon". California Meeting is a live set from the west coast – featuring some very long tracks with George Cables on piano, Herbie Lewis on bass, and Eddie Marshall on drums – plus bluesman Royal Blue on one track too. All four albums come in a box, in tiny recor-style sleeves! CD

A pivotal record from Lou Donaldson – one that has him forging out some of his first funky soul jazz sounds, moving from his bop roots, and working with a hip young group that includes Grant Green and John Patton, both of whom he discovered and brought to Blue Note (thanks Lou!) The tracks have a tight jaunty feel – very much like those on Patton's mid 60s sides for Blue Note, with lots of room for each player to solo intently – but still a strong focus on the overall groove of the ensemble. Cover's very nice – and tracks include "Funky Mama", "Spaceman Twist", and "Nice n Greasy". CD features one bonus track too – "People Will Say We're In Love". CD

One of the greatest albums ever recorded by hardbop trombone legend Bennie Green – an all-star sextet session that cooks like a mofo! The group features the twin tenors of Billy Root and Gene Ammons (billed just as "Jug" on the session, because of contractual reasons) – and it crackles with electricity from a rhythm section that features Ike Isaacs on bass, Sonny Clark on piano, and Elvin Jones on drums. There's some fantastic tracks on here, including Babs Gonzales' "Lullaby of the Doomed", and a monster jam called "We Wanna Cook", which was once described to us as "all you ever need to have a house party" – to which we wholeheartedly agree! Other tracks include "Black Pearl", "BG Mambo", and "Soul Stirrin" – and the album's one of the heaviest duty Blue Notes from the time! CD

A key meeting between the Three Sounds trio and the amazing Monk Higgins – done at a time when Higgins was taking his Chicago-crafted grooves to work on the west coast – and doing some really wonderful productions with Dee Ervin! The set features full Higgins backings throughout – a mix of jazz and strings that takes the usual Gene Harris sound into territory that you'd be much more likely to hear on Cadet Records back in Chi-town – a very hip, very soulful style that's totally great throughout, and a much-needed break from the straighter piano trio sound of other 60s albums the group did on Blue Note. Some tracks are laidback, but others are hard and funky – the kind of sock-solid cuts that have made the album a favorite with sample heads and soul dancers over the years – much heavier keyboard work than we'd ever heard before from Gene Harris, and a great precursor to funky favorites to come. Cuts include the excellent numbers "Sitting Duck", "Sugar Hill", "Black Gold", and "Book of Slim" – plus "Elegant Soul", "African Sweets", and "Walls Of Respect". CD

A key meeting between the Three Sounds trio and the amazing Monk Higgins – done at a time when Higgins was taking his Chicago-crafted grooves to work on the west coast – and doing some really wonderful productions with Dee Ervin! The set features full Higgins backings throughout – a mix of jazz and strings that takes the usual Gene Harris sound into territory that you'd be much more likely to hear on Cadet Records back in Chi-town – a very hip, very soulful style that's totally great throughout, and a much-needed break from the straighter piano trio sound of other 60s albums the group did on Blue Note. Some tracks are laidback, but others are hard and funky – the kind of sock-solid cuts that have made the album a favorite with sample heads and soul dancers over the years – much heavier keyboard work than we'd ever heard before from Gene Harris, and a great precursor to funky favorites to come. Cuts include the excellent numbers "Sitting Duck", "Sugar Hill", "Black Gold", and "Book of Slim" – plus "Elegant Soul", "African Sweets", and "Walls Of Respect". CD

An excellent set of sophisticated soul cuts from Marlena Shaw – and a album that more than lives up to the title! Marlena really sparkles here – thanks to impeccable arrangements by Wade Marcus that perfectly mix together jazz and soul – finding that unique space that Shaw and a handful of other singers were exploring at the time. As with some of her other Blue Note albums, the record's got a great sense of cohesion – beginning with a nice dramatic prelude, which then gives way to sublime vocals from Merlena. Along with the soulful strings, the instrumentation includes lots of clavinet and electric piano – another nice approach, one that ushers a little bit of funk into the mix – and titles include "Easy Evil", "Hum This Song", "But For Now", "The Feeling's Good", "Just Don't Want To Be Lonely", Wildflower", "Waterfall", and "Say A Good Word". LP, Vinyl record album

Two of Horace's best late 60s groovers – both done with a hard-rolling soul jazz approach! "Psychedelic Sally" is particularly nice – with a strutting little hook that made the track one of the bigger Blue Notes of the time! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A great collection of grooves – as some of Blue Note's best soul jazz artists of the 60s and 70s take on a host of funky tunes and soul music classics. The vibe is great throughout – and most cuts are instrumentals, based around tunes that you might know, but redone here with that great Blue Note funkosity that made the label so wonderful! Titles include "Think" by Lonnie Smith, "As" by Gene Harris, "Pillow Talk" by Lou Donaldson, "Ain't That Peculiar" by Big John Patton, "If You Really Love Me" by Grant Green, "Feel Like Makin Love" by Marlena Shaw, "Me & Mrs Jones" by Ronnie Foster, "Soul Limbo" by Candido, "I'll Be There" by Hank Mobley, "Mr Big Stuff" by Reuben Wilson, "People Make The World Go Round" by Bobby Hutcherson, "Can't Hide Love" by Carmen McRae, and "Just My Imagination" by Donald Byrd. CD

One of the greatest albums ever recorded by hardbop trombone legend Bennie Green – an all-star sextet session that cooks like a mofo! The group features the twin tenors of Billy Root and Gene Ammons (billed just as "Jug" on the session, because of contractual reasons) – and it crackles with electricity from a rhythm section that features Ike Isaacs on bass, Sonny Clark on piano, and Elvin Jones on drums. There's some fantastic tracks on here, including Babs Gonzales' "Lullaby of the Doomed", and a monster jam called "We Wanna Cook", which was once described to us as "all you ever need to have a house party" – to which we wholeheartedly agree! Other tracks include "Black Pearl", "BG Mambo", and "Soul Stirrin" – and the album's one of the heaviest duty Blue Notes from the time! LP, Vinyl record album

Features Michel Petrucciani on piano, Dave Holland on bass, and Ed Blackwell on drums! CD

A seminal album from altoist Jackie McLean – and a set that serves as a key bridge between his mid 60s avant work in the "new thing" scene, and the deeper, spiritual sounds he'd play in years to come! There's a sense of balance here that grabs us right from the start – especially on the album's leadoff track "Soul" – written by Grachan Moncur, and featuring this very hip, very righteous spoken passage from Barbara Simmons – kind of a discourse on the idiom of the title! The group features key McLean associates – a young Woody Shaw on trumpet, plus Moncur on trombone, Lamont Johnson on piano, Scotty Holt on bass, and Rashied Ali on drums – and titles include "Soul", "Big Ben's Voice", "Conversion Point", and "Erdu". LP, Vinyl record album

Simply astounding! Soul Station is a deceptively simple album that has tenor giant Hank Mobley playing standards and originals in a quartet with Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Blakey on drums– a spare and simple group, but one with a direct energy that's really amazing – in a way that makes for some of Mobley's best solos on record! The tracks here are all relatively basic in construction, but this territory allows all players to really relax and open up – especially Mobley, who really dominates the proceedings with some well-blown lines on tenor. Blakey's work is great too – nicely restrained, and the date marks one of his last sessions ever as a sideman. Titles include "Soul Station", "Split Feelin's", "Dig Dis", and "This I Dig Of You". CD

One of the few Blue Note albums with a bossa groove – and a great one too! The record features soulful tenor star Ike Quebec blowing in front of Brazilian-styled rhythms laid out by a combo that includes Kenny Burrell on guitar, and a duo of Latin percussionists! Willie Bobo plays drums on the session, and the cuts have a short groovy feel, with a sax-heavy lead, in a similar style to Stan Getz's bossa work on Verve – but much more soulful overall, and with a nicely rougher feel on the rhythms. Really great stuff, and with titles that include "Loie", "Goin Home", "Favela", "Blue Samba", and "Shu Shu". Features 3 bonus tracks too! CD

The quintessential sound of late 60s Horace Silver – on one hand still very much in the Blue Note soul jazz groove that earned him plenty of jukebox single play, but on the other hand really stretching out with a style that's a bit more righteous than before! Horace shows that he can still pen a hit when he wants – and gave the world the tune "Psychedelic Sally" with this set – but he also displays a penchant for more complicated rhythms and freer horn expressions on beautiful tunes like "Kindred Spirits", "Rain Dance", and "Jungle Juice". The group's filled with great players – from tenor work by Stanley Turrentine and Bennie Maupin, trumpet by Charles Tolliver, and drums by a young Billy Cobham! LP, Vinyl record album

George Braith is one of our favorites! His style of playing odd reed instruments, sometimes simultaneously, is a lot like Roland Kirk, but he has more of a swingin' hard bop feel to his music than Kirk. This LP, cut with Grant Green, and the great, underrated organ of Billy Gardner, has a very similar feel to the Larry Young/Grant Green efforts. The groove is funky, but also really modal – and the solos stretch a lot farther than you'd expect! Titles include "Jo Anne", "Boop Bop Bing", "Billy Told", and "Soul Stream". LP, Vinyl record album

A pivotal record from Lou Donaldson – one that has him forging out some of his first funky soul jazz sounds, moving from his bop roots, and working with a hip young group that includes Grant Green and John Patton, both of whom he discovered and brought to Blue Note (thanks Lou!) The tracks have a tight jaunty feel – very much like those on Patton's mid 60s sides for Blue Note, with lots of room for each player to solo intently – but still a strong focus on the overall groove of the ensemble. Cover's very nice – and tracks include "Funky Mama", "Spaceman Twist", and "Nice n Greasy". CD features one bonus track too – "People Will Say We're In Love". CD

Heavy soul from Ike Quebec – one of Blue Note's greatest players of the 78 era in the 40s, stepping out here on one of his brilliant comeback sets from the early 60s! The set features Ike blowing in an all soul jazz mode – working with a quartet that includes some great work from organist Freddie Roach – swinging here in a great straight ahead mode, and really pushing Ike to lay out some of the best solos of his later Blue Note years. There's a few tracks on the set that step out in a tight modal jazz groove – organ vamping as Ike blows away – and titles include "Heavy Soul", "Que's Dilemma", "Acquitted", and a very spooky version of "Nature Boy". LP, Vinyl record album

Plenty of sass, and plenty of soul – a great mix of modes from the mighty Lou Donaldson! The set has Lou expanding his sound a bit from the harder funk of Blue Note dates from a few years before – working with arranger George Butler, who gives the record a cool electric vibe – almost like some hip early 70s soundtrack! Great proof of that is Donaldson's classic take on the "Sanford & Son Theme" – done here in a way that stretches out a lot more than the original – and other nice funky tracks include "Inner Space" and "Sassy Soul Strut". LP, Vinyl record album

Great work from Billy Bang's early 80s years on Soul Note Records – a time when he really seemed to find a new focus in his music – totally taking off in great new directions that are always a joy to discover! There's a positive feel to this record that's undeniable – a pushed-forward quality that has Bang leading a host of avant players through some mostly straighter territory – often vamping nicely with a rhythmic pulse, then letting themselves free at points to reach the outer limits of their sound. Players include Charles Tyler on alto and baritone sax, Curtis Clark on piano, Wilber Morris on bass, and Dennis Charles on drums – and the set features a sublime reading of "Invitation", plus "An Addition To Tradition", "A Pebble Is A Small Rock", "In A Minute", and "Secret Society". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Features Claudio Fasoli on tenor and soprano, Kenny Wheeler on trumpet, Jean Francois Jenny Clark on bass, and Daniel Humair on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic lost bit of soul jazz from the 60s! The great reedman George Braith makes a rare non-Blue Note appearance here – working in a tightly grooving mode that's even groovier than his better-known work for that label! The group here features Grant Green on guitar and John Patton on organ – in a mode that's somewhat similar to Patton's Blue John album from the same period – a set that also featured these three players in the lead! Braith himself has a wonderfully quirky approach here – one that's a fair bit like Roland Kirk, with lots of odd twists and turns on the reeds – which include not just tenor sax, but also soprano and C Melody saxophone as well – sometimes played together, ala Kirk! Braith's tone is amazing, and the set of tracks is nearly all original – with titles that include "Hot Sauce", "Chop Sticks", "Chunky Cheeks", "Crenshaw West", and "Coolodge". A truly fantastic Prestige album – but one that's always sadly overlooked! LP, Vinyl record album

A groundbreaking album of vocal group soul – right from the first note! The record kicks off with the sublime "Ready Or Not, Here I Come" – which starts with fierce stepping strings that are actually funky, then soars into some of the best harmonies the group ever put to record, superbly arranged by the great Thom Bell, who also wrote the track. As the album progresses, the sound expands further to encompass many elements that would become the blueprint for vocal groups over the next few years – like twangy electric sitar, cascading orchestrations, and pinched lead vocals that take a lot more chances than most group singers had been taking for years! There's still a bit of a 60s soul sound to some of the cuts, but the album's a watershed – not only for Thom Bell and the group, but for harmony soul as well! Titles include "Ready Or Not Here I Come", "My New Love", "Loving Him", "With These Hands", "Somebody Loves You", and "Everytime I See My Baby". CD

A gospel record, but one that lets you know that there's something different going on from the very first note – which seems to be the kind of sound you'd expect more from a blacksploitation soundtrack than any kind of album cooked up in a church! That difference hangs on throughout the entire set – which might well rank up there with some of the most soulful gospel albums of all time – a distinction that's even more amazing when you flip over the cover, and realize that some of the members of the group were kids! Yet the album has a much deeper sound than any children's chorus records of the time – and maybe could be seen as a gospel equivalent to the famous Latin album by the Harlem Youth Percussion Ensemble – a set that's equally rare in the original, and equally deep in terms of quality. Titles include "Anyway", "Will You Be Ready", "My Soul Says Yes", "Love Is The Answer", "I'm Prayin", "Don't Let Your Heart Be Troubled", and "Standing Looking Over Jordan". CD

A key album in the career of Richard Groove Holmes – his first session ever for Prestige Records, and the one that yielded the monster crossover hit version of "Misty"! The sound here is much leaner and cleaner than Groove in his Pacific Jazz years – a tight trio approach that brings plenty focus on Holmes' soaring style on the Hammond – that way of holding a note that made his organ work instantly recognizable in the 60s, in a groove that really set the tone for plenty of spacious keyboard work to come from others who would cop his style! Players include Gene Edwards on guitar and Jimmie Smith on drums – but Groove's organ dominates the records, and clearly sets the tone for the rhythm with his amazing sense of space and timing! Titles include a 6 minute version of Groove's "Misty", plus "Groove's Groove", "Song For My Father", and "Soul Message". LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant soul from the Detroit underground of the late 60s – a full set of work by vocalist Little Ann, issued here for the first time ever! You might recognize Ann's name from her appearance on a few of the Ace/Kent Records issues of material by Detroit producer Dave Hamilton over the years – and the work here all comes from those classic collaborations with Hamilton – trapped on tape for many years, always contemplated as a possible Little Ann album – but only issued in full all these many years later! The groove here is as offbeat as some of Dave's other great work – not nearly as tight, or uptight, as Motown music – and instead, done with a sly undercurrent of darkness on most numbers, even the mellower ones – almost that earliest mix of Detroit styles that you get on pre-fame singles from Westbound Records artists. Ann's vocals are nice and lean, and slide right into the mix with ease – heartfelt enough to grab us right away, yet without any obvious cliches as well. Titles include "What Should I Do", "Deep Shadows", "Possession", "Who Are You Trying To Fool", "Sweep It Out In The Shed", "The Smile On Your Face", and "I Got To Have You". Note that the record was mostly issued in a different form by Timmion Records – as the record Deep Shadows – save for the mixes of "What Should I Do" and "I Got To Have You" – both of which are unissued mixes that appear here for the first time. LP, Vinyl record album

An extraordinary document of Mobley's earliest recordings for the Blue Note label! This box collects some of Mobley's hardest to find recordings and comprises of the LPs Hank Mobley Quartet, Hank Mobley Sextet, Hank Mobley & His All Stars, Hank Mobley Quintet, Hank, Hank Mobley, Curtain Call, Poppin' and Peckin' Time! Whew! If you know any of those albums, you know this is one whopping batch of hard bop that showcases the tenorist's soul jazz roots beautifully. The sidemen hear read like a who's who of the east coast scene of the 50s, with Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Donald Byrd, Lee Morgan, Milt Jackson, Art Farmer, John Jenkins, Sonny Clark, Kenny Dorham, Pepper Adams, Paul Chambers, Wynton Kelly and Philly Joe Jones all making appearances. There's a total of 56 tracks spread out over 6 discs, including titles like "Hank's Prank", 'Walkin' The Fence", "Just Coolin'", "Touch & Go", "Double Whammy", "Barrel Of Funk", "Lower Stratosphere", "Mobley's Musings", "Funk In Deep Freeze", "Wham & They're Off", "Startin' From Scratch", "Hi Groove, Low Feedback", "Double Exposure", "Don't Get Too Hip", "Poppin'", "East Of Brooklyn", "High & Flighty" and "Peckin' Time". CD

An incredible record from funky drummer Idris Muhammad! Idris is probably known for his funky break work on Blue Note and Prestige records sessions of the late 60s and early 70s – but by the time of this 1974 album, he was really expanding his style, hitting a laidback groove that went way beyond the simple drum break, into a world of complicated fills and riffs that forever changed the face of funk. The best example of this is the album's standout groove – the massive cut "Loran's Dance", which has a mellow jazzy vibe that you'll recognize from its popular use as a sample cut over the years (by the Beastie Boys, DJ Shadow, and others.) All cuts are long and mellow, and other titles include "Power Of Soul", "Saddest Thing" and "Piece of Mind". CD

An incredible record from funky drummer Idris Muhammad! Idris is probably known for his funky break work on Blue Note and Prestige records sessions of the late 60s and early 70s – but by the time of this 1974 album, he was really expanding his style, hitting a laidback groove that went way beyond the simple drum break, into a world of complicated fills and riffs that forever changed the face of funk. The best example of this is the album's standout groove – the massive cut "Loran's Dance", which has a mellow jazzy vibe that you'll recognize from its popular use as a sample cut over the years (by the Beastie Boys, DJ Shadow, and others.) All cuts are long and mellow, and other titles include "Power Of Soul", "Saddest Thing" and "Piece of Mind". LP, Vinyl record album

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Now out of print, and a heck of a great little set of rare and unissued tracks from the glory days of the Blue Note funk scene! For most of the 80s and early 90s, Blue Note US used to bad mouth the stuff from this period – but by the mid 90s, demand for the funky stuff from collectors and DJs led Blue Note to dig back in the vaults, and come up with this tasty batch of goodies! Titles include "It's Your Thing" by Grant Green, "Brother Soul (alternate)" by Lou Donaldson, "You Want Me To Stop Loving You" by Stanley Turrentine, "Dancin In An Easy Groove" by Lonnie Smith, "Village Lee (alternate)" by John Patton, "The Scorpion (alternate)" by Lou Donaldson, and "Hold On, I'm Comin" by Reuben Wilson. CD

Wicked work by Bobby Timmons – two albums recorded during a less-documented period in the life of this amazing soul jazz pianist, both of them killers all the way through! Bobby got his start in the group of Art Blakey – where he first wrote some incredible soul jazz hits, and got the chance to record a number of mellower sides for Riverside. But by the time of these two albums – Little Barefoot Soul and Chun-King – Timmons' was one of the more free-thinking pianists in jazz – still a soul jazz player who could groove like a mofo, but willing to stretch things out and mess up the groove a bit more than the rest. Both of these sides are trio ones, but that doesn't stop them from being as intense as any of Timmons' larger group sessions, as the interplay between bass, drums, and piano is incredible – filled with fire, soul, and a sense of space that makes each note count a heck of a lot more than on some of the showier sides by other players. We love both of these records to death, and it's wonderful to have them together on one CD – so that we can plug in, kick back, and listen to over 70 minutes of work by one of our favorite piano players ever! Titles include "A Little Barefoot Soul", "Chun King", "Walking Death", "O Grande Amor", "Getting It Together", "Ain't Thinkin Bout It", and "Cut Me Loose Charlie". CD

Hard and heavy female soul from the mighty Chess Records – and a selection of tracks that features plenty of funk in the mix too! The sisters on this set are not of the sobbing kind – as the package goes for a proud-stepping approach to soul that puts the ladies in charge right from the very first note – backing their deeply soulful vocals with a righteous set of backings, and really upping the power of tunes with some sock-solid production all the way through! Most of the tunes are from the late 60s, when Chess was bringing a good deal of funk into the mix – and plenty are from rare singles that haven't been reissued for years! 20 tracks in all, and part of this great Mojo Chess series – with titles that include "Dirty Man" by Laura Lee, "Git Out" by Mitty Collier, "Liberation Conversation" by Marlena Shaw, "Take Me For A Little While" by Jackie Ross, "Don't Mess With The Messer" by Koko Taylor, "In Orbit" by Joy Lovejoy, "Cheater Man" by Irma Thomas, "Sally Go Round The Roses" by The Jaynettes, "California Soul" by Marlena Shaw, "My Babe" by Mitty Collier, "I Surrender" by Fontella Bass, and "I Don't Wanna Fuss" by Sugar Pie Desanto. CD

Clifford Brown only recorded a handful of sides for Blue Note – but all of the best ones are included in this excellent album – a full length set that culls together Brown's material from the 10" years, issued as a memorial to his early death in 1956! Side one features Brown with the modernist Gigi Gryce on flute and alto sax – plus Charlie Rouse on tenor, John Lewis on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Art Blakey on drums – a lineup that has a strong sense of soul, balanced with a dose of modernism – on titles that include the classic "Hymn to the Orient" – worth the price of the album alone – plus "Easy Living", "Cherokee", "Wail Bait", and "Minor Mood". Side two features an equally sharp group – with Lou Donaldson on some excellent alto, and the great Elmo Hope on piano – on titles that include "Brownie Speaks", "De Dah", "Cookin", "You Go To My Head", and "Carving The Rock". CD

Extremely solid work from Clifford Jordan, recorded during one of the richest points in his career – the mid 70s, when he was working with pianist Cedar Walton and bassist Sam Jones, plus drummer Albert Tootie Heath on this session (replacing regular drummer Billy Higgins.) This quartet period of Jordan's career yielded some fantastic sides – open-ended records that were as steeped in bop as they were 70s modal soul jazz. Like this set, recorded at the Half Note, most of the sides were live – and show Jordan and company shifting easily from mode to mode across a single set. Titles include the classic originals "Glass Bead Games", "Midnight Waltz", "The Holy Land", and "The Highest Mountain". CD

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A gospel record, but one that lets you know that there's something different going on from the very first note – which seems to be the kind of sound you'd expect more from a blacksploitation soundtrack than any kind of album cooked up in a church! That difference hangs on throughout the entire set – which might well rank up there with some of the most soulful gospel albums of all time – a distinction that's even more amazing when you flip over the cover, and realize that some of the members of the group were kids! Yet the album has a much deeper sound than any children's chorus records of the time – and maybe could be seen as a gospel equivalent to the famous Latin album by the Harlem Youth Percussion Ensemble – a set that's equally rare in the original, and equally deep in terms of quality. Titles include "Anyway", "Will You Be Ready", "My Soul Says Yes", "Love Is The Answer", "I'm Prayin", "Don't Let Your Heart Be Troubled", and "Standing Looking Over Jordan". LP, Vinyl record album

Don't be put off by the title of the set – because it's not some snoozy "after hours" album of ballads! Instead, it's a great pairing of two rare cookers from the great Willis Jackson – both of them hard-wailing sets that cook in a classic 60s organ/tenor mode! Loose is from 1963, and features Willis grooving in some wonderfully uptight soul jazz lines – working in a format that's a bit more gutbuckety than some of his later work – with Carl Wilson playing chunky Hammond grooves, Frank Robinson punching it up on trumpet, and Bill Jones twanging away on guitar. The set includes a very lively reading of "After Hours", plus the tracks "What Will I Tell My Heart" and "Secret Love". Even better is Soul Grabber, from 1967 – one of our favorite album ever by Willis Jackson – and in fact one of our favorite soul jazz sides of the 60s! There's a mad groove here that's quite different than any of Jackson's earlier work – freer, looser, and more experimental – handled with a sound that's almost fuller in the arrangements, but which also gives the soloists more room to groove around. Willis himself plays the amazing gatorhorn on a number of tracks – a long funny-looking variation on the tenor, and a horn that has an almost George Braith or Roland Kirk-like sound. The rest of the group features some great guitar by Wally Richardson and smoking organ by Carl Wilson – plus electric bass at the bottom from Bob Bushnell, a key component to the harder-hitting quality of the grooves. The set features a fantastic version of Baden Powell's "Song of Ossahana", plus great covers of "Sunny", "Girl Talk", and "Ode to Billy Joe" – and the tracks "Soul Grabber", "Alfie", "I Dig Rock & Roll Music", and "Rhode Island Red". For space reasons, the CD omits the track "Y'all" from the album Loose. CD

The fantastic final album from Sharon Jones – a wonderfully deep talent who was taken from us all too soon! The set's maybe the ultimate setting for Sharon's incredible voice – as it features both her longtime core combo, the Dap-Kings – as well as additional backings from the Bushwick Philharmonic – a small ensemble of strings who really help elevate the music to classic status! If you're worried that the strings might soften the sound, the very first note of the record will put your mind at rest – as will the heavy drums that mark just about every track, and keep things hard and funky throughout. If anyone ever doubted that the Daptone label was our modern equivalent of Stax Records or Atlantic, this will certainly be the set to change their mind – and will also stand forever as a bittersweet reminder of all the greatness that Sharon Jones gave us over the years. Titles include "Searching For A New Day", "Rumors", "Matter Of Time", "Sail On", "Just Give Me Your Time", "Come & Be A Winner", "Call On God", and "These Tears". LP, Vinyl record album

The fantastic final album from Sharon Jones – a wonderfully deep talent who was taken from us all too soon! The set's maybe the ultimate setting for Sharon's incredible voice – as it features both her longtime core combo, the Dap-Kings – as well as additional backings from the Bushwick Philharmonic – a small ensemble of strings who really help elevate the music to classic status! If you're worried that the strings might soften the sound, the very first note of the record will put your mind at rest – as will the heavy drums that mark just about every track, and keep things hard and funky throughout. If anyone ever doubted that the Daptone label was our modern equivalent of Stax Records or Atlantic, this will certainly be the set to change their mind – and will also stand forever as a bittersweet reminder of all the greatness that Sharon Jones gave us over the years. Titles include "Searching For A New Day", "Rumors", "Matter Of Time", "Sail On", "Just Give Me Your Time", "Come & Be A Winner", "Call On God", and "These Tears". CD

A jazzy portrait of Cannonball Adderley in his early soul jazz prime – oddly one that doesn't feature his regular quintet lineup, but which more than makes up for that lack with a batch of players that includes Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Bill Evans on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums! Given the personnel, the record's almost kind of a transition from Cannon's brief time with Miles Davis into his tighter more soul-inflected group to come – and Evans' piano provides an especially spacious sensibility here, one that marks the time spent with Miles nicely. Titles include "Nardis", "A Little Taste", "Minority", and "Blue Funk". LP, Vinyl record album