An amazing batch of sophisticated soul tracks – and a favorite with the righteous groove scene! On the surface, the record's a combination of jazz and soul tracks in the same mode that you'd find on some of Nancy Wilson's albums for Capitol during the same time – but digging deeper, you'll find an undercurrent of politics, feminism, and social commentary delivered with surprising intensity. Marlena Shaw's voice is generally sweet, but she's set up in some extremely powerful arrangements by Richard Evans and Charles Stepney that recast even the simplest phrase into a whole new setting of strength and pride – and Bobby Miller of Dells fame also helped make the record what it is, and helped write some of the best songs on the record. The set includes Marlena's classic original reading of "Woman Of The Ghetto", which has been sampled by just about everyone, plus "California Soul", which has a nice hard break, and the tunes "Liberation Conversation", "Where Can I Go?", and the original version of "Go Away Little Boy" – as sweet a statement of womanhood if there ever was one! CD

With Jeff Berlin on bass and Bill Bruford on electronic drums, drums, and percussion. CD

An amazing batch of sophisticated soul tracks – and a favorite with the righteous groove scene! On the surface, the record's a combination of jazz and soul tracks in the same mode that you'd find on some of Nancy Wilson's albums for Capitol during the same time – but digging deeper, you'll find an undercurrent of politics, feminism, and social commentary delivered with surprising intensity. Marlena Shaw's voice is generally sweet, but she's set up in some extremely powerful arrangements by Richard Evans and Charles Stepney that recast even the simplest phrase into a whole new setting of strength and pride – and Bobby Miller of Dells fame also helped make the record what it is, and helped write some of the best songs on the record. The set includes Marlena's classic original reading of "Woman Of The Ghetto", which has been sampled by just about everyone, plus "California Soul", which has a nice hard break, and the tunes "Liberation Conversation", "Where Can I Go?", and the original version of "Go Away Little Boy" – as sweet a statement of womanhood if there ever was one! CD

An amazing batch of sophisticated soul tracks – and a favorite with the righteous groove scene! On the surface, the record's a combination of jazz and soul tracks in the same mode that you'd find on some of Nancy Wilson's albums for Capitol during the same time – but digging deeper, you'll find an undercurrent of politics, feminism, and social commentary delivered with surprising intensity. Marlena Shaw's voice is generally sweet, but she's set up in some extremely powerful arrangements by Richard Evans and Charles Stepney that recast even the simplest phrase into a whole new setting of strength and pride – and Bobby Miller of Dells fame also helped make the record what it is, and helped write some of the best songs on the record. The set includes Marlena's classic original reading of "Woman Of The Ghetto", which has been sampled by just about everyone, plus "California Soul", which has a nice hard break, and the tunes "Liberation Conversation", "Where Can I Go?", and the original version of "Go Away Little Boy" – as sweet a statement of womanhood if there ever was one! LP, Vinyl record album

With Kazumi Watanabe on guitars, Bill Bruford on electronic drums, Jeff Berlin on bass, and Peter Vettese on keyboards. CD

A really beautiful story of a life well-lived in jazz – the autobiography of our hometown hero Ramsey Lewis, done in collaboration with jazz writer Aaron Cohen – who really helps bring a lot out of Ramsey's story! Lewis passed on before the book was finished, but managed to lay out some well-done passages about his life and music – a story that's maybe as much that of Chicago in changing years of 20th Century culture as it is that of the famous pianist himself – augmented with snippets of recollections from associates and contemporaries – never used too heavily, in the way that some books do to prop up flimsy writing – and instead, interspersed in just the right way, to bring some added spice to the tale. Ramsey was always one of the most articulate cats on the scene, and his presentation of the material is great – very straightforward, but also very thoughtful – and full from some of the overdone cliches that sometimes creep into music autobiography. Aaron Cohen provides a great introduction to the material, and after thoughts on notes and process – and this softcover edition has a small section of black and white photographs as well. Book

Plenty of groove, and plenty of spice – a set that has the heavy Holmes taking off in his best 60s soul jazz formation! The tracks are extremely tight – a bit shorter than usual, but in a really good way – almost to show that Grove Holmes could pack plenty of niceness into a tune, with less room than other players needed! Rhythms are great – tightly snapping throughout, and definitely in a "Misty" vibe – and the session features great guitar work from both Gene Edwards and Boogaloo Joe Jones, plus drums from George Randall, and some especially nice congas from Richard Landrum – which gives many numbers a sweetly skipping groove. Loads of fantastic covers here, that really transform the tunes – and titles include "If I Had A Hammer", "Old Folks", "123", "Never On A Sunday", "Boo D Doo", "Work Song", and "Day In The Life Of A Fool". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes songs by the 1910 Fruitgum Company, the Genells, Chelsea Boys, Tidal Wave, Teri Nelson Group, JWC Ratfinks, Rare Breed, Magid Triplets, Spice Of Life, and others – 31 tracks total. CD

Some of the wildest music we've ever heard from the legendary Jeanne Lee – and that may be because the work here comes from the archives of drummer Sven Ake Johansson, whose madness is clearly a big part of the set! The work was recorded live on the Berliner Jazztage in 1971, and features Lee's vocals with the vibes and flute of musical/life partner Gunter Hampel – but spiced up a lot with electronics from Michael Waisvisz, who uses a version of the Putney to create some really cool sounds! Freddy Gosseye plays bass, and Johansson is his usual mad self on drums – and also plays a bit of accordion and oboe. The set features a single extended improvised performance. LP, Vinyl record album