A set that features DiMeola moving into some very dynamic territory – jamming out heavy on a mix of electric and acoustic guitars, with additional help from Paco DeLucia on acoustic at points. The instrumentation also features heavy electric piano from Jan Hammer, other keyboards from Barry Miles, bass from Anthony Jackson, and drums from Steve Gadd and Lenny White – all fusion powerhouse players who really take over the groove at times, but still leave enough room on the record for some gentler sounds from Paco and Al. Titles include "Elegant Gypsy Suite", "Flight Over Rio", "Midnight Tango", and "Race With Devil On Spanish Highway". CD

A set that features Al DiMeola moving into some very dynamic territory – jamming out heavy on a mix of electric and acoustic guitars, with additional help from Paco DeLucia on acoustic at points. The instrumentation also features heavy electric piano from Jan Hammer, other keyboards from Barry Miles, bass from Anthony Jackson, and drums from Steve Gadd and Lenny White – all fusion powerhouse players who really take over the groove at times, but still leave enough room on the record for some gentler sounds from Paco and Al. Titles include "Elegant Gypsy Suite", "Flight Over Rio", "Midnight Tango", and "Race With Devil On Spanish Highway". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that features DiMeola moving into some very dynamic territory – jamming out heavy on a mix of electric and acoustic guitars, with additional help from Paco DeLucia on acoustic at points. The instrumentation also features heavy electric piano from Jan Hammer, other keyboards from Barry Miles, bass from Anthony Jackson, and drums from Steve Gadd and Lenny White – all fusion powerhouse players who really take over the groove at times, but still leave enough room on the record for some gentler sounds from Paco and Al. Titles include "Elegant Gypsy Suite", "Flight Over Rio", "Midnight Tango", and "Race With Devil On Spanish Highway". CD

An excellent lost soul group – with a mix of funk and garage rock that was pretty unique, and which calls to mind some of the mixed-race combos that were playing around the showband scene in the south during the late 60s. The strong-voiced soul singer Wilmer fronts the more rocking Dukes – and the mix is a strong one for the hard grooving soul party crowd, heard most famously in the band's classic version of "Get Out Of My Life, Woman", complete with an excellent tasty drumbreak! Other great tracks include the instrumental "Get It", a version of The Stones' "I'm Free", Billy Stewart's "I Do Love You", and the band's own "Give Me One More Chance". Also includes a version of Steve Miller's excellent "Living In The USA", one of those numbers that's a lot more funky than anyone gives it credit for! LP, Vinyl record album

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An insanely fantastic book on one of our favorite record labels of all time – the All Platinum family of labels from the New Jersey scene of the late 60s/early 70s – a precursor to the later Sugar Hill hip hop empire, and home to The Moments, Whatnauts, and countless other great groups! The book is way more than just the story of the label – as it's super-heavy, weighs as much as a stack of records – and features hundreds of pages with full color images, both of rare records and artists who recorded for All-Platinum too – all in support of chapters that approach the label and its related imprints in a range of different ways. The book not only looks at the big stars, but tackles the lesser-known acts too – and traces all the many sub-labels like Stang, Vibration, A1, Turbo, and Astroscope – then looks at the company's relationship to Chess Records too. The book features an illustrated discography of all the related labels after the main content – with color images of labels and covers – and the whole thing is 532 heavy, glossy pages – well worth the price! Book

A much-needed look at the amazing underground jazz scene in LA – the richly creative spiritual and avant underground that flourished strongly in the 60s, 70s, and 80s! Although the city's best known for its cool jazz of the 50s, there's an even greater amount of left-field jazz that's come from LA – work that rivals eastern scenes like the AACM in Chicago or loft jazz world in 70s New York – but even more righteous and spiritual overall! The book does a great job of laying the groundwork for this scene to emerge – and offers an incredible amount of detail on its evolution – with an especially focused look at Horace Tapscott and his Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, as well as some of the artists who recorded for Nimbus Records. Plus, this updated edition does a wonderful job of showing the continuing legacy of the music well into the 21st century – and also includes an appendix by Roberto Miranda, for a larger volume running well over 420 pages! Book

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With Lacy on soprano sax, Steve Potts on alto and soprano, Bobby Few on piano, Jean Jacques Avenel on bass, Oliver Johnson on drums, and Irene Aebi on vocals and violin. LP, Vinyl record album

French modern meets French traditional – in a really unique set of recordings that pair soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet and pianist Martial Solal! Includes work from 2 different 1957 sessions recorded in Paris – both of which perfectly illustrate the way in which Bechet's tone and phrasing on his instrument could have a huge influence on later modernists like Steve Lacy and Albert Ayler. The work is straight, and often based around standards – but Solal's work on piano sets up the tunes in a way that allows Bechet to really play with his sound – and the record's made even better by the stark production technique, which brings out Bechet's tone better than many other French recordings we've heard. Kenny Clarke drums on about half the tracks, and titles include "Once In A While", "I Only Have Eyes For You", "The Man I Love", "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams", "Embraceable You", "Rose Room", "I Never Knew", and "These Foolish Things". LP, Vinyl record album

Surprisingly wonderful work from Kenny! The album has Kenny's guitar set to arrangements by Gil Evans – who gives the session a modern edge that really sets it apart from other Burrell albums of the time. Kenny's freed to do his thing – wonderfully, we might add – and Gil paints these washes of sound, color, and tone with the help of hip players like Johnny Coles, Louis Mucci, Julius Watkins, Steve Lacy, Richie Kamuca, Elvin Jones, and Lee Konitz. Tracks include "Lotus Land", "Downstairs", "Moon & Sand", "Terrace Theme", "Greensleeves", and "Loie". LP, Vinyl record album

Surprisingly wonderful work from Kenny! The album has Kenny's guitar set to arrangements by Gil Evans – who gives the session a modern edge that really sets it apart from other Burrell albums of the time. Kenny's freed to do his thing – wonderfully, we might add – and Gil paints these washes of sound, color, and tone with the help of hip players like Johnny Coles, Louis Mucci, Julius Watkins, Steve Lacy, Richie Kamuca, Elvin Jones, and Lee Konitz. Tracks include "Lotus Land", "Downstairs", "Moon & Sand", "Terrace Theme", "Greensleeves", and "Loie". LP, Vinyl record album

Surprisingly wonderful work from Kenny! The album has Kenny's guitar set to arrangements by Gil Evans – who gives the session a modern edge that really sets it apart from other Burrell albums of the time. Kenny's freed to do his thing – wonderfully, we might add – and Gil paints these washes of sound, color, and tone with the help of hip players like Johnny Coles, Louis Mucci, Julius Watkins, Steve Lacy, Richie Kamuca, Elvin Jones, and Lee Konitz. Tracks include "Lotus Land", "Downstairs", "Moon & Sand", "Terrace Theme", "Greensleeves", and "Loie". Plus, the CD includes 10 bonus takes of tunes on the set – and comes in a great fold-out cardboard package! CD

An unissued session from pianist David Janeway, done at a time when he was really hitting his stride – moving across the keys of the piano with this intuitive sense of feeling that makes for a very special record! The quality is a bit hard to describe, but if you've heard other Janeway sessions from the 90s, you'll know what we mean – a lyrical swing that's never sleepy or sloppy, and which always seems to sparkle with these fresh combinations of notes, yet never in a way that's trying too hard, or seems forced! The rhythm work of Harvie S on bass and Steve Johns on drums is a perfect complement to Janeway's piano – and on one track, they're joined by Pete Yellin on alto, for a great reading of "Invitation". Other titles include "Last Embrace", "Very Early", "Interchange", "Who Cares", "Return", and "Yours Is My Heart Alone". CD

A series of duet and trio pieces recorded live by pianist Misha Mengelberg – in the company of saxophonist Steve Potts, trumpeter Thomas Herberer, tuba player Michel Godard, and percussionist Achim Kremer – all in ways that are often spare, and graced with the strong feeling of each player staking out their individual space! The overall quality of the record is perhaps a bit more academic than some of Mengelberg's other recordings, but the overall result is still quite nice – and Misha's own piano often breaks through some of the too-contemplative moments with a stronger sense of spirit. Performance features 9 titles in all – each numbered versions of "IC Root". CD

A sweet little album of breezy jazz – with vocals by Joan Johnson on a number of tracks, and that modally grooving post-MPS sound that still resonated strongly on a few German labels at the end of the 70s! The real star here is Peters, whose work on saxes is great – kind of pinched in tone, in a snaking way that bubbles soulfully out of the album's best tracks. Johnson's vocals are nice, too – but they come to their strongest point when really challenged by Peters reed work, and by the driving piano of Walter Norris, who's also in the group. Titles include "Kekay", "Mr Steve", "Wings Of Steve", "Morning Mist", and "Happy Endings". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's a great bridge between the fuller sound of Nina Simone's late 60s material and some of smaller jazz combo work – as the album mostly features Nina working with a smaller group, but already at a level that hints at the righteous rising power in her music! The core combo features Rudy Stevenson on guitar and flute, Bobby Hamilton on drums, and Lisle Atkinson on bass – and one track, "For Myself", features arrangements by Horace Ott – and another, "Images", was recorded live – but overall, the album's got a warmly intimate feel that's really great, and which has Nina singing in that perfect sharp-edged mode of the time. Titles include "Chauffeur", "The Other Woman", "This Year's Kisses", "Nearer Blessed Lord", "Ballad of Hollis Brown" and "Don't Explain". LP, Vinyl record album

Legendary work from the British jazz scene of the early 70s – served up here by a group of important players who made some amazing music in the years before, two of whom would leave the planet not long after these legendary recordings! Splinters never issued a full album at the time – partly due to the loss of some members – but their music represents this key crossroads in all the development that had taken place in UK jazz during the crucial late 60s/early 70s years – maybe no surprise, given that the lineup features drums from Phil Seamen and John Stevens, who each are recorded in a different channel – plus tenor and flute from Tubby Hayes, alto from Trevor Watts, trumpet and flugelhorn from Kenny Wheeler, and bass from Jeff Clyne. The great Stan Tracey also plays piano on most tracks – and all the musicians are very much opening up their bag, even sounding more expressively experimental than on some of their famous studio sides from the period. The package features two rare live recordings from the short-lived group – 9 tracks recorded at the 100 Club, and 6 more recorded at Grass Roots. This is a very limited edition 3 CD set – housed in 12" square, 34 page hardcover book – with dozens of previously unseen images from the 100 Club and Grass Roots shows by legendary British jazz photographer Jak Kilby, and an extensive essay on the history of the group by Simon Spillett including interviews with Trevor Watts, Jeff Clyne, and Clark Tracey. CD

Later than the classic vintage of Erroll Parker's work for the Sahara label – but an excellent album of large ensemble soul jazz tracks that's really great all the way through! The group's a tentet, and they're boldly expressive – bursting out with a sense of power that's almost more focused than some of Parker's earlier music, with some especially sharp edges on the horn work in the set. Players include Steve Coleman on alto, Wallace Roney and Graham Haynes on trumpets, Bill Saxton on tenor, and Robin Eubanks on trombone – and the cuts all have Parker's heavy drum sound in the groove, dancing along with guitar at a rhythmic pace that keeps things nice and lively! Titles include "Baobab", "The Dancer", "Chega De Saudade", and "Three Blind Mice". LP, Vinyl record album

An unissued session from pianist David Janeway, done at a time when he was really hitting his stride – moving across the keys of the piano with this intuitive sense of feeling that makes for a very special record! The quality is a bit hard to describe, but if you've heard other Janeway sessions from the 90s, you'll know what we mean – a lyrical swing that's never sleepy or sloppy, and which always seems to sparkle with these fresh combinations of notes, yet never in a way that's trying too hard, or seems forced! The rhythm work of Harvie S on bass and Steve Johns on drums is a perfect complement to Janeway's piano – and on one track, they're joined by Pete Yellin on alto, for a great reading of "Invitation". Other titles include "Last Embrace", "Very Early", "Interchange", "Who Cares", "Return", and "Yours Is My Heart Alone". CD

A lovely little tribute to the genius of Joao Gilberto – and quite possibly the best album we've ever heard from vocalist Ithamara Koorax! The set's quite spare – just Ithamara's vocals and a bit of guitar to back her up – and the stripped-down setting hardly gives Koorax any room to hide – putting her right out front in the mix, to carry the tunes both in terms of rhythm and melody! She handles both beautifully, with a depth of singing that goes beyond what we've already heard in her other great records – and her interpretation of the tunes goes way past any simple bossa cliches, into a deeply personal space that really comes through on some of the album's English language tracks. Titles include "Bim Bom", "Minha Saudade", "Valsa", "Voce Esteve", "Acapulco", "Undiu", "Joao Marcelo", "Glass Beads", and "An Embrace To Bonfa". CD

Archie Shepp is one of the most unique players in jazz – an artist who started out completely avant at the beginning of his career, then moved to spiritual jazz explorations, then to straighter jazz material in later decades – but always with all that knowledge of the edges and farther realms of jazz he explored in his other music! That's definitely the case here – as Shepp takes on a host of ballads, but with all these edges and dark passages that are completely different than you'd hear from any other player – cast beautifully with help from Horace Parlan on piano, Wayne Dockery on bass, and Steve McRaven on drums. Shepp blows alto and tenor, and in addition to the titles "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "Lush Life", "Angel Eyes", "All Too Soon", and "Embraceable You" – the set also features Shepp originals "Deja Vu" and "I Know About The Life". LP, Vinyl record album

Music from U2, Steve Winwood, Marianne Faithfull, Free, Traffic, Grace Jones, Sly & Robbie, Millie, Gwen Guthrie, Jimmie Cliff, Tom Waits, Will Powers & more. CD

An early session from German pianist Wolfgang Dauner – one with a sound that's every bit as great as you'd expect from the title! The "dream talk" component here is one that comes from Dauner's gentle, yet modern approach to the keys – one that's clearly learning lessons from 50s modernists like George Russell or Bill Evans, but which is stretching out here in some of the bolder freedoms of the European scene at the time – a precursor to later modes on MPS and Saba, but performed here with a bit more careful restraint. The record's nicely free from some of the overindulgences of some of Dauner's 70s sides, and is an acoustic effort throughout – extremely imaginative, with a "set free" quality that's also never too "out", nor too full of itself – a bit like the best early recordings by Steve Kuhn. Wolfgang's approach to the keys is nothing less than revelatory – and he receives well matched accompaniment from bassist Eberhard Weber and drummer Fred Braceful. Titles include "Free Fall", "Dammerung", "Soul Eyes", "A Long Night", "Dream Talk", and "Bird Food". CD