Sim-E Auto smoked it up on the third volume of this great series, and he returns with even more force on this collection of well-chosen cuts! Production on most of side one is by Temper3000 – and tracks include "Mind Trixxx" and "After Midnight" – plus a guest appearance from Bogey on "Rokk Dis" and Ill Seed on "Men Or Mice". The flipside features a more varied mix of cuts and collaborations – with cuts that include "Un Game (rmx)" with Illanoyz, "Impervious" with Denmark Vessey, "Tyme" with Skyzoo, "Sultan Of Ishtar" with UG, and "3 Roundzzz" with Guilty Simpson and Sean Price. LP, Vinyl record album

An incredibly untapped world of cinematic jazz – pulled from an array of Spanish films of the late 50s and early 60s – most of which have soundtracks as dynamic as work coming from France or Italy at the time! A good portion of the tracks here are scored by Jose Sola – who seems to draw inspiration from some of the west coast jazz soundtracks of the 50s – work by Elmer Bernstein, Shorty Rogers, Leith Stevens, and others – blending standout soloists with fuller backings, but in a way that matches the stark energy of the images on the screen! The CD's an unusual one in that many of the tunes are quite long – upwards of 10 minutes, and very different than the shorter snippets of jazz you might get on other soundtrack efforts from the same generation – and some numbers keep in bits of the dialogue, presenting the music with sound that's more "cinematic" than straight studio recording. Solo instruments include a fair bit of trumpet and alto sax – and the package comes with a great booklet with notes in English and Spanish, plus images from the films. Titles include "Un Vaso De Whisky", "A Sangre Fria", "Altas Variedades", "Los Cuervos", "Regresa Un Desconocido", and "El Salario Del Crimen" by Jose Sola; plus "091 Policia Al Habla" by Augusto Alguero, "Juventud A La Intemperie" by Enrique Escobar, and "A Tiro Limpo" by Federico Martinez Tudo. CD

No bummer here, as the set's a really great one – filled with late 50s Chess Records sides by Sonny Boy Williamson – a number of which are previously unissued! The package does a great job of reviving this material for a newly-informed blues audience of the modern age – giving liner notes, recording details, and more – in addition to pulling together sides that hadn't appeared on album before. Titles include "Little Village" – which is 12 minutes long, and interestingly marked as "not suitable for airplay" – plus "She Got Next To Me", "Santa Claus", "Unseen Eye", "I Can't Do Without You", "Temperature 110", and "This Old Life". CD

Probably the rarest of all albums by the Last Poets – so rare that it often doesn't show up in lists of their work, and that it's never reissued with the frequency of their other early titles. Jalal is firmly in place by this point, and his hip rhyming poetry has brought a new level of musicality to the group that shows up best in the album's jazzier numbers and nice traces of funk. The politics are still as strong as ever – they're just tempered with a bit more concern for phrasing, and a tighter approach to overall delivery. Titles include "Uncle Sam's Lament", "In Search Of Knowledge", "The Courtroom", "African Slave", "Death Row", and "Tranquility". LP, Vinyl record album

An Arkestra performance, but one that's headed up by Mark De Clive-Lowe – who wrote all the material, and produced the record too – as a great extension of some of the more spiritual directions he's been taking in his own music in recent years! The group have a sound that definitely lives up to the spiritual jazz reference you might expect from their name – building nicely on waves of piano and keyboards from Mark, with excellent work from other ensemble members on tenor, flute, alto, trumpet, and guitar – all soaring to the skies in a great 21st Century take on 70s spiritual jazz modes! There's a number of drummers on the record, and there's no rhythm programs listed – save for "fx" and "live electronics" in the credits – but it feels as if there might be a slight current of beats amidst the live instrumentation from time to time. Not that any of that gets in the way of the sound – which is tightly focused and soaring to the skies, on tracks that include "Fallen Angel", "Tempestuous Temperaments", "Cosmic Collisions", "Lullabies Of The Lost", "Elegy Of Entrapment", and "The Art Of Altercation". CD

More hit magic from the Brothers Johnson – still working with Quincy Jones at this point, and virtually setting up the blueprint for jazzy soul in the 80s! Backings are by an all-star team, and Rod Temperton's helping out Quincy with arrangements – going for that snapping groove approach he worked to best effect with Heatwave. The sound is tight, but never too slick – and The Brothers keep a nice funky undercurrent on the bottom of most tracks. Titles include "Smilin On Ya", "You Make Me Wanna Wiggle", "Light Up The Night", "Stomp", "This Had To Be", and "Closer To The One You Love". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Features Scott Hamilton on tenor and Warren Vache on cornet and flugelhorn – plus Harold Ashby on tenor, Joe Temperley on baritone, George Masson on trombone, and Norman Simmons on piano. LP, Vinyl record album

A classic album of all-out soul from Herbie Hancock – done in close collaboration with Rod Temperton of Heatwave – in a jazzy-styled version of that group's own great groove! Temperton handled arrangements and a lot of songwriting, and most cuts have lead vocals from Wayne Anthony – who does a nice job with the lyrics, but still leaves Herbie some space for keyboard solos too – in a groove that's a fair bit warmer than some of the other keyboard-heavy soul records of the time. Production is by Narada Michael Walden, Herbie, and Jay Graydon – and titles include the jazzy stepping gem "Getting To The Good Part", plus "Lite Me Up", "The Bomb", "Can't Hide Your Love", "The Fun Tracks", and "Motor Mouth". LP, Vinyl record album

As the title implies, Harris plays his own compositions – in an intimate setting with bassist George Duvivier and drummer Leroy Williams. The tracks show a good range of Harris' styles – from straight bop, to gentle lyricism, to down and dirty soul jazz. Titles include "Inca", dedicated to the famous Nica De Koenigswarter (of "Nica's Tempo" fame), "Father Flanagan", "Apache", and "Even Tempered". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer album of crossover soul from the mid 70s – one that dropped like a bomb when it hit, and gave this UK group a number of big hits in America! Keyboardist Rod Temperton wrote all the tracks on the album – and he's got keen talent for both funky numbers and ballads. If soul stations played album side specials the way that classic rock stations do, side one would be in heavy rotation – as it kicks off with the funky title cut, rolls into the hit "Boogie Nights", cuts to the sample classic "Ain't No Half Steppin" (forever made famous by Big Daddy Kane), and steps into the moody ballad "Always & Forever". It's hard to beat that lineup, but side two does a pretty good job – and includes a similar mix of titles like "Super Soul Sister", "All You Do Is Dial", and "Sho'nuff Must Be Love". LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual Japanese-only live album from Quincy Jones – with vocals by Patti Austin and James Ingram – plus harmonica from Toots Thielemans, keyboards from Greg Phillinganes and Rod Temperton, and backings from the Japanese Sharps and Flats group of Nobuo Hara! Includes versions of "Ironsides", "Just Once", "Manteca", "Razzamatazz", "Bluesett", "Stuff Like That", and "Ai No Corrida". LP, Vinyl record album

A comprehensive look at some great recordings from Little Walter – sides recorded for Chess Records from 1953 to 1963 – offering up a decade's worth of evolution in his style! But even at the start, Walter was better than most of his generation – a heck of a great harmonica player with a lean, clean sound that roared out with a nice sort of edge, and could almost be called a precursor to funk. His vocals are great too – bluesy, but with some slight gospel inflections too – a bit wider vocal range than some other bluesmen of the 50s, and almost a precursor to soul to come in the 60s. The album was done after Walter's untimely early death, and features some great notes on his career – plus titles that include "It Ain't Right", "Rocker", "Confessin The Blues", "I Got To Go", "Crazy Mixed Up World", "Temperature", "Crazy Legs", "Lights Out", "One More Chance With You", and "Rock Bottom". LP, Vinyl record album

The masterful second album from Mobb Deep – served up at a level that's raw, gritty, and real – in ways that transcended the scene and cemented the duo's legacy! Production is nice and spare – and provides the perfect raw framework for the bleak storytelling – really pulling you in to the lyrics, and beautifully balancing things so that the record neither glamorizes its topics, nor gets to heavy either. The set features guest appearances by Q-Tip, Ghostface, Nas, Raekwon, and Big Noyd – and there's not a moment of filler at all, on titles that include "Shook Ones Part II", "Temperature's Rising", "Drink Away The Pain", "Survival Of The Fittest", "Trife Live", "Eye For An Eye", and lots more. Classic! LP, Vinyl record album

Initially the only album ever issued by Blahzay Blahzay – a set that came out right in the middle of a real golden age of 90s hip hop – and right up there with some of the best of the New York scene! Outloud handles the lyrics, PF Cuttin delivers the beats and scratches – and the whole thing's got the kind of rock-solid, double-length quality of some of the best Payday releases of the same time – just the right balance between street toughness and a more thoughtful current that balances things out – really tempering any of the posturing on some of the cuts – that special subtle style the east coast could do so well in contrast to rising scenes west. Titles include "Danger (parts 1 & 2)", "Blah Blah Blah", "Don't Let This Rap Sh*t Fool You", "Pain I Feel", "Posse Jumpa", "Sendin Dem Back", "Long Winded", "Jackpot", and "Good Cop Bad Cop". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic album of all-out soul from Herbie Hancock – done in close collaboration with Rod Temperton of Heatwave – in a jazzy-styled version of that group's own great groove! Temperton handled arrangements and a lot of songwriting, and most cuts have lead vocals from Wayne Anthony – who does a nice job with the lyrics, but still leaves Herbie some space for keyboard solos too – in a groove that's a fair bit warmer than some of the other keyboard-heavy soul records of the time. Production is by Narada Michael Walden, Herbie, and Jay Graydon – and titles include the jazzy stepping gem "Getting To The Good Part", plus "Lite Me Up", "The Bomb", "Can't Hide Your Love", "The Fun Tracks", and "Motor Mouth". CD features a bonus track – "Lite Me Up (12" mix)". CD

Midnite is right – as the session's a moody, mellow late nite one – just spare trio material by Wynton, played in a group that features Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums! The titles are all nice and long – and really let Kelly stretch out on the keys – working in a mode that's lyrical and soulful – on a set of titles that include include Babs Gonzales' "Weird Lullaby", plus "Skatin", "Temperance", "On Stage", and "Pot Luck". LP, Vinyl record album

Midnite is right – as the session's a moody, mellow late nite one – just spare trio material by Wynton, played in a group that features Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums! The titles are all nice and long – and really let Kelly stretch out on the keys – working in a mode that's lyrical and soulful – on a set of titles that include include Babs Gonzales' "Weird Lullaby", plus "Skatin", "Temperance", "On Stage", and "Pot Luck". CD

2LP set that brings together Kelly's recordings for Vee Jay from the late 50s and early 60s – featuring mostly trio material, with the likes of Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones, plus a few quintet tracks, cut with Lee Morgan and Wayne Shorter added in. Titles include "Pot Luck", "Skatin", "Temperance", "Weird Lullaby", and "Wrinkles". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully expanded reissue of this South American rock treasure from the early 70s – key recordings by Eduardo Mateo, easily one of the most enigmatic musicians to ever record on the Uruguay scene! Although once a member of some harder-edged rock acts in the 60s, Mateo is surprisingly warm and gentle on these tracks – slightly folksy at times, but also with echoes of candombe in the percussion of some of these tunes – a unique cross-cultural blend that's made even better through production that's sweetly compressed, but also wonderfully clean and simple. There's an earnest, personal feel to these tunes that reminds us a lot of the work of Alzo & Udine – or Alzo, solo – spare use of percussion underneath acoustic guitar, topped by vocals that really have a way of grabbing us, even when we can't understand the lyrics! Given Mateo's temperament and unreliability in the studio, the original album in the set was more of a "collection" put together by his producer – and it's expanded on greatly here with the addition of 8 more bonus tracks recorded at the end of the 60s – a few live tracks, and a number of other collaborations that follow the spirit of the main album. The package features a wonderful 44 page booklet, loaded with notes and photos – and titles include "Yulele", "Quien Te Viera", "Uh Que Macana", "Nina", "Tras De Ti", "Por Que", "La Chola", "Esa Cosa", "Blues Para El Bien Mio", "Margaritas Rojas", "Hombre", and "Mumi". CD

A nice collection of 70s work on the Cinevox label – with work by Goblin for the film Profondo Rosso, Ennio Morricone from La Donna Della Domenica, Bixio Frizzi Tempera from Vai Gorilla, Stelvio Cipriani from Due Cuori Una Cappella, and Gianfranco Plenizio from Amici Mie. LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's dedicated to the famous Beatles producer George Martin, and which seeks to bring together a whole host of sounds and styles that not only influenced his work in the studio – but which also represent maybe the odder aspects of the British scene, in a way that really helps create a greater understanding of the more offbeat sounds of The Fab Four themselves! CD1 is titled In All Directions – and brings together jazz, skiffle, vocal tracks, and plenty more – in a nicely varied lineup that includes work from Basil Kirchin, John Dankworth, Bert Weedon, The Vipers, Christopher Logue, Temperance Seven, Ray Cathode, Ron Goodwin, and Cleo Laine. CD2 is titled Experiments With Pop – and has a bit of comedic moments mixed with more musical selections – in a lineup that includes Peter Sellers, John Dankworth, Flanders & Swann, Matt Monro, The Goods, Bernard Cribbins, and Ron Goodwin. CD3 is titled Comedy Surrealist, and continues that spirit – with more Goon Show material, Beyond The Fringe, The Alberts, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore, and other important pre-Monty Python acts from the UK – who often brought a lot of creativity to the production of their work in the studio. CD4 features straighter classical influences, but in a range of modes – tracks that begin with Bach, and move through Chopin, Ravel, Debussy, Holst, and even Gershwin. As always with these unusual sets on El Records, there's a lot of thought that goes into the choice of material – drawing lines between sounds that we really didn't expect! CD

Midnight is right – as the session's a moody, mellow late nite one – just spare trio material by Wynton, played in a group that features Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums! The titles are all nice and long – and really let Kelly stretch out on the keys – working in a mode that's lyrical and soulful – on a set of titles that include include Babs Gonzales' "Weird Lullaby", plus "Skatin", "Temperance", "On Stage", and "Pot Luck". CD

Midnite is right – as the session's a moody, mellow late nite one – just spare trio material by Wynton, played in a group that features Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums! The titles are all nice and long – and really let Kelly stretch out on the keys – working in a mode that's lyrical and soulful – on a set of titles that include include Babs Gonzales' "Weird Lullaby", plus "Skatin", "Temperance", "On Stage", and "Pot Luck". CD

A really cool take on a classic hip hop album – one that's covered up from start to finish, as jazz musician Benny Reid serves up his instrumental reading of The Infamous Mobb Deep! All tracks are performed by Reid, who's clearly working in the studio, not live (as the title might imply) – and he layers some heavy drum beats with these dark piano passages, all topped with tenor solos that are nice and deep – and which don't make you miss the lyrics at all! If you know the original, you'll be wowed by this remake – and if you don't, but dig funky jazz, you'll find plenty here to love – on titles that include "Shook Ones (part 2)", "Survival Of The Fittest", "Temperature's Rising", "Up North Trip", "Trife Life", "Right Back At You", "Cradle To The Grave", and "Drink Away The Pain". CD

A really cool take on a classic hip hop album – one that's covered up from start to finish, as jazz musician Benny Reid serves up his instrumental reading of The Infamous Mobb Deep! All tracks are performed by Reid, who's clearly working in the studio, not live (as the title might imply) – and he layers some heavy drum beats with these dark piano passages, all topped with tenor solos that are nice and deep – and which don't make you miss the lyrics at all! If you know the original, you'll be wowed by this remake – and if you don't, but dig funky jazz, you'll find plenty here to love – on titles that include "Shook Ones (part 2)", "Survival Of The Fittest", "Temperature's Rising", "Up North Trip", "Trife Life", "Right Back At You", "Cradle To The Grave", and "Drink Away The Pain". LP, Vinyl record album