A hard rock trio with a hell of a sound – heard here on their one and only album from the 70s – a surprising major label debut on Epic Records, with top-shelf production from Rick Derringer! The album's got a searing burn right from the start – quite a heady brew for this young trio, who come on with the guitar complexities of Johnny Winter at times, and kind of the brooding, bassy bottom you might hear from the James Gang ag their best – although Tin House also have this more youthful, more sneering vibe too – one that's completely their own, and which has made this obscure debut a lost treasure for hard rock collectors over the decades! Titles include "I Want Your Body", "Be Good & Be Kind", "Personal Gain", "Jezebel Give Me Your Lovin", "Lady Of The Silent Opera", "Tomorrow", and "You've Gone Too Far". Beautiful reissue – with bonus tracks that include "Be Good & Be Kind (mono)", "I Want Your Body (mono)", and unreleased tunes "Understand" and "Thanks To My Friends". CD

A hard rock trio with a hell of a sound – heard here on their one and only album from the 70s – a surprising major label debut on Epic Records, with top-shelf production from Rick Derringer! The album's got a searing burn right from the start – quite a heady brew for this young trio, who come on with the guitar complexities of Johnny Winter at times, and kind of the brooding, bassy bottom you might hear from the James Gang ag their best – although Tin House also have this more youthful, more sneering vibe too – one that's completely their own, and which has made this obscure debut a lost treasure for hard rock collectors over the decades! Titles include "I Want Your Body", "Be Good & Be Kind", "Personal Gain", "Jezebel Give Me Your Lovin", "Lady Of The Silent Opera", "Tomorrow", and "You've Gone Too Far". Beautiful reissue – with bonus tracks that include "Be Good & Be Kind (mono)", "I Want Your Body (mono)", and unreleased tunes "Understand" and "Thanks To My Friends". CD

A hard rock trio with a hell of a sound – heard here on their one and only album from the 70s – a surprising major label debut on Epic Records, with top-shelf production from Rick Derringer! The album's got a searing burn right from the start – quite a heady brew for this young trio, who come on with the guitar complexities of Johnny Winter at times, and kind of the brooding, bassy bottom you might hear from the James Gang ag their best – although Tin House also have this more youthful, more sneering vibe too – one that's completely their own, and which has made this obscure debut a lost treasure for hard rock collectors over the decades! Titles include "I Want Your Body", "Be Good & Be Kind", "Personal Gain", "Jezebel Give Me Your Lovin", "Lady Of The Silent Opera", "Tomorrow", and "You've Gone Too Far". LP, Vinyl record album

Five tremendous albums from saxophone genius Art Pepper – presented here with a lot of bonus tracks too! First up is So In Love – beautiful late work from Art Pepper – one of his albums recorded for the well-done Artist House label, and a set that's maybe got a different vibe than some of his Galaxy recordings of the time! There's a rock-solid sense of soul to the record – one that comes from the work of two different rhythm trios – one that features George Cables on piano, Charlie Haden on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – a rhythm trio who keep things swinging, but never in a way that's too straight – pushing Art a bit around the edges, but letting him come right down the middle with some fantastic solos on alto – the other with Hank Jones on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Al Foster on drums. Tunes are a bit shorter than on some other albums of the period, but in a great way that really lets you focus in on Pepper's amazing sound –and titles include "Diane", "Stardust", "Blues For Blanche", and "Straight No Chaser". Artworks is a nicely focused set from the great Art Pepper – a record that features a number of familiar bop and jazz themes, but set to a more open, relaxed, and very soulful style that wonderfully reflects all the greatness of Pepper in his final years! The group on the record is nicely understated, but still very hip – George Cables on piano, Charlie Haden on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – and Art gets plenty of space to step out front and really blow these amazing solos, including one number that features just bass and drums, while Pepper blows a bit of clarinet – which we always love. All other titles feature alto sax – and titles include "Donna Lee", "Anthropology", "You Go To My Head", "Body & Soul", and "Desafinado". Next is a New York Album, but one that was oddly recorded in Burbank – and which has Art Pepper sounding very much at the top of his game! The format here is a bit like the other Artist House Pepper sessions, and those he did for the Japanese Atlas label – tight, focused, often tunes that are older jazz or bop standards – but swing with a great rhythm section, and topped with completely sublime alto solos from the leader! The quartet features Hank Jones on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Al Foster on drums – but one number is a duo between Carter and Pepper, and another features just piano and alto. Titles include "Night In Tunisia", "Lover Man", "Duo Blues", "My Friend John", and "Straight No Chaser". Stardust is a great little record from Art Pepper – four long tracks that really have him stretching out on alto – but in a way that's maybe a bit different than some of his more burning albums on the Galaxy label at the time! The group here follows from some of the previous Artist House recordings – George Cables on piano, Charlie Haden on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – a rhythm combo that's mighty nice – and which benefits from some great straight basswork from Haden, and Higgins' always compelling sense of rhythm! Titles include "My Friend John", "Stardust", and "Tin Tin Deo" – plus a reading of "In A Mellotone" that has Art on clarinet. CD5 features a full disc of Sessions material, titled as such – alternates, and unusual versions from the recording dates – and all other of the four CDs feature bonus material as well – different takes and alternates! CD

Tracks from Joi Cardwell, Roger Sanchez, Jump Cutz, Alfredo, Patterson & Price, Tin Tin Out, Chris And James, Boomerang, Direckt, UK Movin', and more. CD

A rare 60s meeting of groovy talents from both sides of the Atlantic – and a record that matches the trumpet of Dizzy Gillespie with the hiply swinging vocals of The Double Six Of Paris! The group were a wonderfully groovy precursor to the Swingle Singers – and sung in a scatting approach to jazz vocals that was very much in the tradition of Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross – but also drew inspiration from the earlier work of Eddie Jefferson, King Pleasure, and others. Their sound is great – much more 60s groovy than some other vocal groups – and pairing them with Dizzy gives this record an added punch that some of their other sessions are missing! Backing is small combo throughout – with either Bud Powell or Kenny Barron on piano, Kenny Clarke on drums, and James Moody on tenor – and with the presence of Diz, most of the material here is of bop orientation – taken at a fast and lively clip! Lalo Schifrin arranged the whole session too – and titles include "One Bass Hit", "Blue N Boogie", "Emanon", "Groovin High", "Ow", "The Champ", "Tin Tin Deo", "Hot House", and "Con Alma". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare 60s meeting of groovy talents from both sides of the Atlantic – and a record that matches the trumpet of Dizzy Gillespie with the hiply swinging vocals of The Double Six Of Paris! The group were a wonderfully groovy precursor to the Swingle Singers – and sung in a scatting approach to jazz vocals that was very much in the tradition of Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross – but also drew inspiration from the earlier work of Eddie Jefferson, King Pleasure, and others. Their sound is great – much more 60s groovy than some other vocal groups – and pairing them with Dizzy gives this record an added punch that some of their other sessions are missing! Backing is small combo throughout – with either Bud Powell or Kenny Barron on piano, Kenny Clarke on drums, and James Moody on tenor – and with the presence of Diz, most of the material here is of bop orientation – taken at a fast and lively clip! Lalo Schifrin arranged the whole session too – and titles include "One Bass Hit", "Blue N Boogie", "Emanon", "Groovin High", "Ow", "The Champ", "Tin Tin Deo", "Hot House", and "Con Alma". CD

A great little record from Art Pepper – four long tracks that really have him stretching out on alto – but in a way that's maybe a bit different than some of his more burning albums on the Galaxy label at the time! The group here follows from some of the previous Artist House recordings – George Cables on piano, Charlie Haden on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – a rhythm combo that's mighty nice – and which benefits from some great straight basswork from Haden, and Higgins' always compelling sense of rhythm! Titles include "My Friend John", "Stardust", and "Tin Tin Deo" – plus a reading of "In A Mellotone" that has Art on clarinet. LP, Vinyl record album

A great little record from Art Pepper – four long tracks that really have him stretching out on alto – but in a way that's maybe a bit different than some of his more burning albums on the Galaxy label at the time! The group here follows from some of the previous Artist House recordings – George Cables on piano, Charlie Haden on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – a rhythm combo that's mighty nice – and which benefits from some great straight basswork from Haden, and Higgins' always compelling sense of rhythm! Titles include "My Friend John", "Stardust", and "Tin Tin Deo" – plus a reading of "In A Mellotone" that has Art on clarinet. CD features six bonus tracks – the tune "Art's Sweet Blues", and alternates of "But Beautiful", "Yesterdays", "Stardust", "In A Mellow Tone", and "You Go To My Head". CD

Wicked tunes hand-picked by the Japanese maestro of the groove – a heady batch of tracks collected by Yukihiro Fukutomi, with a brilliant melding of jazz, soul, and Latin influences! The set compiles 10 tracks from American and European sources – and features many hard-to-find remixes that surfaced briefly on expensive singles, but which have long gone by the wayside – making this collection even more essential to fans of the groove. Fukutomi presents the tracks in their entirety, unmixed – and titles include "Don't Mean A Thing (Incognito mix)" by Space Jazz Dub Men, "I Got Somebody New (original)" by Georg Levin with Clara Hill, "Everything (Yam Who rmx)" by Dwayne Morgan, "Life Rhythms (Raw Deal rmx)" by E Smoove, "Dreams Come True (Afronaught mix for Bugz In The Attic)" by Alison David, "Listen (Just Listen Louie's Master mix)" by Urban Species, "Cosmic Gypsy (Fila Brazilia rmx)" by United Future Organization, "I Just Wanna Say (Domu's Number One Mix)" by Michelle Lawson, and "Cloud 9 (Quenti Harris Shelter mix)" by Donnie. CD

An amazing package – one that comes in a tiny replica of the original home of Motown Records in Detroit! As you'd guess from the title, the 11CD set features every single Motown track that ever hit #1 on the charts – almost 200 classic songs, running from the early 60s right up through the 90s – with work by The Temptations, Four Tops, Diana Ross, Boyz II Men, The Contours, Rockwell, The Originals, Marvin Gaye, The Marvelettes, Stevie Wonder, High Inergy, The Dazz Band, Rick James, Commodores, and lots more! The package also includes a photo book with classic images and notes – but man, what we dig most of all is that tiny house of hits packaging – a really amazing thing! Plus, this version of the set also features a bonus CD that wasn't in the original version – with 12 more tracks whose cover versions charted at #1! CD

One of Esther Phillips' biggest comeback albums from the 70s – a classic set that takes her deeply soulful vocal approach, and sets it to some sweet jazz funk backings – served up by guitarist Joe Beck, who almost gets equal credit on the album cover! The rest of the lineup is equally great – with alto from David Sanborn, more horns from The Brecker Brothers, and even a bit of work from Steve Khan – all fusion superstars in their own right, but who never eclipse Esther's lead. Titles include a good version of Grover Washington's "Mr Magic" – with the same funky undercurrent as the original – plus the tracks "One Night Affair", "I Can Stand A Little Rain", "Hurtin House", "Turn Around Look At Me", and a semi-hit version of "What A Diff'rence A Day Makes". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest crossover albums of the 80s – and the record that catapulted Prince very firmly into the mainstream! There's a tightness here that surpasses even that of Prince's early classics for Warner Brothers – an unabashed love of a pop hook that makes for some incredibly catchy tunes that are still delivered with a nice funky undercurrent. The whole Prince family is at the top of their game at this point – and titles include "Darling Nikki", "Let's Go Crazy", "I Would Die 4 U", "When Doves Cry", "Baby I'm A Star", and "Purple Rain". This fantastic 3CD/DVD version features a completely new 2015 Paisley Park remaster of the album, done by Prince – plus a full CD that features unreleased songs and tracks from the vaults – with titles that include "Katrina's Paper Dolls", "We Can F**k", "Father's Song", "Possessed", "Computer Blue (hallway speech version)", "Love & Sex", "The Dance Electric", "Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden", "Wonderful Ass", "Velvet Kitty Cat", and "Electric Intercourse (studio version)". CD3 features lots of rare single edits and non-LP b-sides – with tracks that include "Erotic City", "Let's Go Crazy (special dance mix)", "17 Days (edit)", "Baby I'm A Star (edit)", "I Would Die 4 U (extended)", "Another Lonely Christmas (extended)", "Take Me With U (edit)", "God (edit)", "When Doves Cry (7" edit)", and "God (inst)". DVD features a never-issued concert performance, recorded at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse in March of 1985 – with 19 songs in all! CD

A great collection that Charly put together of 16 of the Spaniels' best and most well known songs. Tracks include "Tina", "House Cleaning", "Play It Cool", "Crazee Baby", "Baby It's You", "I Need Your Kisses", and "Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that's a real step forward for The Rolling Stones – a set that really marks the emergence of the Jagger/Richards team as a songwriting powerhouse for the 60s – and which has the group moving past bluesy roots into some nicely trippier territory at times! Everything from the previous years is still nicely intact – but the band are definitely on the way towards that Stones sound that made them very distinct from other blues-inspired UK acts of their generation – heard here in a mix of classic singles and overlooked LP tracks that include "Paint It Black", "Stupid Girl", "Lady Jane", "Under My Thumb", "Flight 505", "High & Dry", and "Going Home". CD

The genius second album from The Housemartins – still as tight, sharp, and political as the first! Titles include "The World's On Fire", "You Better Be Doubtful", "We're Not Going Back", "The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death", "Me & The Farmer", "Build", "Bow Down", and "Pirate Aggro". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 78 RPM, Vinyl record

This tenor giant gets better and better with each new album! Eric Alexander is one of our favorite new jazz artists of the past decade – still a relatively young player, but with a sound that's incredible, steeped in years of tradition, yet freely creative in his own unique way. His tenor solos on this set stand up to some of our favorite older work by players like Clifford Jordan or Sonny Rollins, and if anything, the backing may be some of the best he's ever received on record. Alexander's playing here with longtime friend and musical partner Harold Mabern – who's as sympathetic to Alexander's sound as he once was to that of Frank Strozier – and the other players in the group include trumpeter Nicholas Payton, John Webber, and Joe Farnsworth. Titles include "Andre's Turn", "After The Rain", "This Girl's In Love With You", "A House Is Not A Home", and "Summit Meeting". CD

The Art Ensemble at the height of their powers – really letting loose on the Parisian scene of the late 60s, where they found a great audience for all the new ideas they'd been brewing up back home! The album's definitely one that has the group's unique ethos coming into focus – that sense of spontaneous collective creativity spawned by their AACM contemporaries, but delivered with the special sort of playful energy of the group – as they effortlessly shift instruments, switch modes, and find a way to resonate wonderfully as a group without sacrificing their individual voices! Everyone plays percussion and other instruments – with Joseph Jarman and Roscoe Mitchell on reeds, Lester Bowie on trumpet, and Malachi Favors on bass – on titles that include "Song For Charles", "Ericka", "A Jackson In Your House", and "Get In Line". CD

The Art Ensemble at the height of their powers – really letting loose on the Parisian scene of the late 60s, where they found a great audience for all the new ideas they'd been brewing up back home! The album's definitely one that has the group's unique ethos coming into focus – that sense of spontaneous collective creativity spawned by their AACM contemporaries, but delivered with the special sort of playful energy of the group – as they effortlessly shift instruments, switch modes, and find a way to resonate wonderfully as a group without sacrificing their individual voices! Everyone plays percussion and other instruments – with Joseph Jarman and Roscoe Mitchell on reeds, Lester Bowie on trumpet, and Malachi Favors on bass – on titles that include "Song For Charles", "Ericka", "A Jackson In Your House", and "Get In Line". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection that Milestone issued in 1973 that includes tracks from three of Byrd's early 60s Bossa Nova records – Latin Impressions, Bossa Nova Pelos Passaros and Once More/Charlie Byrd's Bossa Nova. Byrd and his unamplified guitar are joined by Keter Betts on bass and Bill Reichenbach on drums and Latin percussion; other players are also featured. The tracks are mainly composed by the big names of Bossa Nova – Jobim, Powell, Caymmi, Lyra – but there are several Byrd originals as well such as "Azul Tiple", "Bogota", "Mexican Song No 2", and "Amor Flamengo". CD also includes the album Once More! Charlie Byrd's Bossa Nova, a lovely little record from the man who helped Stan Getz find his bossa – and a set that's done with just a bit more backing than usual from Byrd for the time! The album makes nice use of additional percussion, vibes, cello, and a bit of flugelhorn to back up Byrd's work on acoustic guitar – never in a way that dominates too strongly, with just enough added sound to color in the grooves with a slightly deeper tone. Titles include "Presente De Natal", "Three Note Samba", "Limehouse Blues", "Cancao De Nimar Para Carol", "Chega De Saudade", and "Anna". CD

A really amazing package – not just for fans of John Lee Hooker, but for anyone who loves postwar blues in general! The work here is all from the tiny Sensation Records label in Detroit – the label to first record John Lee Hooker in the late 40s, and who continued to do sessions with Hooker even after they were getting some of their recordings placed on bigger labels for wider distribution. The massive 3CD set is the first to ever fully plumb the depths of these years – and brings together all the recordings made by Sensation, including some unusual alternates, related dates, and more – all with fantastic sound that really gets at the raspy brilliance of Hooker, and the way he effortlessly mixed up urban and rural modes on the Detroit scene. 71 tracks in all – and titles include "Hoogie Boogie", "Hastings Street Boogie (ext take)", "Hobo Blues (alt take)", "Henry's Swing Club", "Sailing Blues", "Build Myself A Cave (take 3)", "Alberta (alt take)", "Wednesday Evening", "John L's House Rent Boogie (alt take)", "Moon Is Rising (alt take)", "Story Of A Married Woman (alt take)", "Strike Blues (ext)", "I'm In The Mood (humming overdub)", "It Hurts Me So (alt take)", "That's All Right Boogie (underdub)", and lots more! CD

Fabulous stuff – one of the legendary albums that funky flute player Bobbi Humphrey cut with producer Larry Mizell! The record's a prime example of the Mizell genius at work – as Larry's arranged these fantastic backdrops for Bobbi's flute – soaring keyboard lines, layers and layers of rhythm, and just enough space for Bobbi to come in and send the record to the heavens with her spiritually grooving sound. Harvey Mason plays drums, Jerry Peters is on keyboards, and the rest of the group's an all-star LA studio jazz assemblage – perfectly fit together by Larry's arrangements and production in that classic cosmic mid 70s Mizell wall of sound! Tracks include "Fun House", "Satin Doll", "San Francisco Lights", and "New York Times". LP, Vinyl record album

Piano genius Ahmad Jamal is really taking off here – letting his solos stretch out and his impeccable sense of timing really move things forward from his studio sides of the time – allowed plenty of freedom in the space of the Penthouse nightclub in Seattle during the mid 60s! The package features three different performances, all of which have sublime work on bass from Jamil Nasser – easily one of Jamal's greatest accompanists, and a player whose sense of rounded energy seems tied to the keys of Ahmad's piano at every single moment. Drums are by a different player on each date – Chuck Lampkin, Vernel Fournier, and Frank Gant – and titles include long versions of "Concern", "Feeling Good"," My First Love Song", "Who Can I Turn To", "I Didn't Know What Time It Was", "Invitation", and "Poinciana". CD

Easily the most hard-hitting of Blue Note's 2LP Lighthouse Live series from the early 70s – and a record that really lets Elvin Jones and his group stretch out and play! The setting is a perfect one for Jones – given the boundless energy already present on his studio sessions for Blue Note at the time – really fierce work that goes beyond even his classic Coltrane performances – pushing the limits in a sweet blend of rhythm and reeds! The group here is Elvin's razor-edge combo from the early 70s – the one that features Gene Perla on fat funky bass, and both Steve Grossman and Dave Liebman playing choppy reeds along with the grooves – really amazing hornmen at this point in their career, blowing here with interplay that's simply fantastic! Jones' leadership both draws from his years with Coltrane, yet also takes the music to key new levels – increasing the energy without blowing the top off, and creating a vivid new groove that so many others would try to cop later in the 70s – but never do this well. Titles on this second volume include "New Breed", "My Ship", and "Sweet Mama". CD

From our perspective in the 21st Century, the film career of director David Lynch is the stuff of legend – long and loudly hailed – yet for the man himself, the road to success was a long one – and even along the way, Lynch struggled with countless creative difficulties and personal issues that sometimes made the path between thought and expression a very long one! Here, Lynch himself recounts a lot of those years of struggle, with plenty of help from co-writer Kristine McKenna – who weaves together all sorts of material from dozens of interviews with people in Lynch's life and career, both personal and professional – voices that are added to David's own to provide a very illuminating picture of the real world that's obscured by the cinematic image. Hardcover edition is 577 pages, with many black and white images throughout. Book

Pat Martino on guitar, David Kikoski on piano, John Patitucci on bass, Scott Allan Robinson on drums, and Daniel Sadownick on percussion. Titles include "Four On Six", "Groove Yard", "Road Song", "If I Should Lose You", and "Full House". CD

A really transformative album from the trio of Medeski Martin & Wood – a set that helped re-open possibilities for jazz organ expression in the 90s, while also bringing back the instrument in some of his best old school modes as well! Around the time of the set, many folks thought of the organ as an instrument in jazz that was a bit dated – not exactly true, and an opinion that was definitely changed once John Medeski was able to open up on the keys on a record like this –using other keyboards too, in the core trio with Billy Martin on drums and Chris Wood on bass. There's plenty of other elements in the mix too – and Medeski can soar like Larry Young one minute, groove like Jimmy McGriff the next – on titles that include "Shack", "Tea", "Chinoiserie", "House Mop", "Paper Bass", and "Chubb Sub". LP, Vinyl record album