One of the hippest installments so far in this legendary series – an excellent back of laidback funky cuts – super-sweet stuff, with a great lowdown sort of groove! The rhythms here are all nice and mellow, but the cuts are still plenty funky – right at the right sort of pace to be the kind of older funk numbers that inspire the hip hop generation – usually with a different sort of sound than the 70s funk that was hitting the mainstream back in the day! Spinna's done a great job with the track selection here – proving that even if you're digging in familiar territory, picking the right cuts is still a hell of an art – and the CD version features one mixed disc, and one unmixed CD – with cuts that include "Family Tree" by Family Tree, "Get It Up For Love" by Ned Doheny, "Sweet Stuff" by Sylvia, "Capricorn Rising" by Richard Evans, "Motherland" by Sylvia St James, "Cameo" by Eddie Senay, "For The Love Of Money" by Philly Armada Orchestra, "Brazilian Skies" by Bill Summers, "Asafo Beesuon/Obaa Yaa Aye Me Bone" by CK Mann & His Carousel 7, "Hunt Up Wind" by Hiroshi Fukimura, "Always There" by Wood Brass & Steel, "War Is Coming" by War, "Hands Of Time" by Perfect Circle, and "I Ain't Got The Love" by The Ambassadors. CD

One of the hippest installments so far in this legendary series – an excellent back of laidback funky cuts – super-sweet stuff, with a great lowdown sort of groove! The rhythms here are all nice and mellow, but the cuts are still plenty funky – right at the right sort of pace to be the kind of older funk numbers that inspire the hip hop generation – usually with a different sort of sound than the 70s funk that was hitting the mainstream back in the day! Spinna's done a great job with the track selection here – proving that even if you're digging in familiar territory, picking the right cuts is still a hell of an art – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Family Tree" by Family Tree, "Get It Up For Love" by Ned Doheny, "Sweet Stuff" by Sylvia, "Capricorn Rising" by Richard Evans, "Motherland" by Sylvia St James, "Cameo" by Eddie Senay, "For The Love Of Money" by Philly Armada Orchestra, "Brazilian Skies" by Bill Summers, "Asafo Beesuon/Obaa Yaa Aye Me Bone" by CK Mann & His Carousel 7, "Hunt Up Wind" by Hiroshi Fukimura, "Always There" by Wood Brass & Steel, "War Is Coming" by War, "Hands Of Time" by Perfect Circle, and "I Ain't Got The Love" by The Ambassadors. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic follow-up to the initial Americana album from tenorist JD Allen – one that's got a similarly lean vibe as the first, and which continues with a new level of righteous energy in Allen's music! The titles of the songs seem to imply deeper currents from the south, but rather than rehashed blues themes, the music instead really takes off in a very different direction – full of brooding ruminations and righteous expressions – which this time around also feature some very bold work from Charlie Hunter on guitar, in a raspy voice that's very different than his older music. Allen's great on tenor, and the rest of the group features Gregg August on bass and Rudy Royston on drums – on titles that include "The Werk Song", "You Don't Know Me", "Irene", "Up South", "A Mouthful Of Forever", and "The Battle Of Blair Mountain". CD

Mars Williams presents a great installment in this surprisingly long-running series – a really unusual mix of Christmas songs with the avant jazz inspiration of Albert Ayler – served up here in two different performances – one recorded in Chicago, the other in New York! As with the previous volumes, there's a stunning mix of sounds going on – some of the sentiment you might get in a Holiday tune, which seems to open up the more human corners of Ayler music – which includes snippets of "Spirits", "The Truth Is Marching In", "Omega", and "Change Has Come" – folded together with Christmas themes on these beautiful long improvisations! The Chicago group features Williams on saxes and toy instruments – plus Josh Berman on cornet, Jim Baker on piano and viola, Kent Kessler on bass, Brian Sandstrom on bass and guitar, and Steve Hunt on drums – and the New York group features Steve Swell on trombone, Hilliard Greene on bass, Chris Corsano on drums, Nels Cline on guitar, and Fred Lonberg Holm on cello. Titles include "The Heavenly Home Bashing Of The Bells", "The Hanukkah Xamas March Of Truth For 12 Days Of Jingling Bells With Spirits In Chicago", "Did You Hear They Found Light In Darkness Looking For Chestnuts", and "Noel Omega Change Has Come For The Three Kings Who Lit The Tiny Candles In NYC". CD

Johnny's very much in his "revival" mode here – dipping back to his earlier R&B roots, and working with a host of famous older blues singers. The set's got vocals by Roy Milton, Roy Brown, Esther Phillips, Mighty Mouth Evans, Ivory Joe Hunter, Eddie Cleanhead Vinson, Margie Evans, and Big Joe Turner – and even though Shuggie Otis is on the album, the whole thing's a pretty bluesy affair overall. Titles include "Shuggie's Boogie", "Plastic Man", "Margie's Boogie", "Baby You Don't Know", "Little Esther's Blues", "RM Blues", "Goin Back To LA", "Willie & The Hand Jive", and "Since I Met You Baby". CD

Spiritual sounds galore – an amazing 2-fer from Alice Coltrane! Huntington Ashram Monastery is powerful work from Alice Coltrane – an incredible trio album that features her heavily on harp, plus a bit of piano – in a trio with Ron Carter on bass and Rashied Ali on drums! The sound is wonderful – lush, yet contemplative – in a personal style that really shows Alice beginning to express herself in new modes after the death of The Great One. The us of harp is especially incredible – handled here with a sense of majesty that really leaves us breathless, and which goes far beyond other use of that instrument in jazz. And even Alice's piano is surprisingly nice – with these mellow, earthy undertones that bubble at the bottom and ground the whole effort on earthly territory. Titles include "Turiya", "HIS", "Jaya Jaya Rama", and "Via Sivanadagar". World Galaxy is one of Alice Coltrane's most ambitious albums of the early years – recorded with a full set of heavenly orchestrations! The core group features Alice on piano, organ, and harp – alongside Frank Lowe on saxes, Reggie Workman on bass, Leroy Jenkins on violin, and Ben Riley on drums. Added to this combo is a much larger set of strings – swirling around in a rich musical backdrop that gives Alice's work a sense of majesty and power we could have never imagined. This is the album that really showed the world that she was far far more than just the wife of the late great one – a true mystical visionary with a sound that demanded to be heard! Side 2 features a recitation by Alice's spiritual mentor, Swami Satchdiananda – and the album features a wonderful version of "My Favorite Things", done with both organ and harp, plus the tracks "Love Supreme", "Galaxy In Turiya", and "Galaxy In Satchidandana". CD

Spiritual sounds galore – an amazing 2-fer from Alice Coltrane! Huntington Ashram Monastery is powerful work from Alice Coltrane – an incredible trio album that features her heavily on harp, plus a bit of piano – in a trio with Ron Carter on bass and Rashied Ali on drums! The sound is wonderful – lush, yet contemplative – in a personal style that really shows Alice beginning to express herself in new modes after the death of The Great One. The us of harp is especially incredible – handled here with a sense of majesty that really leaves us breathless, and which goes far beyond other use of that instrument in jazz. And even Alice's piano is surprisingly nice – with these mellow, earthy undertones that bubble at the bottom and ground the whole effort on earthly territory. Titles include "Turiya", "HIS", "Jaya Jaya Rama", and "Via Sivanadagar". World Galaxy is one of Alice Coltrane's most ambitious albums of the early years – recorded with a full set of heavenly orchestrations! The core group features Alice on piano, organ, and harp – alongside Frank Lowe on saxes, Reggie Workman on bass, Leroy Jenkins on violin, and Ben Riley on drums. Added to this combo is a much larger set of strings – swirling around in a rich musical backdrop that gives Alice's work a sense of majesty and power we could have never imagined. This is the album that really showed the world that she was far far more than just the wife of the late great one – a true mystical visionary with a sound that demanded to be heard! Side 2 features a recitation by Alice's spiritual mentor, Swami Satchdiananda – and the album features a wonderful version of "My Favorite Things", done with both organ and harp, plus the tracks "Love Supreme", "Galaxy In Turiya", and "Galaxy In Satchidandana". CD

With Lesmana on Rhodes, Moog, and string synths, Steve Hunter on fretless bass, Andy Evans on drums, Vince Genova on acoustic piano, Ken James on tenor and soprano, and Carlinhos Goncalves on congas, percussion, and voice. LP, Vinyl record album

A great little look not just at a small indie label of the 60s – but also that decade's larger underground music scene – served up here on a set of recordings done for the tiny Cleopatra label in New Jersey! There's definitely lots of those "wanna be hitmaker" cuts that can make a tiny label so great – but Cleopatra also had a great ear for talents who ran around the farther range of pop as well – cool female singers with a nice slinky sound, or male artists who might have been going for deeper styles that wouldn't really flourish more strongly until a few years later in the mainstream – all captured with surprising care and taste by label head Tommy Falcone! As with the best of the other Numero sets like this, the story behind the label is as great as the music itself – quite compelling, given that Falcone and most of his artists were just a stone's throw away from New York – but often a world away, given the gap between mainstream fame and indie obscurity. The set features 26 tracks in all – and includes some by The Inmates, probably the biggest act to come from Falcone's studios – plus Bernadette Carroll, The Tabbys, Dick Hunter, Vickie & The Van Dykes, The Ovations, Centuries, Hallmarks, Johnny Silvio, Jimmy Davis, Tommy Manno, Eugene Viscione, and The Shandillons. CD

A fantastic anthology of Flint, MI soul great Regional Garland – 70s soul empires were built on lesser talent than you'll find on this set put together by Egon & Now Again! Garland is a performer, producer, songwriter and arranger of whom we were most familiar with for his work with the group Hunt's Determination – a taste of which is included here, along with Regional's recordings with The Perfections, 21st Generations, Mixed Sugar, Brilliance and others. Even the few Hunts Determination records we were familiar with show a fairly staggering stylistic range, while holding together as a tight whole – and that's all the more impressive with a broader collection of work with varying personnel here. The heart of the collection is early-to-late 70s recordings, from dancefloor soul, funk and strains of disco later in the decade – revelatory stuff for us. We knew the man was good, but, damn! The set also features several mid 80s recordings with that era's synth textured sound with the 70s soul vocals surprisingly well. Includes "I Need Love" & "Hey James" with 21st Generations, "Get On Down" & "Girl You Better Hurry" with The Perfections, "I Need Love" and "Are We Through" with Hunts Determination, "15 Ain't Young No More", "It's A Bad Feeling" and "Disco Jam Bam Bam" with Mixed Sugar, the previously unreleased "Gangster Girl" and "I'm Sad We've Broke Up", "I'm Falling In Love" with Vann & Reggie, "Hit Girl" with Brilliance and more. Nice notes with personnel, and a couple bonus versions "I Need Love". CD

A fantastic package of work from British singer/producer/arranger Mike Hurst – a huge talent who's not that well known on our shores, but who had a hand in a huge amount of classic recordings in the 60s and 70s! This set is a huge introduction to Mike's many talents – and although we know one or two of his full albums, and see his name on many famous records, it's clear that we only were seeing the tip of the iceberg compared to the material on this set! CD1 brings together early singles that Hurst recorded under his own name, at a time when he was a catchy singer trying to break into the world of British pop. CD2 features two rare albums issued by Capitol at the start of the 70s – Home and In My Time, both of which show this really strong development of Mike as a singer/songwriter, with his own production strengths helping things out even more! CD3 and CD4 really open things up – as they bring together a huge amount of classic Mike Hurst work behind the scenes – working as producer and songwriter with a host of legendary talents and ultra-hip British acts – artists who include PP Arnold, Barry St John, Warm Sounds, Murray Head, Chris Farlowe, Alan Bown, Spencer Davis Group, Marsha Hunt, Bobby Lee, Nirvana, Colin Blunstone, Hardin York, The Move, Fingertips, Fumble, Fancy, Nolan Sisters, and many others – some of whom are represented here by songs that appear here for the first time. 92 tracks in all – with very detailed notes! CD

One of the most earthy, organic offerings of the Herbie Hancock scene of the 70s – a session that's led by Headhunter reedman Bennie Maupin, and which also features Herbie on acoustic and electric piano – all in a sound that's quite different from his own work of the time! The tracks here have a very spacious, slow-building approach – a sound that's often quite stark at times, and not nearly as funky or soul-directed as you might expect. Maupin shows incredible sensitivity in his way of putting together a tune – letting things come together quite naturally, almost with the botanical quality you might expect from the title. Other players include Buster Williams on bass, Freddie Waits and Billy Hart on drums, Bill Summers on percussion, and Charles Sullivan on trumpet – all used quite spaciously and sparingly. Titles include "Esenada", "Mappo", "Excursion", "Past Is Past", "The Jewel In The Lotus", and "Song For Tracie Dixon Summers". CD

A wonderful session recorded in New York in 1963 – and featuring the band at its progressive best! The album has many dark overtones, and features a core group that includes Marshall Allen, Danny Davis, John Gilmore, and Pat Patrick – playing their usual horns, plus percussion, amidst reverb by Thomas "Bugs" Hunter and performances by Ra on gong, pianoforte, and clavioline. The whole set has an open-ended "loft jazz" kind of feel – typical for the mid 70s New York avant scene, but groundbreaking at the time of this recording. Titles include "Celestial Fantasy", "The Idea Of It All", "Next Stop Mars", and "Ecstasy Of Being". CD

Music from David Hill, Tab Hunter, Barbara Evans, the Delicates, the Crests, the Kalin twins, Paul Gayten, the Velours, Johnny Ray, Sam Cooke, and more – 24 tracks in all. CD

The best look at Chicago's legendary Twinight label that we've ever seen – a massive 2CD set that goes way past the obvious hits, and really digs into the heart and soul of this unique little record company! Twinight is best known as the home of Syl Johnson during his legendary run of funky soul singles at the end of the 60s – but the company was also home to a lot of other great talent during the same stretch – harmony vocal groups, sweet soul singers, funky combos, and more – all of which you'll hear in this incredible little set! (And in fact, the set does such a great job of presenting the other artists on Twinight, that it leaves out Syl Johnson entirely – so the package is a 100% non-Syl set – which is ok with us, because you can always get Johnson's work on other reissues.) The Numero Group have really outdone themselves this time around – using their careful ear to pull out the best lost bits from Twinight, remastered here with wonderful sound – and a brilliant 32 page booklet that tells the story of the label, and also includes loads of vintage photos. The set's a must-have for any fan of quality funk or soul – and the package includes a whopping 40 titles that include "Goin Man Huntin" by Jo Ann Garrett, "I've Made Up My Mind" by Josephine Taylor, "A New Day" by The Notations, "Nevermore" by Renaldo Domino, "Yesterday's Mistakes" by Jimmy Jones, "I'll Always Love You" by Velma Perkins, "Life Walked Out" by Mist, "Put Out The Fire by Mystiques, "You & Me Baby" by Kaldirons, "Rosemarie" by Dynamic Tints, "Remind Me" by Schiller Street Gang, "Is It Meant To Be" by Krystal Generation, "Pardon My Innocent Heart" by Nate Evans, "Package Of Love (part 1)" by Dynamic Tints, "The Devastator" by Stormy, "Mama" by Annette Poindexter, "Pass It On (part 1)" by Pipes Of Peace, "My Sunshine Girl" by Radiants, "Let Me Come Within" by Renaldo Domino, "Soul Strokes" by Sidney Pinchback, and "Can You Find Me Love" by Harrison & The Majestic Kind. CD

An overdue look at the great range of sounds that came from Inner City Records at the end of the 70s – a hip American indie with a strong specialty in soulful fusion, hip vocalists, and a range of other great styles too – all brought together here by London DJ Kev Beadle! Inner City's often a bit overlooked – as the label flourished most strongly in the years after some of the better-known soulful imprints of the 70s – and the label always had a great ear for new sounds, fresh ideas, and the kind of compelling global elements that often led them to license key tracks from overseas, and bring them to the US market. This collection's heavy on singers – the kind of cool, underground jazz vocalists that Inner City captured so well – and it's also got a nice mix of funky fusion, modal numbers, and spiritual currents – on titles that include "The Other World" by Judy Roberts, "Hunt Up Wind" by Hiroshi Fukumura, "Vera Cruz" by Helen Merrill, "Lucky Southern" by Tom Lellis, "Quickie Nirvana" by Kellis Ethridge, "Samba De La Cruz" by Terumasa Hino, "So High" by Janet Lawson, "The Samba" by Jeff Lorber, "Return Of The Prodigal Son" by Joe Lee Wilson, "Shenkansen" by Urszula Dudziak, "To An Elfin Princess" by Charlie Mariano, "Pandora" by Carlos Franzetti, and "Jennine" by Eddie Jefferson. CD

A fantastic anthology of Flint, MI soul great Regional Garland – 70s soul empires were built on lesser talent than you'll find on this set put together by Egon & Now Again! Garland is a performer, producer, songwriter and arranger of whom we were most familiar with for his work with the group Hunt's Determination – a taste of which is included here, along with Regional's recordings with The Perfections, 21st Generations, Mixed Sugar, Brilliance and others. Even the few Hunts Determination records we were familiar with show a fairly staggering stylistic range, while holding together as a tight whole – and that's all the more impressive with a broader collection of work with varying personnel here. The heart of the collection is early-to-late 70s recordings, from dancefloor soul, funk and strains of disco later in the decade – revelatory stuff for us. We knew the man was good, but, damn! The set also features several mid 80s recordings with that era's synth textured sound with the 70s soul vocals surprisingly well. Includes "I Need Love" & "Hey James" with 21st Generations, "Get On Down" & "Girl You Better Hurry" with The Perfections, "I Need Love" and "Are We Through" with Hunts Determination, "15 Ain't Young No More", "It's A Bad Feeling" and "Disco Jam Bam Bam" with Mixed Sugar, the previously unreleased "Gangster Girl" and "I'm Sad We've Broke Up", "I'm Falling In Love" with Vann & Reggie, "Hit Girl" with Brilliance and more. Nice notes with personnel, and a couple bonus versions "I Need Love". CD

A later Blue Note take on the Holiday sound – but one that features some surprisingly nice numbers by artists who were on the label's roster during the 90s! There's a spirit here that takes us back to older Holiday jazz albums – a feel that's never too slick or gimmicky, and which shows a genuine feel for the music without tricking it out too much. Titles include "Christmastime Is Here" by Charlie Hunter, "Peace On Earth" by Rachelle Ferrell, "Cristo Redentor" by Bobby Watson, "Carol Of The Bells" by Joe Lovano, "Blue X-Mas" by Bob Dorough, "Zat You Santa Claus" by Benny Green, "Santa Baby" by Javon Jackson, and "Cool Yule" by Kurt Elling. CD