A great collection of work by The El Dorados – a solid smoking vocal group from 50s Chicago, with a sound that was a key influence on 60s soul! The set brings together a number of the group's classic Vee Jay recordings – but it also goes way past the traditional "best of" styled set, in that it features some unusual numbers too, plus a few unreleased tracks! As with all Solid Smoke albums, the production's incredible – with great notes and sound quality. Titles include "I Began To Realize", "A Rose For My Darling", "Lord Knows I Tried", "Rock N Roll's For Me", "It's No Wonder", "One More Chance", "3 Reasons Why", "A Fallen Tear", "Love Of My Own", and "Bim Bam Boom". LP, Vinyl record album

Classic New Orleans soul from Chris Kenner – and just about the only 60s album issued under his name! Chris was one of the first New Orleans artists to veer into the funkier side of the spectrum – and here, he's working on a batch of all-original, chunky bottomed-tracks – filled with the kind of grooves that made the Crescent City scene one of the most exciting in the 60s – all produced to perfection by a young Allen Toussaint! The set features a great two-part version of Kenner's early hit "I Like It Like That" – plus the classic groovers "I Like It Like That (parts 1&2)", "Something You Got", and "Land Of 1000 Dances" – and lesser-known gems "That's My Girl", "Packing Up", "Time", and "Come Back & See". LP, Vinyl record album

A tribute to the music of Charlie Parker – but a set that sparkles more from the individual inspiration of the three alto giants in the lead – a great lineup that features Gary Bartz, Bobby Watson, and Vincent Herring! The tracks are long, with great lead passages that have all three horns soaring together, then individual solos from each player – and although the songs include a number of classics from the Charlie Parker songbook, the album also features original tunes by Herring and Watson, and another by Jackie McLean – maybe marking the whole thing as being very much in the spirit of its title – a look back at a century that's felt the influence of Bird, with all the alto sax changes that have taken place in the time since his passing. The rhythm trio is excellent too – David Kikoski on piano, Yasushi Nakamura on bass, and Carl Allen on drums – and titles include "Bird-Ish", "Klactoveedsedstene", "The Hymn", "Folklore", "Bird Lives", and "Yardbird Suite". CD