A totally cool record – one that's very heavy on work on marimba, with a bit of vocals and some additional percussion too! The group's led by Dumisani Maraire, and the set was recorded in Seattle – but with a nicely lean vibe! LP, Vinyl record album

South African pianist Dollar Brand was still going strong into the 80s – as this excellent quartet session will attest! The record features a group with Carolos Ward on alto sax and flute, playing next to Brand's own piano and occasional soprano sax, backed by the bass of Essiet Okun Essiet and the drums of Don Mumford. Tracks are medium length – but filled with the slow-building grace that always makes Brand's work differ majestically from most of his contemporaries. Titles include "Karmat", "Guilty", "Zimbabwe", "For Coltrane, No 11", and "Bombella". LP, Vinyl record album

Two extended funky numbers from the late 70s Caribbean scene – both of them mighty nice! "Stay Up Zimbabwe" takes up all of side one – a slow-building groove that has this fantastic bassline that moves at a relaxed pace, but with plenty of power – while Brother Valentino chants out the political lyrics, other singers join in on the chorus, and some fierce horn players get in plenty of licks! 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant moment as a leader from saxophonist Maurice Malik King – a member of the St Louis underground in the 70s, but one who never saw the same sort of fame as contemporaries who left the city for New York and beyond – yet who continued to create some incredible music far away from the limelight! The early 80s set is a great example of the way the more sophisticated, sensitive moments of the loft jazz world of the 70s were taken to farther local scenes in the US, and allowed players to continue the journey with their own very personal levels of expression – something that's definitely the case here as King crafts these beautiful long lines on alto alongside the bass of Zimbabwe Nkenya and percussion of Qaiyim Shabazz. There's a very special sound to the whole thing – a mode that's every bit as unique as the Ritual Trio up in Chicago, yet every different too – as you'll hear on cuts that include "In Between Space", "Music To Me", "In Search Of Spirits Passed & Present", and "When Force Meet". LP, Vinyl record album

Really really great work from Lonnie Smith – an album that has us giving him a whole new level of respect! The sound here is totally wonderful – solid, soaring, and searching – in a groove that's almost like Larry Young during his Blue Note years – and which is put forth with a lot more confidence, care, and musical vision than on most of Lonnie's other albums in recent years. There's an earthy, organic quality to the whole set – one that has the organ lines flowing out majestically – never hitting a fake funk mode, and instead really going for the real thing, in a way that's hardly ever recorded this well anymore! A wonderful surprise – with tracks that include "Witch Doctor", "Blue Moment", "Jungle Soul", "Trouble Man", "Zimbabwe", and "Jungle Wisdom". CD

An amazing tribute to The Green Arrows – an ultra-hip combo from the 70s scene in Zimbabwe! The group had a sound that was dubbed "waka-waka" by its fans – thanks to unique guitar parts that wobble back and forth with the rhythmic groove of the tunes – often recorded with a bit of echo, in ways that make them sound slightly psychedelic! The music here isn't as funky or wild as reissues of other African work of the time – but it's still pretty darn unique, with a groove that's very hard to peg – and a standout quality that really lives up to the mighty look of this package. As with other Analog Africa collections, the whole thing comes with a great batch of notes – really detailed history of the band and their music – supported with a double-length selection of tunes that includes "Infalilibe Chisoni", "Hurungwe", "Wasara Wasara", "Chimamuna Chamimba", "Nhengure", "Chipo Chiroorwa", "Nkosi's Intro", and "Mwana Waenda". CD

One of the sharpest, most righteous albums from Bob Marley – in case you couldn't guess from the title, which is his response to a recent assassination attempt! The whole thing's got a very classic vibe – and the lyrics have even more of a political current than some of Marley's other music from the period – a renewed sense of purpose that rises with a global anthemic power that really echoes the different national spirits pictured on the cover! Titles include "Ambush The Night", "Ride Natty Ride", "One Drop", "So Much Trouble", "Zimbabwe", "Wake Up & Live", "Africa Unite", and "Top Rankin". LP, Vinyl record album

The "nuggets" in the title is very well placed here – as all the cuts here have every bit as much freak and fuzz as the American garage and pre-punk work chronicled famously on the lengendary Nuggets series! Yet these tracks are all even more obscure, and all come from African sources that never got any exposure over here back in the day – records from Zambia, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe – all brought together in a massive collection that's filled with heavy guitar work, and a fair bit of monstrous basslines too – which gives some of these tracks a slightly funky current at the bottom, even while the guitars and vocals are tripping out up top! The collection's a great complement to some of the Zamrock reissues from Now Again in recent years – and titles include "The Bad Will Die" by Keith Mlevhu, "Can't You Hear Me" by Paul Ngozi, "Black Power" by Peace, "Mad Man" by Born Free, "Breakthrough" by Funkees, "Few Bena Zambia" by Revolutions, "Come Home" by Wells Fargo, "Amanaz" by Amanaz, "Don't Take Me For A Ride" by Founders, "Like A Chicken" by Witch, and "Making Life Out Of Music" by Eye Q. Also includes the reworked "No Time (Pilooski edit)" by Witch. CD

Japanese electric Miles, featuring 2 long tracks – "Zimbabwe" and "Gondwana" – spread out over the course of a sweet double live set! The album gives Miles and the group plenty of room to groove and stretch out – hitting notes that are both funky and noisy, often at the same time! Michael Henderson lays down some great bass work on the set, and major solos are by Sonny Fortune, Pete Cosey, and Reggie Lucas! Great stuff – and more proof that Miles in the 70s was a very very deep place! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the sharpest, most righteous albums from Bob Marley – in case you couldn't guess from the title, which is his response to a recent assassination attempt! The whole thing's got a very classic vibe – and the lyrics have even more of a political current than some of Marley's other music from the period – a renewed sense of purpose that rises with a global anthemic power that really echoes the different national spirits pictured on the cover! Titles include "Ambush The Night", "Ride Natty Ride", "One Drop", "So Much Trouble", "Zimbabwe", "Wake Up & Live", "Africa Unite", and "Top Rankin". CD

The "nuggets" in the title is very well placed here – as all the cuts here have every bit as much freak and fuzz as the American garage and pre-punk work chronicled famously on the lengendary Nuggets series! Yet these tracks are all even more obscure, and all come from African sources that never got any exposure over here back in the day – records from Zambia, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe – all brought together in a massive collection that's filled with heavy guitar work, and a fair bit of monstrous basslines too – which gives some of these tracks a slightly funky current at the bottom, even while the guitars and vocals are tripping out up top! The collection's a great complement to some of the Zamrock reissues from Now Again in recent years – and titles include "The Bad Will Die" by Keith Mlevhu, "Can't You Hear Me" by Paul Ngozi, "Black Power" by Peace, "Mad Man" by Born Free, "Breakthrough" by Funkees, "Few Bena Zambia" by Revolutions, "Come Home" by Wells Fargo, "Amanaz" by Amanaz, "Don't Take Me For A Ride" by Founders, "Like A Chicken" by Witch, and "Making Life Out Of Music" by Eye Q. Also includes the reworked "No Time (Pilooski edit)" by Witch. CD

The "nuggets" in the title is very well placed here – as all the cuts here have every bit as much freak and fuzz as the American garage and pre-punk work chronicled famously on the lengendary Nuggets series! Yet these tracks are all even more obscure, and all come from African sources that never got any exposure over here back in the day – records from Zambia, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe – all brought together in a massive collection that's filled with heavy guitar work, and a fair bit of monstrous basslines too – which gives some of these tracks a slightly funky current at the bottom, even while the guitars and vocals are tripping out up top! The collection's a great complement to some of the Zamrock reissues from Now Again in recent years – and titles include "The Bad Will Die" by Keith Mlevhu, "Can't You Hear Me" by Paul Ngozi, "Black Power" by Peace, "Mad Man" by Born Free, "Breakthrough" by Funkees, "Few Bena Zambia" by Revolutions, "Come Home" by Wells Fargo, "Amanaz" by Amanaz, "Don't Take Me For A Ride" by Founders, "Like A Chicken" by Witch, and "Making Life Out Of Music" by Eye Q. Also includes the reworked "No Time (Pilooski edit)" by Witch. LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant moment as a leader from saxophonist Maurice Malik King – a member of the St Louis underground in the 70s, but one who never saw the same sort of fame as contemporaries who left the city for New York and beyond – yet who continued to create some incredible music far away from the limelight! The early 80s set is a great example of the way the more sophisticated, sensitive moments of the loft jazz world of the 70s were taken to farther local scenes in the US, and allowed players to continue the journey with their own very personal levels of expression – something that's definitely the case here as King crafts these beautiful long lines on alto alongside the bass of Zimbabwe Nkenya and percussion of Qaiyim Shabazz. There's a very special sound to the whole thing – a mode that's every bit as unique as the Ritual Trio up in Chicago, yet every different too – as you'll hear on cuts that include "In Between Space", "Music To Me", "In Search Of Spirits Passed & Present", and "When Force Meet". CD

A really heady collection of cuts – one that starts with jazz, and moves into a whole host of other righteous styles too – all to sum up a 70s mode that's as much about empowerment as it is peace! Think of the cuts here as being in the much farther reaches past the styles initiated by Impulse Records and the Coltrane generation – to a point where the artists here aren't just copying modal and spiritual jazz styles, but infusing them with all sorts of new inflections of their own – at a level that makes the whole collection a really wonderful discovery! As with previous volumes, there's titles here we never would have heard otherwise – and this CD features tracks from both Vols 5 and 6 of the vinyl version – titles that inlcude "Algunas" by Jimmy McGary, "Bless Your Soul" by Lucky Brown & The SGs, "Night In Tunisia" by A La Ala, "Cataracts" by Musica Orbis, "Januschka" by Frederic Rabold, "Little Boogum" by Federico Cervantes, "No Outlet" by Beaver College Modern Jazz Orchestra, "Night Eagle" by Cleveland Jazz All Stars, "Zimbabwe" by Ron Wilson Trio, "Shanti" by Jazz Yatra Sextett, and "One More For The Road" by Dahle Scott CD