A samba soul masterpiece from Jorge Ben -- one of the most brilliant records to come out the fertile late 60s Brazilian scene -- and an incredible album that works with the psychedelic flourishes of Ben's contemporaries and a deeper undercurrent of soul & funk! This is one of the most amazing ... (Brazil)

A mighty helping of music from the overlooked Mitty Collier -- a 60s soul singer on Chess Records, and one who was every bit as great as bigger label stars like Etta James or Fontella Bass! Like both of those singers, Mitty's got a voice that grabs you right from the get-go -- a deeply soulful ... (Soul)

Otherworldly grooves, modern cosmic soul beatcraft, and soaring, emotionally resonant vocals from Musinah -- a bit of a prelude/companion piece to her Daybreak 2.0 set on Japan's Circulations label! Prelude features 5 unreleased tracks, remastered versions of tunes from the stellar Day.Break set, ... (Neo Soul)

Listen! Hear! Impeccable live work from the mighty Bamboos -- one of the tightest hard grooving combos on the modern deep funk scene! The set finds the Bamboos doing their thing at Sydney, Australia's Metro Theatre in December of 2007 -- and if there was ever any doubt that the crew could carry ... (Deep Funk)

Spacey hip hop soul from Reggie B -- funky future music that deftly blends cosmic hip hop, electro funk and real soulfulness -- blending influences from P Funk to Prince, to the Platinum Pied Pipers into groove all his own! Go is one is one of those albums that's tough to describe with a nutshell ... (Neo Soul)

Rare Bacharach galore -- an assortment of under-reissued tracks all penned by the mighty Burt -- most of which are from the heyday of 60s uptown soul! Despite the 1952 in the date range on the title, almost all the tunes here are from the mid 60s -- that time when Bacharach was writing new tunes ... (Vocalists)

A great reminder of the time when plenty of groovy music managed to crack the charts in the US -- including the hip array of jazz instrumentals presented here! Most of the tunes here would be right at home on a collection in the Mod Jazz series -- as all are short, upbeat, and filled with great ... (Funky Compilations)

Seductively funky grooves from the 70s and early 80s French erotica scene -- groovy and wonderfully sultry stuff from classy French cinema composers -- including Pierre Bachelet, Michel Magne, Philippe Sarde and others! The sounds range from carnivalesque disco, to bubbly keyboard jazz funk and ... (Funky Compilations)

Hard grooving work from the middle years of the Return To Forever -- 1974's Where Have I Known You Before and '75's No Mystery -- on 2CDs! Both records feature the line up with Chick Corea on cosmic keys, synths & percussion, Stanley Clarke on bass, organ and more, Lenny White on percussion ... (Jazz)

Forget the Hammond organ, this set's heavy on Fender Rhodes -- that fantastic keyboard that graced so many wonderful 70s grooves -- a good number of which are included on this set! The package is a no-nonsense look at the wonderful Rhodes -- and simply spins out an array of keyboard-heavy jazz ... (Funky Compilations)

A step deeper for Detroit soul maestro Dwele -- his third and perhaps best album -- a record brimming with the timeless sounds of underground Detroit hip hop soul, while bringing in some off kilter, psychedelia tinged elements that really elevate it to a higher realm! His trademark delicate work ... (Neo Soul)

Possibly the greatest installment so far in this wonderfully groovy series -- a set of hard-swinging soul jazz tracks from the 60s -- most of them the sort you might find blasting out of a jukebox in the backroom of some southside bar! Heavy Hammond, tremendous tenor, and gritty guitar lines ... (Funky Compilations)

A stylistically rich set of remixes of the deep grooves mined over the years by Berlin's Sonorama label -- killer jazz, funk, soul and Afrobeat material -- remixed and spliced with club grooves, hip hop beats, electro free range funk by Eva Be, Rob Smith, Ben Human, Dr Rubberfunk, Smooth Pilots and ... (Funky Compilations)

Rare and unreleased material from Amp Fiddler -- soulful club grooves very much in the vein of the fanatatic records he's done in the mid 00s -- featuring collaborations with world class remixer Kenny Dope, Afrobeat genius Tony Allen, flautist Allen Barnes! The Amp Fiddler groove is in full force - ... (New Grooves)

Amazing work from The Voices Of East Harlem -- a group with roots in gospel, but working here in a wonderfully soaring secular soul style -- complete with arrangements and production from the legendary Leroy Hutson! The style here is similar to some of Leroy's best work, and that of his ... (Soul)

A host of wonderful work produced by James Brown -- most of it by a range of different singers, and one by The Godfather himself! The collection brings together some of the earliest James Brown productions -- mid 60s tracks recorded for King and Smash Records, most of which aren't nearly as well ... (Funky Compilations)

Astral hip hop funk grooves from The Big Payback -- the team of Parisian beatcrafter Onra and keys & synths maestro Byron The Aquarius, of Birmingham, Alabama! The Big Payback to a nice job of blending these elements -- a sound the that rolls from laid back and lightly thumping to a big, ... (New Grooves)

Tripped-out, hypnotic grooves from Thailand -- music that's almost got a gamelon-like approach to building percussion, but which also features some very groovy guitar over the top! The sounds here are stark and highly percussive, but also quite melodic as well -- coming together with a compelling ... (Global Grooves)

We can definitely dig it -- especially since the music on the set is all pretty darn groovy! The package is one of the best in the Brown Sugar series of compilations, and it's got a really tight sort of approach -- a mixture of shortish tracks in jazz, Latin, soul, and funk styles -- spun out as a ... (Funky Compilations)

Rare early work from Amp Fiddler & co -- Mr Fiddler's With Respect -- a tight record that's kind of mix elements of new jack swing and 70s party funk, and ambitious array of influences from P-Funk to doo wop! Mr Fiddler includes Amp's brother Bubz -- and the album is a unique blend of ... (New Grooves)

Funky but also loosely jazzy and soulful grooves from Young Holt Unlimited! This is easily the most obscure album by the Young Holt combo for Brunswick -- and a really wicked set that has them stretching out a lot from their early years! The album's got some nice electric touches that point the ... (Soul)

The beats have some Super Smoky Soul all right -- but it's also loaded with atmospheric instrumental hip hop and headnodding funk! The Tokyo based production duo of Super Smoky Soul blend a solidly funky beat with off kilter samples, cosmic keys and layers of off kilter elements around the edges -- ... (New Grooves)

Righteous soul -- and the only record ever cut by East Coast -- a group led by Larry Blackmon, featuring early vocals by Gwen Guthrie! The style is very hip -- a mixture of funk and progressive grooving, all held together with a sound that's young, proud, and which moves easily between influences ... (Soul)

Plenty of fusion here -- a heady brew of jazz, funk, and soul -- all put together with a nice sense of tightness that really makes the grooves sparkle! The package is heavy on gems from the Fantasy Records catalog of the 70s -- cuts that really define the newly sophisticated sound the label was ... (Funky Compilations)

Rough and raw grooves -- way more than you might guess from the "twist" reference in the title! The sound here is more R&B than anything else -- lots of heavy drums, honking sax, burning organ, and riffing guitar -- but there's also some echoes of Latin rhythms, rockabilly raunch, ... (Funky Compilations)

Far reaching beatcraft from Keno-1, aka Nathaniel Pearn of the Broken Keys -- a deep blend of DJ beats and bass, live horns and most importantly, and head nodding tunefulness -- an unpredictable blend of funky hip hop, broken beats, and a world of percussive grooves! Natural Self is essentially a ... (New Grooves)

A previously-unissued gem from pianist Chris McGregor -- recorded at the tail end of the 60s, when McGregor and some of his South African compatriots were really helping to change the sound of the British jazz scene! The album is one of McGregor's strongest ever -- an incredibly bold statement in ... (Jazz)

An obscure west coast soul set from Quinn Harris -- a well-titled "mastermind" with a great ear for a gritty groove! The set's got a really unique sort of feel -- not just straight funk, but not straight soul either -- kind of a hip blend of modes that often includes some warmly jazzy ... (Soul)

Plenty of funky stuff here -- a killer assortment of soul and jazz numbers that represent some of the best grooves the 70s had to offer -- all packaged together in a wonderfully solid collection! There's a really "essential" feel to the set -- an approach that takes us back to the sort ... (Funky Compilations)

"They could have been the next Temptations," it says on the cover -- and given the strength of the music, we're inclined to believe them! The Precisions may not have been one of the biggest groups on the Detroit scene of the 60s, but as these tracks will attest, they were a superb ... (Soul)

An assortment of African-themed and African-titled tunes from the Blue Note catalog -- most played in hardbop and soul jazz modes, but with loads of hip touches in the mix overall! The 50s and 60s sides here are a great example of the ideological freedom that Blue Note artists were given back in ... (Funky Compilations)

One of the deeper collections we've seen from Pressure Sounds -- great stuff and largely overlooked numbers from the vaults of the Micron Music label -- with crisply chopping rhythms, steady harmonies, and echoey dub from Junior Byles, I Roy, Bobby Ellis, Tommy McCook and many more! Micron isn't ... (Reggae)

A great blend of jazz, soul, and funk -- mostly short numbers that pack plenty of punch in a tiny space -- grooving together in a range of 60s mod and 70s funk influences! The package is plenty darn soulful -- and reminds us of the great Soulsugar collections from a few years back -- filled with ... (Funky Compilations)

An amazing split album -- one that features instrumental work by 2 of our favorite arrangers ever! Both Gaya and Rogerio Duprat were key forces in the sound of Brazil at the end of the 60s -- Gaya for his soaring, leaping, often-funky arrangements for EMI/Odeon during the Blue Brazil generation -- ... (Brazil)

A unique early large group session from pianist Toshiko Akioshi -- recorded with a hip group of international players! The record's almost a precursor of some of Akioshi's better-known big band work of later years -- but it's got more of a small combo feel overall, thanks to a tight septet lineup ... (Jazz)

An amazing collection of funky work from Communist Hungary -- music that's really making us change our opinion about the Cold War! Back in the day, we used to think the Iron Curtain was in place to keep out Western forces -- but now we know it was there to keep in groovy music like this -- secret ... (Funky Compilations)

Killer keyboards from the legendary George Duke -- and one of his most righteous albums for the MPS label! The album's a spectacular set that showcases both sides of Duke's genius at the time -- his spacey, soulful approach to a laidback tune -- and his more jamming styles on the harder cuts! ... (Jazz)

Before starting his Kid Creole & the Coconuts combo, August Darnell worked to great fame with Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band -- kind of a campy ensemble with a 20s aesthetic over a disco groove. Darnell and Cory Daye are the main vocalists, and Darnell wrote all the lyrics for the album. ... (Soul)

A double-length collection of work from two obscure Atlanta soul labels -- the Tragar and Note imprints, both run by local producer Jesse Jones! Back in the day, Atlanta wasn't nearly as big of an outlet for soul records as it's become in recent years -- so Jones' labels were key in showcasing ... (Funky Compilations)

Gambling's the theme this time around -- but as usual, the Stop Smiling crew manage to come at things from a whole new direction! The subject's discussed across a number of different fields -- from the poker-playing skills of Jennifer Tilly and Phil Laak, to the gambling haze of Mirapex, the ... (Books & Magazines)

Rare early work from the great Marcos Valle -- and one of his first-ever albums! The record's very much in a moody bossa mode, and the orchestrations are wonderful -- light, but never sleepy -- really done with that unique new bent that Brazilian artists were using at the time, best heard in the ... (Brazil)

Fantastic work from Archie Bell & The Drells -- an important record that bridges their earlier and later sounds! It's a key transitional album for the crew -- as most of the album's in the harder rawer Texas funk groove of earlier year, but some of it features newer production by Gamble & ... (Soul)

Serge Gainsbourg's "Chez Les Ye-Ye" gets the hard grooving remix treatment from DJ Minimatic -- with a similarly wonderful "Le Quizz" on the flip! "Ye Ye" manages to mix in a number of styles, and Minimatic's mix wizardry is wise enough to play up the pulpy sounds ... (Funky 45's)

Beautiful! This is one of The Moments' best albums from the early 70s, and it's a masterpiece of east coast group soul in the best New Jersey tradition! The trio of Ray, Goodman, and Brown sing together with perfect harmonies, and the production has a raw edge that makes their voices sound even ... (Soul)

Very groovy work from Trombones Unlimited -- 2 of their late 60s Liberty albums, back to back on a single CD! First up is Holiday For Trombones -- a hip set based around far-off themes and travel tunes -- played in an upbeat, swinging way with plenty of trombones! The 'bones are handled by Frank ... (Jazz)

A long-awaited full length set -- one that finally brings together all of the amazing Tony Allen reworks done by the Honest Jon's label! These "chop up" tracks were originally issued over a range of limited 12" singles, and they're really amazing stuff -- not just remixes of Tony ... (Global Grooves)

Great material from Norwegian pianist Christian Reim -- all of it unreleased, but all of it pretty darn great! Reim's honestly not a player we know at all, but he emerges as a heck of a great talent in this set -- a pianist with a really thoughtful, lyrical sort of feel -- but one who also knows ... (Jazz)

The Krauts are at it again -- moving and grooving in a hip array of funk and mod styles from the 60s and 70s -- most of which are even fuzzier and more upbeat than on previous volumes! The music here is heavy on Hammond, guitar, and romping drums -- and a fair bit of tunes have English language ... (Funky Compilations)

A sweet set of vocal tracks from Judy Roberts -- a mix of original tunes and a few covers, all done with a warm fusiony style, and plenty of Brazilian touches! Judy's at the height of her powers here -- partly jazzy, partly in a songstress mode that's inspired by the advances that female singers ... (Vocalists)

An important early album of compositions by Fred Katz -- recorded at the time when he was the cello player in Chico Hamilton's groundbreaking late 50s group! The tunes are distinctly more modern than even his work with Chico -- and are played by Hamilton-esque players that include Paul Horn or ... (Jazz)

Rough and raw grooves -- way more than you might guess from the "twist" reference in the title! The sound here is more R&B than anything else -- lots of heavy drums, honking sax, burning organ, and riffing guitar -- but there's also some echoes of Latin rhythms, rockabilly raunch, ... (Funky Compilations)

Early bossa magic from Deodato -- cut years before his electric fusion albums in the 70s! This little gem shows Deodato to be quite the arranger -- working in a small combo mode that mixes percussion, guitars, and horns with his own sweet piano and organ licks -- grooving in a gentler, sparer sort ... (Brazil)

An extended EP of tracks from Minimoogli -- all numbers based around their great "Tribute To Fela", which is also included in the package! The core tune has a crackling sound that's almost a 21st Century cosmic take on Afro Funk -- bits of keyboards breezing around the rhythms, vocals, ... (New Grooves)

Glittering organ grooves from Brazilian keyboardist Jose Roberto -- best known with his last name of Bertrami, as a key member of the Azymuth trio! This set predates Jose's later famous work, and has the keyboardist mostly working on organ in a setting that's upbeat, lively -- and a hip blend of ... (Brazil)

Nikki Giovanni reads a host of her own work -- material from the previous decade or so, originally published in 5 different books, and read beautifully here by the author! Giovanni's got a wonderful style of reading -- clear, crisp, and with an understated sense of feeling -- one that never tries ... (Soul)

Poland sounds funkier than ever here -- thanks to a really deep-digging selection of grooves from the 70s! As with previous volumes, this one's put together by the Soul Service DJ Team -- and this time around, they seem to really be opening up their bag -- increasing the styles of music offered ... (Funky Compilations)

A bit trippy, but also pretty darn funky -- a wonderfully groove-conscious assortment of work from Blue Note and some other EMI-related labels -- most of it from the tail end of the 60s and the hip start of the 70s! There's a bit less psychedelia here than you might guess from the title, but that's ... (Funky Compilations)

The tenor of Stan Getz meets the baritone sax of Gerry Mulligan -- and then they switch things around for half of the record, as Stan picks up the baritone and Mulligan takes on tenor! Gerry always seems to open up whole new sides of his playing when sharing the leader spotlight with another star - ... (Jazz)

Funky magic from maestro Johnny Pate -- a record that's very much in the same spirit as his blacksploitation soundtracks for Shaft In Africa or Brother On The Run! The style here is quite similar -- full orchestrations, scored by Johnny with an all-soul feel -- and played by a crack lineup of jazz ... (Jazz)

Incredible Detroit soul from Velben -- an artist who may not be as well-known as some of his contemporaries on the scene, but who really bursts forth with a tremendous sound on this debut! The record's got a feel that's just wonderful -- a blend of blurred beats and basslines, crispy keyboards, ... (Neo Soul)

40s field recordings in pre-Castro Cuba -- a series of tracks recorded in Havana and more rural locations, all of which document the surviving African traditions in Cuban music! Much of the work here is relatively spare and percussive -- done with instrumentation that includes gourd scrapers, ... (Global Grooves)

Fast and funky samba tunes by Elza Soares -- handled with a great 70s twist, one that brings the tunes up to speed with samba soul work of the time by Jorge Ben and Antonio Carlos E Jocafi! The feel is light and bouncy, but also very soulful -- and the set grooves in a way you won't find on some ... (Brazil)

One of the weirdest, wildest moog albums you'll ever hear -- an amazing collaboration between moogy maestro Mort Garson and "word man" Jacques Wilson! The album's an electronic fairy tale for the late 60s scene -- a pretty scary little set at the heart, given all the analogue electronics ... (Now Sound)

Rubbery cosmic soul from Tettory BLK, aka Grooveman Spot and Masaya Fantasista, with a little help from Bembe Segue -- plus spacey hip hop grooves from DJ Kiyo -- a great little sampler from the Pound For Pound compilation on Jazzy Sport! "International Institution" by Tettory BLK & ... (New Grooves)

2 important early Aretha Franklin albums -- back to back on a single CD! Runnin Out Of Fools is the birth of Aretha Franklin's soulful sound -- a real change from the jazzier sound of her first two albums for Columbia, and a set that really shows some great sides of her talents! Arrangements are ... (Soul)

A treasure trove of funk and soul from one heck of a great little label -- Columbus, Ohio's short-lived Capsoul imprint -- only around for 5 years in the 70s, but home to a great flurry of indie singles! We first caught onto the label's brilliance with their funky classics "Hot Grits" by ... (Funky Compilations)

A kicking collection of club tracks -- all featuring vocals from the lovely Lori Fine, and music by an assortment of different producers! There's an upbeat, positive vibe throughout -- the kind of straightforward, soulful house tracks that few people seem to get right these days -- and Lori's ... (New Grooves)

Heavy keyboards from Kat 010 -- best known for her work with the Crown City Rockers, but sounding even better here on her own! The album's a key-heavy set that's nicely stripped down -- a record that features Kat on Fender Rhodes, moog, Hammond, melodica, toy piano, and a host of other keyboards -- ... (New Grooves)

An undiscovered chapter in the career of Norwegian saxophonist Carl Magnus Neumann -- the player best known for his funky contributions to the work of Webster Lewis and the Band No Name of the Club 7 scene -- but who's presented here as a much richer jazz musician overall! The set features three ... (Jazz)