Mr Pitiful at his most powerful, with the MGs in 1965.

It’s a Christmas album but fear ye not. It’s from the same six months as How Insensitive and Now Hear This, with Airto running between these sessions and the recording of Bitches Brew. Try the grooving opener, with DP alternating on piano and celeste.

Featuring Grant Green, and engineered by Rudy van Gelder, in the manner of classic Blue Note organ jazz, this is an ‘underappreciated gem’, according to AllMusic. Leo Wright plays a blinder.
Here is a lovely photo of drummer Pola Roberts performing in the fifties. Nice name, the Pixie Bongo 4 Jewel’s.
Pola and Gloria had an all-women band together in the early sixties. George Coleman is Gloria’s old man.
‘Verve by Request’.

‘Classic Vinyl Edition.’

‘Unknown spiritual jazz gem recorded in Argentina in the late 80s, under the influence of Pharoah Sanders, Don Cherry, Archie Shepp… and originally released on Litto Nebbia´s label Melopea.
‘This is the first and only album by this quartet of young musicians based in Buenos Aires, accompanied here by drummer Norberto Minchillo (associate of Jorge Navarro and co), and Litto Nebbia himself.
‘A favourite of Gilles Peterson, this mind-blowing album integrates highly accomplished ethno free-jazz and deep, progressive compositions. Led by saxophonist Marcelo Peralta, the album is a homage to the legacy of Coltrane… whilst Almas Liberadas and Un Hilo de Luz offer specific tributes to Pharoah Sanders.
‘This is the first reissue; with extensive notes and many previously unpublished photos.’

Aged 25, signing off Impulse! with a wayward flourish, Hubbard plays beautifully throughout, boldly leading an orchestra and string section, 16-piece big band, and a septet with Curtis Fuller, Eric Dolphy, Wayne Shorter, Cedar Walton, Reggie Workman, and Louis Hayes. Shorter is arranger and conductor. Buckle up for Dolphy flipping his wig in Clarence’s Place.
‘Verve By Request.’

Her classic third LP, from 1971, originally released by Odeon Brazil.
‘Gems like Que Bandeira, composed by Marcos Valle, blending funk/soul and bossa/MPB; Esperar Prá Ver, co-written by her brother Renato Corrêa, with its stunning arrangement and an epic bassline that is hard to get out of your head; the archetypal samba soul of Só Quero; and vocal-driven groovy jams like Por Mera Coincidência and Rico Sem Dinheiro, spiced with celestial strings and heavy-duty drums and basslines.’

A landmark blend of MPB, soul, and funk, from 1975.

Chocka with scorchers.
Isaac Hayes, Booker T, Stevie Wonder, James Brown are in the house.
Some of the previously unreleased cuts are amazing, like the Jackie Mittoo spaghetti, The Sharks’ dread techno.

A blistering selection, with the series’ signature mixture of classic hits and recovered treasure.