Herbie Hancock Maiden Voyage (1965)

This 1977 studio recording finds Herbie Hancock embracing his jazz roots. The straightforward trio setting puts Hancock’s piano front and center. Backed by Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams behind the drums, the recording features Hancock originals as well as the Trio’s take on Miles Davis’ 'Milestones'.

Though recorded at fabled San Francisco studio The Automatt, the recording was only immediately issued in Japan. To this day Japan is the only country to see a vinyl release of this session - until now!

An essential classic! The heaviest funky jazz ever recorded. Deep, deep, deep. As good as it gets!

180 gram audiophile issue vinyl.

Tough tough Headhunters-stylee fusion. Moody! Original sound track from the 1974 film 'Death Wish', written by Herbie Hancock.

w/ Ron Carter, Wynton Marsalis and Tony Williams

'Sextant' from 1972 was recorded just before 'Headhunters', and can be seen in the same vein, but it's more than just an introduction to a masterpiece. It features a kind of post-modal, free impressionism while gracing the edges of funk. Three long instrumental tracks explore how far minimalism in jazz can go. 

Seminal jazz funk fusion album including top funky re-version of Hancock's own "Cantelope Island". Also "Doin It" and "Gentle Thoughts" all with the great Headhunters in full effect.

Herbie Hancock's debut album in 1962 launched a phenomenal career. Features Freddie Hubbard and Dexter Gordon and includes the seminal 'Watermelon Man".

This formidable recording neatly summarises Herbie Hancock's work in the 60s. The title track, Cantaloupe Island, provided inspiration for US3, who sampled it heavily. Herbie's piano skills are matched by some exemplary trumpet work on Cantaloupe and Watermelon Man.

THIS IS A VERY GOOD REPRESENTATION OF HERBIES BLUE NOTE WORK, IF YOU
DONT WANT TO PLOUGH THROUGH HIS WHOLE ALBUMS OF THIS PERIOD.
MAIDEN VOYAGE, CANTALOUPE ISLAND AND WATERMELON MAN ARE ALL HERE.
RECOMMENDED. A GOOD BUY.

Brilliant, less-well-known Herbie Hancock album featuring a larger group than usual with guitar and trombone! Check the superb "King Cobra"! Recommended!

Stone cold classic Herbie Hancock featuring Freddie Hubbard, Ron Carter and Tony Williams! Includes the timeless 'Cantaloupe Island'

Great album fusing modal jazz piano with latin percussion  - a classic!

A really super record from Herbie Hancock - one that's almost completely improvised over Latin percussion.

Posthumous release of 'There Is No End' by legendary Afrobeat drummer, Tony Allen! The album features guest vocal appearances from the likes of Danny Brown, Sampa the Great, Lava La Rue, and more.

Remixes of the electronic jazz/fusionists from the likes of James Holden, Nathan Fake, Squarepusher, Clark, Portico Quartet, Machinedrum and more!

On his second Blue Note album Tender Moments, pianist and composer McCoy Tyner explored the colors and textures available in a nonet setting with some of the finest musicians of the time: Lee Morgan on trumpet, Julian Priester on trombone, Bennie Maupin on tenor saxophone, James Spaulding on alto saxophone and flute, Bob Northern on French horn, Howard Johnson on tuba, Herbie Lewis on bass, and Joe Chambers on drums. Highlights of the session include dedications to John Coltrane (“Mode to John”) and Thelonious Monk (“The High Priest”) as well as the stunning ballad “All My Yesterdays.”

What happens when you combine Stanley Turrentine’s blues-drenched tenor saxophone with Les McCann’s soulful and funky piano? You end up with one of both men's best albums, an album considered to be one of the foundational sessions of soul jazz.

Turrentine and McCann are joined by bassist Herbie Lewis (a member of McCann’s group at the time) and drummer Otis Candy Finch. Stand out tracks include 'Smile, Stacey', the deep blue groove of 'Soft Pedal Blues' and the in-the-pocket soul of 'Light Blue'.

That’s where it’s at!

Blue Note 87

Mind-numbingly CLASSIC 

Madlib invades Blue Note! Hip hop producer extroardinaire and world class jazz fiend Madlib gets let loose in the Blue Note vaults with his sampler!

High quality 180 gram reissue on the Blue Note Tone Poet series of Donald Byrd’s 1961 recording, not released until 1979, and featuring Herbie Hancock and Pepper Adams. Includes an early version of Duke Pearson's haunting "Chant" which Donald Byrd re-recorded with voices two years later on his "New Perspective" album.

**Classic album/classic Blue Note sleeve!**

The trumpeter/flugelhornist’s classic 1963 album. His fourth Blue Note LP. Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio on 10th October 1962 . Featuring an all-star band of James Spaulding (alto sax), Herbie Hancock (piano), Reggie Workman (bass) and Clifford Jarvis (drums). The album showcases four superb Hubbard originals (the title track, ‘Prophet Jennings’, ‘Lament For Booker’, ‘For Spee’s Sake’) plus a memorable take on the standard ‘You’re My Everything’, featuring some stunning Hubbard/Hancock interplay. Produced by Alfred Lion.

One of the great Blue Note funk albums from 1969! Features Idris Muhammad on drums and Charles Earland on B3!

Seminal deep modal jazz on Blue Note w/ Woody Shaw, Gary Bartz, Ron Carter, Herbie Lewis and Freddie Watts. Produced by Duke Pearson. HEAVY!

Orig= Blue label liberty pressing Rare Original = USA Vinyl VG+ /Sleeve VG (spine wear,ageing)

High-end Audio Desk Systeme Pro Machine Utrasonic cleaned+

100% Guarantee on this and all Original Vinyl at Sounds Of The Universe - 'if you're not happy we're not happy' money-back guarantee!

1964. With Elvin Jones and Larry Young.

D. Byrd + Pepper Adams, Duke PEarson, Laymon Jackson, Lex Humphries.  New USA vinyl

Freddie Hubbard + James Spaulding, Ronnie Mathews, Eddie Khan, Joe Chambers. Deep and essential Blue Note. New USA vinyl issue

Absolutely killer compilation of some of Blue Note's finest releases - The jazz break beats that inspired hip-hop artists. Includes Donald Byrd, Eddie Henderson, Grant Green, Ronnie Foster, Herbie Hancock and many more!   

Gregory Porter solidifies his standing as his generation’s most soulful jazz singer-songwriter with his new album 'Take Me To The Alley' the much-anticipated follow-up to his million-selling Grammy-winning 2013 Blue Note debut Liquid Spirit. Includes Porter's version of 'Holding On' the hit single that he wrote with Disclosure.

Andrew Hill's best album, very highy recommended!

 One of the few albums Stanley Turrentine recorded with his wife, Shirley Scott. features Blue Mitchell, trumpet; Stanley Turrentine, tenor sax; Shirley Scott, organ; Earl May, bass & Al Harewood drums.

Original= Blue Note / United Artists pressing

New York pressing original Blue Note Stereo orig. WITH "P" (ear) and VAN GELDER Stamp w/original Blue Note inner sleeve. V. RARE!

Guitarist Grant Green's debut on Blue Note as he's joined by Baby Face Willette on organ and Ben Dixon on drums. Smokin!

Classic, radical mid-70's album from Gil and The Midnight Band featuring "The Liberation Song", "Ain't No Such Thing As Superman" and the live spoken word/poem "Pardon Our Analysis"

Essential rare groove masterpiece!

Mellow rare groove classic featuring the blissed out must have title track "Everybody Loves The Sunshine", "It Ain't Your Sign It's Your Mind" and more!

All-time seminal album from Marlena Shaw recorded for Chess in 1969, arranged and produced by the great Charles Stepney and Richard Evans, featuring the 100% essential tunes 'Woman of The Ghetto', 'California Soul' and much more.

Wicked collection from the man - NUFF tunes!

Oh man, this is so heavy. The super-deep 'Move Your Hand' along with twisted vocals and hypnotic, incessant rhythm is one of the heaviest sounds of all played loud in a club. Bad, bad tune! Tripped out organ funk of the highest level.

Essential funk album, includes the classic "Blow Your Head" ! As serious as it gets - "Damn Right", 'Blow Your Head", "Same Beat", "Watergate' and more. Every home should have this album.

Classic Roy Ayers album featuring deep jazz legend Harry Whitaker on keyboards alongside Strata East musicians Charles Tolliver and Sonny Fortune! Funky deep early 1970s soulful jazz and jazz-funk!

The best Sun Ra album! Super-deep, funky odd-ball jazz with spooky whispered vocals! Cult classic deep experimental jazz with an outer-space alien groove! Highly recommended!

Soul Jazz Records’ new Nigeria Soul Fever is their first release to explore the vast wealth of Nigerian music recorded in the 1970s. The new album comes with introductory sleevenotes by Bill Brewster (author of Last Night A DJ Saved My Life).

Packed-full with Afro-Funk, Disco and Boogie all from Nigeria, this triple album/double CD set brings together a stunning collection of diverse West African sounds. Whilst a small handful of the artists featured (Joni Haastrup, Tee Mac, Christy Essien) have seen the light of day outside Africa, this is essentially a collection of killer tracks by an array of artists completely unknown outside of Nigeria. 

Artists such as Don Bruce & The Angels, Akin Richards & The Executives, Angela Starr, Jimmy Sherry & The Music Agents. It’s no surprise that these records are extremely rare and expensive to buy individually so this album will save you going broke trying to find them.

These recordings were made at a time when Nigeria’s trade restrictions banned imported records. Whilst new musical trends (such as American soul, funk, disco etc) entered and influenced the country, the local music scene remained just that – local. Consequently, these recordings remain practically unknown to anyone outside of the country.

Nigeria Soul Fever is released as triple-album vinyl + download, double-CD digi-pack and digital download. This album follows on from Soul Jazz Records’ 1960s collection Nigeria Freedom Sounds, released last month, and will be followed by the reissue of the incredibly rare and groovy Nigerian 1980 disco boogie funk album Tee Mac’s Night Illusion.

"Excellent new soul jazz compilation Nigeria Soul Fever: Afrofunk, Disco And Boogie: West African Disco Mayhem!" THE GUARDIAN

READ Guardian top 10 Nigerian Disco full feature here

Seminal and controversial album recorded under the direction of Gil Evans in 1958. 

Includes the deep jazz dance Dingwalls classic "You've Got To Have Freedom", a Gilles Peterson favourite and one of the biggest tunes of the day - highly recommended !

For more than ten years Soul Jazz Records have been exploring and documenting the sound of New Orleans Funk. Now we turn their attention to the flipside of this musical coin - New Orleans Soul.

These two musical forms share a lineage that begins with the city’s enormous rhythm and blues explosion in the post-war 1940s and 1950s. New Orleans Soul incorporated the soulful vocals of the gospel church, the driving beat of rhythm and blues, as well as traces of the second-line parade bands and the latinized rhythms of the city. Here you will find New Orleans soul in all its glorious variations – from the deep, deep soul of singers Aaron Neville, Willie Tee and Robert Parker to the storming northern soul of Maurice Williams and Eldridge Holmes, the funky soul of Eddie Bo, Lionel Robinson and Ernie K-Doe all alongside the Crescent City’s finest soul sisters – Irma Thomas, Betty Harris, Jean Knight, Inell Young and more! 

The main force behind New Orleans Soul is Allen Toussaint, a virtual one-man hit-making machine in the 1960s, writing, arranging and producing hit after hit for an unending list of unbelievably talented local singers such as Eldridge Holmes, Maurice Williams, Betty Harris, Ernie K Doe and Diamond Joe all of whom are featured. New Orleans is also a city of great musical families. Vocalist Aaron Neville was the brother of Art Neville (who formed The Meters) and later in the 1970s joined with brother Cyril to form The Neville Brothers. Soul vocalist supreme Willie Tee is also known as Wilson Turbinton, who alongside brother Earl, formed the super-heavy funk band The Gaturs and backed the Mardi Gras Indian group The Wild Magnolias. Also included here are rare, lost and killer soulful tracks from New Orleans artists Eddie Bo (and protégée vocalist Inell Young), Jean Knight, Jimmy Hicks, Francine King and more! 

This album tells the story of New Orleans Soul and comes complete with extensive sleevenotes, exclusive photography, supreme sound quality and comes as deluxe CD with slipcase, booklet, and super-heavy, super-loud limited-edition double vinyl album + download code.

C-L-A-S-S-I-C!

"Award Tour", "Electric Relaxation" and loads more!

The holy grail of Sun Ra albums! Utterly essential deep jazz with vocals and Sun Ra on electric piano - this is up there with Lanquidity as one of his best albums! Very highly recommended! If you like 1970s deep jazz then you need this album - it's as simple as that!

Jamaican-born (and Alpha Boys School educated), British-based trumpeter Reece's seminal Blue Note release. Hard smokin bop session.

• Dizzy Reece - trumpet 
• Donald Byrd - trumpet
• Tubby Hayes - tenor saxophone 
• Terry Shannon - piano
• Lloyd Thompson - bass
• Art Taylor - drums

Funkadelic's masterpiece! A dark vision of what the future holds articulated through George Clinton's slightly hazy mutant funk rock with Eddie Hazel's astounding guitar work. This is the original leftfield stoner soul album and comes with three bonus cuts. This LP is featured in many "100 best albums" style lists purely on the basis of the first track alone! Maggot Brain is one of the most intense and moving tracks you will ever hear! Highly Recommended - and if you like this then you're sure to like all of the first four Funkadelic albums which are equally superb

Andrew Hill's best album, very highy recommended!

The band Sun Ra had at the end of the '70s was surely the funkiest he ever had.

Remarkable 1963 album with Hank Mobley, Kenny Burell, Herbie Hancock & gospel choir! includes the classic 'Cristo Redentor'. Killer and deep!

Brilliant funky deep jazz featuring Joe Henderson, Ndugu and Hadley Caliman.

Killer, killer Brazil - jazz fusion with the incredible Batucada of 'Braun Blek Blue'. Essential!

C-L-A-S-S-I-C deep jazz masterpiece on the cult indy label Tribe out of Detroit! This is essential leftfield jazz with vocals and a soul music influence - as deep as it gets! Very highly recommended!

Classic jazz funk album produced by the brilliant Mizell brothers! Features "Music Is My Sanctuary" and "Carnival De L'esprit"!