01 Luis Eça & Orquesta da cordas "Consolaçao"
Founder of the legendary Tamba Trio and pianist extraordinaire, Luiz Eca masterfully guides his band through a rhythmically tight, string-laden, atmospheric version of the Baden-Powell bossa-jazz classic, the perfect scene-setter for opening this compilation.  

02 Salena Jones "Right now"
Born in Newport News, Virginia, Salena soon made her way to London where to this day she enjoys a highly successful career in pop and jazz as a singer. This track is taken from her debut album "The Moment Of Truth", released in the UK in 1969 and recorded with the highly regarded Keith Mansfield Orchestra. The result is a marriage made in heaven, an irresistible swinging groove topped with Salena's sassy vocals and served up piping hot for some late night club action.

03 The Adam Ross reeds "Silly savage"
Hailing from New York's Lower East Side, this self-taught sax player came up in the big bands of the day, including Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan & Frank Sinatra, to name a few. This cut is from his one and only solo release; clocking in at just under two and a half minutes, it's short but packs a wallop. Big horns and driving rhythms are the main reason this has been a secret weapon for years with jazz club DJs in the know.


04 Celia "David"
This track is the choice pick of her first album released in 1970, an LP which instantly thrust the singer from Sao Paulo into the limelight and made her a hit with the critics, if not necessarily a household name in Brazil. High musical standards but limited availability are just two reasons why thirty-odd years later this record is such a hot ticket with collectors and DJs everywhere. A further reason would be the song in question, "David", an uplifting tune penned by Nelson Angelo, where taut bossa rhythms and catchy brass serve as the perfect foil for her breathy delivery. So sweet!

05 Gerardo Batiz "En fa"
Keyboard player Batiz will be a new name to many on the scene but in Mexico, his native country, he has been recording and performing steadily for over three decades. This track comes from the album "Arlequin", which was his first as a solo artist. Released in 1982 on an independent label, it's virtually impossible to find nowadays. Inspired by the likes of Hermeto Pascoal & Opa, "En Fa" is a heady mix of Brazilian rhythms and the Candombe-style Afro beats of Uruguay, combined with a beautiful, soaring melody. A stunning experiment in jazz fusion, we need more music like this.

06 Chinchilla "Don't kill your fantasy"
This originally appeared on an ultra-rare German album privately released in conjunction with several other local groups, who shared album space in order to cut manufacturing costs. Practically nothing is known about this band, but the music speaks for itself, a fantastic original composition reminiscent of late 60s, early 70s Brit jazz, with it's almost baroque woodwind intro, alternating rhythms, sweet female vocals and a neat twist in the surging Afro horns.

07 Archie Whitewater "Cross country"
An obscure album released in 1970 on a sub-sub-label - Cadet Concept Records - which was created as a sub-division to cater for more progressive music than the blues and jazz available on parent label Chess & sub-divison Cadet records respectively.  Cadet Concept's main signing at the time was "The Rotary Connection", with whom Archie Whitewater (the name of the band, not an actual person) share a similar psychedelic soul sensibility. "Cross Country" is a lush, mellow, soul-jazz number with captivating male vocals and warm Fender Rhodes, which gained a certain notoriety when it was sampled in hip hop a few years back.  Soon after this release, Chess records was bought by The Rolling Stones and the band were subsequently dropped. They disbanded soon after.

08 Sebastiao Tapajos y Pedro dos Santos "Tornei a caminhar"
Hailing from Brazil but recorded in Argentina in '72, this funky little track is unique in that it seamlessly laces a jazzy vocal bossa with a mean-sounding brass section, as well as providing a showcase for rhythm-master Pedro Dos Santos to unleash his extensive percussive armoury. It may seem hard to believe when listening to this excellent groove that the sounds originate from all manner of humble household objects, including a matchbox, a spoon and an empty can of deodorant!

09 Daniel Lencina y Candombes de Vanguardia "Negro en sol menor"
This is a great example of how different styles from around the world can converge in surprising and successful ways. Here, heavily percussive Afro-Candombe rhythms meet a banging jazz horn section, cue an irresistible club burner, forged in Uruguay all the way back in 1966 but still sounding fresh today.

10 Ronnie April's positive energy "Snowflake"
Composer, arranger, producer, saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist, Ronnie April has performed with many greats such as Woody Herman, Tito Puente, Frank Foster, Nat Adderley, Lionel Hampton, and Louis Armstrong, to name a few. Which, of course, explains why his first solo release is such an assured one. Released on his own Jude Records label, it only obtained minimal distribution and subsequently became a holy grail on the jazz dance circuit. The reasons for such latter day demand are immediately apparent - who can argue with the magical brilliance of "Snowflake", a Joe Sample composition combining strong samba rhythms with funk coupled with some very fine sax and piano solos and swirling female vocals. Smoking!

11 Fernando Tordo "Tocata"
No stranger to music fans in his native Portugal, singer-songwriter Fernando Tordo's career took off when representing Portugal in the Eurovision song contest back in 1973. Quite possibly the only entrant ever to have competed in that most anodyne of music festivals with a song including subversive lyrics which cleverly disguised a bitter attack on the country's dictatorship of the time.  However, all that was to come later, as the song in question here dates from an earlier time. More specifically, to his first recordings, with the Dennis Farnon Orchestra, when he recorded this little known gem, a lovely jazzy waltz with humming wordless vocals and soaring strings.

12 Esther Phillips "Just say goodbye"
A truly great singer who never really got the full recognition she deserved. Culled from her bluesier period during the sixties while at Atlantic and exquisitely arranged by Oliver Nelson, here she is on top form in all her soul-drenched glory. This track has long been a classic in Northern Soul circles, but the bittersweet jazzy nature of the musical treat in question make it a must for everyone with a taste for a distinctive voice and a swinging groove. Finish on a flourish!