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

Scene-shifting 1967 recordings of three compositions by Annette Peacock. “Critics introduced new terms, describing this music as sparse, understated, minimal, radically lyrical,” she remembers.

Leading a masterly lineup of John Hicks, Ray Drummond and Idris Muhammad in 1991.
A couple of waltzes, a blues, a Monk-ish suite-like piece, a free-ish drums and clarinet interlude, and finally an elegy for civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer.
Murray plumbs and soars: often it sounds like two different instruments are being played.
Superbly recorded, with gripping warmth and intimacy; originally released in Japan on CD only, by DIW.
Highly recommended.

The long awaited follow-up to the superb compilation Loving On The Flipside, from ten years ago.
‘Contained within this anthology are some of the greatest soul ballads that go sweet with a beat. Most of these songs have never been compiled. Some have never been issued in any form. Some, like the Ledgends entry here, have been sampled to great success (in that case for Freddie Gibbs and Madlib’s Deeper). Some haven’t been sampled, but, like Herb Johnson’s entry, are patiently awaiting their day.’

‘Marino uses the language of folk music traditions to witness and retell our current reality through a feminist lens, with traditional American Sacred Harp hymns and murder ballads at the core. Improvisation, experimentation and group-singing re-draw these traditional songs — populating them with new sonic languages which reflect on contemporary ravages of contempt, greed, jealousy, violence, and utter disregard.’
With the Norwegian percussion trio Pinquins, and bassist Inga Margrete Aas; plus guests
Emilia Dorr (voice), Weston Olencki (trombone), and Wendy Eisenberg (guitar).