With Dollar Brand and Hank Mobley, intriguingly. Bro Thad throws in a couple of burners (and plays a blinder on trumpet); DB debuts Tintiyana.

A brawny, no-piano, three-horn quintet — Dave Liebman, Joe Farrell, Frank Foster — including bassist Gene Perla. Questing, widescreen post-bop from 1971.

With George Coleman, Joe Farrell, Pepper Adams, Wilbur Little, and Candido.

‘Classic vinyl series.’

‘Terry Hall has returned with his best work in decades… a daring, thoughtful set’ (The Guardian); ‘***** the real message lies in the boldness of its musical vision… world music album of the year’ (The Times).
‘Recorded as Blair and Bush were conspiring to strike fear and loathing into the region responsible for these grooves, it’s every bit as topical as Ghost Town, as eerie as War Crimes’ (Time Out).

Nominally this is a collaboration between Terry Hall and Mushtaq, once of British-Asian pioneers Fun-Da-Mental — but ‘everybody we worked with had a story to tell,’ recalls Terry Hall, ‘and their stories became part of the record. We were blessed with the range of people we found.’ A Tunisian singer, a Syrian flautist, an Egyptian who had settled in Iraq, a twelve-year old Lebanese girl, a blind Algerian rapper from Paris, a choir of Polish gypsy refugees brought in from a social club in Leytonstone, the clarinettist who recorded the original Pink Panther theme; singers in Hebrew, English, Arabic, Romany. ‘Everybody had a sense of something in common in their minority and oppression and struggle. In the end, it felt more like we were editing a film than making a record.’
A year in development, the album is also a powerful reflection of the time in which it was made and the storm that was gathering: Bush and Blair were intent on Armageddon in Iraq; in the refugee camps on the West Bank, atrocities were being committed on a daily basis; closer to home, sections of the British media used the fear of terrorism to whip up a hate-fuelled campaign against asylum seekers and other minorities pushed to the margins of society.
‘What was going on as we were making the record seemed to make it more and more political. We had something to say, but we wanted to avoid being worthy or preaching and keep the words to a minimum.’

Thrilling rarities from Stax and Goldwax — funky scorchers like The Hawg; hard takes on Ticket To Ride and Tramp; Isaac Hayes’ debut 45; Willie Cobbs’ You Don’t Love Me (which Dawn Penn did over as No, No, No).

All their fab late 60s recordings for Bert Berns and his Bang and Shout labels, and then RCA — classic girl group and soul both, with some dancers and northern anthems, lit upfront by the great belter Brenda Reid.

One of the great soul singers, with classy recordings made between better-known stints for Colpix and Shout, making the very most of sometimes poppy material.

Sparky, attitudinous girl garage from Europe and the US.

The house drummer of the Flamingo jazz club throughout the fifties, presenting a 1961 date featuring Tubbs and Jimmy Deuchar. Vibes-player Bill Le Sage leads the gorgeous ballad World Of Blue.

With the violinist Dominique Pifarély and cellist Vincent Courtois.

For the first time on an ECM disc, the French clarinettist explores — in characteristically individual fashion — the classic jazz format of reeds, piano, bass and drums.
Sinewy, expressive engagements with the street art of Ernest Pignon-Ernest, from Ramallah to Rome, in search of ‘a dynamic, a movement that will give birth to a rhythm, an emotion, a song.’

His own selection from two ECMs and an Emarcy — subverting the big-band tropes second-nature to a large improvising ensemble. ‘Inspired by Gil Evans, Claus Ogerman and Oum Khalsoum.’