All the stuff he did for Smash.

Playful, melodic, tropical pop, up-to-the-minute but with roots in seventies Brazilian music. Featuring a stellar cast of top young Brazilian artists; and a smash there last summer.

The brilliant jazz pianist fizzing in amongst the South Indian guitar-playing of Prasanna, and Nitin Mitta’s classical, Hindustani tabla — shimmering through Steve Reich, post punk, Carnatic Ellingtonia…

Brilliant piano-trio jazz; warmly recommended.
‘Break Stuff’: what happens after formal considerations… a time for action… breakdowns, breakbeats, break dancing…
Hood is a humbly bamboozled tribute to Robert Hood. Work is for Iyer’s beloved Thelonious Monk. Countdown sets Trane to a West African rhythm. Mystery Woman is driven by the compound pulses of South Indian drumming. There’s a desolate, barely-there solo version of Billy Strayhorn’s Blood Count…

His lovely, lyrical jazz trumpet-playing blended with the Corsican polyphony of A Filetta, and the bandoneon of Daniele Di Bonaventura, in the tradition of Miles’ take on Rodrigues’ Concierto de Aranjuez.

Limited, gatefold LP version of the first SF CD release in 2003: droning beat pop, early Orkes Melayu songs, Batak Tapanuli, traditional Minang, and rare folk drama from the Indonesian island, from cassettes.

Tough roots, produced by Rod Taylor.

Twenty-six tracks, only two of them previously released: romping stomping early Detroit soul. Excellent notes, with comments this year from member Joe Billingslea, and rare photos.

Cleveland funk from 1971, featuring a popping version of Express Yourself, a do-over of The Temps’ Message From A Black Man, and — crucially — the b-boy jazz anthem, Burning Spear.

Hats off every time to the founding father of New Orleans rhythm and blues. DB holds the master recipe for soul-ska-rhumba-blues gumbo. Just check the tracklisting for a sense of his achievement. Don.