Search results: Herbie

Review: While lots has been written about the influence of Black American soul and R&B artists on Britain's most successful (white) bands of the 1960s, little focus has previously fallen on the music of black Britons - and others from elsewhere in the Commonwealth who called the UK home - during the same period. Gotta Get A Good Thing, which tells the story of black music in Britain in the "swinging sixties", is therefore long overdue. Musically, it skips through soul, rhythm & blues, ska, rocksteady and more besides, offering up tracks from both well-known names and overlooked artists. Throw in extensive liner notes - including an introductory essay from Fitzroy Facey of the Soul Survivors - and you have a genuinely essential compilation.

Review: Traditionally, Dutch jazz has not been that celebrated globally, despite the Netherlands producing some terrific performers and must-check recordings. Hip Holland does its best to set the record straight, offering up an impressive selection of 'modern jazz' gems recorded in the Netherlands between 1950 and 1970. It's an entertaining and eye-opening selection all told, with our picks of a very strong bunch including the soft-lit shuffle of The Diamond Five's 'Amsterdam Blues', the classic Blue Note flavours of The Jacob Brothers' 'Two Brothers', the bluesy brilliance of 'Golden Eaarings' by Martin Beenen and His Orchestra (where singer Sandy Fort supplies a sublime lead vocal) and the up-tempo hedonism of 'Sing Sing Sing' by the fabulously named Leddy Wessel With Jack Van Poll and His Tree-Oh.

Review: BBE's on going love for Japanese jazz has spawned several superb compilations of late. This is the fourth such volume of their J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz From Japan series and it is sub-titled The Nippon Columbia label 1968 - 1981. It's a tasteful collection that arrives here on double CD and is again packed with classy sounds from a range of key players. Takashi Mizuhashi joins forces with seminal American talent Herbie Hancock on 'Samba De Negrito' and Hiromasa Suzuki, Jiro Inagaki & His Big Soul Media make a lasting impression with the hard bop of 'By The Red Stream' and the likes of Nobuo Hara & His Sharps & Flats, Hozan Yamamoto go wild on 'Chakkiri-Bushi.' Essential.