NEW RELEASES FROM CHICO HAMILTON, SLOW TRAIN SOUL, RICK BRAUN, SHIRLEY HORN, THIEVERY CORPORATION & OTHERS...

CHICO HAMILTON – JUNIFLIP
New from legendary jazz drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton is Juniflip, with special guest appearances from: legendary Love front-man Arthur Lee, criminally under-rated vocalist (and successful actor) Bill Henderson and former Hamilton band members trombonist George Bohanon and bass trombonist Jimmy Cheatham. Each guest lends his unique and distinct voice to the different journey that is Juniflip. Thru every track Chico invites the listener along on a singular, singing and swinging adventure. Awarded a NEA's Jazz Master Fellowship in 2004, Juniflip is just one more achievement that illustrates why Chico Hamilton is a jazz master and still the man for every generation.

BARGROOVES – MANHATTAN
The first CD (mixed by Ben Sowton) is laden with soulful female vocal Garage tracks like 8 Letters from Holmes Ives featuring Avalon Frost, Jay-J & Mark Grant featuring Latrice Barnett's Love Is, and Dance With Me from K-Klass with former Prince collaborator Rosie Gaines as well as plenty of repetitively mesmerizing, spacey tracks like Ross Couch's flute-filled Feel It, the bongo-fronted Controls The Sound by Fresh And Low, or the graceful Freeway from Soularis. Chuck Love's El Divorcee includes flamenco guitars over vintage 70s-styled organ. The second CD (mixed by Mateo and Matos) relies on pretty piano tracks with skipping beats like Vanessa Freeman's The Way or Set You Free from Eddie Matos as well as some more Latin-inspired tracks like two from Matos, Cuanto Te Quiero and Quiere Bailar, both filled with sexy female vocal snippets over driving percussion and muy caliente piano breakdowns.

DAVE MATTHIUS HOUSE MIXED VOL. 1
This new release includes the Lee Cabrera mix of Martin Solveig's Rocking Music and then Clepto's take on Frankie Knuckles' Bac N Da Day. Kaskade's beautiful yet moody Steppin' Out chills things out a bit and is followed by a handful of decent but unmemorable tracks until Miango's O Loko [Afro Vibes] kicks in. The cut mixes hot African vocals and Latin jazz trumpet and flute into a great broken beat samba. Although Costa S's El Comandante continues the groovy Latin vibe for a few more minutes, it is followed by yet more okay songs up until disc one's closer, Enamor's I Believe.

JANA – FLASH OF A FIREFLY
Native-American singer-songwriter Jana has charted on Billboard in the past with hits like Stairway To Heaven, More Than Life and Found A Love. Her debut album – Flash Of A Firefly is now available and of the sixteen songs on the album, Jana contributed her writing skills on eleven of them. The CD does have a mixture of it all – if you are looking for over-the-top pop, listen to Gotta Be. Need a day to connect with the man upstairs? Play Friend Above – a very pretty gospel song. Still in need of a fix of ‘feel good’ music? Be sure and play One Spirit about peace and I Am about diversity.

SLOW TRAIN SOUL – ILLEGAL CARGO
Slow Train Soul’s Illegal Cargo is filled with a bunch of smooth funky grooves from the airy vocals of Lady Z and modern synthetic programming orchestration by Morten Varano, both of London, England who coupled-up as co-engineers on this locomotive of sound. All aboard and watch the closing doors. Excellent is In The Black Of The Night among the many other cuts). I really enjoyed the crucial smooth bass beats (and so will you too).

KASKADE – HOUSE OF OM
In the latest mix compilation from Om, Kaskade, after over a year of touring the world after his debut LP release "It's You, It's Me," goes back to his diverse Chicago house roots. Though he has been welcomed and championed by the West Coast deep house scene, his real love is of diva-inspired uplifting vocal music, which makes it no surprise that one of his greatest supporters and friends is Marques Wyatt. This mix compilation does well to brand the more lazy mellowed-out deep house grooves with the New York and Chicago vocals that are Kaskade's muse. Kaskade's track selection is for the most part tailored to please the Om crowd while staying true to his own roots, and the mix truly illustrates the diversity and complexity of his house vision, which fuses house music from coast to coast. Kaskade is definitely a rising star in Om's lineup.

SANDER KLEINENBERG & LEE BURRIDGE – THIS IS EVERYBODY! ON TOUR
Everybody on Tour! is a new double CD from Dutch superstar Sander Kleinenberg and UK jock Lee Burridge on Ultra Records. Tracks include Our House by Pony, a very laidback track, DJ T's remix of Mylo's Muscle Car, the female vocals naming off American muscle cars is just infectious. Taking it up another notch, the mix picks up even more with West London Deep's Dark Matter, another great piece of music from the duo. Sander ends the up-and-down mix with the dub version of Robert Babic's Look..

THIEVERY CORPORATION – SOUNDS FROM THE THIEVERY HI-FI
The classic debut album from electronic music pioneers Thievery Corporation. This special edition has been re-packaged as a digipak and now features two exclusive bonus tracks: Sun, Moon, and Stars and Sleeper Car. Where it all began, absolutely essential. Release date: January 26, 2006.

SHIRLEY HORN – BUT BEAUTIFUL
But Beautiful gives us some classic recordings that highlight her career, as well as three bonus tracks recorded from a recent performance at the Au Bar in New York City. The first eleven tracks are from Horn’s Verve Records catalogue, including I Thought About You and Loads of Love: Shirley Horn with Horns, which was originally released on Mercury Records. Throughout, Horn is at her best. While her sound is clean and her tone perfect, she sings with the same soulful flair that got Miles Davis’ attention many years ago. To Shirley Horn fans who already have all her albums, the three bonus tracks, while good, may not be worth it. But for those who haven't heard much Horn, But Beautiful is a great place to start.
Track Listing: I Just Found Out About Love; You Won’t Forget Me; You Don’t Know Me; The Great City, Fever; If You Love Me; A Time for Love; Come Dance With Me; Nice ‘n’ Easy; But Beautiful; Here’s to Life; Jelly, Jelly; Loads of Love; I Didn’t Know What Time It Was.
Personnel: Shirley Horn: vocals, piano; various artists with Ed Howard: bass (11-13); Steve Williams: drums (11-13); Roy Hargrove: trumpet (11, 13); George Mesterhazy: guitar (11-13); and Buck Hill: saxophone (13).

URSULA 1000 – HERE COMES TOMORROW
The new studio album from Ursula 1000 exploring a mind meld of jazz, electro, Latin, swing, ska, bossa nova, hip hop, psychedelia and glam rock. Featuring guests Los Amigos Invisibles, Cristina (Ze Records), Members of the Gentle People, Qypthone, Cabaret Noir, Misty Roses and so much more! Look for worldwide DJ dates in March and April! Release date: March 21, 2006.

Smooth jazz trumpeter Rick Braun serves up a potluck mix of covers on his latest album, Yours Truly. While each is restyled with his usual noninvasive instrumental template, the sheer diversity makes the collection surprisingly adventurous. Whether he is doing a laid-back take on Simply Red's Holdin' Back the Years, a playful reading of Deee-Lite's Groove Is in the Heart or a lovely, swaying reinterpretation of John Mayer's Daughters, Braun brings something new to his hand-picked choices. That is a rare feat among the tide of cover albums in the marketplace. Artistry and commerce: Braun certainly hits all the right notes here