Circle of Dust

After nearly 10 years as Argo, the name of Chess Records’ jazz imprint was supposed to be the only thing about it that changed. But as Cadet Records assumed its new identity in the mid-’60s, the influence of the dawning psychedelic era, a boom of recording technology advances and, crucially, the arrival of a cadre of eager artists and brilliant producers put the label on a new, bewildering course to greatness. Tragic circumstances would bring about the label’s unraveling almost as rapidly as its meteoric rise, but not before Cadet released some of most audacious, boundary-pushing jazz, soul, blues and rock albums of the ’60s and ’70s — music that’s inspired generations of superstars, DJs and cratediggers ever since.

All of us carry a piece of where we're from with us, but these parcels of fallow land often - in a uniquely mysterious way - become the prey that nourishes our aspirations. Agnes Gayraud - a refined thinker by day that transforms into la Feline at night - left Tarbes many years ago in search of greener pastures.

Cynics might point out the reality that greatest-hits packages on artists who have left a label are a ploy to milk the consumer, but the consumers care more about a solid package full of their favorite songs from the artist. The new Acoustic Alchemy (with Miles Gilderdale replacing the late founding guitarist, Nick Webb, as Greg Carmichael's partner) is riding high on Higher Octave Music, but the material on this collection – part of a new GRP collection series – will always be, to the true Acoustic Alchemy fan, the real deal. AA's post-Webb sound is fancy and feisty, extremely soulful, and very attractive. Yet, there's something more intimate about the way Carmichael and Webb interacted; theirs was a union of true musical soul mates. This wonderful 16-track collection from their GRP and earlier MCA "Master Series" projects was chosen and sequenced by their manager, Stewart Coxhead, and he smartly picks all the crowd favorites: "Mr. Chow," "Catalina Kiss," "Same Road, Same Reason," and more. The range from pop to Latin to reggae is fun to experience again. There's obviously a poignancy to all this because of Webb's 1998 death, but it's more important to celebrate the legacy. As syndicated radio host and Catalina Island Jazz Trax festival promoter Art Good says simply in his liner notes, "These are good songs." More importantly, they speak of an innocent time, the early days of smooth jazz when even the gentlest of these could become radio hits. ~ Jonathan Widran

"Romantic Panpipes – The Ultimate Collection" is a compilation album featuring instrumental renditions of popular romantic songs performed with panpipes.

Get yo ass in the house, robot - you cyber-spectre, you outhouse prime minister, you hard-headed mirror ninja, snapping selfies, living in the pixelated seams between bursts of flashing images, birthed in a pool of TV static and Tik Tok dust. BLACK ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE AIR is here, not to save but to drown you.