Has The West Lost It

Limited 13 CD set. With a cannon of more than 20 albums, Kool & the Gang are one of the most sampled Bands in music history. From their roots in the mid-late '60s, the Band has explored many musical styles from jazz and soul, funk and rock, R&B/Pop, with Gene Redd at the helm for their first handful of albums. The Albums 1 1970-1978 is the first of two box sets that cover the Band's first 20 years. The set contains 119 tracks across 13 CDs, from the Band's twelve studio and live albums, released worldwide from 1970's debut Kool & the Gang and 1978's Everybody's Dancin', as well as a bonus Singles Selection disc, containing singles edits and non-LP tracks. Kool & the Gang's musical legacy remains in full force with their brand of melodic jazz, funk soul and pop.

The end of the Cold War was an opportunity—our inability to seize it has led to today’s renewed era of great power competition

Max Johnson is a bassist & composer based in New York City. Johnson has performed over 1000 concerts worldwide with renowned artists such as Anthony Braxton, Muhal Richard Abrams, John Zorn, and Candido Camero. His albums have been positively reviewed in the New York Times, JazzTimes, NYC Jazz Record, and in 2012, he was voted Best Newcomer Musician in El Intruso's International Critic’s Poll.

West of the West is Dave Alvin's tribute to the songs and songwriters of California. It's the fourth-generation Californian's latest excursion into the sounds and history of his home state, continuing the high standard he set with King of California and Blackjack David. Produced by Greg Leisz (Wilco, Lucinda Williams, Beck, Brian Wilson), the new album mixes much loved songs by Merle Haggard, John Fogerty, Tom Waits, Brian Wilson, Jackson Browne, Jerry Garcia, Kate Wolf, Robert Hunter and Los Lobos' David Hidalgo and Louis Perez, with unearthed gems from such previously overlooked talents as Blackie Farrell and Jim Ringer. Dave's first collection of cover songs (2000's Public Domain) won a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album and his most recent album of originals (2004's Ashgrove) garnered praise from USA Today, Rolling Stone, Mojo and the Los Angeles Times who said, "Few songwriters capture the way music can provide escape or solace to the lonely, the lost and the desperate as Alvin".