Jazz Satellites - Volumn 1: Electrification (Virgin)
The grandaddy of all kozmigroov comps, covering both "classic" and "modern" kozmigroov tunes. A groundbreaking 2-disc set featuring the more "out" side of kozmigroov from both well-known and lesser-known artists, covering time from the late 60's through the mid 90's.
[out of print]

Deep Jazz Trip (pHo Records)
"You will enjoy being musically pushed by daring rhythms and creative improvisation. This is what _Deep Jazz Trip_ is all about. A musical journey for you mind and body." Focusing on deep trippy jazz from the mid-70's, this comp smokes from start to finish.
[available at amazon]

Red Hot On Impulse (Impulse)
Many of the Impulse label's classic modal, spiritual, and kozmigroov masterpieces all on one disc. Its a good place to start if you are just getting into modal, spiritual, or kozmic jazz.
[available at amazon]

Stargazer - Cosmic Fusion & Intersteller Jazz (Harmless)
Cosmic jazz galore -- a superb collection of drawn-out funky tracks from the 70s, the kind of groundbreaking jazz fusion tunes that have influenced countless generations of musicians, including the cream of the crop of today's underground! The album goes way past the easy hits, to feature the longer album tracks that still make digging through the crates worthwhile -- even for bigger name artists on major labels! Beautifully presented -- like an extended trip through the sky on a spaceship built out of Fender Rhodes, fuzzy bass, miked-up drums, and dreamy reed solos.
[available at dustygroove]

The Best of Black Jazz Records (Universal Sounds)
13 tracks pulled from one of the greatest soul jazz labels of the 70s -- the boldly titled Black Jazz, a company who put out some tremendous music! Black Jazz was similar to Strata East and Tribe -- 2 other great independents of the time -- in that it really allowed the musicians a creative freedom that they didn't always get on bigger and more mainstream labels. The result was a sublime blend of righteous jazz tunes that were some of the most cutting edge jazz funk of the time -- a wealth of great numbers that mixed light electric work with really solid jazz soloing, and which occasionally used vocals to serve up the message even more strongly! The set's all-great, all the way through.
[available at dustygroove]

Message From the Tribe (Soul Jazz)
Soul Jazz pays tribute to one of the great independent jazz labels of the 70's -- Tribe records from Detroit, home of musicians like Marcus Belgrave, Phil Ranelin, David Durrah, Wendell Harrison, and more, all of whom are represented on this great reissue package! The sound on this is similar to the Strata East or Universal Sounds compilation (and in fact, there's 2 tracks that are the same on this comp and that one.) 11 tracks strong, with some great spiritual jazz stuff that you'll never find in the original.
[available at dustygroove]

Strata-East (Soul Jazz)
A collection of deep soul-jazz originally released on the Strata-East label during the mid-70's. Sublime deep, cosmic, groovy and soulful jazz. There is a _Strata-2-East_ available as well, but its not as deep or groovin' as the first.

Universal Sounds of Amercia (Soul Jazz)
This is Soul Jazz's masterpiece suite of US independent soul jazz stuff from the seventies. This thing's a monster, and is almost a seventy minute non-stop ride through the heady side of American jazz by great artists like Sun Ra ("Space Is The Place"), Art Ensemble of Chicago ("Theme De Yoyo"), Steve Reid ("Lions of Judah"), and Marcus Belgrave ("Space Odyssey"). A compilation as legendary as the artists it includes.
[available at dustygroove]

a Journey into the Dawn (temposphere)
A lost batch of soulful jazz from a massively overlooked source -- the mighty Theresa Records, home to some really great recordings at the end of the 70s! Theresa was a tiny company formed in Oakland, CA at the end of the 70s -- a spiritual heir to the sound of Impulse, Flying Dutchman, and other 70s powerhouse soul jazz labels -- with a sound that was directly encapsulated in the label's own recordings of Pharoah Sanders at the time! After a few years of inactivity on the recording scene after his seminal sides for Impulse, Pharoah made a strong re-emergence on Theresa -- working in a sweet style of soul jazz that was also picked up by some of the label's other strong artists. This excellent set was compiled in collaboration with Gilles Peterson -- and features some of the hippest, most soulful tracks to come out on Theresa -- work that takes off from the sound of Pharoah's earlier albums, into a whole new realm of expression!
[available at dustygroove]

Move to Groove: The Best of 1970's Juzz-Funk (Verve)
An excellent 2-disc set of some of the best non-mainstream jazz-funk around! Very well put together with some rare hard to find tracks and some previously unreleased tracks, all with excellent liner notes. If jazz-funk is your thang, this comp is a must have.
[available at amazon]

AfroJazzFunk (SuperClasse)
This comp is more funk & jazz than "afro" but its great all the same. A motherload of great heavy jamming groove jazz all with a more electric bent. Heavy drums, electric keyboards, rumbling bass, and choppy guitar work.
[available at dustygroove]

Pulp Fusion (Harmless)
An excellent set of compilations from Harmless Records. Classic funk, jazz, and soul that's sort of an "essential groove" set of jazzy funk cuts from the early 70's, and which includes a lot of stuff that you might have on rare originals, but which sounds pretty great together in this format.
[available at dustygroove]

Groove Jammy (32 Jazz)
Despite the lame title, this is a very high quality comp focusing on the more deep cosmic and grooving 70's tunes from the Muse label. For a mere 6 or 7 bucks, you can buy this album, a compilation of tracks that originally appeared on the Muse label in the 1970's, edited and sequenced by Mocean Worker to expand on the funk and textures inherent in the original recordings. And what results is a picture of fusion that is simultaneously melodic and funky, spacey but arranged, and almost never easy.
[available at amazon]

Heavy Flute (32 Jazz/M Label)
A great collection of funky flute tracks from the Atlantic label -- probably the one record company that did the most for getting the flute into the funky jazz mainstream, thanks to work by its giants like Herbie Mann, Hubert Laws, and Roland Kirk.
[available at dustygroove]

Strange Games and Funky Things (BBE)
There are 3 comps in this series but the 2nd and 3rd ones are the best of the bunch. One of the greatest soul compilation series ever! Kenny Dope put together the 3rd volume, and we might be tempted to say that it's the best one of the 3! Strange Games has a deceptively simple approach -- but the compilation features the kind of grooves that will keep you coming back and back again, and which will play well with both fans of older soul and modern beat-heads alike. Nearly every track has been sampled at some point over the past 10 years -- so you'll recognize many of the beats and riffs -- but the tracks are also totally excellent, and hold up extremely well on their own as smooth modern soul classics.
[available at dustygroove]

Between or Beyond the Black Forest (MPS)
An excellent set of funky jazz tracks from the legendary MPS label! The folks at Crippled Dick have outdone themselves this time -- and have even surpassed their previous set of MPS grooves by collecting a totally excellent batch of cuts, most of which haven't ever been reissued before! If you pay attention to jazz funk at all, you'll know that the German-based MPS label is one of the world's best sources for incredible grooves -- and the label had a 20 year tradition of mixing musics from many different sources, and for delivering some of the most groundbreaking funk of the 20th century! -- and it's all great, and packaged beautifully with great notes, photos, and album cover reproductions.
[available at dustygroove]

Africa Funk (Harmless)
An outstanding compilation that should do for African funk what the Nu Yorica set did for Latin grooves. Harmless have put together a double-length set of 13 rare hard cuts from the 70's, including many classics that you might know, but which sound superb in this tight setting.
[available at dustygroove]

Club Africa (Strut)
Strut's version of the above mentioned _Africa Funk_ but with more of a focus on club-oriented afro-jazz-funk-beat. "killer rhythms, monstrous basslines, heavy horn sections, and driving grooves, essential music for the head and feet". "This compilation is a fine introduction to the funk movement that swept West Africa in the 1970s. Raw, gutsy dance music with those unmistakable funky backbeats, this stuff makes you move! The guitar playing, horns and keyboards are sometimes rough, but that's part of the sound and the bass and drums crank out those rhythms that started in the tribelands and can now be found as the base of today's R&B and hip hop. Be sure to get Volume 2 also, which is even better than the first one!"
[available at amazon]

Sofistifunk - Jazzrock Club Classics (IRMA)
Sweet funky fusion tracks from the 70s -- featuring rare numbers from a variety of American and European sources, all characterized by some heavy riffing, tight grooves, and lots of that choppy funky that you buy 70s fusion for! Many tracks have heavy guitars -- but there's also plenty of sax and trumpet solos, and the requisite keyboard delights!
[available at dustygroove]

Blaxploitation (Global Television)
James Brown is here, as is Isaac Hayes' "Theme from Shaft". Curtis Mayfield chips in with the excellent "Pusherman" and "Superfly". Other artists include Bootsy Collins and Sly Stone. A lot of these songs may sound familiar, including Burt Bacharachs "Look of Love" and Gil Scott-Herons "Home is Where the Hatred is", neither of which is sung by the original artist. As well as other familiar tunes like "If You Want me to Stay" and "I'd Rather Be With You". All in all this album offers you an excellent dose of funk, soul and jazz with over 20 tracks on 2 cd's. Its packed full of energy and passionate rhythm.
[available at amazon]

Easy Tempo Vol. 1 - A Cinematic Easy Listening Experience (Easy Tempo)
The geniuses at Right Tempo have really outdone themselves this time! Easy Tempo is a fantastic compilation of extremely rare Italian soundtrack music, with a focus on cuts that have a heavy funk or electric jazz feel. There's lots of great work by folks like Piero Piccioni, Riz Ortolani, and Gianni Ferrio, and most of it only initially appeared on records released in Italy. There's lots for everyone here -- fans of lounge, fans of funk, and fans of breakbeats and basslines, which this CD has plenty of!
[available at dustygroove]

Panthalassa: The Music of Miles Davis 1969-1974 (Columbia)
A modern mix translation and reconstruction in sound conceived by producer Bill Laswell. Features newly restored performances and never-before-heard extended themes from 'In A Silent Way', 'On The Corner' and 'Get Up With It', all taken from the original multi-track tapes.
[availabe at amazon]

Freedom Jazz Dance (Schema)
A tremendous collection of modern jazzy groups -- featuring unreleased material by Schema Records legends Nicola Conte and Gerardo Frisina, plus some of the best bits from the European underground! The set does a great job of collecting "bubbling under" tracks that have been floating around on expensive singles for the past few years -- really going for the best of the bunch, and getting past the weak "fake" jazz tracks that too often get in the way! The whole thing's got a true jazzy groove that's up there with the best we've ever heard from Schema -- and it's a mad-riffing modal delight all the way through!
[available at dustygroove]

Now's The Time (Cosmic Sounds)
One of the most striking albums on the always-striking Cosmic Sounds label -- a rich collection of contemporary jazz tracks, showing the underground spirit of the 70s is alive and well! The tunes on this set are of recent origin, but many of them feel like they could have been lifted off of some of our favorite compilations of older tunes -- mixing jazz and world music influences, like some of the best sets on the Soul Jazz label, or some of the excellent Shibuya Jazz Classics series. The material is compiled by Kevin LeGendre in memory of his similarly titled show on the BBC, which presented work in a similar vein -- and the scope of the music is a bracing reminder of the persistence of creative energy in jazz!
[available at dustygroove]