In the 1980s and '90s, a lot of dance music spotlighted female singers with thin, weak voices who seem on the verge of death. But house music has often been a home to expressive, big-voiced divas who can truly wail -- a fine example being Paris Gray of the duo Inner City. Along with producer/composer Kevin Saunderson, Gray was responsible for some of the most rewarding dance music of the late '80s and early '90s. Inner City's debut album, Big Fun (titled Paradise in the U.K.), is full of house gems that enjoyed extensive dance club exposure, including "Good Life," "Do You Love What You Feel," "Ain't Nobody Better," and the title song. While Saunderson's production is decidedly high-tech, Gray's warm, passionate singing is mindful of dance music's heritage and underscores its soul and gospel roots in a delightful way. Unfortunately, Inner City never crossed over to the R&B or pop markets as Virgin Records hoped -- an irony considering that Big Fun is so much more individualistic and soulful than most of the generic efforts that dominated black radio in 1989.© Alex Henderson /TiVo

Released as a double LP on Chisa/Blue Thumb in 1972, Hugh Masekela's Home Is Where the Music Is marked a sharp detour from his more pop-oriented jazz records of the '60s. Masekela was chasing a different groove altogether. He was looking to create a very different kind of fusion, one that involved the rhythms and melodies of his native South Africa, and included the more spiritual, soul-driven explorations occurring in American music at the time on labels like Strata East, Tribe, and Black Jazz as well as those laid down by Gato Barbieri on Bob Thiele's Flying Dutchman imprint. The South African and American quintet he assembled for the date is smoking. It includes the mighty saxophonist Dudu Pakwana and drummer Makaya Ntshoko, both South African exiles; they were paired with American pianist Larry Willis and bassist Eddie Gomez, creating a wonderfully balanced, groove-oriented ensemble. Produced by Stewart Levine and composer Caiphus Semenya, this is a near mythic date that was reviewed favorably but infrequently back in the day.The ten tunes here range between five and 11 minutes; half were written by Semenya, Masekela and Willis wrote one apiece, and the balance were covers -- including a gorgeous arrangement of Miriam Makeba's "Uhomé." "Part of the Whole"opens the set with Willis on Fender Rhodes piano, with a lazy rolling blues groove that is equal parts soul-jazz and South African folk melody. The horns enter behind him playing a vamp before they ramp it up in the chorus twice before Pakwana takes his solo against the rhythm section. Willis' sense of time is indomitable and the funky breaks laid down by Ntshoko are beautifully balanced by Gomez's woody tone. Pakwana wails emotionally, swerving between post-bop and more free explorations. Masekela answers his solo on his flugelhorn in tight, hard blues lines. His flight remains inside with the rhythm section offering this deep groove-laden backing. It's merely a taste of things to come however, as the following cut, Sekou Toure's "Minawa," makes clear. Willis opens it with his own solo backed by the rhythm section; his touch is deft, light, elegant, and deeply melodic. It feels like a different band until the horns enter. When they do, they open that intricate lyric line into waves of passion and restraint. Semenya's "The Big Apple," feels like a tune written by Ramsey Lewis with a horn section backing him. It's all bass note groove, hypnotic repetition, and soulful blues before the horns get to move around one another and solo above Willis' beautiful fills on the grand piano. This set marks the first appearance of Willis' tune "Inner Crisis," the title track of his debut solo LP which would appear a year later on Groove Merchant -- only this time with an acoustic piano intro before moving to the Rhodes. This track is a funky spiritual jazz classic and this version may be better than his -- largely due to this killer horn section. Other standouts include Kippie Moeketsi's loping "Blues for Huey," the ballad "Nomali," and Masekela's knotty, joyous "Maseru." In sum, Home Is Where the Music Is, is a stone spiritual soul-jazz classic, that melds the sound of numerous emerging jazz schools in its pursuit of musical excellence; it succeeds on all counts and is one of the greatest recordings in Hugh Masekela's long career. In a year full of amazing titles, this is still a standout.© Thom Jurek /TiVo

On this 1996 recording, improbably the first to ever feature him leading a big band, the inimitable Joe Henderson assembled nine compositions (seven of which were self-penned) and a topnotch band for a very interesting record. Volumes have been written about Henderson as a soloist but, on Big Band, even the longest-term Henderson fan gets to hear his prodigious skills as a big band arranger for the first time. Influenced by Bill Holman and Bill Russo as much as by classical composers Igor Stravinsky and Bela Bartok, his charts are cool and sophisticated. Of course, Henderson's cause is helped by the absolutely unquestioned majesty of the core material, as well as a fine batch of co-soloists, including Chick Corea, Christian McBride, and Freddie Hubbard. The Slide Hampton-arranged "Isotope" is one of the finest moments on the record, with an almost amusingly dramatic introduction that evokes a film noir score before it accelerates into the famous theme. Corea's solo is absolutely masterful, a headlong rush into nothingness that somehow manages to land on its feet. When laid side by side, his solos often outstrip the leader's in their inventiveness and capability to draw the listener into the song. This is not, however, to downplay the contributions of the leader as a soloist; Henderson's tenor is as lovely as ever. Fantastic solos notwithstanding, it is the wonderful arrangements of these deservedly classic songs that make this album so valuable. Listen to the Robin Eubanks-led trombone section in "A Shade of Jade" for a quick taste of what it sounds like when everything about a big band comes together just so. There is not a lot to dislike about Joe Henderson's first recorded foray into big-band arranging. Recommended.© Daniel Gioffre /TiVo

A gentle giant with an unassuming voice and a knack for distilling New Orleans R&B, Tropicália, and '70s soft rock into a sweet and smoky, Southern-style indie pop confection, Richmond, Virginia-based singer/songwriter and arranger Matthew E. White's Hometapes' debut, Big Inner, is as frustrating as it is cosmically transcendent. Part Allen Toussaint, part Chico Buarque, and more than a little bit of Harry Nilsson, White's musicality (he moonlights as the leader of avant-garde jazz band Fight the Big Bull) is impressive to say the least, and stand-out cuts like "Steady Pace" and the nearly-ten-minute "Brazos" suggest a real musical awakening. The soulful, sultry opener "One of These Days" serves as a great litmus test for what follows, casting a languid spell over the listener with its measured, neo-soul build and lush ornamentations. In fact, White's arrangements (his string parts are pure, Sail Away-era Randy Newman) are so good, that it's tempting to write off the fact that his deadpan, pitchy delivery nearly sucks the life out of them. That said, fans of Arthur Russell, Fred Neil, Lambchop, and even the National may be more forgiving, as White's gift for sonic world building is on display throughout Big Inner's 40-minute run time, and while he may sound like a Donny Hathaway-obsessed, Palace-era Will Oldham, or an even less-interested M. Ward, his old-school affectations never feel like shtick. © James Christopher Monger /TiVo