There are dozens of compilations of music by Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango, one of the great globetrotters in world music, who brought the sound of his trademark “Soul Makossa“ (that had little actual makossa in it) to Europe, the United States, Asia, and beyond. He has recorded with everyone from Sly & Robbie to Fela Kuti to Don Cherry. He has been recording since the 1960s, and criss-crossing the globe since 1972. That said, of all the compilations out there, this one is unique. First of all, its 17 tracks are all previously unreleased. Secondly, recorded in both France and in New York, the music contained herein was written and recorded for soundtracks and library recordings; meaning, of course, that apart from cinema, this music appeared in television programs and in commercial radio and television advertising. The list of musicians and complete discographical information is unavailable, but the French Fremaux & Associes imprint that compiled these sides has done an admirable job of getting Dibango to go into his memory banks and offer at least partial details. All of these tracks were cut between 1971 and 1975. The French recordings were easier because they contained players from his Parisian band: Jacques Bolognesi, Ivan Julien, François Jeanneau, and Slim Pezinhere. The sides recorded in New York contained guest musicians that were all jazz superstars, including drummer Tony Williams, bassist Buster Williams, and pianist Cedar Walton. Not surprisingly, the sounds here are of a wide variety, they are not only appealing, but stellar. The styles range from the Afro-beat sounds in “Lagos Go Slow,” to the funky, African jazz of “Da Bush a Bush,” to the Gato Barbieri-influenced Afro-Cuban jazz funk in “Blowin’ Western Mind,” to straight-up exotica funk on “Aphrodite Shake.” This set offers the many sides of one of Africa’s and the world’s most diverse musicians at his very best. Anyone who’s ever been interested in Dibango’s music will want this set. There are liners by Benjamin Goldstein, Jacques Denis, and Patrick Fremaux, and though they hold less actual historical information than the music fanatic would necessarily desire, they are aesthetically and culturally informative. In true label fashion, this set is attractively packaged and competitively priced.© Thom Jurek /TiVo

To an extent greater than that of Over It, Still Over It exhibits Summer Walker's knack for writing with detail and specificity while relating to a broad range of listeners. Take "4th Baby Mama." First, there's the title, named for the singer's role in the life of London on Da Track, the producer of nine of the album's other songs. The ballad digs into the minutiae of Walker's grievances with her ex, but it's the numbness and bafflement at egocentricity, unfaithfulness, failure to accept responsibility, and other issues common among bad partners, that cut through. In the majority of the songs ahead of it, Walker likewise lays bare her thoughts no matter how particular or detailed. Colorful and plain critiques alike, from "I wanna start with your mama/She shoulda whooped your ass" to "You should know my body by now," have major significance. One doesn't need to have experienced such unique scenarios, or even be familiar with how Walker's life has played out on social media, to understand and feel where she is coming from. Somewhere in the second half of this hour-plus album, the mostly sedate sequence of productions -- some without beats, others with dragging trap-styled percussion -- make for laborious listening. The trade-off is Walker's vivid and biting lyrics and knack for singing them with such grace that they please the ear as much as they raise eyebrows. The stagnation is all the more tolerable when the first half contains "Ex for a Reason," a Miami-meets-Atlanta bass jam and one of the era's most flavorsome crossover R&B hits. The la-di-da "Try me, trespass/Guaranteed to beat yo ass" is wielded like a knife coated in icing. © Andy Kellman /TiVo

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