DJ Ian Head Monthly Mixtapes

Heavy fusion melters on this one! RIP to the legends Dexter Wansel and Rob Base. Tracklist: Galactic Force Band, Dexter Wansel, Barry De Vorzon, Brian Bennett, Vels Trio, Thijs Van Leer, Peter Green, Dexter Wansel, Alan Hawkshaw, Boom Clap Bachelors

Spent a week in Sweden - and Copenhagen - trying to find as many interesting and affordable jazz records as I could! Some really dope shops and dealers and all kinds of music and records. Here's a few - not necessarily Swedish musicians only but an array of the pieces I picked up. Tracklist: Ragnarök, Entrance, Finn Savery Trio, EGBA, H and K, Collage, Jan Hammer Junior Trio, Jazz Q Praha

Been stacking up a lot of records to listen to recently - honestly buying more than I was listening, which isn't healthy. So it's time to start going through some of these and engaging with the amazing music on each one. Real eclectic mix today, probably another similar mix coming soon. Stay well out there everyone. Tracklist: Jules Blattner Group, Mini Mizzou, Univ of New Orleans Jazz Lab, Junior Mance, Cannonball and Nat Adderley, Al Rose Trio, Union Light Gospel Singers, Alan Lee Jazz Quartet

Seems like a good time to remind folks - especially in the US - that Cuba has continued to suffer under the US embargo and especially recently under the more aggressive Trump measures, things are in a horrific place and many people are dying. This mix of OG Cuban records - some bought on my trip to the country in 2015 - is a tribute to the amazing people across the country who have continued to fight and stand up against imperialism and colonialist powers. Yeah there's some crackle but hopefully it doesn't stop you from enjoying this amazing music. Tracklist: Experimental Sound Collective, Pedro Gomez, Juan Formell, Ikarere, FA-5, Juan Pablo Torres, Los 5-U-4, Felipe Duizaides, Grupo de Experimente, Emiliano Salvador, Frank Emiliano

DJs Junior and Lil Dave have been dropping some of the best new (and older) music weekly on Philadelphia radio for many, many years every Friday night. I regularly tune in via podcast to catch up on the most soulful new house jams, funk edits, hip-hop and so much more. You can subscribe here and wherever you might catch podcasts - http://podomatic.com/podcasts/eavesdropradio. It was an honor to drop a quick set of recent favorites! Just posting my set here but go check the whole episode at the link above! Tracklist: Collapsible Mammals, Libretto and Theory Hazit ft. Jumbo and Memphis Maccie, The Physics, Khingz and Mic Flont, Jazzboid, Momoko Gill, Visioneers, Dez Andres, Moses Yoofee Trio, Evolve-One, Corey Fonville with Sam Fribush and Charlie Hunter, Liz Vice

Like many people, I love the well-produced 'live in studio' videos musicians and artists have done over the past decade or so, especially the ongoing series from NPR's Tiny Desk and KEXP's studio sessions. There's also other great performances that mostly are available only in the depths of YouTube, though it seems like some artists are finally realizing they could press these on vinyl or release them separately as well. Here's a few of my favorites over the years that I've been rocking to now and then but figured I'd throw into a mix. Salute to all these amazing folks - like Scarface says, there's something about great music man!! Tracklist: Anderson Paak, Scarface, Liz Vice, Suprise Chef, Jamila Woods, Mac Miller, Freddie Gibbs, Amos Miller, The Lox, Noname

Been awhile since I've done a J-Dilla dedication, thought I'd pull a few favorites and related tracks / covers from the crates for you all. All praise due! Tracklist: Hugh Hopper, Something for the People, Macy Gray, Visioneers, Carlos Nino Miguel Atwood-Fergueson Georgia Muldrow, Jaubi

Felt like getting into some hip-hop wax this week, here's a few joints relevant to current events. Enjoy! Tracklist: Big L and Fat Joe, Pacewon, Gangstarr, Cypress Hill, Del, The Coup, The Fugees, Large Professor ft Q-Tip

Went back into the stacks to play a few classics, create a certain soundtrack for the time. Needed to come back to prescient voices of Nina, Gil, and others. Don't let these nazi stormtroopers instill fear in your soul, and at the same time, stay safe! Tracklist: Eugene McDaniels, The Middlebrooks Musical Ensemble, Ashton Gardner, Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson, dia prometido, Mandrill, Nina Simone, Lou Bond, Blackalicious

Kicking off the new years with some recent finds containing cover versions of classics old and new. Hard to simply just play records at this moment in time with ICE murdering people in the street and the federal government tweeting out literal KKK slogans. Please stay safe and if you can, give money to STOPICE.NET or local groups doing copwatch or ICE watch in your area if you can! Tracklist: Tania, Dick Drew Trio, Alex Santos Orchestra, DJM Trio, Walt Harper, Dave Rooney Trio, George Kawaguchi, Konosuke Saijyo

These are some of my favorite record purchases this past year - some are more expensive that I happened across at a flea market or online, while others were unknown to me, fortunate pick-ups from the Salvation Army milkcrates or a random jazz bin in from a store in central Cali. All have importance to me in different ways and are beautiful pieces of music. Stay safe out there as we end the year and move into the next! Go Birds, F--- ICE, Free Pal****** ! Tracklist: Pat Pace Trio, Oscar Peterson, Herb Drury Trio, Peter Dutchin, Spanky Wilson, Liana Pascalini, Rene Costy, Ahmad Jamal Trio, Abdullah Ibrahim

Even though hip-hop music is the basis for all my record collecting, I have trouble staying up on all the new releases these days as I drift more and more into jazz and other musical forms. Shout out to my guy Noah for keeping me as informed as possible about new releases! These are a few tracks that have gotten a lot of repeated listens this past year. Mixed on Serato since a few of these have not seen vinyl releases quite yet or won't at all (and that's ok!!). Enjoy! Tracklist: Myka9 and Blu, DJ Fresh and Paul Wall, Jumbo, Khingz, Replife, Ransom and DJ Premier, Raekwon ft Carlton Frisk and Inspectah Deck, Clipse, Jumbo, De La Soul, Murs, The Grouch

Took a long breather over the month of November, back now with a stack of the new and old digs. RIP the great Jamil Al-Amin fka H. Rap Brown, immortalized on the Flying Dutchman release with Leon Thomas. It's December and things are getting cold in most parts of the country, for those with means please donate to your local shelters and places like Food Not Bombs, or to your favorite local organization fighting ICE, the cops and the state. Hope everyone is keeping your head up. More music and mixes soon! Tracklist: H. Rap Brown, 4hero, Les McCann, Bermuda Symphony Trio, Chucho Valdes, Cheo Feliciano, Ted Vining Trio, Radics Eyguttes, Walter Bishop Jr., John Wood, Kenny Barron

Been doing a fair amount of travel and digging the last couple months, making finds at antique shops as well as the floor-level bins at record stores. Taking chances on things when I can and selecting a few others from the wall if it's a fair price and I likely won't see it again. Here's a good mix of what I've grabbed recently, super eclectic, dig in! Tracklist: Roy Brown, Liana Pascalini and the Internationals, Walfredo de los Reyes, Trio Fronteras Mondiales, Kebnekrise, Dance Caravan, Blues Project, Kassa, Stanford Mendicants, Triste Janero

Was recently in Chicago and had many record store adventures. One record that popped up in the cheap bins was something I'd been after, "Chicago Jazz Dance Revival at Gus Place" by the Johnny Frigo Quartet. Frigo and his various groups put out several records of "jazz dance music" for Gus Giordano in the late 60s and early 70s covering jazz, rock and funk tunes of the day. I've been slowly grabbing these albums over the years when I find them and figured now might be a moment to play a few selections on the podcast. Dig in!

Cannonball would have turned 97 this month were he still with us. His records were some of the first I collected - there are so many and so varied, his dedication to recording live sets for his albums and playing with countless amazing musicians, infusing politics into his music and his "raps" in-between songs, is all legendary. I had not realized until now that all of this was done in such a short amount of time - he passed away at the age of 46, one year younger than I am now. To have played and recorded with the legends (Miles et al) then go on to create a massive discography and universe of his own music - along with his brother Nat - is an astonishing feat. Salute!

The world is spinning and it's hard to keep up with everything right now! Been out digging though, shopping and selecting a nice stack of favorites and obscurities the past month. Hope everyone is holding tight and not giving up! There are still paths to victory, don't let the naysayers stop any of us. Tracklist: Spanky Wilson, Irma Thomas, Nucleus, Osmar Milito, Natural Four, Freidrich Gulda, Janne Schaffer, Andrei Nikolsky, Pete Seeger.

It's the 10th annual PDX Hip-Hop Week this week, and so I figured it was a good time to re-up this mix from 2011. Featuring amazing and legendary artists like Lifesavas, Cool Nutz, Five Fingers of Funk, Libretto, Mic Crenshaw and more. From cassettes, CDs and wax, some hip-hop classics from my hometown.

Short mix of some of my favorite G-funk instrumentals, with several from the originator himself, Warren G, as well as a couple other LA producers. Something for the late summer, windows down, city streets at twilight.

A brief tribute to the legend Eddie Palmieri, whose music and politics were inspiring and incredible, especially right now in this moment! Brilliant and beautiful music, these are just a few of my favorites from his records.