The 1970s saw a plethora of great funk and jazz albums that for somewhat mystifying reasons have failed to be reissued. Sitting at home one night it occurred to me that we had better get a move on and get them out. With this in mind we are this month launching BGP Funk and Soul Classics: long out-of-print albums on CD featuring the very best mastering, great packaging and some nifty sleeve notes to let you know where the album fits into the scheme of things. Our first batch of releases come from the extensive catalogue of Fantasy Records and feature a host of albums that are sought after by collectors the world over. * Nowadays known as "Queen" Esther Marrow, her gospel and stage performances have made her a worldwide concert draw. She recorded two sought-after funk albums early in her career, marked by some excellent songs and fantastic musicianship. "Sister Woman" was her second LP (her debut was on Bob Thiele's Flying Dutchman label, and was earmarked for the Prestige label, before Prestige was bought by Fantasy). * A great combination of a killer band, that included Bernard Purdie, Cornell Dupree and Richard Tee and a great selection of songs. `Things Ain't Right' and `And When I Die' are funk-fuelled floorfillers, and her cover of `The Ghetto' is simply amazing.