Fresh Air

The Bronx-based band Air released only one album in its short tenure, a self-titled collection produced by Herbie Mann and released on his own Embryo label in 1971. The music is hard to categorize, occupying a space somewhere between jazz and folk (Other Music's Duane Harriott put it well: "If you can imagine Soft Machine jammin' with Weldon Irvine, you're almost there"), but the real draw is the unique soul in the voice of frontwoman Googie Coppola. There are definitely some more upbeat jams, but here's the one I always go back to:

Air Jail Cell mp3

The vinyl is tough to find (I traded for mine at Sound Library several years ago and I think the price tag was $45.00). Luckily you can snap up the CD, re-issued this week by DBK, for a cool soundtrack to the last few months of summer.