San Francisco's Ubiquity Records was first devoted to acid jazz, that ambitiously named, thin-bodied style that died a quiet death in the mid-Nineties. The label has survived by holding true to the ethos of one of its spiritual fathers, jazz-funk legend Roy Ayers (whose Seventies group was also named Ubiquity): Evolve, but by all means stay in the groove.

On No Categories: A Ubiquity Compilation, down-tempo beats, honeydipped drum-and-bass, left-of-center hip-hop and vintage soul jazz commingle without any fuss. A mix of reissued tracks from Seventies funkateers and new music from Nineties hipsters, the double-album set showcases contemporary beatniks like Bugs (whose unhurried "About You" sounds like Portishead without the noir pretensions) alongside flea-market finds such as trumpeter Longineu Parsons (who contributes the cornily appealing romp "Funkin' Around," recorded in Paris in 1980). After two discs of listening, the best kind of small label emerges out of the disparate tracks – a place where anything is permitted as long as, in its own way, the music swings. (RS 788)

NATHAN BRACKETT