Funky Compilations — All Formats  

Beautiful bossa from the vaults of Brazil's Elenco Records – warm, breezy treasures from the heart of the 60s with numbers by legendary singers and groups such as Edo Lobo, Quarteto Me Cy, Nara Leao, Baden Powell, MPB-4 and more! The independent Elenco label was founded in Rio in 1963 and aimed to bring the biggest names in bossa together under one roof. The label not only succeeded in that effort, but the artists brought out some of their best performances! Soul Jazz not only puts together essential material – compiled by Stuart Baker, who also contributes the exceptional sleeve notes – they manage to outdo themselves, which is honestly an incredible thing, considering that every compilation they put out is filled with treasures. The booklet features Baker's notes, some photos of the artists, and some original Elenco album cover art – the latter of which is nicely paid tribute to with Soul Jazz's own packaging for the set. 23 tracks in all: "Resolucao" by Edu Lobo w/Tamba Trio, "Consolocao" by Baden Powell, "O Canto De Ossanha" by Quarteto Em Cy, "Zanzibar" by Edu Lobo, "Maria Moita" by Nara Leo, "Enquanto A Tristesse Nao Vem" by Sergio Ricardo, "Negro" by Lucio Alves, "Sentinela" by MPB-4 and more.

An amazing document of a short-lived, but really incredible genre – the 50s mix of R&B and Latin-inspired rhythms – particularly the heavy piano of a mambo-styled groove! The sound seems an unlikely mix, but it's one that you've no doubt heard on a few famous Atlantic Records singles from the time – taken up here by a host of much more obscure artists, who really know how to make the rhythms leap along with the grooves! The approach has definite echoes of New Orleans R&B, particularly in its use of the piano in heavy comping lines – but there's also a much wider sound going on too, especially in the way the percussion often drives the tunes in really unusual ways. The album's overflowing with amazing tracks – and titles include "Salty Dog" by Marvin Phillips, "Big Joe Mambo" by Fay Simmons, "Mambo Mexicana" by Gerald Wilson, "Snake Charmer" by Mad Man Jones, "Boppin With The Mambo" by The Sultans, "Honeydripper Mambo" by Alfredito, "A Dream" by Billy Red Love, "Pu Chun Ga" by Elene Madera, "Cozy & Bossa" by Cozy Cole, "Shrinking Up Fast" by Camille Howard, "Take A Chance On Me" by Annisteen Allen, "Eee Ooo Voodoo" by Red Callender, and "Down To The Bottom" by Larry Dale.

Groovy, moddish, magnificent and sunny girl pop from The Land Of The Rising Sun – pummeling drums, jumping arrangements and groovy vocals from the mid-to-late 60s Japanese scene! This is fantastic stuff, any kitch or novelty appeal you might be expecting is kind of muted by the exceptional quality and excellent performances – but it is flat out fun! As the title states, strains of pop, beat & bossa – plus mod & psychedelic fuzz – and the vocals girl group vocals are bright, rocking, playful or sultry or innocent depending on the groove! 25 tracks in all: "Black Room by Jun Mayuzumi, Sharock No 1" by Mie Nakao, "Nagisa No Tenshi" by Mieko Hirota, "Hatsu Koi No Letter" by Miki Obata, "Bazazz Tengoku" by The Cupids, "Aeba Suki Suki" by Margaret With Bunnys, "Nukui Aitsu" by Mika Nohira, "Kiiro No Sekai" by J Girls and more.

A wonderfully offbeat strain of European pop from the 60s – rare recordings from the Catalonian area, that weird space in Spain that's also linked to southern France and the Mediterranean islands as well! There's a really playful feel to most of these numbers – and although many cuts are remakes of big Anglo hits, they've been re-fitted with new language, and some plenty cool arrangements that often make the music sound even groovier than in the original versions! In terms of spirit, we'd definitely compare a lot of this work to the best mid 60s pop coming from Paris – the groovy goodies of the "yeh yeh" generation – although in the end, the music's also very much it's own thing as well. Titles include "Cap A Futbol" by Guillermina Motta, "Yeh Yeh" by Tony, "Es Una Dona" by Nuri, "Febre" by Guillem D'Efak, "El Meu Trastet" by Santi Sans, "Soc Molt Poca Cosa" by Jacinta, "Amor" by Jordi Teijon, "Desafinat" by Grau Carol, and "El Cinemascop" by Llorenc Torres.

A wonderfully offbeat strain of European pop from the 60s – rare recordings from the Catalonian area, that weird space in Spain that's also linked to southern France and the Mediterranean islands as well! There's a really playful feel to most of these numbers – and although many cuts are remakes of big Anglo hits, they've been re-fitted with new language, and some plenty cool arrangements that often make the music sound even groovier than in the original versions! In terms of spirit, we'd definitely compare a lot of this work to the best mid 60s pop coming from Paris – the groovy goodies of the "yeh yeh" generation – although in the end, the music's also very much it's own thing as well. Titles include "Cap A Futbol" by Guillermina Motta, "Yeh Yeh" by Tony, "Es Una Dona" by Nuri, "Febre" by Guillem D'Efak, "El Meu Trastet" by Santi Sans, "Soc Molt Poca Cosa" by Jacinta, "Amor" by Jordi Teijon, "Desafinat" by Grau Carol, and "El Cinemascop" by Llorenc Torres.

Groovy, moddish, magnificent and sunny girl pop from The Land Of The Rising Sun – pummeling drums, jumping arrangements and groovy vocals from the mid-to-late 60s Japanese scene! This is fantastic stuff, any kitch or novelty appeal you might be expecting is kind of muted by the exceptional quality and excellent performances – but it is flat out fun! As the title states, strains of pop, beat & bossa – plus mod & psychedelic fuzz – and the vocals girl group vocals are bright, rocking, playful or sultry or innocent depending on the groove! 25 tracks in all: "Black Room by Jun Mayuzumi, Sharock No 1" by Mie Nakao, "Nagisa No Tenshi" by Mieko Hirota, "Hatsu Koi No Letter" by Miki Obata, "Bazazz Tengoku" by The Cupids, "Aeba Suki Suki" by Margaret With Bunnys, "Nukui Aitsu" by Mika Nohira, "Kiiro No Sekai" by J Girls and more.

An amazing document of a short-lived, but really incredible genre – the 50s mix of R&B and Latin-inspired rhythms – particularly the heavy piano of a mambo-styled groove! The sound seems an unlikely mix, but it's one that you've no doubt heard on a few famous Atlantic Records singles from the time – taken up here by a host of much more obscure artists, who really know how to make the rhythms leap along with the grooves! The approach has definite echoes of New Orleans R&B, particularly in its use of the piano in heavy comping lines – but there's also a much wider sound going on too, especially in the way the percussion often drives the tunes in really unusual ways. The album's overflowing with amazing tracks – and titles include "Salty Dog" by Marvin Phillips, "Big Joe Mambo" by Fay Simmons, "Mambo Mexicana" by Gerald Wilson, "Snake Charmer" by Mad Man Jones, "Boppin With The Mambo" by The Sultans, "Honeydripper Mambo" by Alfredito, "A Dream" by Billy Red Love, "Pu Chun Ga" by Elene Madera, "Cozy & Bossa" by Cozy Cole, "Shrinking Up Fast" by Camille Howard, "Take A Chance On Me" by Annisteen Allen, "Eee Ooo Voodoo" by Red Callender, and "Down To The Bottom" by Larry Dale.

A great mix of jazz, bossa, and other European grooves from the 60s and 70s – a smashing compilation of rare tracks, very much like others in this series! There's not much of a structure to the collection, but the cuts are all mighty nice – a really well-selected batch of numbers that includes "Conversations" by Silhouettes, "Sombre Guitar" by Danser's Inferno, "Claudia" by Panema Leblon, "Autumn Leaves" by Milt Jackson, "Jive Samba" by Jon Hendricks, "Here We Are Falling In Love" by Meta Roos, "Le Coeur Qui Jazze" by France Gall, "Exotica" by Walter Kubiczec, "Uela Uela" by Charly Antonlini, and "Sunshine Superman" by Big Jim Sullivan.

One of the dreamiest sets of sound library tunes we've ever heard – a sampling of work from the De Wolfe Sound Library, with a sound that's different than most other compilations of this type! While most sound library compilations focus on the funkier or beat-heavy tracks, this great little gem goes for the groovy and jazzy numbers – and picks the best of De Wolfe's light and breezy output, including some killer bossa and soundtrack-type cuts. There's a really jazz feel to the whole set – no surprise, as many of the talents were actual recording jazz players themselves, simply working in the studio for De Wolfe in order to bring in a little extra cash. The whole thing's great – really overflowing with great numbers that will show you that the sound library scene is still wonderfully under-tapped! Titles include "Gentle Soul", "Sandy", and "Dazzle" by Roger Webb; "Red Spanish Onions" by David Goykovich, "Boat Race" by Ludovic Decosne, "Holiday Job" by Simon Haseley, "Big Incentive" by Reg Tilsley, and "Up & Away" by P Kass.

One of the dreamiest sets of sound library tunes we've ever heard – a sampling of work from the De Wolfe Sound Library, with a sound that's different than most other compilations of this type! While most sound library compilations focus on the funkier or beat-heavy tracks, this great little gem goes for the groovy and jazzy numbers – and picks the best of De Wolfe's light and breezy output, including some killer bossa and soundtrack-type cuts. There's a really jazz feel to the whole set – no surprise, as many of the talents were actual recording jazz players themselves, simply working in the studio for De Wolfe in order to bring in a little extra cash. The whole thing's great – really overflowing with great numbers that will show you that the sound library scene is still wonderfully under-tapped! Titles include "Gentle Soul", "Sandy", and "Dazzle" by Roger Webb; "Red Spanish Onions" by David Goykovich, "Boat Race" by Ludovic Decosne, "Holiday Job" by Simon Haseley, "Big Incentive" by Reg Tilsley, and "Up & Away" by P Kass.

Snowboy returns with another batch of grooves in the Hi Hat series – the first volume we've heard under that name in awhile – and while the sound is still great, the format here is a bit different than before! The style this time around is heavily jazzy – and pulled from records that are even more obscure than those used on previous volumes – mostly relatively recent recordings from the past decade or so, but those which were ignored the first time around – making the music here seem even more fresh! Most of the numbers are titles that were buried in more conventional records, but which stand out as modern jazz dance tracks – keeping the spirit of modal, hardbop, and Latin-styled jazz grooves alive and well on the dancefloor – as testified by the album's photos from Snowboy's Hi Hat club night! Titles include "Sunny Day (live)" by Jon Lucien, "Speed Trap" by Peter King, "If I Perish" by Terrell Stafford, "Our Man In Havana" by Cubana Bop, "Seven Steps To Heaven" by World Saxophone Quartet, "Caribbean Fire Dance" by Bobby Sanabria & Ascension, "Blue Bossa" by McCoy Tyner Latin Big Band, and "Fical Mal Com Deus" by Airto.