Funky Compilations — All Formats  

Blue Note Now – and Blue Note Then – a cool little set that mixes contemporary grooves from the Blue Note catalog with some of the older gems that made the label great back in the 50s, 60s, and 70s! In truth, some of the contemporary cuts go back more than a few years – but come together nicely on CD1, to show the way the label's really grown in the past decade or two – moving into great soulful territory with tracks like "Little B's Poem" by Quasimode, "Freedom Dance" by Lionel Loueke, "It's All Over Your Body" by Jose James, "Black Radio" by Robert Glasper Experiment, "Soin Something" by Soulive, and "Time After Time" by Cassandra Wilson. CD2 features loads of older killers – including "Feel Like Makin Love" by Marlena Shaw, "Harlem River Drive" by Bobbi Humphrey, "Kathy" by Horace Silver, "Adams Apple" by Wayne Shorter, "Afrodisia" by Kenny Dorham, "Black Byrd" by Donald Byrd, and "Speedball" by Lee Morgan.

A bit trippy, but also pretty darn funky – a wonderfully groove-conscious assortment of work from Blue Note and some other EMI-related labels – most of it from the tail end of the 60s and the hip start of the 70s! There's a bit less psychedelia here than you might guess from the title, but that's ok with us – as the track list is wonderful – and features some of the hippest, most mature grooves coming out at the time – a blend of cuts that ranges from righteous soul jazz to the soaring productions of Larry Mizell! Titles include "Howling For Judy" by Jeremy Steig, "Streets Of Calcutta" by Ananda Shankar, "Light My Fire" by John Andrews Tartaglia, "Wind Parade" by Donald Byrd, "Hallelujah I'm Coming Home" by Candido, "Acid Pot Or Pills" by Horace Silver, "Music Is My Sanctuary" by Gary Bartz, "Harlem River Drive" by Bobbi Humphrey, "Cristo Redentor" by Donald Byrd, and "Love For Sale" by Gene Harris. 12 tracks in all!

Despite the "primitivist" sort of leanings you might expect from the "roots" in the title, this is actually a nice batch of tracks from the catalogs of Blue Note and World Pacific during the 60's – and they're all jazz tracks that have a slight Africanist influence, but which are certainly not African tracks themselves. The 13 tracks include loads of nice hard to find ones, including "Blue Dashiki" by Blue Mitchell, "Appointment in Ghana" by the Jazz Crusaders, "Marabi" by Cannonball Adderley, "Ghana Spice" Candido, "Zulu" by Randy Weston, "Zambia" by Lee Morgan, and "Follow Me To Africa" by Solomon Ilori & His Afro Drum Ensemble.

They might well call this a Beginners Guide To Blue Note Jazz Funk – given that most of the tracks here are from the hip 70s run at Blue Note Records! The vibe is wonderful – funky and soulful, but definitely with jazz at the forefront – as older soloists were finding new ways to reach their audiences through electric grooves – and younger players were making a huge name for themselves through a very inventive approach to their work! The 3CD set is a hell of a deal for the money – with 33 tracks that include loads of Blue Note gems, plus some 70s Capitol funk and soul tracks too – titles that include "As" by Gene Harris, "Dominoes" by Donald Byrd, "The Genie" by Bobby Lyle, "Down The Way" by John Lee & Gerry Brown, "Chicago Damn" by Bobbi Humphrey, "Sassy Soul Strut" by Lou Donaldson, "Think Twice" by Donald Byrd, "Tidal Wave" by Ronnie Laws, "London Town" by Light Of The World, "Windy C" by 100% Pure Poison, "Daisy Mae" by Raul De Souza, "Movin" by Brass Construction, "Prance On" by Eddie Henderson, "Music Is My Sanctuary" by Gary Bartz, "Abdullah & Abraham" by Chico Hamilton, "Cheshire Cat" by Ronnie Foster, "Funky Sneakers" by Willie Bobo, "Sunshine" by Nancy Wilson, "People Make The World Go Round" by Bobby Hutcherson, and "Sky Islands" by Caldera.

The best bits from one of our favorite compilation series ever – Blue Juice, the 3 volume set on Blue Note that brings together a mind-bending mix of funky soul, jazzy funk, groovy grooves, and other odd and delightful bits from a wide variety of sources! This one shows the expansive scope of the groove scene and crate-diggers over the past decade – turning a focus on some great and passed-over grooves from the late 60s and early 70s that sparkle again on this fantastic set! Titles include "Feelin Alright" by Trinidad Oil Company, "Fever" by Patti Drew, "Tighten Up" by Benny Gordon, "Sookie Sookie" by Tina Britt, "I Want To Testify" by Bobby Bryant, "Listen Here" by Groove Holmes, "Get Out Of My Life Woman" by George Semper, "Never Come Closer" by Doris, "California Soul" by Gerald Wilson, "Cristo Redentor" by Ferrante & Teicher, and "Mississippi Delta" by Bobbi Gentry.

The sweet sound of 70s Blue Note – a really wonderful stretch for the label, and a time when the company was stretching out in a range of sublimely soulful directions! This period's probably best known for the influence of Larry Mizell on some of the label's key players, but it's also got plenty more to offer too – Brazilian influences in the rhythms, electric undercurrents in the instrumentation, and some especially soulful vocals on some of the best-remembered tracks. Old players are born anew, new players rise to lofty heights, and the whole thing's an amazing discovery in jazz – filled with key tracks that do a better job of summing up 70s Blue Note than our few worlds ever could! 20 tracks in all – including "Chicago Damn" by Bobbi Humphrey, "Koko & Lee Roe" by Gene Harris, "Love So Far Away" by Donald Byrd, "Fun House" by Bobbi Humphrey, "Cheshire Cat" by Ronnie Foster, "Kumquat Kid" by Eddie Henderson, "People Make The World Go Round" by Bobby Hutcherson, "In Pursuit Of the 27th Man" by Horace Silver, "You're Everything" by Carmen McRae, "Route" by Moacir Santos, "Sassy Soul Strut" by Lou Donaldson, "Always There" by Ronnie Laws, "Essence Of Mystery" by Alphonse Mouzon, and "Motherland" by The Waters.

A great introduction to the amazing hardbop work recorded by Blue Note in the late 50s and 1960s – served up as a massive 2CD set filled with some of the label's most cooking classics! The sound here is always tight, right, and to the point – a key illustration of the care and focus that Blue Note brought to the studio when recording jazz work of this nature, which always helped them get the best work out of all players on the session. The 19 track collection is beautifully packaged with full notes and album cover images for each track – and a set of music that goes way past the hits, to feature real gems that include "The African Queen" by Horace Silver, "After The Rain" by Duke Pearson, "No Room For Squares" by Hank Mobley, "Mosaic" by Art Blakey, "Nite Flite" by Lee Morgan, "Footprints" by Wayne Shorter, "Easterly Winds" by Jack Wilson, "A Little Busy" by Art Blakey, "The Black Disciple" by Donald Byrd, "Una Muy Bonita" by Bobby Hutcherson, "Hootnan" by Jackie McLean, and "Hobo Joe" by Johhny Coles.

A cool collection of gems from the 70s years at Blue Note Records – a stretch that's often overlooked by folks digging for older hardbop from the 50s and 60s, but a tremendous time for the label, when it really burst forward with new sounds! BNLA was the initial part of the catalog number during this generation – hence the title – and the collection brings together a wealth of funk, soul, and fusion tracks from this crucial Blue Note stretch. The package features 20 tracks on 2CDs – including "People Make The World Go Round" by Bobby Hutcherson, "Mango Sunrise" by John Lee & Gerry Brown, "Chunky" by Ronnie Foster, "Abdullah & Abraham" by Chico Hamilton, "Galaxy" by Eddie Henderson, "His Blessings" by McCoy Tyner, "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" by Marlena Shaw, "Betcha By Golly Wow" by Grant Green, "City Country City" by Lou Donaldson, "Lansana's Priestess" by Donald Byrd, "Harlem River Drive" by Bobbi Humphrey, "La Malanga" by Bobby Hutcherson, and "Tuesday Heartbreak" by Ronnie Foster.

A massive tribute to the genius of soul in the Windy City – a wonderful compilation that really gets at the special sound Chicago brought into play during the early years of soul! The set is filled with key cuts from the Chi-town scene of the time – some of them lesser-known that the famous hits always associated with our hometown – and beautifully selected to really capture a moment when soul music was first starting to come together as a style! You can definitely hear roots from Chicago blues, gospel, and R&B in the cuts – but they're definitely all soul, all the way through – a killer batch of nuggets that manages to offer up fresh bits from some big names, and uncover some great cuts by some less familiar folks. The package features full track-by-track notes on the tunes by Bill Dahl – and titles include "Tragic" by The Sheppards, "At The Party "by Wade Flemons, "Hi Diddley Dee Dum Dum" By The Dells, "Tell Him" by The Drew-Vels, "I've Got A Girl" by Major Lance, "Senorita I Love You" by The Impressions, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" by Don & Bob, "My Heart Cries" by Etta & Harvey, "Isle Of Sirens" by Jerry Butler, "Enchanted Garden" by The Accents, "You've Got A Great Love" by The Chanteurs, "Father Knows Best" by The Radiants, "Let Em Try" by Rosco Gordon, "Behind The Curtains" by Jan Bradley, and "Puppy Love" by Barbara Lewis.

The Brazilian side of Blue Note Records – a double-length collection that mostly features bossa-inspired numbers from the 60s, but also includes a few gems from more recent years too! Unlike Verve or Impulse, Blue Note rarely went straight into bossa nova – and instead, the label's artists often came at the music from a different direction – using bossa themes and inspiration, mixed with their own hard bop impulses – and often served up in a really unique groove in the end! This package is a great illustration of that special magic – tracks that go way past the usual, and which still sound amazingly fresh and visionary all these many years later. Titles include "Wave" by Stanley Turrentine, "Blue Bossa" by Joe Henderson, "Sandalia Dela" by Duke Pearson, "Book's Bossa" by Donald Byrd, "Rio" by Lee Morgan, "Recado Bossa Nova" by Hank Mobley, "Swingin The Samba" by Horace Silver, "Back Down To The Tropics" by Charlie Rouse, "Love For Sale" by Dexter Gordon, "Latona" by John Patton, "O Amor Em Paz" by Cannonball Adderley, "Manha De Carnaval" by Ron Carter, "Waters Of March" by Cassandra Wilson, and "Triste" by Dianne Reeves.

Volume two of this excellent series which mixes fusion and modern soul from the Capitol/EMI 70's catalog. 15 excellent tracks, most of which we sell for a bundle in the original (when we can find them!). Includes "It's a Pleasure" by Sheree Brown, "Before You Break My Heart" by Gene Dunlap, "Inside My Love" by Minnie Riperton, "Beggar For the Blues" by Patti Drew, "Tidal Wave" by Ronnie Laws, "Theme for Relana" by Gene Harris, "Nightfall" by Stradavarious, and "Sunshower" by Alphonse Mouzon. Plus, the CD also includes two totally rare funk tracks: "Expressway to Your Heart" by Margo Thunder, and "Windy C" by 100% Pure Poison.