Jazz — All Formats  

A pair of hard-wailing tenor albums on Verve – both of them great! Boss Tenors In Orbit is a studio album, but one that really has Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt recreating some of the bold energy of their live shows – coming across with a vibe that's much more Prestige Records than Verve, thanks to the presence of the Don Patterson trio on the set! Backing is by Don on Hammond, Paul Weeden on guitar, and Billy James on drums – a nicely loose combo that really lets the tenorists stretch out and show their stuff. The cuts are mostly standard material – "John Brown's Body", "Walkin", "Long Ago And Far Away" – but the twin-tenor sound is great, and Patterson's free organ lines riff away nicely! On Boss Tenors, Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt go head to head in this classic album of tracks that perfectly captures the joy and fury of their live performances from years before! The record was cut in Chicago with a very hard rhythm section that includes John Houston on piano, Charles Williams on bass, and George Brown on drums – and it's way heavier than the usual Verve "meeting of the masters" session, and feels more like a record that should have been issued on Prestige or Argo. Both players are impeccable, and the solos stretch out for a long long very live time. Titles include "Blues Up & Down", "The One Before This", and "Counter Clockwise" – but these guys even groove amazingly on standards like "Autumn Leaves" and "No Greater Love".

Funky funky Hammond – a rare late 60s album from organist Bill Doggett, done with some help from James Brown – and a set that's unlike anything Doggett ever recorded before – or since! There's a blasting groove to the record right from the start – thanks to help from The James Brown Band on the leadoff cut – but even when they drop out, and Doggett's combo goes out on their own, the sound is still amazing – tight, soulful, and very much in a funky 45 style all the way through! Drums are hard, the organ is nice and fluid, and the sound is prime late 60s instrumental funk – a groove that Doggett never managed to reach again, which makes this record a real standout treasure. The album includes the legendary funky break cuts "Honky Tonk" and "Honky Tonk Popcorn", plus lots of other nice groovers, like "A Doozy", "Mad", "Slippin In", and "Corner Pocket".

A clunky title, a so-so cover, a later recording date – and yet, the record's wonderful overall – a surprisingly funky effort from British reedman Bob Downes! The album is Bob's tribute to funky sounds oif the 60s and 70s – and although it includes a few tracks penned by Downes back in the day, the music was recorded in the past decade or so – yet done with a surprisingly classic feel overall – one that really serves the funky style of the music very well! The group is very stripped-down – just a trio with electric bass and keyboards, plus Downes on tenor, alto, flute, soprano sax, and even a bit of vocals – the kind of shouted, James Brown-chorus type – which are processed here to give them a really offbeat sound. The whole thing's pretty great – and you can bet that if this was a small label pressing from the US scene of a few decades back, it would be changing hands for a pretty penny. Titles include "Afro Swing", "Happy Funk", "A Man Without A Woman", "Pow Wow", "Funky Groove", "Hottin Up", "C'Mon Baby", and "You're Funkin Good".

A killer album of soul jazz piano instrumentals – produced by James Brown! The Dee Felice Trio were a groovy combo from Cincinnati, and James Brown took a shine to them at some point in the late 60s. They backed James on one record, but their big moment was this album – which had James producing, and the group grooving nicely on some hard piano jammers! The sound's a lot more stripped-down than usual for James, but the groove is very nice! Includes an excellent funky version of "There Was A Time", a great cover of Marcos Valle's "Crickets Sing For Anamaria", and the tracks "Summer In The City", "In Heat", "Both Sides Now", and "Never". Darn hard to find, too!

A killer album of soul jazz piano instrumentals – produced by James Brown! The Dee Felice Trio were a groovy combo from Cincinnati, and James Brown took a shine to them at some point in the late 60s. They backed James on one record, but their big moment was this album – which had James producing, and the group grooving nicely on some hard piano jammers! The sound's a lot more stripped-down than usual for James, but the groove is very nice! Includes an excellent funky version of "There Was A Time", a great cover of Marcos Valle's "Crickets Sing For Anamaria", and the tracks "Summer In The City", "In Heat", "Both Sides Now", and "Never". Features 3 bonus tracks too – "Nightingale", "Little Liza Jane", and "There Was A Time (single version)".

Massive keyboard work from Ronnie Foster – one of his sweet funky 70s sets for Blue Note – and a killer all the way through! Ronnie plays a host of cool keys – Hammond, clavinet, and moog – and he's working here with tight production from George Benson, who really helps find a new soulful edge for Foster's music – plus great horns from Alfred Ellis, who helps bring a bit of his James Brown influence into the mix! Some of the best cuts feel like blacksploitation funk – with Foster taking long solos over some great instrumental grooves – often with the same offbeat twists and turns, and cool colors he brought to his Two Headed Freap album. Titles include "On The Avenue", "To See A Smile", "First Light", "Serenade To A Rock", and a nice version of Stevie Wonder's "Golden Lady".

One of Grant Green's best funky records for Blue Note! The group's cut from the same cloth as Lou Donaldson's great ones from this period – like Hot Dog or Say It Loud – with Idris Muhammad on drums, kicking up lots of those chunky funky breaks that we always love so much! Green's work on guitar is especially nice – stretched out, but never trippy, with a tight single note style that really gets the most out of the grooves. Neal Creque plays keyboards on the set, and contributed 2 tracks – "Windjammer" and "Dracula" – and the album also sports a great long version of James Brown's "Ain't It Funky Now", and a sweet cover of "A Day In The Life"!

One of Quincy Jones' best for Mercury Records in the 60s – a very groovy record that was done with a feel that's somewhere in between his Big Band Bossa album and his best 60s soundtrack work! The format is simple – Quincy picks a sweet batch of jazz semi-hits from the early 60s, plays them with a nice mix of soul jazz arrangements, and works with a great ensemble filled with wonderful players – including Roland Kirk, Budd Johnson, Seldon Powell, James Moody, and Jerome Richardson on reeds; Lalo Schifrin and Patti Brown on piano, Jim Hall on guitar, Clark Terry on trumpet, and Melba Liston on trombone – plus lots of great percussion at the bottom, helping bring some Latin energy to the grooves at points. Tunes are familiar, but all given a great Quincy Jones twist – and titles include "Gravy Waltz", "Jive Samba", "Walk On The Wild Side", "Bossa Nova USA", and "Watermelon Man".

Classic Quincy Jones from the 60s – a pair of records that really show why his jazz skills were unlike anyone else! Quincy Jones Plays Hip Hits is a very groovy record that was done with a feel that's somewhere in between his Big Band Bossa album and his best 60s soundtrack work! The format is simple – Quincy picks a sweet batch of jazz semi-hits from the early 60s, plays them with a nice mix of soul jazz arrangements, and works with a great ensemble filled with wonderful players – including Roland Kirk, Budd Johnson, Seldon Powell, James Moody, and Jerome Richardson on reeds; Lalo Schifrin and Patti Brown on piano, Jim Hall on guitar, Clark Terry on trumpet, and Melba Liston on trombone – plus lots of great percussion at the bottom, helping bring some Latin energy to the grooves at points. Tunes are familiar, but all given a great Quincy Jones twist – and titles include "Gravy Waltz", "Jive Samba", "Walk On The Wild Side", "Bossa Nova USA", and "Watermelon Man". Golden Boy is a sweet bridge between Quincy's big band recordings and his groovier soundtrack work of the mid 60s – as the record combines straight jazzy grooving with some of the cooler elements of Quincy's soundtrack scores, like stepping strings, wordless voices, and a breathy mellow groove that floats across the disc in a wonderful way! Aiding Quincy in the album are a host of top-line jazz players – including Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Jerome Richardson, and Phil Woods on saxes – plus Freddie Hubbard on trumpet, Al Grey on trombone, and Jim Hall on guitar! Although titled after the show Golden Boy, only a few cuts here are from that musical – and the rest include Quincy Jones originals and some cool covers, given the Q twist. Titles include "Seaweed", "The Witching Hour", "Hard Day's Night", "The Sidewinder", and "Theme From Golden Boy", done in 2 versions, both great!

A strange bit of funk from Yusef Lateef! The record was recorded late in the CTI electric years – and it's got Yusef fronting a funky jazz group on 5 tracks that have a decidely R&B-ish fusion twist. Dave Matthews – of James Brown funky fame – arranged the whole album, and the record is similar to some of Dave's funky jazz records from the mid 70s. A few cuts have vocals, and Art Farmer joins Yusef in the frontline on horns – and the two of them blow together in light melodic lines over the top of funky rhythms from Steve Gadd, Eric Gale, Alex Blake, and others. Titles include "Robot Man", "YL", "Communication", and "Look On The Right Side".

Funky spaciness from one of the 70's best arrangers! The set's a largeish orchestral work dedicated to Dune and other sci-fi books and films. Sounds goofy, but it's pretty darn great – and Dave Matthews takes his work with James Brown and makes the whole thing come out pretty darn funky. Includes the massive "Sandworms", plus "Song Of The Bene Gesserit", "Silent Running", "Arrakis", and "Space Oddity".

One of the funkier albums that Maceo Parker's cut in recent years – a set that's still done with his frequent partners the WDR Big Band, but handled with a much stronger emphasis on the soul roots promised in the title! The set hearkens back to Maceo's years with James Brown, and also reaches out to encompass some 70s soul too – and Parker handles both vocals and alto sax with a great raspy edge, one that really offsets the tighter backings by the band. The crowd is nicely unbridled too – helping give the set a frenzy we're not used to hearing from WDR performances – and Christian McBride has a key role in the set on bass. Titles include "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", "I Wish", "Higher Ground", "Do Your Thing", "Rock Steady", "Soul Power", and "Come By & See".

An excellent early Nat Adderley record that has the funky trumpet player groovin' in the company of a number of bright young players from New Orleans, including Nat Perrilliat on tenor, Ellis Marsalis (yes, that one) on piano, and James Black on drums. Sam Jones plays funky bass, and brother Cannonball joins on on alto for a nice set of groovers that includes "In The Bag", "Sister Wilson", "Low Brown", and "New Arrival". Nice stuff, and we don't really see this one that much these days.

Live material from a Village Gate performance that included the leading lights of the East Village free scene in the 60s – John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Grachan Moncur, and Archie Shepp! The set's a great counterpart to some of the full artist releases on Impulse at the time – and features key material that's not out there elsewhere! A really standout track is from a unique group that never got much recording time – one featuring Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Charles Tolliver on trumpet, James Spaulding on alto, Cecil McBee on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – on a killer version of Monk's "Brilliant Corners". Other titles include an Alber Ayler-led version of "Holy Ghost", a Grachan Moncur reading of "Blue Free" with Hutcherson on vibes, a Coltrane quartet take of "Nature Boy", and Archie Shepp doing "Hambone" in a group with Marion Brown on alto and Virgil Jones on trumpet.

One of Grant Green's best funky records for Blue Note! The group's cut from the same cloth as Lou Donaldson's great ones from this period – like Hot Dog or Say It Loud – with Idris Muhammad on drums, kicking up lots of those chunky funky breaks that we always love so much! Green's work on guitar is especially nice – stretched out, but never trippy, with a tight single note style that really gets the most out of the grooves. Neal Creque plays keyboards on the set, and contributed 2 tracks – "Windjammer" and "Dracula" – and the album also sports a great long version of James Brown's "Ain't It Funky Now", and a sweet cover of "A Day In The Life"!

With Liebman on tenor, in an assortment of groups – with co-production from James Brown mainstay Pee Wee Ellis, who also plays tenor and electric piano, and co-wrote many songs! Leon Thomas also sings a bit on the record, too.

An excellent bit of lost funky piano and a tough album to find! Larry Willis was mostly a jazz pianist, and he's best known to the world for his work on Jackie McLean's Blue Note albums of the 60's. Here, though, he's playing in a hard-hitting funky group, with nice hard drums on a lot of tracks – and backing by electric guitar and trumpet, for a groovy groovy sound. The album's got a great breakbeat version of "Hard To Handle", and sweet covers of Andre Williams' "Funky Judge" and James Brown's "Lickin' Stick". Very nice stuff, and with a few other cuts that have a groovy jazzy piano sound!

One of the greatest Blue Note funky jazz sets of the late 60s – an all-out soul fest headed up by funky Lou Donaldson, and featuring some incredible work on drums from Idris Muhammad – who was still calling himself Leo Morris at this point! Muhammad's work on the drums is fantastic – not just in the snap-funk mode of some of his oft-sampled Blue Note classics, but also hitting these nicely changed-up rhythms that dance along with a free sense of joy, love, and life – one that seems to open Lou up even more than before! Other players on the set are great too – and include a young Charles Earland on organ, Blue Mitchell on trumpet, and Jimmy Ponder on guitar – cooking up some incredible licks that fill in the spaces between the grooves with a wash of soulful colors! Titles include a great version of the James Brown Classic "Say It Loud", plus the originals "Snake Bone" and "Brother Soul" – and surprisingly great takes on "Summertime" and "Caravan"!

One of the best of Johnny Hammond's albums for Kudu! The arrangements are by Pee Wee Ellis – yes, THAT Pee Wee Ellis, the guy who played alto for James Brown! Ellis gives the record a slightly different feel than other Kudu arrangers (like Bob James) might have, and the usual slow building jazz funk sound is peppered with a bit more horns than usual, giving Johnny's funky organ riffs a good brassy finish. Tracks are long and funky, with some nicely subdued keyboard lines – and titles include "The Prophet", "Thunder & Lighting", and "Witchy Woman".

A mighty great album from reedman Joe Lovano – one of his greatest records in years, and proof that he's still got plenty of fire – when given the chance to burn! The group here is wonderful – and half the tracks feature bass work from Esperanza Spaulding, reminding us that she's still quite rooted in jazz – working alongside James Weideman on piano, Otis Brown III on drums, and Francisco Mela on additional percussion and balafon. Peter Shaw plays bass on the other half of tracks on the set – but the real surprise is Lovano – who's not only mindblowing on tenor, but also plays other reed instruments and percussion as well helping push things towards the cross cultural elements promised in the title. These are served up especially well on the few cuts that feature Lionel Loueke on guitar – and titles include "Drum Chant", "Blessings In May", "Myths & Legends", "In A Spin", "Star Crossed Lovers", and "Journey Within".

One of the slickest of Dave Matthews' funk records from the 70s – but still pretty darn nice! Matthews was the mainman behind the legendary funk group The Grodeck Whipperjenny, and a key arranger in James Brown's sound of the Polydor years – but by this time, he moved into smoother club-type jazz, of the sort he'd penned for Idris Muhammad and other artists on the Kudu label. However, Matthews' always had a talent for the funky groove – and even these otherwise pop disco numbers shine with a musical intensity that surprises us – especially at moments like the funky drumbreak on "You Keep Me Hanging On", the freaky moog on "Shoogie Wanna Boogie", the funky bass solo on "California Dreaming", and the excellent keyboard work on "Gotta Be Where You Are".

A tremendous double-length set by this hip group of legendary players – a quartet lineup that features trumpeter Roy Campbell, reedman Daniel Carter, bassist William Parker, and drummer Hamid Drake – all working together in sounds that definitely reach some other dimensions in music! The format is very loose and open-ended – perfect for the loft jazz-styled improvisations from the combo – working here in a very friendly, supportive setting in front of a Parisian audience – who clearly inspire the musicians to new heights. Some tracks are quite long, but stand as bold statements throughout – and others are a bit shorter, and nicely compact. Titles include "Other Dimensional Space Travelers Hip Bop", "Blues Configuration", "Slam Me Down", "Blues For Baghdad", "Desert Dance", "Suite For Miles Davis", and "James Brown Ascension".

An excellent Duke Pearson album – and (dare we say it?) better than any of his Blue Note LPs! The record features a very tight lineup with Johnny Coles on trumpet, Garnett Brown on trombone, Les Spann on flute, James Spaulding on alto, and George Coleman on tenor – all players who are well suited to Pearson's warm funky style on the piano, but who also have a strong modernist sensibility that really comes through on the solos. The album is filled with nice tracks – like "New Girl", "Honeybuns", "Heavy Legs", and the fantastic lyrical groover "Is That So", plus "You Know I Care" and "Our Love".

Attica Blues, and beyond – a great late 70s performance that has Archie Shepp turning the clock back towards that famous album – but also making some very new grooves with a richly expanded lineup! The double-length set was recorded in Paris, in front of a very lively crowd – and it's honestly one of Shepp's most dynamic records from the time – definitely inspired by all the freedom he'd had in the French scene for the previous decade – yet also brought together with a great sense of focus too. The lineup is excellent – with vocals from Joe Lee Wilson and Irene Datcher – trumpets from Malachi Thompson, Charles McGhee, and Roy Burrowes; trombones from Charles Greenlee, Dick Griffin, and Steve Turre; reeds from Marion Brown, James Ware, and Marvin Blackman; plus piano from Art Matthews, some added strings, great percussion, and piano, tenor, and soprano sax from Shepp himself! Ray Copeland directs the group – giving it the hip focus of his few key recordings like this – and titles include "Star Love", "Moon Bees", "Attica Blues" (in two parts), "Steam", "Quiet Dawn", "Hi Fly", "U-Jaama", "Ballad For A Child", "Simone", "Crucificado", :A Change Has Come Over Me", "Goodbye Sweet Pops", and "Skippin'".

Sonny Stitt in a sweet electric funk mode – working here in a style that's almost more CTI/Kudu than the usual Cadet Records groove! Arrangements are by James Brown heavyweight Pee Wee Ellis – who also plays some moog on the set – and other players include Wilbur Bascomb on bass, Bernard Purdie on drums, and Patti Brown on electric piano! Titles include the classic "Slick Eddie", plus "Bachianas Brasilieras/Funky Interlude", "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Spanish Harlem", and "Ocho Rios".

The funky side of the Jewel & Paula labels – surprisingly jazzy work for a company that's best known for its blues recordings! Most of the tracks here come from a creative early 70s stretch for the label – and there's a number of cuts that show a strong connection with the AACM and Chicago undergrounds of the time – mixed with other tracks that show more of the southern roots that you might normally expect from Jewel/Paula. Electric and acoustic sounds mix together wonderfully in the track selection for the package – and titles include "Just A Feelin" by Ronnie Kole, "Chi Congo" by Art Ensemble Of Chicago, "Tropical" by African Music Machine, "L&T" by Tony Valor Orchestra, "Ode To Billie Joe" by Ronnie Kole, "First Thing In The Morning" by James Moody, "I Love Every Little Thing About You" by Odell Brown, "Toussaint Shuffle" by Toussaint McCall, "Got To Get Over" by Sonny Stitt, "One For Bud" by Mal Waldron, and "Great Stone Bottle" by Ronnie Kole.

Amazing work from the legendary Vince Guaraldi – some of his funkiest tunes ever recorded, all issued here commercially for the first time ever! These sides are studio recordings that Vince did for the Charlie Brown cartoons during the hippest years of the series – and the music here is often a fair bit more soulful than Guaraldi's Peanuts recordings from the previous decade – which is saying a lot, considering how great most of that already was! Most numbers here feature Vince on electric piano, working in trio format – all with a beautiful sound that's as crystal-clear, open, and laidback as some of the best keyboard work on CTI at the time. The main difference here, though, is that many of these tunes are quite short – just a couple of minutes, as the music was used as cues in the cartoons – often cut down even more to accompany a short scene. The brevity hardly gets in the way of the tunes, though – as Vince packs more ideas into a few short minutes than most players can get into a single album side – and the set also features one slightly longer track from another 70s recording session apart from the cartoons. Titles include "Cops & Robbers", "Sally's Blues", "It's A Mystery Charlie Brown", "Snoopy & Woodstock", "Woodstock's Dream", "Bus Me", "Little Birdie (inst)", "Joe Cool (inst)", "Linus & Lucy", "Nobody Else", and "Is It James Or Charlie".

An excellent compilation of rare funky jazz tunes – issued here supposedly as a lost soundtrack, but really just a collection of tunes from other sources, all with a nice soundtrack-y jazz feel! There's a few familiar names here, but most of the material is from rare European and American indie jazz LPs, and sound library sources of late 60s/early 70s vintage, with a nice mix of electric and acoustic playing. Titles include "Troublemaker" by John Cameron, "Voodoo Love Dance" by Melvyn Price, "Do Whatever Sets You Free" by Gus Giordano, "Chili Mac" by Preston Love, "La Folla" by Solar Plexus, "A New Generation" by Oscar Brown Jr & Jean Pace, "Dancer" by Gregory Charles Royal, "Zazueira" by Meta Roos, and "Jody's Freeze" by James Reese & The Progressors.

A stellar album from Grant Green – very different than most of his other work for Blue Note, and a sly electric groover recorded with vibist Billy Wooten! The sound here is a bit more spacious than some of Grant's earlier albums, yet no less funky – thanks to a hip undercurrent of soul in the drums, and arrangements from Wade Marcus that keep things fluid throughout. Wooten's vibes are wonderful, a ringing counterpoint to Green's great lines on guitar – and even the more familiar tunes on the record turn out to be really unique readings here – thanks to the arrangements and overall conception. Mellow moments are dripping with plenty of soul, and the funky ones are pretty great too – and titles include a killer medley of James Brown's "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing" and "Cold Sweat", a heavy version of his instrumental groover "In The Middle", and a great original called "California Green" – plus "Never My Love", "Sunrise Sunset", "Got To Be There", and "If You Really Love Me".