Jazz — CDs  

Very, very dope LP by this London studio funk jazz genius. While half the scene's been messing around with blunted beats and weak stuff, Chris Bowden's composed a suite that has the sound of a great blacksploitation soundtrack or a classic album on Curtom. Lots of heavy grooves weaving in and out of deep string arrangements, with hard sax solos cutting in from time to time. A monster piece of wax, and perfect for kickin' back in the wee hours.

From the title, to the cover, to the gritty grooves way down in the wax – this has got to be one of the funkiest Blue Note albums ever – a real landmark from the legendary Lou Donaldson! The set kicks off with a hard and heavy groove from the very first note – thanks to some super-tight drumming by a young Idris Muhammad – still billed under his birth name of Leo Morris on the sleeve, but already hitting the kit with that snapping post-Popcorn style that would revolutionize funky jazz in years to come! Donaldson's plenty smoking himself on electrified alto sax – played with that great mix of flatness and echo that you'd hear in Eddie Harris' albums of the same time – and the rest of the lineup is equally cooking, with Melvin Sparks on guitar, Charles Earland on organ, and Ed Williams blasting away on funky trumpet! Titles include killer remakes of "It's Your Thing" and "Who's Making Love" – plus Donaldson originals "Hot Dog" and "Turtle Walk" – all nice and long, and with a really raw sound!

Fantastic Lee Morgan album that was recorded in 1966, but only ever came out on vinyl in 1984, when this great session was unearthed as part of a brief "lost classics" series by Blue Note. The record has an amazing modal groove that's quite different from some of Morgan's other funkier sessions, and it features incredibly mature playing by a group that includes Hank Mobley, Cedar Walton, and Billy Higgins. The centerpiece of the set is a long version of Cal Massey's great cut "Pilgrim's Funny Farm", and other nice ones include "The Rajah" and "Is That So". Great great stuff, and one that's quite hard to find on wax!

An incredible record – the kind of album that only Blue Note could put out, and an instant classic that will sound wonderful forever! The album's truly one of the great ones – one of those Blue Notes that still makes you stop and pause when you hear it, even though you've heard it a million times in Starbucks and places like that. Horace Silver is working here at the height of his powers – lyrical, free, yet also damn soulful, in a style that makes for some of the most evocative jazz-based grooves cut to wax at the time. Carmell Jones is in the group, and plays some of his best trumpet ever – and Joe Henderson really drives the whole session home with some incredible tenor work. Other group members include Teddy Smith on bass and Roger Humphries on drums – and titles include the instantly famous "Song For My Father", plus "Que Pasa", "The Kicker", and "Calcutta Cutie". This great CD reissue also adds a whole bunch of extra cuts to the original album, including new material never heard before, and a trio version of "Que Pasa". 10 cuts in all!