Jazz — All Formats  

One of the sweetest fusion sets ever recorded from guitarist Phil Upchurch – a set that's less trippy than his earlier albums, but one that more than makes up for that with a tightly soulful groove! Production is by John Tropea and George Benson – and you can definitely hear their touches here – giving Upchurch a strong sense of focus, yet still allowing plenty of room for those cool sounds and odd lines on his guitar. Arrangements are great throughout – partly handled by Leon Pendarvis, who also plays keyboards on the record with Richard Tee – and augmented by string and flute backings from Deodato. Titles include a great take on "Strawberry Letter 23" – plus "Free", "Good Times", "Church Street Station", "It's Almost Five", "Foolin Around", and "Cyrenna".

One of the sweetest fusion sets ever recorded from guitarist Phil Upchurch – a set that's less trippy than his earlier albums, but one that more than makes up for that with a tightly soulful groove! Production is by John Tropea and George Benson – and you can definitely hear their touches here – giving Upchurch a strong sense of focus, yet still allowing plenty of room for those cool sounds and odd lines on his guitar. Arrangements are great throughout – partly handled by Leon Pendarvis, who also plays keyboards on the record with Richard Tee – and augmented by string and flute backings from Deodato. Titles include a great take on "Strawberry Letter 23" – plus "Free", "Good Times", "Church Street Station", "It's Almost Five", "Foolin Around", and "Cyrenna".

Plenty of darkness here from Phil Upchurch – those great tones and notes he worked so well back in the 70s – all with that near-perfect quality that made him one of the most in-demand players of his day! The style here is a bit different than some of Phil's previous work in Chicago – as the set was recorded on the west coast with support from players who include Joe Sample on piano, Arthur Adams on rhythm guitar, Chuck Rainey on bass, and Harvey Mason on drums. But that shift of locale hasn't dampened Phil's sound at all – and he's still getting a bit of hometown help from Donny Hathaway, who arranged a few tracks and also plays a bit of electric piano on the record. Other arrangements are by Nick DeCaro, and titles include "Love & Peace", "Darkness, Darkness", "Cold Sweat", and "Inner City Blues".

One of Phil Upchurch's best records – and one that's a no-nonsense batch of funky instrumentals that feature some really great guitar! Phil's dropped the Hendrix fuzz of some of his Cadet sides of the late 60s – and instead, he's working in a stretched-out chromatic mode that has bits of Wes Montgomery and George Benson – but which also has some of the more soulful undercurrents of the great O'Donel Levy! The album's nicely laidback, and never too slick or smooth – and other players include Tennyson Stephens on Fender Rhodes, Lucy Scott on bass, Steve Cobb on drums, and Derf Reklaw on percussion. Titles include "Another Funky Tune", "I Still Love You", "Washing Machine", "Sitar Soul", and "Keep On Tripping".

An incredible album from one of the greatest talents on the Chicago soul scene of the late 60s – guitarist Phil Upchurch, a player with an amazing sound! Phil could work in worlds that were equal parts soul and psychedelia – making his guitar a perfect accompaniment for the best Chicago soul of Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, Minnie Riperton, and other greats of the time. This album's easily one of Phil's best – a mindblowing set of arrangements put together by the groundbreaking producer Charles Stepney – bringing together bits of jazz, rock, soul, and funk – all providing the perfect genre-blending space for Upchurch to solo! Given that there's no singer on the set, Phil's work on guitar is a lot freer than you're used to hearing – in a really great way, one that puts him in a space somewhere between Shuggie Otis and Jimi Hendrix! Brilliant all the way through, with tracks that include "Adam & Charlene", "You Wouldn't You Couldn't Be True", "Crosstown Traffic", "More & More", "Black Gold", "America", and "As You Said".

An incredible album from one of the greatest talents on the Chicago soul scene of the late 60s – guitarist Phil Upchurch, a player with an amazing sound! Phil could work in worlds that were equal parts soul and psychedelia – making his guitar a perfect accompaniment for the best Chicago soul of Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, Minnie Riperton, and other greats of the time. This album's easily one of Phil's best – a mindblowing set of arrangements put together by the groundbreaking producer Charles Stepney – bringing together bits of jazz, rock, soul, and funk – all providing the perfect genre-blending space for Upchurch to solo! Given that there's no singer on the set, Phil's work on guitar is a lot freer than you're used to hearing – in a really great way, one that puts him in a space somewhere between Shuggie Otis and Jimi Hendrix! Brilliant all the way through, with tracks that include "Adam & Charlene", "You Wouldn't You Couldn't Be True", "Crosstown Traffic", "More & More", "Black Gold", "America", and "As You Said".

Benson plays his guitar and also sings on some of these tracks. He is joined by Phil Upchurch on rhythm guitar, Ronnie Foster on electric piano & mini-moog, Jorge Dalto on clavinet & acoustic piano, Stanley Banks on bass, Harvey Mason on drums and Ralph MacDonald. Claus Ogerman arranged and conducted the orchestra. Tracks include "Nature Boy", Foster's "The Wind & I", "The World Is A Ghetto", "Gonna Love You More", Donny Hathaway's "Valdez In The Country", and "Everything Must Happen".

After starting his career out with his funky group The Organizers, Odell Brown moved into a phase where he would act as the lead soloist in front of larger funky groups – like the one that appears on this record. The band was put together by Gene Barge, and they have a great soulful Cadet records sound – perfect for Brown's searing organ style. The solos are very lean, and have a nice nice strong quality to them. The band features Chisoul players like Morris Jennings, Henry Gibson, Louis Satterfield, Phil Upchurch, and Donald Myrick. A few tracks have ensemble vocals – and titles include "Nitty Gritty", "Free Delivery", "Come Together", "Free & Easy", and "Sign Of The Ram". Funky and hip!

One of the best of Odell Brown's groovy organ jazz albums for Cadet from the late 60's. His groovy little combo – which features Artee "Duke" Payne on sax, Tommy Purvis on tenor, Phil Upchurch on bass, and Master Henry Gibson on conga – grooves nicely through short "combo" oriented organ cuts like "Get Off My Back", "Mirar, Mirar", "She's Coming My Way", "Tough Tip", and "No More Water In The Well". They play with a mix of funkiness and virtuosity, and with the same sense of humor as contemporary groups like the Jack McDuff quartet or Young-Holt Unlimited. Nice stuff, and one of the harder records to find by them.

Oscar Brown moves into a funky 70s mode – working here with some great soul-based arrangements by Chicago soul legend Richard Evans! There's lots of funky clavinet grooving on the record by Tennyson Stephens and Marvin Yancy – and other players include Chess/Cadet session groovers, like Henry Gibson, Phil Upchurch, and Art Hoyle. The record was recorded in Chicago and produced by Jerry Butler – and it's clearly one of his efforts from the days when Jerry was dipping into the hip Chicago underground of the early 70s. Oscar reprises a number of classics – like "Hazel's Hips" and "But I Was Cool" – and the album includes some newer tunes like "Rilly?", "Ghetto Scene", and "Bull 'Bleep'", all a bit more righteous than before.

A sublime set of soul instrumentals – very funky work, and sort of a 70s follow-up to the Soulful Strings albums on Cadet Records from the 60s! Maestro Richard Evans is at the top of his game here – stepping out with that hip Chisoul mode he first forged at Chess, tuned here towards some even more sophisticated modes for Atlantic Records! Many of Evan's previous players are on board to make the record great – including Lennie Druss on flute, Paul Serrano on trumpet, Odell Brown on organ, and Phil Upchurch on guitar. Evans himself plays bass for the record – using a very funky bottom sound – and the set also features some wicked vibes from the legendary Billy Wooten, working away from his Nineteenth Hole group on a rare major label date! The sound is blacksploitation soundtrack, part Curtom funk – and titles include the great originals "Pie Daddy's Dream", "Wado City", "Angela My Sister", and the great "Patutu" – which was done by the Soulful Strings – plus a few nice covers like "Mercy Mercy Me" and "Ellie's Love Theme", by Isaac Hayes.

Stunning funk from the great Dizzy Gillespie – light years away from his early bop recordings! The album's a slammin batch of 70s instrumentals – Dizzy's trumpet firmly in the lead over electric backings that have more than a bit of funk in them. The bass is the main driving factor of the tunes – played either by Phil Upchurch or Chuck Rainey – and the tracks bounce along with a fierce and righteous groove that also includes hard riffing on guitar and some sweet piano lines. Players include Mike Longo, James Moody, and Bernard Purdie – and tracks include "N'Bani", "Matrix", "Soul Kiss", "Ding A Ling", and "Alligator". Great stuff, and a crucial album in Dizzy's lost career! Damn funky, too.

One of our favorite albums of all times – and a legendary testament to the greatness of the Chicago music scene in the late 60s! Melvin Jackson was the bassist in Eddie Harris' very successful group of the time – and his playing on Eddie's trippy and funky records for Atlantic is one of the factors that made them so great. Here, he's working with an acoustic bass, amplified with electronics like a Varitone sax – and this strange-sounding instrument is set up in a hip group that mixes Cadet funky studio players (Phil Upchurch, Morris Jennings, Jody Christian) with some of the brighter young players of the AACM (Roscoe Mitchell, Lester Bowie, and Leo Smith.) Jackson's bass is looped through all sorts of crazy effects, and the result is this amazing blend of avant garde playing and groovy rhythms that is beyond compare! The album includes great reworkings of two Eddie Harris funk tracks – "Bold and Black" and "Cold Duck Time" – plus monster originals like "Funky Doo", "Say What", "Dance Of The Dervish", and "Funky Skull (parts 1 & 2)".

One of our favorite albums of all times – and a legendary testament to the greatness of the Chicago music scene in the late 60s! Melvin Jackson was the bassist in Eddie Harris' very successful group of the time – and his playing on Eddie's trippy and funky records for Atlantic is one of the factors that made them so great. Here, he's working with an acoustic bass, amplified with electronics like a Varitone sax – and this strange-sounding instrument is set up in a hip group that mixes Cadet funky studio players (Phil Upchurch, Morris Jennings, Jody Christian) with some of the brighter young players of the AACM (Roscoe Mitchell, Lester Bowie, and Leo Smith.) Jackson's bass is looped through all sorts of crazy effects, and the result is this amazing blend of avant garde playing and groovy rhythms that is beyond compare! The album includes great reworkings of two Eddie Harris funk tracks – "Bold and Black" and "Cold Duck Time" – plus monster originals like "Funky Doo", "Say What", "Dance Of The Dervish", and "Funky Skull (parts 1 & 2)".

A very groovy selection of tracks from the New York scene of the 60s – mostly tunes pulled from the Prestige and Milestone labels, and a mixture of soul jazz, modal jazz, and early funky jazz! The package features 13 tracks in all – with plenty rare numbers – and titles that include "Cantaloupe Woman" by George Braith, "The Village Caller" by Johnny Lytle, "Ca'Purange (Jungle Soul)" by Gene Ammons, "Love Theme From Spartacus" by Yusef Lateef, "Brother John" by Cannonball Adderley, "Muscle Soul" by Phil Upchurch, "Eastern Blues" by Gary Bartz, and the completely fantastic "Nuther'n Like Thuther'n" by Willis Jackson – worth the price of the CD alone!

Funky drums from the mighty Paul Humphrey – one of the standout studio players of the LA scene of the 60s and 70s, and an even better talent as a leader on this set! Paul's working here in a style that's partly in a funk mode, and partly soul instrumental – supported by small combo instrumentation from other figures on the LA scene – including David T Walker on guitar, Clarence McDonald on keyboards, and Phil Upchurch on bass. The sound is lean and mean, often with a hard-stepping feel that makes many of the cuts sound like some of the more stripped-down blacksploitation numbers from the time! Includes the original tunes "Cool Aid", "Funky LA", "Detroit", and "Baby Rice" – plus covers of "Music Talk", "Ain't That Peculiar", "Them Changes", and "Sack Full Of Dreams".

A hip album that mixes gospel and jazz – recorded in 1968 as a tribute to Martin Luther King. The album was put together by Jesse Jackson's Operation Breadbasket operation – but it really features a bunch of Chicago jazz and studio players, including Phil Upchurch, Charles Stepney, Morris Jennings, Burgess Gardner, and Ben Branch himself, whose tenor takes the lead on most tracks. The core of most tracks is moody soul jazz – but some cuts have vocals, with solos by Clay Evans and Sammy Lewis, and group vocals by the Breadbasket Choir. Titles include "Hard Times", "My Heavenly Father", "We Shall Overcome", and "If I Could Help Somebody".

One of Hubert Laws' funkiest records for CTI – recorded with a full group funky style that's plenty darn great, and a lot harder-hitting than some of Hubert's more laidback sessions for the label! Arrangements are by Bob James and Laws – working here with a large batch of players who come together beautifully, almost in the style of a funky 70s cop show soundtrack! James plays keyboards, and other players include George Benson, Phil Upchurch, Stanley Clarke, Randy Brecker, Don Grolnick, and Ron Carter – on titles that include James' own "Chicago Theme", a great cover of "Midnight At The Oasis" with wonderful drums from Steve Gadd, who also kicks it nice and large on Laws' own "I Had A Dream". Other tracks include "Going Home", "I Had A Dream", and "Inflation Chaser".

Sweet, funky, and outtasite – one of Ramsey Lewis' greatest albums of the 60s – cut under the supervision of Chicago soul maestro Charles Stepney! The album's an amazing mix of jazz, funk, and the more baroque and spacey elements – that were running through the Chicago soul and jazz scene of the time – all coming together under the guidance of Lewis and Stepney, with a sound that points the way towards countless 70s recordings to come! Highlights include a bit of kalimba from drummer Maurice White, some great guitar from Phil Upchurch, and plenty of tasty electric keys from Ramsey himself – really laying back in a righteous kind of groove – hitting new heights on tunes that include "Bold and Black", "If You've Got it, Flaunt It", "Do What You Wanna", "Cecile", "Wanderin Rose", and "Opus #5".

A very groovy selection of tracks from the New York scene of the 60s – mostly tunes pulled from the Prestige and Milestone labels, and a mixture of soul jazz, modal jazz, and early funky jazz! The package features 13 tracks in all – with plenty rare numbers – and titles that include "Cantaloupe Woman" by George Braith, "The Village Caller" by Johnny Lytle, "Ca'Purange (Jungle Soul)" by Gene Ammons, "Love Theme From Spartacus" by Yusef Lateef, "Brother John" by Cannonball Adderley, "Muscle Soul" by Phil Upchurch, "Eastern Blues" by Gary Bartz, and the completely fantastic "Nuther'n Like Thuther'n" by Willis Jackson – worth the price of the LP alone!

Jazz loves Marvin Gaye – and we do too! Guess that makes us the perfect folks to rave about how wonderful this set is – a killer collection of 70s jazz funk numbers that pays homage to the great one – offering up instrumental versions of grooves originally recorded by Marvin for Motown – taking the tunes way past their original renderings with loads of sweet instrumental touches! There's still plenty of soul in the mix – given that most numbers here are done in an electrified fusion mode – and a few even feature some slight chorus vocals, too. Titles include "You Sure Love To Ball" by The JBs, "What's Going On" by Quincy Jones, "I Want You" by Gato Barbieri, "Distant Lover" by David Newman, "Don't Mess With Mr T" by Regina Carter, "When Did You Stop Loving Me" by Mongo Santamaria, "Inner City Blues" by Phil Upchurch, and "Trouble Man" by Grover Washington Jr.

A smoking little set – an album of jazz takes on Curtis Mayfield classics, played by a hip combo that includes a few musicians from Mayfield's old band! The album's a straight jazz effort all the way through – and the interpretations are so soulful and swinging on their own, you might even forget that Curtis provided the inspiration for the tunes – thanks to work from Wallace Roney on trumpet, Ernie Watts on saxes, Phil Upchurch on guitar, Russ Ferrante on piano, Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, and Henry Gibson on congas! The album's one of the last that Gibson ever cut, and his percussion really helps the whole thing find its groove – providing a nice kick to the work of Roney, Watts, and Upchurch over the top. Titles include "Freddie's Dead", "Superfly", "Beautiful Brother Of Mine", "People Get Ready", "Amen", "Gypsy Woman", and "It's All Right".