Heavy heavy funk from the Louisiana scene of the late 60s and 1970s – and a great collection that really gets past the dominance of the New Orleans sound! The set moves way past the Crescent City to uncover a wealth of great bits recorded in smaller studios located in Shreveport, Lake Charles, and a variety of tiny scenes in the southwest side of Louisiana – and the result is a great batch of tunes with a really gritty, down-n-dirty sound! There's a wealth of great funky styles in the set – including James Brown-inspired jammers, southern soul burners, and some other great modes that show that Louisiana's got a heck of a lot more to offer than just New Orleans funk. Titles include work from the Anla, Murco, Soul International, Goldband, and Tic Toc labels – a total of 22 cuts that include "Soul Time" by Ernest Thomas, "Soul Feeling (parts 1 & 2)" by Eddy G Giles, "Soul Brothers Testify (part 1)" by Chester Randles Soul Senders, "Soul Power" by Abraham & The Casanovas, "Put It On" by Count Rockin Sidney with The Dukes, "Fix It" by Clifton White & His Royal Knights, "Miss Hard To Get" by Dennis Landry, "No Sad Times" by Johnny Truit, "Black Water Gold" by African Music Machine, and "I Got A Groove" by JJ Callier. LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent album of funky electric jazz – and possibly the best one that Phil Woods cut with his European group! The quartet's a very hip group that's way hipper than its clunky name – with Gordon Beck on electric piano and organ, Daniel Humair on percussion and drums, and Henri Texier on bass, flute, and African percussion – all instrumentalists who dip heavily into the deep bag of their mighty talents for the date, helping to push Phil's music into some very cool new territory! The album cooks a lot harder than Woods' previous MGM date with the Rhythm Machine group in Europe – and has a really freewheeling vibe, and a sound that's almost outside at points. All tracks are long, with a modal electric approach that's very nice – and funky in the best parts – and titles include "Chromatic Banana", "Ultimate Choice", "The Last Page", and "The Day When The World". LP, Vinyl record album

There's less disco here than you might expect, as the group's a very jazzy one – with tenor and flute from South African jazz legend Basil Coetzee, working next to the organ and drum machine of Pops Mohamed as he creates a very cool, unique groove! The music's an extension of other South African funk of the time, but given the use of drum machine on some tracks (a few feature live drum performances), there's a mix of modes going on here that's really unique – jazz funk, but of a leaner style – maybe a bit more laidback, and with plenty of focus on reedwork and keyboard solos! The set brings together tracks from three rare albums by the group – and titles include "Dark Clouds (part 1)", "Spiritual Feeling", "Night Express (single version)", "Kids In The Dark", "I'm Organized", and "Pops Blue". LP, Vinyl record album