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Strong dancefloor funk from ADC Band – one of the tightest combos of their generation, and a group who manage to skirt the worlds between 80s club and more jamming funk. There's a much smoother sound here than the group had in their roots, and the focus here is on plenty of bass and... read more

Once again, Cannon proves that it's not the song, it's the singer! This set of tunes from the hit musical Fiddler On The Roof should be schmaltzy – but thanks to the quality of the group (a great sextet with Nat Adderley, Charles Lloyd, Joe Zawinul, Sam Jones, and Louis Hayes), and thanks to... read more

An interesting early side by Cannonball that captures him before he'd really found his voice – and when the folks at Mercury still didn't really know what to do with him. The record's a tightly arranged set of tracks from Duke Ellington's musical "Jump For Joy" – with... read more

A gem of a record from Nat Adderley – filled with short soulful groovers, and done with an upbeat vibe that rivals some of Cannonball's best of the 60s! Joe Zawinul handled the arrangements, so there's definitely a strong influence here from the Cannon group – and although the players... read more

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A wonderful little session from Manny Albam – one that continues the strong tradition of larger group jazz arranging he began in the 60s, but which takes it to an even deeper level! Manny composed the entire set as kind of a "city suite" in jazz – one that paints the picture... read more

Excellent compilation of some of the best tracks recorded by the Alegre All Stars. One of the greatest recording projects in Latin music, the Alegre All Stars was a loose collective of great talents like Charlie Palmieri, Bobby Rodriguez, Chombo, Jo Quijano, Kako, Johnny Pacheco, and lots of... read more

A blend of jazz funk and rawer informed grooves from Harold Alexander – and actually a step into more polished vibes thanks to some Arif Mardin arrangements and a new home at Atlantic Records! Although some of the earlier records cut by reed player Harold Alexander may have been more... read more

Live Monty Alexander set from the mid 70s, featuring his groovy group with Ernest Ranglin on guitar, Eberhard Weber on bass, and Kenny Clare on drums. The bass playing's especially good, and there's lots of nice round funky moments in some of the best tracks. Titles include "Feel Like Making... read more

One of the greatest records ever recorded by vocalist Lorez Alexandria – and a perfect summation of her rich talents as a singer! Backing is by a small Chicago trio that includes John Young on piano, Vernel Fournier on drums, and George Eskridge on bass – but the arrangements of the... read more

One of the only blues records you'll ever find on Motown – and a mostly straight blues affair with a hard electric sound to it. The album's mostly in the early Alligator Records camp – but there's a few nice funky cuts, like "Now You Got It" and "Into My Life",... read more

An amazing record by Mose Allison – with some good funky tracks! The real key here is the fact that Mose plays electric piano and is working in a hip trio with Billy Cobham playing some funky and soulful drums! We don't know what kind of piano Mose is using, but on the tracks where he's... read more

Trumpety magic from Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – a record that's known not only for its classic cover of a model dipped in whipped cream, but also for it's tremendously groovy groove! The Tijuana sound is very firmly in place by the time of this set – Mexican-inspired, but... read more

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One of Gene Ammons' classics from the 60s, and a straight ahead session of soul jazz tenor and piano, with drums by Art Taylor and a bit of extra conga from Ray Barretto. Nice rolling 60's soul jazz groove, and some nice piano comping behind Jug by Patti Brown and Walter Bishop Jr. Tracks include... read more

One of Jug's funkier albums from his time back out of the pen, and a tasty electric session with Billy Butler on guitar and Sonny Phillips on organ. Pretty Purdie plays drums, and he kicks it nice and lean on the great groover "Jungle Strut". The album also features a nice version of... read more

Pretty cool early work from Jug! This original 10" LP features one of his first blowing sessions for Prestige – caught in the company of Art Farmer, Lou Donaldson, Freddie Redd, and Kenny Clarke. The album features 2 long tracks – "Woofin & Tweetin" and "Juggern... read more

First LP from Norman Connors' jazzy soul group Aquarian Dream. Norman produced, and the groove is about what you'd imagine if he got his hands on an east coast soul group, with a lot of mellow vibes, and some more uptempo grooves. Claude Bartee plays tenor and soprano, Gloria Jones sings vocals,... read more

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Swedish leader Harry Arnold tackles the music of Richard Rodgers – taking the tunes into some sweet jazzy big band directions, without as many of the showy flourishes you might expect from the "Broadway" title! Of course, many of the tunes here are older Rodgers material –... read more

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Bass heavy funk from Arrington – picking up where that Slave groove left off, moving into a mode that's also picked up bits of 80s groove and old school rhythms. Titles include "Nobody Can Beat You", "You Meet My Approval", "Speak With Your Body", "Weak At... read more

A key later session from the Art Ensemble Of Chicago – a record that gained them global exposure through the ECM label, and which has them working in a beautifully subtle sense of sound, space, and tone! The work is less all-out challenging than some of the group's earliest recordings –... read more

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Sure, it's not classic funky Average White Band, but the album's a great one that showcases the group's best second suit – their smooth compressed late 70s soul sound – a great evolution of their earlier groove, and one that showed them as a great mainstream soul act! The tunes are a... read more

A rawer Badfinger emerges on Ass – self-produced with a no frills vibe that was apparently something of a controversial way for the boys to record at the time, as Apple initially rejected it. It sounds like great rock & roll to us! Sweet melodies and tuneful songs are still the order of... read more

A classic Pacific Jazz album, one that features Chet Baker laying back in three different ensembles – a quartet (with Russ Freeman), sextet (with Bud Shank and Bob Brookmeyer), and septet (with Jack Montrose, Herb Geller, and Bob Gordon). Arrangements are by Freeman, Montrose, and Johnny... read more

A great little album from Ray – even if it is a bit different than some of his other work from earlier years. The feel is kind of 70s R&B, with a jazzy touch, and if you're not looking for straight Latin stuff, this is actually a pretty great album – as Ray gets the group to work... read more

A stunner from Bill Barron! The set's one of the few rare sides that Barron cut as a leader during the early 60s – and it ranks right up there with work by Ornette Coleman or Joe Harriott for sheer raw modern power! The group's a quintet – with Barron and Booker Ervin on tenor, Larry... read more

Len Barry gets a bit soulful here – with arrangements from Joe Rnezetti, Jimmy Wisner, and Pete Dino – on cuts that include "Sweet Soul Music", "Mickey's Monkey", "The Moving Finger Writes", "Our Love", and "The Hunter Gets Captured By The... read more

Way before Sinatra first grabbed the "Chairman Of The Board" title for his own musical persona, Basie laid great claim to the tag with this tight little album for Roulette! The album's got the 50s Basie band working at the height of their powers – with original compositions written... read more

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A record with "surf" in the title, but one that's light years from the earlier Beach Boys albums of the 60s! This set is a wonderfully mature effort – hardly surf music at all, and one that moves nicely in the same territory as Sunflower and 20/20! Some of the tunes are... read more

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The record that defined a generation, and a set with some surprisingly nice soul tracks, too – including "Open Sesame" by Kool & The Gang, "Disco Inferno" by The Trammps, "KJEE" by MFSB, "Calypso Breakdown" by Ralph MacDonald, "Fifth Of... read more

A monster bit of funk that's unlike anything else we can think of! Beginning Of The End hailed from The Bahamas, but don't hold that against them – because instead of being a Caribbean cliche, they took the best part of the island rhythms, and used them to forge an incredible approach to... read more

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It's clearly long after his Stax years at this point, but the album's still got some nice enough soul moments, and was still all recorded in the south. Tracks include "Yesterday I Lied, Today I Cried", "Morning Glory", "Your Love Keeps Me Going", "Let it... read more

An early George Benson groover from the A&M years of CTI – a set that's quite different than his famous 70s sets, with a really unique sound overall! The arrangements here are by Latin Soul maestro Marty Sheller – who brings some of the vibe to the set that he brought to his 60s... read more

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Ruben Blades's first album – recorded shortly after his arrival in New York from Panama, with top-notch backing by the band of Pete Rodriguez! The album's an interesting one, in that it catches Ruben shortly before the salsa era, singing in a mix of styles that reminds us of some of Jimmy... read more

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An unlikely pairing, but a great one too – quite an unusual chapter in the career of pianist Ran Blake – but in a way, a great set to unlock the soulful undercurrents that have always been in his music! About half the tracks feature the tenor of Houston Person joining in –... read more

Killer material from the 1964 edition of the Jazz Messengers – an incredibly hard-hitting sextet that features Freddie Hubbard, Curtis Fuller, Wayne Shorter, Reggie Workman, and Cedar Walton. The mix of players is amazing, and Walton's warm lyricism is a haunting combination with the sharp-ed... read more

Bloodstone's augmented here by a heck of a lot of studio players – more than enough to fill out the needs of the soundtrack to this so-so film from the mid 70s. A few cuts still have the group singing in their better harmony style, but more than a few numbers are remakes of 50s vocal group... read more

Titles include "Albert's Shuffle", "Stop", "Man's Temptation", "This Holy Modal Majesty", "Really", and "Season Of The Witch".... read more

A dozen of Blue Magic's finest harmony soul numbers: "Sideshow", "Stop To Start", "Spell", "What's Come Over Me", "Three Ring Circus", "Welcome To The Club", "Chasing Rainbows", "Look Me Up", "Summer Snow",... read more

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Excellent early funk from Bohannon – a mixture of scattershot drums and tight bass jumping grooves, very different than most other funk from the time, with a freer approach to rhythm that really makes the record unique. Bo's got a great sense of the groove – as you'll hear on the album'... read more

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One of Bostic's best – played with a group that includes Stanley Turrentine and John Coltrane, although you'd never know it, because Earl's alto sax is right up front in the mix. There's no problem with that, though – and as you'll hear from his tone, it's more than likely that Trane... read more

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Arguably one of the greatest rock and roll albums of all time – and the key flowering of the partnership between David Bowie and Mick Ronson! The guitars here are heavy – so much so that the record's always crossed over big with crowds who are always suspicious of Bowie's artier work... read more

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Sweet 80s groove from Brass Construction – still with Randy Muller at the helm, but with a sound that's a bit more bassy than before! Trademark Brass Construction horns still make an appearance on the set, but there's almost more focus on the keyboards – which, along with the bass,... read more

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An overlooked killer from Brick – the group's fourth album, but every bit as tight and funkier as earlier sets! Brick's Atlanta-bred groove is very much in place here – that lean, mean approach to funk that made them a standout right from the get-go – almost setting the scene for... read more

Very raw, very rootsy stuff from Big Bill Broonzy, issued by Columbia (strangely enough) as part of their Adventures In Sound series. The packaging and the notes have the usual smug Columbia "serving up the best in roots culture for white liberals" tone – but the set's actually a... read more

The second album by this lost East Coast funk act – and although not as totally excellent as their first, still a very nice record that's filled with choppy up-tempo grooves, and some nice dancefloor soul. There's plenty of funky keyboards in the mix – moog, clavinet, and Arp –... read more

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A stone classic from Brother James – a wonderful 60s album built around the incredible track "Cold Sweat", served up here in a massive two-part version, and surrounded by a good range of material that really show James in a great variety of styles! The Godfather's vocals burst out... read more

A bit of a comeback for James Brown – a mid 80s outing recorded with Dan Hartman, who gives the record a "contemporary" sound that's definitely a great way to slide James in with the younger crowd at the time! The style's still funky, but has more street soul elements too –... read more

A masterpiece of funky soul – and one of the greatest albums of the early 70s! It all comes together on this one – funk, soul, politics, and production – and the record is still one of the clearest examples of James Brown's genius that you'll ever find! Recorded during the same... read more

Excellent early 70's compilation of some of James' best funky singles from his late King and early Polydor years, and a record that features a lot of cuts that didn't necessarily show up on LP that easily. Includes such massive groovers as "Make It Funky Part 3", "Sex Machine",... read more

Smooth funky jazz from Tom Browne – caught here during his best early years! The record's his second best next to Love Approach, but it's got almost the same sort of feel, with tight late 70s studio jazz jamming – and a buttery smooth sound from Browne's post-Donald Byrd trumpet licks.... read more

One of the lesser-known sets in Dave Brubeck's classic "time" series for Columbia – even more inventive than Time Out! Paul Desmond plays alto – and titles include "Travellin Blues", "He Done Her Wrong", "Cassandra", "40 Days", "Tim... read more

Easily the crowning moment of genius for the legendary Dave Brubeck Quartet – the moment when all things came together magically, and the group somehow elevated themselves to a whole new level in jazz! At the time of the set, Brubeck, Paul Desmond, and the rest had already been making plenty... read more

A sweet sweet change for Rusty Bryant – as electric piano moves in on the usual Hammond heard on most of his funky sessions – with a resulting groove that's outta site! The change in keys makes for more of a soundtrack funk feel than a rough-edged one – not smooth at all, but... read more

Fantastic funky jazz from tenorman Rusty Bryant – one of the real standout titles in the classic early 70s Prestige jazz/funk years! Rusty leads a group that includes heavyweights like Charles Earland on organ, Virgil Jones on trumpet, Melvin Sparks on guitar, and Idris Muhammad on drums... read more

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Easily one of our favorite albums by Tim Buckley – and a record that really opens up with some key jazzy touches! Buckley's still got his roots in folk here, and his vocals are yet to hit the extremes of Starsailor or Lorca – but there's also a new sense of inflection to the way he... read more

An exceptional early release from the tragic Tim Buckley – done with a really unique sound that mixes late 60s folk rock with some subtly jazzy overtones! The record features beautiful string arrangements from the legendary Jack Nitzsche, and some beautiful work on piano, harpsichord, and... read more

Hipper than you might think, especially for Concord! Features percussion from Willie Bobo, guitar from Joe Diorio, trombone from Bob Brookmeyer, and Fender Rhodes from Arlette McCoy!... read more

A very groovy little set – bongos, with lots of great spare moments – presented under the auspices of a percussion instruction record! Jack "Bongo" Burger was similar to Jack "Mr. Bongo" Costanza – that is, he was a west coast studio player who also made a... read more

An unusual bit of female pop – recorded down in Memphis at American studios by Tommy Cogbill! At some level, Angeline's got a style that's a bit like Dusty Springfield – mostly pop, but with a soulful undercurrent – one that might not come out as strongly otherwise, but which... read more

A groovy vanity jazz album – with lots of electric piano and Hammond, and a bit of synth, too! Features a version of "Shaft", plus a seven minuted "Stevie Wonder Medley".... read more

If you read these pages often enough, you'll know that we're big fans of recordings made by American expatriot players while living in Europe during the 60's. The European rhythm sections often bring out new elements of their playing, and the interaction with European soloists hits modes that we... read more

A classic album that mixes trumpet and voices in a swirling soulful sound that worked very well for Byrd's career! Byrd's sparkling trumpet fronts a tight septet that includes Hank Mobley, Herbie Hancock, and Kenny Burrell – and which is backed by arrangements by Coleridge Perkinson and Duke... read more

A post-Blue Note effort, and Donald's changing things up a bit with his 125th Street Orchestra and Uptown Singers – funking along in a way you'd expect from the longwinded title! Byrd loostens up the smoother backgrounds of his recent Larry Mizell helmed work, and in their place are grooves... read more

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Candido cut sooo many great Latin records over the years, spanning a wide range of styles, we have a hard time deciding which we love the best. We like to think this may be his best album from the early part of his career, specifically because it features the master conga player amidst a tight... read more

A great collection of classic comedy bits – narrated by Eddie Cantor, and released as a premium for the Ken-L Ration Dog Food company!... read more

Titles include "All Messed Up", "Jenning's Alley", "I Thought It Was Over"," Don't Bother Me", and "Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained".... read more

Features some great work by Joe Henderson on tenor – in a group that features Carter on bass and piccolo bass, Chick Corea on piano, and Tony Williams on drums – plus some surprisingly nice larger horn arrangements too. Titles include "GJT", "Gypsy", "Tinderbox&... read more

Mid 80s funky soul from Cashflow – a rare one cut for the Atlanta label, and produced by Larry Blackmon – a group R&B effort that seamlessly combines the club ready soul, funk, 80s rap influences and otherwise tightly thumping grooves Blackmon worked with at the time! Cashflow had... read more

Another one of the great LPs by a band that was probably one of the best to grace the Muse label – and who have not really ever been reissued. Eddie Green, Odean Pope, Tyrone Brown, and Sherman Ferguson form the core of this funky fusion outfit, and they play in a beautiful way that mixes... read more

An overlooked set from Change – a record that possibly wasn't as hit-worthy as some of their previous efforts – yet one that still had the group very much at the top of their game! By this point, Change had really evolved past being just a studio project, into a rock-solid soul group... read more

One long piece – dedicated to Joe McPhee – with Chardonnens on percussion, Francioli on bass and piano, and Malfatti on trombone and accessories!... read more

Issued in 1983, but a good look back at the classic Brunswick years of this massive soul group from Chicago! The Chi-Lites are one of the best harmony acts ever to come out of the Windy City – and while at the Brunswick label during the late 60s and early 70s, leader Eugene Record forged a... read more

Beautiful beautiful work from The Chi-Lites – and a record that we might even say tops the best of their late Brunswick book! Despite the move from that label to Mercury, the group have a sound here that's still wonderfully fragile and harmony-focused – especially on the mellower cuts,... read more

One of the biggest records ever from The Chi-Lites – thanks to the "Oh Girl" title hit that's referenced on the cover! But apart from that ballad classic, the record's actually got a heck of a lot more to offer – some incredible harmony soul tracks that show that even during... read more