An essential bit of 70s jazz funk – one of the key Blue Note collaborations between trumpeter Donald Byrd and producer/arranger Larry Mizell – the man who helped set a whole new standard for soulful sounds at the time! The approach here is quite similar to the pair's work on Places & Spaces – tight, but loose at the same time – with Donald delivering solos that are very different than his work from the 60s, while Mizell finds this way to mix together all sorts of instruments, at so many different levels – but with a clarity that's mindblowing. Most tracks have a nice groove, a few points feature a touch of vocals – and titles include the classic, and oft-sampled "Think Twice" – plus "We're Together", "Makin It", "Rock & Roll Again", "I Love The Girl", and "You Are The World". (Jazz, Soul) CD

Smoking work from Donald Byrd – post-Blue Note, post-Larry Mizell, and with a modern funk groove that's still pretty darn tasty! Not one to rest on his laurels – which he could have easily done with endless Mizell-based recordings – Donald shifts his groove here towards more of a boogie-styled 80s approach – one that's got the same sort of loping funk that was showing up in the work of Tom Browne and some of the younger players on the scene at the time. There's a fuller, richer, more soul-based approach to the set – but still some strands of the Mizell years – especially in the album's great keyboard work by Clare Fischer, and its use of chorus vocals on a number of tracks. Wade Marcus and George Bohannon helped with arrangements – and titles include a great funky remake of Fischer's "Morning" – plus "Veronica", "Gold The Moon, White The Sun", "Marilyn", "Pretty Baby", and "People Suppose To Be Free". (Jazz, Soul) CD

A great chapter in the career of trumpeter Donald Byrd – his post-Blue Note work with the group 125th Street NYC – which is kind of a second chapter to the jazzy fusion style he developed at the start of the 70s! This time around, there's an equal emphasis on soul and jazz – often with some strong vocals in the lead, but also plenty of room for Donald to stretch out and serve up the kind of perfect solos he worked out with the Mizell Brothers in the years before – modes that are continued here with some great guest help from singers and musicians who include Syreeta, Isaac Hayes, Jim Gilstrap, Wah Wah Watson, and Greg Phillinganes! If you like Donald Byrd albums like Places & Spaces or Stepping Into Tomorrow, you'll find that the sound here is a continuation of that mode – taken into the leaner funk territory that would come to play in the 80s. 2CD set features almost all the best tracks from those years, including some single mixes too – and titles include "Thank You For Funking Up My Life (12" disco version)", "Marilyn", "Butterfly", "Gold The Moon White The Sun", "Sexy Dancer", "Love Has Come Around", "Loving You", "Love For Sale", "Star Trippin", "I Love You", "Midnight", "Your Love Is My Ecstasy", "Have You Heard The News", "People Suppose To Be Free", "Morning", "I'm Coming Home", "Sunning In Your Love Shine", "Everyday", "Falling", "So Much In Love", and "Forbidden Love". (Jazz, Soul) CD

Some of the sharpest, jazziest funk you'll ever hope to hear – a smoking collection of the legendary 70s work by The Blackbyrds on Fantasy Records! The group started as a jazz combo under Donald Byrd's supervision – right at a time when Byrd was making his own fantastic funky records in the 70s – but working for the Bay Area Fantasy label, they really took off into an amazing groove that was all their own – still informed by jazz, but free to open up to lots of funk and soul elements too – sometimes with vocals in the lead, sometimes more focus on the kinds of solos that always set them apart from all their contemporaries! The cuts have some wonderful keyboard work from a young Kevin Toney – who's gone onto a lot of fame over the years – and production on all cuts is either by Larry Mizell, Donald Byrd, or George Duke – key 70s jazz funk forces who keep things mighty tight in the studio! The package features work from all Blackbyrds albums of the 70s – including the Cornbread Earl & Me soundtrack, and the Night Grooves remix set – and the package features 25 titles that include "Enter In", "Party Land", "Do It Fluid", "Gut Level", "Summer Love", "I Need You", "The Baby", "Blackbyrds' Theme", "City Life", "Rock Creek Park", "Walking In Rhythm", "A Hot Day Today", "Wilford's Gone", "One Gun Salute", "Supernatural Feeling", "Mysterious Vibes", and "Soft & Easy". CD

One of our favorite albums of all time – and a record that just gets better and better the more we listen to it – and we've listened to it for years! Johnny "Hammond" Smith began his career as a simple soul jazz organist – but by the time of this album, he'd teamed up with the mighty Larry Mizell, the genius arranger/producer who'd breathed new life into the careers of Donald Byrd and Bobbi Humphrey. Mizell works with Hammond in the same way he does with other jazz artists – by taking a groove that works best with their solo style, and slowly layering other instrumentation and effects on top of it, so that when the solo kicks in, it's supported on waves and waves of funky sounds and soulful grooves. Mizell and his brother Fonce both play keyboards on the record, and the rest of the group includes monster fusion players like Harvey Mason, Roger Glenn, Hadley Caliman, and Jerry Peters. The real treat is Johnny, though – as his solos are heavenly, the best of his 70s work, stripped mean and lean, laid in at just the right points. Includes the breakbeat classic "Shifting Gears", the house classic "Los Conquistadores Chocolates", and funky numbers "Fantasy" and "Tell Me What To Do". This stunning version adds in some killer bonus tracks – 6 never-heard cuts from the Milestone vaults, including "Song For My Family", "Funky Native", "Detroit Rainbow", "Can't We Smile (alt)", and slow and fast versions of "A Child's Love". (Jazz, Soul) CD

The greatest moment ever from the legendary Bobbi Humphrey – a funky, soulful flute player who had more than her share of great moments over the years! This set may well be the summation of all the genius that Humphrey had to offer – a collaboration with genius producer Larry Mizell, at a level that matches is Blue Note classics with Donald Byrd, or the Music Is My Sanctuary album with Gary Bartz – a groundbreaking blend of jazz instrumentation and studio technique! The sound is never smooth, nor commercial – and instead, Bobbie's flute and vocals soar out majestically on these long tracks with building keyboard lines, subtle chorus parts, and touches of bass that really transform the rhythms past conventional soul fusion of the period. Every track is a winner – purely fantastic stuff – and classics include "Chicago Damn", "Jasper Country Man", and the genius "Harlem River Drive". (Jazz, Soul) CD

A great follow-up to the first set in this series – a dozen classic dancefloor tunes, running the gamut from funky fusion to jazzy soul to 80s groove! The vibe here is definitely somewhere in the Larry Mizell/Capitol Rare mode – with a real focus on the kind of smooth groovers that really helped set the pace as the disco era drew to a close. Titles include "Always There" by Ronnie Laws, "Dominoes" by Donald Byrd, "Promise Me" by Dayton, "Music Is My Sanctuary" by Gary Bartz, "Parisienne Girl" by Incognito, "Mr Magician" by Mystic Merlin, "Groove On" by Willie Beaver Hale, "Do Me Baby" by Mel'isa Morgan, "Doin Alright" by O'Bryan, "Too Many Games" by Maze, and "Prance On" by Eddie Henderson. (Funky Compilations, Soul) CD

A whole new level of genius for Herb Alpert – a record that's light years away from his earlier work with the Tijuana Brass, and which has the trumpeter stepping strongly into the world of smooth jazzy fusion! The title track here went platinum the minute it was released – and became an end-of-the 70s instrumental anthem that seemed to drift out of speakers around the country. The rest of the album's pretty great too – built on the modes explored by Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, and other soulful fusion players of the 70s – but cast out with a bit more drama overall. Titles include the seminal jazz dance classic "Rotation" – plus "Rise", "Street Life", "Aranjuez (Mon Amour)", "1980", "Angelina", and "Love Is". CD

A whole new level of genius for Herb Alpert – a record that's light years away from his earlier work with the Tijuana Brass, and which has the trumpeter stepping strongly into the world of smooth jazzy fusion! The title track here went platinum the minute it was released – and became an end-of-the 70s instrumental anthem that seemed to drift out of speakers around the country. The rest of the album's pretty great too – built on the modes explored by Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, and other soulful fusion players of the 70s – but cast out with a bit more drama overall. Titles include the seminal jazz dance classic "Rotation" – plus "Rise", "Street Life", "Aranjuez (Mon Amour)", "1980", "Angelina", and "Love Is". Expanded CD version has been re-sequenced by Herb himself – and features the bonus tracks "Rotation (alternate version)", and "Aranjuez (2007 dance mix)". CD

Two of the later Blackbyrds LPs on one CD! Action is a great little sleeper from the Blackbyrds – a record that never gets as much due as their earlier records that have a hard funky feel, but offer instead a tasty batch of smoother jazz funk numbers that show the group still continuing to grow. Donald Byrd's still at the production helm – and the band's got a nice spacey sound that almost reflects directions that other funk groups, like Kool & The Gang, were taking at the time. The best case of this is the massive cut "Mysterious Vibes", a slow jazzy stepper that was sampled to great fame a few years back – but you can also hear it on the cuts "Supernatural Feeling", "Soft & Easy", and "Dreaming About You". Better Days is filled with sweet warm grooves from the mighty Blackbyrds – a set that has George Duke working with the group, giving them some of the electric vibe of his own great work! The sound is less sharply funky than the early days of the group, but still mighty nice – and titles include "Do It Girl", "Love Don't Strike Twice", "What We Have Is Right", and "What's On Your Mind". CD

2 classics from The Blackbyrds – back to back on a single CD! City Life is a fantastic album from the legendary jazz funk combo – a bit smoother than their first, but that's the great thing about it! The record has the band getting even tighter than before – coming up with an amazing jazz-inflected funk groove that still leaves us breathless after all these years – and which is the perfect fusion of jazz and soul that was going down with the best groups in the mid 70s. The best example of this sound can be heard on the massive cut "Rock Creek Park" – which begins with a wonderful bass on the intro, a killer moogy keyboard bit, and a super-catchy chorus that goes "doin' it in the park," which you should recognize in about 30 seconds! The rest of the album is great too – and titles include the classic sample track "Love So Fine" – plus "Happy Music", "Hash and Eggs", "Thankful Bout Yourself", and "All I Ask". Unfinished Business has The Blackbyrds are at the top of their game – working in a sweet blend of jazz, funk, and soul – all produced to perfection by their mentor Donald Byrd! The groove is quite similar to some of Byrd's best from the time – a bit fuller than the first few records by The Blackbyrds, thanks to the addition of larger horns – and put together in ways that really has them soaring towards the skies on waves or righteous soul! There's vocals on most tracks, but they really take equal place next to the group's wonderful instrumentation – especially the heady keyboards of the mighty Kevin Toney, still a key member of the combo at this point. Titles include "Party Land", "In Life", "Time Is Movin", "Lady", and "You've Got That Something". CD