Johnny Benavidez hits it right on the money here – serving up a set of laidback soul that feels like the classic material that would play big on the scene in East LA – music that's heartbreaking, but deep at the same time – graced with these very personal vocals from Johnny, and given just the right sort of backing from Cold Diamond & Mink! The whole thing is nice and easygoing – sweet soul, of the variety that you'd be more likely to hear from a harmony group, but with Benavidez giving a lead presence that's a bit like Joe Bataan in a similar mode – which makes for the kind of record that's perfect to put on late into the night, windows open, breeze blowing in, when you just want to kick back and turn down. Titles include "Playing The Fool", "Dedicated To You", "Somebody Cares", "Your Last Song", "Let's Get Together", "Do What You Wanna Do", "My Echo Shadow & Me", and "Tell Me That You Love Me". CD

The True Tones provide soul singer Michelle David with some great backings here – a romping sort of groove on most tracks, and one that bristles with plenty of old school instrumental touches that seem to really spur the vocalist forward! Michelle's got a dynamic style that owes a lot to late 60s funk diva styles – a power and focus that really provides some great energy at the top of the group, and a vocal range that really crackles over the top when she lets loose! Titles include "Let Me Tell It", "Karma", "Peace", "Cold Cold World", "Little Girl", "That Is You", "Brothers & Sisters", "If You Don't Try", "More Grace", and "PUSH". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet smooth funk from David Fostex – a set that's heavy both on 80s boogie modes, and some of the "yacht soul" elements referenced by the title – but which also has a very unique spin of its own! The lineup here is large, although given the names of some of the musicians, that might also be an in-joke – as we're not sure that Herbie Handjob actually played Rhodes on the set – yet despite any question about the origins of the sound, the result is nice and tight – a great contemporary take on classic modes, with a few wisecracks mixed in alongside the soulful vocals. Titles include "Lost My Keys", "Butt Dial", "Glasses For The Masses", "Should Have Washed My Hands", "Livin The Stream", and "What's That Smell Barry Manilow". (Neo Soul, Deep Funk) LP, Vinyl record album

The True Tones provide soul singer Michelle David with some great backings here – a romping sort of groove on most tracks, and one that bristles with plenty of old school instrumental touches that seem to really spur the vocalist forward! Michelle's got a dynamic style that owes a lot to late 60s funk diva styles – a power and focus that really provides some great energy at the top of the group, and a vocal range that really crackles over the top when she lets loose! Titles include "Let Me Tell It", "Karma", "Peace", "Cold Cold World", "Little Girl", "That Is You", "Brothers & Sisters", "If You Don't Try", "More Grace", and "PUSH". CD

With a name like Cinephonic, you can imagine some of the sound here – but that's also only the tip of the iceberg, as there's a heck of a lot going on with the record! There's definitely a cinematic vibe to the music, yet the work isn't just any retro-styled material influenced by film scores – as these guys have all sorts of wonderful instrumentation of their own, including great use of flute, tenor, trumpet, and some especially nice organ, clavinet, and vibes – all handled by Pierre Chretien, the maestro behind the whole project! Strings provide a nice backdrop, but they're used sparingly, and with a nicely sinister tone – that darkness you might find in the larger charts of David Axelrod at his best. The whole thing's great – every bit as wonderful as their previous record – and titles include "Pyramides", "L'Etoile", "Les Souterrains", "Penombre", "Douleur", "Cendres Et Poussieres", and "Le Combat". (Jazz, Deep Funk) LP, Vinyl record album

The Drawbars definitely work here with more than just one finger – and they deliver a really great groove, with a style that's a nice change from some of their contemporaries! Part of the trio's uniqueness lies in the vintage keyboards handled by Chris Haertel – who has a way of going for tones that are nicely less familiar, and sometimes delivered with a spacious approach that's a cool change from just jamming work on organ or piano! The rhythms are often equally laidback, yet still tight and funky – served up with bass from David Nesselhauf and drums from Julian Gutjahr – on titles that include "Art Form", "Shout", "Two Face", "Cat Call", "One Finger Only", "Let's Do It Again", "Skyline", and "One Twenty Five". LP, Vinyl record album

A trippier version of Khruangbin than we're used to – but that's maybe no surprise, given that the whole album's a dub version of the Con Todo El Mundo record – with all the best funky currents of that sweet set, and some wilder modes as well! Drums and bass really get a great workout – and the production isn't the usual Jamaican-inspired dub, but a mode that's maybe partly got a David Axelrod quality – as these guys use the instrumental moments to open up into all these dark, moody corners – while still keeping things nicely funky overall. Titles include "With All The World", "Sisters & Brothers", "How I Love", "Four Of Five", "Hasta El Cielo", and "Order Of Operations". Also includes bonus Scientist mixes on a 7" single – "Rules (Scientist dub)" and "Como Te Quiero (Scientist dub)". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the sharpest, funkiest album to date from the great jazz organist Delvon Lamarr – a live set that was done at the Colemine headquarters – but handled with a vibe that makes the whole thing feel like some small club date from the east coast from the 60s Hammond hero generation! Delvon is a monster on the keys – graced with as much a sense of pedal basslines as deft solo work on the keys – alongside support from Jimmy James on guitar and David McGraw on drums – partners in the rock-solid trio that's got to be one of the best funky jazz groups in the world! Tracks are all nice and long – and titles include "Love Land", "Ain't It Funky Now", "Tacoma Black Party", "Move On Up", "You Know When I'm Right Or Wrong", "Memphis", and "Can I Change My Mind". LP, Vinyl record album

A record with maybe the sharpest edge of any of the titles in this excellent series – a set that's certainly more jazz-based than most, thanks in part to the presence of the legendary Henry Franklin on bass, and some superb work on guitar from the great Jeff Parker! Although Franklin is best known for his famous 70s albums on the Black Jazz label, he's continued to be a strong force on the west coast scene for decades, and has issued some sublime records on his own label – and this time around, it's almost as if the team of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad have stepped back a bit, and let Franklin act more as a leader than some of the other artists on previous Jazz Is Dead recordings. Tracks are long, and filled with a sense of exploration that's nicely different than some of Franklin's own records, but equally inspired – with work from other players who include Clinton Patterson on trumpet, David Urquidi on alto, Scott Mayo on tenor and flute, and Nicholas Baker on percussion. Titles include "African Sun", "Feedback", "Cafe Negro", "People's Revolution", "Karibu", "The Griot", and "Memories Lost". CD

A record with maybe the sharpest edge of any of the titles in this excellent series – a set that's certainly more jazz-based than most, thanks in part to the presence of the legendary Henry Franklin on bass, and some superb work on guitar from the great Jeff Parker! Although Franklin is best known for his famous 70s albums on the Black Jazz label, he's continued to be a strong force on the west coast scene for decades, and has issued some sublime records on his own label – and this time around, it's almost as if the team of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad have stepped back a bit, and let Franklin act more as a leader than some of the other artists on previous Jazz Is Dead recordings. Tracks are long, and filled with a sense of exploration that's nicely different than some of Franklin's own records, but equally inspired – with work from other players who include Clinton Patterson on trumpet, David Urquidi on alto, Scott Mayo on tenor and flute, and Nicholas Baker on percussion. Titles include "African Sun", "Feedback", "Cafe Negro", "People's Revolution", "Karibu", "The Griot", and "Memories Lost". LP, Vinyl record album

A contemporary collection, but one that really hearkens back to the brown-eyed soul of the Texas scene in the late 60s and early 70s – a moment when local groups were picking up on some of the vibes of East LA – reveling in the rich history of Texas soul and blues, but mixing it with funkier currents as well! After the recent interest in Sunny & The Sunliners, there has been a great wave of contemporary acts echoing the Texas sound of years back – and here, producer Adrian Quesada serves up core instrumentation that's a great blend of mellow-yet-funky soul – while different vocalists come in to the mix and really send things over the top! The set features contributions from a nice variety of artists – and titles include "Ain't No Big Thing" with Johnny Hernandez, "I've Got Soul" with David Marez, "Just Me & You" with Amalia Mondragon, "Boogaloo En Monterey" with Ruben Ramos, "One Woman Man" with David Hidalgo, "Love Reverberation" with Johnny Benavidez, "Funky Chick" with Brownout and Tomar Williams, and "Look At My Soul" with Black Pumas and Kam Franklin. (Funky Compilations, Deep Funk) LP, Vinyl record album

Weirdly tripped-out funk from Baby Elephant – a compelling collaboration from Prince Paul, Newkirk, and P-Funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell! The sound here is quite odd – kind of a dismantling of older P-Funk modes, stripped down into a handful of key elements, then re-assembled in a range of different ways to suit the spirit of each tune. There's a good sense of humor to most of the tracks, but also an underlying sense of darkness as well – especially on some of the skits that link together the tracks, done by Prince Paul to give the album a slightly narrative feel. There's a huge amount of guest stars in the mix – including David Byrne, George Clinton, Reggie Watts, Yellowman, Nona Hendryx, and Shock 9 – and titles include "How Does The Brainwave", "Plainfield", "The Search", "Baby Elephants In Thanos", "Even Stranger", "Crack Addicts In Love", "Turn My Teeth Up", and "Fred Berry". CD

One of the best ever sets of sprawling, spacey soul funk and jazz from the impossible to pen in Burnt Sugar Arkestra Chamber – never an easy group to describe in a nutshell, and that's a good thing – their best work in years and their first effort for the Livewired label! Making Love To The Dark Ages is a weirdly apt title, starting out with kind of dark, bluesy soul backdrop for Lisala's vocal in the beginning of the opening three part suite "Chains And Waters", slowly building into a tense, free jazz groove that's unafraid to pepper it up with some psyche rock guitar, heady/heavy bass, keys and synth, sax and drums. Guitarist and group leader Greg Tate conducts a sprawling chamber with slightly altered lineups depending on the piece, with players including vocal chanteuse Lisala, fellow vocalists Jeremiah, Karma Johnson, Justice Dilla X (who moonlights on piano, too) and others, alto & tenor sax by Matana Roberts and Petre Radu Scafaru, synth by Bruce Mack, cello by Will Martina, acoustic and electric bass by Jason DiMatteo and Jared Michael Nicherson, drums by Chris Eddleton and Trevor Holden & others, guitars by Rene Akan, Vernon Reid, trombone by David Smith, trumpet by Lewis 'Flip' Barnes, Jr, – lots more instrumentation and orchestration. The record rolls in and out of evocative soul, bits of electro and hip hop soundcraft, spaced out astral jazz, sharp solos and textured bursts of noise – never sacrificing a confluent sense of togetherness for all of the diverse sounds. Titles include the suites "Chains And Water" and the title track, plus "Thorazine/81", "Love To Tical" and "Dominata (The Gabri Ballad)". CD