A pretty full-on group from the Virginia scene – one that comes on strong with a mix of funky drums, fuzzy guitar, bumping bass, and some great work on trumpet and keyboards! The groove here is almost a psychedelic take on jazz funk from years back – filtered into a very contemporary space, too – almost post-Medeski Martin & Wood, although nothing like that group at all – just in the kind of space that the new freedoms of recent years have opened up! In other words, these guys are pretty funky, but also not slavishly so – especially in any sort of retro mode – and although they're playing live here, there's an electric crackle to the whole proceedings that further ties their collaborative energy together. Titles include "Tunnelvision", "Moses", "Cairo", "Tomahawk", "Lysol", and "Forest 2.0". CD

The coolest record so far from this totally great combo – a live recording done on the home turf of the Greg Foat Group – the Playboy Club in London! The retro venue really fits the slinky, sexy vibe of the group's music – and although we already loved these guys before, this album has a really special sort of feel – with loads of wonderful keyboard lines from Greg on Hohner Electra piano, Elka Rhapsody, Hammond L 100, and Mutron Phaser – almost always distorted with a nice degree of fuzz, but still a straight ahead approach, and some great undercurrents of fuzz too! The group also features tenor and trumpet – which sometimes sound distorted, ala Varitone modes – and the overall sound feels like some lost jazzy club combo from the late 60s, really tripping out in a very comfortable space. We'd easily stack this one next to our favorite funky Fender Rhodes records from back in the day – and titles include "By The Grace Of God I Am", "Ingen Reklam", "Funky Fanfare", "Madrid", and "Mr Minor". CD features two bonus tracks – "Finky Minky" and "Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag". (Jazz, Deep Funk) CD

A massive live album from this funky trio – a double-length set, and one that they get all to themselves after splitting a long run of live records with other artists during most of 2023! While we liked those records, we're very happy to have Khruangbin on their own – stretching out in that bold blend of guitar, bass, and drums they combine with almost a proggish approach to funk! Titles include "Time", "The Number 3", "Lady & Man", "White Gloves", "Two Fish & An Elephant", "Evan Finds The Third Room", "Maria Tambien", "First Class", "Friday Morning", and "A Calf Born In Winter". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's partly an album by massive funk trio Khruangbin, and partly a tribute to some of the musicians they worked with on a recent tour – as side one has the other performers in the lead, while Khruangbin gets plenty of instrumental space on the flipside! The group themselves turn in a great James Brown tribute in the mix of "Blind Man Can See It/It's The Monaurail" – and also serve up "Bin Bin", "Friday Moring", "People Everywhere", and "Number 4". Other titles include "Nobody Smokes Anymore" by Robert Ellis, "Woman Trouble" by Kelly Doyle, "At The Trailride" by Ruben Moreno, and "Don't Bother Me" by The Suffers. LP, Vinyl record album

A mighty pairing of talents – indie legends Men I Trust and funk monsters Khruangbin – united here on one record, recorded on a very strong tour date from 2022! All material was recorded at RBC Echo Beach – with Men I Trust on side one, Khruangbin on side two – sadly not playing together on the same stage, but maybe something you could create if you played two copies of the record at the same time, one side each! Titles include "Sugar", "All Night", "Seven", "Show Me How", "Dern Kala", "Lady & Man", and "White Gloves". LP, Vinyl record album

Khruangbin add one more chapter to their ongoing series of live albums – this time serving up a set that had them working with Toro Y Moi as their opening act! As with other records in the series, each act gets their own side of the album – and Toro Y Moi feature on side one, with the tracks "Girl Like You", "Ordinary Pleasure", "The Loop", "Deja Vu", and "Millennium". Khruangbin are tight and funky on the flipside – serving up the tunes "August 10", "Maria Tambien", "August Twelve", and "First Class". LP, Vinyl record album

A hell of a live set from Sonny Knight & The Lakers – a record that's twice as long as the group's studio session, and maybe twice as smoking as well! Sonny's an older soul singer from years back, but he's never sounded better than working here with funky backings from The Lakers – a combo who've fused a style with the singer that few other groups can match – one of those rare cases where an older artist can find a really fresh breath of life while still moving forward, and where the younger talents seem to really hit a level of mature focus in the presence of the older artist. The recording quality is great – very sharp and on point – at a level that captures all the spontaneous energy of the group as they really stretch out and do their thing! Some tracks are nice and long – and titles include "Juicy Lucy", "Get Up And Dance", "Through With You", "Sonny's Boogaloo", "Where Did You Sleep Last Night", "Day Tripper", "Baby Baby Baby", "It's You For Me", "Sock A Poo Poo", "When You're Gone", "Cave Man", "I'm Still Here" (parts 1 & 2), "Sugar Man", and "Hey Girl". 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

An ambitious little set from Christian McBride – one that brings together 3CDs of music recorded over 2 nights of performance – all in a mode that shows McBride picking up plenty of funky touches! The group here features Geoffrey Keezer on keyboards, Ron Blake on saxes, and Terreon Gully on drums – really hitting the kit with a pounding intensity to match McBride's pulsating work on both acoustic and electric basses – jamming here a lot strongly than we remember from other studio sides. The expanded package is presented (amazingly) at the same price as a regular CD – and offers plenty of long tracks to really hear this great band stretch out in a space that's nicely between conventional jazz and some of the looser modes of the jamband underground. Guest appearances include Charlie Hunter, DJ Logic, Scratch, Eric Krasno, and Jason Moran – and titles include "Say Something", "Clerow's Flipped", "Lejos De Usted", "Sonic Tonic", "Hibiscus", "Sitting On A Cloud", "Mwandishi Outcome Jam", "Lower East Side", "See Jam Hear Jam Feel Jam", "E Jam", and "D Shuffle Jam". Lots of jams! (Jazz, Deep Funk) CD

Not just a live album from the great soul singer Myles Sanko, but one that showcases his talents with a full orchestral setting – as you might guess from the image on the cover! The setting unlocks this new sort of majesty in Myles' music – this soaring sensibility that's a real reward to all of us who've been following his music for years – and which is an equal treasure to those just discovering Sanko for the first time! The orchestrations never overwhelm his vocals – and instead they have this way of pushing out the sound even more – a richness in sound that Myles can't help but respond to – on titles that include "Come On Home", "This Ain't Living", "Forget Me Not", "My Inspiration", "Just Being Me", "Forever Dreaming", "High On You", and "Light In My Hand". (Neo Soul, Deep Funk) CD

Not just a live album from the great soul singer Myles Sanko, but one that showcases his talents with a full orchestral setting – as you might guess from the image on the cover! The setting unlocks this new sort of majesty in Myles' music – this soaring sensibility that's a real reward to all of us who've been following his music for years – and which is an equal treasure to those just discovering Sanko for the first time! The orchestrations never overwhelm his vocals – and instead they have this way of pushing out the sound even more – a richness in sound that Myles can't help but respond to – on titles that include "Come On Home", "This Ain't Living", "Forget Me Not", "My Inspiration", "Just Being Me", "Forever Dreaming", "High On You", and "Light In My Hand". (Neo Soul, Deep Funk) LP, Vinyl record album

A blistering album of Latin funk – a set that's got a lean vibe but a very classic sound – one that's put together in the same mode as the excellent run of funky 45s from the long-running Original Gravity label! Nestor Alvarez is Neil Anderson – who handles drums, guitars, keyboards, percussion, and plenty more too – layered in with contributions from funky horn combo The O'Gees, and added keyboards, trumpet, trombone, and flute – depending on the cuts. And despite the one man activity at the core, the sound is very live, and very real – especially as the presence of the others really expand out the groove – and make the whole thing feel like a fresh take on the late 60s world of Latin soul and Latin jazz! Titles include "Joanna", "Un Bucanero Mas", "Original Gravity (parts 1 & 2)", "Melting Pot", "En Candela", and "El Ladron En La Noche". LP, Vinyl record album

A bit jazz, a bit funk – and two tight tracks from this tasty trio! Daru Jones handles the drum kit with a nice snap and crackle – while Doyle Bramhall is more laidback on guitar, really letting things twang out with a Memphis vibe at times – as DJ Harrison delivers plenty of great work on keys, playing a Vox Continental organ with Fender bass pedals! (Jazz, Deep Funk) 12-inch, Vinyl record

That's a real Roger Dean-styled image on the cover, which maybe heralds the sound that's going on here for the Budos Band – an approach that's even heavier than before, with maybe stronger guitar and bass at times – yet a vibe that still bristles with the group's great use of percussion and horns! There's maybe a new sort of majesty going on here – as if someone whispered to the band that they could be at the top of the deep funk spectrum if they stepped on the gas a bit more – which they definitely do on this super-sharp set, delivering a half-dozen tunes that are completely smoking throughout! Titles include "Devil Doesn't Dance", "Kritn", "Crescent Blue", "Passage To Ashinol", "Curled Steel", and "Frontier's Edge". LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual project from Butcher Brown – a set that was originally written as a hip hop project for MC Tennishu, and which only gets plenty of instrumentation from the Butcher Brown combo, in their best funky jazz mode – but also has an added large ensemble really bumping up the sound! There's still plenty of hip hop on the record, but instrumentation is all live jazz and in a mode that so many others tried to do years back, but maybe never got this right. Titles include "Lawd Why", "Breevin", "Cusian", "Unbelievable", "777", and "Git Along" LP, Vinyl record album

Really fantastic sounds from Butcher Brown – a group who just seem to leap forward more and more with each new release – and who've really hit their groove with this well-recorded performance! The album was recorded live to disc in London – with a superb sound that only further emphasizes the sharp instrumentation that make these guys way more than just another funky combo – the fluid blend of heavy drums, warm keyboards, rich bass, and great interplay between guitar, trumpet, and occasional tenor – handled with the dexterity of a 70s jazz funk supergroup, but with all the lean energy of a funky 45! The tunes are all originals, all nice and long, and wonderfully soulful – and titles include "918", "Camden Square", "Street Pharmacy", and "Fiat". CD

Amazing work from Rickey Calloway – an overlooked soul singer with a resume that goes back to the 70s, and one who's definitely kept the spirit of James Brown alive and well with music like this! In a world of young singers trying for a classic vibe, Rickey's the real deal – and served up the goods not just with his fantastic way of putting over a lyric, but also with just the right sort of backup and production – qualities that keep all the tracks on here sounding like some vintage 45s from back in the days when Calloway first started hitting the studios down in Florida! The set's the first-ever vinyl album issued under Rickey's name, and is killer all the way through – with titles that include "Stay In The Groove", "Shed A Tear", "Jump Back (parts 1 & 2)", "That's On You", Tell Me", "Come On Home", "Get It Right", "Shake It Up Shake It Down", and "Work It". LP, Vinyl record album

A magnificent set from the Chicago Afrobeat Project – the kind of group that makes us plenty proud we live in the Windy City! The record's got a quality that's a bit more ambitious than you might guess – a complicated style that's still plenty grooving, but which really features some sophisticated instrumentation overall – mostly in familiar Afrobeat modes, but served up with a freshness that we really love! The group's quite large – with instrumentation that's heavy on horns and percussion, but also features some killer keyboards too – snaking through the mix with a soulful vibe that really hits home, especially on the more righteous numbers in the set. Ugochi sings on one track, but the main focus is instrumental – and the great Bobby Broom also plays guitar on one cut too! Titles include "Superstar (part 7)", "Chupacabra", "Carcass", "Fix & Release", "Media Man", "Cloister", and "BSCG2". (Global Grooves, Deep Funk) CD

A nice little record that lives up to the name of the group – a record that's maybe jazz at the core, but served up in very cinematic ways – very much the spirit of the dark, moody image pictured on the cover! This isn't chase, crime, or cop music – but instead maybe the sounds you'd hear on the journey home after the battle – slow funk in the rhythms, peppered with great work on vibes, piano, and mellotron from Pierre Chretien – who also wrote, arranged, and produced the whole record too! Most tunes have a nice light melody over heavier drums and percussion on the bottom – never too over the top, but well-paced in a way that really makes this one stand out from the pack. Titles include "Les Corbeaux", "Eveil De La Cite", "Aube Sur La Ville", "Fleurs De Bitume", "Le Petit Cimetiere", "Apres Le Deluge", and "Illusions Perdues". (Jazz, Deep Funk) LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful music from Lucas Arruda – an artist who embraces some of the warmest, most soulful styles of Brazilian music from back in the 70s, but manages to deliver them with a crisp contemporary spin! There's a lot of vintage Azymuth-styled grooves here – wicked rhythms, excellent keyboards, and a jazzy sensibility that makes for a magical flow throughout – and while there's some great soulful vocals on the set, the album also has plenty of strong instrumental moments too – a real delight all the way through, and an instant classic that may well even top Lucas' previous albums! Andre Mota lends some great vocals to the set – and titles include "The Mountain", "4:28 AM", "Novos Planos", "Ominira", "Projecoes", "The Bravest Heart", "Chant & Dance", and "Abraco Pro Ed". (Brazil, Deep Funk) LP, Vinyl record album

Bottazz keep things nice and lean here – drawing on a style of vintage funk, but also coming across with energy that's more suited to the 21st Century – really bridging generations with their music, which is heavy on basslines, wah wah guitar, and mighty sweet keyboard parts – all delivered with the spare energy of the sound library scene, but on cuts that stretch out a bit more too! There's a no-nonsense approach to the record that's totally great – these guys never try to be something they're not, and instead focus on their strong instrumental and rhythmic skills – while occasionally using the production to trip things out just slightly. Titles include "Metadone", "Cardosa", "Palamito", "Mokaba", and "Saturno Nudo". LP, Vinyl record album