The first album in many years from Caesar Frazier – the organist you might know from his early 70s funk classics on Westbound Records – still very much at the top of his game in this small combo set! Frazier's very well-recorded here – given the care and respect that we love from the Doodlin label and its handling of Hammond organ giants – and Caesar's deft work on the keys is heard in the company of Lyle Link on tenor and soprano sax, Jacques Lesure on guitar, and Leon Joyce on drums – a nice tight combo who really give the organ plenty of room to groove! Frazier has a more standard organ jazz vibe here than on his earlier records – almost a return to roots that he never put on any other album – served up on titles that include "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise", "Night In Tunisia", "Street Of Dreams", "You will Know", "Thieves In The Temple", "Don't Misunderstand", and two versions of "Purposeful", one that stretches out past the 12 minute mark! CD

A really stunning album from Hammond legend Caesar Frazier – maybe his heaviest album in recent decades, thanks in part to a surprise appearance from the great Jonas Kullhammar on tenor! You might know Jonas for his work on his own Moserobie label – but here, he demonstrates his very wide-ranging skills on tenor, and fits in alongside Caesar's work on the organ with a really great style – soulful, but also offbeat – maybe in the way that Harold Vick could throw in surprises next to the Hammond of Jack McDuff back in the day – and Frazier's pretty wonderful too, really romping with a strong sense of groove and sense of tone that really lives up to his legacy. The rest of the group features Kresten Osgood on drums and Johannes Wamberg on guitar – and titles include "Night In Tunisia", "Jive Samba", "King Of Leonne", "Thieves In The Temple", "I Wanna Make It With You", and "123". CD

A really stunning album from Hammond legend Caesar Frazier – maybe his heaviest album in recent decades, thanks in part to a surprise appearance from the great Jonas Kullhammar on tenor! You might know Jonas for his work on his own Moserobie label – but here, he demonstrates his very wide-ranging skills on tenor, and fits in alongside Caesar's work on the organ with a really great style – soulful, but also offbeat – maybe in the way that Harold Vick could throw in surprises next to the Hammond of Jack McDuff back in the day – and Frazier's pretty wonderful too, really romping with a strong sense of groove and sense of tone that really lives up to his legacy. The rest of the group features Kresten Osgood on drums and Johannes Wamberg on guitar – and titles include "Night In Tunisia", "Jive Samba", "King Of Leonne", "Thieves In The Temple", "I Wanna Make It With You", and "123". CD

Very cool compilation featuring a whole mess of great lost funk tracks from the legendary Westbound label – including a few unreleased cuts! There's a number of tracks on here that we just about never see, and some more that you'll only find on rare funky 45s. Tracks include "Getting It Off", an instrumental by Fuzzy Haskins, "Super Funk" by Erasmus Hall, "In The Pocket" by Boots, "Funk It Down" by Caesar Frazier, "Just Us" by Crowd Pleasers, "Funky Beethoven" by Gene Anderson, "Be What You Is" by U.S. Music & Funkadelic, and "Funky World (parts 1 & 2)" by Silky Vincent. Very cool stuff, and with a good set of notes! (Funky Compilations, Jazz) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the funkiest albums ever from early 70s guitar wizard Melvin Sparks – his first for the short-lived Eastbound offshoot of Westbound, and done in a style that's even harder and rawer than his work for Prestige! The sound is lean and often a bit rough around the edges – with possibly more funk than even jazz in the mix – and players on the set include Caesar Frazier on organ, Bad Bascomb on bass, Ron Bridgewater on tenor, and Idris Muhammad on drums! Prestige funk maestro Bob Porter produced the whole thing, and gets a beautifully soulful sound out of all players – rounding out Melvin's totally cooking work on guitar with some equally great contributions from the rest. Titles include "Whip Whop", "Judy's Groove", "Star In The Crescent", "Texas Twister", "Gathering Together", and "I Want to Talk About You". LP, Vinyl record album