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

The second great album from organist Ceasar Frazier – a tightly grooving set that expands his sound a bit from the first! All the best elements are still in place here – including funky organ from Ceasar, production from jazz funk maestro Bob Porter, and a hip range of players that includes Horace Ott, Wilbur Bascomb, and Bernard Purdie. But the overall sound is somewhat shifted too – brought more into the tightly jamming jazz funk mode of the mid 70s – a bit richer and fuller overall, yet never in a way that's slick or sloppy – just more like some of the best later sides on Prestige or Fantasy from the same stretch. The record features a crazy version of the "Mighty Mouse Theme", a mellow take on the Isley's "Summer Breeze", Stevie Wonder's great "Living For The City", and the original "Funk It Down". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the sweetest little jazz funk albums of the early 70s – and a masterful blend of vibes, guitar, and organ from this legendary Indianapolis combo! The group are probably best known for their backing work behind Grant Green on some of his funky Blue Note sides – or for vibes player Billy Wooten, who leads the group, and has had a huge influence on his own these days – but even if you've never heard of them, the record will grab you right away – as it's got a sinister funky groove that few other groups could hope to match! There's a really unique blend of vibes, guitar, and organ going on here – and although the record does have a bit of vocals, the main focus here is on the instrumentation – which jams together in ways that are unlike most other funk combos of the time, including a good number of the group's contemporaries at Westbound! Sweet original tracks include "Monkey Hips 'n Rice", "Looking Through The Windows", and "Dark Clouds Risin", plus a stellar cover of "Slippin' Into Darkness". CD

A pair of overlooked albums from saxophonist Houston Person – both recorded for Detroit's Westbound label, and presented back to back on a single CD! First up is Houston Person 75 – sweet sweet grooves from the legendary Houston Person – a set that blends his soulful tenor with some fuller backdrops than Houston used at Prestige Records – in a vibe that's somewhere between that earlier work and the style of CTI/Kudu Records! The best cuts almost have a funky soundtrack vibe – with arrangements by Ed Nuccilli and Jimmy Roach that spin out with full, rich charts – as Person's tenor carves out some meaningful solos – a bit like some of the Stanley Turrentine work of the period. The album features a number of original tunes, and sports a strongly soulful vibe throughout – on titles that include "What It Is", "Shotgun", "500 Gin Rummy", "All In Love Is Fair", "Funky Sunday Afternoon", and "A Touch Of Bad Stuff". Get Outa My Way is filled with very groovy grooves from tenorist Houston Person – a set that has him picking up a bit of a dancefloor vibe at times, as chorus vocals are mixed in to support his own strong solos in the lead! The set's got a nice warm glow overall – arrangements from Jimmy Roach that are clubby at times, but never in a too-disco style – and maybe more in the mode of some of the Kudu Records material from the period. Houston's horn is great, as always – and hits some nice moments on tracks that include "Disco Sax", "Spread It", "Forever In Love", "For The Love Of You", "Ain't Nothin But A Funky Song", and "Soul Samba". CD

A never-issued album by funky guitar legend Melvin Sparks – recorded right after his final record for the Westbound label, and appearing here for the first time ever! Sparks first rose to fame via funky work with Lonnie Smith and Lou Donaldson in the late 60s, the cut some killer albums of his own and with organist Leon Spencer in the 60s – before disappearing a bit until a great revival in more recent years! This set represents Sparks right before he dropped off the map – a session that's done with a sweet jazz funk vibe that shows the way that labels like Westbound were picking up some of the style of the successful CTI/Kudu imprint – mixing some larger charts with the leader's solo strengths – allowing maybe some more soulful influences in the rhythms, while still going for a jazz funk approach overall. The set's much more instrumental than Sparks' last record for Westbound, which had more vocals – and although a few tracks have an upbeat clubby style, most of the music is more in a midtempo mode. Titles include "Love Tones", "I'm Funky Now", "I'm Gonna Funk You Up", "You're Gonna Make It", "The Truth Hurts", "Make It Good", and "Disco Booty". CD

A never-issued album by funky guitar legend Melvin Sparks – recorded right after his final record for the Westbound label, and appearing here for the first time ever! Sparks first rose to fame via funky work with Lonnie Smith and Lou Donaldson in the late 60s, the cut some killer albums of his own and with organist Leon Spencer in the 60s – before disappearing a bit until a great revival in more recent years! This set represents Sparks right before he dropped off the map – a session that's done with a sweet jazz funk vibe that shows the way that labels like Westbound were picking up some of the style of the successful CTI/Kudu imprint – mixing some larger charts with the leader's solo strengths – allowing maybe some more soulful influences in the rhythms, while still going for a jazz funk approach overall. The set's much more instrumental than Sparks' last record for Westbound, which had more vocals – and although a few tracks have an upbeat clubby style, most of the music is more in a midtempo mode. Titles include "Love Tones", "I'm Funky Now", "I'm Gonna Funk You Up", "You're Gonna Make It", "The Truth Hurts", "Make It Good", and "Disco Booty". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that moves guitarist Melvin Sparks a bit more into soul territory from the funky jazz of his early 70s years – but still a heck of a great little record overall! The tracks are shorter than before and the backings are bigger – but Melvin's work on the strings still gets plenty of space in the arrangements, and there's more than a few funky instrumentals here that more than make the album great. Plus, Little Jimmy Scott sings vocals on a few cuts – "I Got To Have You" and "If You Want My Love" – both done in a style that's fuller and more soulful than any of the work cut under his own name! Other tracks are mostly instrumental, and include the funky numbers "Bump & Stomp", "Get Down With The Get Down", and "Get Ya Some" – plus "Looking For Love", "In The Morning", and "Mocking Bird". 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

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