Masterful funky soul jazz from the mid 70s – and one of the best solo albums recorded by Headhunter Bill Summers – a sunny batch of Bay Area funk that really grooves with the best of Fantasy Records from the time! The set was produced by Skip Scarborough, and has that great bubbling, stepping, soulful groove that was Scarborough's best contribution to jazz funk – a trademark groove that was every bit as important to the 70s as the work of Bob James or Larry Mizell! Summers' work on congas and percussion is excellent and the players are totally top shelf – the core group features drums by Alphonse Mouzon, bass by Paul Jackson, and keyboards by Scarborough – and vocalists on the set include Dianne Reeves, Mikki Morris, and Charles Meeks. Titles include "Drum Suite", "Come Into My Life", "People Know", "Just A Matter Of Time", "No One", "Check It Out", and "Que Sabroso". CD

The final album from Betty Davis – and a killer cap to her stunning run of female funk classics in the 70s! The album was recorded at the end of the decade, but has a sharpness that's every bit as great as her earlier work for the Island and Just Sunshine labels – grooves that are more than sharp enough to match that raspy edge in Betty's vocals – given support with instrumentation that's a lot more mid 70s funk than some of the more disco-oriented productions in mainstream soul at the time! There's a fullness to the record that sometimes recalls Labelle at their best, or maybe even solo work from Nona Hendryx – but as always, Betty is very much her own woman, and opens up some new doors on a few mellow cuts or jazzier moments that come as a nice surprise, and which balance out the album in a great way. The set features work from Herbie Hancock on keyboards and Alphonse Mouzon on drums – and titles include "Quintessence Of Hip", "She's A Woman", "I've Danced Before", "I Need A Whole Lot Of Love", "Hangin Out In Hollywood", "Crashin From Passion", "You Take Me For Granted", and "No Good At Falling In Love". CD