A pair of gems from The Players Association – back to back on a single CD! First up is the fantastic first album from The Players Association – a group who may well have gotten their name for the great jazzy musicians in their lineup! Players Association are best known for their disco grooves, but they've got a core sense of instrumentation that's really a cut above – with strong leadership from jazzman Chris Hills – who plays drums, guitar, and keyboards – and other players who include Joe Farrell on tenor and flute, Bob Mover on alto and soprano, Jon Faddis on trumpet, and Mike Mandell on keyboards! Ray Mantilla and Buddy Williams add in some great percussion to the mix – which furthers the spontaneous, jazzy vibe of some of the tunes – and titles includes the funky cut "I Like It", which has a nice break in the beginning, plus the tracks "Let's Groove", "Hustlin", "Moon In Pisces", and a sweet cover of "For The Love Of You". Turn The Music Up is wonderful work from The Players Association – a group who were equal parts jazz funk and equal parts 70s club – with a vibe that's maybe like The Blackbyrds or other Fantasy Records acts at their best! The mighty Chris Hills is at the helm – and the record is overflowing with top-shelf talent from the jazz side of the spectrum – work by Bob Berg on tenor, Tom Harrell on trumpet, and Bob Mover on alto – all with room to solo, and really helping bring a musical maturity to the record that other disco records never seem to have! Titles include "Everybody Dance", "Ride The Groove", "The Closer I Get To You", and "I Wish". CD

A beautiful later Blue Note album from vibist Bobby Hutcherson – a set recorded after his famous association with Harold Land, but with a groove that's wonderfully soulful in a whole different way! Bobby plays marimbas instead of vibes this time around, and he's working with his own arrangements for a slightly larger group – one that has some sweet fusion overtones, and these wonderful mellow funk inflections – so that even the mellow cuts have this warmly glowing, ultra-soulful sound that's mighty nice – a bit like some of the work from Gene Harris around the same time. Other players include Jerry Peters on Fender Rhodes, who also helped out with the arrangements – plus Harvey Mason on drums and Ernie Watts on reeds – and a few tracks feature sweet backing vocals from The Waters. The highlight here is a nice moody extended version of "People Make The World Go Round", but all cuts are great, and titles include "Silver Rondo", "Manzanita", "NTU", and his dark cover of "Theme From MASH". CD

A rare funky gem from Madcliff – an early project from Chris Hills, who'd soon go onto greater fame in Players Association! The album's got a much more soul-based sound than Hills' later material – still upbeat and groovy, but delivered with an indie soul vibe that keeps things nice and raw – much more tight funk than slick disco, even though some of the grooves here are perfect for the club! The album only saw brief release on the tiny Guinness label – who also gave us the classic Newban set – and this record's got a similar blend of righteous currents and jazzy funk – all served up at a level that's very individual, and which has made the whole thing an overlooked gem for years! Chris uses some bold piano currents, light string flourishes, and some right rhythms that really keep things funky, even when clubby – on titles that include "Goin To The Disco", "I Like It", "You Can Make The Change", "It Takes A Little Time", "Just Another Woman", "What The People Say About Love", and "Steal You Away". CD