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30.12.2008 г.

Corey Wilkes - 2008 - Drop It


Corey Wilkes - Drop It
2008

Chelsea Baratz, tenor sax
Jabari Liu, alto sax
Robert "Baabe" Irving III, piano and Fender Rhodes
Junius Paul, bass
Jeremy "Bean" Clemmons, drums

Jazz trumpeter Corey Wilkes burst on the Chicago jazz scene in 2002. Corey took on the ghost of Lester Bowie and filled the vacant seat in the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Big shoes to fill for a new musician but Corey isn't an ordinary musician. He began at the age of 10, made the Illinois All State Honors Jazz Combo in high school and honed his talent at Berklee College of Music. His soulful notes can be heard gracing a variety of projects such as DJ sets by Logic, Osunlade and Josh Deep; tracks on Hidden Beach's Unwrapped Vol. 4, also recorded with Roscoe Mitchell, Art Ensemble, Tortoise, Ernest Dawkins, Nicole Mitchell and Ethnic Heritage Ensemble's Hot 'N' Heavy.

01. Trumpet Player (Feat. Miyanda Wilson)
02. Sonata In The Key Of Jack Daniels
03. Drop It
04. Remy's Revenge
05. Prelude - Touch
06. Touch
07. Return 2 Sender
08. Searchin'
09. Ubiquitous Budafly
11. Drop It (Live)

7.12.2008 г.

Remy Shand - 2002 - The Way I Feel


Shand began recording and mixing his debut album, The Way I Feel during the spring of 2001 at his home in Winnipeg. The album features songs such as "The Colour of the Day" and "I Met Your Mercy", examples of his particular style. Shand was quoted as saying the track "Everlasting" was the blueprint towards the content of The Way I Feel, as it was the oldest track on the album, recorded in 1998.

The Way I Feel was released on March 12, 2002, and Shand won a Juno Award for Best R&B/Soul Recording at the 2003 Juno Awards. The album was successful in Canada and sold roughly 500,000 copies in the United States. Shand received four Grammy nominations for his work.

In October 2003, Shand's official website stated that he was working on his second album, to be called Day In The Shade. The album has yet to be released, and since then, there has been no public information regarding Shand's whereabouts or recording projects. As of December 7, 2007, Shand's official website domain (www.remyshand.ca) had not been renewed by his record label.

02. Burning Bridges
03. Everlasting
04. The Second One
05. The Colour Of Day
07. I Met Your Mercy
08. Rocksteady
09. Liberate
10. Looking Back On Vanity

3.11.2008 г.

Chuck Amstrong - 1976 - Shackin' Up


An obscure album of southern funky soul from Chuck Armstrong , an artist we know from his earlier funky 45 work in Chicago, but who sounds quite different on this set! The album was produced by George Kerr in New Jersey, but it's got a rolling, vamping approach on most cuts , a sound that's somewhere between Muscle Shoals and the nascent Jackson style of the 70s. Chuck's vocals are well-suited to the set, and a few numbers bear traces of his earlier more northern sound.

01. Shackin' Up
02. Goodness Gracious
03. I'm A Lonley Man
04. Nightmare
05. She Had The Right
06. You Got To Deal With It (This Superworld)
07. Coming Home
08. Misleading Information
09. Give Me All Your Sweet Lovin'
10. Sweet Foxy Woman

17.10.2008 г.

The Roy Hargrove Quartet - 2008 - Earfood


Roy Hargrove Quintet - Earfood
Emarcy (Groovin’ High/EmArcy)
Released July 29, 2008

Personnel:
Roy Hargrove: trumpet and flugelhorn
Justin Robinson: alto saxophone and flute
Gerald Clayton: piano
Danton Boller: bass
Montez Coleman: drums.

Trumpeter Roy Hargrove is the definition of a questing musician, having tried his hand at a number of different styles. From funk/hip-hop work on Hard Groove to Latin on Habana, Hargrove hasn’t always succeeded but he’s never been afraid to pursue. On Ear Food his road-tested straight-ahead quintet focuses on demonstrating how jazz can be some of the world’s most exciting and exhilarating music. Performing mostly originals, the focus is on the joy of playing at the highest levels with like-minded musicians. They never, however, forget that without an audience to “groove to it,” music is pedantic meandering.

Highlights include the delightful two-beat swinger “Strasbourg/St. Denis.” Gerald Clayton’s piano pops in perfect accord with Montez Coleman’s drum set accentuations, creating a colorful and vivid landscape from which Hargrove’s lines radiate. Ballads like “Joy Is Sorrow Unmasked” unleash Hargrove’s delicately balanced, full-bodied tone. The closing spirited gospel rendition of Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home To Me” perfectly caps what will certainly reign as one of 2008’s best jazz discs.

01 - I'm Not So Sure
02 - Brown
03 - Strasbourg-St. Denis
04 - Starmaker
05 - Joy Is Sorrow Unmasked
06 - The Stinger
07 - Rouge
08 - Mr. Clean
09 - Style
10 - Divine
11 - To Wisdom The Prize
12 - Speak Low
13 - Bring It On Home To Me

22.08.2008 г.

Shirley Scott - 1974 - One for Me


Shirley Scott - One for Me
(1974)
[Strata East]

Harold Vick(as,ts)
George Davis(fl)
Kiane Zawadi(Euphonium)
Jimmy Hopps(per,cwbl)
Joe Bonner(b,tuba)
Billy Higgins(tp,ds)
Sam Jones(b)
Shirley Scott(org)

Rec' New York City: November 1974
LP Strata East 7430

The late shirley scott was one of the great soul-jazz organists, and as near as i can tell, the only woman among the bunch. She recorded her own stack of albums for blue note, impulse!, cadet and other labels, and mostly didn't get quite the recognition all the other organ burners did in that classic period before the electric piano and synthesizers took over the work of keyboard funk in jazz. She was married to the great stanley turrentine, and i have to say that some of the equally under recognized harold vick's work here sounds a bit turrentine-ish--but better! Anyway, this is her contribution to the always-amazing strata-east label.

01 - What Makes Harold Sing
02 - Keep On Movin' On
03 - Do You Know а Good Thing When You See One
04 - Big George
05 - Don't Look Back

3.07.2008 г.

Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom - 2004 - After Midnight Grooves

Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom - Finding My Way
Year: Dec 2003
Record Label: Levtron

Musicians:
Ron Levy (composer, producer, Hammond organ, piano, Fender & Wurlitzer pianos, vibes, basses & programming)
Melvin Sparks (guitar)
Karl Denson (sax & flute)
Adrom "Acidman'' Machine - (drums, percussion & DJ drops)
Russ Lawton - (percussion)
Arkady Beletsky - (cello)

Artist's Website: http://www.levtron.com

Two splendid cds from one of the most prestigeous masters of Hammond B-3 and a great blues, rock, r&b, boogie piano player as well… Besides song writer and arranger, Levy is one of the most representative artists of the ‘jazzy-blues-with-a-touch-of-cool-grooves-and-hip-hop-sprinkled-in’ scene. He has done well known collaborations with artists and bands like Roomfool Of Blues, B.B. King, Ronnie Earl, Smokey Wilson, Melvin Sparks or Freddie Hubbard among other popular international names. The first sampler includes a repertoire with own songs, amazing keyboards and piano solos, the backing support of Melvin Sparks guitar playing in four of the nine tunes included on the cd, Karl Denson on saxo and flute and Russ Lawton and Adrome ‘Acidman’ MacHineon percussions as guest musicians. A good cd for fusion and experimental jazz lovers. The second record title, ‘After Midnight Grooves’ says everything about it and can be considered as an extension of the previous one. It provides long tracks where musical patterns follow the same cool-jazz-groove line he loves to perform some now and then along his musical career alternating it with blues and r6b. The cd gathers seven long songs (between six and eleven minutes lenght). The musicians are the same ones than on the previous cd plus Jeff Lockhart, Yahuba Garcia, Arkady Beletsky and ‘Sax’ Gordon Beadle. In short two interesting records to learn a little bit more about one of the most well known appreciated keyboards players not only on rhythm and blues field but also on the most colorful contemporary jazz style.

01. After Midnight Groove
02. Groovin' Whichu
03. Just the Way It Went
04. Like Back In The Day
05. Slinky
06. Keepin' Up The Love
07. Back At The Levshack

29.06.2008 г.

Karl Denson - 2001 - Dance Lesson #2

Karl Denson - Dance Lesson #2
May 08, 2001
Blue Note

Personnel :
Karl Denson - alto & tenor saxophones, flute, percussion
Ron Levy - Wurlitzer piano, organ
E.J. Rodriguez - percussion
Zak Najor - drums
Leon Spencer - organ

Producer : Karl Denson; Erik Newson
Engineer : David Baker; Ben Moore

The tenor man is back, and with a full battalion of dance-ready grooves that make jazz and funk hold hands. Guests on the CD include Chris Wood, DJ Logic, Charlie Hunter, Melvin Sparks, Leon Spencer, Zak Najor, Ej Rodriguez, and Ron Levy.

02. Like Like Dope
03. Rumpwinder
04. Flute Down
05. A.J. Bustah
06. A Shorter Path #1
07. A Shorter Path #2
08. I Want The Funk
09. Who Are You

14.06.2008 г.

Archie Shepp - 1998 - True Blue

Archie Shepp - True Blue [Venus 35067]
Rec'Sep 13, 1998

Archie Shepp - Sax (Tenor), Main Performer, Vocals
John Hicks - Piano
George Mraz - Bass
Billy Drummond - Drums

Great Shepp with a great group -- a quartet that pairs Archie's amazing tenor with the piano of John Hicks! The album's one of the best of Archie Shepp's later ballad albums -- and has a really standout feel, thanks to Hicks' warmer tones on the piano alongside Shepp's raspier notes. While other groups joining Shepp on ballad dates all seem to veer towards the inclinations of the leader, Hicks instead seeks to act in counterpoint -- creating a fuller sound and a greater depth overall through his well-crafted lines on piano -- never too sentimental, but with a sense of joy and lyricism that's really wonderful.

01. Lonnie's Lament
02. Everytime We Say Goodbye
03. Time After Time
04. All Or Nothing At All
05. But Beautiful
06. Que Reste-T-Il De Nos Amours
07. Blue Train
08. A Little Surprise For The Lady
09. I Want To Talk About You

27.05.2008 г.

Bobby Williams - 1974 - Funky Super Fly


One of THE all-time indie funk classics of the 70s, the standout LP by Bobby Williams, an obscure James Brown-styled vocalist with a really great sound! The style here cops plenty from JB at his funkiest, but that's A-OK with me, because Bobby gets that sound so completely right, and the raw production of the album make the record sound a good deal grittier than most of The Godfather's more mainstream records from the time. There's a hard-jamming quality to most of the numbers, with lots of tight horns, fast-romping rhythms, and calls from Bobby out to the band, who are more than happy to respond to his groove!

18.05.2008 г.

Kyle Jason - 2005 - Revolution Of The Cool

If soul is back, then Kyle "Ice" Jason got enough to loan you some as James Brown used to say. This former Air America Radio host began his career as a member of the Eddie Murphy entourage. His 2005 release, "Revolution of the Cool" features the hit, "Coming From The Soul".

02. A Hipper Nipple
03. Cool Is Cool
05. Simone By Moonlight
06. Why (Am I So Funky)
07. Cat-O-Tonic
08. Paris Sky
09. Walkin'
10. Hot Sauce
11. Round Peg In a Roomfullasquares
12. I'm Tired Of Being Your Friend [Piano Mix]

17.05.2008 г.

D'Angelo - 1996 - Live At The Jazz Cafe. London

D'Angelo - Live At The Jazz Cafe, London
1996

Beautiful live material from one of the greatest new soul stars of the past decade! D'Angelo's caught here in the legendary temple of groove , London's Jazz Café, home to some of the best funk and soul shows in Europe. The crowd is extremely enthusiastic, and the whole thing falls together beautifully , with a hard raw soul vibe that's similar to, but edgier than, D'Angelo's studio albums. Lots of great electric piano, soulful vocals, and great backing by a tight band.

01. Me & Those Dreamin' Eyes Of Mine
03. Cruisin'
04. Shit, Damn, Motherfucker
05. Lady
07. Heaven Must Be Like This

12.05.2008 г.

Rare Afro & Caribbean Funk Vol. 1 (2007)


Various Artist
"Rare Afro & Caribbean Funk Vol.1"

One of the hippest collections of global grooves we've ever heard a side each of rare African and Caribbean tunes, both of which sound a fair different than work we've had on other compilations! The African tunes break nicely from the standard Fela groove.

02 - Jerry Malekani - Diwela
03 - Sumo - Munia
04 - Oby Onyihoa - Enjoy Your Life
05 - Biosis Now - Independent Bahamas
06 - Black Machines - Soul Martinique
07 - Black Machines - Right Now
08 - Marcel Louis Joseph - Prière Au Soleil
09 - Gordon Henderson - The Higher Bidder

Rare Afro & Caribbean Funk Vol. 2 (2007)

Various Artists
"Rare Afro & Caribbean Funk Vol.2"

A second mighty batch of rare work from points south the kind of tunes we'd never have tracked down on our own making us even more grateful for a set like this! As before, the music's a blend of obscure African tunes and other bits picked from the Caribbean, the latter of which represents a strongly untapped source of funk from the 70s, finally getting its due in recent years! There's a strong influence on most numbers
from American funky 45s .

01 - Jojo L'explosif - Dig It Babe
03 - Amadou Balake - Super Bar Konon Mousso
04 - Black Santiago - Don Dagbé Wè
05 - Wjw & Roots Trunks & Branches - Rising (Power Disco Power)
06 - Super Tentemba Jazz - Almamy
08 - Marius - Joe
09 - Roland Louis Orchestra - Play Up Play Up
10 - Les Vicking's - Let Stay Up Vicking's
11 - Cool Creation - Wish Upon Love

15.04.2008 г.

Joe Thomas - 1976 - Feelin's From Within


JOE THOMAS: FEELIN'S FROM WITHIN
GROOVE MERCHANT RECORDS, GM-3315(LP)
(P)1976 GROOVE MERCHANT INTERNATIONAL, INC., USA
RECORDED: OCTOBER 1976
RELEASED: 1976, USA

Joe Thomas - flute, tenor saxophone

Rhythm section:
Bob Babbitt (bass)
Jerry Friedman (guitar)
Lance Quinn (guitar)
Pat Rebillot (keyboads)
Gary Mure (drums)
Barry Miles (synthesizers)
Jimmy Maelen (percussion)
Steve Gadd (drums on 6)
Jeff Mironov (guitar on 6)

Horn section:
Alan Rubin, Lew Soloff, Jon Faddis (trumpet)
Dave Taylor, Barry Rogers (trombone)
Michael Brecker, George Young, Lew DelGatto (saxophone)

Strings section:
Peter Dimitriades, Harry Cykman, Norman Carr,
Richard Sortomme, John Pintavalle, Harold Kohan,
Tony Posk, Carol Webb, Harry Glickman,
Harry Lookofsky (violin)
Julian Barber, Seymour Berman (viola)
Kermit Moore, Jesse Levy (cello)

Background vocals:
David Lasley, Arnold McCuller (on 1)


1. Funky Fever (7:24) [Jerry Friedman]
arranged by Jerry Friedman and Brad Baker
2. Feelin's From Within (6:51) [Lance Quinn, Brad Baker]
arranged by Lance Quinn snd Brad Baker
3. Polarizer (5:34) [Joe Thomas, Lance Quinn, Brad Baker]
arranged by Joe Thomas, Lance Quinn and Brad Baker
4. Coco (6:04) [Bob Babbitt]
arranged by Bob Babbitt and Brad Baker
5. Galaxy Dreamin' (6:05) [Lance Quinn, Brad Baker]
arranged by Lance Quinn snd Brad Baker
6. Venus (4:59) [Brad Baker]
arranged by Brad Baker

9.04.2008 г.

Donny Hathaway - 2004 - These Songs For You, Live!


A fantastic document of the genius of Donny Hathaway and a set that shows that the 70s soul legend was every bit as wonderful live as he was in the studio! The set features a huge number of unreleased tracks by Donny , grouped with numbers pulled from his two successful 70s live sets (Donny Hathaway Live and In Performance, neither of which are in print in the US!) The tracks feature Donny on electric keyboards and organ , leading a group of players that includes Phil Upchurch, Cornell Dupree, and Richard Tee , all coming together in a tightly-jamming small group formation that's quite different than the backing on Hathaway's studio albums. There's a warm, organic feel to the set that's really wonderful and which offers new versions of tunes you might only know from their studio incarnations, as well as a few covers of work by contemporary soul acts that come off amazingly well.

01 - Flying easy
02 - Valdez in the country
04 - You've got a friend
05 - He ain't heavy, he's my brother
07 - Yesterday
08 - Superwoman
10 - Sack full of dreams
12 - I love you more than you'll ever know
14 - Interview

4.04.2008 г.

European Jazz Trio Featuring Art Farmer - 2004 - Ballad Of The Sad Young Man


01. Che Voule Questa Musika Stasera
02. Ballad Of The Sad Young Man
03. Hello
04. Plein Soleil
05. How Deep Is The Ocean
06. Chopin; Prelude Op.28
07. Sweet Sweep
08. Jealous Guy
09. Walts
10. Sonata Nr.8 Op.13 Pathetique Adagio Cantabille
11. In Your Own Sweet Way

1.04.2008 г.

Cecil Holmes Soulful Sounds - 1973 - The Black Motion Picture Experience

Artist: The Cecil Holmes Soulful Sounds
Album: The Black Motion Picture Experience
Label: Buddah
Original Released: 1973
Album info from www.blaxploitation.com

You might be tempted to pass up on this one because of the NASTY cover. Don't make that mistake. Buy this album. It's an instrumental reworking of all the major pre-1974 black action themes, and features the likes of Randy Brecker in a killer studio band. The album contains one of the few versions of the 'Slaughter' theme committed to vinyl.
Cecil Holmes was an executive at Buddah Records as well as a recording artist himself. This was one of his solo releases. It was aimed at capitalizing on the huge popularity of Blaxploitatin movies during the time. Many of the songs seemed shortened, but still keep to the original arrangements. Holmes included most of the well known hits like Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly and Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man/T Stands For Trouble. Also Sprach Zarathursta (2001) has a short but sweet open drum break.

A1. ACROSS 110th STREET (B.Womack-J.J.Johnson)
A2. SLAUGHTER (Billy Preston)
A3. BEN (W.Scharf-D.Black)
A4. ALSO SPRACH ZARATHRUSTA (2001)
A5. SUPERFLY (C.Mayfield) Curtom

B1. TROUBLE MAN/T STANDS FOR TROUBLE (M.Gaye)
B2. SHAFT (Isaac Hayes)
B3. LOVE THEME FROM LADY SING THE BLUES
B4. FREDDIE'S DEAD (C.Mayfield)