Category Archives: Jazz
BACKBEATS: DIGGERS DELIGHT-MORE RARE-GROOVE GEMS.
BACKBEATS: DIGGERS DELIGHT-MORE RARE-GROOVE GEMS. For many DJs and music-lovers, crate-digging for hidden rare-groove gems is the musical equivalent of an Olympic sport. Whether its record shops, thrift stores, dusty warehouses or junk shops, there’s nowhere that the determined crate-digger won’t head. Nowhere is off-limits in their search for rare of obscure vinyl. A crate-digger …
BACKBEATS: IN THE POCKET-70S JAZZ FUNK.
BACKBEATS: IN THE POCKET-70S JAZZ FUNK. Ever since the birth of jazz, the music has never stood still. Instead, it’s been constantly evolving. That was the case in the early seventies. By the early seventies, jazz had to evolve to survive. Jazz’s popularity had been surpassed by soul music. Even soul jazz which had proved …
KEB DARGE AND LITTLE EDITH’S LEGENDARY WILD ROCKERS 3.
KEB DARGE AND LITTLE EDITH’S LEGENDARY WILD ROCKERS 3. It doesn’t seem like a year since I was telling you about the delights of Keb Darge and Little Edith’s latest compilation Keb Darge and Little Edith’s Legendary Wild Rockers 2. However, a year has passed and during the previous twelve months, Keb Darge and Little …
ROBERTA FLACK-KILLING ME SOFTLY.
ROBERTA FLACK-KILLING ME SOFTLY. In a previous article about Donny Hathaway, I mentioned how closely he had worked with Roberta Flack during his tragically, short career. I also mentioned how the pair were recording an album of duets just before his death. Ironically, the album that preceded Killing Me Softly, which was rereleased by WEA …
SWEAT BAND-SWEAT BAND.
SWEAT BAND-SWEAT BAND. After George Clinton and his manager Archie Ivy formed Uncle Jam Records, the nascent label’s first release was the debut album from Bootsy Collins newly formed P-Funk supergroup Sweat Band. Formed out of the ashes of Bootsy’s Rubber Band, Sweat Band was a short-lived P-Funk group, who released just one album in 1980. …
BILLY PAUL-LATELY.
BILLY PAUL-LATELY. Having founded Philadelphia International Records in 1971, Gamble and Huff made Billy Paul one of the first signings to their new label. Gamble and Huff had know Billy since 1967, when he was working on his debut album Feelin’ Good At the Cadillac Club. Billy’s debut album needed some work to complete it, …
CANDIDO-DANCIN’ AND PRANCIN.’
CANDIDO-DANCIN’ AND PRANCIN.’ Two of the most innovative record labels in the history of modern music are Blue Note and Salsoul Records. However, there was only one artist who released albums on both labels. That artist is legendary Cuban percussionist, Candido, who released two albums for Salsoul in 1979. Candido’s Salsoul debut was Dancin’ and …
ROBERTA FLACK-FIRST TAKE.
ROBERTA FLACK-FIRST TAKE. Mention Roberta Flack’s name, and most people automatically think of two songs, The First Time I Saw Your Face and Killing Me Softly. The story of First Take is one where if fate hadn’t intervened, might have resulted in the album forever remaining a hidden gem. Having been released in 1969, First …
JOHN MORALES PRESENTS THE M&M MIXES VOLUME 3 INSTRUMENTALS.
JOHN MORALES PRESENTS THE M&M MIXES VOLUME 3 INSTRUMENTALS. Compilations of John Morales’ remixes are a bit like London buses, you wait ages for one, then two come along at once. After releasing the critically acclaimed and commercially successful The M&M Mixes Volume 2 in March 2011, John Morales spent the next years working not just …
THE THELONIOUS MONK-QUARTET-THE COMPLETE STUDIO ALBUMS COLLECTION.
THE THELONIOUS MONK-QUARTET-THE COMPLETE STUDIO ALBUMS COLLECTION. For Thelonious Monk, 1962 proved to be the year he finally signed to a major label. This was Columbia Records, where The Thelonious Monk Quartet released six albums between 1962 and 1967. By 1962, Thelonious Monk was forty-five, and had released albums for three of jazz’s most prestigious …
GARY CRISS-RIO DE JANEIRO.
GARY CRISS-RIO DE JANEIRO. Recently when I was reviewing a new Salsoul Records compilation, The Salsoul Records Story, which was recently released by Gold Legion, I was pleased to discover that the compilers had included Gary Criss’ Rio De Janeiro. This was the title-track to the only album Gary Criss released on Salsoul Records. Rio …
RODION G.A.-THE LOST TAPES.
RODION G.A.-THE LOST TAPES. Rodion G.A’s The Lost Tapes is the most eagerly awaited albums of 2013. It’ll be released Strut Records on 27th May 2013. However, Rodion G.A. aren’t a new band. Quite the opposite. Instead, Rodion G.A. were formed by Rodion Rosca between 1975 and 1976. The ten tracks that comprise The Lost …
NANCY WILSON-CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU AND NOW I’M A WOMAN.
NANCY WILSON-CAN’T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU AND NOW I’M A WOMAN. The two albums Nancy Wilson albums that feature on Soul Music Records’ latest release Can’t Take My Eyes Off You and Now I’m A Woman, feature two different approaches to production. 1970s Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, which was Nancy’s twenty-eight album …
DUKE ELLINGTON THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA STUDIO ALBUMS COLLECTION 1951-1958.
DUKE ELLINGTON THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA STUDIO ALBUMS COLLECTION 1951-1958. For Duke Ellington, one of the most fertile and critically acclaimed period of his sixty-year career was at Columbia Records, between 1951 and 1958. During this period, Duke’s music was innovative, inventive, eclectic, and would influence a new generation of musicians. Recently, nine of the albums …
WEATHER REPORT-THE COLUMBIA ALBUMS 1971-1975.
WEATHER REPORT-THE COLUMBIA ALBUMS 1971-1975. Recently Columbia Records have been delving into their archives and releasing a series of lavish box sets. So far, there’s been box sets to suit all musical tastes. Whether it’s jazz legends like Duke Ellington or Louis Armstrong or seventies rock there’s something for everyone. Fans of jazz-fusion haven’t been …
SOUL JAZZ RECORDS PRESENTS: DEUTSCHE ELECKTRONISCHE MUZIK 2.
SOUL JAZZ RECORDS PRESENTS: DEUTSCHE ELECKTRONISCHE MUZIK 2. Sometimes, when it comes to compilations, sequels don’t quite live up the first volume in a series. Often, the first volume in a series has exhausted the supply of seminal music. So, when the eagerly awaited sequel is released, there’s often a sense of disappointment. Too often, …
ELLA FITZGERALD-DEARLY BELOVED.
ELLA FITZGERALD-DEARLY BELOVED. born in April 1917, Ella Fitzgerald enjoyed a fifty-nine year career that saw her crowned The Queen of Jazz and The First Lady of Song. With a three-octave vocal range, Lady Ella became one of the most influential and revered singers in the history of jazz music. Ella Fitzgerald influenced, and continues …
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