Sweet warm grooves from the mighty Blackbyrds - a set that has George
Duke working with the group, giving them some of the electric vibe of
his own great work! The sound is less sharply funky than the early days
of the group, but still mighty nice.
*This cover shows up for the first time on the web.
One of the most soulful sessions we've ever heard from Japanese pianist
Masabumi Kikuchi -- a brilliant quintet outing that features some really
great work on tenor and soprano sax! Kikuchi's piano is usually enough
to grab our attention, but the album's got a great added bonus in the
presence of Kosuke Mine on soprano sax and Hideo Miyata on tenor -- both
players whose horns bring in some added sharpness to the date, and
further underscore the spiritual elements in Kikuchi's music -- almost
with the same mix of reeds and driving rhythms you'd find in the
post-Coltrane work of Elvin Jones.
One of the most unusual albums ever cut by the legendary Latin jazz
trombonist Juan Pablo Torres – and one of the grooviest, too – a special
set that was recorded in Milan in the mid 80s, with backings by a sweet
group who do a great job of blending Latin rhythms, clubby grooves, and
just the right touch of jazz! Juan's on trombone in the lead – working
with the Algo Nuevo group, which features the mighty Gonzalo Rubalcaba
on piano, Fender Rhodes, and other keyboards – plus trumpet work from
Adalberto Lore, who balances out Torres' sound in a really great way!
There's both a mix of electric and acoustic percussion on the set, and
the groove is more 80s club than 70s disco – and also comes across with
the style of some of the more unusual hybrids that you'd be likely to
find on the Areito label during Juan's generation in Cuba.
A really unusual record from early 70s Japan -- one that features vocals
from erotic actress Reiko Ike -- done in a mode that's very similar to
her sexy appearances on screen! And in fact, when we say "vocals",
maybe "vocalizations" should be more the case -- as many of these tracks
are sexy grunts, groans, and exclamations -- mixed with a bit of more
conventional singing -- set to instrumentation that's groovy and jazzy,
and which has some nice soundtrack modes in the styles -- all almost
like an audio equivalent of softcore porn, with a quality that's enough
to make Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin blush!
Heavy funk from a hip Japanese combo -- one that features lots of drums
and percussion from leader Akira Ishikawa, plus plenty of guitar,
keyboards, and hard-riffing horns! Akira's taking most of his cues here
from American funk of the early 70s -- work by Incredible Bongo Band,
BT Express, and others -- but he often serves up the music with a fair
bit of conga work at the front of the arrangements, in a way that takes
familiar tunes and gives them a much rootsier, earthier kind of groove!
The approach is unique, but totally great -- and the album's a funk
album unlike anything else we can think of -- quite unusual even for the
experimental Japanese scene of the time.
Damn soulful work from Tony Joe White – exactly the kind of set that
shows why he was so great at skirting both the borders of rock and soul
music at the end of the 60s! There's a really fresh, new groove going
on here – a vibe that shows an artist who's spent a decade drawing in
all the best elements of Memphis and Muscle Shoals, with a slight touch
of Nashville country at times too (no surprise, given the Monuments
Records release of the set) – but also a more biting singer/songwriter
ethos that really pushes the whole thing out to a much bigger rockish
vibe! Drums are amazing – played by Jerry Carrigan with an especially
funky quality on side one – and the tunes are a mix of great originals
by White – many of which would be covered by others in years to come –
plus some well-chosen covers, too. Tracks include "Soul Francisco",
"Willie & Laura Mae Jones", "Polk Salad Annie", "Aspen Colorado",
"Who's Makin Love", and "Scratch My Back".
The first solo album from Johnny Bristol - a genius soul talent who did
a bunch of great work for Motown as a writer and arranger, breaking out
here on his own! Like so many other behind the scenes talents from the
late 60s, Johnny turned out to be an excellent soul artist in his own
right -- even though he only got to cut a rare few albums during the 70s
-- and this debut album already has him emerging straight away as a
fully-formed talent! The vibe is a great mix of Detroit and California
Motown -- arranged by HB Barnum, and produced with a style that's tight,
but still open and fluid too. Backings mix soulful strings with sweet
harmonies -- and lots of the tunes have a great 70s mellow soul groove.