Various – Mainstream Funk 2022 (Wewantsounds)

Label : Wewantsounds

Value : 

Funky jazz and a touch of soul – all pulled from the short-lived but legendary Mainstream Records – home to a whole host of hip artists in the early half of the 70s! Mainstream picked things up from Impulse, Prestige, and other soulful labels of the 60s – allowing jazz musicians to stretch out with a new sense of expression, but often in ways that hit a mighty nice groove – kind of a 70s update of the soul jazz modes of the generation before, but with a few spiritual jazz touches too! You'll know a few names here from older Blue Note recordings, and they've got an updated 70s vibe, and are matched with some hip younger talents too – all in a great array of grooves that's superbly selected throughout. 

Happy New Year

Taste :

Mike Longo - Matrix

 

Blue Mitchell - Last Tango In Paris

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By Electric Looser

Harold Johnson Sextet – House On Elm Street 1967 (H.M.E)

Label : H.M.E

Value :

On this killer album, cut in 1967 for the independent west coast label Revue, the Harold Johnson Sextet has actually eight musicians. But the core band is formed by Harold Johnson on piano, Jimmy Nash on bass, Ronald Rutledge on drums and Billy Jackson on congas. The four reedsmen show up occasionally, but place accents where needed. Especially flautist David Crawford. This discovery is a real treat!

Incredibly consistent soul jazz LP that just grooves all the way through. Had me scrambling to find their first LP as well which is as good as this. Elements of the Blue Note label’s sound of the period can be heard on this as well….the ones that had the hip hop folks scrambling for samples. But the title track especially, along with 3-4 others will stick in your head and beg repeated listenings.

Taste :

Harold Johnson Sextet – House On Elm Street (full album)

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By Electric Looser

My Favorite Album Of The Year

 

Merry Christmas

&

Happy Holiday

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Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media – Woodstock Generation 1970 (Union Records)

Label : Union Records 

Value : Ultra Rare

A Japanese take on the sound of late 60s Woodstock – one that kind of takes all the best songs from the famous festival, then distills them into a batch of short, tight, funky jazz instrumentals! The approach is very cool – more funky than hippie, especially since the album begins with a massive drum break – although the instrumentation does have some nice fuzzy touches around the edges, particularly on some of the guitars and maybe a bit of the keyboards.

Taste :

Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media – Woodstock Generation (full album)

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By Electric Looser

Dorothy Ashby – The Rubaiyat Of Dorothy Ashby 1970 (Cadet)

Label : Cadet 

Value :

Incredible work from the amazing Dorothy Ashby – a brilliant set of funky and spiritual tunes, set to full backings from Chicago soul arranger Richard Evans! This album is easily one of Ashby's greatest, and it's dedicated to the writings of Omar Khayyam – one of the forces guiding Dorothy's more spiritual sound at the end of the 60s, clearly opened up in a way that's not unlike the direction of Alice Coltrane's work, but a lot more focused and a lot more funky! Ashby not only plays her usual jazz harp, but also koto as well, and even sings a bit too – and the larger group directed by Evans features work by Stu Katz on vibes and kalimba, Lenny Druss on flutes, and Cash McCall on guitar – all in a groove that's really a precursor to the Earth Wind & Fire generation of the Chicago scene!" 

Taste :

Dorothy Ashby – The Rubaiyat Of Dorothy Ashby (full album)

 

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By Electric Looser

The Dudley Moore Trio – The Dudley Moore Trio 1969 (Decca)

Label : Decca

Value :

Moore really extended his compositional range with this late 60s LP. He improvises over more exotic song structures with an ease and melody that bring home strongly what jazz missed when he started composing and recording less regularly. A subtle, bustling rhythm section frames his stylish keys beautifully.

Taste :

The Dudley Moore Trio - 120 Plus Optional Magic Exploding Cadence

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By Electric Looser

Real Ax Band – Move Your Ass In Time 1977 (April)

Label : April

Value :

The Real Ax Band was formed by Marlon Klein and Toffi Mache in 1976. Between then and early 1977 people came and went while the group played dozens of small concerts in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Early in 1977 the line-up that made their first and only album coalesced when Ghana-born Maria Archer, Heinz-Otto Gwiasda and Dieter Miekautsch entered the frame. Maria Archer and Dieter Miekautsch were newly returned from Africa and were looking for a new band with whom they could perform. Both had already worked with Embryo.

Band mixed and matched rock, jazz, soul and Latino elements. In Maria Archer the group had a vocalist who sounded real when singing English, not like KrautRock's standard painful Anglo-American imitation. Their first album was recorded in Sunrise Studio in Switzerland studio and released on Schneeball (self-financed) in 2000 copies only. Each month they play some ten to fifteen gigs.

Then things became a bit problematic : three musicians had to go to hospital, and somebody stole their uninsured sound systems and instruments . They stayed with 25 000 DM debt for stolen devices and album release. After all pros and cons of the situation were counted, the band decided to be disbanded.

Taste :

Real Ax Band - Neunauge

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By Electric Looser