Category Archives: Funk
GREG FOAT-SYMPHOMIE PACIFIQUE.
Greg Foat-Symphonie Pacifique. Label: Strut Release Date: ‘3rd’ July 2020. Prolific and versatile are words that describe London-based Greg Foat, who nowadays, is regarded as one of Britain’s top jazz pianists and composers. His career began back in the noughties, and in 2009, he founded The Greg Foat Group who went on to release five …
ATA RECORDS: THE LIBRARY ARCHIVE VOLUME 1.
ATA Records: The Library Archive Volume 1. Label: ATA Records. Format: CD. Release Date: ‘10th’ July 2020. Nowadays, library music is highly collectable, especially the albums released by KPM, De Woife, Amphonic, Conroy and Sonoton from the sixties, seventies and early eighties. That is regarded by many collectors as a golden age for library music. …
CULT CLASSIC: MAYNARD FERGUSON-M.F HORN 4 AND 5: LIVE AT JIMMY’S.
Cult Classic: Maynard Ferguson-M.F. Horn 4 and 5:Live At Jimmy’s. The first time many jazz fans heard Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson, was when he joined the when the twenty-four year old joined Stan Kenton’s new Innovations Orchestra in 1949. This was home for Maynard Ferguson for the next four years and was where he …
MARTIN FREEMAN AND EDDIE PILLER PRESENT JAZZ ON THE CORNER TWO.
Martin Freeman and Eddie Piller Present Jazz On The Corner Two. Label: Acid Jazz. Anyone with even a passing interest in the Acid Jazz will have heard of Eddie Piller. He has been a stalwart of the scene for over thirty years, and during that time, the fifty-six year old has been a DJ, promoter and founded …
CULT CLASSIC: JOE HOUSTON-KICKIN’ BACK.
Cult Classic: Joe Houston-Kickin’ Back. Joe Houston’s career began in 1941 when he was just fifteen, and a saxophonist in a touring band never turned up. This presented the bandleader with a problem. However, he needn’t have worried as Joe Houston was in the audience and this was the breakthrough the young saxophonist had dreamy about. From an …
CULT CLASSIC: HOT PEPPER-SPANGLISH MOVEMENT.
Cult Classic: Hot Pepper-Spanglish Movement. By 1977, it looked as if the disco bubble would never burst as it provided the soundtrack to danceflooors in Britain, Europe and North America. DJs and dancers had been won over by disco which had grown in popularity over the previous few years. Initially, disco was an underground movement …
CULT CLASSIC: BILLY COBHAM-MAGIC.
Cult Classic: Billy Cobham-Magic. By 1977, Panamanian-American jazz and fusion drummer Billy Cobham had only been a solo artist since 1973, but he already accumulated a wealth of experience since his discharge from the US Army in 1968. Soon, he had joined Horace Silver’s Quintet, then became the house drummer at Atlantic Records and a …
CULT CLASSIC: THE BLACK HIPPIES-THE BLACK HIPPIES.
Cult Classic: The Black Hippies-The Black Hippies. One of Nigerian music’s best kept secrets, are The Black Hippies who only ever released two albums. Their finest moment was their 1977 eponymous which was released in 1977, on EMI. Sadly, by then, disco and funk were flavour of the month and The Black Hippies were a year too late releasing their …
THE LADIES OF TOO SLOW TO DISCO VOLUME 2.
The Ladies Of Too Slow To Disco Volume 2. Label: How Do You Are? Ever since the birth of rock ’n’ roll, musical genres have fallen in-and-out of fashion, and what’s popular today can be consigned to the dustbin of musical history tomorrow as tastes change. That happened to everything from psychedelia and progressive rock …
CULT CLASSIC: ALAN HAWKSHAW AND BRIAN BENNETT-SYNTHESIS.
Cult Classic: Alan Hawkshaw and Brian Bennett-Synthesis. Nowadays, the seventies are regarded as a golden age for library music, and two of its leading lights during this era were Alan Hawkshaw and Brian Bennett. They were responsible for some of the best library music that KPM Records released during its golden era. This included the library music classic Synthesis, …
SEAHAWKS-ISLAND VISIONS.
Seahawks-Island Visions. Label: Be With Records. Ten years ago in 2010, Jon Tye and Pete Fowler embarked upon a new chapter in their career when they released Ocean Trippin’, which was their debut album as Seahawks. Since then, the intrepid musical explorers have released at least one, sometimes two or even three albums a year. …
PACIFIC BREEZE 2: JAPANESE CITY POP AOR AND BOOGIE 1972-1986.
Pacific Breeze 2: Japanese City Pop AOR and Boogie 1972-1986. Label: Light In The Attic Records. Release Date: ‘15th’ of May 2020. In May 2019, Seattle-based Light In The Attic Records released Pacific Breeze: Japanese City Pop, AOR and Boogie 1976-1986 to widespread critical acclaim. This lovingly curated compilation was what many music fans had …
DR. LONNIE SMITH-ALL IN MY MIND.
Dr. Lonnie Smith-All In My Mind. Label: Blue Note Records. Forty-six years after he left Blue Note Records, Dr. Lonnie Smith returned in 2016 and released a new studio album Evolution. It was released to critical acclaim and marked the homecoming of the last of the great soul-jazz organists. His career began in 1960, and …
NKEM NJOKU AND OZZOBIA BROTHERS-OZABIA SPECIAL.
Nkem Njoku and Ozzobia Brothers–Ozobia Special. Label: BBE Africa. Tabansi Records was founded in Nigeria in 1952, and filled a void when major labels like Decca and later, Philips closed the doors on their Nigerian operations. Chief Tabansi, who lent his name to what would become Nigeria’s most important label, recorded artists and then pressed …