Category Archives: Jazz
SOUL OF A NATION (AFRO-CENTRIC VISIONS IN THE AGE OF BLACK POWER: UNDERGROUND JAZZ, STREET FUNK AND THE ROOTS OF RAP 1968-1979).
Soul Of A Nation-(Afro-Centric Visions In The Age of Black Power: Underground Jazz, Street Funk and The Roots Of Rap 1968-79). Label: Soul Jazz Records. On the ‘4th’ of August 2017, Soul Jazz Records will released their eagerly awaited new compilation, Soul Of A Nation (Afro-Centric Visions In The Age of Black Power: Underground Jazz, …
GRINGA-LETTERS FROM A.BROAD.
Gringa-Letters From A.Broad. Label: gringamusic.com One of the most exciting, up-and-coming new bands in San Francisco’s live scene is Gringa, a five-piece female band who recently, have been winning friends and influencing people with their unique, genre-melting sound. The basis for Gringa’s irresistible, hook-laden sound are the rhythms from the music of Brazil and the …
BERT MYRICK-LIVE ’N WELL.
Bert Myrick-Live ’N Well. Label: BBE. Every record collector has an album that has continued to elude them for many years. Finding it is the equivalent of finding the holy grail. They’ve searched for years, and never come close to finding that elusive and rare album. It gets that they can’t pass a record store, …
JOHN ARMSTRONG PRESENTS AFROBEAT BRASIL.
John Armstrong Presents Afrobeat Brasil. Label: BBE. Not many independent labels are still going strong after twenty-one years. Especially considering how different the musical landscape is. The music industry has been transformed during the last twenty-one years. As a result, there have been a few casualties along the way, and some familiar faces are no …
SEAFARING STRANGERS: PRIVATE ROCK.
Seafaring Strangers: Private Rock. Label: Numero. As the sixties drew to a close, the Rolling Stones were one of the most successful bands of the decade. They were preparing to release their Let It Bleed, on the ‘5th’ of December 1969. It was the Rolling Stones eighth album in Britain, but their tenth album in …
MODERNISTS: MODERNISM’S SHARPEST CUTS.
Modernists: Modernism’s Sharpest Cuts. Label: Kent Dance. Ever since the birth of rock ’n’ roll, youth cults have come and gone. Some have proven to be nothing more than passing fads, and nowadays, are mere footnotes in cultural history. Some youth cults have endured, and played an important part in British culture. However, none of …
OTE MALOYA-THE BIRTH OF ELECTRIC MALOYA ON REUNION ISLAND 1975-1985.
Oté Maloya-The Birth Of Electric Maloya On Reunion Island 1975-1985. Label: Strut. Nothing ever stays the same. That is certainly the case in music. It has been since the birth of rock ’n’ roll just over sixty years ago. Since then, every musical genre has continued to evolve and reinvent itself, in an attempt to …
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SEA LEVEL.
The Life and Times Of Sea Level. By August 1975, all wasn’t well within The Allman Brothers. It hadn’t been for the last couple of years. That was despite The Allman Brothers being at the peak of their popularity. Their last three albums had sold over a million copies and were certified platinum. Meanwhile, The Allman …
TOO SLOW TO DISCO VOLUME 3.
Too Slow To Disco Volume 3. Label: How Do You Are? During the last few years, there has been a resurgence in interest in the West Coast sound which sadly, fell from grace in the late seventies. Before that, the West Coast sound had won over the hearts and minds of record buyers, and provided the …
INNERPEACE-RARE SPIRITUAL FUNK AND JAZZ GEMS: THE SUPREME SOUND OF PRODUCER BOB SHAD.
Innerpeace-Rare and Spiritual Funk and Jazz Gems: The Supreme Sound Of Producer Bob Shad. Label: Wewantsounds. During his long and successful career, Bob Shad always managed to see the big picture musically, and as a result, was always step ahead of the competition. In doing so, this allowed him to survive and thrive for forty …
THE ORCHESTRA SOLEDAD-VAMONOS/LET’S GO.
The Orchestra Soledad-Vamonos/Let’s Go! Label: BBE. As the sixties gave way to the seventies, 2.6 million people lived within Brooklyn’s seventy-one square miles. By 1970, it was largest and most densely populated of New York’s five boroughs. Brooklyn was also a cultural melting pot, with Irish, Italian, Jewish, Greek, Chinese, Polish, Russian and Latino neighbourhoods. …
JUNIE-THE COMPLETE WESTBOUND RECORDINGS 1973-1976.
Junie-The Complete Westbound Recordings. Label-Westbound Records. By 1973, nineteen year old Walter “Junie” Morrison Jr. was a member of one of the most successful funk bands of the early seventies…The Ohio Players. He had joined as a sixteen year old, and played on their sophomore album Pain, which was released in February 1972. Pain proved to …
DJ MARKY-INFLUENCES VOL 2.
DJ Marky-Influences Vol. 2. Label: BBE. DJ Marky has come a long way since he started DJ-ing in his hometown of São Paulo, Brazil over twenty-five years ago. He made his DJ-ing debut at the age of the tender age of twelve. Little did he know that he had just made his first tentative steps in what …
JANNE SCHAFFER-KATHARSIS, EARMEAL AND PRESENS.
Janne Schaffer-Katharsis, Earmeal and Presens. BGO Records. Most people will have heard Swedish guitarist Janne Schaffer play many times, but never have realised it. He is one of Sweden’s premier session musicians, and has played with the great and good of Swedish music. This includes Sweden’s most successful musical export, Abba. Janne Schaffer played on …
FUNCTION UNDERGROUND-THE BLACK AND AMERICAN ROCK SOUND 1969-1974.
Function Underground: The Black and Brown American Rock Sound 1969-1974. Now Again Records. Just over a month ago, Function Underground: The Black and Brown American Rock Sound 1969-1974 was released by Now Again Records on vinyl as part of Record Store Day as a limited edition of 2,000. As a result, many people who wanted …
THE CLARENCE DANIELS ORCHESTRA FEATURING OBIE JESSIE AND SANDY MILLER-HARD WORKIN’.
The Clarence Daniels Orchestra featuring Obie Jessie and Sandy Miller-Hard Workin’. Ace Records. By the sixties, big bands were no longer as popular as they had once been. That was no surprise as music had changed beyond recognition. Bands like The Beatles, and the British Invasion groups in 1964 were game-changers for the big band leaders. …
LIGHTHOUSE-LIGHTHOUSE, SUITE FEELING AND PEACING IT ALL TOGETHER.
Lighthouse-Lighthouse, Suite Feeling and Peacing It All Together. In 1968, Skip Prokop the former drummer and vocalist with the Canadian psychedelic rock band The Paupers, met Brooklyn born keyboardist Paul Hoffert in a New York nightclub. The men bonded over their mutual love of music. However, when they parted company at the end of the …
MULATU ASTATKE-MULATU OF ETHIOPIA.
Mulatu Astatke-Mulatu Of Ethiopia. By 1972, Ethiopian multi-instrumentalist Mulatu Astatke was twenty-nine, and had already spent time studying music in London, Boston and New York. This included spells at two prestigious institutions, London’s Trinity College of Music, Boston’s Berklee College of Music. The time he spent there, influenced and shaped Mulatu Astatke as a musician. …
RUPTURE-ISRAEL SUITE/DOMINANTE EN BLEU.
Rupture-Israel Suite/Dominante En Bleu. Over the last fifty years, bands and artists have penned ambitious concept albums about all manner of subjects. No subject matter it seems is off-limits when it comes to the concept album. There’s been concept albums about bureaucracy and censorship, death and dreams, evolution and revolution, heaven and hell, hurt and …
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