Category Archives: Jazz
THE AWAKENING-HEAR, SENSE AND FEEL.
The Awakening-Hear, Sense and Feel. Label: Real Gone Music. Format: CD. Of the twenty albums that Black Jazz Records released between 1971 and 1975, The Awakening’s Hear, Sense and Feel is a much prized rarity amongst collectors. Copies of the album change hands for hundreds of dollars. That is no surprise given the quality of …
LINKWOOD AND OTHER LANDS-FACE THE FACTS.
Linkwood and Other Lands-Face The Facts. Label: Athens Of The North. Format: CD. Although producers Nick Moore and Gavin Sutherland are both based in Edinburgh, Scotland, they hadn’t collaborated on an album until they began work on Face The Facts which is the first album from Linkwood and Other Lands. It was recently released on …
WALTER BISHOP JR-CORAL KEYS.
Walter Bishop Jr-Coral Keys. Label: Real Gone Music. Format: CD. In 1971, Gene Russell and Dick Schory founded Black Jazz Records and later that year, the nascent label released their first release. This was Doug Carn’s debut album Infant Eyes. It was the first of twenty albums that the label released between 1971 and 1975. …
CULT CLASSIC: DJ SHADOW-PRIVATE PRESS.
Cult Classic: DJ Shadow-Private Press. On September the ’16th’ 1996, DJ Shadow released his critical acclaimed landmark debut album Endtroducing…..on the label Mo Wax Recordings. Endtroducing….which featured uptempo jams and slow, dark and broody tracks was inspired by early hip hop and was hailed as a genre classic-in-waiting. It was no surprise when Endtroducing….was certified …
COLIN CURTIS PRESENTS JAZZ DANCE FUSION VOLUME 2.
Colin Curtis Presents Jazz Dance Fusion Volume 2. Label: Z Records. Format: CD. During the late-seventies and early eighties, one of most popular DJs on the UK jazz-dance scene was Colin Curtis, who was born Colin Dimond, in Madeley, Staffordshire 1952. That was where the his lifelong love of music began when he started to …
NICK LUSCOMBE PRESENTS TOKYO DREAMING.
Nick Luscombe Presents Tokyo Dreaming. Label: Wewantsounds. Format: CD. Release Date: 27th November 2020. Usually, the compilation market is buoyant with a myriad of exciting, eclectic and esoteric releases hitting the racks of record shops each week. Sadly, 2020 hasn’t been like most years and this has resulted in many record labels have scaled back …
EABS-DISCIPLINE OF SUN RA.
EABS-Discipline Of Sun Ra. Label: Astigmatic Records. Format: CD. Having orbited planet earth and ascertained that it was safe to land, the spaceship carrying the Sun Ra Arkestra landed in Kalisz, one of the oldest cities in the Polish People’s Republic on the ‘7th’ of December 1986. Martial law had been imposed by the Pro-Moscow …
CULT CLASSIC KABASA-AFRICAN SUNSET.
Cult Classic: Kabasa-African Sunset. Kabasa was formed in Soweto by vocalist and bassist Tata “TNT” Sibeko and percussionist Oupa Segwa and guitarist Robert “Doc” Mthalane who previously, had been members of the iconic Afro-rock band Harari. The group had started life as The Beaters, but during a tour of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1976, changed their name …
CULT CLASSIC: AZTECA-AZTECA.
Cult Classic: Azteca-Azteca. When brothers Coke and Pete Escovedo were growing up in Oakland in the sixties, they were surrounded by Latin music which influenced them when they decided to form their own group, Azteca. Just like Santana, Azteca’s music was a fusion of musical genres and influences, including Latin and funk. They were also a group …
CLASSIC ALBUM: THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND AT FILLMORE EAST.
Classic Album: The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East. Nowadays, there aren’t many bands who make a commercial breakthrough with a live album. That, however, is what happened to The Allman Brothers Band in 1971 when they released their third album At Fillmore East. It was a gamechanger reaching number thirteen in the US Billboard 200 …
CULT CLASSIC: TOHRU AIZAWA QUARTET-TACHIBANA.
Cult Classic: Tohru Aizawa Quartet-Tachibana. For many connoisseurs of jazz, especially seventies J-Jazz, one little known private pressing is their holy grail, and everywhere they go it’s the one album that they always search for. There’s always the hope that in a backstreet record shop, antique centre or thrift store in a town or city somewhere in …
STEVE POTTS-MUSIQUE POUR LE FILM D’UN AMI.
Steve Potts-Musique Pour Le Film D’Un Ami. Label: Souffle Continu. Format: CD. Sadly, musical history is littered with artists whose music never received the recognition that it deserved. Often, it’s only much later that their albums start to find the audience that they so richly deserve. That was the case with Alice Clark, Gram Parsons, …
CHARLIE PARKER-THE SAVOY 10-INCH LP COLLECTION.
Charlie Parker-The Savoy 10-Inch LP Collection. Label: Craft. Format: CD. In the early days of bebop, saxophonist Charlie Parker was regarded as a pioneer, and just like Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach and Miles Davis was at the forefront of this new, exciting, innovative and radical musical movement. The first bebop albums were belatedly …
NIMBUS SEXTET-DREAMS FULFILLED .
Nimbus Sextet-Dreams Fulfilled. Label: Acid Jazz Records. Format: CD. The roots of the Glaswegian-based contemporary jazz combo can be traced to Scotland’s capital Edinburgh, where pianist, keyboardist and bandleader Joe Nichols was studying at Edinburgh University. That was where he met his long-time collaborators drummer Alex Palmer and bassist Mischa Stevens. They’ve been performing together …
ALAIN BELLAICHE-SEA FLUORESCENT/KIRLIAN EFFECT.
Alain Bellaïche-Sea Fluorescent/Kirlian Effect. Label: Souffle Continu. Format: CD. Alain Bellaïche was born in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, but spent his childhood in Cannes, on the French Riviera which was where he discovered music and played his first concerts. Initially, he played in friends’ houses where he was guaranteed a captive and appreciative audience. …
ESTHER PHILLIPS-WHAT A DIFF’RENCE A DAY MAKES.
Esther Phillips-What A Diff’rence A Day Makes. Label: Music On CD. Format CD. Despite releasing eighteen albums during a career that lasted thirty-five years most people haven’t heard of Esther Phillips. That’s a great shame because she was one of the most talented, versatile and underrated singers of her generation. She possessed a totally unique and …
DUKE PEARSON FEATURING BOBBY HUTCHERSON-THE PHANTOM.
Duke Pearson Featuring Bobby Hutcherson-The Phantom. Label: Blue Note Records Tone Poet Series. Format: LP. By June 1968, Atlanta-born pianist Duke Pearson was thirty-five, and was about to begin record the twelfth album of his career, The Phantom. It would be the seventh album he had recorded for Blue Note Records since he first signed …
ROLAND HAYNES-2ND WAVE.
Roland Haynes-2nd Wave. Label: Real Gone Music. Format: CD. Forty-five years ago in 1975, Roland Haynes released his debut album 2nd Wave on the Detroit-based Black Jazz Records. The label was founded by Gene Russell and Dick Schory and released twenty albums between 1971 and 1975. 2nd Wave was the label’s penultimate release and it …
NIMBUS SEXTET-DREAMS FULFILLED .
Nimbus Sextet-Dreams Fulfilled. Label: Acid Jazz Records. Format: LP. The roots of the Glaswegian-based contemporary jazz combo can be traced to Scotland’s capital Edinburgh, where pianist, keyboardist and bandleader Joe Nichols was studying at Edinburgh University. That was where he met his long-time collaborators drummer Alex Palmer and bassist Mischa Stevens. They’ve been performing together …
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