All Good Things...

...come to an end, including my humble postings on this blog!
Naturally all credit and gratitude should go first to each artist involved in the creation of such magnificent albums. Please remember this blog was always meant to spread the word about unduly forgotten LPs, not as a subsitute for the real records!
Many thanks also to all of you who left comments — you kept the community spirit of this blog alive. And last but not least, thanks to the mighty Oufar Khan who created this blog in the first place! I did nothing but keep the fire burning for some time.
I hope you have enjoyed the music we posted here, and that you will cherish some of the discoveries you might have made for a long time. Feel free to dig into the archives, and ask for re-ups if necessary...
Music is our precious sunshine and love, it is, as Albert Ayler had it, the 'healing force of the Universe'.
Cheers!
Greg

The Janet Lawson Quintet - The Janet Lawson Quintet (1980)

My last post will be what is, in my opinion, a truly sublime album, as Janet Lawson may well be one of my favorite jazz singers. She's got a free scatting style that's reminiscent of 70s work by singers like Flora Purim, Jackie Cain, or Monika Linges: very breezy, in a mode that works perfectly with her loosely swinging combo —which has a definite fusion bent!
The record's really great all the way through – with piano modally grooving along with Janet's vocals – sax and flute twisting into the mix, inflecting the lyrics with just the right hint of jazzy riffing. Titles include the airy "Sunday Afternoon", "So High", "Nothing Like You", "You Promised", and a great reading of Chick Corea's "Shazam".

Don't miss this one guys!

Enjoy it!
Greg

Link in comments...

Burton Inc. - L.A. Will Make You Pay $$$ (1977)

Hey, crisis or not, I guess we would be happy to pay if LA's always this funky! Burton Inc step out here with a wealth of great underground club tracks and deep modern soul – one that's equal part dancefloor groove, uptempo funk, and soulful singing – electric keys dancing underneath righteous female vocals – and a sound that's slightly more righteous than most grooves from the time!
Tracks include the eponymous track, the moving 'Groovin' At The Nightclub', the snapping number 'Who You Gonna Get' and the mighty 'See What You Made Me Do'.

Enjoy it!
Greg

Link in comments...

Eddie Gale - Black Rhythm Happening (1969)

Quoted from AMG: Trumpeter Eddie Gale's second Blue Note outing as a leader is one of the most adventurous recordings to come out of the 1960s. 'Black Rhythm Happening' picks up where 'Ghetto Music'left off, in that it takes the soul and free jazz elements of his debut and adds to them the sound of the church in all its guises -- from joyous call and response celebration on the title track (and album opener), to the mournful funeral sounds of "Song of Will," — all thanks to the Eddie Gale Singers. Elsewhere, wild smatterings of hard and post-bop ("Ghetto Love Night") and angular modal music ("Ghetto Summertime"), turn the jazz paradigm of the era inside out, simultaneously admitting everything in a coherent, wonderfully ambitious whole. The album closes with "Look at Teyonda," a sprawling exercise in the deep melding of African and Latin folk musics with the folk-blues, flamenco, and jazz rhythms. 'Black Rhythm Happening' is a timeless, breathtaking recording, one that sounds as forward-thinking and militant in the 21st century as it did in 1969.

Enjoy it!
Greg

Link in comments...