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

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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

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Gary Bartz NTU Troop - Uhuru (1971)

An essential record from Gary Bartz – one of two albums he cut with Andy Bey, and the killer group he was calling his NTU Troop! Andy's vocals are incredible – light years ahead of anything he did with his sisters, and similar to those he laid down on his own solo album for Atlantic, and on Blue Note sides with Horace Silver – a righteous mix of jazz and soul, with a burning intensity that makes the political themes of the tracks come out strongly. The album includes one of Andy's all time classics – the original 7 minute version of "Celestial Blues", plus the fantastically grooving "Uhuru Sasa" – as well as the cuts "The Planets", and "Blue (A Folk Tale)". And Gary Bartz is of course pretty great too – dropping in these angular reed lines that really give the record an edge, and which sound totally great next to Bey's vocals!

Enjoy it!
And Merry Christmas to you all!
Greg

Azar Lawrence - People Moving (1976)

An excellent bit of spacey funky jazz from sax player Azar Lawrence, and one of the great earlier productions by Skip Scarborough, with a feel that's very similar to Gary Bartz's work with Larry Mizell! Azar plays a mix of funk and spiritual soul jazz – and he's got some great electric backing by Patrice Rushen, Paul Jackson, Harvey Mason, Mtume, and Lee Ritenour.
The whole thing's got a great Fantasy Records funk groove – and includes many nice titles like "Theme For A New Day", "Kickin Back", "Canticle For The Universe", "Gratitude" and a great take on Scarborough's "Can't Hide Love".

Enjoy it!
Greg

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Vince Andrews - Love Oh Love (1982)

Although 1980s jazz is usually not my cup of tea, this firing session by Vince Andrews is a noteworthy exception. Singer Jeannette Williams truly shines on the numbers she's featured in, and the polished sound doesn't go in the way of the progressive approach, with a lot of groovy playing going on, and a snapping jazzy organ to back things up.
The leader and writer of most of the tunes is saxophonist Vince Andrews, who plays with ease and is heard in fine form on 'The One Who Needs You' or 'Vibrating with Vince'.

Enjoy it!
Greg

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Melvyn Price - Rhythm and Blues (1974)

A lost bit of 70s soul jazz and global funk percussion from conguero & trombonist Melvyn Price – an incredible set of heavily rhythmic grooves recorded in Stockholm in 1974 – originally a private press effort, rediscovered a few years back by Wax Poetics Records!

Melvyn grew up outside of Detroit, and he cut his teeth with the freeform Afrikan Folk Ensemble before relocating to Sweden in the 60s, where he thrived in the country's healthy and creative jazz scene. He's joined by a great group of international players who bring diverse flavors to the overall sound, with Latin and African styles of percussion from Price, Jon Dill and Luis Agudo, drums by Gunnar Nyberg and Fredrik Noren, piano by Bjorn Wolff, fluidly jazzy tenor sax from Ed Epstein, and bass by Guy Roellinger, whose work here often sounds like the stuff of funky 70s soundtracks. The rhythms are absolutely impeccable – with the conga and percussion as the driving force of the sound! Titles include "Voodoo Love Dance", "Toward Brazil", "Behind Kungstradgarden", "Happiness Is. . .", "Five O'Clock Traffic" and "Last Train".

Enjoy it!

Greg

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Sheila Landis and Her Bandits of Bebop -Guess I'll Call It Love (1981)

A great session of groovy jazz vocals, with a light breezy finish by Sheila Landis and her band! The set was recorded in Michigan – but it's got a flowing groove that feels like the best of the San Francisco scene at the time, lightly dancing vocals with a hip edge, in the mode that Mark Murphy was using a lot at the time. The group is tight in a small combo mode – with a mixture of acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes, plus just the right amount of guitar and saxes to give the tunes a bit of flourish.

The album's filled with great original tunes – including "Love Robs Your Reason", "Where You Gonna Put Your Blues?", "There's Never Enough There For Me", "Lonely Wine", and "Guess I'll Call It Love" – plus the wonderful groover "Parenthe-Seizure", which you'll recognize from its appearance on a few compilations here and there.

Enjoy it!

Greg

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