Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers - Heat! (1968)

Yet another title with an exclamation mark, and one of Pucho's greatest albums ever! This one really gets all the elements right – from Latin jazz, to boogaloo soul, to some of that funkiness that was creeping into the group's work at the time.

The fantastic Pazant Brothers (Eddie & Al) are on sax and trumpet (respectively), and the set also features some vocals by Jackie Soul on a few cuts. Includes some great Latin Jazz tracks like "Heat!" and the amazing "Psychedelic Pucho" (with an organ hook that won't let go), plus other great Latin soul cuts, like "Payin' Dues" and "Let Love Find You". Neal Creque's on piano, and the whole thing kicks booty!

Enjoy it!

Greg

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Eero Koivistoinen Music Society - Wahoo! (1972)

Funky funky Finland! Don't be put off by the long name, or the overuse of vowels in the title – because this album's a killer batch of funky jazz, filled with loads of choppy sax riffs, sweet Fender Rhodes licks, and plenty of heavy drums. The record's got a hard fusion groove – and all the tracks are long instrumentals served up with plenty of power, and plenty of ferocity!

The set was recorded in Finland in 1972, but it feels more like some killer studio jam from the west coast – played by by a very tight bunch of funky jazz musicians who weren't afraid to go over the top. Titles include "Hot C", "7 Up", "6 Down", "Suite 19", and "Wahoo!".

Enjoy it!

Greg

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Leny Andrade - Estamos Ai (1965)

Beautiful bossa – and one of Leny Andrade's best albums! The record was recorded way back in 1965, when Leny was starting her career, years before she went onto become one of Brazil's most famous jazz singers. She's working here with Deodato, who did a beautiful set of jazzy arrangements that work perfectly with Leny's rich voice – warm and airy, with a sweetly skipping quality throughout!

The whole thing's really jazzy and wonderful – without any of the heavier styles of Leny's later work – and titles include "Tema Feliz", "Samba De Rei", "A Resposta", "Banzo", "Cliché", "Samba Em Paris", and "Coisa Nuvem".

Enjoy it!

Greg

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Young-Holt Unlimited - Young-Holt Unlimited Plays Superfly (1973)

Fantastic stuff as Young and Holt lay down a monster set of grooves from Curtis Mayfield's Superfly soundtrack (all the good ones – like "Freddie's Dead", "Give Me Your Love", "Pusher Man", and "Superfly"). They also get into some funky tracks of their own (like "Hey Pancho" and "Mystical Man"), and do a super-dope cover of "People Make the World Go Round".

The album's nice and stripped down – perhaps closest to their Oh Girl LP on Atlantic in feel, with loads of cool electric piano by Ken Chaney, laid out over the group's harder funky grooves. An essential bit of early G-funk!

Enjoy it!

Greg

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