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
The never-before released full album from keyboardist Manzel Bush – the legendary 70s funk figure well-remembered for his classic break tracks! As a whole, the album's a masterpiece of spacey keyboards and funky drums – funkier than just about any other record one can think of from the late 70s!
The set was recently put together by Manzel in collaboration with Kenny Dope, and many of the tracks feature new mixes by Kenny & The Undercover Brother – done in such a way that really respects the original grooves of the tunes, and which only sweetens them a bit in the right places, or brings out the funky drums even more. Every cut is a stone monster – and the quality of the set is amazing – with obscure cuts that sound every bit as wonderful as the more famous sample tracks like "Space Funk" or "Midnight Theme". Titles include "Jump Street", "Sugar Dreams", "Long Way Home", "Just For You", "It's Over Now", "The Party", "Vera Cruz", "Space Funk", "Midnight Theme", and "Evil Wicked Mean & Nasty".Enjoy it!GregLink in comments...
The Wayne Henderson-produced self-titled LP by this little-kown LA band is like a lost soul album from the height of Fantasy Records —think Side Effect, Pleasure, or Sweet Talks. It features a tight keyboard and brass-driven streak of songs, at the crossroads between jazzy late 70s soul and the early iterations of 80s Funk.
It is most remembered by groovers worlwide for the rare groove anthem 'You Can Get It' and the mellower 'Hollywood Dreaming', but it also includes other tasty nuggets such as 'Dance To It' or 'Shine On'.Enjoy it!GregLink in comments...
Hailed by Mister Gilles Peterson as one of the best latin fusion albums of all-time, this 1975 release by Raices is indeed a killer batch of spiritual and funky latin-jazz that deserves a high praise. Mixing strong jazzy playing, a great New York-produced sound, and a gift for energetic shifts within the compositions, it stands as one of the better lost gems of the era —with that disrespect for fixed categories which makes adventurous music so fantastic.Includes the self-explicit 'Bluegarian Funk Dance', the great 'Lenguas', 'Bamboo' and the soulful 'Parallax'.Enjoy it!GregLink in comments...
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!
