Jean Paul Maunick and Gilles Peterson’s latest project Str4ta is a resurrection of British Jazz funk from the late 1970’s and 80’s, attempting to capture the essence of the golden years of Brit-funk which was soundtracked by bands like Freeez, Light of the World, Atmosfear, Beggar and Co and Hi-Tension. Of course, Bluey’s stewardship of this group is noteworthy, having played with most of these groups at the time (apart from Atmosfear and B&C) while also forming Incognito and the Warriors, the former’s 1981 album “Jazz-Funk” becoming one of the most seminal albums of this niche and relatively underground British...
Ezra Collective’s second album is a bold amalgam of worldly musical styles and flavours, concentrated through the hot-footed improvisational prowess of an ensemble of some of the finest players on the contemporary London jazz scene. Joe Armon Jones (keys), brothers Femi Koleoso (drums) and TJ Koleoso (bass), James Morrison (tenor) and Ifu Ogunjobi (trumpet) make up the group’s core, although on this release there are plenty of impressive cameos from the likes of Sampa the Great, Kojey Radical, Emili Sandé and Nao. New London sounds with serious danceability, heavyweight musical chops and a tight knit group cohesion that elevates the...
Lee Fields has been recording great Rhythm and Blues, Soul and Funk records since the late 1960's. His latest album 'Sentimental Fool' sees him reunited with producer Bosco Mann and the Daptone stable. It is a strong album featuring some great ballads, mid tempo and funky soul grooves, reminiscent of mid 60s James Brown. 'Two Jobs' and 'Without A Heart' are really funky grooves. 'Your Face Before My Eyes' is an uptempo 60s style soul dancer. 'Forever' , 'I Should Have Let You Be', 'Sentimental Fool' , 'Just Give Me Your Time' , 'What I Did' and 'Ordinary Lives' are...
China Burton - You Don't Care About Our Love China Burton’s 1979 Brit funk classic You Don’t Care About Our Love sees a reissue on Soul Brother Records, a rare, expensive and in demand title originally released on Logo records. There have been plenty of bootlegs of this track scattered around the marketplace for a while, but this is the first legitimate reissue that this record has seen. It is a rare piece of British disco-funk, orchestrated with a sweeping string section and fully manned brass section with rolling percussion and an anthemic, catchy chorus that make it perfect for...
FBI were one of the tightest UK Funk and Soul bands of the 1970’s. The nine piece band led by Root Jackson had a real feel good sound. He interchanges with Bonnie Wilkerson on vocals on this nine track album originally released in 1976. The album is a mix of hard driving funk like ‘FBI’, ‘Bad Deal’ ,’Get That Ball’ and ‘Free Prision’ plus soul cuts including ‘Let Me Love You’ and a great covers of Jr Bailey’s ‘Love Love Love’ and Stevie Wonder’s storming ‘Keep On Running’. The outstanding track though is the multi-paced ‘Talking About Love’ A rare...
A classic Mizell Brothers production and one of the early reissues in the Soul Brother repertoire, we’re extremely proud and excited to announce the second pressing of Johnny Hammond’s seminal 1975 jazz-funk offering Gambler’s Life, redone and reissued from the original masters on CD and LP some 21 years after it was initially released on our label! ‘Gamblers Life’ preceded the more famous ‘Gears’. Every bit as strong, Gambler's Life was released on a subsidiary of CTI in 1975 and has an edgier feel and a distinctive Johnny Hammond register, an amalgam of fusion, jazz-funk and soul with a street-wise...
Have a look at some of our top National Album Day picks. The theme of this years celebration is debut albums, and these are some significant debuts spanning funk, soul, jazz, contemporary jazz and hip-hop. Grab a copy while stocks last! A handful of these are originals, the majority, however, are reissues/new vinyl.
National Album Day returns for its fifth year on October 15th 2022, and this time the theme is 'Celebrating Debut Albums'! National Album Day will be teaming up broadcast partner BBC Sounds and audio partner Bowers & Wilkins to celebrate the album format and the incredible debut albums from across the decades. There are special products in stock for the event and as always, some famous faces helping to promote National Album Day along the way. Camilla George will be coming into the shop on Saturday to sign copies of her latest album, and first on K7 records, Ibio - Ibio....
Z Records continues its commitment to unearthing the obscure and long forgotten tracks from the last 40 years through the ever-popular Under The Influence series. Following on from Red Greg, Nick The Record, Sean P, Faze Action, and last years Alena Arpels. It’s now the turn of one of the scene’s most impressive collectors & DJs; Rahaan Hailing from Chicago his love affair with muzik started in the late 70’s early 80’s, listening to muzik on the radio combined with his mom and dad playing their records every weekend. In the early 80’s on the South side of Chicago, he...
Patrice Rushen – Patrice / Pizzazz (LP) | Strutt Patrice Rushen’s more hard-to-find Elektra titles have finally been reissued by Quinton Scott over at Strutt, fresh off the back of organising her stint in London this summer where she played several dates in the capital, notably at Koko in Camden to a packed-out audience of all ages. Her first album on Elektra after moving over from Prestige records in 1978 Patrice saw a departure from rawer jazz-funk and fusion off the tail end of Shout It Out, signalling a switch to more R&B and soul inspired styles of...
