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November sees the release of a lot of really strong albums, with the fantastic afro-cuban ‘Movement’ by Gerardo Frisina taking top spot: a really masterful blend of old school vibes planted firmly in the present. The third album by Japanese Dancefloor Jazz group Jazz Collective ‘Collage’ isanother strong mix of Jazz and dancefloor grooves, while on the soul tip the excellent debut album from Portia Monique has producers Reel People’s touch all over it: a really clasy, well made album – mainly made of strong dancefloor cuts. The Brand New Heavies return with pretty much a full-on funky boogie set…never lets up and will be an essential for the party season!
Emma Donovan makes the kind of album that fans of Kylie Auldist and the new wave of Aussie funkers will enjoy, while Danny Toeman has a vocal delivery reminiscent of Big Brooklyn Red in places underpinned by some strong grooves. Willie Clayton’s smooth southern influenced album is one of the surprises of the month – this veteran blues influenced soulman has produced a really tight set of mainly mid-tempo moments: well worth exploring.
All the albums of the month are strong – Miguel Migs has crafted a really classy soulful house album while The Cookers feature a stellar line up to produce a ridiculously good set of grooves. When your group consists of Billy Harper (Tenor sax) Donald Harrison (Alto) Eddie Henderson and David Weiss (trumpets) George Cables (Piano), Cecil McBee (Bass) and Billy Hart (Drums) you’re not going to go wrong! Staying with Jazz ex-Headhunters bass man Paul Jackson has gone back to his roots and produced a tight album of Jazzy funk and funky jazz – really good!
On the Soul reissue front the Mark IV, Billy Butler, (these two are forthcoming – in soon but can be pre-ordered now) D J Rogers, Barbara Lynn and the brilliant Mandrill 2 on 1 (two really top funk albums loaded with breaks also to pre-order) are the picks but again, all the albums listed here are top quality.
Jazz reissues are of the highest quality this month. Finnish keyboard player Olli Ahvenlathi’s Jazz Fusion album is well worth exploring – really ewarding – while our latest Carlos Garnett album ‘Cosmos Nucleus’ is yet another great album: Carlos leads a 25 Piece Big Band ‘Cosmos Nucleus’ making the sound on this album quite different from his other recordings. The Title cut is a 12 minute opus allowing the Band to develop the track as it flows throughdifferent sections. The killer cut is ‘Mystery of Ages’ an incredible vocal cut with a mystical feel that has become an underground club anthem for the past 20 years. Herbie Hancock’s two offerings are essential, Ronnie Foster’s ‘Two Headed Freap’ is probbaly his finest solo album, Gato Barbieri’s ‘El Pampero’ was recorded Live at Montreux Jazz festival in 1971. His playing style combines the soulfulness of a Turrentine or Grover with the raucous nature of Pharaoh Sanders: fantastic stuff!
Light In The Attic trawled the archives to unearth some great unreleased Sly Stone productions, the Ace group bring another three strong compilations to the table, in particular the Westbound ‘Good All Over’ set: a brilliant selection of lesser known and unissued sides, while funk fans are well catered for on the massive 4cd/double LP Funk Fever and the double CD Funk Soul Brothers And Sisters. The Masterpiece juggernaught rolls on with volume 18 – more funky 80’s dancefloor smashers – while Outta Sight focus on East L.A on a comp of the same name.
All in all, a great month for new releases, plus we have that good batch of japanese CDs fresh in too!
