NEW SOUL|
2015 treated us to some defining moments in soul music with some great new names coming to the fore. The super talented Tahirah Memory (who also provided vocals for Jarrod Lawson) delivered her superb debut set ‘Pride’ that shone a light on her abilities as a singer/songwriter.
Diane Shaw brought the late 60s back with a much lauded, big sounding soul album ‘Love, Life and strings’, while Daptone backing singers Saun & Starr also forged ahead with their stunning debut ‘Closer’ that put them in the spotlight. Nicole Willis dropped what is considered her best album yet with ‘Happiness In Every Style’, Rhonda Thomas’ ‘Vinyl Daze’ was widely praised and Mad Satta brought something a little different from NYC. Home grown act the Soulutions produced a really solid modern soul debut, Rasheed Ali’s 1968: Soul Power took us back to the future and there were great releases from favourites Bluey, Cool Million and D’Angelo. Click the header below to explore the Best new Soul Albums of 2015 in full.
Best new soul albums of 2015
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Tahirah Memory
Pride
CD / £15.99 Add to cart -
Diane Shaw
Love Life And Strings
CD / £14.99 Out of Stock -
Lindsey Webster
You Change
CD / £15.99 Out of Stock -
Saun And Starr
Look Closer
LP, Vinyl / £19.99 Add to cart -
Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators
Happiness In Every Style
CD / £12.99 Add to cart -
Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators
Happiness In Every Style
LP, Vinyl / £16.99 Add to cart -
Rhonda Thomas
Vinyl Daze
CD / £14.99 Add to cart -
Mad Satta
Comfort
CD / £14.99 Out of Stock -
Bluey
Life Between The Notes
CD / £11.99 Add to cart -
Aaron Parnell Brown
The Tin Man
CD / £12.99 Add to cart -
Kim Burrell
A Different Place
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Ty Causey
Cause And Effect
CD / £12.99 Add to cart -
Cool Million
Sumthin Like This
CD / £13.99 Out of Stock -
Cool Million
Sumthin Like This
LP, Vinyl / £21.99 Out of Stock -
D'Angelo And The Vanguard
Black Messiah
CD / £12.99 Add to cart
NEW JAZZ|
In the Jazz spectrum Kamasi Washington’s first proper release (10 years after his “Live At 5th Street Dick’s” CDR release) was fittingly titled ‘The Epic’: a 32 piece orchestra and 20 voice choir combined to produce this monumental Jazz journey!
Manchester’s Matthew Halsall scored yet again with his sublime “Into Forever” while new name Joyce Elaine Yuille was joined by Timo Lassy’s band to produce a gorgeous old school feel on her debut “Welcome To My World”. So many great new Jazz albums were released in 2015 – Click the header below to explore the Best new Jazz Albums of 2015 in full.
Best new jazz albums of 2015
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Kamasi Washington
The Epic
CD / £14.99 Add to cart -
Kamasi Washington
The Epic(180Gm)
LP, Vinyl / £39.99 Add to cart -
Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra
Into Forever
CD / £11.99 Add to cart -
Joyce Elaine Yuille
Welcome To My World
CD / £15.99 Add to cart -
Joyce Elaine Yuille
Welcome To My World
LP, Vinyl / £17.99 Add to cart -
Charenee Wade
Offering
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Terri Lyne Carrington
The Mosaic Project : Love And Soul
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Shaun Martin
7 Summers
CD / £14.99 Out of Stock -
Bugge Wesseltoft
Bugge & Friends
CD / £14.99 Add to cart -
Bugge Wesseltoft
Bugge & Friends
LP, Vinyl / £21.99 Out of Stock -
Nat Birchall
Invocations
CD / £11.99 Out of Stock -
Nat Birchall
Invocations
LP, Vinyl / £19.99 Out of Stock -
Franco Ambrosetti
After The Rain
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Lars Bartkuhn
Passion Dance Orchestra
CD / £12.99 Add to cart -
Big Picture Holiday
Shimmer And Melt
CD / £12.99 Add to cart
SMOOTH JAZZ|
Smooth Jazz fans were treated to the return of some popular names. Four80East continued to plough their familiar vein of funky smooth while legends Fourplay were back with their latest offering ‘Silver’ coming 25 years after their debut with Bob James, Harvey Mason and Nathan East all figuring in the line up.
Smooth keyboardist Jonathan Fritzen’s ‘Fritzenised’ was a typically upbeat and optimistic set, Boney James came back with an excellent set of classy and smooth grooves and Jessy J proved that she is still the heir apparent to the likes of Grover Washington or Boney James with her “My One And Only”.
With strong new albums from Jeff Lorber, Nils, Najee and Pieces of A Dream among others, smooth jazz fans were well served in 2015! Click the header below to explore the Best Smooth Jazz Albums of 2015 in full.
Best smooth jazz albums of 2015
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Four 80 East
Positraction
CD / £14.99 Add to cart -
Jonathan Fritzen
Fritzenized
CD / £13.99 Out of Stock -
Jessy J
My One And Only
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
James Lloyd
Here We Go
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Jeff Lorber
Step It Up
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Najee
You And Me Forever
CD / £19.99 Add to cart -
NILS
Alley Cat
CD / £15.99 Add to cart -
Pieces Of A Dream
All In
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Nelson Rangell
Blue
CD / £15.99 Add to cart -
Linn Rountree
Soulfunky
CD / £16.99 Add to cart -
Randy Scott
Serenity
CD / £16.99 Add to cart -
Brian Simpson
Out Of A Dream
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Julian Vaughn
Limitless
CD / £16.99 Add to cart
SOUL REISSUES|
There were significantly less Reissue albums this year but there were some real classics. Sandra Wright’s incredible ‘Wounded Woman’ being the best, followed by unissued tracks by Sam Dees, the incredible voice of Linda Jones, Milton Wright’s unissued and far superior version of ‘Friends and Buddies’, a great Gospel/Soul discovery from Supreme Jubilees and classics from Ashford and Simpson, Leon Ware and a funky 2 on 1 from Mandrill. Click the header below to explore the Best Soul Reissues of 2015 in full.
Best soul reissues of 2015
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Sandra Wright
Wounded Woman
CD / £12.99 Add to cart -
Sandra Wright
Wounded Woman
LP, Vinyl / £19.99 Add to cart -
Sam Dees
It’S Over – 70’S Songwriter Demos And Masters
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Linda Jones
Complete Atco Loma And Warner Brothers Recordings
CD / £16.99 Add to cart -
Mandrill
Composite Truth/Just Outside Of Town
CD / £13.99 Out of Stock -
Milton Wright
Complete Friends And Buddies
CD / £11.99 Out of Stock -
Milton Wright
Original Friends And Buddies
LP, Vinyl / £22.99 Add to cart -
Supreme Jubilees
It’Ll All Be Over
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Supreme Jubilees
It’Ll All Be Over
LP, Vinyl / £27.99 Out of Stock -
Leon Ware
Rockin You Eternally/Leon Ware
CD / £12.99 Add to cart -
Ashford & Simpson
Send It
CD / £19.99 Add to cart -
Billy Butler And Infinity
Hung Up Over You
CD / £14.99 Add to cart -
Cameo
Cameosis/Feel Me
CD / £11.99 Add to cart -
Cameo
Ugly Ego/Secret Omen
CD / £11.99 Add to cart -
Chocolate Jam Co
Spread Of The Future
CD / £14.99 Out of Stock
JAZZ REISSUES|
There were some great Jazz reissues, Jazz-Funk and Fusion classics from Johnny Hammond, Idris Muhammad, Lonnie Liston Smith, Carlos Garnett and Azymuth, discoveries from Sadaka and Sam Saunders and a rare British Jazz classic from Joe Harriot. Alan Lee’s ‘Australian Jazz Anthology’ provided a glimpse into the sound of Jazz from down under, Sun Ra’s Epic “To Those Of Earth And Other Planets” was a must a for fans out there Jazz while the Brian Auger’s anthology is a welcome addition to his repertoire. Click the header below to explore the Best Jazz reissues of 2015 in full.
Best jazz reissues of 2015
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Johnny Hammond
Gears(Plus Bonus Tracks)
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Johnny Hammond
Gears(Plus Bonus Tracks) 180Gm
LP, Vinyl / £29.99 Out of Stock -
Sadaka
Premonition
CD / £12.99 Add to cart -
Sadaka
Premonition
LP, Vinyl / £19.99 Out of Stock -
Idris Muhammad
Turn This Mutha Out
CD / £12.99 Add to cart -
Sam Sanders
Mirror Mirror
CD / £14.99 Add to cart -
Carlos Garnett
A NEW LOVE
CD / £12.99 Add to cart -
Lonnie Liston Smith
Visions Of A New World
CD / £9.99 Add to cart -
Azymuth
Azimuth
CD / £11.99 Out of Stock -
Azymuth
Azimuth
LP, Vinyl / £22.99 Out of Stock -
Joe Harriott Amancio D'Silva
Hum Dono
CD / £12.99 Add to cart -
Joe Harriott Amancio D'Silva
Hum Dono(180Gm)
LP, Vinyl / £16.99 Add to cart -
Brian Auger
Back To The Beginning- Brian Auger Anthology
CD / £12.99 Add to cart -
Brian Auger
Back To The Beginning- Brian Auger Anthology
LP, Vinyl / £19.99 Out of Stock -
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
Art Blakey’S Jazz Messengers Complete Recordings
CD / £12.99 Add to cart
NEW SOUL AND FUNK COMPILATIONS|
Tony Minvielle’s Into Something just pipped ‘Bespeak Love’ to the top spot this year while Expansion were busy as ever giving us a great hat-trick of compilations in the form of ‘Soul Shine’,’Soul Life’ and Soul Togetherness 2015. Daptone Gold II was just that: 21 tracks of magic from the hardest working indie in the business while Black Feeling 3 continued the series apace with another 12 fresh funk and afro jazz cuts. Click the header below to explore the Best New Soul and Funk Compilations of 2015 in full.
Best new soul and funk compilations of 2015
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Various Artists
Tony Minvielle Presents Into Something
CD / £9.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Bespeak Love
CD / £12.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Soul Shine
LP, Vinyl / £17.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
SOUL SHINE
CD / £12.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
SOUL LIFE
CD / £12.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Soul Togetherness 2015
CD / £11.99 Out of Stock -
Various Artists
Soul Togetherness 2015
LP, Vinyl / £17.99 Out of Stock -
Various Artists
Daptone Gold 11
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Daptone Gold 11
LP, Vinyl / £26.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Luxury Soul 2015
CD / £12.99 Out of Stock -
Various Artists
Black Feeling Vol 3
CD / £9.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Black Feeling Vol 3
LP, Vinyl / £14.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Soul Love 2015
CD / £13.99 Out of Stock -
Various Artists
Soul Lounge 12
CD / £12.99 Add to cart
SOULFUL HOUSE ALBUMS AND COMPILATIONS|
Soulful House was well represented in 2015 with some great albums and compilations being produced in the past 12 months. Vick Lavender’s outstanding ‘Architect’ show different shades of Vick’s music, but all have that feel good vibe. The uptempo house tracks ‘Thanks I Get’, ‘It’s the real thing’ have funky grooves and feature vocalist R J Green. Who also sings on the slinky mid tempo soul cut ‘Magic’. Sheila Ford’s’Here You Are’ features the production work of Louie Vega, Kenny Dope, Atjazz, DJ Spen, Dimitri From Paris, John Morales and Joey Negro among others. Click the header below to explore the Best Soulful House Albums and Compilations of 2015 in full.
Best soulful house albums and compilations of 2015
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Vick Lavender
Architect
CD / £11.99 Out of Stock -
D J Spen
Transition
CD / £12.99 Add to cart -
Tortured Soul
Hot For Your Love Tonight
CD / £11.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Danny Krivit Quintessentials
CD / £14.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Papa Records And Reel People Music Present Messages Miami 2015
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
A Long Hot Summer – Mixed & Selected By Dj Spen
CD / £13.99 Out of Stock -
Various Artists
90’S House & Garage
CD / £15.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
90’S House & Garage Part 1
LP, Vinyl / £21.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
90’S House & Garage Part 2
LP, Vinyl / £21.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Sources – The Easy Street Anthology
CD / £19.99 Out of Stock -
Various Artists
Sources – Sleeping Bag Records
CD / £19.99 Out of Stock
SOUL, FUNK AND JAZZ COMPILATIONS|
There were also some really great compilations in 2015, Masterpieces of Modern Soul Vol 4, Ian Levine’s Solid Stax Sensations, Soul on the Real Side Vol 4, Soul Emissaries and Northern Soul’s Classiest Rarities Vol 5 were the best for 70’s Soul. Sam Records anthology for 80’s club soul, and Nu Yorica and Streetsounds Jazz-Funk classics for the Jazzier side. Click the header below to explore the Best Soul, Funk and Jazz Compilations of 2015 in full.
Best compilations of 2015
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Various Artists
Masterpieces Of Modern Soul Vol 4
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Nu Yorica! Culture Clash In New York City: Expanded
CD / £14.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Nu Yorica! Culture Clash In New York City: Expanded Part A
LP, Vinyl / £21.99 Out of Stock -
Various Artists
Nu Yorica! Culture Clash In New York City: Expanded Part B
LP, Vinyl / £21.99 Out of Stock -
Various Artists
Northern Soul’S Classiest Rarities Vol 5
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Ian Levine’S Solid Stax Sensations
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Soul On The Real Side Vol 4
CD / £12.99 Out of Stock -
Various Artists
Sources – Sam Records Anthology
CD / £19.99 Out of Stock -
Various Artists
Soul Emissaries – Superfunk
CD / £13.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
A New Life
CD / £11.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Black Fire New Spirits Deep And Radical Jazz In The Usa 1957-75
CD / £14.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Black Fire New Spirits Deep And Radical Jazz In The Usa 1957-75
LP, Vinyl / £23.99 Out of Stock -
Various Artists
Soul Jazz Presents Disco
CD / £14.99 Out of Stock -
Various Artists
Soul Jazz Presents Disco Record A
LP, Vinyl / £21.99 Add to cart -
Various Artists
Soul Jazz Presents Disco Record B
LP, Vinyl / £21.99 Add to cart
BEST 7″ AND 12″ SINGLES|
The 45’s world went crazy with loads of superb new and reissue singles, some selling out in days. We put out a number of 45s in 2015 including Linda Jones’ awesome two-sider ‘Just Can’t Live My Life’/’My Heart Needs A Break’, Betty Wright’s sublime ‘Man Of Mine’ and Natural High’s rare groove ‘I Think I’m Falling IN Love With You’ while new boys Athens Of The North curated some amazing super-rarities like Second Ressurections’s massive ‘You Done Let The Daylight…’ Reality Band And Show’s ‘Gangster Boy’ and Homegrown Syndrome’s stunning ‘Confrontation’ among many others. Soul Junction continued to issue more unreleased goodies and rare gems like Dee Dee Warwick’s amazing ‘You Tore Down My Wall’ and JB Bingham’s ‘Fella’s Don’t Let The Girls Take Over’. Zaf again selected a rare gem for a 12″ reissue with the super in-demand Martin Dumas 12″ while Floating Points chose West Coast rarity Taxie for a 12″ waxing. Click the header below to explore the Best 7″ and 12″ Singles of 2015 in full.
Best 7″ and 12″ Singles of 2015
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Linda Jones
I Just Can’T Live My Life(Without You Babe)/My Heart(Needs A Break)
7" single, Vinyl / £10.00 Add to cart -
Betty Wright
Man Of Mine/Smother Me With Your Love
7" single, Vinyl / £10.00 Add to cart -
Alice Clark
Don’T You Care/Never Did I Stop Lovin You
7" single, Vinyl / £10.00 Add to cart -
Sam Dees
Gimme A Little Action/Meet Me Halfway (BGP Kent s4519)
7" single, Vinyl / £11.00 Out of Stock -
Dee Dee Warwick
You Tore My Wall Down/Wait Until Tomorrow (soul junction s4519)
7" single, Vinyl / £10.00 Add to cart -
The Dells
It’S All Up To You / Wear It On Your Face
7" single, Vinyl / £13.00 Out of Stock -
Phyllis Hyman
Forever With You/Set A Little Trap (expansion s4519)
7" single, Vinyl / £10.00 Add to cart -
Natural High
I Think I’M Fallin In Love/Trust In Me
7" single, Vinyl / £10.00 Add to cart -
J B Bingham
Fellas Don’T Let The Girls Take Over/All Alone By The Telephone (soul junction s4519)
7" single, Vinyl / £10.00 Out of Stock -
Second Re$$Urection
You Done Let The Daylight Catch You /Smoke In The Disco
7" single, Vinyl / £10.00 Out of Stock -
Avons/Joan Moody
When The Boy That You Love Is Loving You/I Can’T Stay Away (BGP Kent s4519)
7" single, Vinyl / £10.00 Out of Stock -
Perk Badger
Do Your Stuff
7" single, Vinyl / £8.00 Add to cart -
Brothers/Trumains
Are You Ready For This/Ripe For The Picking
7" single, Vinyl / £10.00 Add to cart -
Nadine Brown
Leave Me Alone/Since I Fell For You
7" single, Vinyl / £10.00 Out of Stock -
Duke Browner
Crying Over You
7" single, Vinyl / £10.00 Add to cart
NEW AND CLASSIC SOUL AND JAZZ VINYL|
2015 saw the demand for Vinyl accelerate with many great New titles and Reissues on the format including two of last years best Cds Carmen Lundy’s ‘Soul to Soul’ and the great ‘Step inside My Soul’ comp being issued on 180gm Double’s. Click the header below to explore the Best New And Clasic Soul And Jazz Vinyl of 2015 in full.
Best new and classic soul and jazz vinyl LPs of 2015
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Carmen Lundy
Soul To Soul
LP, Vinyl / £34.99 Add to cart -
Jarrod Lawson
Jarrod Lawson At The BBC(180Gm Ltd Edition)
LP, Vinyl / £12.99 Out of Stock -
Various Artists
Step Inside My Soul – Rare 70’S And Modern Soul(180Gm)
LP, Vinyl / £29.99 Out of Stock -
Jbs
These Are The JBs(Bf Rsd)
LP, Vinyl / £32.99 Add to cart -
Darrell Banks
Is Here(180Gm)
LP, Vinyl / £21.99 Out of Stock -
Doris Duke
I’M A Loser
LP, Vinyl / £19.99 Add to cart -
Al Green
I’M Still In Love With You(180Gm)
LP, Vinyl / £19.99 Add to cart -
Al Green
Let’S Stay Together(180Gm)
LP, Vinyl / £22.99 Add to cart -
Herbie Hancock
Head Hunters (180Gm)
LP, Vinyl / £22.99 Add to cart -
Funkadelic
Maggot Brain
LP, Vinyl / £24.99 Out of Stock -
Donny Hathaway
Extension Of a Man (180Gm)
LP, Vinyl / £22.99 Add to cart -
Sam Cooke
Portrait Of A Legend
LP, Vinyl / £39.99 Add to cart -
Miles Davis
Bitches Brew(180Gm)
LP, Vinyl / £24.99 Out of Stock -
Aretha Franklin
I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You(180Gm Mono)
LP, Vinyl / £17.99 Add to cart -
Herbie Hancock
Maiden Voyage (180gm Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series)
LP, Vinyl / £22.99 Add to cart