Anita Baker is back with the album Only Forever Out on Blue Note Records October 23, 2012

 Darrow Fletcher Crossover Soul - 1975 - 79 LA Sessions

There was a dilemma with compiling a CD of Darrow Fletcher’s recorded output in that he had two very distinctive periods to his career. The first part was the records he made in Chicago between 1965 and 1970, and then the handful of singles cut in Los Angeles in the second half of the 70s. As he was only 14 when he started recording, the two eras had quite a different feel.
In researching the 70s recordings Darrow made for Ray Charles’ Crossover label in Los Angeles, we turned up a cache of fully produced, previously unissued tracks. These included the complete tape of the unissued “Why Don’t We Try Something Brand New” album. Apart from longer versions of the four titles that came out on Crossover singles, there were five brand new songs. These were mainly from the pens of the Zane Grey and Len Ron Hanks team or Joel Webster; who had also provided the released songs. They were of a similar superb quality to the singles, the best dance track being ‘Secret Weapon’, written by Grey and Hanks with Jerry Butler. ‘(What Are We Gonna Do About) This Mess’ is another high quality groove, while ‘(And A) Love Song’ is a tender melodic ballad. ‘Together’ is a bluesier down-tempo tune and ‘(People Are Not) Wind-Up Toys’ is a pretty mid-paced number with a message, so prevalent in the mid-70s.
I am sure Crossover saw Darrow as a similar artist to Stevie Wonder during his mid 70s pomp; the funkier Joel Webster numbers in particular were in this vein. Although his two career stages were clearly defined geographically and historically, there were similarities. Zane Grey had grown up with Darrow inChicagowhich was where he and his writing partner Len Ron Hanks hailed from. Their first composition was Darrow’s penultimate 45 cut in Chicago, ‘Changing By The Minute’. Several of the Grey and Hanks Crossover tracks were written in Chicago prior to the duo following Darrow out to LA where the songs were cut. Darrow’s 60s fans will find plenty to admire in his later output as the songs are well crafted and produced with no expense spared. Despite the five year hiatus they can be seen as a progression of his maturity since the 60s.
Ray Charles seemed to take young Darrow under his wing and the notes describe a particularly poignant moment when the two appeared on stage together in Chicago. It is a mystery why the album never appeared as the label was quite adept at issuing music in this format, often on relatively little known acts such as Joel Webster himself. Darrow specifically mentioned versions of ‘Sunny’ and ‘Fever’ in recalling his time at Crossover. These tracks were actually cut after the LP and raise the possibility of a second album featuring them, the two Atlantic/Atco singles and other numbers such as the social commentary song ‘Election Day’ and the funky dancer ‘How Can You Live Without Love’.
All of the cherished 70s singles are here. Together with the unissued gems they give more than an hour of top quality modern soul from an artist whose excellent body of work is at last being recognised.

By Ady Croasdell

Buy it here: http://www.firstexperiencerecords.com/product-detail/CD+Albums/57/Kent+Soul/Darrow+Fletcher/Crossover+Soul+-+1975+-+79+LA+Sessions/cd/3021

Bobby Ross Avila - Runnin'

Beautiful piece of music. From unreleased album Audiography. 

Impressing voice like Stevie Wonder

Throughout the ‘80s and early ‘90s, Atlantic Starr was one of the most successful outfits in R&B. Little is known, however, of the group’s heady jazz and groove roots. Imagine the brassy ensemble funk of early Kool & The Gang or Earth, Wind & Fire on spirit-centric labels like Black Jazz or Strata-East, with vocals reflecting the freedom of mind and spirit in both lyric and timbre. This is the land from which platinum-selling Atlantic Starr came.
This is Newban.
Founders Albert “Duke” Jones Jr. and Porter Carroll Jr. were students in Greenburgh, New York, when they recruited a horde of classmates in forming Newban–named such because they were, after all, a “new band.”
John Shearer, a friend of Jones and photographer for Life magazine, was a neighbor of legendary audio engineer Malcolm Addey and arranged for Newban to record with Addey at the famed Bell Sound Recording Studios.

Newban and Newban 2 were released on Guinness Records in 1977. Guinness, however, was one of many labels during the late ‘70s that juked numbers and intentionally undersold and under-promoted albums for tax write-offs to keep parent imprints in the black.
Co-founder and drummer Carroll and the majority of the members landed a deal with A&M Records and became Atlantic Starr. The Newban masters, however, remained safe and secure in the closet of Addey’s home on Riverside Drive in Manhattan. “I just called him up and said, ‘Listen, we got some things we can do after all these years,’” Jones says. Addey was with it, and returned the tapes for a nominal charge – in pristine, digitally re-mastered condition.
Neither Jones nor Addey stopped believing in Newban, which is why he feels this BBE release could be the re-emergence of something lost some 35 years ago.
“It might really make some noise with someone behind it,” Jones says about the “new” Newban compilation. “We could get together tomorrow.”

http://www.bbemusic.com/

Drizabone Soul Family is BACK with the album THE RECIPE OF LIFE

Soul Junction Records

Who since then, have been steadily building an exciting and varied catalogue of new and previously unreleased soul and funk releases for you the record buying public’s delectation.

So please do take a look around our website, it's full of information about all our previous and current releases, whether on vinyl or CD. You'll find all the relevant information as well as sound-clips relating to each release.

We think we've got all the information contained herein, but if you require any further information please contact us via the details on the contact page.

Many thanks
John & Dave

Soul Junction Records was formed in 2008 by John Anderson and Dave Welding.

http://www.souljunctionrecords.co.uk/

Here is a fantastic release by Audio feat Vince Broomfield - Won't Somebody.

IMO a 2012 top 10

(Extracted from Luxury Soul by Ralph Tee on Jazz FM)

 

BGP Presents Jazz Funk

Look inside any issue of Blues & Soul magazine from the latter part of the 70s and you will be in no doubt as to the UK’s club music of choice. The club section and the display ads let you know that jazz funk was the sound you would hear on a night out to any hot-spot playing the latest sounds from black America. Look a little closer at the DJ charts and you will notice that the story is a little more complicated. What counts as jazz funk can range from hardcore jazz fusion monsters by Patrice Rushen to boogie soul sounds, via jazz-influenced funk by the Blackbyrds and Pleasure. These groups were made up of accomplished musicians: the Blackbyrds had been jazz studies students of Donald Byrd at Howard University in Washington DC, who were totally relaxed with the contemporary black music of the era, and would mix it effortlessly with jazz. Clouding the issue somewhat, certain DJs would also play latin-influenced jazz cuts, often aimed at hardcore dancers, in a section of the evening known as the jazz break.
This CD tells the story of how this was linked to the UK dancefloors of the late 70s and early 80s and gives an insight into the way in which jazz records, especially those from the US west coast, fought for commercial breathing space. By incorporating the sounds of soul and funk, jazz discs forced their way onto radio playlists while the groups got club dates outside the ever-diminishing jazz scene. Even in the States, some of these records were played at the hottest clubs in the country, shouldering their way into the nascent disco scene.

In Berkeley, California, on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay, Fantasy Records were one of the key protagonists in the development of jazz music throughout the 1970s. The success of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s blend of roots rock provided large profits. Instead of using the money to sign another big rock group, the label’s owners Ralph Kaffel and Saul Zaentz invested heavily in the genre they knew best. In a few short years they had acquired a phenomenal jazz catalogue by buying up the Riverside, Prestige and Milestone labels from the east coast and had also signed up some of the country’s most exciting jazz talent. It was a brave move, as jazz was not especially a growth market, but by taking a broad-based approach they covered all the bases, from the complex modal playing of piano legend McCoy Tyner to the jazz-based funk of the Blackbyrds.

By Dean Rudland

http://acerecords.co.uk/bgp-presents-jazz-funk

BGP Label (Ace Records) - Great Jazz Funk Reissues

Blues, Pop, Rhythm & Blues, 60s Soul, Mod/Club, 70s Soul, Funk, Soul Jazz, West Coast Jazz, Bebop/Hard Bop, Fusion, Modern Jazz, Folk, Vocal Jazz, Soundtracks, World / Americas, Acid Jazz, Disco, Latin Soul, Avant-garde

Back in the mists of time there was a UK jazz dance scene that had a serious underground presence. If you read the style press from the mid-1980s you might infer that this was the biggest pop cultural style in the country, but it was a little more underground than that. Clubs such as the Jazz Room at the Wag Club were discovering some amazing records and compilations such as Paul Murphy’s “Jazz Club” series or Gilles Peterson’s “Jazz Juice” were selling serious numbers. If Murphy was the founding father of UK jazz dance, Peterson was of the next generation to take it world-wide.

When Ace Records in the UK set up a licensing deal with Fantasy Records in Berkeley, Ca, the owners of the Riverside, Milestone, Prestige jazz catalogues, Gilles Peterson and Baz Fe Jazz were recruited to create a new label to exploit this oh so deep jazz catalogue. Despite what has been said it is no coincidence that the label’s initials were the same as Baz & Gilles but another name – Beat Goes Public – was invented to prevent the blushes and so started BGP.

http://acerecords.co.uk/bgp-label

Dolls Combers from Milan (Italy) do quality soulful house

Excellent new beats from Mr Damon Reel and his brand new cd(Damon Reel 2012)

Great musicians like David Foster are here in this great song..

Track from the excellent BBE cd compilation Super Rare Boogie & Disco

More Quality Music. Soulful mix with tracks i love 

Adina Howard - What Do I Do

from the compilation

Independent Soul Divas 2 (2009).. what a tune!

A mix of soulful classic soul tracks i made back in the day..Enjoy

Rare japanese release. Remember when i listened it for the first time on Jazz FM.

The Soulsorts Podcast - UK-based soul shows put together and presented by long time soul music enthusiast and big friend of mine Roger Williams - usually two hours but occasionally featuring music-only CD length 'Soulsorts Selections' - it's all about quality with a very big capital 'Q'! Here is a top podcast from Stomp Radio.

www.jazzfm.com

The Sunburst Band - The Secret Life of Us

ZRecords

Expansion Love Vibes 

 

1. Love Vibes - The Emotions

2. Wonderful - G.Q.

3. Something On Your Mind - Melba Moore

4. When I'm Dancin' - Lenny Williams

5. Reach For My Love - Pattie Brooks

6. Love Is Such A Crazy Feeling - The Spinners

7. No One (Can Love You Like I Do) - Flakes

8. Here I Am - Dynasty

9. Sweet Fire - Mighty Fire

10. Top Of My List - Stephanie Mills

11. It's Getting Stronger - DeBarge

12. Better Things - Sylvia St. James

13. Razzle Dazzle - Heatwave

14. All In The Way You Get Down - Ray Parker Jr.

15. Best Love (12 Version) - Rose Royce

16. Positive Forces - Tavares

17. Can You See Where I'm Coming From - Instant Funk

18. Riding - Michael Henderson



MAIN INGREDIENT - EUPHRATES RIVER/AFRODISIAC - EXPANSION - NEW

Two of our favorite albums by The Main Ingredient – back to back on a single CD! Euphrates River is a wonderfully complex batch of tunes that shows that the group were taking a cue from some of their hipper contemporaries, and pushing past a stock hit formula. Bert DeCoteaux was still arranging, but the group produced themselves, giving the record a sexy funky feeling in the best parts, not that dissimilar from some of Marvin Gaye's work, or records by groups like The Isley Brothers or The O'Jays. Includes great versions of two Seals & Crofts songs – "Summer Breeze" and "Euphrates" – both a perfect example of this style, as is "Happiness Is Just Around The Bend" – plus a great reading of Willie Hutch's "California My Way", which has a super-dope sample at the beginning. Of course, the album still includes material like their hit " "Just Don't Want To Be Lonely", a sweetly style AM radio pop hit in the band's best style of earlier years. Afrodisiac is one of the most righteous albums ever from the Main Ingredient – as you might guess from its title and stylish cover! The group are really opening up here – and show a distinct Stevie Wonder influence throughout – not just because they perform their own hip takes on a number of tunes by Stevie, but also because Wonder himself plays a bit on the record! Rhythms are inventive, and grooves nice and complex – way past standard chart soul, into a heady mix that holds up beautifully over the years. Keyboards slide in great with the harmonies – and titles include great versions of Stevie Wonder tunes "Superwoman", "Where Were You When I Needed You", "Something Lovely", "Girl Blue", and "I Am Yours" – plus the great breakbeat track "You Can Call Me Rover", which has a very tight drum sound at the beginning, and tight soul harmonies all the way through. Also features a hip take on the Isleys' "Work To Do" too!  (from Dustygroove.com)

A House on Fire

The Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul

"If You Don't Know Me By Now," "The Love I Lost," "The Soul Train Theme," "Then Came You," "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now"--the distinctive music that became known as Philly Soul dominated the pop music charts in the 1970s. In A House on Fire, John A. Jackson takes us inside the musical empire created by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Thom Bell, the three men who put Philadelphia Soul on the map.
Here is the eye-opening story of three of the most influential and successful music producers of the seventies. Jackson shows how Gamble, Huff, and Bell developed a black recording empire second only to Berry Gordy's Motown, pumping out a string of chart-toppers from Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, the Spinners, the O'Jays, the Stylistics, and many others. The author underscores the endemic racism of the music business at that time, revealing how the three men were blocked from the major record companies and outlets in Philadelphia because they were black, forcing them to create their own label, sign their own artists, and create their own sound. The sound they created--a sophisticated and glossy form of rhythm and blues, characterized by crisp, melodious harmonies backed by lush, string-laden orchestration and a hard-driving rhythm section--was a glorious success, producing at least twenty-eight gold or platinum albums and thirty-one gold or platinum singles. But after their meteoric rise and years of unstoppable success, their production company finally failed, brought down by payola, competition, a tough economy, and changing popular tastes.
Funky, groovy, soulful--Philly Soul was the classic seventies sound. A House on Fire tells the inside story of this remarkable musical phenomenon.

 

 

The original Bobby Womack- Pieces album, plus 4 Extra Tracks.

Quality Reissue by Purpose Music Vaults

https://www.facebook.com/PurposeMV

Ronnie Dyson- ONE MAN BAND (extra track edition) reissue

Visit https://www.facebook.com/PurposeMV
Absolutely quality cd reissues

 

 

PRIVATE WAX

SUPER RARE BOOGIE & DISCO

Zafsmusic.com continues to bring you the rarest disco & boogie bangers with his new compilation titled "Private Wax" Vol 1.

16 scintillating excursions into the deep disco & boogie world of privately pressed & produced gems.
Available for download here: http://www.bbemusic.com/data.pl?release=BBE187CDG

Atlantic Soul Legends: 20 Original Albums From The Iconic Atlantic Label

Sam Dees - The Show Must Go On (1975) was included. A Masterpiece at last in cd.

 

The SOUL TOGETHERNESS series is back with another fantastic instalment and of FIFTEEN modern soul room dance floor monsters. It s been an amazing year for new music, so less room than previously for revivals, though the one chosen (from 1986) is an anthem by Lew Kirton never previously available on CD. From the Nu-skool we are proud to include top name artists including R. Kelly ( Share My Love has been one of the biggest dance records this year) and Anthony Hamilton, rubbing shoulders with those acts who are consistently making great modern soul music such as Kenny Thomas ( Turn It Up is exclusive to this compilation on CD), Glen Goldsmith, Big Brooklyn Red and Cool Million. There s a mini celebration of the music of Don Blackman here with two of his compositions, Heart s Desire and I Love You , the latter by Jarrad Anthony featuring a rare appearance on keyboards by Lonnie Liston Smith. With vibrant horns and a soulful dance groove, tracks featured by Bah Samba and Jazzanova have also been massive on our music scene this year. We also include the mighty Gregory Porter whose single release of "1960 what?" has sold bundles this year, plus hot new talents that we believe in such as AAries and the Michael J.Powell produced Maurissa Rose.

Excellent book from my big friend Ralph Tee. Great value for soul lovers.. Maybe available in second hand stores or Ebay.