|
|
|
|
viewing 1 To 17 of 17 items
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CD
|
|
SDGSB 890CD
|
Before coming together to form Saint Ballantine, Brooklyn-based duo Andrew Thomas Reid and Brian "Sene" Marc were busy pushing creative boundaries on their own. As one half of Denitia & Sene, Brian notably caught the attention of Rolling Stone with the group's lilting electro-soul and striking style. Andrew, an artist, creative director, producer, and visionary with a penchant for branding, helped to materialize a communal incubator for young artists in Brooklyn called the Clubhouse (aka ClubCasa). The production duo prides itself on blending aspects of various genres in both their musical elements and lyrical content. Dark and meaningful concepts are often encased in intricate downtempo jams, making each Saint Ballantine track worth exploring. Both musicians specialize in mixing numerous influences and shared priorities, but the music is never harsh or restrictive. "Although Saint Ballantine has sharp sonic opinions, it's really accessible to a lot of people and I think that's important," says Reid. He and Marc successfully touch on complex situations as well as lighter universal topics, allowing virtually anyone the chance to connect with the group. Hollis Wear, who previously appeared on Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "White Walls" with memorable results, is the lone feature on a cross-cut album of minimal neo-soul, R&B, and indie pop, with millennial takes on folk and psych. All Saint's Day celebrates the moody and ethereal, its layered soundscapes as much a sharp, angular pop record as one that stays poised, watching in the wings as an outsider. The humanized synthetics are sure to catch the ears of fans of The Weeknd, H.E.R., Frank Ocean, Porches, and Børns.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
SDGSB 890LP
|
LP version. Before coming together to form Saint Ballantine, Brooklyn-based duo Andrew Thomas Reid and Brian "Sene" Marc were busy pushing creative boundaries on their own. As one half of Denitia & Sene, Brian notably caught the attention of Rolling Stone with the group's lilting electro-soul and striking style. Andrew, an artist, creative director, producer, and visionary with a penchant for branding, helped to materialize a communal incubator for young artists in Brooklyn called the Clubhouse (aka ClubCasa). The production duo prides itself on blending aspects of various genres in both their musical elements and lyrical content. Dark and meaningful concepts are often encased in intricate downtempo jams, making each Saint Ballantine track worth exploring. Both musicians specialize in mixing numerous influences and shared priorities, but the music is never harsh or restrictive. "Although Saint Ballantine has sharp sonic opinions, it's really accessible to a lot of people and I think that's important," says Reid. He and Marc successfully touch on complex situations as well as lighter universal topics, allowing virtually anyone the chance to connect with the group. Hollis Wear, who previously appeared on Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "White Walls" with memorable results, is the lone feature on a cross-cut album of minimal neo-soul, R&B, and indie pop, with millennial takes on folk and psych. All Saint's Day celebrates the moody and ethereal, its layered soundscapes as much a sharp, angular pop record as one that stays poised, watching in the wings as an outsider. The humanized synthetics are sure to catch the ears of fans of The Weeknd, H.E.R., Frank Ocean, Porches, and Børns.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
SDGPUMP 1991CD
|
Snow Dog Records present a reissue of South Central Cartel's self-titled debut album, originally released in 1991. Los Angeles's South Central Cartel were pioneers in the West Coast gangsta rap genre, in the same league as Dr. Dre, NWA, Eazy E, Ice Cube, Compton's Most Wanted, Above the Law, Da Lench Mob, Mac Dre, and Kurupt. South Central Cartel (S.C.C.) was one of the first West Coast groups to gain national popularity in the immediate wake of groundbreaking and controversial releases by NWA and Eazy-E, and they're still etched in hip hop's collective memory for pushing the envelope with their unapologetic embrace of gang affiliation, automatic weapons, violent crime, and prison and car culture. South Central Madness is their debut album, originally released on Pump/Quality Records, with subsequent albums released on Def Jam West in a deal between their G.W.K. (Gangsters Wit Knowledge) imprint and the West Coast division of Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons's label. Over a now-classic bed of sample sources (Delfonics, The Temptations, Barry White, Funkadelic, more), with lyrical sample drops of their hip-hop contemporaries (MC Breed, LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Public Enemy, NWA, Geto Boys, Big Daddy Kane), lyricists Havoc, Havik, Prodeje, and Young Prodeje along with singer L.V. (later featured on Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise") deliver a solid bridge from hip-hop's established East Coast chart-dominating status quo toward the West Coast-centric "G-Funk era", Crips vs. Bloods subtexts and the definition of what it meant to be hard. Videos for the singles U Gotta Deal Wit Dis (Gangsta Luv)/Ya Getz Clowned (1991) and Papa Was A Rolling Stone (1992) feature up-tempo Havoc and Prodeje in black baseball caps, shades, and curls that Eazy-E should have trademarked, riding and further extending the ominous Compton MC legacy. "Ya Getz Clowned" actually samples MC Breed's "Ain't No Future In Yo' Frontin'", released just months before, tightening a food chain of club/radio DJ/producer sample/remix culture that was evolving fast in 1991. An interesting and maybe still unresolved footnote is that an unrelated up-and-coming duo from Queensbridge named Mobb Deep with members Havoc and Prodigy who would release their debut Juvenile Hell in 1993.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
SDGSDE 1991LP
|
LP version. Snow Dog Records present a reissue of MC Breed & DFC's debut album, originally released in 1991. An often-overlooked debut by Flint, Michigan MC Eric Breed, leader of DFC (Da Flint Crew, Dope Flint Connection, Da Funk Clan), who went on to collaborate with Tupac, Too Short, George Clinton, Slum Village, Jazzy Pha, Pimp C, Kurupt, The D.O.C., Hurricane (Beastie Boys), Amp Fiddler, Erick Sermon (EPMD), Bootleg (Dayton Family), and Esham. MC Bred & DFC peaked at #142 on the Billboard 200, #38 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #3 on Top Heatseekers, impressive for an independent debut. The single was also a radio hit, getting run from KMEL in San Francisco to New York, leaving listeners hearing Breed's voice for the first time confused, unable to pin down his neutral accent, Flavor Flav's "to the beat, y'all" stabbing intermittently, and the West Coast-flavored beat confusing matters further. The album relies heavily on James Brown samples ("The Grunt", "Make It Funky", "Funky Drummer", "Funky President"), a can't-miss formula with Breed's voice over the beat, but the standout single from the album, "Ain't No Future in Yo' Frontin'", a certified club anthem, is an inspired take on two already-established sample sources ("Funky Worm" and "More Bounce To The Ounce"), but flipping the Zapp tune differently than listeners were accustomed to, providing a bass-heavy, atonal, lazy, and almost non-music backdrop for Breed's lyrics, which in turn ran a line between incisive, funky and a fast drawl, sounding like an edgier Tone Loc, with apparent influence by EPMD or Audio Two. The end result was the first Midwest-originated "hit" rap record, even the sampled artists (Zapp and the Ohio Players) were from Ohio. A surprisingly apt comparison is Cypress Hill's self-titled sample-heavy debut, also released in August 1991, both feature odes to marijuana, utilize a then-emerging "dusted" sample style, feature audible clicks-and-pops on their sample sources, and were the first major crossover successes from their respective regions. And they're both solid albums, start to finish, with minimal guest features (none). Breed died in 2008 from kidney failure, unexpectedly ending his well-respected career at 12 albums, and after having paved the way for other Midwest artists Eminem, Common, Slum Village, Bone Thugs & Harmony, Proof, D12, and others.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
SDGPUMP 1991LP
|
LP version. Snow Dog Records present a reissue of South Central Cartel's self-titled debut album, originally released in 1991. Los Angeles's South Central Cartel were pioneers in the West Coast gangsta rap genre, in the same league as Dr. Dre, NWA, Eazy E, Ice Cube, Compton's Most Wanted, Above the Law, Da Lench Mob, Mac Dre, and Kurupt. South Central Cartel (S.C.C.) was one of the first West Coast groups to gain national popularity in the immediate wake of groundbreaking and controversial releases by NWA and Eazy-E, and they're still etched in hip hop's collective memory for pushing the envelope with their unapologetic embrace of gang affiliation, automatic weapons, violent crime, and prison and car culture. South Central Madness is their debut album, originally released on Pump/Quality Records, with subsequent albums released on Def Jam West in a deal between their G.W.K. (Gangsters Wit Knowledge) imprint and the West Coast division of Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons's label. Over a now-classic bed of sample sources (Delfonics, The Temptations, Barry White, Funkadelic, more), with lyrical sample drops of their hip-hop contemporaries (MC Breed, LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Public Enemy, NWA, Geto Boys, Big Daddy Kane), lyricists Havoc, Havik, Prodeje, and Young Prodeje along with singer L.V. (later featured on Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise") deliver a solid bridge from hip-hop's established East Coast chart-dominating status quo toward the West Coast-centric "G-Funk era", Crips vs. Bloods subtexts and the definition of what it meant to be hard. Videos for the singles U Gotta Deal Wit Dis (Gangsta Luv)/Ya Getz Clowned (1991) and Papa Was A Rolling Stone (1992) feature up-tempo Havoc and Prodeje in black baseball caps, shades, and curls that Eazy-E should have trademarked, riding and further extending the ominous Compton MC legacy. "Ya Getz Clowned" actually samples MC Breed's "Ain't No Future In Yo' Frontin'", released just months before, tightening a food chain of club/radio DJ/producer sample/remix culture that was evolving fast in 1991. An interesting and maybe still unresolved footnote is that an unrelated up-and-coming duo from Queensbridge named Mobb Deep with members Havoc and Prodigy who would release their debut Juvenile Hell in 1993.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
SDGW 033LP
|
Repressed. Studies I-XVII for Samplers and Percussion is the debut collaborative LP by Rupert Clervaux and Beatrice Dillon, a minimal but diverse record taking in influences from techno, experimental music, ethnographic music, improvisation, electronic music, and field recordings. This collection of short, intuitive rhythm pieces was made sporadically over a period of ten months in 2013. A shared love of repetitive music is immediately apparent, from the transcontinental axis of electronic music that connects London, Berlin, and Detroit, stretching back to the experimental and minimalist composers of the '60s; Xenakis's Psappha, Reich's Four Organs, and Pierre Schaeffer's Etude Aux Objets all crop up in the preambles and debriefs that bookended recording sessions. Equally important here, though, are Dillon and Clervaux's more personalized respective interests in ethnic and world music (see Dillon's 2014 Folkways II compilation for The Trilogy Tapes) and free jazz and improvisation (see Clervaux's mixing and mastering credits for labels like Treader, OTOroku, Matchless, and Fataka). Add to these some more incidental discussions of, for instance, the Morning Ragas of Bismillah Khan, or 2010s releases by Untold, and you begin to get an idea of the varied listening syllabus behind this record. Recurrent methods naturally took shape; the sampler is used throughout as a digital mirror of the instrument being manually played (notably with the balafons of "I" and the vibraslap of "VIII"), triggered samples and played instruments engage in brashly improvised duets ("VI" and "XII"), and unpredictable, contextual sounds are allowed into the compositions, such as the muffled kick drum from the studio next door, the random squeak of a malfunctioning fire alarm in the hallway ("VII"), or the buzzing resonance of a snare drum at the back of the room ("VIII"). And by seeking to avoid making stylized cribs of any of their many influences, the music has the room to be both serious and, even in its more avant-garde inclinations, humorous at the same time ("X" and "XVI") -- it welcomes physical, emotional, and cerebral responses. Perhaps the only universal rule was the time spent on each Study; anything that didn't immediately work, or seemed to call too strongly for further embellishment, was summarily scrapped. And those that remain appear here in chronological order. Recommended if you like The Durian Brothers, Harmonious Thelonious, Moondog, Konono No.1, Morphosis, Tod Dockstader, Burnt Friedman, Folkways Records, etc. Includes download code.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
SDGINP 820LP
|
LP version. Limited physical edition of this Brooklyn duo's debut album, with a bonus track not available digitally. Snow Dog Records presents the limited physical edition of the debut album by Brooklyn R&B duo denitia and sene. Brooklyn duo denitia and sene (spelled in lower case) are part of the emerging vibrant movement of underground American soul musicians that embrace electronics, analog synths and MPCs. The Weeknd, The Internet and THEEsatisfaction all share the heady, soulful and innovative feel that permeates the debut album his and hers. Sultry vocals delivered by denitia with back-ups from the previously-unheard (on the microphone) sene combine for a result that will rank with debuts for years to come. The other, perhaps inadvertent element of his and hers is the downtempo/beat/programming backdrop provided by sene. A veteran of collaborations with Blu and Chief, both important figures in underground hip-hop, with past releases on Plug Research (who debuted Flying Lotus), sene is of the producer generation that includes Exile, Oddisee and Sa-Ra, yet his compositions on his and hers hark back to the lazy beats of Massive Attack and Portishead. denitia's warm tones compliment the heady mix, channeling Sade and even Usher. The effortless-sounding result falls outside all the easy categories. Elements of electronica recur, but the soul, electro and hip-hop references creep in and make you rewind.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
SDGPLG 149LP
|
Limited vinyl run of a digital release. Composed and performed on a hybrid digital/analog synth (Roland Juno 106) and the MPC, and textured with live instrumentation, Oakland-based musician Matt Tamarillo's (aka Shortcircles) debut full-length release is an impressive, lush electronic outing that recalls Boards Of Canada, Floating Points, and Gold Panda, while the beats are in a class with Teebs or Bonobo. It's a solid follow-up to the self-released Mapzzz EP from 2011. Featured on the record are the Bay Area's James & Evander, who lend to the layered, deconstructed, chill-wave result. Born and raised in Escondido, CA, enamored of hip-hop early on (Sadat X and early Common via AND1 mixtapes), and smitten by MF Doom in eighth grade, Matt Tamarillo has fused his early hip-hop influences with a knack for creating blissed-out bedroom productions. Inspired by Four Tet, Teebs, Floating Points and DJ Shadow, home-schooled in music by a huge library of vinyl accumulated in crate-digger fashion in San Francisco, the Shortcircles sound is hard to pinpoint. He describes it as a "peaceful sound." With that mindset, he set out to craft a full-length without having an outlet for it. When his friend Elephant & Castle heard the album he put Shortcircles in touch with his own label, Plug Research (Flying Lotus, Dntel), who promptly added him to the roster.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
SDGWC 1401CD
|
This is the first project from Brooklyn DJ/producer Pocketknife (Tambourine Dream, Flagrant Fowl) working under his new moniker Boonlorm. An 11-track album featuring "piano not piano" house music created solely with a prepared piano and raw drum programming that pays homage to Chicago, Detroit, and the 20th century avant-garde. String Figures is "screw music" in the most literal sense, with direct ties to the late composer John Cage, who created the first prepared piano pieces by inserting objects into the strings of a grand piano. The sound that resonates is a rich combination of tonal, atonal and percussive timbres. String Figures buzzes, vibrates, and jacks all at once. This CD edition contains six remastered tracks that appeared on a limited vinyl that came out in 2012, with four additional tracks from the same sessions, as well as a bonus track called "Hairdo Gone," which is an homage to Lil Louis' "Video Clash."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2LP
|
|
SDGBJ 1303LP
|
2021 repress; gatefold double LP version. This version is unmixed. Arguably one of the world's most important underground dance music producer/DJs Theo Parrish lends his hands to selecting and mixing a set of jazz and funk records licensed from and originally released on the Black Jazz label 1971-1976. World-renowned for his DJ sets and remixes/productions, this Chicago-raised artist is near impossible to pigeonhole. Revered by a wide spectrum of dedicated music fanatics, he is known for his otherworldly DJ sets, and his serious approach to DJing as an art form. Theo gives special attention to fellow Chicago musicians The Awakening (three consecutive tracks, four total on the mix), one of the best funk/fusion groups that the Black Jazz label released, and whose only output was on that label. The set itself is a masterful "two turntables all vinyl" execution, a format that Theo is dedicated to -- no mp3, no CD-R, just the vinyl palette for the true aural experience. Sit back and be drawn into his world -- hear things his way. Other artists include: Doug Carn, Gene Russell, Calvin Keys, Rudolph Johnson, and Walter Bishop Jr.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
SDGINP 820CD
|
Limited physical edition of this Brooklyn duo's debut album, with a bonus track not available digitally. Snow Dog Records presents the limited physical edition of the debut album by Brooklyn R&B duo denitia and sene. Brooklyn duo denitia and sene (spelled in lower case) are part of the emerging vibrant movement of underground American soul musicians that embrace electronics, analog synths and MPCs. The Weeknd, The Internet and THEEsatisfaction all share the heady, soulful and innovative feel that permeates the debut album his and hers. Sultry vocals delivered by denitia with back-ups from the previously-unheard (on the microphone) sene combine for a result that will rank with debuts for years to come. The other, perhaps inadvertent element of his and hers is the downtempo/beat/programming backdrop provided by sene. A veteran of collaborations with Blu and Chief, both important figures in underground hip-hop, with past releases on Plug Research (who debuted Flying Lotus), sene is of the producer generation that includes Exile, Oddisee and Sa-Ra, yet his compositions on his and hers hark back to the lazy beats of Massive Attack and Portishead. denitia's warm tones compliment the heady mix, channeling Sade and even Usher. The effortless-sounding result falls outside all the easy categories. Elements of electronica recur, but the soul, electro and hip-hop references creep in and make you rewind.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
SDGBJ 1303CD
|
2021 restock. Arguably one of the world's most important underground dance music producer/DJs Theo Parrish lends his hands to selecting and mixing a set of jazz and funk records licensed from and originally released on the Black Jazz label 1971-1976. World-renowned for his DJ sets and remixes/productions, this Chicago-raised artist is near impossible to pigeonhole. Revered by a wide spectrum of dedicated music fanatics, he is known for his otherworldly DJ sets, and his serious approach to DJing as an art form. Theo gives special attention to fellow Chicago musicians The Awakening (three consecutive tracks, four total on the mix), one of the best funk/fusion groups that the Black Jazz label released, and whose only output was on that label. The set itself is a masterful "two turntables all vinyl" execution, a format that Theo is dedicated to -- no mp3, no CD-R, just the vinyl palette for the true aural experience. Sit back and be drawn into his world -- hear things his way. Other artists include: Doug Carn, Gene Russell, Calvin Keys, Rudolph Johnson, and Walter Bishop Jr.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
SDGPLG 146LP
|
Released in collaboration with Plug Research. St. Louis soul meets L.A. beat scene. Coultrain (aka Aaron Michael Frison aka Seymour Liberty) continues the story started on his previous self-released album The Adventures of Seymour Liberty, which received an 89/100 on Okayplayer and made Soulbounce.com's best of 2008 list. Coultrain is a purist. Self-described as "not for these times," "a revivalist," and a "futurist," his spiritual, soulful, conscious R&B owes credit to Lonnie Liston Smith, Patrice Rushen, Miles Davis, and Stevie Wonder, also not of these times. For fans of Platinum Pied Pipers, Waajeed, DJ Spinna, Black Spade, Onra, and Bilal, this smooth, synth-laced and beat-rich album also recalls the ballads from the immediate post-Purple Rain Prince albums, updated with a progressive soul posture. Coultrain has been featured on releases by Sureshot Symphony Solution (Nature Sounds), Hawthorne Headhunters (Plug Research), and Platinum Pied Pipers (Ubiquity), and has an unreleased full-length collaboration with Detroit legend Waajeed. From the artist bio: "he is an era-less figure -- equal parts king and fool, a performer who may not know where he is, but yet can still reveal the now to his audience like no other magician before."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
SDGBJ 1221CD
|
Further distanced in time from John Coltrane's spiritual new-jazz and the influential second Miles Davis quintet, Doug Carn showed a close affinity with R&B when recording his fourth and final Black Jazz album Adam's Apple. Sharing his interest in R&B was a platoon of committed, resourceful jazz musicians including young star-in-the-making Ronnie Laws, who had worked with Earth, Wind & Fire before that band's big commercial breakthrough. Of the others, ace guitarists Nathan Page and Calvin Keys had acquired intimacy with the soulful properties of African-American music of the time, performing with the premier jazz organist Jimmy Smith. Musicians include: Gerals Brown (acoustic bass), Darrel Clayborn (Fender bass), Big Black (congas, percussion), Harold Mason (drums), Calvin Keys, Nathan Page (guitar), Doug Carn (keyboards, vocals), Dick Schory, Gene Russell (producer), Ronnie Laws (saxophone), Thurman Green (tambourine), John Conner, and Joyce Greene (vocals).
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
SDGBJ 1304CD
|
One of Japan's greatest DJ/producer/ record diggers is featured compiling, editing, and mixing tracks from the Black Jazz Record label. Known for his hip-hop aesthetic and exhaustive knowledge of more obscure genres (samba funk, Hawaiian breaks, Japanese gangster films), Muro's selection lends an alternative perspective to the label, veering significantly from the path that his predecessors in this series (Gilles Peterson and DJ Mitsu) laid down. It's been awhile since Muro's last commercial (officially-licensed) release available outside Japan, the Kings of Diggin' (2006) split with Kon & Amir on BBE. Since his days as a member of DJ Krush's crew in the early 1990's, Muro has become a celebrity in Japan, complimenting his DJ fame with an internationally successful clothing line (KING, INC.) and a lifestyle shop in Tokyo (Savage!). He has also released a steady stream of promotional "mixtapes" that showcase his wide-ranging DJ skills and musical knowledge, with separate volumes dedicated to funk, samba, disco, Michael Jackson, Roy Ayers, Hawaiian breaks, Japanese breaks, synth, boogie, dub, and more.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
SDGBJ 1301CD
|
In conjunction with Snow Dog Projects and Black Jazz Records, Jazzy Sport crew member DJ Mitsu The Beats has composed a seamless mix of tracks selected from the Black Jazz catalog. Well-known for his hip-hop mixes, Mitsu takes a 20+ year veteran DJ's perspective here, more often than not segueing complete tracks, as opposed to doubling and cutting breaks, for a 70+ minute trip through vintage 1970s spiritual jazz that a listener can lose themselves in. Of course, beats and breaks and funk abound here, but the emphasis of this mix lands on the original label's (Black Jazz) overall vibe, while highlighting the funkier edge to the catalog, one that has collectors chasing original vinyl copies to this day. This is part one of a three-disc mix series, coordinated with remastered reissues of the original albums on CD, featuring newly-discovered photographs and artwork. Features artists such as Doug Carn, Henry Franklin, Rudolph Johnson, The Awakening, Walter Bishop Jr., Chester Thompson, Gene Russell, Roland Haynes, Kellee Patterson and Calvin Keys.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
SDGBJ 1302CD
|
Gilles Peterson, well-known for his record label (Brownswood), BBC radio show, and deep crates, takes the challenge and pays tribute to one of his favorite labels, Black Jazz Records. As Peterson states, "I stumbled upon a Doug Carn album and my life changed." Not merely a "best of" the label, Gilles successfully links the disparate corners of a first-class soul/jazz/funk catalog (Black Jazz, 1971-1976) with tracks by Calvin Keys, Doug Carn, Kellee Patterson, and label-head Gene Russell, while making the listener nearly forget the thread that ties the tracks together. At the apex of the mix, he drops one of the all-time great spiritual jazz cuts "Higher Ground," its hymn-like quality a surprisingly apt lead-in to Cleveland Eaton's 9+ minute funk chant "All Your Lover, All Day, All Night," a tribute of a different sort -- and yet the mood remains constant. The mix could easily incorporate tracks by other early-mid 1970s like-sounding giants Tony Williams, EWF, Sugarcane Harris, or Funkadelic, but the label's five years of existence more than suffices to provide enough raw material for this devastating jazz/funk journey. This is part two of a three-disc mix series, coordinated with remastered reissues of the original albums on CD, featuring liner notes by Downbeat writers Frank-John Hadley and John Ephram, and newly-discovered photographs and artwork.
|
|
|
|