Alice Clark

 
Year : 2019/1972

Label : Wewantsounds/Mainstream Records

Genre : Soul

Style : Funk/Soul

Alice Clark's highly sought-after record finally reissued by french label Wewantsounds, is an absolute must-have for all the soul-jazz diggers and aficionados. Recorded in 1972 at the famous Record Plant studio in New York, this unfamiliar soul-jazz classic of the Mainstream Records label was a commercial failure. Produced by Bob Shad, owner of the label, arranged and conducted by Ernie Wilkins, it features the hottest jazz american session musicians among Cornell Dupree (eg), Bernard Purdie (ds), Joe Newman (tp), Ernie Hayes & Paul Griffin (ep, org).  Titles include three songs written by Bobby Hebb (Charms Of The Arms Of Love, Don't You Care, Hard Hard Promises), Jimmy Webb's "I Keep It Hid", the single "Never Did I Stop Loving You", and Petula Clark's "Looking At Life".

Piero Piccioni - Musica-Amore

Year : 2016/1972
Label : Cinedelic Records/General Music
Genre : Stage & Screen, Jazz, Soul
Style : Soul Jazz, Easy Listening

Maestro Piero Piccioni was an italian pianist, conductor & composer, in charge of over 300 movie soundtracks, influenced by iconic film directors among Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder or John Ford. He worked for the masters of italian cinema during the golden years of Cinecittà including Michelangelo Antonioni, Francesco Rosi, Luchino Visconti, Bernardo Bertolucci, Roberto Rossellini, Dino Risi. Piccioni’s first score for a feature film was Gianni Franciolini’s "Il Mondo Le Condanna" in 1952, but his most famous work were for the movies “Swept Away” (1975), “Salvatore Giuliano” by Francesco Rosi (1963) and "Lo Staniero" by Visconti (1967). He worked also on italian variation of "Le Mépris" soundtrack (original music by Georges Delerue) and OSS 117. "Musica-Amore" brings together several movie themes and others jazz soundscapes composed for various italian films recorded between late sixties and early seventies, including two songs "Right Or Wrong" & "Once And Again" featuring his regular vocalist Lyn McDonald aka Shawn Robinson.

Spanky Wilson - Doin' It

Year : 2017/1969
Label : Soul Brother Records/Mothers Records
Genre : Jazz, Soul
Style : Soul Jazz, Funk/Soul

The reissue of the "most wanted" album recorded by Spanky Wilson in 1969, including Soul Jazz tunes (Don't Mess With Bill), funk classics (You, Then I'll Be Happy), the DJ favorites "Sunshine Of Your Love" (cover of Cream) and "Light My Fire". Spanky Wilson is an american Soul & Jazz songtress from Pittsburgh who was backing vocalist for some great jazz names among others Duke Ellington, Stanley Turrentine, Jimmy McGriff or Funk/Soul artists as Marvin Gaye and Sammy Davis Jr. After a long absence, she's back under the spotlights with the album "I'm Thankful". Released in 2006,  the album was produced by the famous British DJ, Will Holland, and supported by The Quantic Soul Orchestra. 

Peter Herbolzheimer - Soul Puppets (Unreleased Jazz Funk Library)

Year : 2011
Label : Sonorama
Genre : Jazz
Style : Latin Jazz, Jazz Funk

This compilation brings together various straight-ahead-Jazz tracks incorporating funk, soul & latin music elements. Recorded by the Orchester Peter Herbolzheimer between 1970-1975, most of the tracks were released on German music library labels including Altaxon. Peter Herbolzheimer was a german band leader, trombonist and arranger, member of jazz rock group "Free Orbit" and best known as the conductor of the trans-european Big Band, the Rhythm Combination & Brass. Founded in 1969, mostly actives during the seventies, Rhythm Combination & Brass has incorporated some prestigious musicians such as Art Farmer, dansih trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg or belgian guitarist Philip Catherine. The group has regulary performed in various german telivision shows and radio programs, has supported visiting american musicians in jazz gala such as Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Sammy Davis Jr., Dizzy Gillespie or european jazz like Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. In the late seventies the band toured with the biggest jazz stars such as Esther Phillips, Stan Getz, Nat Adderley, Toots Thielemans or Grady Tate.

Ode To Blue Note by Be Hard Bop

 

Tribute to Blue Note Records, the most famous american jazz label established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Recorded between 1966-1975, these thirteen tracks include various styles of Jazz produced by the Blue Note label, from Latin to Soul by Funk featuring Ronnie Foster, Bobby Hutcherson, Grant Green, Lee Morgan, Brother Jack McDuff, Bobbi Humphrey, Reuben Wilson, Alphonse Mouzon, Candido Camero & Duke Pearson. Compiled & mixed by Be Hard Bop.

Pierre Dutour Et Son Orchestre - Dance And Mood Music Vol. 9

Year : 2009/1969
Label : Vadim Music/Chappell
Serie : Dance And Mood Music
Genre : Jazz, Music Library
Style : Jazz Funk, Soul Jazz, Pop

Iconic french music library record from the Chappell sessions, among the best of the serie, performed by french trumpeter & conductor, Pierre Dutour. In the early sixties, Pierre Dutour joined the "Jeunesses Musicales De France" conducted by Claude Bolling and later was enrolled by him in his sextet, he was also a regular sideman for french singer Nino Ferrer and worked for various french entertainers. Associated to his stooge, Jack Arel, for composing, he participated to various Chappell sessions recordings, but not only, the French Music Library labels "Patchwork" & "Telemusic" bear likewise his signature. Titles include "Tracking" (the reminiscent of Blaxploitation soundtracks), the furious jerk "Following You", the killer groove "Business Is Business" and "Leaving To-Morrow" sampled by Howie B. for the song "Switch" (extracted from "Turn The Dark Off" released in 1997). All tracks composed by Pierre Dutour & Jack Arel except High Fly, The Brass March by Garry Bellington.

Raulzinho - Impacto 8 ~ International Hot

 

Year : 1968

Label : Equipe

Genre : Jazz, Funk/Soul, Latin
Style : Soul Jazz, Boogaloo, Bossa Nova

Amazing Samba Funk/Soul album by Raul De Souza alias Raulzinho, under the name Impacto 8 group featuring brazilian singer Betinho, drummer Robertinho Silva & saxophonist Oberdan from famous Som Imaginário & Banda Black Rio bands. Raulzinho is a jazz trombonist coming from Rio De Janeiro, one of the greatest player of his generation who started as professional alongside the legendary guitarist Baden Powell and evolved in Sérgio Mendes & Bossa Rio. Since the seventies, he is a session musician in demand playing for american jazz fusion group "Caldera" and others international artists such as A. C. Jobim, Airto Moreira, Hermeto Pascoal, Sonny Rollins, Cal Tjader, Jimmy Smith and Sarah Vaughan. In 1975, with "Colors" (produced by Airto Moreira), he embraces an international career, signing on Milestone & Capitol Records and released two albums produced by George Duke, "Sweet Lucy" and "Don't Ask My Neighbors" (1977-1978). Titles include the club killer "Two Beat Manchild (Mundo Louco)", western pop hits "Spinning Wheel", "You've Made Me So Very Happy", the James Brown funk "I've Got The Feelin'", the jazz standards "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" and "Cantalope Island". 

New Stream In Jazz Vol. 6

Compilation series dedicated to the golden era of the japanese jazz scene through the years 60's-70's. This volume mixes Contemporary Jazz, Jazz Samba & Soul Jazz, featuring Terumasa Hino, Sadao Watanabe, Isao Suzuki, Kimiko Kasai & Gil Evans, Mieko Hirota with Billy Taylor Trio, Yoshio "Chin" Suzuki & many more... All tracks recorded between 1967-1973, compiled & mixed by Be Hard Bop.

New Stream In Jazz Vol. 5

Compilation series dedicated to the golden era of the japanese jazz scene through the years 60's-70's. Following the volume 1, the volume 5 bringing together other titles ranging from Soul Jazz to Hard Bop by Post Bop style, including various jazz standards and original compositions by Kazuo Yashiro, Yuji Ohno, Norio Maeda, Hiroshi Suzuki, Takehiro Honda, Shungo Sawada & Takeru Muraoka, Jake H. Conception, Nobuo Hara & His Sharps & Flats, Akira Ishikawa, Takeshi Inomata, Keitaro Miho, The Freedom Unity. All tracks released between 1969-1972. Compiled & mixed by Be Hard Bop.

Mulatu Astatke Featuring Fekade Amde Maskal ‎- Yekatit Ethio-Jazz

Year : 2013/1974
Label : Heavenly Sweetness/Amha Records
Genre : Jazz, World
Style : Soul Jazz, Ethio-Jazz, Afro-Jazz

"Yekatit Ethio-Jazz" was originally released in 1974 on Ethiopian label, Amha Records, bringing together various tracks recorded by Mulatu Astatke from 1969 to 1974 featuring his fellow countryman, the saxophonist Fekade Amde Maskal. Formed at Boston's Berklee College of Music during the sixties, Mulatu Astatke is a multi-instrumentalist, founder of the Ethio-Jazz typical genre, the first to combine traditional ethiopian sound with Jazz & Latin music. Indeed, in 1966, Mulatu & His Quintet have recorded in New York City, two Afro-Cuban Jazz albums (Afro-Latin Soul, Volumes 1 & 2), which lead him to introduce latin & western instruments in the popular Ethiopian music. Mulatu has gained an international recognition many years later, first  thanks to the Parisian label Buda Musique, which selected some of his best songs included in the volume 4 from the Éthiopiques compilation series, a volume entirely devoted to him ("Éthiopiques Vol. 4 : Ethio Jazz" & "Musique Instrumentale 1969-1974"). In U.S., three of his compositions including "Yèkèrmo Sèw" and "Gubèlyé" were selected for the "Broken Flowers" original soundtrack in 2005, directed by Jim Jarmusch. At last, various great names of Hip-Hop sampled his songs such as Nas, Cut Chemist from Jurassic 5, Quantic or Madlib. All tracks composed by Mulatu Astatke except "Asmarina" by Fekade Amde Maskal, "Ené Alantchi Alnorem" by Girma Hadgu, the traditionals  "Sabyé" & "Gubèlyé".

This Is Soul Jazz ~ A Tribute To Hammond Organ

Tribute to the legendary Hammond B3, the organ star, in compilation of thirteen tracks performed by the main actors of the Soul Jazz style featuring Clarence Wheeler & The Enforcers, Jimmy McGriff, Brother Jack McDuff with David "Fathead" Newman, Odell Brown & The Organizers, Shirley Scott & The Soul Saxes and more. All tracks released under famous Atlantic, Blue Note or Prestige labels, recorded between 1966-1973. compiled & mixed by Be Hard Bop.

The Cast Five - Popsound N. 1

LISTEN SAMPLE

 

Year : 2014/1971

Label : Sonor Music Editions/Flirt Records
Genre : Jazz, Stage&Screen
Style : Jazz Rock, Soul Jazz, Psychedelic

Out of the darkness thanks to the "Speedball Experience" released in the mid 90's, compilation of obscure pop jazz songs extracted from early 70's italian music library, including "Diatomea" & "Gospel 71". Originally first released on "Flirt" records in 1971, "Popsound N. 1" was finally reissued by the Sonor Music Editions, a label dedicated to the italian library music. It includes psychedelic grooves (Quadrante, Diatomea, Esse 4), Soul Jazz expressions (Rifrazione, Conker) and Heavy Funk sounds (Pacific 2000, Gospel 71). All tracks are performed by a trio of italian composers called "The Cast Five" formed by Ernesto Nicelli, Stellio Subelli & Pasquale Castiglione.

Brother Jack McDuff - Moon Rappin'

Year : 1970
Label : Blue Note
Genre : Jazz
Style : Soul Jazz, Jazz Funk

Recorded in four days in New York, december 1969, "Moon Rappin" is a typical Soul Jazz-Funk album of its time, featuring Richard Davis, Joe Dukes and the voice of Soul/Jazz songstress Jean DuShon. "Moon Rappin" explores the space soundscapes including reverb effects, straight-ahead jazz codes, bluesy inspirations. An iconic album sampled many times by various Hip-Hop artists such as A Tribe Called Quest on "Scenario" (The Low End Theory - 1991), which contains a sample of "Oblighetto", or more recently the eponymous track by the Hip-Hop collective from Brooklyn "Pro Era" on "Vinyls" (P.E.E.P: The aPROcalypse - 2012). All tracks produced & arranged by Brother Jack McDuff.

MUSICIANS : Brother Jack McDuff - organ - Bill Phillips - tenor saxophone, flute - Richard Davis - bass - Jerry Byrd - guitar - Joe Dukes - drums - Jean DuShon - vocal

Groove Holmes - American Pie

Year : 1972
Label : Groove Merchant
Genre : Jazz
Style : Soul Jazz, Jazz Funk

"American Pie" is representative of influences to the British Acid Jazz movement in the nineties, whose the fatherhood could be return to Holmes. An album in the same way as his previous "Comin' On Home" released on Blue Note records, including stoned-soul grooves and heavy funk, his first recording for the label of Sonny Lester, "Groove Merchant". Titles include "American Pie" by Don McLean, the Sonny Rollins' standard, "St. Thomas", the demonstrative "Fingers" and a variation of the Jimmy Van Heusen's "Here's That Rainy Day". 

MUSICIANS : Richard "Groove" Holmes - organ - Larry Willis - electric piano - Gerald Hubbard - guitar - Jerry Jemmott - bass - Kwasi Jay Ourba - drums, congas, bongos

Lou Donaldson - Say It Loud !

Year : 1969
Label : Blue Note
Genre : Jazz
Style : Soul Jazz

More pop language for Lou Donaldson, using the varitone process, an amplification system for saxophone. Lou Donaldson Quintet featuring Charles Earland, Blue Mitchell, Jimmy Ponder, and his sideman, Idris Muhammad, play under the Blues/Boogie mode, making of "Say It Loud!" one of his funkiest album. The first side is devoted to covers songs including the opening track, the iconic protest song of James Brown and two great jazz standards, "Summertime" revisited in a latin variation and "Caravan", while the other side consists on two originals (Snake Bone, Brother Soul) composed by Lou Donaldson.

MUSICIANS : Lou Donaldson - alto saxophone - Blue Mitchell - trumpet - Charles Earland - organ - Jimmy Ponder - guitar - Idris Muhammad - drums

Takehiro Honda & His Orchestra - What's Going On

Year : 1971
Label : Trio Records
Genre : Jazz
Style : Soul Jazz, Jazz Funk

"What's Going On" is the sixth studio album and the first recorded in the U.S.A. by jazz pianist Takehiro Honda with arranger Teddy Adams, his first incursion in the R&B genre. The Takehiro Honda's orchestra is based on japanese-american line-up featuring Ken Lawson, James Cheek, Kohsuke Mine & Tetsuo Fushimi. "What's Going On" includes iconic funk/soul gems from the Impressions (Check-Out Your Mind), James Brown (Ain't Funky Now), Marvin Gaye (What's Going On), Otis Redding (Dock Of The Bay), jazz covers from Eddie Harris (Sham Time) by the Crusaders (Greasy Spoon) and variation on "Ain't Tell You A Good Way But" composed by Takehiro Honda. All tracks arranged by Terry Adams.

MUSICIANS : Takehiro Honda - organ, piano & electric piano - Teddy Adams - trombone - Ken Lawson - guitar - James Cheek - drums - Tamio Kawabata - bass - Yuji Imamura - congas - Takuji Kusumoto - drums - Kohsuke Mine - alto saxophone - Kazunori Takeda - tenor saxophone - Tetsuo Fushimi, Shuzo Morikawa - trumpet

Harold Alexander - Sunshine Man

Year : 1971
Label : Flying Dutchman
Genre : Jazz
Style : Soul Jazz, Funk/Soul

Soul Jazz masterpiece including the two iconic "Mama Soul/Sunshine Man" tracks by saxophonist/flutist Harold 'Jazzbo' Alexander featuring pianist Neal Creque, drummer Bernard Purdie, percussionist Richard Landrum & bassist Richard Davis. Harold Alexander shared stage alongside Elvin Jones, Jimmy Davis or Eric Dolphy, session musician in groups Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers with Neal Creque & Richard Landrum, and was sideman for organist Big John Patton during the "Understanding" & "Boogaloo" sessions recordings. He released two others albums during this period, "Are You Ready ?" (live recording at the Montreux Jazz Festival) and the "Raw Root" in 1974, before leave the world of music. All tracks composed & arranged by Harold Alexander.

Henry Cain - The Funky Organ-ization Of Henry Cain

Year : 1968
Label : Capitol
Genre : Jazz, Soul
Style : Soul Jazz, Funk/Soul

"The Funky Organ-ization" is a cover album from Jazz to Soul by Rhythm&Blues including a funky set of eleven Soul Jazz tracks recorded in 1967, performed by session musician, organist Henry Cain, produced by David Axelrod and arranged by saxophonist Oliver Nelson. The tracklist consists of jazz covers "The Way I Feel" of John Patton, "I'm On My Way" of Cannonball/Nat Adderlay Jr., Soul classics "Respect" & "Sunny", Oliver Nelson's "Critic's Choice" and original composition by Henry Cain "Horror Scope". All tracks arranged by H. B. Barnum & Oliver Nelson.

MUSICIANS : Henry Cain - organ  - James Bond - bass - Earl Palmer - drums - Arthur Wright & Howard Roberts - guitar - H. B. Barnum, John Kelson & Plas Johnson - saxophone - Fred Hill & Tony Terran - trumpet - Gary Coleman & Jerry Williams - vibes & percussions

George Benson - Body Talk

Year : 1973
Label : CTI
Genre : Jazz
Style : Jazz Funk, Soul Jazz

"Body Talk" is a Soul Jazz album including the heavy Funk expressions of James Brown's groove featuring associated guitarist Earl Klugh, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Jack DeJohnette & pianist Harold Mabern, all conducted by the leader of the James Brown revue, Pee Wee Ellis. Titles include pure Funk/Soul tracks arranged by Pee Wee Ellis (the opening song "Dance", "Plum" & the title-track), the Soulful song by Donny Hattaway's "When Love Has Grown" and the climax "Top Of The World". All tracks composed by George Benson except the one mentioned produced by Creed Taylor, recorded at studio Rudy Van Gelder. 

MUSICIANS : George Benson, Earl Klugh - guitar - Ron Carter,  Gary King  - bass - Jack DeJohnette - drums - Harold Mabern - electric piano - Mobutu - percussion - Frank Foster - tenor saxophone - Dick Griffin, Gerard Chamberlain - trombone - John Gatchell, Jon Faddis, Waymon Reed - trumpet, flugelhorn

George Benson - Beyond The Blue Horizon

Year : 1971
Label : CTI
Genre : Jazz
Style : Soul Jazz, Hard Bop

First album for the CTI label, the Soul Jazz album "Beyond The Blue Horizon" is a high point in the George Benson's career featuring two rising stars of Jazz, the drummer Jack DeJohnette (from John Coltrane Quintet) and Ron Carter (Miles Davis Quintet), supported by Clarence Palmer on Hammond B3 organ, Albert Nicholson & Michael Cameron on percussion. The album showcases incredible guitar skill variations of the George Benson's guitar playing including a funky version of the great Miles Davis' jazz standard "So What?", the Luiz Bonfa's Bossa Nova tune "The Gentle Rain" and Afro-Jazz track "Somewhere To The East". All tracks produced by Creed Taylor and recorded at studio Rudy Van Gelder.