Soul Jazz Vinilo y CD

Review: An intriguing song is 'Aftershower Funk', the Latin American musician Joe Bataan's curt salsa single from 1974. Fresh, cologned, groomed, and with towel firmly wrapped round hair, Bataan's largely instrumental track is about as lightfooted as the sprightly young man he was, then at 34 years old. With heavy tin drum and cowbell clangings peppered throughout, a toe-tapping mood is sure to beset the listener. B-sider 'Fin' continues the mood, uniting percussion with piano, brass, whistle and rhythm guitar; a much fuller exercise in triumphant finality.

Review: Here's a killer reissue from the Soul Jazz archives which is finally getting a repress. It's hardly surprising when the reissue becomes as sought after as the holy grail original jam from 1970, a sublime instrumental anthem of soulful, skanking perfection with Cedric Im Brooks flexing his sax in glorious style over a beautifully rough n' ready rhythm. It was shortly after this recording was laid down Brooks went on to form The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari with Count Ossie, which tells you all you need to know about the heritage we're dealing with here.

Review: Drummer and composer David Lee Jr.'s acclaimed yet hard to find gem Evolution from 1974 is revered for the way it ingeniously melds the experimental spirit of John Coltrane and Sun Ra with the infectious rhythms of New Orleans. A standout among legendary New Orleans drummers, including Zigaboo Modeliste and Idris Muhammed, Lee Jr. showcased fiery innovation and unparalleled experimentation here on this 'lost classic' deep jazz album, originally released on Lee Jr.'s Supernal Records. It embodies a quest for creative progress and spiritual freedom and is rooted in the vibrant rhythms of New Orleans and Afro-Futurist musical concepts. It remains a rare and monumental achievement in the realm of deep and spiritual jazz, and here has been newly remastered for a limited magenta vinyl edition.

Review: Gilles Peterson's obsession with Cuba is long running and well documented over various compilations from across the years. His latest focusses on Experiments in Latin Music from 1975 to 85 and the title suggests it will be the first of an ongoing series on Soul Jazz, compiled in collaboration with Stuart Baker. Across three vibrant sides of vinyl all manner of grooves are offered up, some more traditional, some bravely out there, all drawing on the jazz, funk, Brazilian tropicalia and disco - mixed with classic Latin and salsa - which made it to the island in the 70s.

Review: Given that Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker's Cuba: Music and Revolution - Culture Clash in Havana is one of the standout compilations of 2021, hopes are naturally sky-high for this speedy sequel. Like its predecessor, volume 2 focuses on music and made and released on the Caribbean island between 1975 and '85, this time round largely focusing on rare fusions of salsa, Latin jazz, disco, soul and funk, mostly licensed from records that have never been available outside Cuba. It's another stunning selection all told, with highlights including the heady Cuban disco/salsa fusion of Orquesta Los Van Van, the fiery disco-funk of FA 5, the heavily percussive hedonism of Luis Carobonell and the fuzzy psychedelic rock of Grupo De Experimentacion Sonora Del ICAIC. In a word: essential.

Review: Legendary U.S jazz drummer and Black Panther Steve Reid and his band, The Legendary Master Brotherhood, are best known for their cult classic debut Nova from back in the late 70s. He also played in Sun Ra's Arkestra, was a Motown session drummer and backed James Brown at the Apollo. His other album Odyssey Of The Oblong Square is no slouch either though. It is a deep spiritual jazz classic from the master drummer and Vietnam conscientious objector. This special one-off reissue comes on lovely gold vinyl meaning those long and often fruitless searches for a hard to find original are no more.

Review: Legendary U.S jazz drummer and Black Panther Steve Reid and his band, The Legendary Master Brotherhood, are best known for their cult classic debut Nova from back in the late 70s. He also played in Sun Ra's Arkestra, was a Motown session drummer and backed James Brown at the Apollo. His other album Odyssey Of The Oblong Square is no slouch either though. It is a deep spiritual jazz classic from the master drummer and Vietnam conscientious objector. This special one-off reissue comes on lovely gold vinyl meaning those long and often fruitless searches for a hard to find original are no more.

Review: Soul Jazz Records is back with another crucial reissue, this time of Dedication by Tribe, a rare gem from the 1970s funk, soul and jazz era as a special limited-edition coloured vinyl for Black Friday 2024. It has been fully remastered and comes with original artwork and mirrors the eclectic sounds of Mandrill, The Blackbyrds and Kool and the Gang. Tribe, led by multi-instrumentalist Earl J Foster and producer Big Dee Ervin, blended funk, jazz, rock, Latin and soul into a singular style on the album which was originally released independently in 1977 and has been out of print for over 45 years. Dedication is a masterpiece that offers a deep, spaced-out fusion.

Review: Back in 2017, Soul Jazz offered up a superb box set of seven 7" singles featuring a wealth of 1970s Nigerian afro-rock, afro-funk and afro-disco. Since then the box has been changing hands for significant sums online, so they've bowed to pressure and decided to reissue it as a gatefold double album. It features the same combination of tracks from the likes of Geraldo Pino, Tony Grey, The Wings and MFB, though this time they've been included in a different order. For those interested in raw, raucous and life-affirming Nigerian dance music from the period, it should be an essential purchase (providing, of course, they don't already own the previous box set).

Review: The soul, sound and spirit of America's most vital, volatile and explosive revolutions curated by Soul Jazz as part of an art exhibition at London's Tate Modern Gallery; Soul Of A Nation explores how the political movement was translated and reflected by the musical at the time. A hugely creative and radical decade where art fused expressionism, poetry and spirituality, from the fiery jazz of Carlos Garnett, the raw vocal soul Oneness Of JuJu and of course the iconic sounds and ideas from Roy Ayers and Gil Scott Heron this marks the start of conscious black music.

Review: Another work of Soul Jazz curatorial gold: Nigeria Soul Fever is a detailed gatefold trip into one of Nigeria's richest chapters in music. Heavy trade restrictions allowed them to develop their own style without too much US or European influence and the result is an array of national talent who largely remained legends within their own borders. The range is mesmerizing; the sinewy synth and playground vocal Q&A of Benis Cletin's "Get Up & Dance", the ballroom disco soul of Tee Mac's "Living Everyday", the soulful afrofunk folk of Jimmy Sherry's "Nwaeze", the gut-punching power of Arakatula's album finale "Wake Up Africa". This is a treasure trove of unreleased gems that capture a truly unique time.