Soul charts

Review: Sangre Joven was originally a side project that was set up to release covers of international disco and funk hits for Discos MAG. The collective was started in Peru in 1974 by sax player Nilo Espinosa who also assembled the Nil's Jazz Ensemble after spending years playing in a jazz quintet in Berlin. 'Zamba Zamba' is a tsingle from 1974 that is a true-to-the-original cover of 'Samba Samba' by Colombian brothers Elkin & Nelson. It brings plenty of exotic sounds with uptempo Latin vibes, elements of descarga and boogaloo and more all served up with a funky rock twist.

Review: Jazzman recently served up a big and freaky old collection of Halloween themed jazz sounds from Greasy Mike. Now the venerated digger and collector opens up his archives once more for another deep dive, this time under the heading of 'Shipwrecked On A Tropical Island.' As such these are Afro-tinged jazz sounds with shimmering steel drums and gently breaking waves. There are Afro-Cuban spinners like Phyllis Branch's 'Babalu' and samba shufflers full of soul. An epic and escapist collection that takes you to another world.

Review: This reissue of The Jungle Rat is the second in a series from Names You Can Trust. The first was a doozy, as is this one, and suggests their Panama Gold Series is going to be totally essential. This is the first time this particular holy funk grail has ever been reissued. It's raw, expressive funk with big rhythms, bigger horns and impassioned vocals with plenty of florid melodic motifs. On the flip, things slow down and get more deep and pensive with 'Have A Little Faith.' The belting vocals are repacked with real power and backed with talkative horns.

Review: American singer Tony Middleton and Latin jazz percussionist Bobby Matos put out their cult Latin funk and boogie gems 'Return To Spanish Harlem' and 'Already Satisfied' in 1968 on Speed Records. An original is incredibly hard to find and there is currently only one listed at L750 on second hand sales sites. Both tunes are pure dance floor heat with the lead horns making plenty of noise, the swinging rhythms sure to get you in a spin and the dancing keys the icing on the cake. Make sure you cop this genuine slice Harlem soul before its made rare again.

Review: A unique compilation for its quality, selection, sound and taste; only the best of Gladys Palmera's Collection, one of the largest real-world Afro-Latin music collections in the world, can be heard. With different versions of well-known songs, surprising displays of vocal mastery, crazed jam sessions, virtuosic instrumentation, gatherings-together of musicians unnoticed until now and rare songs by artists who've only just been found thanks to Palmera's archive. Tastemaker extraordinaire, Palmera herself spent hours searching, listening to, choosing, selecting and refining each track for inclusion on this comp, which collates recordings from the 60s and 70s made in different cities in Latin America, in styles ranging from the most traditional Antillean folklore to mixes and combinations with jazz, swing, twist, exotic and bossa nova.

Review: German DJ and producer Rainer Truby first unveiled the Glucklich series of compilations way back in the 90s, when fusions of Brazilian music, jazz, soul, funk and electronic were making their very first commercial splashes. This reissue of the sixth edition of the series, first released in 2003, hears 14 tracks of nu-Brazilian groove by the likes of Azymuth, Marcos Valle, Sabrina Malheiros and Celia Vaz. You're not likely to hear a psychedelic acid downtempo version of 'Everybody Loves The Sunshine' anywhere else any time soon.

Review: This is a new compilation album by the German DJ and producer Rainer Truby, coming as the sixth installment of the Glucklich series, which aims to showcase the best in contemporary jazz and jazz-adjacent music on an international scale. It's the latest to top up a longstanding series, which has been going since 1994. What one might call nu-jazz, broken beat and nu-soul appears across as string of contributions from the likes of Kyoto Jazz Massive, Nicola Conte, Jazzanova, Quantic and more on this slinky curator's gem.

Review: Fingier Records is a new Acid Jazz sub-label that is back with a brand new 7" from The Kevin Fingier Collective. It's a real dance floor heater that is perfectly aged and authentic as it mixes up Northern Soul and r&b with driving guitar rhythms and steamy piano chords. The horns are killer but the vocal is the icing on the cake. On the flip things get Latin flavoured with the bossa-tinged mod jazz of 'The Great Akerman' which is defined by lush flute and organ vamps. This is a great taster of the full length to come from The Kevin Fingier Collective.