Grant Green – Alive! 2019 Blue Note 80 Series BST-84360 – Original Release 1970 Absolute barn-stormer of classic soul-jazz funk with a lineup that can’t be beat. Idris Muhammad is at his funkiest, but the other show-stealer is Ronnie Foster on the organ. Lean and mean stuff, if you dig this then you need to…
Chester Thompson – Powerhouse 2021 Real Gone Music RGM-1202 / Original Release 1971 Black Jazz This is a short (seriously short, only 27 minutes) but sweet LP from future Tower of Power and Santana organist, Chester Thompson. Not to be confused with the drummer Chester Thompson, who toured with Genesis in the post-Peter Gabriel…
It’s a total coincidence (or is it?) that my first two posts about the Black Jazz reissues have been by keyboardists, without any brass or reeds in their band. Weird, eh? This record, “2nd Wave” is great stuff by a one-and-done mysterious key tickler, Roland Haynes. There are actually two Fender Rhodes players here,…
Roy Ayers Ubiquity – Live At The Montreux Jazz Festival Original release 1972 Polydor (Japan) 1996 CD reissue Verve Records 314531641-2 Dipping back into the Roy Ayers Ubiquity catalog, this live performance hails from pretty early in their trajectory, and this version was expanded from the original LP to include 4 extra tracks for what…
Various Artists – Freedom Rhythm & Sound: Revolutionary Jazz & The Civil Rights Movement 1963-82 2009 Soul Jazz Records I apologize for my absence during these challenging times of turmoil. The truth is I am exhausted by everything happening in the world, but not anywhere near as exhausted as my black friends, especially those in…
Al Jarreau – Glow 1976 Reprise MS2248 This reissue, late-80’s German CD pressing There has been another round of recent deaths of talented people in the arts, and I might be tempted to print another list here or to work up a bunch of “tribute” posts on this blog. But my last post here…
