The Sylvers – The Sylvers (1972) (Mr.Bongo 2019)

The Sylvers – The Sylvers Vinyl rip in high resolution FLAC |  300 dpi scans | Soul, Funk 1972 Pride Records || 2019 Mr.Bongo The early seventies were the heyday of “family” bands from The Jackson 5 to The Staples Singers to, um, The Partridge Family. But there many less famous groups like The Stairsteps, and The Sylvers, with their own patriarchal figure helping shape things, and several guys named Leon in the mix. Continue reading

James ‘Blood’ Ulmer – Are You Glad To Be In America? (1980) (Rough Trade – ROUGH 16)

James ‘Blood’ Ulmer – Are You Glad To Be In America? Vinyl transfer in  24-bit 192 khz |FLAC | Artwork at 300 dpi 889 MB (24/96) 1.56 GB (24/192)| FileFactory | Free jazz, Funk 1980 Rough Trade (UK) | ‘Porky Prime Cut’ Well, greetings for the “new” year of 2025.  That’s all I will say about that.  This is the second record from guitarist James ‘Blood’ Ulmer, who had once been in Ornette Coleman’s band.  While his debut featured Ornette… Continue reading

David Amram – Havana / New York (1978, Flying Fish FF-057)

David Amram – Havana / New York Flying Fish – FF 057 | Latin jazz The product of a cultural exchange between musicians in two different nexus cities for musical innovation, this is a solid listen featuring members of the pioneering Cuban group Irakere (on Side Two only) and New York salsa band Típica ’73 (on Side One only) along with Pepper Adams, Eddie Gomez, Candido, Ray Mantilla and others. Continue reading

Don “Sugarcane” Harris – Sugar Cane’s Got The Blues (1972) (MPS 1977)

Don “Sugarcane” Harris – Sugar Cane’s Got The Blues Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | FLAC |  300 dpi scans | Jazz, Rock 1.74 GB (24/192) + 934 MB (24/96) 1977 MPS Records  ||  Orig. rel. 1972 Is the stunning cover art the best thing about this record? The album documents when fiddle wizard* Don “Sugarcane” Harris played the Berlin Jazz Festival with a lineup that featured Robert Wyatt on drums and Volker Krieger on guitar.  Terje Rypdal also guests… Continue reading

Eddie Palmieri – Unfinished Masterpiece (1975) (Coco Records CLP 120)

Eddie Palmieri – Unfinished Masterpiece Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | FLAC |  300 dpi scans |  Salsa, Latin Jazz 1975 Coco Records CLP 120 Titling an album “Unfinished Masterpiece” sort of confirms my suspicious that Eddie Palmieri wasn’t exactly humble, and a difficult, if admirably uncompromising artist to work with.  His tendency to jump from one record label to another also reinforces it.  But any such hubris is more than justified by the likes of this album and others… Continue reading

Raulzinho – À Vontade Mesmo (1965) (1980 RCA Japan)

  Raulzinho – À Vontage Mesmo 1980 RCA Japan RCA – PG-143 ||  Orig. rel. 1965 RCA Victor (Brasil) Do you like trombone? Do you like JAZZ trombone? Do you like trombone as the lead instrument on every track of a jazz record? If you answered “no” to any of those questions, well I still encourage you to give this album a shot. Because although trombonist Raul de Souza is the leader, it’s the band itself who is the star… Continue reading