William S. Fischer - Circles 1970 (Embryo Records)

Label : Embryo Records

Value :

Super-righteous work from William S Fischer -- the ultra-hip arranger who was one of the most important forces in the late 60s underground soul jazz scene! Fischer is best known for his work with Eugene McDaniels, Eddie Harris, and Les McCann -- almost akin to the sorts of collaborative influence that David Axelrod had with Cannonball Adderley or Lou Rawls, but with a style that was decidedly darker, and trippier. This album's one of the few ever recorded under his own name -- originally done for the tripped-out jazz imprint Embryo, and featuring a unique blend of moog, strings, funk, and soul! Billy Cobham plays drums and percussion on the set, Bill Robinson sings on a few numbers, and Walter Sear adds in some extra moog next to Fischer's own work -- but the real brilliance comes from the overall concept -- funky one minute, laidback and trippy the next, very much in the spirit of some of the righteous crossover funk, soul, and rock recordings coming from McDaniels and Axelrod at the time! 

Taste :

William S. Fischer - Chains 

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By Electric Looser

Rupa Biswas - Disco Jazz 1982 (Megaphone)

Label :  Megaphone

Value :

A record that's got to be one of the coolest recorded in Calgary during the early 80s -- as it offers up a really unusual blend of modes that definitely lives up to its title, and which also borrows a bit from Indian music as well! Singer Rupa Biswas fronts a group that's equally strong on the instrumental tip, and which allow for plenty of room in the tracks to let the players stretch out and solo -- in a blend of keyboards and guitar with more traditional sarod and tablas! Rhythms are mostly upbeat, but in ways that are more interesting than the "disco" title implies -- especially in 1982 -- and the whole thing's maybe first a funky fusion record, which then borrows a bit from Indian percussion, then adds in Rupa's vocals in the lead.

Taste :

Rupa Biswas - Disco Jazz (full album)

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By Electric Looser

Tee Mac Featuring: Majorie Barnes - Night Illusion 1980 (S.K.J. Records)

Label : S.K.J. Records

Value :

The distinguished UK label has dug up yet another tasty soul nugget, this from Nigeria's disco boogie scene. Originally released in 1980, Tee Mac's Night Illusion is one of the foreign private press joints that even the most knowledgable diggers might not be aware of. Produced in tiny numbers on the enigmatic artists' own S.K.J. imprint, the record is still unknown outside its native country. Thankfully Soul Jazz comes to the rescue (again!) and gives this lost masterpiece a long overdue reissue. From Soul Jazz: "The timelessness of this soulful, ground-breaking funk jazz lost masterpiece Night Illusion leads to comparisons with James Mason’s legendary lost classic album Rhythm of Life, with his unique individualism and intensity hinting at the boogie funk of groups such as Mass Production and Slave so loved by artists such as Moodyman and Theo Parrish. While Fela Kuti is now a cultural icon of Nigerian music throughout the world, the recent crossover success of William Onyeabor shows just how much undiscovered Nigerian music remains waiting to be explored outside of the country. Tee Mac was born in Lagos, the son of a Nigerian princess and a Swiss diplomat. He picked up the flute at age 7 and ten years later was studying classical musical in Switzerland under his uncle the composer J.J. Direndirger. Returning to Lagos, Nigeria in 1970 he formed the heavyweight afro rock group Tee Mac and Afro Collection (which included Johnny Haastrup on keyboards and The Lijadu Sisters on vocals). This band was famously joined by the legendary Cream drummer Ginger Baker who came to Nigeria to play with them in 1971 (captured in the film Ginger Baker in Africa). At age 24, Tee Mac moved to Germany where he co-wrote and recorded the European disco group Silver Convention (whose ‘Fly Robin Fly’ became number one in the USA charts). This enabled him to return to Nigeria where he formed his own label SKJ Records to release his self-financed album Night Illusion...

Taste :

Tee Mac - A Certain Way To Go

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By Electric Looser

The Blackbyrds – Better Days 1980 (Fantasy)

Label : Echoes

Value :

Sweet warm grooves from the mighty Blackbyrds - a set that has George Duke working with the group, giving them some of the electric vibe of his own great work! The sound is less sharply funky than the early days of the group, but still mighty nice.

*This cover shows up for the first time on the web.

Taste :

The Blackbyrds - Do It Girl

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By Electric Looser

Masabumi Kikuchi Quintet - End For The Beginning 1975 (Philips)

Label : Philips

Value :

One of the most soulful sessions we've ever heard from Japanese pianist Masabumi Kikuchi -- a brilliant quintet outing that features some really great work on tenor and soprano sax! Kikuchi's piano is usually enough to grab our attention, but the album's got a great added bonus in the presence of Kosuke Mine on soprano sax and Hideo Miyata on tenor -- both players whose horns bring in some added sharpness to the date, and further underscore the spiritual elements in Kikuchi's music -- almost with the same mix of reeds and driving rhythms you'd find in the post-Coltrane work of Elvin Jones.

Taste :

Masabumi Kikuchi Quintet - Drizzling Rain

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By Electric Looser

Juan Pablo Torres - Cuba Disco 1984 (On The Rocks)

Label : On The Rocks

Value :

One of the most unusual albums ever cut by the legendary Latin jazz trombonist Juan Pablo Torres – and one of the grooviest, too – a special set that was recorded in Milan in the mid 80s, with backings by a sweet group who do a great job of blending Latin rhythms, clubby grooves, and just the right touch of jazz! Juan's on trombone in the lead – working with the Algo Nuevo group, which features the mighty Gonzalo Rubalcaba on piano, Fender Rhodes, and other keyboards – plus trumpet work from Adalberto Lore, who balances out Torres' sound in a really great way! There's both a mix of electric and acoustic percussion on the set, and the groove is more 80s club than 70s disco – and also comes across with the style of some of the more unusual hybrids that you'd be likely to find on the Areito label during Juan's generation in Cuba.

Taste :

Juan Pablo Torres - Bermuda Triangle

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By Electric Looser

Ike Reiko - You, Baby 1971 (Teichiku Records)

Label : Teichiku Records

Value :

A really unusual record from early 70s Japan -- one that features vocals from erotic actress Reiko Ike -- done in a mode that's very similar to her sexy appearances on screen! And in fact, when we say "vocals", maybe "vocalizations" should be more the case -- as many of these tracks are sexy grunts, groans, and exclamations -- mixed with a bit of more conventional singing -- set to instrumentation that's groovy and jazzy, and which has some nice soundtrack modes in the styles -- all almost like an audio equivalent of softcore porn, with a quality that's enough to make Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin blush! 

Taste :

Ike Reiko - Giddiness

Ike Reiko - Love Slave

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By Electric Looser