Juno Recommends Funk / Rare Groove / Reissues: October 2024

Review: Bowie is a new label that says it intends to "dig deep into the unreleased sides of pop superstars material from the past." The opening gambit is a strong one that should hook you in for more as it comes in the form of a 7" with two fine funk instrumentals, neither of which have been put out before. 'Golden Years' has lovely live drums and meandering guitar licks for some carefree listening, while 'Fame' has a deep cut groove that rises and falls in dramatic fashion with more neat and tidy riffs adding the detail next to the big licks.

Review: Recorded following the release of his near-perfect What's Going On Album, with production and arrangement by the Mizell brothers, 'Where Are We Going?' was one of Marvin Gaye's most prophetic singles. Another conscious soul gem - albeit one with a warmer and fuller sound than the distinctively sparse What's Going On album - it was intended to be the centre piece of an album called You're The Man - a set that was subsequently shelved and eventually posthumously released many years later. This Expansion 7" reissue replicates the track listing of the original Motown "45", pairing the brilliant 'Where Are We Going' with the heartfelt and life-affirming celebration of female empowerment that is 'Woman of the World'. An essential reissue!

Review: Mukatsuku is hurtling towards its 100th release but ahead of that comes another vital and hand-numbered 7'' featuring a brace of tunes taken from the Resolution album from back in 2003 by Sidewinder aka Reading-born Glasgow resident Alan Bryden. 'Stanway's Revenge' you might recognise from Groove Armada's Back To Mine compilation and here, in edited form, it is as lush as seductive as ever with the smoochy horns and gentle grooves. On the flip, 'Plain Song' has late-night chords making a sombre vibe while muted trumpet, organic percussion and classy strings all embellish the mood.

Review: Hey everybody, here's... Nautilus! This prolific contemporary jazz trio are at the top of their game. Regular contributors to their patrons Urban Discos and Oonops Drops, their repertoire extends to everything from full-length EPs' and albums' worths of original material to one-off guilty pleasure covers. This new rendition of Oasis' 'Wonderwall' definitely falls into the latter category. This slick new version abounds in gut-grasping major chords and spine-tingling drum brush caresses, and features passionately candid yet no less elegant vocals by Ray Yamaoda. On the B comes the comparatively funky knockout and jazz original, 'Through The Night'.

Review: Galaxy Sound Company's latest test pressing release features James Brown's 'Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose (Edit)' alongside Hampton Hughes' 'Web (Edit)' and is another doozy for edit lovers old and new. Side A of this 44th instalment offers a masterful breakbeat edit from JB's 'In The Jungle Groove' that brings forth the rhythm of Clyde Stubblefield and Bootsy Collins so is perfect for igniting a party. On the flipside, the jazzy grooves of Hughes' 'Web' which has been famously sampled by Hieroglyphics in 'Off the Record' is another floor filler while bonus beats from the A-side round out this essential double.

Review: Grover Washington Jr's Hydra makes its debut on 45, showcasing the jazz legend's saxophone brilliance over an irresistible groove, arranged by Bob James. Originally released in 1975, its iconic drums have been sampled over 100 times, including by ATCQ and Biggie, with Black Moon's How Many MC's featuring the famous bass hook. On the flip, Seals & Crofts' Sweet Green Fields also appears for the first time on 45. The duo's Californian soft rock sound is underpinned by a catchy bassline sampled by Busta Rhymes for his 1997 hit Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See.

Review: Vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson's 1965 debut, Dialogue, showcases his adventurous spirit. Already a versatile sideman on albums like Idle Moments and Out To Lunch, Hutcherson steps into the spotlight with a sextet featuring jazz luminaries Freddie Hubbard, Sam Rivers, Andrew Hill, Richard Davis, and Joe Chambers. Dialogue captures Hutcherson's more adventurous leanings, pushing the boundaries of his instrument and the genre. This Tone Poet Vinyl Edition, meticulously mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analogue tapes, offers a pristine listening experience. Pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket, this reissue is a must-have for any serious jazz aficionado. It's a chance to hear a master musician at his most innovative and expressive.

Review: An exceptional, almost entirely unreleased jazz-funk LP from Roland Haynes Jr., previously known only for a single 45 released in 1983 (included here). If you're thinking undiscovered James Mason, you're on the right track. This LP is huge, even by the highest standards. Until now, that rare single was the only material trace of Haynes and his band. However, Haynes meticulously documented his musical journey, recording both packed-out live gigs and studio sessions. The tracks on this release come directly from Haynes' personal archive, offering an incredible glimpse into his unreleased, carefully crafted studio work.

Review: At the start of 2024, BADBADNOTGOOD channeled their renewed creative energy into the Mid Spiral series. Fresh off a string of international tour dates and collaborations with artists like Daniel Caesar, Charlotte Day Wilson, and Turnstile, the Canadian trio - Al Sow, Chester Hansen, and Leland Whitty - returned to the studio with a vibrant sense of purpose. Joined by touring member Felix Fox-Pappas and key Toronto jazz musicians Kaelin Murphy, Juan Carlos Medrano, and LA's Tyler Lott, they embarked on an intensive recording session at Valentine Studios in Los Angeles. The result is the Mid Spiral series, initially released digitally in three parts - Chaos, Order, and Growth - and now available as a double LP and CD. These suites mark a return to their instrumental jazz roots while seamlessly blending elements of hip-hop, neo-soul, psychedelic and funk.

Review: The Allergies' latest offering is a double dose of sample-heavy goodness, a testament to their cratedigging prowess and knack for flipping vintage sounds into dancefloor gold. 'Knock Me Off My Feet' is a glorious reimagining of a late-sixties Southern soul 45. The original Motown-influenced arrangement is already a potent brew, but The Allergies inject it with a booster shot of fat drums, beefy bass, punchy percussion, and soaring horns, propelling it into another dimension entirely. It's a vibrant, energetic track that's sure to get any party started. On the flip side, 'Let Me Hear You Say' transports us back to the sweaty, pulsating energy of the early-80s New York club scene. Old-school MC chants intertwine with strutting disco loops, creating a sleek, slinky groove that's pure retro realness. The beat is infectious and relentless, a hypnotic pulse that demands movement. This 7" single is a delightful double-header of dancefloor delights, a testament to The Allergies' ability to breathe new life into vintage sounds. It's a must-have for any self-respecting vinyl enthusiast and a guaranteed mood-booster for any occasion. The Allergies have once again proven their mastery of the sample-based art form, delivering two tracks that are both respectful of their source material and utterly transformative. A joyous celebration of music's past, reimagined for the present.

Review: After a pause since last March, Soul Flip Edits returns with a fresh new logo and a highly anticipated new Soul Flip outing on 7" vinyl. To mark this comeback, the much loved label has reimagined a classic: Sam & Dave's 'Soul Man' and they have givien it a punchy update that stays true to the original's vibe. On the B-side, they've reworked 'Now That We Found Love' by The O'Jays by adding a smooth touch that promises to keep dancers moving. Both tracks bring timeless soul energy with an enhanced twist so are two perfectly "flipped" soul anthems ready for the party.

Review: Thr33-Thirty Seven Records is the vinyl-only issue of Aussie label Groovescooter, delivering rare, nigh mythical unicorns of the Latin funk-jazz variety, largely on 12". Now welcoming back polyrhythmic electronic music trio Oyobi to the roster with a fresh 7" with two tracks detailed, we're bowled over by this slice of true newness from the lifers. First up is a jubilant buzzer shared with Colombia's finest, pico sound system legend Kaiman Jimenez; 'The Bottle / El Trago' pairs crisp hatwork with two-stepping syncopations and mettalic additions. On the B-side comes an alternate version with Karen Lee Andrews reinterpreting the vox in English, which to us lime-juicers reveals a pensive take on alcoholism. No reason to not get up and dance, though!

Review: Chicago sax jazz outfit Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few share their new sonic eschatology The World Is On Fire, taking the uproarious global political mood of today and reinvesting it into one of the rawest and effective forms of direct action there is: jazz album releasing. Joined by Julian Davis Reid on piano, Jeremiah Hunt on bass, and Michael Ode on drums on their final release as this iteration of The Chosen Few, the album's ten tracks emit a clarion call for awareness on the pressing issues of our times. The speed and urgency of the time is heard coursing through the limbs of each player, as the likes of 'Trials And Tribulations', 'Amerikkka The Ugly' and 'The Hate You Give Is The Love You Lose' riff jazzhandedly and spiritually on themes of national restitution, while a soaring, unconditional spirit of harmony and goodness is implied to rise over and above this impulse, through scalene sax cadenza and filling drumkit batterings. "Through my music, I strive to capture and personify the profound impact of the challenges we face," says Collier.

Review: If Detroit as a collective mind knows what's good for it, it'll note 8 Miles To Moenart as one of its most prized dance albums. Tall Black Guy's debut LP hears a tenth anniversary reissue edition via First Word; the artist known personally as Terrel Wallace recalls his humble Detroit beginnings; he was raised on an early staple diet of Motown, and the phono-dubbed source material of which is here heard breezily funnelled and assembled into ten gaunt, sample-flipping house numbers. But this new edition doesn't fail to switch things up either, in fact presenting it almost as a different record; two new tracks feature, 'From Home To Work, And Back' and 'Running The Motor', on top of an alt-mix of the single 'Mon Amie De'troit', previously only available on 7" vinyl. "While it's nice to reminisce,", says Wallace, "it's important to look forwards, so I wanted to include something new here to represent my progression as an artist, so there's some new versions included, that I created with the help of some jazz musician friends of mine."

Review: The Fania label dives into Latin and Brazilian funk and jazz here on a special one-sided 7" that offers up Bobby Valentin's dancefloor classic 'Use It Before You Lose It.' This low-key cult classic has become hard to find at an affordable price and is a real favourite with those who know. It is three superb sweet minutes of busy and percussive funk rawness with shuffling samba undertones. The guttural vocals are impossible to genre and the jazzy keys are the icing on a fruity cake.

Review: Since 2019, Ryozo Band have attracted the attention of fans both in their native Japan and overseas, owing to their deft workings in the realm of jazz-funk and fusion, all tempered by a buzzing affective irreverence. In 2023, they released the 'Utopia' EP, and now follow up said award-winner with yet another, equally affecting EP-form homage to all things felicific and dopaminergic: 'Pleasure'. Kicking off with an impressive, minimalist keyboard exposition, the Ryozo formula soon unfurls as a counterpoint of uptempo wrist-flicked drumming and two horns in unison, overlaid further by sax, trumpet and synth saw. Heavily borrowing from rhythmic and vibeish trends in the current UK jazz scene, 'Pleasure' is a synaptic surge of various sonic serotonins and oxytocins, amounting to what is best describable both as a qualitative and quantitative hedonic calculation in jazz.

Review: Rising Canadian guitar dexter Bobby Bazini presents the 7" vinyl edition of one of his latest singles, 'Waterfallin'', which features none other than Gilles Peterson on an even rarer remix. With source material from one of five of Bazini's Spanish guitar debuts - 'Waterfallin'' having emerged from the affective foams and mistings-up of a friend, Connor, whose performance in front of him on the nylon guitar conjured images of a waterfall in Bazini's head - Peterson brings a folktronic verve to Bazini's originally vintage, Latin disco vision, dousing it in evermore pipe reverb as if to liken it to a steep cataract's rapids.

Review: Underappreciated tenorman Clifford Jordan made a notable entry from Chicago with three exceptional Blue Note sessions in 1957, including the self-titled album reissued here which features a stellar septet with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, John Jenkins on alto, Ray Bryant on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. This mono Tone Poet Vinyl Edition, produced by Joe Harley, is mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analogue master tapes so sounds superb and is a great way to dive into Jordan's significant contribution to jazz.

Review: A masterful ode to 70s soul, created in collaboration with Ray Hayden's Opaz, reviving the timeless spirit of rare groove, bringing forth deep rhythms, lush arrangements and vocals that feel like they're lifted straight from an era of analogue richness. Flip to the other side, 'Holding You Tight' drifts into a slower, entrancing space that closes with an instrumental coda; a feast for the senses. Mixed and mastered by Ray Hayden on vintage gear, this record's journey to vinyl delivers a truly transportive experience that's all warmth, soul and authenticity.

Review: The Jazzbois return to the studio to cook up a mellow, live-feel eleven-tracker, Still Blunted. Conjuring images of a proverbial "beat-kitchen" - visually somewhere between a sonic architect's atelier and a beanbag-laden jazz chillout room with the AC on full blast - the supergroup of Tamis Czirjak, Bencze Molnar, Viktor Sagi and Dominik Kosztolanszki prove adept at the ideal of unbothered cool central to much contemprary jazz fusion, yet neither do they hold back from the various effervescings and splurges of climactic energy to which said jazzy sound-form gives rise. 'Chrome' is one such track, peaking on a sizzling note of held noise-chord after a florid conflagration of sax and rapidfire drum fill.

Review: Marc Mac revives the Visioneers for Def Radio, a fresh spin on hip-hop classics reimagined through his distinct touch. On this CD release, Mac's vision moves beyond sampling to build layers of live instrumentation, giving these beats that loose, lagging swing hip-hop is loved for. Lead track 'The Look of Love' slips in smoothly with a three-note riff and laid-back beat, while 'Layin' Low, Gettin' High' and 'Cuban Candy Sticks' bring the groove. Def Radio feels like a soundtrack for mellow afternoons, blending nostalgia with newness in true Visioneers style.

Review: Rome's contemporary jazz maestro Stefano De Santis is back with his 'New Beginning' EP on the esteemed Quattro Bambole Music. Across four stunning tracks, Stefano's musicianship shines as he explores jazz-infused broken beat, boogie, deep house and lo-fi hip-hop. Highlights come thick and fast and include the mellow jazz landscapes of 'Roy,' the lush blend of slow-motion house and broken beats on 'Lie#3', the emotive, piano-driven 'Paths' and the 80s boogie vibe of 'Tokyo 80.' UK producer Sean McCabe mastered the EP but also delivers a deep house dub of 'Lie#3.'

Review: Heavy Jazz returns with Ellis Island, their latest instrumental offering following the success of 'Indian Rope Man'. This new release highlights Brian Auger's signature jazz prowess, delivering another intricate and powerful workout. The flip side honours the late Zoot Money with the first-ever 7" release of 'George Bruno Money'. This limited edition comes in a carefully designed sleeve featuring foldout flaps and a cutaway rear. It's an essential piece for jazz lovers and collectors alike, brimming with soulful rhythms and nostalgic nods to jazz legends.

Review: There are few more classic albums that are ripe for reissue on National Album Day than this one from British funk and soul pioneers Soul II Soul. It is now 35 years old but has more than stood the test of time and this picture disc version is the ultimate collectors piece featuring the group's signature Funki Dredd logo. Musically it has all the key singles 'Fairplay', which led the way for unparalleled chart success here and in the US, as well as follow-up, 'Feel Free', third single 'Keep on Movin'' and plenty more, all of which still get big reactions in any set to this day.

Review: One year on from making history as the first ever jazz band to be awarded the Mercury Prize, Ezra Collective are continuing to pump out their sensational, unique blend of jazz, roots, afrobeat and calypso. 'Dance No One's Watching' is the highly anticipated follow-up to the aforementioned award-winning 'Where I'm Meant to Be'. Set to release in September, the two singles 'God Gave Me Feet For Dancing' and 'Ajala' set the bar high. The prior is a jazzy, drum-led groove backing the buttery smooth Yazmin Lacey, a name to watch in the soul scene (famously she was scouted after being persuaded to sing on a drunken night out.) The track is a sunny interpolation of Cy Grant's 'Feeling Good' (though let's face it, Nina Simone truly made that record) with a quintessential British soul sound that brings to mind the stylings of Greentea Peng, early Jorja Smith work etc. To boil it down to 'easy listening' would feel reductive but, my God, it's easy on the ears for sure. Single number two, 'Ajala' is quite a stark contrast. Incorporating the hectic feeling of bebop classics, it's a blaring and fast-paced brass session with some great high-tempo percussive afrobeat. Taking its name from the Yoruba slang for fidgety, derived from the Nigerian journalist who one day decided to travel the world on a moped, the track does just that: it begs you to get up and move. If these two tracks are anything to go by, the world is set for a future award winner this Autumn.

Review: Jessica Lauren is a cornerstone of the UK jazz scene who has spent decades enhancing recordings and performances for legends like Jean Carne, Dexter Wansel and The Heliocentrics. As a core member of Emanative, her talents are well-known and her latest release, Film, affirms her status as a forward-thinking artist. Originally recorded in 1997 and released on CD in 1999, Film has been remastered and is now reissued on gatefold vinyl. The album's fusion of modal jazz, electronica, library music and field recordings feels remarkably current and blends acoustic and electric pianos, harpsichord and synths in a beguiling fashion. As such, Film cements Jessica's place as an innovative musical visionary.

Review: The album effortlessly merges 1960s cool with classical music elements, creating a distinctive and original sound. What stands out most is the harp's role as the lead instrument, bringing a fresh, mystical dimension to the jazz genre that is rarely heard in traditional quartets or duos. Throughout the record, Ashby demonstrates the harp's versatility in evoking different moods. In her rendition of Freddie Hubbard's 'Little Sunflower,' the harp replaces the trumpet's warmth and power with a cool, elegant touch that transforms the piece. Ashby's intricate harp work introduces new harmonies and thematic elements, particularly on the track 'Games,' where the rhythm section's pulsating beat allows the harp's melody to take center stage. Afro-Harping is a hidden gem, encapsulating the essence of 1960s jazz with a nod to Afrofuturism and innovation. The fact that this groundbreaking album is led by a woman, especially in a genre where women often take on vocal roles, adds to its significance. This album is highly recommended for both seasoned jazz enthusiasts and newcomers - a gateway to Ashby's remarkable discography.

Review: Fresh off the back of Kiwi soul superstar's Jamie And The Numbers' debut album You Don't Love Me comes a new follow-up 7", 'Seven Days Too Long', indicative of much more to come where that came from. Here the New Zealand vocalist comes again backed by Craig Lerwill, Geoff Lerwill, Mark Lerwill, and Simon Bayliss for yet another true-to-form 7"; they're no strangers to the format, having already released over eight of them via the Deltaphonic label. 'Seven Days Too Long' and 'Save You' are both bittersweet anti-canticles, dealing in themes of post-breakup obsession and longing, and reconciliation as healing.

Review: The Mercury Prize-winning British jazz group returns this September with the greatly anticipated follow-up to the award-winning 'Where I'm Meant to Be'. The first jazz group ever to win the prestigious accolade, their unique blend of jazz, calypso, afrobeat and roots has carried over into the two singles 'God Gave Me Feet For Dancing' and 'Ajala'.The former features up-and-coming star Yazmin Lacey, whose sudden scouting has made her a necessary one to watch in the British soul scene. Interpolating Nina Simones's 1965 classic 'Feeling Good', the track proposes the group's manifesto of dancing not just as an activity confined to the club, but as a God-given ability - an act of spirituality and community. 'Ajala', by contrast, is a fast-paced afrobeat-cum-bebop jam named after the Yoruba slang for being unable to sit still. Lucky fans were able to hear the recording live at the 'Beyond the Bassline' exhibition at the British Library - with some of the live adlibs and crowd work being included in the single version currently on streaming. Pressed on an indie-exclusive deep red stain disc.