Jazzman 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Wild and crazy sitar-laced versions of these 2 festive tunes.

Review: Jazzman has excavated another jazz "holy grail" here - one of the few albums ever recorded by San Francisco-based pianist (and local hero) Al Tanner. It was initially released back in 1967 by the obscure, but arguably significant, Touche label, and while popular within Californian jazz circles, garnered little exposure or sales elsewhere. It remains a fantastic album, with Tanner being joined by drummer William 'Smiley' Winters, bassist Edgar Williams, saxophonist Roy Henderson, and flautist/trumpeter George Alexander to attractively dance through a range of pleasingly breezy, musically detailed modal workouts. It's a genuinely impressive album all told, so praise must be given to Jazzman for unearthing and reissuing it.

Review: Arguably slightly overlooked on its 2016 digital download release, the debut album from New York improvisers Amirtha Kidambi and the Elder Ones is undoubtedly one of the most inspired debuts of recent years. It's great to see Jazzman pick it up for a vinyl release, because its unique combination of influences - Indian and South Asian music, spiritual jazz, avant-jazz, modal jazz and freestyle improvisation - makes it one of the most remarkable jazz releases of recent years. There's something particularly arresting about epic A-side "Treta-Yuga", where squally, high-octane horn solos ride a metronomic, seemingly never-ending bass loop and wild drums, though it's the spaced out flipside composition - all droning Indian tones, echo-laden vocals and off-kilter drums - that makes the greater impression.

Review: "Get Into Your Life", despite being a masterful piece of late 70's Soul, failed to hit and sank without a trace at the time. Since then it has been a big track in soul clubs in the US and UK. This track has all the right ingredients - pleading vocal, soaring strings and a bumping beat. The b-side is more of a mid-tempo affair, in the style of the best old 'ravers' tunes as spun on the soul scene. Both sides are ideal for today's soulful dancefloors.

Review: On his latest full-length excursion, British jazzman Nat Birchall has taken the bold move of replacing a piano with a harmonium. The move is reflective of his growing interest in the drone-heavy sound of Indian classical music, with the Harmonium's wheezing, modulating, held-note sound adding an authentically meditative feel to the album's raga-inspired spiritual jazz movements. Naturally, there are harmonium solos, too, and these dizzying, accordion-esque interludes, combined with freestyle drum solos, Birchall's distinctive sax playing and adventurous double bass parts, help to create a genuinely psychedelic and spiritual mood. It's adventurous stuff, but also hugely engaging and entertaining.

Review: Contemporary jazz saxophonist Nat Birchall prefers to do quality over quantity. The talented instrumentalist first appeared in 1999 but has only released a handful of album to date, with the latest two - including this new album - coming out on London's excellent Jazzman imprint. Birchall really does make that sax scream and suffer, and the opener "Nicha's Dance" has to contain the best sax solo that we've heard in a long while on these charts. "A Prayer For" is moodier but nonetheless brilliant in its execution, while the lead tune "Akhenaten" is funkier and down to earth, leaving "Many Blessings" to deliver the late night G&T vibes. Chapeau..!

Review: The elusive and mysterious Special Release album by the Brief Encounter from North Carolina has eluded many an intrepid record collector over the years and if you did managed to source a copy it might cost you up to L1200! This fantastic re-issued limited edition Jazzman album displays a wide showcase of sublime talent from funky rare grooves, eal soul ("Visions" and "Just One Moment"), boogie ("Get A Good Feeling") and beautiful ballads. Catch it while it's hot!

Review: There's something about the guitar line that introduces "So Very Hard To Make It (Without You)", not just the notes but the way it's played, that tells you you're about to hear something special. Way before the song has even begun, it's subtle, indefinable qualities like this that separate good music from bad, and which also separate merely good music from that which is excellent. Indeed, we'd like to think that this is a truly magnificent piece of deep soul. Jazzman Records presents this top Paul Burton release.

Review: Super-rare Latin funk alert! This is one of Antonio's earlier recorded works before adopting the stage name Tony Amaro shortly after this was released in 71 on Universal International. The title track is a heart-hitting slice of soul as Antonio paints a picture of dignified poverty in a manner that's not far off Marvin Gaye. His true Latin spirit comes through more on the B as "Why Can't I Have You" as he croons with multi-lingual longing over a soft organ and light guitar arrangement. Beautiful.

Review: 'Get It Off The Ground' has been a big spin down at Deep Funk for years - a low-slung soul/boogie monster that works every time and crosses the divide between funk, disco and 80s sounds. As a bonus you get the 7" version and the full 12" mix - double the pleasure! 'Test Drive' is a modern soul anthem, much sought after and with original copies fetching large sums. Joe's insightful lyrics push the analogy of test driving a car with casual sex about as far as taste allows, and possibly further. The boogie grooves are reminiscent of the best the 80s had to offer - clubs full of chrome and glass, slap bass and other delights that cannot fail to rock the floor! Enjoy the next instalment of Jazzman 12"s for your dancing pleasure!

Review: Stone cold classic! "Pull My Coat" has been an anthem in funk and hip hop clubs for as long as anyone can remember.

Review: This is an official first time reissue of Philadelphia musician Ron Everett's 1977 album. With its lack of distribution, unassuming sleeve and DIY ethic, The Glitter Of The City never received the full attention it deserved, but its style of funky and bluesy soul/jazz is a right classic for those in the know and can now reach a wider audience thanks to Jazzman Records. With restored artwork and audio, it includes three extra bonus tracks taken from an unreleased master reel of a subsequent album.

Review: The latest volume in Jazzman's ongoing "Holy Grail" series of reissues is easily amongst the rarest things the lauded label has licensed. Only a handful of copies are known to exist, primarily because the private press album was released to tie in with LaVice Hendrick's ill-fated and poorly attended musical, Two Sisters From Bagdad, which only ran for two weeks at Detroit's Bethel A.M.E church back in the 1970s. Musically, it's a great set, though, with composers E.J Garrison and Rhodia McAdoo realizing Hendrick's vision via entertaining tracks that variously touch on jazz, soul, gospel and, in the case of sought-after standout "Though's Were The Days" [sic], the heaviest funk known to man.

Review: As well as being an incredible album title, Girl & Robot With Flowers was a true delight as a stand-alone long player with reprises, narratives and twists throughout. Taking the tunes out of context for a remix EP may have proved challenging, but Jazzman have enlisted the right skills to create four enticing pieces of floor-ready burnage. We kick off with a Greg Foat original (the Latin-licked "Part V") before dropping into jazzy, echo-chamber deep house from Linkwood, breezy subaquatic lounge from Vakula, smoky trumpet croons from Francis Dosoo and sleazy, woozy space travelling big beat. An accomplished remix collection.

Review: First things first; what a title! Naturally it lives up to its enticing name. Breezy and woozy, it's harmonica heaven that leans towards country just on the right side of sad. The equally ace titled "Have Spacesuit Will Travel", meanwhile, veers more into cosmic Jeff Wayne. Parts two and three finish the set: the former's a fly-by-night Booker T/The Meters style jam while the latter winds things down in a hazy early Bonobo musk.

Review: Since first pitching up on Jazzman in 2011, eight-piece psychedelic jazz combo The Greg Foat Group has caused something of a stir. This second album for the crate-digging specialists is every bit as good as their debut full length, Dark Is The Sun. At times, it sounds like Ennio Morricone and Harold Budd making loose jazz-breaks, at others an almighty freak-out in the company of Afro-busting Blaxploitation detectives. There are quietly beautiful moments ("Girl & Robot With Flowers Part 3"), straight-up late night jazz movements ("For Breath A Tarry", "Cast Adrift"), and breezy, vibraphone-heavy '60s grooves ("The Girl & Robot With Flowers Part 5"). Throughout, it's beautifully played and lovingly produced, with Foat's impeccable piano playing taking centre stage.

Review: When we first reviewed "Girl & Robot With Flowers" back in 2012, eight-piece combo The Greg Foat Group was still a relatively unknown quantity. Since then, they've gone from success to success, releasing a string of inspired albums. Even so, "Girl & Robot With Flowers" remains one of their most stunning sets, as this re-press proves. It boasts quietly beautiful moments inspired by classic film soundtracks ("Girl & Robot With Flowers Part 3"), straight-up late night jazz movements ("For Breath A Tarry", "Cast Adrift"), and breezy, vibraphone-heavy '60s grooves ("The Girl & Robot With Flowers Part 5"). Throughout, it's beautifully played and lovingly produced, with Foat's impeccable piano playing taking centre stage.

Review: British pianist, composer and arranger Greg Foat has long perfect this own unique take on jazz, and one in which he draws on both the classic sound next to inventing his own new language. This was true a decade ago when he put out his Dark is the Sun album. Recorded in Sweden with classic scoring techniques, it references luminaries like Bruno Nicolai, Michel Legrand and Serge Gainsbourg as well as UK jazz cats Michael Garrick, Keith Mansfield and Alan Hawkshaw. Hugely listenable, full of emotional highs and lush in sound, it remains an essential jazz record

Review: "Welcome To The Party", on Jazzman, is quite simply one of the wildest Afro-Latin club bangers you will ever hear.

Review: 'Music Of My Heart' is the fourth installment in Jazzman's 'Holy Grail' series, and they're proud to present Sacramento multi-instrumentalist Johnny Heartsman's hopelessly obscure self-pressed double LP of top grade funky jazz & soul from 1977; carefully repressed on CD and vinyl (limited to 1000 vinyl copies only). Now get this: the original LP has recently hit over $5000, twice, at online auction. Now it's available in its original format with original artwork, but be quick as all of the previous releases in this series have all sold out, fast. An unbelievably rare private press album that's chock full of all kinds of funky femme soul, cool 'n' groovy organ/flute/guitar jazz and a good ol' dose of the blues. John Heartsman is known as the guy who played on a thousand R&B hits. From the mid '50s to the late '60s he recorded countless sessions, backing up the likes of Jimmy McCracklin, Lowell Fulson, Sugar Pie DeSanto, and many, many more. Then in the early '70s, exhausted from constant touring and seedy late night gigs, he took up a low-key residency at a small Sacramento jazz club. Here, Heartsman finally got to do his own thing. And his thing went down so well with the local audience that he decided to record some material and offer an LP for sale. The album was quickly snapped up by the Basin St West regulars, and very few escaped the local area. A couple of decades later - and sadly a little while after Heartsman himself had passed away - a couple of copies surfaced on the funk collectors scene in LA and whispers and rumours began slowly circulating of a set of sustained quality funky soul and jazz. Very few copies have appeared since, making the LP almost as legendary as the long and hidden career of the man himself. And here it is: the full double LP, never before reissued and seldom before heard, in its original design with double gatefold sleeve. In addition, the CD contains extensive notes, pictures and background history on the LP and John Heartsman himself.

Review: Thanks to a plethora of pleasing releases from the likes of Nat Birchall and Michael Grossman, 2019 has been a vintage year for Jazzman's "Jazz 45" series. The last volume of the year comes courtesy of Jai Ho, an occasional studio "supergroup" who initially met by accident in the late 1990s. In fact, A-side "Short Story From Tabla, Drums & Trumpet" was recorded in a single day in 1996. The descriptive title is accurate, with squally, effects-laden trumpet solos riding a killer backing track of military style drum breaks, exotic tabla motifs and toasty double bass. The group met again for another studio day in 2003 and recorded B-side "Oye Maia", a wonderfully lucid and languid mixture of attractive Kalimba melodies, drifting trumpet and shuffling Indian instrumentation.

Review: Etta's career-defining debut album At Last showed the world what she was capable of. Unfettered breadth spaced over three 45s, delivered by Chess off-shoot Argo, each track explored a different style from blues to jazz to doo-wop to smoking soul. Complete with her two most legendary songs ("At Last" and "I Just Want To Make Love To You") the real beauty is in the less-celebrated numbers such as the carnal sensuous "Seven Day Fool", the chop-slapping gospel power of "Hold On Me" and the sleazy guitar lines and time signature switches of "Spoonful". A serious piece of soul history.

Review: The selection represents the diversity and vibrancy of Florida itself - a state that is half Havana and half dirty south, but 100% funky!

Review: The selection represents the diversity and vibrancy of Florida itself - a state that is half Havana and half dirty south, but 100% funky!

Review: After several years of extensive work and painstaking research the latest in explorations into regional US funk obscurities is finally here. Has the wait for 'California Funk' been worth it? Well, let's see what we have: 21 of the finest, rarest and most desirable funk recordings from the Sunshine state, put together for the first time with the personal blessing of each and every artist represented herein - shoddy bootleg this is not! The LP contains in-depth sleeve notes detailing the history of funk and R&B in California and the social conditions which led to the funk explosion of the late 60s. In addition there are thoroughly researched notes for every individual track, revealing for the first time the hidden stories behind such revered and enigmatic artists as Leon Gardner, Arthur Monday and Delores Ealy. The double LP is presented on two pieces of 180g virgin vinyl, lavishly housed in a double gatefold sleeve with full colour inners, label scans and extensive liner notes featuring many previously unseen photos of the bands and musicians involved. Whereas the musical profiles of cities such as Detroit and New Orleans are well established and much celebrated, the vast cities of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area have been mostly skimmed over and not given nearly enough attention. The black music from California of the 60s and 70s is especially under-appreciated, seemingly unable to stamp its own musical identity on the world. Yet during this time, many artists were busily plying their trade at a grass roots level in LA and the Bay, releasing 45s literally by hand or through small independents. Today many of those very 45s fetch hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds at online auction with lovers of real soul and funk desperate to get hold of them. Following on from our previous funk collections of Texas, Florida, the Midwest and the Carolinas, we applied ourselves to what proved to be our most ambitious and far-reaching project yet - to source and compile the best vintage funk that California had to offer. From the rugged street funk of Arthur Monday to the Latino flavours of Enrique Olivarez; from the soulful jazz grooves of blues legend Johnny Heartsman to the aggressive politicising of King Solomon, there is real diversity on offer - these aren't mere JB sound-a-likes but talented individuals who brought their own voice to the funk sound. Putting together an album like this is no easy task. It has certainly taken a while to come to light, but you can be confident that California Funk, with its divergent sounds and intriguing avenues, will not disappoint, and indeed we hope that it will help raise the standing of California in R&B, soul and funk circles from here on.After several years of extensive work and painstaking research the latest in our explorations into regional US funk obscurities is finally here. Has the wait for California Funk been worth it? Well, let's see what we have: 21 of the finest, rarest and most desirable funk recordings from the Sunshine state, put together for the first time with the personal blessing of each and every artist represented herein - shoddy bootleg this is not!

The LP contains in-depth sleeve notes detailing the history of funk and R&B in California and the social conditions which led to the funk explosion of the late '60s. In addition there are thoroughly researched notes for every individual track, revealing for the first time the hidden stories behind such revered and enigmatic artists as Leon Gardner, Arthur Monday and Delores Ealy.

The double LP is presented on two pieces of 180g virgin vinyl, lavishly housed in a double gatefold sleeve with full colour inners, label scans and extensive liner notes featuring many previously unseen photos of the bands and musicians involved.

Review: Two ultra rare british jazz sides. These are not the album versions but taken from the even scarcer original single releases. "Troublemaker" is a tougher percussive work-out whilst Original Peter is a danceable yet introspective slice of funky jazz.

Review: Even without the vintage hardback book, bonus tracks and booklet, this is a great addition to any collection... Exploring a relatively recent but hugely rich period in American music history, Jukebox Mambo is an extensive window into the fusion of Cuban and Latin music and R&B and jazz during the 50s. Some of it barely gives a nod to R&B at all (Dave Bartholomew's "Shrimp & Gumbo" and Fay Simmons' "Big Joe Mambo") while others deftly combine the jazz swing and energetic arrangement of R&B with mambo rhythms perfectly. Highly collectable whichever way you look at it.

Review: Even without the vintage hardback book, bonus tracks and booklet, this is a great addition to any collection... Exploring a relatively recent but hugely rich period in American music history, Jukebox Mambo is an extensive window into the fusion of Cuban and Latin music and R&B and jazz during the 50s. Some of it barely gives a nod to R&B at all (Dave Bartholomew's "Shrimp & Gumbo" and Fay Simmons' "Big Joe Mambo") while others deftly combine the jazz swing and energetic arrangement of R&B with mambo rhythms perfectly. Highly collectable whichever way you look at it.

Review: Dr. Lloyd Miller, to give him his full title, has both been a student and player of jazz for many of his 72 years. He's won Composer's Guild awards, lectured and taught jazz at university level and even achieved his doctorate studying Persian music in 1972. He's also performed with the likes of Nat Adderly, Eddie Harris, Wynton Marsalis and Zoot Sims among others. With his A Lifetime in Oriental Jazz recently rediscovered by Jazzman, the label took the giant step of putting him in a studio with Malcolm Catto and Jake Ferguson of the Heliocentrics, who won much praise for their work on Mulatu Astatke's recent album. In just two hours, and despite having never met before, this quartet of songs were cut and in the can.
Not that they suffered from such constraints. The freedom and life captured on this release is palpable, most noticeably in the space given to the flute-like solos on opener "Electriconnee. The other players instinctively seem to know when to drop out and give Miller room, before joining in again on drums and double-bass. "Way Out East" is perhaps the most conventional work here, a straight piano-led vamp led by Miller, while "Gol E Gandom" clearly benefits from his years of dedication to Eastern scales which come out in force toward the end of the tune. "Ando Le" sees the addition of a zither-like instrument to the party, with the piano lines joining in and matching the eerie melody after a while. The contribution of Catto and Ferguson can't be praised enough, and they respond to Miller's lead with aplomb. Jazzman also deserve serious props for making this happen and getting this underrated titan of jazz into a studio at his ripe old age.

Review: Despite selling hundreds of thousands of copies in its native South Africa, Mankunku Quartet's 1968 album Yakhal Inkomo - the title is a veiled reference to the Apartheid-era violence of the period - has never before been release outside of the African continent. Happily, Jazzman has finally decided to right that wrong. Listening for the first time, it's clear that saxophonist Winston "Mankunku" Ngozi is the undoubted star. Yet his fantastic soloing receives ample back up from his sidemen, including brilliant pianist Lionel Pillay, resulting in a quartet of fine cuts that sit somewhere between hard bop and modal. The album has been likened to Coltrane's A Love Supreme, and we can think of no finer praise than that.

Review: Hard Latin funk! Ricardo Marrero's 'Babalonia' is a banging Latin funk instrumental that has devastated dancefloors for years.

Review: The Jazzman Holy Grail series continues here with a new edition of Dedication Of Love, the 1976 album by Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces. This album was a critical flop upon original release through their own Phinal Sound label, a marked contrast to the huge success the band achieved with their 1965 single "Searching For My Love" which was a million selling chart topper. Listening to this Jazzman edition it's hard to quantify why exactly Dedication Of Love flopped, it's brimming with heartfelt soul, street funk and down home funky blues. This probably explains why the handful of original copies of the LP are listed for a quite pretty penny on the rare soul market. The detailed liner notes explaining the bittersweet story behind the band with founding member Bobby Moore Jr make this reissue all the more compelling.

Review: Turning your hand to the catalogue of a jazz colossus like Yusef Lateef would be beyond most contemporary jazz musicians, but then Nat Birchall is currently one of the best saxophonists in the business. Alongside his quartet and with the aid of some unusual instruments from around the world - something Lateef was famously fond of doing - Birchall has delivered a set of covers that breathe breezy new life into some of the American multi-instrumentalist's most admired compositions whilst retaining some of the original flavour. Our favourites include the droning North African brilliance of "Mashariki", the sun-baked afternoon breeze of "Ringo Oiwake" and the piano-powered bliss of "Willow's Walk".

Review: Recorded just three years after Johnny Cash startled the wardens at Folsom Prison, convict Reynard Birtha was given a rare chance to head an ensemble and record this unique four track LP. Released privately it saw a stupendously limited release - until Jazzman came along and did what they do best. Long, drawn out jazz jams, allowing each of the imprisoned instrumentalists to shine, it's a curious blend of tight funk and spiralling grooves. And the story behind the creation of the album is really interesting too...

Review: Originally released in 1973, Prof James Benson's seminal album, The Gow Dow Experience is a project that has an amazing story accompanying it. An entirely self-released project, Prof Benson's intention was to record these sessions so that his students at Cal Poly in California would have a special memento of what they had achieved together. Taking inspiration from their recent trip to Africa and blended with the radical jazz emerging from Black American artist's in the 70s, it was a momentous achievement for him and his young protegees. Jazzman's re-release also includes four tracks from the recording session that, until now, have never been released - they're well worth the wait, we promise!

Review: Indian born Asha Puthli, bored with traditional Indian music and inspired by the jazz on the radio in Bombay, moved to New York to pursue a career as a singer. Asha Puthli's sound had been influenced by the glam of the 1970's, and came across in wonderful tones that were altogether soft, smooth, slinky, sultry and sexy. Her version of JJ Cale's "Right Down Here" is a perfect example - the combination of crisp drums, ethereal vocals and a deep groove have made this a hip-hop and club staple.

Review: Amazing Egyptian Jazz! In 1972, drummer Salah Ragab formed the Cairo Jazz Band and recorded a session to commemorate the state visit of US president Nixon. Literally only a handful copies of this LP survive - along with an even rarer 45!

Review: Taken from the uber rare "Khyber Mail" LP from 1970 - only issued in Pakistan and sought after by clued-up beat diggers ever since - "Soul Sitar", by Sohail Rana, is Pakistan's answer to the hip sounds that were floating around the cosmos at the time. The fusion of groovy sitar with hard drums, psychedelic electric keys and slinky vibes has proved a winner in clubs.