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Although the title of the new recording from impromptu trio Jeff Lorber, Chuck Loeb and Everette Harp is ‘Jazz Funk Soul’, what it actually provides is top-notch jazz-fusion of the sort that aficionados had despaired of ever experiencing again. Make no mistake this is contemporary jazz of the highest order and certainly the most interesting release of the year so far. However, considering the pedigree of those involved this is hardly surprising.

Chuck Brown (born August 22, 1936) is a guitarist and singer who is affectionately called "The Godfather of Go-go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed in and around Washington, D.C. in the mid- and late 1970s. While its musical classification, influences, and origins are debated, Brown is regarded as the fundamental force behind the creation of go-go music.

As a first-call session ace, Loeb has been in the thick of matters, hearkening back to the 70s. As a solo artist, he’s merged contempo jazz with fusion and other jazz-inflected horizons. However, “Plain ‘n’ Simple” marks his advent into the jazz organ-combo schema, featuring celebrated drummer Harvey Mason and talented young organist Pat Bianchi.

Chuck Berry's debut LP is fairly strong musically, as well as having a really cool cover (a still shot of Berry, guitar slung in front of him, from the movie Rock, Rock, Rock!). After School Session was just the second long-player ever issued by Chess - only the soundtrack to the movie Rock, Rock, Rock! preceded it. This May 1957 release made Berry something of a late-bloomer among rock & roll's foundation performers - he'd had his first recording session two years earlier, in May of 1955, and by the spring of 1957, Bill Haley already had a handful of LPs to his credit, Elvis Presley was gaining on him, and Clyde McPhatter's version of the Drifters was represented on album, with numerous others soon to join their ranks. Berry had actually enjoyed only two major pop (i.e. rock as opposed to R&B) chart hits at the time: "Maybellene" in the summer of 1955, and "Roll Over Beethoven," which had just made the Top 30 in the summer of 1956…

WATSON’S RIDDLE is a dynamic new instrumental group formed in Upstate South Carolina by veteran guitarist Steve Watson and original Marshall Tucker Band drummer Paul T. Riddle and also featuring legendary pianist Chuck Leavell (Allman Brothers Band, Sea Level, Rolling Stones) and top-notch bassist Tim Lawter. WATSON'S RIDDLE was conceived when cardiothoracic surgeon Douglas Appleby, M.D., encouraged his friend and guitar instructor Steve to write music that was “emotionally engaging, relaxing and transforming to the human soul.” Watson wrote some of the album’s material during the good doctor’s weekly lessons and eventually took the project to Riddle who brought in Leavell and Lawter.

As a first-call session ace, Loeb has been in the thick of matters, hearkening back to the 70s. As a solo artist, he’s merged contempo jazz with fusion and other jazz-inflected horizons. However, “Plain ‘n’ Simple” marks his advent into the jazz organ-combo schema, featuring celebrated drummer Harvey Mason and talented young organist Pat Bianchi.

They called him "The Hat." Chuck Mangione, with his trademark black-felt, narrow-brimmed topper and his big, brassy fluegelhorn, burst out of the jazz world and into pop music in the late '70s with "Feels So Good," a monster hit and a rare example of a jazz tune hitting the top of the pop charts.