It's Got To Be Funky

To hear tenor saxist A.C. Reed bemoan his fate on-stage, one might glean the impression that he truly detests his job. But it's a tongue-in-cheek complaint - Reed's raspy, gutbucket blowing and laid-back vocals belie any sense of boredom. Sax-blowing blues bandleaders are scarce as hen's teeth in Chicago; other than Eddie Shaw, Reed's about all there is. Born in Missouri, young Aaron Corthen (whether he's related to blues legend Jimmy Reed remains hazy, but his laconic vocal drawl certainly mirrors his namesake) grew up in downstate Illinois. A big-band fan, he loved the sound of Paul Bascomb's horn on an obscure Erskine Hawkins 78 he heard tracking on a tavern jukebox so much that he was inspired to pick up a sax himself…

This release collects two of Toots & the Maytals' finest releases of the mid-'70s: Funky Kingston, generally viewed as their finest album, and its follow-up, In the Dark. This is some of the finest music of the rocksteady era, and with improved sound over the individual album releases, a great place to start for Toots & the Maytals or the rocksteady movement in general.

Cannonball Adderley Quintet - The Price You Got To Pay To Be Free (1970) {Blue Note–Real Gone Music RGM-0453 rel 2016}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 483 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 182 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 23 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1970, 2016 Blue Note / Capitol / Real Gone Music / Dusty Groove | RGM-0453
Jazz / Fusion / Soul Jazz / Modern Jazz / Jazz Funk / Saxophone

Fantastic work from the massive electric years of the Cannonball Adderley Quintet – one of the group's last records to feature the keyboards of Joe Zawinul – and also one of the heaviest from the time! The set's a double-length gem that presents the group in an open live setting – one that really displays the full charm of their approach at the time, and that wonderfully crowd-winning mode that made Cannon a key act at this time for rock and soul audiences too! Adderley raps a bit at key points, and brings some righteous energy to the concert – while the rest of the group follow up with performances that really send the whole thing home – Nat Adderley on cornet, Zawinul on Fender Rhodes and piano, Walter Booker on bass, and Roy McCurdy on drums. Cannon plays some soprano sax, in addition to his familiar alto. Produced by David Axelrod too!

The Chicago guitarist/saxist spreads his stylistic wings considerably further than he did on his debut, embracing funk more fully than his first time around but offering enough tasty contemporary blues to keep everyone happy. The prolific triple threat (he's also an engaging singer) wrote all but three tracks himself (one of the covers is the shuffling "Small Town Baby"; its composer, veteran pianist Jimmy Walker, plays on the cut).

While recording her 2019 album War in My Mind with producer Rob Cavallo, Beth Hart sang a version of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" during a bit of downtime in the studio. Impressed, Cavallo suggested that Hart record an entire album of Zeppelin covers, but the singer demurred, saying she needed to be in a specific mindset to sing those songs: "you've got to be pissed off to hit that right." Hart got pissed off during the COVID-19 pandemic, so she summoned Cavallo and made A Tribute to Led Zeppelin. If Hart's focus on anger suggests she has perhaps a rather limited perspective on the oeuvre of Page, Plant, Jones, and Bonham, the resulting A Tribute to Led Zeppelin confirms such suspicions.

Singer, songwriter, sax man Scott Ramminger likes to make listeners think with his clever original tunes. But he also likes to make them tap their feet or do that chair boogie thing. Firmly rooted in the blues, this album of originals was recorded in New Orleans and Ramminger's current home of Washington DC. Ramminger is backed up on the disk by some of the top players in both towns. Adding to the excitement, Nashville's McCrary Sisters, who have backed up everyone from Bob Dylan to Dr. John, sing on six of the ten tracks - one a duet between Ramminger and Regina McCrary. Nashville's Etta Britt joins Ramminger on two of the tracks. "Advice From a Father to a Son," was getting critical acclaim and songwriting awards even before its release. "For me, the groove has got to be there," Ramminger notes. "But song also has to have something to say lyrically, go somewhere. Finally, I like to play, and I had some of the best players around on this record, so I was going to make sure there was room for everyone to stretch out a bit."