Rare Groove Funk Best Collection

Charles Earland - Leaving This Planet (1973) {2014 Japan Rare Groove Funk Best Collection 1000}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 532 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 188 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 187 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1973, 2014 Prestige / Concord / Universal Music Japan | UCC0-90341
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Organ

One of the greatest albums ever from organist Charles Earland – a double-length set that's filled with spiritual, soaring grooves! The style here is a perfect blend of the rougher soul jazz of Earland's roots with some of the spacier styles of his later recordings – served up in a sound that's majestic and powerful, almost with an indie soul jazz sort of vibe overall! There's an immediate urgency to most numbers that's totally undeniable – a lesson learned from the electric experiments of Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis, but fused down into a core essence – then let loose on a soaring journey to the heavens.

Azar Lawrence - People Moving (1976) {2014 Japan Rare Groove Funk Best Collection 1000 UCCO-90361}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 265 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 91 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 185 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1976, 2014 Prestige / Concord / Universal Music Japan | UCCO-90361
Jazz / Post Bop / Soul Jazz / Jazz Funk / Saxophone

Reissue with the latest remastering. Stellar reed work from Azar Lawrence – a player who's best known for his acoustic revival in recent years, but who could play with some excellent electric backings during the 70s! The set's less an electric funk outing than it is a spiritual jazz set, with keyboards and guitar in the mix – beautifully put together by the young Skip Scarborough, with a feel that's very similar to Gary Bartz's work with Larry Mizell!

Leon Spencer - Louisiana Slim (1971) {2014 Japan Rare Groove Funk Best Collection 1000 UCCO-90346}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 235 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 89 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 179 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1971, 2014 Prestige / Concord / Fantasy / Universal Music Japan | UCCO-90346
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Organ Hammond B-3

Sublime Hammond from the amazing Leon Spencer – heard here at the height of his younger years, when he was cooking up as much magic in the studio as Johnny Hammond or Charles Earland – and really stretching things out, in ways that take the jazz organ format much farther than the giants of a decade before! The date's an all-out great one in the Prestige funky jazz mode – with Spencer on organ, Melvin Sparks on guitar, Grover Washington Jr on tenor, and Idris Muhammad on drums – a bit more subtle than before, but still plenty darn funky! Tracks are nice and long – and the record includes the originals "Louisiana Slim", "Our Love Will Never Die", "The Trouble With Love", and a cover of "Mercy Mercy Me".

Leon Spencer - Bad Walking Woman (1972) {2014 Japan Rare Groove Funk Best Collection 1000 UCCO-90347}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 234 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 88 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 179 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1972, 2014 Prestige / Concord / Universal Music Japan | UCCO-90347
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Organ Hammond B-3

Supremely heavy work from organist Leon Spencer – one of his classic jazz funk sessions for Prestige Records, and a record that shows him opening up his sound a bit more than before! The album has Spencer working in a few different lineups – some with small groups that feature Melvin Sparks on guitar and Idris Muhammad on drums – others with some slightly larger instrumentation and even a bit of strings, used in a sophisticatedly soulful style that reminds us a bit of CTI or Kudu backings of the time!

Ivan "Boogaloo Joe" Jones - Black Whip (1973) {2014 Japan Rare Groove Funk Best Collection 1000 UCCO-90358}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 234 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 92 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 177 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1973, 2014 Prestige / Concord / Universal Music Japan | UCCO-90358
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Guitar

Reissue with the latest remastering. Amazing stuff from Ivan Boogaloo Joe Jones! Unlike some of the other players on Prestige during the early 70s – who often got a bit weaker as the decade moved on, thanks to the departure of some of the better forces arranging and producing the records – Jones kept on playing hard, improving his guitar skill to a point where he was riffing and grooving away at a pace that's simply mindblowing when you hear it. Case in point is the mighty "Black Whip", a fantastic bit of funky jazz that cracks back and forth with all the whiplike qualities hinted at in the title – and which has a totally infectious jazz dance groove that always gets us on the floor. Other titles include the original groovers "Freak Off" and "Crank Me Up", both tasty numbers, plus some mellow pop covers like "My Love" and "Daniel".

Hampton Hawes - Northern Windows (1974) {2014 Japan Rare Groove Funk Best Collection 1000}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 226 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 80 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 191 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1974, 2014 Prestige / Concord / Universal Music Japan | UCCO-90359
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Hard Bop / Piano

One of the best David Axelrod-assisted albums from the early 70s – a sweet batch of funky cuts with arrangements and backings handled by Axe, and loads of great keyboard lines from the legendary Hampton Hawes! The record really bubbles with the warm and soulful approach Axelrod was using at Fantasy – kind of a step off his stark modern sound at Capitol, but still done with just the right amount of space and appreciation of a funky rhythm. The great Carol Kaye is on bass, and Hawes plays some totally sweeeeeeeet electric keys on the set – really stretching out in ways that are different than some of his acoustic work of a few years before – yet still filled with the same rich sort of imagination. Titles include "Sierra Morena", "Go Down Moses", "Web", "Tune Axle Grease", and "C&H Sugar".

Gene Ammons - Brasswind (1974) {2014 Japan Rare Groove Funk Best Collection 1000 UCCO-90366}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 241 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 92 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 182 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1974, 2014 Prestige / Concord / Universal Music Japan | UCCO-90366
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Funk Jazz / Saxophone

Reissue with the latest remastering. Gene Ammons gets the Cannonball Adderley treatment – as he blows funky solos over an album arranged and conducted by David Axelrod! Brasswind has a larger, fuller funky sound than some of his earlier work for Prestige – and it works very well! The overall sound's a bit smoother, but Axelrod's edge is still quite sharp, and the polished jazzy arrangements still have plenty of funk to around. George Duke is on keyboards and Carol Kaye plays bass – and other players include Snooky Young, Michael Howell, Jim Horn and Kay Migliori. Titles include "Cantaro", "Brasswind", "Cariba", "Rozzie", and "Once I Loved".

Johnny Hammond - Gears (1975) {2014 Japan Rare Groove Funk Best Collection 1000 UCCO-90336}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 216 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 79 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 185 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1975, 2014 Milestone / Fantasy / Universal Music Japan | UCCO-90336
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Funk Jazz / Organ

Reissue with the latest remastering. Amazing stuff! Johnny "Hammond" Smith began his career as a simple soul jazz organist – but by the time of this album, he'd teamed up with the mighty Larry Mizell, the genius arranger/producer who'd breathed new life into the careers of Donald Byrd and Bobbi Humphrey. Mizell works with Hammond in the same way he does with other jazz artists – by taking a groove that works best with their solo style, and slowly layering other instrumentation and effects on top of it, so that when the solo kicks in, it's supported on waves and waves of funky sounds and soulful grooves.

Rusty Bryant - Fire Eater (1971) {2014 Japan Rare Groove Funk Best Collection 1000 UCCO-90337}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 214 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 84 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 163 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1971, 2014 Prestige / Fantasy / Universal Music Japan | UCCO-90337
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Saxophone / Organ Hammond B-3

A monster – and one of the best jazz funk albums ever on Prestige! Rusty Bryant blows his top off on this one – taking his tenor stylings out of the more staid R&B mode of earlier years, working with some younger heavy funk jazz players to craft a brilliant album of long searing tunes that's forever been one of the must-haves of the early 70s jazz funk scene! Idris Muhammad's on drums, Wilbert Longmire's on guitar, and the organ work is split between Leon Spencer and Bill Mason, both monstrously great talents, with a propensity for open-stopped hard-wailing playing! Titles include "Fire Eater", "The Hooker", "Mister S", and "Free At Last".

The Cannonball Adderley Quintet - Country Preacher (1969) {2014 Japan Rare Groove Funk Best Collection 1000 UCCU-90077}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 253 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 91 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 144 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1969, 2014 Capitol / Universal Music Japan | UCCU-90077
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Jazz Funk / Hard Bop / Saxophone

Reissue with the latest remastering. A totally great set by Cannonball Adderley – one of his funkiest albums ever, recorded live at Operation Breadbasket under the supervision of Jesse Jackson, and a session in which the band is cooking a lot more than on some of their other albums from the time! The set grooves hard with some tight electric piano from Joe Zawinul – amazing snakey lines that not only set the tone for the whole record, but which really make for a strong evolution from the Mercy Mercy Mercy era of the group a few years before. Cannon's alto and soprano work are beautiful – a masterpiece of soul jazz expression – as is the cornet from brother Nat – and the group's completed by bassist Walter Booker and drummer Roy McCurdy. The album's a bucketful of great jazzy sample tunes – and tracks include "Walk Tall", "Country Preacher", "Hummin", and the extended "Afro-Spanish Omlet".