This collection of soul/jazz tracks have two things in common: They're all quite sexy, and they were all produced by by the production team of James Mtume and Reggie Lucas. Features performances by Phyllis Hyman, Stephanie Mills, Teddy Pendergrass, the Spinners, and Lou Rawls, among others.
Rare 10CD Japan collection released in 1999, entitled Lady Soul Collection, featuring titles from Phyllis Hyman, Angela Bofill & Evelyn "Champagne" King's catalogue.
Released in 1974, Get Up With It is a follow-up to Big Fun, which appeared in the same year, offering an overview of the recent period and revealing new directions. The funk genre started with “Honky Tonk” from the Jack Johnson sessions, ran through On The Corner with “Rated X” and “Billy Preston,” and ended up in the groovy structures of “Mtume” where, with the help of the wah-wah pedal, the electrified trumpet abandoned phrasing to work exclusively on timbre and rhythm.
Along with its sister recording, Pangaea, Agharta was recorded live in February of 1975 at the Osaka Festival Hall in Japan. Amazingly enough, given that these are arguably Davis' two greatest electric live records, they were recorded the same day. Agharta was performed in the afternoon and Pangaea in the evening. Of the two, Agharta is superior. The band with Davis – saxophonist Sonny Fortune, guitarists Pete Cosey (lead) and Reggie Lucas (rhythm), bassist Michael Henderson, drummer Al Foster, and percussionist James Mtume – was a group who had their roots in the radically streetwise music recorded on 1972's On the Corner, and they are brought to fruition here.
Pioneering funk/R&B band Mtume, featuring the group’s eleven US charted singles including the classic, ‘Juicy Fruit’ along with selected album cuts from the team’s five Epic LPs as well as three bonus tracks from the sole solo album by female lead vocalist, Tawatha.
Around the time this 1980 album came out, James Mtume and his partner, Reggie Lucas, were known for their excellent production work with singers like Phyllis Hyman and Stephanie Mills. Mtume and Lucas are also skilled musicians, as demonstrated here. Mtume contributes lead vocals and background vocals and plays keyboards and percussion, while Lucas shines in his lead and rhythm guitar playing and joins in the background vocals as well.